第73章 The Bargain

The deep made a bargain. Not with Eli. Not with Nora. Not with the keeper or the keeping or the conversation. The deep made a bargain with itself. The bargain was this: I will be the ground, and the ground will be the foundation, and the foundation will support the world, and the world will be my home, and the home will be the keeping, and the keeping will be the door, and the door will be open. The bargain was the deep's way of committing to its own nature, the deep's way of saying: I will be what I have always been. I will be the ground. I will be the foundation. I will support the world. I will hold it up. I will be the deep, and the deep is the ground, and the ground is the foundation, and the foundation is my way of supporting the world, and the supporting is my work, and the work is the keeping, and the keeping is the door, and the door is open. And the bargain was the deep's promise to itself, the deep's way of saying: I will not change. I will not become something else. I will not stop being the ground. I will not stop supporting the world. I will be the deep, and the deep is the ground, and the ground is the foundation, and the foundation is my way of being, and the being is the deep, and the deep is here. Eli understood the bargain. He understood it in his bones, in his blood, in the spaces between his cells. The deep had made a bargain with itself, and the bargain was the deep's way of being what it was, and the being was the deep, and the deep was here. And the keeping was the deep's way of honoring the bargain, the keeping was the deep's way of being true to its nature, the keeping was the deep's way of supporting the world, and the supporting was the work, and the work was the keeping, and the keeping was the door, and the door was open. And the deep spoke, and the speaking was the bargain, and the bargain was the deep's way of being itself, and the self was the deep, and the deep was here. The bargain was the deep's promise to itself. The deep had been silent for so long that the silence had become a kind of death, and the death had become a kind of identity, the deep as the thing that does not speak, the thing that does not show itself, the thing that waits beneath the surface and never reaches the light. But the bargain was the deep's way of saying: I will no longer be silent. I will no longer hide. I will be the ground, and the ground will speak, and the speaking will be the deep's voice, and the voice will be the deep's way of being in the world, and the being will be the deep's work, and the work will be the keeping, and the keeping will be the door, and the door will be open. The bargain was the deep's way of committing to its own nature. The ground supported the world as it had always supported it, and the supporting was the deep's work, and the work was the keeping, and the keeping was the door, and the door was open. And the bargain was the deep's promise to the keeper: I will be here. I will always be here. I will be the ground beneath your feet, the earth beneath your house, the root beneath your hand. I will be the deep, and the deep is the ground, and the ground is the foundation, and the foundation is my way of supporting the world, and the supporting is my work, and the work is the keeping, and the keeping is the door, and the door is open. Eli understood the bargain. He understood it in his bones, in his blood, in the spaces between his cells. The deep had made a bargain with itself, and the bargain was the deep's way of being what it was, and the being was the deep, and the deep was here. And the deep spoke, and the speaking was the bargain, and the bargain was the deep's promise kept, and the promise was the keeping, and the keeping was the door, and the door was open. The bargain was the deep's commitment to the world. The deep committed to being the ground, to supporting the foundation, to holding up the world, and the commitment was the deep's way of saying: I will be here. I will always be here. I will be the ground beneath your feet, the earth beneath your house, the root beneath your hand. The bargain was the deep's promise to the keeper. The deep promised to be present, to be visible, to be known, and the promise was the deep's way of saying: I will not hide. I will not retreat. I will be the deep, and the deep is the ground, and the ground is the foundation, and the foundation is my way of supporting the world. The bargain was the deep's way of being what it was. The ground held firm beneath the world, and the holding was the deep's work, and the work was the keeping, and the keeping was the door, and the door was open. And the deep spoke, and the speaking was the bargain, and the bargain was the deep's commitment, and the commitment was the keeping, and the keeping was the door, and the door was open. The bargain was permanent. The bargain was not a contract that could be broken or a treaty that could be renegotiated. The bargain was the deep's nature, and the nature was the ground, and the ground was the foundation, and the foundation was the deep's way of being, and the being was the bargain, and the bargain was the deep, and the deep was here. ---