Хочешь заглянуть в Библиотеку? отсканировал меня Ангел.
Да очень! Правда, мне страшно А вдруг, вдруг там
Не окажется твоих книг? договорил он за меня и улыбнулся.
Да Понимаешь, я ведь пишу просто так Ну-у-у как заметки на полях в тетрадках Возможно, оно и останется в тетрадках, в ящике моего стола, и никогда не увидит Свет.
Ангел обнял меня и повёл в противоположную от Таможни сторону:
Просто так ничего не бывает, душа моя! Ты упрямо отказываешься верить мне на слово Но поскольку мы всё ещё находимся в Безвременье, ничто не мешает нам чуть-чуть задержаться Летим!
И мы исчезли в тумане, а когда он рассеялся, я оказалась в коридоре гигантского Читального Зала с многочисленными высоченными стеллажами по обе стороны. Плотные и совсем призрачные души в одеждах совершенно разных веков и народов искали здесь нечто, забираясь на стремянки, или просто шагали по воздуху, периодически зависая над найденным, а некоторые сидели с книгами за столиками у старинных ламп и фонарей и пили чай или кофе.
Я обернулась к Ангелу в замешательстве:
Но здесь так много книг Где мне искать своё?
Всё, что действительно твоё, найдёт тебя само, произнёс он, и я тут же заметила мерцающую книгу на полке прямо под потолком.
Я оглянулась в поиске свободной лестницы, но Ангел лишь усмехнулся.
Протяни руку, сказал он, и я послушалась, и книга плавно слетела с полки, вальсируя по направлению к нам.
Но это слишком большая книга! шепнула я, едва сдерживая своё волнение. Она, наверное, ошиблась! У меня есть всего лишь несколько зарисовок-миниатюр.
А ты уже успела забыть всё, что призраки поведали тебе сегодня в Стране Туманов?
«Сказки Призраков», прочитала я название, и книга стала медленно перелистываться на моих глазах.
Да, Ангел был прав передо мной промелькнули истории, брошенные призраками в костёр на обочине туманной дороги в Небесную Канцелярию; дела подсудимых в Зале Суда; исповедь неприкаянных душ на лавочке у Таможни и рассказы моей рыжеволосой проводницы, работающей над противоядиями в лаборатории местного Алхимика.
Лишь в последнюю часть книги «Сказки Страны Туманов» частично были включены и уже написанные мной на Земле крошечные зарисовки
Мы прощались с Ангелом после прохождения Паспортного Контроля на границе между Страной Туманов и Миром Иллюзий.
Обещай мне, попросила я, что встретишь меня здесь и в следующий раз и не оставишь одну в Зале Суда.
Я буду всегда рядом с тобой и на Земле, уточнил он и улыбнулся. Просто за Границей все ангелы становятся невидимками.
Мне было грустно и даже страшно возвращаться. Казалось, прошла целая Вечность с того момента, когда я вышла из своего физического тела в больнице и оказалась здесь.
Всему своё время, малыш, шепнул Ангел и протянул мне руку. Ну что, идём?
Я взяла его за руку и задала свой последний на этот раз вопрос:
А о чём ты договаривался с Таможней, когда попросил меня подождать на лавочке?
Я попросил не стирать тебе память, улыбнулся Ангел.
Чтобы я помнила о тебе?
Чтобы ты рассказала о нас людям
Prologue. Exceptions
I walked for a long time somewhere far away, in an endless thick fog, until I suddenly came upon a Man.
«Im sorry,» I apologized, trying to move on, but realized there was someone there, too.
«Follow me,» the Man said.
«What do you mean?» I asked.
«The queue»
«What are you queuing for?»
«Everyone gets their own.»
«And how long do we have to wait?»
The Man shrugged. The queue moved a little further. I began to distinguish some voices.
«Do you know what is there?» I asked.
«I dont know,» the Man replied indifferently. «They say, there is the City of the Sun beyond the fog. However, not everyone can reach it.»
«Are you from the City of the Sun?»
«I dont think so,» the Man grinned. «More likely, from the Dungeon of the Land of Dreams.»
The queue moved forward a little.
«So, are you an atheist?» I supposed.
«Not anymore,» he sighed.
Suddenly, a girl of about five years old emerged from the fog. She ran between us and immediately disappeared.
«Are the kids in the queue, too?» I wondered.
«I guess so,» the Man replied and shrugged.
The Girl emerged from the fog again, but from the other side. For a moment she stopped next to us and then turned to me.
«Theres a cat waiting for me there! And who is waiting for you?»
«I dont know,» I shrugged.
«Weird!» the Girl said thoughtfully. «There must be someone waiting for you! If there was no one waiting, you wouldnt be here!»
I smiled, and the Girl disappeared in the fog at once.
Soon we reached a bonfire on the side of the road.
«Well, we can relax until morning,» the Man said.
A shadow of a woman separated from the fire and approached me and the Man.
«Join us!» she suggested.
The Man and I sat down by the bonfire. How many souls were there? Anyway, I couldnt count, Mr. Fog clearly didnt want us to see each other.
