A Survivor's Guide to Eternity (21 page)
“Sounds good. I really need to speak to someone who knows about the Viking. Can you arrange that for soon?”
“No problem. I know who to approach. We’ll listen to this, then get you a room and then go and meet her. She is a bit of an oddball, but friendly.”
“Fantastic,” replied Ed just as the choral group started to sing a delicate whispering drone with a magical voicing. Slowly the sound swelled into the enormity of the dome, spiralling upwards all around, the sound echoing from the awe-inspiring walkways above. The combination of sweet female tones bolstered by the warmth and depth of the male voices created the perfect texture for the harmonies and interwoven lines, to be most effective. Long legato passages increased in intensity, punctuated by short staccato rhythmic chords sung in unison with the uppermost precision. Donald lent over towards Ed, his rifle resting in his lap and whispered in his ear,
“Majestic and glorious, but not religious at all. We don’t do religion here.”
“I can understand that. This music is just incredible though; I’ve never heard anything like it before.”
“I doubt if anyone outside of this community ever has. This is what you get when Brahms and Bach have been living next door to one another for such a long period of time. They don’t even use notation any more. They’ve just devised a way to conduct the whole group with nods, looks and head shakes. Look, can you see them there at either side? Bach is doing all the spiky staccato stuff and Brahms is doing the smooth legato. It’s all totally improvised and will never happen again. Every rendition is completely different. They both claim that it is the highest level of composition one can reach. Instantaneous composition, conducting and perform-ance. Sadly I wasn’t good enough to be part of the choir, but man, I love listening to it,” commented Donald as he turned his attentions back to the music.
Ed looked over and saw the two plump gentlemen in similar black jackets with white silky neck handkerchiefs, one with a pronounced grey beard with white moustache, the other a little skinnier and clean shaven with a strange looking white wig. They both stood almost motionless apart from their heads which subtly jolted from side to side, occasionally looking at one another, nodding and smiling. He glanced up and around the dome as the music welled up like a stupendous and emotional tidal wave, sweeping around and around, toying with the innermost emotions and feelings.
“They’ve been here longer than me,” whispered Donald into Ed’s left ear.
“They are quite private chaps, but my goodness, that’s talent on a whole different level,” concluded the young man as the choir came down to a whisper and stopped all at once, perfectly synchronised. Ed had no idea how long they had been singing. He had been lost in time. A little bit of murmuring and chattering commenced as the majority of the group started to make their way up the spiral walkways like a bizarre mobile fancy dress party.
“Can we say hello to them? I mean Brahms and his mate?” queried Ed.
“Not now. They like it if you really have something meaningful to say. They don’t waste their time with chitchat like us. Let’s go and say hi to some of the others. You want to meet someone who knows about the Viking. I want to introduce you to Yedida. I saw her in there somewhere,” replied Donald as the two men got up and walked over towards the dispersing group.
“Why do you carry that gun around with you, Donald?” queried Ed, looking down at the scary-looking item.
“Habit really, but I always take it down to the Transient tunnel. It can help me nudge people into the net. I’ll drop it back in my room later. I don’t have it with me always. Anyway, it’s not loaded or dangerous. I don’t think about it much anymore. If I loose it then it just reappears in my room the next day. Very strange”
“Okay. I just wondered, that’s all,” replied Ed, as they walked nearer the group.
“Yedida, Yedida,” cried Donald, as he caught sight of a young lady in a white trouser suit looking the other way. She heard the cry and quickly turned around to see the two men approaching.
“Yedida, I want you to meet Ed, he’s a new Transient, just arrived today.”
“Hi, Ed, I’m Yedida, I am black, a female and Jewish, and I am fucking proud of it!” she exclaimed, slightly startling him and putting him on his back foot. An awkward silence followed, soon interrupted by Donald.
“She’s pissing with you, Ed. It’s all true, but she likes to confront people like that when she first meets them.”
“Come, I won’t bite. I’m Yedida,” exclaimed the young lady in a much gentler tone with a smirk. As she reached her arm out, Ed caught sight of an ominous looking tattooed number on her inner forearm. He knew what that meant, but pretended to not notice it as he took her hand and warmly shook it, up, down, up and away.
