One day, around midday, I found myself inside my room, anxiously pondering my upcoming exams. The weight of the world seemed to press upon me, and I felt an overwhelming thirst. As I approached the earthen pot, the mild, glistening coolness of the place enveloped me. I took a sip, and suddenly, a melodious guitar string melody drifted into my ears, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.
"Wait… What?" I muttered, my curiosity piqued. Calmly, I walked outside to investigate. The daylight was radiant, yet the humidity mingled with the cool air that caressed my face. In front of me lay an evergreen forest, once parched and desperate for rain, now thriving in an almost unnatural splendor. Much like myself, the forest seemed to flourish in the unpredictable weather.
As I enjoyed the scene, the melody continued, now without any accompanying instruments. I looked up at the sky and saw the clouds forming shapes reminiscent of my childhood—memories of friends, carefree days, and a sense of freedom that felt almost utopian. The clouds morphed into familiar faces, scenes of laughter, and fragments of dreams long forgotten.
Suddenly, from the blinding sunlight, a figure emerged, cloaked in dark black. Initially, I felt a pang of fear, but I tried to stay strong and addressed him. "Hey, need something?"
The cloaked man’s words were subtle and familiar, echoing in my mind. "I need your joy," he said, his voice carrying a weight that made my heart skip a beat.
Startled, I began to back away, but then something clicked. I ran toward him, hugged him tightly, and laughed. "Grandpa! Aha! I got you! I got you!"
Chuckling, my grandpa unwrapped his black hood. "Hey, hey—don’t forget about my old bones, little Tinker!" His voice, though aged, was deep and resonant. As he held me, he whispered, "I miss those days," his eyes sad and distant, reflecting the loneliness of endless years.
As my eyelids blinked, I felt nothing. I looked here and there, but there was no one. Confused, I questioned my own sanity.
I went back inside the house alone, where daylight no longer ventured since my most loved one went missing. The sound of the door closing echoed through the empty street, devoid of children, influenced by the current environment and online distractions. Shadows danced on the walls, taking on shapes that seemed to move of their own accord.
As I approached my abandoned desk, I saw piles of unread books. "Grandpa sure took his time to read each book precisely," I commented, knowing those books couldn’t break our bond. The air felt thick with the presence of unseen entities, whispering secrets in a language I couldn't understand.
I then glanced at a photo frame of my mom and dad. "They sure went to Salvania a long time ago. Mom always told grandpa not to spoil me too much… and I can’t say she was wrong. Grandpa did spoil me." Their faces in the photograph seemed to move, their eyes following me as I walked around the room.
I carefully picked up my father's picture and said, "Father will find Grandpa soon." The image seemed to shimmer, as if trying to convey a message from another realm.
As I put down the photo frame, I heard the guitar strings again. This time, I sprinted to the small hall, which opened upwards. There, I saw a colossal shadow. It loomed over me, its form shifting and writhing, as if made of smoke and darkness.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and I fell. Everything went blank, like the frame that had fallen from the cupboard, meant for new memories of Grandpa and our adventures.
My eyes blinked open once and I saw a blank frame. As I closed them again, I felt a presence. When I opened them once more, the frame was gone. All I could see was a yellow shoe with an engraved symbol—something old and new, circular with a scythe. The symbol pulsed with a faint glow, hinting at a hidden power.
Finally, I blinked for the last time, too tired to open my eyes again. As my consciousness faded, I felt myself being pulled into a realm where time and space twisted into a surreal nightmares. The melody of the guitar strings lingered, weaving through the darkness, leading me into the unknown depths of my own mind and beyond.
I gritted my teeth as I woke up; I saw myself in the room, still somehow standing, while everything around me was just gone, ruined, or reduced to debris.
“—wait... No! No! no!” I saw a squirrel home devastated by the chaos.
Before I could react, I saw a giant spider with thin legs roaming outside, ignoring me, and going after tiny animals that had survived.
I crouched down and put my hands over my mouth to stay silent, the sound of the spider's crawling legs clear and terrifying.
From my hiding spot, I saw a medium-sized box. With nimble steps, I reached it. It was made of black metal with dull engravings, featuring four empty slots: an almond shape on the right, an oval shape next to it, an inverted triangle in the middle, and a circular slot to the left.
“Oh, it seems Grandpa hid something very well,” I said, trying to figure out how to open the box, but it was perfectly carved.
Suddenly, I felt a terrible, dark presence nearby. I didn’t dare turn my head as I heard a haunting bark outside.
Unknown to me, a massive beast with nine heads, red flames burning on its heads, and sharp fangs revealing its previous victims, was barking at something far more sinister: a towering figure made of metal, reaching the horizon.
The towering figure, annoyed by the beast's barks, moved its leg and stomped the ground.