«What are they throwing into the bonfire? There is no wood at all!» I asked the Man in a whisper.
«Stories!» he smiled.
«And you both will definitely tell us yours, too,» the Woman smiled, handing cups of tea from a thermos to me and my neighbor.
«What for tea and thermos?!» I asked the Man, without ceasing to be surprised at what was happening, when the Woman left for the fog.
«Its more familiar,» the Man answered calmly, and at the same moment a sad female voice sounded out of the fog.
«He told me, See you tomorrow!» I heard it and regretted I had nothing with me to write down the stories thrown into the bonfire by ghosts that night, but if I ever come back
Suddenly I felt someones gaze on me. I turned around and saw an Angel.
«Hello,» I whispered. «Have you come for me?»
«Yes,» he nodded.
«The bonfire stories are still going on,» I tried to protest, as I felt cozy in the fog that hid the faces of the storytellers, and I was about to share my own.
«Dont be upset!» the Angel smiled as he read my mind. «The bonfire wont go out for a long time, and stories will follow each other until the last soul leaves the Earth. Now you have to go.»
I looked at the Man. For some reason, I didnt want to say goodbye to him.
«Well, go,» he patted my shoulder. «Ill find you later.»
«In the City of the Sun or in the Land of Dreams?»
«Wherever it is written in the Tablets,» the Man sighed.
The Angel held out his hand to me, and we walked away from the bonfire.
«Where are we going?» I asked.
«To the Chancellery.»
«What about the queue? Or»
«No however, there are exceptions to every rule.»
We stepped abruptly out of the fog and found ourselves on the outskirts of the City, flooded with the Sun, at the entrance to a skyscraper. I noticed several angels bypassing the queue to lead inside the souls guarded by them. We followed them in. The Angel asked me to wait for him on a bench at the ajar door to the Courtroom, next to others like me waiting something out of turn.
«What a pity,» sighed the Boy sitting to my right.
«Pity? For what?» I decided to clarify.
«We are here and not there,» he answered sadly.
«Why?» I asked, not understanding what he meant. «And where is there?»
«I want to be an angel,» the Boy sighed again. «There means in the general queue. And we are here There is almost no chance to become angels from here.»
«Why not?» I wondered, still understanding nothing.
«My grandma used to say that all children leaving the Earth become angels. Outside the queue, only exceptions are served.»
A devils head popped out of the Courtroom.
«Shit! What the Hell are you talking about?! Shut up you both, exceptions! In this Hall, the most interesting begins! And I cant hear a damn thing because of your chatter!»
«Im awfully sorry,» I whispered apologetically and involuntarily walked over to the ajar door.
The Moonlight Sonata was playing there, the lights were dimmed. Frozen in anticipation, the judges were ready to listen. The left bowl of Libra tilted almost to the limit, although it contained only one scroll of jubilant demons. Images from the earthly life of yet another soul started projecting on the screen
What I heard in the Courtroom was shocking, but
«Its time to go,» it sounded from behind me.
I turned around and saw my Angel.
«To the Courtroom?» I asked to clarify.
«No, its still too early for that,» he smiled. «Everything has its Time.»
«Is there any Time here?» I wondered.
«Yes and no. Everything has its Time. Besides, were in the Border Zone.»
The Angel took me by the hand, and we instantly moved back, into the fog, and I could hardly see in it another queue!
The Angel read my mind.
«No, this is another one,» he replied, «for those descending to Earth.»
«But Ive just come from there, havent I?»
«Yes and no. Its been decided Upstairs that you should urgently return to your body. As an exception to the rule.»
«Is that why you took me out of the queue to the Chancellery?»
«Right!»
«And that Boy who wants to become an angel, is he also an exception?»
«Yes, he is, as well.»
«So he wont become an angel. Its a pity.»
«Everything has its Time,» repeated the Angel.
We approached the house with the inscription «Customs». At the «Passport control» window, I noticed a Black Raven, stamping the passports of those descending. It was interesting that those standing in the queue to Earth differed in their density and age, and one could guess the profession from the attire of the soul. All types and kinds were there, in that queue!
«So is everything predetermined?» I asked my Angel.
«Not everything, otherwise whats the point of descending?» he sighed and added, «Wait for me here! I need to arrange something with the Border Guardian.»
I sat down on one of the benches nearby, almost entirely filled with various souls.
«Excuse me,» I turned to my neighbor, «why are you almost transparent while most of those in the queue are dense enough?»
«You seem to be here for the first time,» the neighbor sighed. «I am a restless soul, and they go to incarnate! Being drawn to Earth, we go back.»
«Do you have a passport too?»
«Certainly.»
«Do you need a visa to Earth?»
«Of course.»
«But why?» I was surprised. «Why do you come back?»
«Me personally? Im coming back to help. And in general, everyone has their own.»
Hearing our conversation, a few restless souls silently flew up to me.
«You seem to be an exception to the rule!» one of them exclaimed joyfully. «Do you want us to tell you our stories? Youll share them on Earth when you are back!»
«Yes, I do!» I nodded.
