The Tunnel - Part 7

Once inside the temple, Atesta found herself in a dark room with stars all around her. It was so beautiful.  At first she thought she was floating, but she was able to walk.  The room seemed to have no walls because she walked for a while and nothing in the room changed.

She did not know what to do next. She sat down to think and to observe.  She looked for a sign from her father but there was nothing in the room but open space and stars far far away.  She pulled the cube from her sack and opened it to see if there was a clue there but the ball inside was dark.  She thought about the old man's map trying to remember any patterns to no avail.  She did notice that it looked like she was inside the old man's model of the universe.  She wondered if the old man's hand gestures would work here.  She stood up and tried.

First she moved her right hand from her heart outwards and the stars began to move around.  Then she tried her left hand and time began to move backwards. Now she needed to figure out how to find the portal connecting this world to Calarrossa.

She was trying to remember the old man's hand movements so she swiped right with her right hand and her hand closed, then she opened her hand and made a circle in the air clockwise, she then moved her hand forward as she closed her hand and made the tips of her fingers touch.

With these movements she repositioned the stars in a way that this world and Calarrossa where in front her and in front of each other.  One large and the other very small and very far away.  

With her left hand she began doing a downward zig zag in the air and things began to go back in time.  She slowed the movement to slow the passage of time and then, all of a sudden, there it was, the bright portal connecting the two worlds showed up.  With her right hand, still in the air, she open her fingers to bring the entrance to the portal closer to her until she was standing right at the entrance.

The entrance to the portal reminded her of what she saw at the waterfall, back when she started her journey, when the sun went through the water at dusk and revealed the tunnel. 

So, as soon she stepped in the portal, she felt very light and she could no longer see her body.  All she could see was Calarrossa approaching.  After a few minutes, she was at the other end of the portal standing in Calarrossa in what looked like a stone fort in the middle of a beautiful and very green meadow.

There was nobody around. She went outside the fort and saw a pristine and beautiful world.  The colors were like in her world but more vibrant and full.  There were also strange things in this world.  For example, the trees had two trunks and formed arches, all the flowers seemed to grow in pairs and their colors were very unique and surreal, the mountains in the horizon were orange and purple, the sky was a beautiful deep blue with three large moons of different colors, and then, she saw it. A shinny city far away next to the mountains.

Atesta could see that it was a beautiful, gleaming city with tall shinny buildings. However, strangely, she noticed that she did not have the sense of foreboding about her father anymore.  She felt uneasy about that.  She knew it was probably not a good sign.  So she hurried and began to walk towards the city.

As she approached the city, she noticed that there was a very tall wall around it with people walking on top of it.  The tall seemed to be made of one solid piece of something like concrete or metal or plastic.  It came out the ground and curved upwards. There were no marks on it or seams or anything. Just a smooth surface, impossible to climb or escalate, going up at least 10 stories.

As she approached the people on top of the wall noticed her and started pointing.  More and more people gathered until finally somebody in what seemed like a uniform stepped into what looked like a platform with a hand rail and floated over the wall and down to were Atesta was.  Atesta was mesmerized by the vehicle, the beautiful clothes the guards wearing and his tall, elegant and regal demeanor.

She was wondering if they spoke the same language.  The guard ask her who she was, where she came from, and why she was here and she was able to understand.  She thought of the ring she was still wearing.

Atesta told him her name, that she was a traveler from another world on a special mission.  She did not feel comfortable yet revealing what her mission was in case her father was in trouble.  She figured that her father would have done anything to secure the cube to save her.

Atesta added that she was hungry, thirsty, and tired and asked if they could help her.  The guard instructed Atesta to step on the platform and floated up and over the wall.  As they went up, she could see, in the distance, the fort in the meadow and, strangely, a very faint beam of light emanating from the top straight into the sky.  It was the portal.

As they came up over the wall, she saw incredible things.  She saw a very technologically advanced society with people everywhere floating in platforms like the one she was on going from building to building, parks with families playing, with no pollution, or garbage, and everything was pristine.

The guard took her to the tallest building of all. A building that looked like a tall needle with a spire on top.  They approached the middle of the structure and one of the glass panels opened up.  The guard told her that this is were she would stay while she was in Calarrossa and that the ruler of the planet would like to meet her tomorrow morning.  He said he would be back in the morning to get her there.  Before she could ask any questions, the guard vanished in front of her eyes.

She turned around and looked at her accommodations.  There was food, water, a closet full of clothes, a beautiful bed, a big bathroom, and a view of the city like she had never seen before.  She could now understand why a thing like the cube and its healing properties could have come from a place like this.  They certainly were technologically advanced.

She ate, bathed, and put some clean clothes.  It was hard to pick because they were all so beautiful.  Strangely they all fit her perfectly.  She chose a soft gown that went to the floor and she fell asleep almost immediately as soon as he touched the bed as the day was becoming night.

A few hours later, a massive explosion in the middle of the night woke her up.  She ran to the window and what she saw outside the walls frightened her.

TO BE CONTINUED ...