Gods damn. I was hopelessly lost in a maze of tall buildings and narrow alleyways.
And it was nearly night.
And I hadn't had anything to eat all day.
And I had been walking around all day trying to find myself a job,
and I was unsuccesful.
And I knew that my poor pets were waiting at home for me to cook their dinner.
And it was one of the coldest days of winter. I was extremely grouchy, and felt like complaining about everything whether it was worth complaining about or not. Frustrated, I kicked a trash can, which promptly fell over onto my foot. I swore angrily and limped onward. Suddenly, I spotted something very interesting: a building, with a sign overhead proclaiming it as
Interpretations. This, by itself, was certainly a curiousity, but what truly interested me was the curl of smoke rising out of the chimney. Perhaps someone was inside, whom I could ask for directions! Pounding on the dusty shop window, I called out, "Hello?" My hopes dwindled; from the look at the place, it seemed abandoned. Probably some fool kids had set up a fire in there as a prank or something...
You could have knocked me over with a feather when the door suddenly opened. A woman with a bright smile stepped outside and waved at me. "Come on in!" I quickly obeyed. When I had shaken off the last of the snow, I decided to look around.
A crackling fire in a fireplace burned merrily, throwing a cheery glow on the contents of this strange shop, some among others including a sculpture of something that resembled a solid haze of mist, a photo album containing pictures of the growth of a boy with too many eyes and arms from baby to adult, and a tall stack of books. I was very glad to see the books - books are one of the best things in the world, in my opinion - but what caught my eye the most was a wall...for incribed into the wall were many strange symbols. On a shelf below these symbols laid many items, equally as strange...but I was particularily drawn to one symbol:
Fascinated, I traced it with my finger.
Was it just me, or did it just glow? And did I hear a faint humming coming from it? No, must be my imagination, I thought.
"Wow...what is this meant to represent? It's very....pretty," I murmured to no one in particular. As I continued tracing it with my finger, I suddenly thought of something. "Is it...?" I whispered. I closed my eyes, but the symbol burned its way through my eyelids and became firmly implanted in my mind. A strange image began to eat its way through the symbol....a little dragon...swimming through the sea.....singing.....
I heard the woman warn me about something. "Be careful! You don't know - " She broke off sharply with a gasp. My eyes flew open, and I cried out in surprise.
The symbol glowed faintly, and disappeared.
Suddenly, I became aware of a sharp tugging sensation on my head. A misty haze rose out of my head, and I suddenly felt quite light-headed. I grasped the desk nearby tightly to stop myself from falling.
The woman shook her head. "Now you've done it."
I turned around, protesting: "I've done nothing! At least, nothing that I knew of - " My argument faded, as I saw what she meant.
A misty haze floated in the air beside me, rapidly turning translucent, then almost solid, then settled into a form somewhere in between. It was identical to the sculpture I noticed before. "What....is
that?" I gasped out.
The woman shook her head at me again. "I guess I'd better explain."
She sat down into a chair in front of the fire with a sigh. I took the other chair, and the misty thing followed me. I poked it curiously. It turned translucent again, then back to its somewhere-in-between state.
"First off, you may call me Eliza," she offered. "Or any other name you choose."
"But which is your real one?" I asked, confused.
Eliza shrugged and smiled. "When I inherited this shop from my grandmother, she told me never to reveal my name to anyone," she explained. "My grandmother was always a most mysterious person. She never liked to associate with anyone, not even her closest family. I only saw her once, when I was four. When she died, Grandmother distributed all her gold and items to charity - my parents were quite disappointed about that - but she also had one more thing....a small shop. This she gave to me, along with a note telling me to never reveal my name to everyone, along with a few other things that I'm not going to tell you. There was never a word, though, about what the shop was supposed to sell. Confused, I took up my position as shopowner and keeper of
Interpretations.
"No one came, nothing happened, and I was very bored. Until....one day, I woke up to find that a previously blank wall was now incribed with a strange marking. Fascinated, I stared at it. And a peculiar though flashed into my head. I envisioned a boy with six arms, two legs, and eight eyes. I even thought up a name for him - Michael, after my brother. A spider-like boy, I suppose. Well, that's what the symbol in the wall made me think of. And quite suddenly, a wispy misty
thing drifted out of my head. The symbol on the wall promptly glowed faintly, and disappeared. Astonished, I gasped.
