Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Awakening

A pules splits my chest, the crimson lifeblood exploded from the wound as a cry broke through the darkness.

I jolted upwards, awoken by the sudden images of blood spilling though a sore wound in a heart. Still having to recover from the shock my vision and senses were blurry.

Whose scream was that? I couldn’t help but wonder.

A couple of moments later my blood calmed down from the rush and I could see clearly again. So I began scoping my surroundings.

I was in a room that was completely made of wood. The room itself was pretty desolate besides a bed and a nightstand next to it. Getting my feet of the bed, I felt the cold wooden floor as it was stone. The desolation suffocated the life out of me and I could feel the misery and sorrow ooze from the bed. There was a window across the bed and from it being slightly open, I could see it was still daytime.

But that misery, I just can’t help but feel something off about it. As if a memory of a loved one was entombed here.

I knew one thing though; I had to get out.

Noticing a door to the right of the bed, I reached for the knob and pulled it back. The door slid open quietly as I emerged into the hallway.

Unlike the previous room, it was brighter in the hallway and more colorful as it was decorated in several tapestries depicting hunts, various animals and the many events of the natural cycle such as sunsets, rain and moonlight.

Besides the tapestries, there were several paintings from an unidentifiable artist, with the same theme as the ornaments and tapestries.

Whoever lives, or has lived here, revered nature. That’s something I can respect.

Looking through the window to my left I saw scenery that of the countryside, a field of green grass turning to yellow flowed like the waves when the occasional gust of wind grazed across this field. Far behind the field of grass, remnants of a town could be seen, a gate made of large wooden pillars which were raised to the skies with its spear like tips reaching for the sky, in a stern, cold and silent revolt against any who would seek passage without their compliance, these pillars stood like the righteous vanguard of all those who stood behind them. Besides the gates and the walls, many watchful protectors stood strong on the many towers that graced the walls, similar to the tips of the crown, each embedded with two or three radiant jewels that glistened quietly before the setting sun.

Even though humble, this small town was like a beacon of life and an ever living community.

I looked at it with little interest and quickly averted my gaze. Such places were full to the brim with noisy humans and enslaved nature’s children, plants that need help to grow and animals that serve as manual labor and pets.

Suffocating, that’s what it is.

Turning away from the window, I went down the hallway, passing by a couple of doors almost completely indifferent to the door of the room I awoke in, differing only in patterns the wood was naturally shaped into. I stopped when I reached a part from which you could see the floor below, edge safely blocked by a simple wooden fence made of well-polished oak, shaped in small pillars suspended by rings at their both ends that stop them from moving out of place.

The room below was of a simple design and it had a strangely free and petite feeling to it.

Just like the hallway, there were several tapestries on one wall which depicted the natural cycle of seasonal change, each melding into the other in complete perfection and synergy, making a single large picture of the yearly passage in Nature’s grace. The floor was carved just as well, which showed only in certain parts, but a general picture could be formed nonetheless. In the carving you could see nature’s lore unveil in the forms of stags that held their heads with pride, leading the deer and fawns of their herd towards the branches of trees hidden beneath the loom which stood like a grand piano in the upper corner of the room, the colorful threads like strings that produce their own song through this colorful display, crafting another image that would bless its owner with an expanded view that would reach for the vast skies above us and open the eyes to the call of nature.

Besides the old loom there was a simple family table with four chairs that stand mostly vacant and unused, but still well kept. A gentle touch of a woman’s hand could be felt all around the room from the fireplace made of stone and the blue couch that stood before it to the loom and…

 

Wait, what’s this?

 

When I descended down the stairs I saw a hidden hallway leading to the west side of the house. Moving quietly, I passed by all the obstacles, creeping through the shadows like a spider across its web and avoiding the last rays of the crimson sun. I reached the hallway and looked over the corner. There was a single door at its end, through which a small amount of sunlight passed, along with a cool, gentle breeze. The lonely ray of light gave some direction as I quietly moved towards the door. Taking a deep breath, I pulled the knob and the door opened silently.

The amount of light blinded me for a moment, like a strong flare was shot out right in front of my face. But what I saw then could very well be the most beautiful sight I would ever lay my eyes on.

Directly across from me was a large window opened wide to let the artist have a perfect view upon the hills and forests, behind which Apollo drove his chariot, carrying the fiery star across the skies and towards a land beyond the horizon, where the day has yet to dawn.

But lo, it is not the sun that made me forget my name. It was the artist who weaved the colors upon the pure canvas, now stained by the marks of beauty drenched in the spectrum.

Before my eyes I could see her bloom, a masterpiece of nature, she is like a white lily turned golden before the sun as she shaped her art. Humming a tune only known to her, she moved the brush’s tip across the white with a flow of the golden leaves of autumn and the fiery blaze that is the color red, giving life to an empty and desolate expanse.

Her dark brown hair fell down her back; it suited the lithe figure she held upright, showing a strong upbringing. Yet, even though she showed her pride and strength in her posture, it seemed like she was very fragile and light, similar to a crystalline rose that reflected the light within her.

“Ah!” I could only exclaim in surprise.

It was impossible for me to comprehend this whole situation I was in. While I was baffled by my own confusion she took the chance to respond.

“Oh, I see you’re awake.” She turned to me with the kindest smile upon her pale lips and a faint shine in her brown earthy eyes.

When she stood up I could see she weaved herself a simple dark yellow dress with imprints of bronze leaves across the edges.

“Hey.” She said, snapping me out of my shock. “Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

She added with a giggle. I couldn’t resist smiling a little myself.

I really shouldn’t be so uptight.

“Yeah.” I sighed “I’m fine.”

“Good.” She nodded with her smile “Now come on, you must be hungry.”

She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the room, giving me enough time to throw one last glance at the painting she was working on.

It was almost done, except for the bottom left corner.