Читать книгу Wind - Daniel Mello - Страница 8

When she awoke from her dreamless slumber, Lythina could see through her home, all the way out the rear archway. Although sunlight was breaking over the landscape, only half of the crater was illuminated. Concluding that it was still dawn, she rose and picked out a dress from the closet. She slipped it on, but she had to look down at herself to confirm it hadn’t fallen off because the dress was so lightweight that she hardly noticed it was there.

“Now I know why it’s called windcloth,” she marveled.

She walked out to the balcony again to look over the isle. The air was chilly, but clean, and some birds were singing happily inside a nearby rowan tree. She quieted her mind, organizing her thoughts into a single collective memory. She recalled everything, from living in her home in Hyrendell Village to learning about the Oracle of Meaden from an archaic grimoire she had found in the village bookshop. Her journey to see the Oracle was hugely uneventful, nothing like actually meeting her. She pondered over the witch’s prophecy again, shaking her head at the intensity of it all.

“And who is Mathias?” she wondered, thoroughly bewildered at the name. “Maybe he’ll be here, I don’t know.” With that, she continued remembering her previous life.

Lythina wished that she could tell Hildabrand everything she’d been through. She would be shocked if she knew that the sealight was actually a huge bonfire light by the inhabitants of the isle. She’d be shocked just to know that an island grew out of nowhere in the middle of the sea. And that was the craziest part of it all: from Hyrendell, all they saw was a huge permanent fog bank lingering on the west side of the island. But inside, to the people of the Isle of Illumination, they were the island, alone in what seemed to be an infinite ocean.

“A whole island can’t just grow from nothing,” Lythina said to herself. “That fog has to be some sort of gateway to this world.”

Imagining a surreal doorway to another realm reminded her of flying through the Universe, and subsequently throwing up seawater afterward. Just thinking about it made her shiver again. And she was disappointed that she’d lost all of her supplies. The great food that her grandmother had packed for her, which her stomach growled in remembrance of, and…

Lythina gasped. She suddenly remembered the drawing she had made from the dead king ashes and the package that the Oracle of Meaden had given her! At once, she ran to her soaking wet clothes hanging inside the bathing room. Frisking it quickly, her hands shot to the small pouch on her left sleeve. Inside it was some damp parchment, her quill and the drawing! Carefully, she unfolded it. The ink had run slightly, but overall it was intact. She could still make out the distinctly curved and branching lines. She set the paper on a nearby countertop and searched the rest of her clothing for the pouch. Inside her waistbag, fastened tight to the leather strap, it still hung. She removed it and inspected the outside for any damage. It seemed to be in the same condition as when she received it.

For a moment, she contemplated opening the package to see what was inside. The Oracle had said that she would need it when all hope was lost, but how could that ever happen in a place as peaceful as the Isle of Illumination? Curiosity was glimmering inside her, but her intuition was stronger; it boiled caution, as if her own heart was screaming not to open it. With a resolute sigh, she decided she’d be better off taking the old woman’s advice of following her intuition. Deeply reassured, Lythina snatched her father’s medallion from the hook and slid it around her neck, hiding it under her dress. Afterward, she took the pouch and the map and placed them in a drawer inside the nightstand next to her bed. Her stomach growled again, and without a kitchen of any sort inside her home, she decided to see if Radna was available. Perhaps she could tell her where she could get a small bite to eat and some tea, if indeed people actually did that here.

She made her way out of her home, waving the entryway shut, and out of Residence Seven. Stepping into the morning light, she passed by the bright, thriving courtyard again, bowing slightly to some of the other people who were enjoying the flowers. The whole bowing thing was becoming easier for her, feeling more natural. Soon, she found Residence One and its reception desk. Sure enough, Radna was leaning against the desk, this time reading a book.

“Good morning,” Lythina cheerfully greeted with a bow. “What are you reading?”

Radna looked up from her book. “Good Morning. You look beautiful, and somewhat rejuvenated, if I may say so.” She bowed her signature greeting. “This is a story written by one the inhabitants here. It’s about a boy who learns of his destiny through magick. I’ll give it to you when I’m done, if you’d like.”

