Tatjana. R. Emit II
When she got up on their feet, ashes were covering the ground like snow. But it all was retreating from her like snow is heated in the fire. The strange world was white, with an endless horizon, leafless trees and no people. The girl felt with the power to force the land covering ash to disappear, then the surface appeared in the lush and green, just like in mid-summer. Everything happened naturally, as if by itself. It was a strange but powerful feeling. The space was owned by silence, but this silence was some kind of different. The girl always felt something of hearing, but it was never louder than silence itself. She could not understand all this. Ash was fading away slowly but it seemed that it will newer fade from the horizon. Just after a moment sky went into odd redness and intuition whispered that something must happen.
Something deadly.
Just after a second, enormous ash walls appeared in the distance on both sides and started closing in with huge force similar to the expanse of sand storms. It seems it covered entire world in the sky. She lifted up the eyes she saw two aircrafts who were connected the bottom of the each other and falling straight down at immersive speed.
Two storms of ashes were getting closer.
The aircrafts were falling down. As soon as it reached, it turned into ashes cloud and faded in the air like fog.
The walls crashed into each other, they time, the sun, the silence and the girl.
Remained only silent and heavy, dull flesh feeling.
She did not know where in the world emerged.
***
Disjointed murmurs like a squeaking, wheeze reached ears and it gradually became clearer stronger.
The light slowly conquered the darkness, slowly and gingerly. Heat slowly withdrew a cold in a body.
Returned air and filled the lungs.
Returned the sound too.
She was alive. Still.
She did not know in which world she belongs to.
"Do you see how lucky we are today?" someone's voice whispered like a liquid through the wall.
"Shoes, jacket can be sold and the rest will be for us".
"Maybe she still has the liver and kidneys?"
"If so, today is our lucky day."
When the girl cough up, one of two people dressed in rags tumbled on the rear and retreated backward
"She's alive just look at her" Other man's voice was surprised, but his face was flowing over and the girl wasn't able to read it.
"Come on, grab her shoes before she recovered"
"Do not touch her if she was brought by water, Grejen the sighted needs to see her".
Tatjana returned to the hard and sore body. Muscles would not listen and were as lazy as at demon's will.
Girl regurgitated water from the lungs and managed to spit it out. Moving cost a lot o pain and energy. She felt monstrous shortness of breath, lungs and throat burned with awful heat. The body was frozen and clothes were soaking wet and cold.
"Help her, do not stand like this" said one of the paupers.
"Get away you rubbish" tried to shout Emit. She grabbed something from the ground like piece of concrete and wanted to throw at one of paupers but she was too weak and felt on ground due to lost coordination. Tatjana spitted more water from the lungs, but she felt there's still alot inside.
She crawling on the ground and swearing. However, one of paupers rough hands helped girl to spit water and back on one's feet. When she regained enough breath, she noticed one of paupers blue eyes stare.
"Can me just Rags. I am a very good man" he put his hand to the chest just like giving oath. "And I seek only to help you".
He was about fifty and on the back carried a large wicker basket and beneath it had a small cell already filled with live pigeons. Man's face was swollen, blotchy and combed brown hair, beard engulfed most of the of the round face and mouth filled with semi-rotten teeth. He was constantly stooped.
Paupers seemed unreliable to Tatjana and all the help from them looked like a poor bluff.
"This is Taltin" Rags politely held out his palm to another man who was wearing a worn and dirty yellow hood. Then the presented one slightly nodded, coughed and spitted phlegm on the ground. Taltin was maroon hair, bald forehead, his face was wrinkled like dedicated smokers' and he smelled fish. He was wearing a gray mumble with hiched fishing floats and trinkets, walked waddle.
"My stuff?!" Tatjana Emit looked at paupers. Poor men were defiled (to make mess) her backpack and its contents were placed on the ground and attentively sorted.
"Give it all back or you both will answer".
Girl swiped her palm through the pockets, but she could not find her pocket knife.
"Immediately"- Nodded Rags and fell on one's knees to collect girl belongings back into the backpack. Cuss worked meticulously and carefully, trying to remember where each of the item has been placed. By the time Taltin was smiling hand his fingers crossed (I mean to make "house form from fingers", not to worry
"Grejen the sighted will be very glad to see you. At this morning he predicted a change"
"It's a sign" - said Rags and raised his head again and then started to work again.
"Grejen?" Asked girl and felt surprised by strangers. She was still weak, but tried to keep track of every odd cuss movement.
Why are they doing this? What are they seeking? Her eyes again found the same sharp piece of concrete and decided that it might be usefull if things go in a bad way.
