Before the creation of time, Eternity ruled as a king. His dominion extended all throughout the universe. His three princes: Past, Present and Future dwelled in His eternal light in perfect harmony.

    But one day all three princes were given a task to take care of the people the King loved so much. The Eternity needed to leave the scene for a while and promised to return without delay. Until then he asked the tree brothers to govern all the affairs of men.

    So the three princes went to settle in a castle which stood upon a high mountain. Actually it was a whole chain of mountains, it circled around one very busy city called The World.

 

    The absence of the Eternal light made a significant difference in their lives. Each one of them felt a need to make the most of his own existence. They separated, each brother occupying a part of the royal residence.

 

    One evening, walking through his library, the Past stopped and exclaimed: 

    “I have all the knowledge of the world, I have all their experience… I am entitled to be honored as a King! Of course! It’s obvious! Every single moment of people’s lives flow into my treasury!”

    Thrilled from his ingenious idea, he sat down at his desk and started to develop his strategy:

    “People don’t even need to know about the Eternity King. Time belongs to me! This is my domain and I will redefine it the way I want to.”

    And the Past went on and published his own version of history in every known shape and form. He twisted human history all the way back to the origins of man and his stories, providing an illusion of free thought, soon became the most reliable reference of human wisdom.

    People learned about life from the stories, written by the Past. As a result the Eternity was taken away from their conversations and out of their hearts. Their sense of identity was altered and replaced by confusion. In many places, people would even ridicule those, who would inquire of eternal matters, trying to find answers. 

    And the world has changed.

 

    One morning the Future woke up and went to check his global rating on the computer. Seeing the tremendous success of his brother the Past, he got jealous of him:

    “It’s not fair! I must not allow the Past to command! I will catch up with him.”

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a minute.

    “I am the one and only star in this world! Everyone should look up to me. I hold their Future! They shall all bow down to me, since the Eternity might never come back… no-one knows for sure. 

    People need to hold on to solutions they can see, not to some uncertain blurry hopes. I am their solution! I am their King. I will govern their world through progress and modern technology and control them through fear. Human imagination is my powerful resource!”

    He opened his eyes and looked around his production studio. 

    “I am a genius! - declared the Future. - It’s ok that people cannot see me, I will be always with them and influence their world through the internet!”

    

    And from that moment on the Future started daily broadcasting into every channel, providing his own answers to people’s questions. He was literally painting their future for them.

    Everyone wanted to know what lays ahead, so the Future quickly became the most popular influence in the world and the number of his subscribers grew exponentially. Fueled by human imagination, the fear took over the hearts. Everyone felt a need to know the updated version of the future, or at least, to be concerned. Always worried about the next coming trouble, people spent every free minute of their lives, glued to their screens, listening to the news.

 

    In the context of his popular broadcasting, the eternal issues were too dreadful even to mention and people gradually stopped caring about their eternal destiny. How to survive the next trouble was far more important.

    And the world changed even more.

 

    So the power struggle between the oldest and the youngest brother went on and on.

    “What about the middle one?” - you may ask.

 

    Well, neither Past nor Future didn’t think much about him:

    “What does he has to offer? All he’s got is a present moment!”

    “No-one will ever take him seriously!”

    They both mocked their brother the Present, but he never fought back. His heart was sealed in the Promise of a soon coming King.

    

    In fact, the Present was mostly away from their royal residence. Though being a Prince, he loved to put ordinary clothes and to walk around in the city. He loved the people and wanted to share his hope with them. He would share the amazing Eternity Promise with everyone, who would listen, but for the most part people didn’t have time for this kind of conversation. They were very busy living their lives. 

    Yet some listened to his good news and in view of Eternity Promise they changed their ways. They allowed the eternal light into their hearts and were comforted.

 

    One day the present came back to the castle from his long trip to the city. 

    “I would need some rest now” - he thought, but before he could make another step, both of his brothers blocked his way.

    “What’s going on?” - inquired the present.

    “Have you heard?!?” - started the Past with a voice of a thunder.

    But the Future interrupted him:

    “The Eternity King is near!! Maybe even at the door! Can you imagine?”

    “One of you should welcome him,” - concluded the Past and hurried to hide in his library.

    “Not me!” - yelled the Future and disappeared from the scene.

 

    For a moment the Present stood there alone.

    “Who am I? I’m not worthy of such an honor…  - he thought, but then suddenly he remembered the Eternal Promise, sealed in his heart and his joyful expectations. - I lived all my life for this moment and I’m not going to stop it now!”

         

    He straightened up, took a deep breath and opened the door, but in stead of an eye-blinding splendor and majesty, saw a simple looking man. The Present looked into man’s eyes and immediately understood that he is looking at the King Himself.

 The King made a step into the castle and spoke to the Present:

    “I’m so grateful for the time you have given me. I so much enjoyed every moment of your fellowship.”

    “How is it possible?” - asked the Present.

    “You see, you believed my Promise in your heart and I was always there with you, though unseen. And you took my Promise to the people I love so much and they believed and I became real for them as well. I’m so pleased that you took care of my people, strengthening their hearts and daily reminding them of my promise. Thanks to you, we have many people in the city.”

    The Present smiled and felt a fresh infusion of energy. The King continued:

    “I know you may wonder about my glorious garments and attributes. I always have them, but I wanted you to know that our connection is not about titles or appearances, it is heart-to-heart.”

     

    Upon those words, the Eternity King got transformed in an instant, right before the eyes of the Present. His Royal apparel and His countenance shown so bright, that it illuminated the entire castle.

 

“We have a lot to do now in the light, - He said to the Present, - come on, let’s meet your brothers.”