I noticed my Angel leaving the Customs. I stepped towards him, but stumbled and no, I didnt fall, I flew somewhere down, through a wall of fog, until I collapsed to the ground in the forest.
I got up and looked around. The gloomy forest, shrouded in a thick gray-blue haze, looked frightening. Tall trees stood like idols, absolutely leafless, and there was no grass on the ground, and no one to be seen at all. And yet, I heard owls hooting, snakes hissing, strange voices and even steps somewhere nearby!
I walked wherever I could, understanding neither where I was nor how to return to my Angel, as suddenly I ran into a red-haired girl in a black cloak with a long hooded cap that appeared out of nowhere. She looked like a pretty witch, just the broom was missing.
«Wow!» the girl exclaimed, looking me over from head to toe. «Sorry! I scanned the space, and no one was here!»
«I got lost. Or rather, I fell out of there!» I pointed my finger at the sky. «Sorry!»
«Well, there is an elusive term. Better tell me who are you? And where do you live?»
«I lived on Earth, but suddenly I got here. My Angel says I have to go back. Thats what decided Upstairs. And at Customs, I accidentally stumbled.»
«Ah, you are an exception! I get it! Remember, there are no coincidences! Lets go, Ill take you to Customs. If you were an ordinary ghost, we would use the Portal.»
We went into the distance.
«And you who are you?» I decided to break the silence. «Tell me about your World! Im interested, really!»
«You know, everyone has their own little world here. In terms you can understand, similarly to the World of Illusions, where souls incarnate and live, we have many countries, for example, the Land of Mists. It borders on the World of Illusions. Any soul passes through it, going down or up. Many souls get stuck there until they solve their issues on Earth. There is the Land of Dreams, a neutral visa-free territory, where all souls can meet without exception. Those who are close to the Creator live in the Land of True Light. Some say that only spirits dwell there, not souls. Spirits, freed from attraction to the Wheel of Time. However, this is just partly true, because in each Land there are several Spheres, or Levels.»
«Is the City of the Sun located in the Land of True Light?» I wondered.
«Yes, it is.»
«And where do you live?»
«Not far from the City of the Sun.»
«So youre not a witch, are you?»
«Of course, I am not,» the girl laughed. «Im just used to. In one of my incarnations, I was burned by the inquisition, although I didnt practice witchcraft.»
«Excuse me And where do witches and sorcerers live?»
«Down there.»
«On Earth?»
«And there as well. By the way, they can also be found in the Land of Mists, although less often than in the Land of Dreams, but they cant get into the Land of Light. They shouldnt, at least.»
«Do you miss Earth?»
«No, but sometimes I return to the chapel Usually, those who miss earthly things, or are somehow attached to Earth, get stuck in the Land of Mists. Those who come to the Land of Light are no longer particularly nostalgic.»
«And what do you do in the Land of Light?»
«I work in the Mental Sphere. Inventing antidote formulas in the laboratory of one of the first alchemists.»
«It turns out that souls dont rest, they work.»
«They serve. Just like on Earth. The only difference is that here they serve consciously. Some souls even consider life on Earth a vacation. Someone, indeed, goes down to have a rest, someone has a business trip.»
«Do souls choose themselves where and with whom to have a rest?»
«Almost always themselves, yes. Business trips, of course, cant be chosen, but, in any case, options are agreed with you.»
«So am I on vacation or on a business trip on Earth now?»
«Somehow, yes.»
«Then the Warriors of Light are not a fairy tale?»
«Of course not! And what do you do on Earth?»
«I write fairy tales. For adults.»
«Wow! Sometimes I visit the Library of the Universe for work. Ill have to find you there and read something!»
«Am I there, too?» I was surprised.
«Of course, you are! Everything and everyone that worth being is there.»
«Even unwritten yet?»
«Yes. Otherwise, it wont be written.»
«Why?»
«First everything appears here, and then on Earth.»
«Will you tell me your story while we go to Customs?»
«Something earthly? Or local?»
«I dont know, but, apparently, the one that is already in the Library of the Universe,» I supposed, smiling, and my companion smiled back.
«Okay! Ill tell you about my Dark Tower. Although, there are a lot of stories here.»
My Angel was sitting on a bench near the Customs, waiting for me. I thanked my red-haired guide, and she instantly disappeared. I went up to the Angel.
«Sorry, I accidentally stumbled and fell into the fog,» I apologized.
«Nothing happens by accident. Neither here, nor on Earth. You needed that for some reason, and its good for you. Here is your passport with the return visa, hold it. All necessary corrections and comments were made in the Tablets. Lets go!»
The Angel got up from the bench and held out his hand to me.
«Listen,» I said, embarrassed, «Ive been told there is the Library of the Universe somewhere around here.»
«Not here, in the Land of Light, yes,» the Angel smiled.
«Are we in the Land of Mists now?» I supposed.
«Quite right. Youre already pretty good at it!» the Angel smiled again.
«Well They say the Library contains even something yet unavailable on Earth.»
«Thats true,» the Angel nodded. «There is absolutely everything there.»
«Is it really possible to read what hasnt been written yet?» I was surprised.