Friday 23 December 2016

Time: seconds before dawn

 

Sofia

 

Ay! What have I done to myself? I did not see the man who has just collapsed in front of me. I don’t want to keep the group back. They have to succeed and I want them to continue. This cannot fail because of me. I would never forgive myself.

“We are not going to leave you here!” Erik shouts at me as he and David help me up.

Elsa and Samuel turn around to see what’s happening.

“Forget me, you must go on ahead,” I shout back insistently.

“Don’t even think of it!” David says and turning to Erik, he suggests: “You have to open the portal with the music. Run! Go ahead of us, we’ll follow with Sofia.”

No one contradicts him because he’s right. The time Erik needs to open the portal is the amount of time it will take for us to arrive… when I can run.

Erik sets off on a run, but before doing so, he bends over to kiss me. Samuel looks at me with tenderness and shows me his closed fist with the thumbs up sign. I manage to smile at him and try to sit up.

Elsa runs on ahead of us to ensure that there are no more obstacles ahead of us. I manage to stand and begin to run, but with a lot of pain. I can bear it. I will bear it.

In the distance, at the intersection, I see a man staring at us. The sun is almost reaching the intersection. Erik has just completed the last few metres remaining to get there and is taking out the dulzaina. David grabs my hand to help me and the two of us continue running. Suddenly, I touch my trousers. I have a hole in them after the fall. I continue to feel but I don’t feel what I am looking for. I’m very nervous. As I’m running, holding on to David’s hand, I turn to look back and there, in the distance, on the ground where I fell, I can make out the figure of the head of the god Janus that Nicola gave me last night. I cannot stop to get it! I continue running with a lot of pain, looking back. Darn it! I begin to feel fear when I notice that the man with whom I collided has picked it up and put it into his pocket. His face looks familiar. Suddenly, he smiles at me maliciously and I feel like vomiting. He is the guard at the museum who grabbed Elsa’s arm and has been following us! What do I do? Oh, how painful this is!

“Come on! Come on!” David shouts at me to look ahead and run with him.

I forget the man. I focus once more on our objective. In the distance, I can see the weather vane of the building at the corner between Calle Mayor and Don Jaime Street. It is now completely bathed in sunlight. The light is reflected on its metallic colour which we’ve seen in recent days. We’re not going to get there. I continue running, holding on to David’s hand. I remember the man behind us, but I continue running straight ahead. I don’t want to look back again.

Erik is ready with the dulzaina and shouts,

“Is it time yet?”

As we’re not carrying anything, not even a watch, we cannot see. But at that moment, the first rays of sunshine light up the intersection and a shout in unison from the four of us can be heard throughout the intersection.

“Yes!”

Erik starts playing the music he had learnt by heart the night before. The rest of us stand around and look at him. A few passers-by stand still to observe us. Just as the music is coming to an end, there is a burst of light from the centre of the intersection and the wind picks up. As Erik continues playing, the lights get brighter and the wind gets stronger. He looks on as he plays. The others continue to observe the centre of the intersection. With a mixture of fear and admiration, we shift positions to prepare for the jump.

When Erik stops playing, in the very space between the streets, a portal opens up to the void, and without thinking, Elsa jumps in and disappears inside. Samuel follows with an agility that I’ve never seen before. Erik looks at me and also at David who signals to him to jump before me. David wants to wait behind to help me. Erik jumps quickly.  When I’m about to do my jump, still holding on to David’s hand, I feel a sharp stab of pain in my heart. Something has happened! I cannot control it. I look back and see David fainting and losing his balance.

“Noooo!” The sound escapes from the very depths of my soul as I try to reach him with my outstretched arm. I see him in the distance, collapsed on the ground, as I sink deep into the darkness.

---

Nature holds a great mystery, jealously guarded by its custodians from those who want to desecrate or abuse its wisdom.

From time to time, portions of its tradition are gradually revealed to the world of men, to those who have been attentive, with eyes to see and ears to hear.

The main requirement is a receptive mind, with the sensitivity, enthusiasm and responsibility to understand the deepest meaning of the marvels that nature shows us everyday.

Many of us tend to walk through life half asleep, sometimes paralysed or too clumsy to see the exquisite order that surrounds us. But a trail of clues has been preserved.

Scott Olsen

The Golden Section (2006)

---

THE END

of

DISEQUILIBRIUMS The Individuals

Be ready to get

DISEQUILIBRIUMS The Group

during 2018!

---

Writer: Glen Lapson © 2016

English translator: Rose Cartledge

Publisher: Fundacion ECUUP

Project: Disequilibriums

Register on the website www.disequilibriums.com/en/registred and you will receive a notification to allow you to read the chapters as they are published and updates of the project.

Support the project: Buy the paperback version

Other recommended books: