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Louigi Verona
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Topics: 384
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Registered: 22.Aug.03 |
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It was the Basket Turtle who said: "Ummph." But the Ocean Bear thought that it was uttered by the Reddish Hare and, slapping him hard, he said: "Shush! You don't want us to be heard, do you?"
"Okay, so I don't," - whispered the Reddish Hare, his ears becoming even more red from anger and embarrassment. - "And I also don't like being slapped like that all the time."
"We don't have all the choices we want, do we?", - said the Ocean Bear.
"We don't", - agreed the Reddish Hare.
The three of them looked up at the pale moon which was beginning to shape in the sky. The sunset, fiery red, has crossed the horizon minutes ago, giving more and more freedom to the night approaching.
The Sleeper Dog howled from a hill far away and the Basket Turtle said: "It is time."
The three slowly left their shelter, which was an old oak and thick bush. Without a rush, yet not slowly, they moved from stone to tree, from tree to road, from road back into the shadows of the forest. The cool summer wind calmly rustled the leafage, everything was silent and lonely, as if that land, left by the people, was even forgotten by God.
The Violet Hamster sniffed the air and stooped into some hole, entering the dark world of the underground worm maze.
The Sharp Owl opened her left eye, slowly fixed her gaze on an endless blue of the sky and went back to sleep. It wasn't her time yet.
The Sleeper Dog sang a long sad song once more, as if feeling something strange.
The three were almost invisible, having turned into small dots.
They had a long journey ahead.
They went abroad...
...to never come back.
The Sleeper Dog barked and then cried again. |
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Louigi Verona
Member
Topics: 384
Replies: 3827
Registered: 22.Aug.03 |
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The Midnight Arose.
Kayda, the wizard, tapped the ground with his cane and plodded on hopelessly. He was leaving the Withered Dry for the fourth time and it was just natural to be worried that this time would be no more successful than before.
He adjusted the pattern belt which held his pants, the move being so much a part of him as his skin was. His thoughts travelled in a sinusoid, from evening joy to evening fear, both exaggerated and somewhat vague.
The forest line obediently followed every curve of the road and, turning back, Kayda saw the Three House Village disappear behind a grassy hill, the latter also vanishing at the next turn.
Soon the forest was left behind and a vast plain opened before him, with a road almost invisible in the high grass, going straight to the horizon. The space was so incredibly great and the horizon line gave a feeling of such freedom, that Kayda felt an urge to throw away his cane and a heavy sack and run till he reaches the end of the world...
He did no such thing.
But he didn't stop either. He went on, steadily, patiently, hard. Dry land eventually turned into sand and every step was an effort of will. Once or twice his sharp eye caught a glimpse of a Violet Hamster peeping out of the hole or of an Infertile Fly heavily crossing the sky, but he didn't stop.
It was an hour before midnight when Kayda looked back at last.
South nights are dark and he couldn't see the forest or hills of the Withered Dry anymore. Only a degraded spot suggested that somewhere over there is something that is not a plain.
Kayda adjusted his belt and continued with his journey.
He was no longer alarmed. He knew he made it.
He left the Withered Dry forever.
* * *
Some minutes later Kayda saw three lonely dots ahead of him. Every step seemed to bring them nearer. About an hour later he arrived to what seemed to be the camp. A fire was set and the Basket Turtle, the Ocean Bear and the Reddish Hare were gathered round it, warming themselves. Only then the wizard felt that it indeed was quite cold.
He greeted the party and asked if he could join them. They agreed with no reluctance.
"We may miss the Midnight Arose," - said the Basket Turtle.
These words puzzled Kayda greatly.
"You, of course, meant that you may miss the midnight arise, didn't you?"
"The Midnight Arose," - said the Basket Turtle solemnly.
"The Midnight Arose," - repeated the Reddish Hare and ate a stalk of grass.
"Yes, the midnight arose at...um... midnight," - Kayda proceeded carefully. - "Actually, it's not midnight yet. Why do you think you will miss it?"