“Actually, that sounds great,” Lythina replied. “I’ve never done any real magick myself, but I love getting lost in a mystical story. Afterward, I start looking for magick to happen, you know, in the trees, the clouds, everywhere! But the only thing spectacular I’ve ever experienced was showing up on these shores.”

“Interesting,” Radna said, her expression turning curious. “Maybe you just weren’t looking correctly. I hear it takes a high level of concentration to perform it, let alone notice it.”

“I suppose I’ll have to try harder, then. Do you think magick really exists?”

“With everything I am,” Radna breathed. “You looked purposeful when you walked up. Did you need something?”

“Yea, um,” she started, somewhat embarrassed of her humanistic hunger, “does anyone here eat?” She could feel herself blush at the very sound of that question. But Radna only smiled.

“Of course,” she replied. “While we progress to perfect our spirituality here, we are not yet completely devoid of human qualities. When you walk out of the front entryway, look to your right. You’ll see a curvaceous building set against the hillside; that is the Dining Hall. We don’t put food stores in the homes because most of the residents prefer to walk among the landscape to reach the Hall. If you like, I can have one created for you.”

Lythina considered that for a moment, if only to see how it’s made. She wondered if they had to build it out of marble or if it was simply extruded from the wall, like the entryway door. Yet, she respectfully declined, enthusiastic about the idea of having to walk across the gorgeous landscape.

“Actually, I like how the people here think,” Lythina replied. “I think I’ll walk as well. Thanks again, Radna. You’re so much help!” Without a second thought, she bowed gracefully to her hostess.

“Nice,” Radna complimented as Lythina smiled out the front entryway.

There were stone paths set into the grassland of the crater, but Lythina had every intention of letting the luscious green blades slip between her toes. They tickled, further enhancing her ecstatic mood. She was almost skipping across the land, containing herself only for the sake of practicing self-control.

As the size of the crater was immense, it took her some time to reach the Dining Hall. The architecture was sculpted to be much rounder than the other buildings on the isle, and its curvy shape scattered the sunlight onto the grassland. The Hall had a beautiful aura about it that tasted of something hot and sweet and freshly baked. With a tingling appetite, Lythina stepped inside.

The large glassless windows allowed the daylight to illuminate the entire Hall. It was decorated with plant life of all kinds blossoming from ornate ceramic pots, and overflowing to cover most of the marble walls. A few rectangular stone tables sat against the farthest walls, with scattered occupants gleefully chatting to each other in between bites.

Lythina stepped to the nearest countertop, where another inhabitant was waiting to help her, and managed to order a cup of water and some fruit. As she sat down at one of the stone tables, her stomach protested against the skimpy amount of food, but she worked against it and effectively moderated her appetite. Parched of thirst, she drank the water in three big gulps. The fruit sparkled with an earthly sweetness as she savored a succulent apple and a juicy peach. Afterward, thanking the host with a bow, she left the Dining Hall.

Walking across the beautiful isle was serene in itself, but Lythina felt a nagging thought tug at the back of her mind. What was she doing here, really? Was she planning on gardening for the rest of her life, at least while she lived on the isle? The opportunity to live among this exquisite land with these generous people was greater than anything she could have ever dreamed; it was like Heaven on earth. But everyone here had already progressed to a higher level of spirituality than her; that’s why they found the isle without difficulty. They were finished with Hyrendell.

But she wasn’t; she felt it in her soul. Besides, she almost didn’t make it to the isle at all. God had cradled her back to life so she could experience the peace of this land, like a glimpse of the divine realm. And though she wanted to stay on the isle, to soak in the tranquility forever, it was an unrealistic thought. She couldn’t just let the people of Hyrendell suffer, not after hearing the disheartening prophecy from the Oracle. A legendary king from the past was to return, and her destiny was intertwined with his. No matter how hard she tried to refuse it, she was going to be part of the revolution.

