Nebula

She was lost in the nebulous dunes of a large landscape. Dit it look truly that big or was it just her imagination whispering her of a vast, unendless empire. Who was to say? Not her daddy anymore because he had... Oh my god, did she not see aunt Alice now and her sister Marie, my grandmother, standing on the top of that cliff some hundred yards further? I must be going slightly mad... And what's more they never did get along. No, I really need some water to vivify my spirit. "Ah, that must be a cave!" It seemed ever so evident as it was unrealistic. Milena entered a hole that was hewn in the side of the mountainous wall. Of course it was dark but in the distance she could remark a faint light as was it the oil lamp of Aladdin himself. Upon making a few steps forward it occured to her quickly that that thought was not far off at all. But not any material treasure could compare to the tremendous richness that provided the mass of stalactites and stalagmites she witnessed in there now. "Drip, drip, drip," the dripping minerals had made a trail of water leading down in the cave. That must be the path to an underground compartment, the young aristocrat woman thought by herself. It seemed easy to see and follow but not to walk. Milena's curiosity won however and she started the journey. Due to the water and a peculiar sort of dust, the path had a slippery soil. In no time she had already stumbled a couple of times and only the high stone rocks had prevented her from falling hard. Yet she persisted. And it payed off because after a while, some twenty minutes, she saw the energy of the light really becoming strong. It had only brought her so far by growing clearer with every step she had taken. But the sight of what she now witnessed surpassed limitless her greatest imagination.

This place resembled a magic well! Millions of little flies were enlightening the rocky flanks that surrounded an oval crater filled with dark water. As magic as it seemed it was also a place of contrast, of dark and light. Milena didn't quite feel at home here but she was puzzled by this dark beauty. It grew overwhelming. There was a stark attraction coming from the water which she almost could not avoid. She strongly felt the urge to bathe naked in that pool. This seemed strange although she had already felt naked all the time she was in this... dream. Suddenly there occured a rimple in the middle of the well, slowly spreading out to the stone banks. As she focused her look on the opposite side she could distinguish someone. There was a person she guessed was a male sitting on a bench-like rock. He had a capuchon over his head and sat bent forward with something that looked like an old piece of rope in his right hand. The man resembled a pilgrim with his sandals and loose habit. "Hello!" Milena shouted. Some bats responded shrieking and flew away clapping from their well hidden spot somewhere high in the wall of the cave. She heard the echo of her own voice maybe seven times repeating itself. But the person didn't look up. It's as he's in a trance, she thought. I'd better leave that man alone. The event however had cut her loose from the weird attraction she had felt when arriving at the well. Suddenly the magic had gone and she realised it was better to leave before this place could take back its grip on her.

Attempting to return now was even harder as the light in her back drew a harsh shadow before her. But she succeeded anyway and made it safe back on the trail that laid amidst fallen and standing pieces of stone. The whole time Milena just walked and walked and did not think about anything really. Nevertheless, in her mind, the stroll back up did take more than an hour and when she finally made it to the start of the cave she was overly happy to see light again. Though it was another kind of light. A light that reigned behind the nebulous clouds that had descended in the fields of her mind's eye. Or was it the spectrum of her eyesight. Which one was it she could trust? As in a shock Milena remembered being in the same conflict upon her arriving here. But after all...where in fact was she? It seemed like she didn't knew anything anymore. Except...that...she suddenly had an understanding of the figure she'd seen. It had come upon her, in her mind, without any effort. It was Arthur! It was him... She now felt sure about that and it hurt her. It hurt her in her heart when she thought about him. When she thought about what he had done. She felt a poignant mixture of love and pain. But she didn't want to go there... Not again! She knew she didn't belong there. That was all she knew...

© GdJ