The Ocean Bear laughed and poked the Reddish Hare's side with his finger:
"He is totally unaware of what we are talking, is he not!"
The Reddish Hare started and his ears became even more red from anger and embarrassment.
"I don't like being poked into sides with fat fingers!" - said he resentfuly.
"We don't have all the choices we want, do we?", - said the Ocean Bear.
"We don't", - agreed the Reddish Hare.
Kayda stood up, confused and overloaded with weirdness. He had always been weird quite enough himself to even try to understand the weirdness of those three. He started for the road.
"Wizards should know what the Midnight Arose is," - uttered the Basket Turtle. - "Especially if they want to leave."
Kayda stopped.
"How do you know I'm a wizard?" - he asked, surprised. - "And why do you think I want to leave?"
"I've seen you at Withered Dry."
Kayda should've quessed that these three were from Withered Dry.
"Is it really important to know what the Midnight Arose is?"
"It is," - said the Ocean Bear.
"It is," - repeated the Reddish Hare.
Confused, Kayda felt they were serious. He sat back before the fire and waited while the Basket Turtle decided to talk.
"The Midnight Arose is a kind of a wind which, once encountered by a traveller, may carry him wherever he likes."
"And? You are saying that these plains are likely to produce such a wind?"
"Any place is appropriate. The wind needs to be called. So it says here in the book," - and the Basket Turtle pointed to Ocean Bear. With growing amazement Kayda saw that Ocean Bear's huge round stomache was covered with miniature writings.
"Incredible!" - said Kayda sincerely.
"It is the Book of Winds, chapter 5," - said the Basket Turtle. - "A handbook for any traveller."
"And how can this Midnight Arose be called?"
"Four have to perform a spell dance at midnight."
Kayda looked at them.
"But there are only three of you!"
"Yes, exactly," - said the Reddish Hare.
As the truth began to dawn upon the wizard, the Ocean Bear stood up and firmly lifted the Reddish Hare along by pulling his ears.
The Reddish Hare extracted an injection and his ears became even more red from anger and embarrassment.
"I don't like being pulled up by the ears!" - said he bitterly.
"We don't have all the choices we want, do we?", - said the Ocean Bear.
"We don't", - agreed the Reddish Hare.
"It is time to rehearse then," - said the Basket Turtle and Kayda snapped out of his confusion.
"I am not doing any silly dancing!" - he said.
"You are not," - agreed the Basket Turtle, - "because this is not a silly dance. I find it quite enjoyable, actually."
The plain and the moon watched four figures move strangely as if to some silent music. An unexisting band played a gentle melody and an unexisting flute player had problems extracting a lower C from time to time.
"To some we also don't exist," - said the Basket Turtle, moving in circles and waving it's tiny head from left to right. - "To some we are just part of a made up story."
"A story someone probably wrote out of boredom," - said the Ocean Bear, - "for you can't possibly write a story about someone like us unless being very bored."
"We are boredom itself," - said the Basket Turtle.
"We are boredom itself," - agreed the Reddish Hare.
The unexisting flute player performed a difficult passage without mistakes and both the Basket Turtle and the Ocean Bear applauded. The Reddish Hare was busy scratching his left ear, while his right ear got accidentally stuck in the wizard's belt.
Time passed slowly, but no matter how slow it passed, midnight happened and the dancing was suddenly more then mere rehearsal. Every move became filled with sense, as if those moves were words of a mysterious language.
Pink shaded waves crossed the plain and circled the four dancers, then creating a whirlpool and lifting them up into mid air.
"We made it!" - laughed the Basket Turtle, tumbling.
"And what happens now?" - asked Kayda. His cane and a sack were left on the ground, but he had no time to be concerned about that.
"The wind will take you wherever you wish."
"And where shall we go?"
"Each of us goes his own path," - said the Ocean Bear.
"We always go different paths, even when we are walking the same road," - said the Basket Turtle.
