A slight preface
Table of Contents
This is one of my earliest creations since 2008. And it is interesting for me to read it over and over again. I intentionally didn’t edit it then, and I’m not editing it now. It is nice for a person to take a step back and see whether and/or how much is walked down the path of writing, expression, construction, character building.
Somehow, I just had the muse to share with you, the readers, in its harshest form. I only removed a brief preface because there is too much tautology, but I may further release it for comparative analysis.
This is the first article to share my personal creativity with a wide audience.
I hope you will enjoy the expression of my youthful mind and attitude towards the world at that time. 🙂
Aedin and the Pyramid
The last quake had passed. Everyone in the bomb shelter was breathless waiting to see what was coming, but nothing but their breathing was heard. It was the last war because of the damage it had caused. There were about a thousand people in the underground hiding place and everyone was hiding within themselves with little hope of survival.
‘Is it over?’, someone said.
‘I feel everything got dead quiet…’
As they got up from the ground and dulled from the dust that had flooded them due to the powerful earthquake, the old man stood in the corner by the steel door and listened. He was no different than others except for his fame in the confined space of society that he had become a naive person seeking good in humans. In these difficult times it was even considered nonsense. They regretted the poor old man when they heard the story of his already deceased family, when there was peace on Earth, how they played in the yard and how this perfect moment would come again … What did he know! He’s just an old man!
What connected all these people was not that they had suffered a few earthquakes, but the cohesion that had bound them over the coming months. The worst thing happen in common between them was that they had all lost their sight. What will-power was in them! Knowing that was the only thing that they paid as a price, knowing that their families were outside those thick steel walls … Knowing that they were all dead … Three weren’t enough for them, but the Fourth World War from those who were called the Great Super Countries… Great! For what? Death? The nerve bomb? Oh, this bomb was the most terrible invention of mankind so far. Causes decay of nerve endings and radiation wave. This closed society sustained damage that was a fairy tale to the outside world … Only there was no one to tell it because it was too late.
‘Aedin I think everything got through. You can rest now’, said an unknown voice to the old man leaning on the steel door.
‘Child you are my dearest thing that I’ve got. Follow my voice and give a hug to your grandfather’.
As she uttered these words a boy about twenty-two years old made his way to the corner of the crowd. Touching the walls he reached the spot, crouched, touched Aedin’s shaven face and hugged him.
“After everything is finished, grandchild, I am left to do something else in life. To visit the Sage on the Seven Moons.
“Oh, Grandpa, not again.” This is just one legend that told me when I was little!
“Before closing the Gate a few months ago, the last thing I said to your mother was a promise to keep you safe,” the old man said sternly. So far you have been protecting me more than I have, but my last gift to you is to break the evil fate that has plagued humanity. At least one of us. I want you to look, grandson!”
The grandson who had teared his expressionless eyes could not risk the life of his closest and most precious being for some legend! But how to tell him? With a slight humility he asked:
“Where is this sage?”
“Remember the book I always carried with me and buried it on the other side of the steel gate before we went blind?”
The grandson confirmed.
“We have to get it.”
“How?”
“We’ll wait …”
A week went by and a curious middle-aged man was born. It was eating him from the inside, if there really wasn’t someone outside who could help. He did not know about the huge damage, and his curiosity kept pushing, he wanted to get out … One night, while everyone was sleeping, he knew about their abundant snoring, the man took the staff that he had put on his rug the night before and began to lightly strike the walls with it. Due to the blindness his hearing was sharpened and he was accustomed to visualizing the bodies in front of him which kept the noise from the stick. Somehow he reached his destination without pushing or stepping on the sleeping on the floor and felt an electric box with buttons on it. As he remembered when he locked the gate that ill-fated day before neuroradiation, he wrote the opening code. There was a positive sound and started to rotate a huge circular knob. Then he grabbed the two handles symmetrically folded in the middle of the huge gate and began to pull with all his might. A slight hiss from the vacuum that had sealed the door to the frame and when he had opened it, began to crawl out of joy.
