THE ARTIFACT (Part 5)

-A serialized story-

1. The Guide

Imbued with unspeakable sorrow
My soul wanders the plains of existence
Looking for you lost in the fear
That you will leave without a goodbye

A grey-haired woman with a black mask covering her lips stood over me, singing in a sweet, maternal voice.

My sudden attempt to get out of bed was prevented by a motion of her hand that told me not to move. Bright red color on her fingernails, hands as white as a winter dream. She wore a purple dress, dotted with pink spots. Barefoot, she began to walk silently around the room, continuing with the song.

Unwelcome in the night
By day of unlived dreams
You will return to me
In the twilight of sunny existence

“Tanlys.” – she said, placing a hand on her chest, then pointing it toward me.

“Ortol.” – I said in a voice that barely made it past my lips.

“We have met. Now it is time to go. It is perfectly fine if you want to go alone. I think we both know that won’t happen. You are too confused to allow it.”

“Who are you?”

“I already told you. We have few words at our disposal. Even less time. Nod your head if you want me to keep you company.” – Tanlys said, nodding her head, showing me that I should repeat the movement.

She waited for me to confirm and motioned for me to follow her, putting a finger over her mask along the way, warning me to be silent. My nudity posed no problem for her. Her reaction was cold, dismissing a banality such as a lack of clothes. Seeing her slip out of my sight, disappearing into the tall white grass, I quickly took my things and strode with long steps toward her. I will get dressed along the way.

She took me by the hand and led me along a path she had walked many times. She knew how to navigate this endless white grass. I felt tranquility, surrendering myself to her guidance. The floor, made of stone, was cold but not unpleasant. Perfectly smooth, without a single speck that could hurt one’s feet. The grass, gentle to the touch, caressed my body as I passed through it.

Tanlys stopped and turned toward me. Her face peeked out from between the blades of grass, looking at me anxiously. She wanted to say so much. With her hands, she showed me signs that were foreign to me at first. Finally realizing that she was speaking sign language, I joyfully joined in. I knew that language quite well. Not everything, but what I had the opportunity to study was at an enviable level.

T: Five meters from us, the grass ends. I must prepare you for this. Take this mask.

She handed me a mask, which she had kept in her bosom until then. Just like hers, it covered only my mouth.

O: Why the mask?

T: Isn’t it logical? It is a reminder to be quiet.

O: Why do we have to be quiet?

T: You must not wake them. On certain levels, they can hear you. The second and third levels are like that. If they hear you, it’s game over for you.

O: Who are you talking about?

T: Dragons.

2. The Glass Stairs

In a brief conversation through signs, I learned several important things. Tanlys has been living on the mountain for decades. She knows every inch, every shortcut, every possible way of climbing to the top. It seemed too good to be true. It was true. With one uncomfortable fact. Reaching the fourth level means one thing. All my memories of her, as well as the second and third levels, vanish. And since she doesn’t know how to selectively erase memories, that means there is no point in her revealing the ways to climb to the top. All memories of her vanish, as does everything she has spoken.

I asked her about Sintia. She received the news of her death with great regret. She had great potential, clarity, and courage. But she was unprepared for what awaited her at the top. She had no one at the foot of the mountain to give her indications of what awaited her. It was not even possible for Sintia to write Tanlys’s instructions into her notebook, because absolutely every memory of her vanishes upon entering the fourth level.

Tanlys brought me to a place that represented a bridge to the second level.

T: Get dressed. Then allow me to sing one stanza of the song. At some point, glass stairs will appear that will take you up. As soon as they appear, do not waste a moment. Start up them immediately but be careful. They are very slippery, and they have no handrails on either side. You will slip, but do not worry. I am next to you, and you can hold on to me. That certainly does not guarantee that you will succeed. Though so far everyone has succeeded, there is no reason why you shouldn’t.

She waited for me to get dressed and then began to sing. In the absolute silence and the habit of speaking sign language that I had developed over the past hour, the song felt like shouting. Later I would realize that she sang very softly. What made the sound embody loudness was the nature of the mountain on the second level. The intensity multiplied significantly here. Everything gained meaning. The stanza of the song, unknown to me, filled me with warmth and courage to keep going.

You, who guide us above
By the grace of those who have passed
Be gentle toward our sins
Lead us through the endless…

Reality blinked, and I blinked after it. The stairs appeared, in all their glass beauty. There were quite a few steps, but they mapped the way forward. Quickly, in a few steps, I found myself at their base. Tanlys followed me, letting her body be my support. She didn’t tell me, and she didn’t have to. From her body language, it was clear that we didn’t have much time to climb to the second level. In my head was a scene where the stairs would vanish into thin air if we didn’t hurry, and then a fall follows which I probably won’t survive. Though, it depends on the height from which we fall. I dismissed that thought, I had to.

