Kingdom

By Sami Yvan Mourad

The king is dead. The faint glow, between dawn and dusk, pleasant to see to eyes that were no longer necessary; yet this sensation could exist in this fluid and immaterial state, inexplicable. A perceivable glow, distant in a misty horizon, and which conveyed the perfect atmosphere for a well-being that ruled out any possibility of fear. Of drea

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sami Yvan Mourad
• Release date: Jan 8, 2020
• ISBN: 9789893357217

Sami Yvan Mourad

Sami Yvan Mourad a commencé sa carrière d'écrivain après sa retraite. Il aime partager des idées philosophiques à travers des histoires fictives. Il est connu pour ses divers travaux, notamment "À l'Ombre de Minuit", suivi de "Le Fruit", "La Demeure des Neiges", "Résidence la Prairie" et son dernier roman "Les Écumes du Temps" (tous bientôt disponibles en anglais). Sami est né en Égypte, et est de nationalité italienne.

Book preview

From the same author

(Available in French)

Résidence la Prairie – 2021

Royaume – 2020

La Demeure des Neiges – 2016

Le Fruit – 2014

À L’ombre de Minuit – 2014

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Follow this author on Instagram @samiyvanmourad

© Sami Yvan Mourad, 2020

Sami Yvan Mourad

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KINGDOM

Novel

Table of Contents

KINGDOM 1

KINGDOM 2

KINGDOM 3

KINGDOM 4

KINGDOM 5

KINGDOM 6

KINGDOM 7

KINGDOM 8

KINGDOM 9

KINGDOM 10

KINGDOM 11

KINGDOM 12

KINGDOM 13

KINGDOM 14

KINGDOM 15

KINGDOM 16

KINGDOM 17

KINGDOM 18

KINGDOM 19

KINGDOM 20

KINGDOM 21

KINGDOM 1

The king is dead.

The faint light, between dawn and dusk, pleasing to see to eyes that were no longer necessary; and yet this sensation could exist in this fluid and intangible state, inexplicable.

A perceptible light, distant in a hazy horizon and which transmitted the perfect atmosphere for well-being that eliminated any possibility of concern. Of fear.

Rather a sensation of absolute peace and unconditional love. An irresistible desire to want to stay there forever.

KINGDOM 2

I could not specify the time I was floating in this state. I would say that here time was a useless notion. It had no reason to be. Everything was permanent, present. And as a consequence, there was no need to worry about the past or even the future. I saw no one and this did not distress me.

How long was I here? I could not measure it. Where did I come from? A vague notion that there was somewhere; some hazy, untouchable time. Perhaps that time still existed, except that I was no longer there.

What was I to wander like this? How, if I was nothing anymore? Less than a spark about to go out and yet...

The light that shone on the horizon seemed to approach without changing its dimension or intensity. Perhaps it was close all the time. Waiting for my reaction. I had none and would not know how to do it. Barely a bright spot, an atom or something like that. Both free and captive, not knowing where to go or what to do. However, this did not seem to worry me. Perhaps, I was waiting for the moment to disappear once and for all. That did not scare me either. After all, everything has an end.

Sometimes, a beginning.

KINGDOM 3

She stopped in front of me and seemed not to want to move. I understood that she was expecting a reaction from me. My first reaction was to ask, who am I? She did not react, and I do not know how, but I understood the explanation through her silence. I think she made me understand that I knew who and where I was.

I made an effort. I had trouble imagining who I could have been. I could not help but continue with a new question.

-  Does it matter?

-  Yes.

-  But if I'm dead, you're supposed to know everything about me!

-  That's true. It's part of your evolution

-  Do you mean a kind of confession?

-  Not at all, but it is essential to have your vision of what your experience was.

-  But if I don't even remember my name!

-  Your name has no importance here; only your story told by yourself.

-  And if I don't remember all the details? Besides, it seems to me that I have no memory of what my existence was!

-  Don't worry, the most precious moments will come back to you.

-  Will I be condemned for my story?

-  Fear nothing. Here, the idea of judgment according to your beliefs, does not exist.

I dared not ask any more questions and I kept silent, searching for those memories that I believed buried somewhere that was no longer in me, but seemed to reveal themselves with no effort. Thus, began my story:

I was crowned king too young. The eldest of my family, king at the age of a boy who needed a lot of knowledge and wisdom and who had not had the happiness of growing up closer to his father, always distant, either at war, or occupied with governing or else lost behind the walls of our high palaces everywhere in our kingdom.

I took a breath and addressed my guide, to take a break before going deeper into a story that did not seem to resemble me. As if I were telling someone else's story...

-  Do you have a name?

-  Later, she said, without the slightest emotion.

All I had to do was continue the course of a story that I seemed not to know and yet was mine.

"Having not the happiness of being for a longer time near my father, I obeyed my fate, to live in the solitude of a prince, surrounded by all the care, served by an infinity of servants, often near my mother, brothers and sisters, also predestined to a life of idleness, submission and complacence...

Life seemed more like a fairy tale. A dreamy, emotionless dream, except for some adolescent feats of no importance that I believed to be secret, while all my movements were observed. I felt no ambition. I did not need it. My tutors tried to keep me entertained with the history of our kingdom and often some lessons of philosophy inspired by I do not know what god, also established, and prisoner of the dogmas that I did not know if it was happy or as miserable as myself.

They used to talk to me about our justice system where it was settled by the sword for anyone who opposed the king or committed some crime. I took no pleasure in this idea of justice through fear and always avoided going to any trials. I found them monotonous because they always ended the same way. Someone lost a hand, a leg, an eye, their head or, at the very least, their belongings, including their family.

I believe my carelessness was never reported to my father for fear of his punishment, while my teachers did their best to discover what could possibly interest me. Some vocation. I was not particularly interested in war; in fact, I avoided weapons.

However, I loved animals, especially horses. I was allowed to ride for entire days in the parks within the palace grounds. I believe only horses understood me. I loved freedom as much as they did, although I was unaware of it, because those hours ensured my solitude and the right to contemplate nature. I did not try to understand it because it seemed wiser to me than all the teachings they imposed on me.

I also found a little happiness in the arts. I expressed myself quite badly, in fact, and became aware of the hypocrisy of those who flattered me constantly. Regardless, I was a prince, and that was enough. I