From the gentle stream that came from the open door, one or two of the sleeping people woke up and felt what the former guard had done.
“Get up everyone! The gate has been open! Get up! ”, one of them called out.
Drowsy, the rest of the people began slowly, but with increasing speed to panic. As the level of fear increased, Aedin murmured to his grandson.
“It’s time”
He grabbed his sleeve and began to slowly crowl coming out. He walked to one corner of the gate from the outside, stood up, counted ten paces and began to dig into the ground. He carved a hole and picked up a dusty old book. He went back to his grandson and said, “Take my hand, grandchild”.
He listened to his grandfather in astonishment and in the meantime the old man opened the book focused and pushed it to the first and last page. The old reading book snapped from his old hands stood over the older man’s head, three hoops fell and the book swallowed the two men standing. Then the book closed and turned to ashes.
His grandson and grandfather were sucked into a portal that left them on the ground in a closed cave.
“At last Aedin, you came,” a voice heard from one corner of the cave.
“Master,” said the old man in awe.
“Is that him, Grandpa?”
“Yes, grandson. That’s him”, the old man said full of hope.
“Hello, young man. I was expecting you to come. Come sit on my humble table”, said the voice.
They blunted and they both went to a small table that was served freshly cooked food.
“Master, we came to you …”
“I know, I know, Aedin. You want me to heal you from your curse.”
As it turns out that was the the Sage of the Seven Moons. He got up, went to Aedin grabbed him by the arm, and walked with him to the fireplace which was a few meters from the table, and whispered:
“Old friend, I taught you how to focus your energy in yourself and look into the future …”
“Master, thanks to you I was able to warn about the Third and Fourth World Wars and hundreds of people were saved. For this I am forever grateful to you, as my grandson was among these men.”
“Aedin, I have a sin that I’m not afraid to admit. There is no magic that can cure your blindness.”
“What are you saying, Master ?! Was it all a lie? ”, the old man shouted in astonishment.
“It was the ray of hope that was your companion in hard times. It was something I had to lie about because they had foretold it.”
“They?”, Aedin exclaimed.
“My time is up. I will not inhabit this planet any time soon. The only thing I was alive with so far was to get here and give it to you then.”
The Sage of the Seven Moons knocked down the candle of the fireplace, behind which stood a strange metal pyramid painted all over in symbols and handed it to the still startled old man.
“Take it. This is the Pyramid of the Illuminati. As soon as you hit her below three times you will go to the place where you are supposed to be and as soon as you turn her top all your questions will be answered.”
“But … what’s going on? I do not understand how…”
He had not even finished his sentence, and the Sage interrupted him again.
“I’ll leave early in the morning for the assurance that I have completed my task and you must leave then. Now let’s go back and finish the wonderful dishes I prepared.”
Aedin paused for a few seconds but internally realized that everything would be all right. He hasn’t been at peace with himself for so many years. At that moment there was no sadness, unhappiness, anxiety, only peace. He sighed and accompanied his old pal to the table.
* * *
As if someone waked up Aedin , he stepped out of the dreamland and returned to the real world early in the morning. When he woke up he recalled the ominous words still ringing in his head, felt it was time to go anywhere where pyramid will take them. He woke up his grandson who was mumbling something incomprehensible in a sign of mild annoyance, took the pyramid he had left to his bed the night before and tapped it three times below. He instantly felt cold and felt that he was no longer in the cave. He was on a hill rising above the horizon.
“What happened, Grandpa?” , the grandson woke up immediately.
“I don’t know … neither where we are, nor why we are here …”
Both incredibly surprised at where they might be left the silence to whisper it. Some thoughts went through the heads of those two poor souls. The old man let go of his frightened grandson’s hand and trying to figure out of where the light breeze blew, he climbed a little further up the hill. The feeling of the wind brushing the old man’s hair again while standing upright with open arms was incredible! There was a deafening scream as he enjoyed the sweet moment.
