The Temple by Brian Smith

time has come for you to be accepted into our
fraternity as a full brother.”
    Sycko’s heart leapt for joy.
“That’s wonderful,” he said joyfully.”
    “I knew you would take it that
way. To become a brother there is a ceremony which will officially
introduce you to the fraternity. It’s known as the discalceation
ceremony.”
    “Discalce…?”
    “Discalceation. It means taking
off a shoe. It’s a highly symbolic act. By taking off your shoes
and standing barefoot on consecrated ground you are showing the
proper respect and reverence due. To be quite accurate, I will be
taking off your shoes.”
    “You?”
    “Yes, you are standing in front
of the assembled brothers and sisters. Then I take off the holy top
hat and hand it to you. You hold the hat while I kneel in front of
you and take off your shoes. In this way I am showing my humility
and respect to one seeking truth and willing to join the sacred
brotherhood.”
     
    The day for the holy ceremony
was approaching rapidly and the brethren were busy preparing
everything. The most important thing was the decoration in the
grand hall where the ceremony was to take place. Waxing, waning and
full moons were cut out of various materials and in sundry colours.
There were hundreds of moons all around the hall symbolizing not
only the sacred unity of the Lord and Diana, but also aspects of
lunar influence on human life such as fertility. Others were making
a large wreath of holy oak leaves which was to be suspended from
the ceiling in the spot the new brother would be welcomed into the
fraternity. When all was done the hall looked spectacular. There
were daily choir practices where different songs for various stages
in the ceremony were prepared. Sycko was truly touched by all the
activity, all the work and effort others were making for him. Not
that he was doing much work himself. He confined himself to walking
along the way he would have to go on the morning of the ceremony
and to practise standing under the oak wreath.
    “Ah,” he said quietly with a
contented smile. “Work is a wonderful thing when you can watch
other people doing it.”
    Then the great day came. It
began before daybreak with Master Jeremiah waking everyone up. As
the rite demanded he walked from room to room crowing
“Cock-a-doodle-doo, cock-a-doodle-doo” and waking everyone up. This
heralded a new day in Sycko’s life. While the brethren were still
struggling out of their nice warm beds Jeremiah had already reached
the grand hall. “Hie thee hither, Sycko,” he shouted as loudly as
he could. “Hie thee hither ere the sun rise!”
    Still sleepy Sycko made his way
to the hall as fast as he could followed by the brethren. Sycko
waited at the far end of the hall till they were all assembled.
Jeremiah, clad in a frock and wearing the sacred top hat, stood
beneath the oak wreath and waited. When everything was quiet an owl
hooted. This was the ancient sign to commence the holy ceremony.
The brethren drooled and sang the ancient song:
     
    See in the east the sun doth
rise
    A symbol of freedom and
loyalty
    In the waning moon you grew
wise
    Thrice blessed sign of
purity
     
    This was the signal for Sycko.
He started drooling and walked forward in utmost dignity, with a
proud erect bearing placing one foot after another and getting his
shirt wet with a steady stream of saliva. He wended his way through
the assembled fraternity until he stood in front of Master
Jeremiah.
    “We meet upon the level,” Sycko
said and bowed respectfully.
    “On the level,” Jeremiah replied
and bowed in turn. Then he removed his top hat and handed it to
Sycko. “Take this holy symbol as a sign of our trust in you. Hold
it in your hands and guard it with your faith.”
    Sycko took the sacred top hat
and stepped under the oak wreath to face the assembly. Master
Jeremiah went down on his knees and undid Sycko’s shoelaces. He
took off first one shoe and then the other. When he had both shoes
he stood up with them,