Awakening
"The past is a ghost, the future a dream and all we ever have is now" - Bill Cosby
Darkness. In the darkness I felt the light ray beam shoot across the window frame causing my eyelids to spasm. I slowly opened my eyes as I scanned the contents of the room, tenebrous silhouettes adumbrated across the wall, making the scene more sinister than it actually is. I sensed a piercing pain pulsating through my head as I let out a few agonizing groans.
I heard an eerie creaking noises like that of a wooden boat become more intensified with each second.
''What the fuck!?''. I couldn't recall my own identity nor reason for being here. There's nothing better than having an existential crisis, while you're vehemently trying to ignore both physical and mental stress in the middle of fucking nowhere. "Great", I uttered sardonically, feeling the dread as I ascended from the bed.
There was some piece of parchment laying on a wooden nightstand. The room seemed rustic and antediluvian, but it had a royal quality to it. I took a hold of that parchment and tried to discern the inscribed text on it. At first glance it resembled those old writings you'd encounter at museums, but it somehow felt fresh and polished, almost like it was written a few moments ago. I could tell because the ink color was quite prominent.
Anyhow, this is what it said:
『My Dear, _____ I hope you're safe and sound, I never meant to put you in a perilous situation, but alas things have turned awry. Our mission was too ____________________
and then all we could hope was to return in one piece. Landing on ____ was nothing but a fortunate stroke of serendipity. Still, you might feel bewildered since your recollections are blurred.
Fret not, my Dear, for I will always stay by your side, in good and bad, forever yours! All that's important to me is that you're here, living in the same space as me.
A.』
I let it sink for a few reluctant moments, as I was flabbergasted by the message itself. Was this message actually for me or am I just having a lucid dream? I had no clue, nor the whereabouts of this person behind the letter. It appeared to miss some important clues which made it look deliberately enigmatic.
Perhaps, I'm being delusional, but I felt something from this message, something genuine. So I absolutely needed to know who wrote it.
Not wasting any breath, I put on my black leather coat, wore my heavy shoes and plunged briskly from
my room.
As I exited the room I was introduced to the commodious corridor furnished with surreal paintings and other enthralling array of exquisitely ornate embellishments. The crimson red carpet accentuated the corridor even in obscurity.
Upon closer inspection the paint looked surreal and they all had one thing in common. 3D objects. They all seemed to depict some bizarrely complex patterns that looked like equilateral cubes and triangles filed with smaller versions connecting the edges.
I followed the path that led me to the golden spiral staircase that simulated a look of a legendary serpent.
Apparently, I was in some godforsaken mansion with no soul to accompany its gargantuan size. You could argue that I was the owner of this place, perhaps I was a descendant of a royal family, however I had no recollections to confirm such claims (or refute them).
I began to mull over, seeking the scattered pieces blurred by my memories. Everything seemed so far-fetched, like a fairy tale of some sort and I was living it.
Unfortunately nothing came to mind, before I knew it I set the last step on the golden staircase facing the main entrance.
I could hear the crackling noises made by the scorched wood in the fireplace. I felt nostalgic somehow, but I couldn't relate to anything since my memories were still in hazy.
Fire was the only thing that gave color to this room, I moved closer and extended my hands. The warmth felt nice on my palms, "It's almost rejuvenating", I proclaimed with a smile.
I've made a considerable turnabout, as I scrutinized the hallway. I sought the entrance. Whoever made this mansion knew what he was doing. Each and every section was perfectly symmetrical and artistic by design.
"It had to be in this room", I thought to myself.
Sure enough it was, I've spotted a grand glossy door shimmering in the obscured room.
I pulled the doorknob and the door slowly opened. The chilly breeze brushed against my skin while the moonlight illuminated the dusk.
My attention was drawn by a mellifluous melody coming from the cliff.
At the top of that escarpment was a girl playing a violin. Her slender hands gently stirred the bow and caused the strings to vibrate.
The music was a rhapsody on notes, an allegorical dream manifested before me.
It was as if all the most essential classical musicians were brought together to compose the most brilliant song ever produced in the history of mankind.