"Pretty soon, I realized that the wispy thing was somewhat
alive. Not alive as we know it - breathing and eating and walking and talking and such - but somehow it was
alive. I can't really explain it...Anyways. The Thought - for that's what I figured it was - followed me around everywhere I went. For several days this continued - until one morning, I woke up to find a little baby boy sleeping on the couch, where the Thought had settled to sleep.
"One day, when Michael was a toddler, several symbols appeared on the blank wall, and a few artifacts appeared on a shelf below them. After a few hours, some people began to enter the shop. This surprised me; the shop was always empty except for me and Michaal in the months since I had first inherited the shop. One of the people asked me, 'Are you the new shop owner?' I said yes. He smiled. 'Hello, then.' The chattering group wandered over to the wall. They prodded the symbols and the items, they stared at them hard, they ran their fingers over them. And one by one, the items and symbols glowed faintly then disappeared, and Thoughts began emerging from the groups' heads.
"I gasped, flabbergasted. Then each and every one of the group placed a bag full of gold onto my desk! Each bag contained 8k in them. I did not know that I was to be paid for the symbols or items which now are Thoughts. Heck, I didn't even know that others could get Thoughts!
Well, I said to myself,
Now the mystery is solved. You know what you're selling.
"The days continued in a much pleasanter pattern, now that I had company in the form of Michael, other Interpretations, and the Interpretations' guardians. Right now, they're at each of their homes...in the daytime, they usually play in the rooms below this one. Every once in a while, symbols and/or artifacts would appear on the blank wall. I now call it the Wall of Inspiration, because I call the symbols and artifacts Inspirations. They are what inspire Interpretations, which start out as Thoughts then become a living creature..."
I gaped at her. "Oh...gods above." I glanced at my Thought in a new light.
If what Eliza says is true... "Oh gods!" I gasped again. "So my Thought will eventually become a..."
Eliza nodded solemnly. "A baby. A living creature. Yes."
"I have a question...you said that when you thought of your Thought, you named him while thinking it up. But I haven't thought up a name yet..."
"Then think up one now. Find it within your mind. Somewhere you have already thought of one, just maybe you don't realize it."
I closed my eyes and reached inside myself.
Mere, I suddenly thought. "Mere," I said aloud. The Thought - or Mere - turned toward me at the sound of its name. "Meaning, star of the sea..." Wait...how did I know that? I didn't recall looking it up anywhere....
"Star of the sea?" Eliza mused. "I'll be interested to see how your Thought turns out."
Another thought struck me. "Oh! Wait a sec...you said something about each Inspiration turning into a Thought costed 8k...but I don't have 8k!" A wave of panic rolled through me.
Eliza merely smiled. "You're in luck. Yesterday, I decided I needed an assistant in running this shop...I haven't been able to find one..."
"...so I can work my debt off?" I asked, realizing her plan. Eliza nodded, smiling. "Thank you so much!"
Then I jumped up. "Oh gods above! I totally forgot what I came here for in the first place! I got lost...I need to get home to feed my pets. Can you direct me to Barton Town, please? My home's in Durem, but I know the way back from Barton Town."
Eliza nodded and pointed toward a back door. "Go through there, you should find yourself at the edges of Barton Town. I hope you find your way home!" She hesitated, then added, "Durem is pretty far from here for you to be walking here every day. I could offer you one of the rooms upstairs to live in...if you don't mind leaving your home in Durem..."
"Really? Thanks so much! That would be a big help for me! Can I bring all my pets here?" She nodded yes. "Thanks so much!" I said again. I ran through the back door, Mere trailing behind me, then ran all the way home.
A few days after that, I woke up to the sound of singing. Opening my eyes, I found a beautiful baby dragon singing its heart out perched on the windowsill. "Mere?" I said cautiously. The dragon gazed at me.
Mama? I heard in my head. "Mere?" I asked again.
Mere! echoed the voice in my head again. And I realized that Mere was speaking in my head. I suppose the shape of her mouth, so unlike a human's, was why she didn't just talk outright.
The days after that continued in a much happier fashion. I would rise, give my pets their breakfast, then stumble downstairs to do my shop duties: keep the rooms organized and clean, be polite to guests, entertain Guardians and their Interpretations, make sure Mere doesn't eat anyone....
And so Mere grew from baby to toddler. Oh dear gods, it was so hard to make sure she didn't get into any trouble during that time! Once she nearly swallowed an Inspiration! And she kept trying to catch the Thoughts...
