The candle was almost burnt out in my hands. I urgently needed a lamp; I could deal with drawings later. Using the same method, a lamp appeared. I tucked away the extinguished remains of the candle in my backpack, just in case. The new light illuminated the path farther than before. After walking several dozen steps, I found myself at a dead end. Well, thats not what I wanted; a dead end was far from ideal. Who knows who else might be here besides me? There was no retreat, and going back was quite a distance. Leaning against the wall, I heard a faint sound, as if something was dripping. The wall under my palm and ear began to turn into wet sand, slowly cascading to the floor in waves. Startled, I recoiled to the side. Beyond the sand was glass, through which thin streams of water trickled. Whether it was water or something else, I didnt know; there was no time to think about it. Beyond the glass was an oval-shaped hall with two passages facing each other. I moved aside so as not to be seen through the glass. If theres a hall here, then there are those who use it. It must exist for a reason. Along with the sound of dripping water, I heard the noise of an unfamiliar, hoarse, heavy breathing and slow footsteps. Now I was sure it wasnt my usual scary monsters; I hadnt thought about them in such detail, or at all, right now. A slight tremor began inside me; I needed to make a decision urgently. Panic clouded my thoughts; they raced back and forth so quickly that forming coherent sentences was incredibly difficult. An answer, just give me an answer, without questions.
I tightly closed my eyes and suddenly fell down somewhere. Now there were four walls around me. There you go, got the answer, game over. Now theres nowhere else to go, except maybe to fall in different directions, but for some reason I didnt want that either. Especially didnt want to accidentally end up in someones soup bowl for lunch. Maybe this is the answer, maybe I was given time to calm down, think, and make a decision Then I felt myself falling again, without even having time to realize it, I found myself in this very room. The floor was wet, water was seeping through the walls, and I hurried to get up. The walls were lined with dark blue tiles, in which I could see my own reflection. The lighting wasnt very bright, rather quite dim, and darkness still lingered in the distant corners of this not-so-small space. I didnt need the flashlight yet, so I decided to put it back in my miracle backpack behind my back. Of course, there have been bigger rooms in my life, like the opera and ballet theater; its been abandoned in our city for a long time, perfect for playing hide and seek, but after such a long time, wandering through narrow, long corridors, finding myself in this room was unexpected. Everything would have been fine if the sound of slowly approaching footsteps hadnt disappeared. With each passing second, their heavy growling, mixed with hoarse breathing, became more distinct in my ears.
I urgently needed to find shelter; there were only two exits, and it was difficult to determine where the sounds were coming from. Plus, hiding or running through one of these openings would be foolish. If the monster is coming from one corridor, it will likely pass into the next. Looking around, I saw small ledges in the walls, almost at the ceiling. But they were almost three meters away, and there was no time to think about how to get there. Hearing another roar very close by, I didnt have time to think before fear literally propelled me upward, grabbing onto whatever I could, even though the wall appeared perfectly smooth at first glance. From above, it was clear to see protruding tiles in several places, just enough to climb up here.
My heart pounded throughout my body, my knees treacherously trembling. Taking a few deep breaths someone once told me it helps, and now it was necessary otherwise, I might suffocate from my own fear. Barely able to catch my breath, I had to hold it altogether to remain unnoticed by the strange creature that had finally emerged. My astonishment knew no bounds as I saw the gaunt, elongated figure below, as if it had been flattened against the walls a couple of times, yet it was transparent, as if made of water. How could such an innocuous-looking creature, on the verge of dissolving, produce such a terrifying sound? In its elongated right hand, it dragged a club, its intonational weapon seemingly stretching one arm, while the other remained of normal length. The creature passed through the entire hall, ignoring everything around it. I remained in the shadows, forgetting that I hadnt been breathing until now. It was safe to breathe again; a few deep breaths brought me some calm and understanding of what was happening, although my mind refused to believe what I had just witnessed.
I needed to keep moving, descending down the same protrusions. I realized I heard a new sound, resembling the noise of an approaching avalanche or a dam burst, ready to flood the city. And just like that, it happened water gushed in with a deafening roar, tearing me from the wall and carrying me towards one of the exits at tremendous speed. I was swept away in an unknown direction, unable to catch hold of anything. The turns flashed before my eyes faster than I could comprehend or discern them. The already loud noise grew even more deafening. Surprisingly, the water was crystal clear, allowing me to see through it even in poor lighting. It wasnt until later that I realized, despite its clarity, the water was horribly icy. My hands, mostly above the water, began to numb, and I could barely feel my legs anymore. Ahead, I could see light, indicating that I would soon be carried somewhere. Perhaps it was another chamber or, even better, an exit to freedom hopefully into the sea or a river. But it turned out to be a waterfall inside a large rocky cave. I couldnt hold on, and with a scream, I plummeted downwards once again, with no hope of survival.
Silence. Perhaps all of this was a dream. My head is throbbing; I must have hit something. I open my eyes, realizing it wasnt a dream. Im lying, washed up on the shore of a small lake. Around me, its more darkness than twilight, but I can clearly make out the surroundings. I might have exaggerated calling it a lake; its more like a large puddle. But where did all the water that brought me here disappear to? What happened to that waterfall? That was completely beyond my comprehension. The cold and wet clothes sobered me up a bit. I need to get out and dry off. Directly in front of me, I see another recess in the rock. It doesnt look natural; rather, it appears to be a cozy little nook, where I promptly move to.