She wore a dazzling amethyst dress made of cosmic-fiber that flickered prismatic stars, planets and shifted in nebular hues. It was like a mirror of other galaxies emitting from this enchanting material.
Her somnolent visage focused solely on the play. The magnificent melody reverberated through my ears. I was spellbound by her glorious performance.
Her lengthy jet-black hair swayed back as the wind blew henceforth, causing her wavy hair to undulate.
She placed her head on the chin-rest and made it seem like a child's play.
The Milky Way was visible from this point of view. The opalescent iridescence compelled her otherworldly appearance. It seemed completely natural, as if she was assimilated with the landscape.
The mystifying occurrence could only be described as phantasmagorical.
He was in a daze, stupefied by the miraculous performance, though he was slowly forced to his senses as the frigid air crept under his skin.
The girl looked up to him making a playful smile on her face. She dropped the violin down and waved at him with exuberance.
He walked briskly through the garden. Upon encounter he noticed something. There was a widespread garden surrounded by lavenders.
The sweet fragrance it oozed spurred him to inhale with all his might.
On the other side he noticed an oval-shaped building that appeared to be made of iron. He followed the pathway that led him to her.
He looked at her with a stern gaze.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "Do you know what's a fourth dimension?" she answered with a question. "Huh?" he was puzzled. "What the hell are you talking about? Answer my question!".
She giggled and approached him slowly, "How did you like my play? I think I've mastered this composition."
"I don't have time to play your games. Answer me. Now!"
"Why are you rushing, my Dear? You will understand, but patience is needed in everything. Now back to the former topic. What is a 4D?". She locked her eyes with his.
He pondered for a few moments, "Perhaps time? Or spacetime itself?
"Hm, close, but no cigar. Spacetime is an imaginary concept while time is a mathematical convenience not a physical reality. Perhaps if we didn't possess an ability to memorize events we'd have no concept of time. Essentially spacetime is just a mathematical model that incorporates three dimensions of space and one of time to create a single four-dimensional continuum. Additionally you have space (matter) and time (motion). Scientists try to convince you that spacetime is a 4D thing. It's deceiving. In conclusion, spacetime isn't a thing, it's a mathematical fiction created by mathemaGicians. Even the creators don't understand their creations. So we have to remind ourselves that dimensions - both spatial and temporal - are only metrics, not realms, and as such are mental constructs, not realities. " She smiled contentedly as she let him digest the sophisticated information she layed out before for him.
He grunted after deep contemplation and asked,"What about so-called Fabric of Time or Space Curvature." she gave him a chuckle before replying, "It's misleading, at best. Spacetime is an idea not a material or form of energy with a malleable geometry. As for Time Fabric, there's no real fabric of spacetime, space is filled with stuff and people have invented clocks as a tool of analysis, any other questions, my dear?" he nodded and said "Are you the one who wrote that letter?"
Now she took some time to ponder before answering his questions. "Possibly, I might have, you see a lot of time has passed, since our mission has taken place. The ground we're currently standing on is far from a solar our system. Still it's not that far, only about 25 light years away from our home, which means we're still in the Milky Way. "
He listened attentively before replying,"Who are you? What was our mission? Why did I lose my memories? What happened to me? And why do you sound so calm and composed? It creeps me out."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
She bursts out laughing maniacally, like a lunatic during a psychotic episode. "Would you look at your face, my dear, you look so cute and disoriented, like a puppy who lost his owner. "
She pulled his cheeks and kissed his chin "I suppose I'll answer all of your questions, but before that" She leaned closer to his earlobe and whispered some words only he could hear.
He found himself at loss for words. This enigmatic person is completely driving him crazy yet calming him simultaneously.
She grabbed his big palm and pulled him tightly as she descended towards the building. "Let me show you something really nice"
He followed her reluctantly as she sped up her gait, they passed the garden and reached the strange looking building.
He felt an unusual sense of excitement. What was she going to show him and what are the answers that kept lingering on his mind? Perhaps he was just dreaming after all, as he'll awaken from his slumber back to his mundane life or maybe, just maybe things are going to take a slightly different turn...