One day, I woke up to the usual sound of singing. But this time it was different; there were now words to accompany the tune. I opened my eyes, exclaiming, "Mere?" A strange young child was singing beautifully, perched on the edge of my bed. She finished her song, and smiled, dimples appearing on her cheeks. It was then I noticed that the color of her skin was the exact same pale shade of blue that was Mere's scales...the feet were clawed, and a tail protruded from underneath her dress...but it was the eyes that really spooked me. They were the exact same eyes that Mere would turn on me every day. "Mere...is that you?" I whispered.
"Mother!" she cried out, smling brightly, and hugged me. "You don't recognize me?" She giggled, then ran downstairs. I shook my head in disbelief and followed her down.
Mere eventually grew from child to teen to adult. Sometime when Mere was a teen, I thought up another Interpretation, Alida - a wee little girl no higher than an inch tall, with long black hair and gray wings. And the two got along very well! They were the best of sisters! My days were filled with laughter and joy. But...nothing can last, especially happiness. Happiness will fade as surely as the sun and the moon and the stars will fade. It may be far from now, but they will most certainly die. Or, a great tragedy can happen and wipe them out all together in a single second...
The great tragedy that happened started with a question. I was taking a nighttime stroll along Bass'ken Lake's shores...when suddenly Mere slipped out of the lake, and began walking beside me. "Mind if I join you?" she asked. I shook my head, so we walked together in silence. Finally, Mere broke the silence with another question. "Mother...I have a question." She stopped walking, and her mouth twisted into a confused smile. "Why do Alida and I look so different? I mean...I am part dragon, part human, and Alida is like a little fairy... I am taller than you, while Alida is only a few inches tall. Shouldn't we be alike? After all, we are sisters. Come to think of it, why are we both so different from you?" She paused. I froze. I don't know why, but I always thought that Mere and Alida and all the others knew
it. After all, they knew they were Interpretations. But I suppose that
Interpretations to them was just like the name of a species of animal, or something. Mere released more questions. "Am I adopted? Is Alida adopted? Don't worry, you can tell me."
And I did the stupidest thing I ever did in my entire life. Mere looked so confused, so frightened, so worried....I knew she wasn't ready for this information. I knew this wasn't the right circumstances. I knew that I shouldn't tell her until she was much older and much more mature, or at all, even. But...oh, stupid, stupid, foolish me. I told her. Everything.
All of a sudden, a dazzling aura of light shimmered around Mere. When the light finally cleared, I saw she had changed, and was now wearing a glimmering robe of some sort.
Mere blinked slowly. She looked at me up and down. I wonder what it is like to look at your Creater. And that your Mother is your Creater and your Creater a liar. I wonder what it is like to feel the fear and confusion and betrayal...
Then she looked at me straight in the eye. I watched, helplessly, as the love in her eyes turned to pure confusion, and the confusion to anger...and finally, the anger to cold, unfeeling hate. I looked away, then glanced back. There it was, the hate, simmering in her dark blue eyes. "Mere?" I whispered.
She turned from me. She ran toward the shop that was now our home. I ran after her, but I knew it was hopeless.
The next day, Mere didn't look or speak to me at all. Alida didn't notice anything. She just chattered her baby-ish chatter and giggled happily and was perfectly innocent.
That day was the Eliza's birthday. We - all the Interpretations and their Guardians - had all planned a big surprise birthday party for her. We all tried to act normal as possible. Then, when Eliza finally left to buy groceries, we all rushed to set up the decorations and cake and scrambled to our places. And so, we all jumped out an surprised her and shouted "Happy Birthday!" But that wasn't the important part of the day.
No, the important part happened much later into the night. A spoon had dropped on Alida's head, and because of Alida's miniature size, this gave her quite a headache. Because of this, Alida, thankfully, missed out on the event.
I was setting Alida down into her bed, where she promptly fell asleep, when I heard the voice drifting upwards from downstairs.
Mere.
I was certain it was Mere; I would recognize her voice from anywhere, no matter how distorted.
I crept silently downstairs and listened through the curtain that blocked entry to the stairs. It was a good thing that I concealed myself, I quickly realized.
"We have been lied to, betrayed, deceived!" hissed Mere.
Gods above! She's telling everyone else? I thought fearfully. I peeked through a gap in the curtain. All the Interpretations hung onto every word, the Guardians looked merely confused, and Eliza looked quite horrified. No doubt this was one of the things she was warned of in the letter from her grandmother.