“Grandson?”, cried Aedin rushing backwards.
“I’m here, Grandpa,” and reached his hand out to reach him.
He grabbed his hand but felt that it was scarred and unusually warm. His anxiety intensified, tears flowing he held on and began to touch his face with both hands. It was terrible! The young face of the grandson covered with deep scars … No blood was flowing from them for some reason but there were scars that smacked his face everywhere!
“What happened? No, don’t tell me, just don’t let go of my hand! ”, Aedin said quietly with teary eyes already.
“Grandpa …, I could hardly breathe – … thank you for everything … your love … made me … immortal …”, he said with the last words of sadness and repentance and the old man felt how his body relaxed.
How? What happened? Why? These questions plagued the old man while he still held his hand firmly.
With his hand clenched to his grandson’s hand Aedin had fallen asleep, still holding the pyramid in his other hand. Plunging into the crevice he was having a nightmare and without pressing the top of the pyramid, he turned. The artifact fluttered from his hand when deafening sound woke him up.
Suddenly he felt another presence. But it was different. A shiver struck him on the back, feeling the greatness that flowed from this stranger. He had never felt this way, not even the best and noblest souls among the noblest. It was more …
“Hi, Aedin,” he said in a soft voice.
“You … you know my name?”
“The old man I commissioned to send you here seems to have taken care of meeting you well. I’m very glad I can talk to you”, the stranger continued calmly.
Thousands of questions arose in Aedin’s old head, but one floated into his mind which gave him no peace:
“What happened to my grandson?”
“Unfortunately, he couldn’t resist the radiation that irradiated this earth. His body has suffered severe damage and I am currently worried that his vital functions have stopped.”
Aedin’s heart started beating crazy:
“But why him? He was just an innocent child? And I? How did I survive?
“Thanks to the aura emitted by the Illuminati Pyramid. It has kept you safe from radiation up to this point.”
Questions arose in a giant rush:
“Why was this lie about the legend? Why did you want to meet me? Who are you? “
“You have a lot of questions, Aedin. It is inherent in people to experience such feelings: love, sadness, even panic, fear. In the thousands of years that your species has survived, we have given you guidance and knowledge. Then we realized what emotions are for, but as far is your species is concerned- good comes with it’s counterpart. Greed, hypocrisy, treachery, betrayal …”
Aedin was amazed at the strange interlocutor’s talk, and before asking another question the other continued in his still soft voice:
“Your dedication, love, concern have reminded us of our true mission. We have seen, as you put it, a ray of hope.”
“You’re not of this world, are you?”. he asked quietly but rather his question was rhetorical and did not expect an answer.
“I don’t have much time, do I? Can I ask you for one thing? I spent years in torture, lost my family, lost my grandson. I promised to keep him but I failed. I ask for one last thing …”
The alien realized what Aedin was trying to say and stroked his big human-like palm to his forehead.
“The sunset … the sunset … my last wish …”
“Aren’t you afraid to see the devastation and wounds that have plagued your planet?”
“No, I’m not afraid, son! Four World Wars, two of them I experienced and my spirit is not broken yet. This sunset is my hope. This one time to see it with my own eyes will give me even more and I’ll know when I am gone, that there is always good in man. We just had a hard time realizing it. But still, we appreciated it.”
The alien did not respond, removed his palm from his forehead and evaporated into a bright green ray the end of which could not be seen beyond the heavens.
Aedin’s pupils were full of life! He looked, but did not see the scorched earth, covered with the skeletons of billions of bodies, but he saw the glorious sun, with orange-red rays of gray clouds … and the old man’s body collapsed …
In the place of the tear the most beautiful flower ever created by nature emerged, and then the sun hid behind the hellish mountains …
The end was the new beginnig.
Author: Dimo Vasilev, 06.04.2008