Its time to take out the flashlight and think about food and dry clothes. By the light, I saw the remnants of a campfire not far from me. So, someone has definitely been here. Hopefully, the owner wont show up too soon. On the walls, there were some symbols drawn in red pencil that I couldnt decipher. Dont get me wrong, I can read; its just that these symbols werent familiar letters to me. As I removed my second wet boot, which could easily fit aquarium fish, I decided to start a fire. There werent many logs, but it was enough for the smell, as they didnt catch fire anymore, probably because of the dampness. It was so cold and uncomfortable to remain undressed that I immediately began my requests and visualizations.
Somehow, a large soft sleeping bag and warm dry underwear with a fleece lining came to my mind, I once saw something like that in a fashionable glossy magazine. My visualizations were so realistic that warmth emanated just from the thoughts, and of course, my dreams appeared in the backpack. I was incredibly grateful for this gift, which had already made me the happiest person in the world several times. As soon as I find a way out of here, I will definitely send a package to my savior, but for now, I dont know what or where. The warmth made me feel drowsy, but I wanted more than just sleep. I needed to come up with something for dinner this time.
I need to remember what Ive always wanted to try in my life. Oh, I remember, grilled lobster! Surely, when else will I have the chance to indulge in such a delicacy? But how can I imagine it? I dont even know what it looks like, let alone its taste. What a dilemma! Its frustrating; I should have read more about them. But who knew such an opportunity would arise? If only I had known, I would have compiled a list. Although, even that wouldnt help in these conditions. Here, you need to know for sure, from the smell to each individual ingredient. But I wont say no to some fried potatoes, with herring and a lightly salted cucumber. That taste, its like coming home. My taste receptors know it in such fine detail that they can imagine the degree of crispiness of the potatoes and the level of saltiness of the herring, recall the scent of dill in the cucumber brine. Anyone would salivate at such thoughts, but in my case, it might just knock me out.
What do we have here, is dinner ready? I leaned over to the backpack, something was definitely there, there was no doubt about it. But the packaging amazed me. The container resembled a pull-out nightstand with two drawers, lined with blue fabric and something like foam on the sides. In the first drawer lay my crispy, aromatic fried potatoes, my beloved comfort food. When we were given this instead of the tiresome porridge at the shelter, it was a celebration. On such days, all the punished and mischievous would gather in the kitchen, sit in a circle, place a large basin of water for peeled potatoes in the center, and each would have a bucket with small knives for peeling. A couple of times, I ended up at such an event, and for me, it didnt seem like a real punishment at all. Whats so difficult about sitting in a circle of kids, chatting about nonsense, and retelling the same worn-out stories? Then, the peeled potatoes were rinsed again under a steady stream of water and poured into the food processor, from which came out evenly sized chunks, right onto the huge skillet. The sound of sizzling oil, so appetizing, creating anticipation for the desired and expected taste, as if you could already sense it on the tip of your tongue.
Memories engulfed me, just for a few seconds, but it felt like I was there now, with all the kids around the table. Though I cant say I was attached to anyone there, or that I had close friends, and sometimes a longing for them sneaks into my heart, its still better than being alone. The portion I had now was much larger than what we usually got, I had imagined plenty while hungry, and no one was eyeing my plate hoping to snag a piece while I looked away. But I missed human company, even just a little, perhaps somewhere beyond the wall would be enough. Oh, why am I daydreaming like this? Some unknown creature might accidentally pop out from somewhere, and I wouldnt know where to hide from it. No, its better to dine alone.
What do we have in the second compartment of our miracle nightstand? Ah, pickles and herring. Oh, how I love fish, how can one not love it? Such fatty chunks, boneless, a special thanks to my personal chef at the moment. And he didnt forget the onions, sliced into rings. Everything I took out of the backpack exuded warmth and care, as if my mother neatly packed it all in there for me, with love. Deep down in my mind, of course, I understood that it was because I wanted it that way, exactly like that. But how to explain those little details I didnt mention in my thoughts? For example, this container, I couldnt imagine it because I had never encountered anything like it in my life. By the way, the sleeping bag was also of a somewhat incomprehensible shape, I still had to figure out which end to get into. So many unanswered questions, and the further I go, the more there are. Lost in such musings, I didnt realize how I swallowed everything down to the last crumb.
Thank you, it was delicious! I said aloud. It wasnt often that this phrase, coming from my lips, was truly sincere. But this time, I wanted to repeat it again and again. Rolling over to the sleeping bag in a literal sense, I drifted off with half-closed eyes. Somehow, by some magical means, my exhausted body found itself inside, in the warmth, and it was very soft, like on a huge featherbed.
Chapter 3
I slept very soundly, judging by the numb arm under my cheek, for quite a long time. During all this time, no one attacked me or ate me. And why didnt this thought come to my mind when I was falling asleep? I didnt even prepare any weapons nearby, like a ready-made sprat in a can for the festive appetizer of the local population. The same silence surrounded me from all sides, not even the sound of dripping water could be heard. It was difficult to tell what time of day it was, the lighting remained the same, the same dim light, as befitting a true cave.
I had a good rest, got up, did a couple of stretching exercises for my arms and legs, rotated my head in all directions, and immediately felt the blood rushing through my body with renewed vigor, experiencing a warm rush. It would be great to have some morning coffee; oh, how long its been since Ive tasted it. Just the thought of this wonderful beverage made me much happier, as now I could easily order as much as I wanted, in the most beautiful and large drinking vessel, that is, a mug. My mood was excellent despite all the difficulties of my situation. Although there werent many difficulties yet, it just took time to figure out this new life, new rules, and where I should go. Let todays coffee have an additional aroma of chocolate and a cinnamon stick. The mug should be light but capacious with thin edges; I always felt that drinking from such an edge was much more pleasant and tastier. And a hearty muesli bar wouldnt hurt either.