Mere was telling everyone all.
When finally the sound of her voice stopped ringing through the shop, I dared to look through the the gap in the curtains again. All the Interpretations shimmered gently, and transformed to their final stage. All were garbed in the loose robes that Mere now wore. Now there was only one expression on everyone's faces: shock. But that was quickly changing. The Interpretations' faces turned hurt, furious, hateful. The Guardians began to adapt a slightly more terrified expression.
Then the room exploded with chaos.
All the Interpretations were growling, screeching, shouting, clawing, punching, kicking, biting....it was the most freakish scene I ever saw: The Interpretations attacking, the Guardians weakly trying to defend themselves...Mere did nothing at all, did nothing but stand there with her mouth wide open. Faint strains of a haunting melody reached my ears through the pandemonium.
...wailing, pleading, crying, killing
The Liars at their Imaginations' mercy
Slipping through death's door silently
Wailing, pleading, crying, dying...
She was singing.
...Killing, dying, death!
She was singing our doom.
Let someone hear, I thought.
Let someone hear and come and stop this madness... I tried to close my eyes to the bloody sight, but I was struck numb.
Finally, the fighting stopped. Not a single Guardian was left alive.
The Interpretations gathered round Mere, who stood tall and straight, still singing her proclaimation of doom.
...once upon a time...
now no more....
Just Death...
And then there was a brilliant flash of light. I gazed defiantly into the brightness, squinting. Then, I gasped. Instantly I berated myself for making a sound, but soon I saw that no one was listening. And I don't blame them, either.
The Wall of Inspiration was the cause of the light. It had lit up and was now glowing steadily. Suddenly, without warning, beams of light began shooting out which soon bathed the entire room in a gentle light. The bodies of the valiant Guardians began to slowly disappear...as if they had evaporated. As I watched Eliza's mangled body dissolve among the light, I felt a swell of rage and despair rise up inside of me.
Then, the wonders of wonders began.
If the Wall was bright before, it was brighter now. The light pulsed gently, turning all shades of every color in the world. Then, a cry was heard. "Ah! Help!" screamed Michael, Eliza's once-upon-a-time-Interpretation. He was getting smaller and smaller, younger and younger....until he was a tiny baby....then he grew blurrier and hazier, till he resembled a Thought...then the Thought solidified and he became the Inspiration that he once was. Immediately upon reaching this stage, the Inspiration flew up and attached itself to the wall. Everyone stared in horror at the little etching that just seconds ago was a living breathing creature.
Before long, another cry for help was heard. And another. And another. All the Interpretations were returning from life to non-life, from fantasy-life to just mere fantasy...
And Mere just stood in the center of it all, singing her death wail.
...back again!
Gone!
Vanished!
Back again...
To Fantasy!
All the walls and the floor and the ceiling, not just the Wall, began to light up. And one by one, all the Interpretations disappeared...
When the last Interpretation had become Inspirations, the room began to change colors wildly, throwing cascades of colors around the room like a toddler with a temper tantrum playing with a rainbow. I was in a living nightmare, it seemed!
Finally, the divine light filled the room with its splendor, faded, and disappeared completely.
Silence.
The walls, ceiling, and floor were unmarked.
Everything perfectly normal.
Then I froze. Mere was still standing there.
"Mere?" I called out. What was she doing here? Why hadn't she disappeared back to non-existance like the other Interpretations had?
She stalked slowly toward me, proud and regal like a queen.
An Ice Queen, I thought.
"Mere.." I stuttered. Was she going to kill me too?
"You are now the shop owner,
Mother," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm on the last word. "You will create a new generation of Interpretations. Life will go on as usual." She stared me down. "But...I will be back. I will be back to tell. When they are ready, and they will not go on a rampage. But they need to know." She drifted out of the shop and into the snow lined alleyways. "I will be back..."
I stood there, shocked. Then I ran upstairs and burst into Alida's room. When I saw she was fast asleep and smiling contentedly, I sobbed with relief. Then I pulled myself together and went to my bed. Immediately, I fell asleep, only to find the night's performance playing itself over and over in my nightmares.
When Alida awoke, I merely told her that everyone had gone on a grand adventure to the magical lands of the North, beyond Gambino, beyond the lands beyond Gambino, beyond the end of the world. She believed me.
But I keep thinking about Mere's words: '
I will be back...' And I worry. Am I scared? Yes, I'm scared. I don't doubt Mere, either. Mere never broke a promise.