A large noise echoed, the ground crumbled, and I felt terrified. I held the box tightly and sprinted to the dark corner of the house, where my grandpa had put some—Ahaha! —wait! Not again! I fell as the towering figure's impact destroyed everything, even breaking the land.
“There’s no way I’ll survive this time!” I muttered, seeing only a dark pit of death below.
But to my surprise, I landed on a soft object, almost like a bedsheet. I touched its surface, "... —it's almost alive..?"
Then, before I could inspect more, "It's moving…”
Making me fall to the ground again, it was too dark to see what it was.
As I thought there was no way to escape, the land below me moved, and debris began to fall from above, guiding my path with tiny pores of light.
I still couldn’t tell what saved my life, but I saw a path of fireflies.
Touching the walls to support myself, I walked towards the light. "There’s no way there is something carved on the wall," I thought, feeling like it was freshly carved.
Using my hands to feel for symbols, I found nothing. But through the pores of light, I saw a room from my childhood.
Gradually, I saw the room was wider than any in my house.
While about to inspect, I collided with an object. 'Oh shoot.' "What did I break this time? I'm glad Grandpa isn't here to see this." I crouched down, picked up the objects, and placed them under the light, revealing a small blue box with a sticky note: 'Lia Fail Lens.'
As I opened the lens case, a folded page was inside the case, as I inspected it... It was a torn up page lay inside. I picked it up and read, "...oh, so it's written by Grandpa?!"
From what Grandpa wrote, it seemed he researched Wee folk, also known as fairies. He carved this lens with a laser. "I didn’t know Grandpa was that genius. How many secrets did you hide, Grandpa?" I wondered, finally opening the lens case; in it two lens place with perfection, they were white and soft as skin.
I put it on my left eye. A green glow blinded me, followed by an ear-deafening roar.
Oww!—My eye, it hurt---I felt a pin-like pain.
As I tilted my head, I slowly opened my left eye, seeing areas with clarity and a light green effect.
"Wooah!" I could see at night and unusual things, shiny red, on the walls. The box I had just put down shone. "Grandpa is something else..." I murmured, seeing the box's shifting green words and names for each empty slot for gems.
"So, my mind is on the right track; those names might be locations where these shapes or gems can be found..."
One familiar name was Gauloman.
With curiosity, I glanced at the room that was unlit before, seeing a desk with maps: "...lots of cryptic maps with red marks." A microscope and magnifying glass lay on the table. "...Is Grandpa on a treasure hunt?"
"Journey to the Center of the Earth," was written on one of the maps.
In the room's corner were piles of books, forming a tower:
"Celtic books."
"Eirsh Mythology, he was exploring last remands of Tuatha De Danann." I said, finding another torn diary page; but this time he noticed that, they have numbering on them. "So, it was...first page.”
Then peak at the previous torn up diary page, “It's the second page, where he seems to find, a village, and a sorts of symbol that I can't understand but has matching similarity with chemical elements."
He then put pages in his pocket folded.
Near the shelves, I noticed a peculiar glow. "So, there you are hiding, little Pixie," I murmured, reaching for an old diary.
"Oww! Owo, owo! What kind of technology did Grandpa have?" I exclaimed, feeling an electric shock from the diary.
"Or is it some kind of magic? No, it must be some sort of electromagnetic forcefield," I pondered, hesitant to touch the diary again but intrigued by the torn page. "It must be from that diary... but how do I open it? No, no, never." An idea formed, but my inner voice dismissed it.
In a dim corner between the books, a shiny object caught my eye. "A black coin...?" I didn't know what it was, but it intrigued me, so I slipped it into my pocket with the other items.
Turning around, I saw a globe with green roots sprouting from its base and a tree with branches reaching the sky. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.
"Wow! Grandpa had some cool things."
This time, I threw a small piece of debris at it first. When nothing happened, I poked it lightly. Still, nothing. Finally, I touched it. "It's still rotating."
I spun the globe non-stop, noticing the countries glowing green and shifting like water. "It's like a puzzle," I mused, each country moving like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Following the markings my left eye showed, I arranged each piece, each marked with an alphabetical letter.
As I placed the final piece, the name "Unalome" appeared before me. In my right eye, the countries formed a supercontinent, illustrating that union is greater than loneliness.
I stared at the globe, expecting something to happen, but nothing did. "It seems I watch too many fantasy movies," I sighed, puzzled by the globe's mechanics.
I touched the globe again, and a buzzing noise began. "Wait, is it sucking me in? No! No! No, what is happening—!"
Pitter-patter ambiance echoed in my ears as droplets fell onto my closed eyelids.
Unaware, I lay on steps surrounded by green algae. The foul and fusty smell enveloped everything around me.
As I struggled to comprehend my surroundings, I realized I was in a place Where Dreams— Weren't My Own!
Well, it’s a Long Story— I muttered to myself, feeling an odd sense of Deja Vu. “For another place, and another time.”