“Hi, Yedida, I’m Ed. Ed Trew from
England
.”
“Nice to meet you, Ed. Did you enjoy the music?”
“Absolutely. To be honest I’m still in a bit of a trance. It seemed to penetrate deep inside me. I’ve never experienced anything like that before.”
“Yes, they’ve got it down. They know all about emotions and music. Did you close your eyes?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Well next time, close your eyes. They have it so deeply developed that it generates a whole colour show internally, like a kaleidoscope of calming fireworks. It’s an outstanding journey. Apparently they compose on the spot in colours. Not sure how they do that.”
“Sorry, Ed, I forgot to tell you to close your eyes. Anyway, Yedida, Ed wants to know about the Viking.”
“The Viking eh! He knows about the Viking? Well that’s interesting,” replied the young lady as they made their way through the emptying open space and up one of the spiral inclines.
“Yes, I was in another place like this before and got to hear about him. Before I commit to staying one place or another, I want to find out as much as possible about what options I have,” replied Ed, as they reached the first landing.
“Indeed you do! Bring him over to my room later, Donny, and we can have a chat about things. You come as well and join in the conversation.”
“Okay, will do. See you later then,” replied Donald as she headed off in the opposite direction.
“Donny! That’s sweet. Are you two an item?”
“Sadly, the term ‘no sex please, we’re British', really comes to roost here. ‘No sex possible, we’re Transients’, is the actual reality of things”.
“Yes, but I suppose you're settlers more than you are Transients, at least once you've decided to stay here permanently and not keep jumping back and forth?”
“That's true, although we still habitually call ourselves Transients.
Anyway, back to the sex. I died a virgin, so I don’t know what I’m missing. Was it any good?”
Ed thought back to the memorable night with Abella in the car before they were married and how he had an orgasm so massive he thought his whole head was going to be shot off his shoulders like a rocket. Then he simply decided to lie.
“Not much really, Donald. You don’t need to worry about that. All hype really.”
The duo arrived at the room where Ed would be staying. He turned round and looked back over the balcony into the large domed hall.
“It’s such a wonderful atmosphere, the grand hall and the choral music. Don’t you think it’s quite spiritual?”
“To a point. I guess it depends on how you define spiritual though.”
“Maybe. It reminds me though of a church I visited on a business trip to
Bologna
in the nineties. It was on a bustling square and when one escaped inside into the quietude and calm it gave a real Goosebumps feeling.”
“That might have been down to the serenity of the building as much as you had been touched by the spirit of God. I would often feel a similar spirituality amidst the grandeur of nature, in a stunningly secluded but wondrous place with the birds singing and the wind gently caressing the leaves into an atmospheric symphony. In my short life I stopped associating that feeling from any ‘presence’ there might be in our conceptualised and pre defined spiritual locations and honestly put it more down to our ability to marvel at and be overwhelmed by the magnificence of nature.”
“That’s very true. The sheer scale and grandiosity of some temples and churches are quite capable of making us feel like that, even if we don’t have an ounce of religious belief in us whatsoever. Maybe it is tapping into an archetypal spirituality deep within us, not defined by religious belief but more by an innate awareness of the sheer magnificence of the universe we’re part of.”
“Well said, Ed. It is certainly the conclusion a lot of people here have arrived at after much deliberation. Those places of worship did have an important function though, for people to experience that wonderment, and understand their place in the grander scheme of things, even if it only gave fleeting humility. Anyway, t
his is it. No mod cons, I’m afraid. Comfortable though,” stated Donald, as he swept the curtain aside and they both entered the room.
“Same as the other place; simple but functional. Could be a Japanese hotel for all I know. I’ll be fine,” uttered Ed, as he slipped down onto the bed.
“By the way, she mentioned she was Jewish, but you said there was no religion here. Why would she say that?” queried Ed.