" Grejen the sighted is our great teacher and savior. He sees the future. I do not lie, you will find it yourself. He awaits at Skantil"
"What kind of place is this? asked Tatjana and ignored strangers talks.
"The Port Bow. The Port Bow sector".
Can not be, I cannot be so far.
"How did you found me?" Tatjana asked.
"We noticed your body floating in channel water this morning. Specifically Taltin found you" cuss with pigeon cage motioned to him
"You drew my gaze. We actually went to check fish nets, but then Taltin said something is floating in the water near the shor and then he rushed to pull you to shore". Taltin nodded while Rags was explaining things to confirm it.
"And then we extracted you from the clutches of treacherous water".
"And after all you both wanted to rob me?"
"We thought that you will not live but now we know that wasn't the truth. I can let you know that was Taltins' idea. He has taken the lead this ugly affair to do" Rags realized girls expression and decided to die down.
"From where did you come? - Blurted Taltin again spitted phlegm which later removed from from beard with his sleeve.
She felt that should not to say anything and flee from paupers, but she needed help now.
"Last time I was a Glance".
"Glance Pass?" Rags looked at each other with Taltin. "It's very far away, very much".
Tatjana push back the left arm sleeve and pointed out that the bracelet with ceramic piece was disappeared.
"I Strongly implore you to go with us to see Grejen the sighted. He is waiting for you". Rags handed the girl a backpack with almost all items.
"Rusks, and the bread was wet, so we threw it". Taltinas treated to Rags with quite angry glance "But all other things are in place. For the food I am very sorry, but we will resupply you then you visit Grejen. Everything will be compensated, I swore.
"My knife too?" girl noticed it pinned between Taltins' fishing tools on his chest.
"Yes a knife" Rags looked at Taltin and one had realized to give it back to her.
After Emit regained it, she did not let it out of hand, although blade remained locked. All paused for a moment. Rags with terrified pigeons cage came to the edge of the canal drew some its water with his palm.
"Channel water have healing powers, it is special". Thus spoken, he drank water from the palm. Small water stream ran the man through the chin, and small drops remained hanging on the beard. Channel water was quite cloudy and dirty, so at that moment Tatjana bitterly set her lips grin.
"They all are wholly insane and ignoramus."
"Come with us" Taltin gently seized her hands and looked nice, but a kind of strange at same time "I promise that you won't regret it". Cuss grabbed her hand and helped her to walk.
"Taltin" said Emit "do you have the chip?"
"No, we are not" Rags answered instead of Taltin "we do not want anything syntactical to disturb our personal lives. The technique is poisoning the soul" Taltinas added and helped the girl to move via stairs. Rags footwear like sandals were loudly tapping on the rusty stairs while he stepped.
"It does not matter that we aren't registered for the population, but we are, nonetheless, living and we do not need anything from the government".
The girl remembered Garans' asking to stay away from the poorest districs and be aware of paupers. However, she felt too weak to escape. In addition, these two did not seem too bad despite all the strange their actions.
"I wonder how they are going through in this way."
"Every morning we are fishing in the channel, daily drinking water, grow grains in the gardens. What more is needed for a human life? Those who live in high are only empty shells filled with all forms of greed. Memory of me when I said that they will all be punished for it"
"God will punish them all" Taltin sighted and raised severely clenched fist to the sky.
"I wonder if you both survive till this happening?" Emit glimpse thoughts in mind.
"If you have no possesion, there is no one to steal it" Taltin intervened. There in The Port Bow is no need to kill anybody, all live in peace and tranquility".
She went along with humanity clothed in rags between the old, shabby and crowded slum. Poor wooden buildings were covered with greenish plaque and moss layer. Every summer, the corporation was partially damming the channel and the water rose up here and cleanse the entire slum by killing the dying, unable to walk ones. Thus it was disposed of paupers just for cleanliness. (I mean all the poor ones were eliminated just for cleaness maintaining in the colony).
Going deeper into the slum cluster there were more miserable humanity: women, children and elderly. Emit there he did not noticed anyone strong and healthy. Well, she could distinguish Taltin as one of the healthier-looking, but he was always walking waddle.
Skantil was unusually large and exceptionally-built wooden structure, similar to a some kind of sanctuary. High wooden log arches covered with lush flowering creeper, sloping roof with little of glass and a small tower with pointed roof at the very top. Before the building there was exceptionally clean, spacious tiled, round-shaped square, the center had a small fountain with the sign of the cross at the very top. The square was a few bands in addition to the tiles, planted with blooming flowers. A couple of women took care of the flowers planted in the square and in the vicinity of a group of children running around. (I mean nearby there were children etc) These places she has never heard to existence.
