An encounter with an ancient wonder of the natural world in the shadows of the Himalayas; a short extract from the diaries of a young soldier on the eve of the First World War describes the spiritual and psychological impact of the spectacular natural phenomenon known as the ‘Muam Tam Say’. If treated with care, experiences do not decay.

While in India on government business in 1914, the young soldier Harry Thistlewick accepts an invitation to visit the Tibetan capital, Lhasa. It was there that he overhears a local guide make reference to a ‘Muam Tam Say’ - a mythical and naturally-occurring phenomenon never captured on camera or drawn by hand. For millennia, reports of its appearance were disregarded and ridiculed by scientists and cynics - after all, its existence defied the laws of physics. The veracity of its existence was not helped by the fact that its occurence could be fleeting, but believers were convinced and witnesses (rare though they were) were reportedly humbled by its sight and majesty.

Aware that a request to visit a Muam Tam Say (or the ‘Shimmering Sea of Silver Souls’) could not be refused, Harry pressed the local guide to take him on a eight day hike deep into the shadow of the Himalayas to the valley where the mythical natural wonder was supposed to be present. After travelling many days and nights, Harry does indeed come across the mythical sea and is captivated by its power. He is possibly the first Westerner in many centuries to gaze upon the marvel. Paying his respects and dozing in its shadow, Harry is profoundly touched by the experience, but the Shimmering Sea of Silver Souls is not long for this world and would meet its own fate - something, as the legend would have it, was a portent of what was to come…the Great War.

All falls, to the wise man, are soft.

Also available in Collected Stories: Volume One.

Approx. words: 10,400     Published: May 2015

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