“That’s it! That’s why you sent me here, isn’t it,” she said to the sky. “I admit that I didn’t want to change, God, but that tyrant king must be stopped. If a just king is supposed to return, then I’ll help him. But I am nothing without You. Only through you, God, can any peace return to Hyrendell.”

But if she was going to revolt against the tyrannical king, she would need a set of skills beyond the normal villager. Back at home, she’d had sword training with some of the men who lived near her. They’d shown her proper stances and parries and disabling cuts, and she’d quickly excelled at disarming the boys her age. Yet, it would take more than mere swordplay to fight against the kings military. Besides, most of the people in Hyrendell Village didn’t know how to battle at all; it would be a slaughter.

“I need something more,” she concluded.

She found a marble bench to sit upon while she gathered her thoughts. When she was younger, there had been times during heightened emotion that she’d seen a bluish glow flash from her body, but she presumed it was nothing more than an ancient inheritance; some kind of old magick that lingered inside her blood. Yet, as she grew into her own faith, she dismissed her family’s natural religion and fell more in line with God as a single deity. Therefore, magick was irrelevant because she’d come to believe that the gospel held more power.

Although, her grandmother had told her how God created other spiritual beings to help Him around the earth. And she had learned through her own studies that magick was a natural force. What if God created magick to unify nature? That would mean that all of God’s creation is magical, right?

Her head began to throb. She sighed, feeling her mind relax itself and her breathing subside. She had to rest, but she didn’t want to sleep, so she sank slowly into a subtle meditation, reaching toward the ether that lay just beyond her consciousness. Focusing on soft, quiet breaths, she succumbed to the whisper of the wind along the grassland, and the distant chirps of the birds. Her thoughts meshed into a blur of feeling. Inside her mind, she started to see the infinite Universe, countless stars twinkling in the depths of darkness. Her awareness of her skin, and her hands, and her toes began to expand. She let the Universe take her to become the bench she was sitting on, the blades of grass around her feet, the bees and ladybugs crawling over the plants beside her.

Lightly, she pushed her mind away from the Universe inside her head, escaping the confines of her corporeal body. Instantly, her consciousness could perceive everything around her simultaneously, observe the island crater with perfect clarity; she became the wind that gently combed through her hair and the sunlight that nourished the flora. And after a short while, she gently pulled her consciousness back into her body. Her awareness shrank to include only herself, and she slowly opened her eyes.

“Wow.”

She glanced around to see if anyone had noticed her, but only a few inhabitants were walking far off in the distance. She’d never had a meditation that deep, and she wondered if that happened to everyone here. Fortunately, she knew where to find the answer.

She crossed the crater at a steady pace, each step landing with precision, until she reached Residence One. Inside, the main desk was empty. For the first time, there was no one waiting for her. It was slightly depressing. But she had to find Radna; that girl knew everything. There could be a number of places that she might’ve gone. Lythina didn’t know where she lived, but she remembered how Radna had told her that some friends of hers lived above the Librarium. Instantly, she was out the front entranceway.

But something stopped Lythina in her tracks. She didn’t know which of the numerous buildings she hadn’t visited was the Librarium. Her intuition sparkled inside her, pointing toward a columned structure to the left. It glimmered in the sun, and the daylight reflected off the marble supports of a domed atrium. She headed for it at once. When she reached the building’s colonnade deck, she sprang up the steps and paced through the entrance.

An inhabitant sitting behind the crescent entryway desk greeted her at once. “Good afternoon. Welcome to the Librarium.”

“Hello,” Lythina smiled with a bow, which was becoming increasingly instinctive, “I’m looking for someone. Do you know where I might find Radna?”

“Oh, certainly,” the inhabitant replied. “She’s up on the rooftop. Please, take the spiral stairs. They’ll lead you straight up. I’m sure she’ll be delighted to see you.”