Suddenly the Ocean Bear was taken by one of the waves and carried away swiftly, disappearing behind the horizon in a matter of seconds. The Reddish Hare in turn made his decision and vanished.
"And where will you go?" - asked Kayda.
"No matter where I shall go, I shall never return," - said the Basket Turtle. - "But you'll want to visit Withered Dry one day."
"I don't think so."
"I know you don't. Not now."
Pink wave took the Basket Turtle and started carrying it away, but before it vanished, Kayda could hear it's words: "Don't be so serious about the words of a turtle, wizard. Turtles aren't as wise as they're believed to be... But they are in shells."
Kayda closed his eyes and thought of the place he always longed for.
At first nothing happened and for a moment he was afraid the wind was going to leave him where he was, alone, with months of journey ahead of him, but just then waves of warm air hit his face and he knew he was flying at the speed of thought.
He didn't know how much time had passed. Somewhen his feet felt ground beneath them and, opening his eyes, Kayda found himself walking a city square on the other side of the planet, with Withered Dry and three weird travellers seeming to be a distant dream... |
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1up
 Artist
Topics: 129
Replies: 1022
Registered: 23.Jan.04 |
Could you provide a breif summary? 
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Louigi Verona
Member
Topics: 384
Replies: 3827
Registered: 22.Aug.03 |
Just in case anyone's wondering what's this all about, I'll be posting here my literature experiments called "Tales of Travellers from Withered Dry" and some related stories. (Experience shows that things related to something may be anything ranging from stuff really related to those that have absolutely no connection with the subject. Here's an example from life: ice and elephants can both be treated as items related to the North Pole. Ice is related to the North Pole by being part of it's enviroment and elephants are related to the North Pole by the fact that there is not a single one of them out there.  ) |
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Louigi Verona
Member
Topics: 384
Replies: 3827
Registered: 22.Aug.03 |
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Law and Genes
The Dolphin Almaus may have been a little dizzy, but he was also alert. Always. Anyone would be on his toes if he was to control the entire sea.
Anyhow, that splash in the water was heard and he 1/3 opened his left eye.
Pirate Byi didn't believe those stupid legends about a big fish controlling the Awk Sea when he set off to cross it in his boat. The boat was of a very small size, so small that the Stolen Treasure and Byi himself took up all of the free space.
"Told ya it exists," - said Albert, old parrot occupying Byi's shoulder. By the time the bird uttered these dreadful words, Byi and the Stolen Treasure were in the middle of the Awk Sea, halfway to the other side. Albert's sight was becoming only better with age and he could already see the Dolphin Almaus rush through the waves, creating local storms with every move.
Byi turned white.
"When it's late, there's at least one good thing - no point in fear," - continued Albert. - "You never know what to expect next, but once the unexpected happened, expect it to behave unexpectedly anyway. These are the true postulates of the Blank Future Theory believers, are they not."
"Try to be calm and cool," - went on the parrot, - "for nothing can be done to prevent the unpreventable. We are talking of death here. Sooner or later it takes you, tucks you in with it's skeleton hands and off you go into the unexpected, which was, I must add, expected..."
"But why should anyone be afraid of that?" - couldn't stop Albert. - "What a useless tactic this is, to try to prevent the inevitable. It's easier to invent the inventable then to fight the unfightable, is it not?"
Byi gripped the parrot by it's neck and hissed into it's ear:
"Then you'll be the one talking to the big fish."
"Ah, should I?" - exclaimed Albert, coughing and putting it's neck back to the original position (see Parrot Skeleton, Biology Lessons, page 69, drawing 2).
That very moment the Dolphin Almaus stopped.
Right in front of them.
"Oh, hello," - said Albert and performed a bow. - "We are poor peaceful travellers, crossing this beautiful sea in hopes of getting safely to the other side."
"Aha," - nodded the Dolphin Almaus thoughtfully.
"And we were thinking of getting a special document of some sort, a sea passport or something and we were wanting to get it signed by the King, but he resigned and stuff and we couldn't get it from the new King. His name is Mario and he said he wants mushrooms and so we are on our way to get them."
