The sun had set and the evening sky was painted in bright crimson and yellow hues.
"Where did the Sun hide at night?" he wondered as usual, sitting on the beach.
He had been searching for an answer for as long as he could remember.
He had come to this town by the sea, hoping to find the answer. It was famously known as the 'town of the wise'. This town was also home to the only university in the whole land.
He had spoken to many wise men.
"The earth is like a flat disc, and after sunset the sun travels back to the east below the earth," one wise man had explained to him.
"But, why is it that some others are insisting that the earth is curved like a dome?" he had asked him.
"Oh, they are just fools, following the wrong teachers and reading the wrong books," the wise man had replied.
And there were still others who claimed that the earth was neither a disc nor a dome. They had their own shapes for the earth, and they too had books to back up their claims.
And all those ardent followers of the various different books tried their best to win him over to their side.
"Why do you want me to join your side?" he asked.
"Because, with enough strength, we can force the university to ban all the other wrong books," they said.
One evening he was sitting on the beach watching the sunset as usual.
A beautiful lady with a beautiful smile came and sat beside him on the sand. After a brief silence she started the conversation.
"Do you see that ship?" she asked, pointing to a ship sailing away at a distance. It had almost reached the horizon.
"Yes."
"Watch how it disappears from our sight."
The ship disappeared slowly, hull first, then the sail, and then the mast, until finally it disappeared altogether.
"What about it? I see this every day," he said.
"Did you not feel like it went downhill beyond the horizon?" she asked.
He didn't reply.
"Like going downhill beyond the summit of a mountain?" she asked again.
"Maybe," he said. But he was not very convinced about the accuracy of that analogy.
"But sailors have never described experiencing any such thing," he said.
"Exactly!" she replied.
He waited for a further explanation from her. But none came.
They sat in silence listening to the rhythmic sound of the sea waves crashing softly onto the shore and to the occasional cries of a few seagulls at a distance.
"I see you coming here every evening to watch the sunset," she said.
"Really?" He was surprised that such a beautiful lady would have even noticed him.
"You are interested in knowing the whereabouts of the sun at night."
"How do you know that?"
"I chanced to overhear your conversations with those old men."
"Do you know where the Sun hides at night?" he asked.
"Yes I know, but unfortunately I don't have the capacity to show you the answer."
"Show?" He was puzzled by her choice of the word 'show' instead of 'tell'.
"But you will never find the answer here in this town," she said.
"Where can I find it then?"
"You will have to travel to the mountains and meet the 'astronaut'."
He was willing to go anywhere and to meet anyone, if only he could get an answer.
"I really wish to meet the astronaut, please tell me how I can find him."
She explained to him in detail the route to the astronaut's home on the mountains.
He thanked her.
She then climbed on her horse, and rode back to the town. The fragrance of her perfume lingered in the air, long after she disappeared from his sight.
And after a very long and dusty journey, he finally reached the astronaut's home in the mountains. The astronaut was wearing a space suit and a space helmet when they met.
"What brings you here young man?" he asked, removing his helmet.
"O wise man, I came here to know where the sun hides at night."
The old man stroked his long flowing white beard with his long and thin fingers.
"Dear son, I wish I could tell you, but unfortunately I cannot."
"May I ask, why is that so?"
"The 'words' needed to tell it to anyone, are yet to be created."
"So Master, has my search all these years, been in vain?"
"Not necessarily. Though I cannot tell you the answer, I can still show you the answer," he replied.
"Please accept me as your disciple and show me the answer," he pleaded with folded hands.
The astronaut accepted him as his disciple. Several weeks of intense training followed.
Finally one evening he said:
"You are now ready to see the sun at night."
He then led him to a space vehicle. They sat inside the cockpit of the vehicle, and the rockets fired them up, high into the sky.
When they reached space, the old man pointed to him the earth below. He saw the earth as a spherical globe, rotating around its own axis.
Then the old man navigated the space vehicle to the other side of the globe, and showed him the sun blazing in its full glory.
"That is where your sun hides at night," he said with a smile.
They then orbited around the earth several times. And from space, they saw the sun, the moon, the planets and the stars.
When they finally reached back on earth, he asked,
"Do you have any more questions?"
He had none. He only smiled at him.
When the time came to say goodbye, he knelt on the ground and thanked the master with folded hands.
When he reached the town, he saw a crowd in the central square. A wise man stood in the middle of the crowd, with a book held high in the air.
"I declare unto you, the earth is flat like a disc. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool," he was saying to the crowd.
The crowd applauded and cheered him.
One of the wise man's disciples came over to him.
"Please join our side, and if we can gather enough strength, we can ban all the other wrong books from this town."
He looked at the wise man's disciple and smiled.