With another grateful bow, Lythina moved past the desk to a grand spire staircase set in the middle of the lobby. Its circumference was absolutely daunting. Leaning in toward it, she gazed up its massive length until she found daylight breaking through the rungs. A jolt of anxiety punched her stomach, but an unusual sense of exploration pushed her on. Before she knew it, her feet were climbing themselves up the stairs, and she watched as the Librarium floors drifted past. Wide-eyed and nervous, she finally reached floor five at the end of the spire.

It opened up into the center of an enormous atrium filled with flourishing plant life. She noticed five separate pathways leading from the staircase, and gazed around at the vibrant colors of flowers. Mixed among them were sporadic bushes and trees, some almost reaching the distant arched rooflines. The immensity of it all made her dizzy.

Concentrating on the steady marble floor, she stepped from the stairs and chose the path straight ahead of her. She glided down it, listening to a few birds chime away inside a nearby birch tree. The end of the pathway, framed by two of the massive columns that shaped the atrium’s dome, opened out onto the roof of the Librarium. And from her left came the sounds of conversational laughter, which she headed for at once.

The height above the landscape made Lythina nervous to walk along the rooftop. She could see over the ringed hills, impossibly far out to sea, and the entire view made her footsteps unsteady. She walked with her hands out to her sides, as if she was about to tip over.

“Lythina!” Radna’s cheerful voice shouted. She was sitting at a collection of benches with some other inhabitants. “Over here. Come join us!”

“Hi, Radna! I’ve been looking for you,” she replied. When she reached the benches, she quickly found one and sat down, as if it was going to float away.

“Lythina, this is Jonas, Riley and Emma.” She motioned to the other benches, where a man and two ladies were sitting. “Everyone, this is Lythina.”

“It’s nice to have you here,” Emma said. She had a slight accent that seemed to increase the gentleness of her voice. “The whole isle was so relieved when we heard you were alive.”

“Do you like it here so far?,” Riley asked. “Have you found your greeting yet?”

Lythina was still a little dazed from the Librarium’s height, but her head was quickly stabilizing. “Thank you, yes, it’s so beautiful here, and I’ve been practicing a bow that seems to sit well in my heart.”

“Can we see it,” Jonas asked. His concentrated voice slightly mismatched his curious eyes. He seemed cautious, in an older brother kind of way.

“Really? Now?,” Lythina flushed. “I thought that was only for meeting and greeting.” She instantly looked at Radna for guidance, but Radna simply smiled again.

“I meant when we part,” Jonas clarified.

“Oh,” Lythina realized, “Right. Sorry.” Emma and Riley hid their smiles by looking out at the ocean.

“Don’t mind it. We all had much more to learn than you do,” Jonas assured.

This struck a chord inside Lythina’s mind. “Than I do? Everyone here seems so complete. I almost didn’t make it, remember? I thought that means I’m the one who has a lot to learn.”

Emma looked at her with intrigued eyes. “It might also mean that you’ve surpassed the need to learn lessons within the physical realm.”

“But the woman who helped me up the stairs, she said that the people who don’t make it here don’t believe they truly deserve peace.”

“Right,” Radna confirmed, “but that’s only some of the people. Maybe God feels that the rest of them are ready to learn in their spiritual form. You said you were looking for me?”

“Oh, yea!” Lythina turned to face her. “I had a really deep meditation earlier. I mean, I’ve practiced meditation before to calm my mind, you know, re-center, but this was amazing! I could actually step outside of my body! I was wondering if that happened to everyone around here.”

All four of the friends quietly smiled to themselves. Lythina looked at each of them in turn, and they each looked up at her with gleeful expressions.

“That is just the beginning,” Jonas grinned. Lythina had no idea what that meant, but she was sure that this mystical isle had its share of secrets.

Radna was simply beaming. “Guys, I think it’s time we showed our new friend what we’ve learned.”

At once, all five of them left the Librarium’s roof, much to Lythina’s relief, and passed through the atrium once more. Going down the spiral staircase was even more thrilling than climbing it, due to being able to see all the way down to the bottom floor. When they hit the ground, they quickly passed the desk attendant with a series of nods and bows, and shot through the entryway, out into the glorious sunlight.