"Sure."
"Yeah, - continued Albert with inspiration. - And we even got a Merchant's Certificate, here it is, in his pocket. And so we took the treasure and fled."
"What?!" - exclaimed Byi. - "You damn bird, should've cooked a soup out of you long ago!"
The pirate then turned to the Dolphin Almaus and uttered:
"I am sorry, dear Mr. Big Fish, don't know your name..."
"Almaus."
"Mr. Almaus... We are really merchants and this silly bird once belonged to a pirate whom I ki... I mean, bought this bird. And it has a long memory of bad things."
"I see."
"So may we please go? I promise we mean no harm."
"I believe you. What is that?"
The Dolphin Almaus pointed at the Stolen Treasure.
"This is a chest."
"Um... I am the Stolen Treasure, to be exact," - said the Stolen Treasure.
"It is really my daughter, don't listen to her", - said Byi.
"Yeah, and she recieved a lot of hitting over the head with a candlestick, so she doesn't know what she's saying, Byi is an excellent father," - added Albert. He then recieved a short punch from the pirate and made a hiccup.
"To whom does this treasure belong?" - asked the Dolphin Almaus.
"To nobody," - said Byi. - "You see, Mr. Alsamum..."
"Almaus."
"Sorry. You see, this is a Stolen Treasure by it's nature. No matter who takes it will posses a Stolen Treasure. So even if it was always yours, it is still stolen."
"I don't get it," - said the Dolphin Almaus, - "how can it be just stolen? To become stolen, it should've been taken from someone."
"No, no," - smiled the Stolen Treasure. - "I never belonged to anyone. I was born Stolen Treasure."
"But why?"
"I don't know. But I seek the meaning of life each day I live," - said the Stolen Treasure.
"This is a good thing to do, indeed," - uttered the Dolphin Almaus. - "But tell me, who were your parents?"
"I was born to Mr. and Mrs. Stolen Riches."
"Oh my God," - muttered Albert. - "Here we go again..."
"And their ancestors?"
"The family of Dragged Away Jewelry and the House of Taken Away Possessions."
"And among their ancestors were there any families that belonged to someone?"
"No," - said the Stolen Treasure sadly. - "Each one of them was either stolen or taken away in unfair circumstances."
"So why do you continue their trend?" - asked the Dolphin Almaus. - "Why do you let this man steal you?"
"He did not steal me. He bought me for a fair price."
"But yet he is still a thief?"
"No, he is not, but I am a Stolen Treasure."
"Our laws state that if you posses stolen property, you are a thief!"
"Please, the ruler of seas and oceans, let us proceed with our mission!" - pleaded Albert. - "Last time our Treasure explained it's life to a dragon for over fifty hours and we still never came to any point!"
"You mean he eventually let you go?"
"Of course. But we had to bury him first and it took weeks. Phui! Never sleep near a decomposing dragon - that smell leaves you with bad dreams." - Albert made a grimace and yawned. - "Besides, it's night and you'll be wanting to be active tomorrow, will you not. Now go get some sleep."
The Dolphin Almaus was puzzled:
"So the dragon died? But how?"
"Oh, from being overconcerned. His last speech was on adopting the Stolen Treasure in order to make it simply Treasure."
The Dolphin Almaus was never a stupid fish. He was always very clever, at times even wise. But this situation was not only new, it was dangerous, it was ridiculous. He considered swallowing this funny small boat with the pirate, the talkative parrot and that pathetic Stolen Treasure, but then he figured that by having the Stolen Treasure in his belly, he might be considered a thief. Such an option was totally unacceptable for a ruler of seas and oceans and he decided to show graciousness.
"Proceed to your destination," - he said solemnly and disappeared in blue waters.
Some hours later the small boat arrived to the other side and Albert left Byi's shoulder and started inspecting trees.
If you are a traveller without a passport, keep in mind that good teamwork and quick wit are documents that always work. |
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