“She’s not religious. She is just using that as a reference to her background when she was in the physical world. People tend to say where they are from and what their background is, but once you’re here, it’s impossible for anyone to continue believing in a god, whatever faith they are from.”
“I can understand that,” replied Ed, as he glanced at his watch and then slid flat onto the bed. It was now
so he figured that after a six hour walk, the music must have gone on for at least ninety minutes, much longer than he thought.
“Have a good rest and I’ll come back later, then we can go over to Yedida’s. Are you okay with that?” queried Donald as he turned tail and started to leave the room.
“Cool. See you then,” Ed replied, as the soldier slipped out of sight.
Ed slipped back into a relaxed position with his arms folded back under his head. He began to reflect on how fast things were moving and how extreme it all was, from the tortoise to the time tunnels, then the cat, the hound and then in a time warp with a WW1 soldier and famous classical composers hooking up to collaborate. Just then, Donald slid back into the room.
“Sorry, Ed, listen. Please don’t judge me harshly on all those things I told you. If you’d been there, you would have understood. I was a timid child and youth, and never wanted to hurt anyone. The madness and cruelty of war turned me into a killer. That’s the bitter sadness of it all. That’s what I wanted to get across.”
“I understand, Don,” replied Ed using his abbreviated name for the first time.
“I cannot comprehend what you must have gone through but I can understand how it would have dismantled your reality and how that could desensitise you to all those horrors. I feel very strongly for you, honestly. There is not a single participant in any war that’s not a pained and troubled victim at their core. I would never judge you on that,” reflected Ed emotionally as he sat up on the bed and stared at Donald.
“Thanks. That’s okay then. I’ll see you later. Get some rest,” stated Donald sheepishly as he left the room once more.
“Great. See you then. It’s been good spending time with you and thanks for getting me out of the tunnel; I forgot to say that,” replied Ed, as the curtain flowed down closed and he heard a distant “no probs” from the departing private. Ed lay down once again, drifting off into a calm sleep.
Chapter 12
Fritz the baker
“Come on, Ed, come on, we need to go over to Yedida, she’s expecting us, come on,” exclaimed Donald, as he gently shoved his shoulder back and forth, shaking him from his sleep like an apple from a tree.
“Arrghh, er, where am I? Er, oh, Thomas, NO, Donald. Sorry, yes, I’ll be with you. Give me a second,” spluttered Ed, emerging from his sleep like fog seeping under a door.
“I’ll wait outside.”
“Okay,” replied Ed, as he span round upright on the bed, directing his feet onto the floor. He held his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes, quickly adjusting to the new environment. He jumped up and sprang across the tiny room, through the black silky curtain and out to the waiting Donald.
“Good. That was quick. Let’s go, she’s on the upper levels and it’ll take a little while to get there. I’ve left my gun back in the room as well, just to keep you happy. Yedida doesn’t like guns either. She’s had quite a life – I’m sure she’ll tell you about it at some point.”
“Yes, I saw the tattoo on her arm. Does it mean what I think it means?”
“She’ll tell you, I’m sure. If by ‘what I think it means’ you mean ‘it’s what I think it means’ then yes, you are probably right, but it’s not my story to tell. Put it this way, we both have a lot of common ground having lived through extreme cataclysmic events and it gives us a close bond,” replied Donald, as they started to ascend the inclined walkways. The views into the large dome area grew more spectacular the higher they got, and Ed almost forgot about the mission to find the Viking, his transient predicament and all of the complexity that was now part of his existence. Soon they were up near the top and at Yedida’s door.
“Yedida, we’re here,” exclaimed the British soldier.
“Great, come in, come in,” replied the sexy and seductive voice from inside the curtained enclosure. Soon they had parted the silk covering and entered the room, politely kissed her on both cheeks and all three sat down, Ed and Donald on the bed and the striking black lady on a small stool opposite.
“You’ve just arrived then, Ed. What was your last transience?” enquired Yedida.
“A very brief one. I was caught up in a fox hunt as one of the hounds. Luckily though, I managed to sabotage it and the fox escaped. It was a horrible grizzly scene though,” replied Ed.