It was slippery, just as she said. I managed to catch the climbing pattern very quickly. I would let my left and right foot slip each to its own side, and then with a swift movement, I would hop onto the next step. The fact that I had footwear on made no difference. It seemed to me it didn’t. Because Tanlys did the same, albeit much more gracefully.

There were three steps left to the misty structure that marked the transition to the next level, when the structure of the stairs began to flicker, announcing a rapid disappearance.

Two more remained when the firmness of the glass dropped drastically, making me seriously nervous. And then, a terrifying moment in which I could no longer see the glass structure. Tanlys grabbed me under the armpit with her left hand and, with a powerful leap, literally carried me with her, enabling me to overcome the last height obstacle. As we passed through the mist and fell onto the stone floor of the second level, a thought shyly appeared to me.

If not for her, I wouldn’t be here either.

3. The Object

Heat and heavy air, which seriously impaired my breathing.

Tanlys was wiping the dust off her dress. Looking at me, happy that I survived, she gave me a friendly, warm look. I believe a smile too, invisible beneath the mask. She looked around, searching for something. Seeing what she was looking for, invisible to me at that moment, she patted me on the shoulder and signaled that we had to run. As fast as we could. I was already seriously losing my breath, my conditioning dropped due to the conditions that prevailed on the second level of the mountain, when from our right side I saw something approaching at great speed.

It’s… a horse. In a powerful, silent gallop.

Tanlys caught me by the hand and, out of breath, showed that we had to run in a parallel path to the one the horse was galloping along. After a few moments, the horse was running past us when, with a powerful movement, she pulled me with her, jumping onto the horse. I landed on the horse’s rear. Its tail flustered my genital area a moment too long, before Tanlys, with an additional tug of my hand, placed me into a sitting position behind her.

She took a risk, consciously. She spoke aloud:

“We will ride for hours. Do not fall asleep.”

Only then, on the horse, while the warm air whipped our faces, did I take a closer look at the surroundings. A vast expanse, almost endless. It defied logic and reality. It was impossible that the second level of the mountain was this spacious.

The color of the stone was brown, on this level. Or the stone was covered with a layer of some substance that had that color. Although that information seemed irrelevant, I had plenty of time for observation and reflection. We had to be quiet. To respect the silence. The only sound was the fluttering of our clothes. The horse, silent, tamed, disinterested. It went its own way and we rode it.

I don’t know how much time passed. I only know that the Glowing Ball began to slowly sink behind the horizon, keeping pace with my fatigue. I fought not to close my eyes. Tanlys gently nudged me in the ribs with her elbow, as if she knew what kind of problem I was facing. She raised her right hand and extended two fingers. Two minutes. I hope that was the meaning. Two hours would be unbearable. And indeed, two minutes later, the outlines of a metal structure appeared in the middle of the wasteland. The horse, running at great speed, began to slow down while still at a considerable distance from the object. Finally coming to a stop, it allowed us to dismount.

Exhausted from all the events, I signaled to Tanlys that I needed to take a break.

T: Rest for a few minutes, and then we must move on. It will be dark soon. You don’t want to be here when darkness falls.

O: Why?

T: The temperature drops to minus 50. Only because of that. Don’t worry, we have arrived. We enter the metal object, and we enter the third level.

I signaled to her that I could continue. The horse, seeing that we had headed toward the object, rode off on its own way.

Tanlys was studying the metal structure, looking for something. She raised her right hand and invited me to follow her. She pressed something on the polished wall of the object, causing the opening mechanism to trigger. Silently, the object offered a way out, opening its doors. The interior was as dark as the blackest night. The one that follows before dawn. Passing through the door and entering the gloom of the interior, we fulfilled what was necessary to move to the next level. Facing outward, we waited for something. The closing of the door. Yes, as soon as I thought that, the door began to close, swallowing our existence along with it.

Tanlys took a risk again. She said:

“Sleep well, Ortol. See you on the next level in the morning.”

She placed her hand over my mouth, accurately predicting that my answer would be spoken aloud, like hers. Her hair fluttered, carried by the wind that was entering the object in its last gasps. Still holding her hand over my mouth, looking at me piercingly, she winked at me. I am sure that a smile slipped through beneath the mask too.

The door clicked shut.

-End of Part 5-