Story 5: Beyond Heaven
My long space journey had finally reached its end at last. In the main screen of the Zephyrus I could see the legendary cosmic vortex, the ultimate stargate to infinite universes, that opens and closes rhythmically; it looked like a gigantic spiral galaxy but its eye seemed to be void, giving the impression of a black hole that devours everything. As the eye opened again, I trusted the Zephyrus to plunge into it. The very next moment, the stargate closed behind me; I felt like sinking deeper and deeper inside it, further and further from the known world, at an incredible velocity that effaced any conception of time and space.
It's hard to tell how long my fall had lasted; suddenly, the spaceship seemed to decelerate and I realized I was arriving somewhere. Then, there was no sound, no motion; for a few moments I experienced a paradox emptiness. After a short hesitation, I opened the main portal of the Zephyrus, stepped out with slow, cautious steps and looked around carefully. The landscape was magical: A vast seaside of rosy sand stretched before me, an odd treasure of tiny pink diamonds turning white under the shallow sea waves in the distance. The endless, dark blue sea stretched calmly to the horizon. For a few moments I stood still and admired the phantasmagorical cosmic vortex rising beyond the ocean; it was sparkling like a spectral spiral galaxy in the night horizon. Everything was so serene, so weirdly peaceful, as if the planet were entirely uninhabited.
Entranced by such beauty, I allowed myself to explore the place for a while. The pink sand was studded with shell-shaped rocks of various sizes and colours. I was especially impressed by a conch-like rock which was considerably larger than the others -as if it were their sovereign. Like hypnotized, I stood in front of the oblong opening that led to its interior; it gave the impression of an unguarded entrance. I tried to peep inside, but I saw nothing but darkness. At first, the blackness was compact and thick; then, it seemed to be stirring slightly, as if it were a living entity inviting me to enter and reveal its secrets. Before even realizing it, I had already stepped in.
Soon, much sooner than I had expected, I reached the end of the dark passage and I came out of a similar conch-shaped rock. I was surprised to find out that I was standing at the edge of high cliffs, overlooking a vast city. All its buildings had the shape of shells: Striped “conchs”, thin oblong “horns”, dark “clams”, open “oysters” with a “pearl”-house inside, blue “pools” with coral “towers” in the middle. There were many kinds of spectral foliage rising to the starlit sky, giant sea-flowers with shiny colourful petals.
All of a sudden, a winged, fairy-like creature with soft scarlet feathers rushed down from the sky and landed on the ground right in front of me. It paced up and down for a while, actually preventing me from going on; then, it flew away again. I turned and watched its flight for a few moments, until it disappeared behind a thick cluster of coral-trees. Next moment, I was surprised to notice there was a wide cobbled path before me. Wasn't it here before? I wondered. As far as I could see, the path led right into the wondrous city, winding along its narrow lanes. I followed it mechanically, like mesmerized. Not a sound was heard, deathly stillness.
Walking along the city's lanes, I finally came in front of a shell-shaped golden mansion, which stood out from the other edifices because of its size and its splendor. For a few moments I stood there, engrossed in its majestic beauty until, all at once, I sensed another presence near me; only then did I remember why I had come here, who I was supposed to meet in that non-material dimension. I slowly turned and faced him; my heart sank in bitter joy. Many years had passed. The Palladian tyranny was long ago gone and so was Arion. I will never forget how he died, nobody in the known universe will ever forget his sacrifice...
He was fascinating as always, yet he looked more elfin in his light azure uniform. His red hair waved in the soft breeze, his green eyes sparkled like emeralds in the weird diffuse light. However, I could hardly believe it was him standing before me now.
“Is it really you, Arion?” I asked in a feeble voice that could be heard only as a telepathic message in the ether.
He just nodded slightly and I didn't want to ask anything else.
“This is one of the countless Cities of the Dead; This is where souls with an affinity to the elements of air and water come, after the loss of their physical body,” he explained with a silent voice and an enigmatic smile.
He took me on a slow, timeless walk along the winding paths of the city with the fabulous shell-shaped buildings, the enchanting alleys of coral-trees, the fascinating sea-flowers, the calm azure pools. Before long I discovered that the city was densely inhabited: There were plenty of fairy-like creatures, humanoid or not, winged or not, who appeared and disappeared in a split second like ghosts or apparitions, darting past us like shiny arrows or bright sunrays.
“What are you all doing here?” I asked to know.
“Evolving mentally and spiritually; getting ready for a new life, a new self and a new destiny in one of the worlds of the multiverse.” replied Arion tranquilly.
Then, all of a sudden, a new day started to dawn: The cosmic vortex was already rising on the lilac sky and it was shining even brighter now, like a supernova; yet the light neither blinded nor scorched me; on the contrary, I could feel it was invigorating and energizing me, while everything around me seemed to be changing slowly, following a common inner rhythm. Contours were not so clear any more; semi-material forms seemed less and less solid; everything looked more fluid, more transparent, more magical, and I could feel the transmutation even on Arion, even on me.
“Every time the cosmic vortex rises, nobody and nothing here remains the same,” his voice resounded in my mind, while a torrent of bright white light was gushing down from the skies, building new forms, inundating everything with energy, power, completeness. Universal ecstasy...
I could barely tell how much time had elapsed, when the cosmic vortex began to set in the crimson sky. An eerie haze was gradually covering everything, as the mystic light was fading away. Little by little, masses and forms started to regain a relative solidity, and all was soon shrouded in a deep purple twilight.
“If the setting of the cosmic vortex finds you here, there will be no turning back for you,” announced Arion sadly, while we were standing by the shore of a shimmering turquoise pool.
“I wouldn't mind,” I replied sincerely.
“No, Sandra; not yet. The time for this hasn't come yet...”
. . . .
Before I knew it, I was walking along the cobbled path again, slowly at first, faster then, without even looking back. I could feel my heart sinking at the bitterness of final separation, but there was nothing else I could do.
Reaching the end of the path beyond the fabulous city, I entered the huge conch-shaped rock, crossed the dark passage quickly and found myself at the vast rosy seaside again. For a few moments, I stood there and looked around wistfully, retaining a strange nostalgia for a wonderful experience that now seemed to have happened thousands of years ago. The cosmic vortex was setting setting, the sands of time were running out...
Violently repressing an inner melancholy, I forced myself to board the starship. I turned on the neutrino-naser energy, I heard the turbines humming calmingly and very soon the Zephyrus was rising to the night sky over the endless ocean, heading for the eye of the cosmic vortex. Once again I let myself fall inside, just on time before the dimensional gate had closed behind me. I sank faster and faster, deeper and deeper into the eye of the vortex, and all was gone like a long forgotten dream.
Then I was back to the “real world”; my self-awareness had returned again, although I could hardly remember my recent adventure elsewhere. I smiled spontaneously, revelling in a unique sense of inner balance and fulfillment. Now I know that nothing ever dies...
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