“Horrible eh, the idea of fox hunting? Strange barbarism, although it’s in keeping with the general demise of human character.”
“Yes, quite,” replied Ed.
“Anyway, you want to see the Viking do you? Donny doesn’t altogether think he’s for real, do you, Donny?”
“Until I’ve seen him with my own eyes, I’ll remain a sceptic. Anyway, now you two are together, I’ll love you and leave you,” stated Donald, as he got up and put his hand out to shake Ed’s.
“Maybe I’ll see you later, Ed, if you stay on. Otherwise, thanks for the company.”
“Thanks to you too and thanks for everything,” replied Ed, as he stood up to shake Donald’s hand.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why carry the water bottle with you all day if you can’t drink?”
Donald reached down to the canvas covered water bottle hanging from a canvas strap over his shoulder. He turned it round towards Ed to reveal a large dented hole.
“Of course, it’s empty but it has sentimental value. It saved my life in my first few days at the front. It’s a good luck charm,” replied Donald with a smile on his face.
“Oh. Okay then,” replied Ed, as Donald kissed Yedida on both cheeks before leaving the room and pulling the curtain closed behind him.
“Lovely guy,” stated Ed.
“Yes, he went through a lot out there and really had to do a lot of soul searching when he came here. I guess he told you his story did he?”
“Yes, the whole thing. I think he felt really bad being lured into that vengeance, hatred and loss of self. You can kind of understand it, given the circumstances, don’t you think?” replied Ed.
“To a point. They were certainly extreme circumstances with a lot of psychological impact. That’s sometimes worse than anything physical. You must, however, do everything you can to keep a sense of self in such extreme circumstances. That would be the only thing that could protect your soul and inner being. As long as you keep sight of yourself, there’s hope you can make the right choices, whatever the situation,” stated Yedida wisely, her smooth black complexion complemented even more by the pure white trouser suit. Her straight silky jet black hair cascaded down and framed her perfectly chiselled face whilst her proud straight posture gave her more than an air of grace. Ed guessed she was in her mid to late twenties.
“So tell me, Ed, what do you know about the Viking? I assume from the fact that you’re here and aware of him, that you have been around the cycle a few times and that you know about the time deadlines?”
“Yes, I’m bang up to date with all that. I just want to make a few more trips before I commit to anything, although this place looks as though it could seduce an impromptu decision for many travellers to stay?”
“Yes, you’re right. A lot of people do choose to stay, around fifteen percent I guess. However, I think you’re right in wanting to find out a little more before deciding. I sometimes wish I’d gone round a few times. Mind you, I might not have ever ended up back here. We rarely see the same Transient twice. There must be a lot of portals along the way.”
“Yes, I definitely won’t stay this time. Anyway, how far is it to get to the Viking? It was a few days’ journey from the last place?” enquired Ed.
“Not too bad, probably around a day or so. A little tricky though. There are a couple of obstacles to overcome on the way. It’s not without danger.”
“What sort of danger?” enquired Ed.
“Let’s leave, I’ll tell you about it on the way. It’s nothing to be scared of. You’re a big boy,” replied Yedida reassuringly as she got up and moved over towards the door.
“Come on. We should get on our way now. Better to have too much time than too little. I hate rushing.”
“Okay,” replied Ed, as he got up and followed her out of the doorway, excited to finally be on his way to the Viking, cautiously optimistic for some positives, even if it was to give him a ‘Koan’ revelation.
They set off along the curving spiral pathway around the edge of the hall. Yedida proceeded over to the edge of the walkway and looked down at the open hallway below and the dome above. The hall was once again filling with people. She stood for a second with her hands on the top of the wall.
“They’re going to sing again, Ed. Perfection isn’t it?” stated Yedida.
“Yes, although it doesn’t seem that long since the last performance, unless I slept longer than I thought,” replied Ed, as the waves of melody began to drift around the extensive open space.
“This is a different group. There are a few. Sometimes they all sing at once, arranged around the walkways in the hall. It’s really something. Anyway, are you scared of heights, Ed?”
“A bit, why?”