"From here it looks... beautifull" said Emit and Rags answered her with a very gracious smile:
"Then you will like the interior".
"Did my father knew about this place?".
***
Here, inside of the Skantin shone hundreds of candles, the air smelled pleasant incense. The entire building now seemed even higher than from the outside. Through partially glazed roof rushed mild sunlight stream, to the back wall was attached a large, large blooms gushed creeper, but different from ones in the outside. Candle light fell dimly on the plant leaves. The ambiance of silence greeted the trio inside. Both humanity, brought the girl knelt in front of someone sitting in the middle of Skantil on a pile of cushions. The girl remained standing. As soon as trio entered to building, a number of elderly people who were inside went out and left them alone.
Grejen the sighted, had his eyes closed and was sitting still, surrounded by candle light while his face was under shadow of wide hood. Men legs ended at the his knees. Grejen skin was dark and unlike common people in the colonies, gray beard seemed not to be cut for a couple of weeks. Before telling a word he smiled and showed very white teeth.
"Yeah, and there's the cripple lord of paupers who was going to be a clairvoyant."
"I have been told about you from above. I am grateful to you for coming. And I'm sorry if you did not understand my people".
"They wanted to rob me and then brought here" replied Tatjana and wasn't in a mood for courtesies at all.
"It's not their fault" he said. "We were all the same people, until we race separated, religion split, politics divided and wealth classified us. (this was a very complex and hard sentence). But these individual parts once will merge to create a powerful union, which has not yet been created. "You were sent..."
Black man opened eyes. His eyes were completely white, except for a thin coating of the iris of the balance in the left eye, which was similar to a thin coating of the crescent: (I mean remains in his left eye was like a fading moon)
Tatjana came a little closer.
"You believe that anyways?"
Just another madman, well, of course.
"The visions do not lie, ever" Grejen smiled and slowly nodded.
"Grejen the sighted managed to predic eight water channel floods and saved all people" without lifting his head said Rags.
"That's a background to believe him and to respect him" intervened Taltin.
The girl thought for a moment that they are afraid of Grejen.
Every kept silent for a few moments.
"When the two walls will move, there will emerge a new power which that can resist" said the blind prophet.
"As if he would have seen what I saw."- quick thought crossed Tatjanas' mind.
"To resist what?" the girl took a step closer to Grejen.
"Chaos. Rest of the world will drown in it like a flood. However, the chaos wash away the old world and create a new one. As well as ash enriches the earth, then it can grow good yields" blind man spoke with a very calm tone. Skantin echoed silent echo of his voice, the voice giving a special depth and power.
"Why do you need me? Why are these people brought me here?" said Emit turning to paupers who were on their knees behind her and with lowered heads.
"I have been instructed to release you".
"From what?"
"Blindness". The word echoed through the long room. "The dark world in which you live sunk deep into you: your mind, your soul. The darkness makes one blind, no matter how good his eyes would be. Can you see in pitch darkness?"
"Do not" kneeling paupers from behind agreed desperately.
"But if we had not seen darkness, we had not knew the light" Grejenas smiled again. The girl saw his white eyes, which seem to have been fixed on her, even though they could not read her facial lines.
"Taltinai, take care of her well-being" Grejen ordered by precising at pauper direction by moving palm to his side, even being blind. Cuss hastily went out. Then the blind man closed his eyes:
"I saw a vision of your life, but do not know how to call you, the sent one?"
"Call me Reiker" said the girl.
"That was a vision of your terrified, fiery soul. It could not calm down, but he could not burn down. But your flames covered the souls that were around. These promises stormy future, deaths and...
"Tell me" she said, tucking near Grejen.
"... so do the power... control".
"I do not believe in visions" Emit simply shrugged although Grejeno and could not see it. "You are mistaken or you found wrong one".
"Once upon a time, and I did not believe visions too" said dark skinned man with quieter, colder voice "but then I was wrong, and not understood things. But once I lost my sight, it opened my eyes in other way- and then I saw again. I saw more than ever before. More than I could even imagine. Since then, the visions were getting stronger and clearer until finally I could not dare to ignore them. Every summer I saved hundreds, perhaps thousands of people while The Port Bow was flooded. Unfortunately never could see faces of my people but their gratitude will always have a special place in my heart". The last word rang with the echo was a calm.
"And now let my people dole you out". Grejen found her hands and gently took them with his own. When she rose to go Grejenas added few more words with the same calm tone:
"We see you once more in future. Then I will help you..."
