Phoenix Rising

Night fell on the barren plain, like a theater curtain signaling the end of Act I. Act II was about to begin.

The man had walked all day, not choosing any direction in particular, since the place he was in did not seem to have one. After much walking, he had seen a few rocky mountains in the distance. He headed toward them.

It was very dark now. The sky had cleared, revealing a starless night. The mountains he was heading for were glowing, a kind of subtle bluish glow that tranquilized the man’s troubled mind. After a while he noticed that the glow wasn’t coming from the mountains themselves but from behind them. He wasn’t tired, so this did not discourage him. In fact, it was because nothing had happened after the hellish cavalry raided the souls that he was now calm, and dreaded any change in his current situation.

The man wasn’t aware of how much time had passed, but he had gotten past the mountains, and the third spectacle of the day now had his attention. Past the mountains was a strange looking city, its buildings the source of the bluish glow. Only that it wasn’t a city, just one huge building, a palace. He recognized the architecture: it was Muslim. This was the second time he remembered something.

One more thing: it was pouring rain.

Right where the man was, in the outskirts of the mountains, no sign of rain. Right where the palace was, a lightning storm. The man headed toward the palace.

The ground was now muddy, slippery, and the man was watching his footing. The rain was bitter cold, colder than any rain he had ever felt before. He was now standing before the gates to the blue palace, where two guards were posted. Both, after taking a look at his forehead, nodded at him and allowed the man to pass. The guards had Roman armors, one holding a spear of fire, the other a spear of lightning. The man nodded back at them and then passed through the gates, literally. It was as if the gates were made of smoke, or fog. None of this was strange to the man, since the more time passed, the more certain he was that he had gone through all this before.

Now he was in front of a huge staircase, which had some fifty or sixty steps. He saw a woman standing at the top of the staircase.

Waiting for him.



Copyright © 2001 Samuel Pérez