“We have to go up there,” replied the young lady, pointing to what looked like a rope ladder which ran from the top walkway up and around the curved ceiling until about two thirds from the top. At this point, virtually horizontal, it disappeared into a small trap door.
“You’re kidding right?” exclaimed Ed nervously.
“No, I’m not kidding. You’ll be fine. Just hold on and don’t panic. Let’s go around there and start climbing.”
“Okay then, it looks scary though.”
“Another thing, Ed, this is a one-way trip. Once you get past a certain point on this journey, you can’t come back. You have to go all the way and take your next transience from there. I’ll let you know when we reach that point,” said Yedida.
“But how will you get back?”
“I’m not going to go the whole way with you. I can only go so far or else I can’t come back. There’s a point of no return. Don’t worry though I can go most of the way.”
“Decisions, decisions, everywhere in this lifecycle eh,” exclaimed Ed, as they reached the bottom of the cloth ladder.
“Is this safe?” enquired Ed, as he shook the tatty-looking item made from old clothes.
“Perfectly fine, come on, let’s go.”
“Okay, let’s go,” replied Ed, as he looked down at his watch to see that he’d been in this new location less than a day.
“You have enough time to get to the point of no return and change your mind to get back here. Don’t worry. Watch me go up and when I disappear into the hole, then you follow me,” stated Yedida.
“Okay then,” replied Ed, as she leapt up the ladder with agility, hanging virtually upside down as she progressed towards the hole.
“Don’t look down,” she shouted, as she disappeared up and through the hole and out of sight.
Trepidations and fears gripped Ed as he grabbed the ladder with both hands and began to pull himself skywards. It felt surprisingly secure for a rope ladder, bearing in mind it was tied to little bits of the vine that covered the whole dome structure. The soothing waves of choral music washed over and around him, warming his soul and calming him from the increasing vertigo. He got more cautious and nervous with every grab and step as he felt his body getting worryingly horizontal. He continued to look up, clawing his way further towards the hole, the weight of his body feeling heavier by the second. Then he heard a voice from above.
“Don’t look down, come on. You’re nearly there.”
“It was Yedida, her head poking from the hole, giving reassuring comfort to the novice climber.
Just as he thought the job was complete, his worst fears came and smacked him in the face. Against all instinct and advice he looked down and froze, directly above part of the choral group. He reached forward with his left hand to move closer to the trap door but in an instant his foot slipped on the rope. He fell dramatically away from the ladder, desperately hanging on with one hand. In a state of panic, he swung the free arm towards the ladder as he swung backwards and forwards, certain he would fall. Then he felt Yedida’s arm grab his as she shouted firmly to hold on. Below, the choral group were oblivious to the goings-on overhead, as the melodies got more and more intense.
“Swing backwards and forwards and try to grab the ropes, Ed,” she cried down to him. Soon he had done just that and was swinging his whole body so he could get his feet back on the rungs of the ladder. It took some while but finally he achieved his objective and was clambering up into the small hole and into a large tunnel. The young lady helped, securely taking both hands, pulling him up and into the opening and to safety. Ed collapsed on his back on the floor, astounded by the events.
“Thank goodness bodily functions are off the menu. I would most certainly have crapped myself there and then, Yedida. Sorry for the graphic.”
“No problem. Honestly, very few people have the guts to do that climb. You’re one of probably five percent. Congratulations.”
“What would happen to me if I fell anyway, seeing as I'm already dead?”
“Good question. It would definitely hurt I know that much.”
“There must have been a situation in the past where someone injured themselves badly, broke a leg or even something fatal?”
“Yes, there has. It is hard to explain but they kind of melt away and go missing for a few days. Then they reappear some while later unscathed and oblivious of whatever went on. Mysterious really. Anyway, look back through the hole at the choir,” replied Yedida.
Ed moved closer back towards the hole and peered through. It was an impressive sight, the spiralled walkways spinning round and round the hall with the choir like tiny ants in a red sand garden. The brilliant wash of melody and harmony whispered up through the hole and around into the tunnel.