Chapter 2. A theatre of illusions

Grandpa was stark raving mad! Come to think of it, so was I. I glanced back at where the door should have been. The door I had come in through just a few minutes ago. There was nothing there but a featureless wall. No door. Maybe this really was purgatory. No, wait, this was hell.

The old man was walking to the staircase at the end of the room, lighting candles here and there on tables and tall holders. I started walking after him, glancing around me. There were paintings here and there on the walls. The portraits were so life-like that I could have sworn that, if I had turned around, I would have caught them staring at me. I hurried along, chills running down my spine.

We climbed up the stairs and reached a massive wooden door. There was an inscription on it saying 'Enter into the world'. The old man paused enough for me to read it - twice - and opened the door. "After you, Miss Olivia."

From the threshold, the room appeared to actually be an enclosed garden terrace, with a few shady trees here and there, some shrubbery and small flower beds. Under the trees there were small round tables with people sitting around them on round chairs. They were conversing cheerfully and there was also a band playing somewhere out of sight.

There didn't seem to be any danger, so I went inside. Or actually, outside. There was even a small breeze rustling the leaves.

The old man followed me and led me to a table. We sat down.

"Miss Olivia, welcome to my Garden. Would you like some tea?" he asked politely.

"No, thank you. You said you can show me the way out."

"Eh, yes. But all in good time."

"Look, Mr... " I paused, cuing him to say his name, but he didn't, so I went on. "Time is a luxury I can't afford too much of. It was a mistake to come here and all I want is to go home. I'm sure I'm inconveniencing you anyway and - "

He cut me off. "Please, Miss Olivia, try to understand that by coming here, you have started something that you cannot simply back out of. You have to carry it out to the end."

"Why?" I cried out a bit too loud. "I am a free citizen of this country and I have my rights. You can't hold me against my will. I will call the police!" I realized I was panting. I didn't usually lose my temper like this, nor make a big public scene.

"I'm sorry, dear lady, that there is no police around here. And even if there were, you wouldn't have any way of calling them."

I defiantly took my cell phone out of my handbag. It was showing no reception, no matter what I did to it. I tried it all, restarting it, taking the SIM card out, air plane mode on and off. No bars.

As I was fumbling with my phone, the old man gently touched my elbow. I stared at him in panic.

"Look around you."

I cautiously peered around me, expecting to see the same people sitting and laughing at the nearby tables and the band playing in the back.

Instead, to my horror, the room was actually eerily quiet all of a sudden and everything was still. More than that, the people had all turned into mannequins. Sitting in the same positions, with the same expressions, yet lifeless. I gaped in awe for a few seconds, then turned back towards the old man.

It finally dawned on me that I might actually have been in some kind of other world, like Narnia or Wonderland. I sat down defeated, not even remembering when I had got up.

"Ok, Mr White Rabbit. I will dance to your tune. Tell me how to finish this adventure."

"That's more like it." He actually smiled. "Let me introduce myself. I am the gatekeeper. I guide people towards the start of their adventure."

Please... I'd heard it all before in hundreds of fantasy stories. Why did mine also have to be so clichéd?

"Mr Gatekeeper, what I would need to know is how to finish this adventure as soon as possible. I have a book translation due next week."

"Young people these days, so eager to get on with their lives, they forget to live. Very well." He rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "You will reach the end of your adventure when you will have found your prince charming."

I stuttered "What makes you think I don't already have a prince charming? Maybe I'm unavailable. What makes you think I even need a man in my life? I can take care of myself perfectly fine -"

"My dear child, everyone can use a little love in their life. And you are definitely unattached. Being married to your job does not mean you are in a relationship." Drat!

"Very well" I said reluctantly. "I will keep an open mind for any upcoming prince charming to come sweep me off my feet." But not because I desperately feared living the rest of my life alone.

"That is a wise decision."

I started to relax. Well, at least forced myself to relax. "Is there any other advice you can give me, Sir?"

"Yes..." He rubbed his beard again. "Be careful whom you trust out there. Not everyone is a friend."

"Right."

"You might even think you've found prince charming, but he might turn out to be quite the opposite."

"Great." I rubbed my temples, trying to ease my growing head ache.

"Calm down, Miss Olivia. I trust you will make the right decisions."

"Thank you..."

"Look around you again."

I raised my eyes slowly and turned around. Some people have a fear of dolls and mannequins. I think I finally understood why.

But, surprise! The mannequins were living people again, laughing and drinking like nothing had happened. I rubbed at my eyes, looking around incredulously. The people were alive, alright.

"Uh, what has just happened?"

"That, my dear lady, was a metaphor. You might see some others here and there. Don't be afraid of them. Unless they really seem dangerous."

I gaped at the old man. "Your advice is not a lot of help, is it? Prince charming is the key to finishing the adventure, unless it is not really him. Metaphors are ok unless they are dangerous. Do you give the same advice for everyone?"

"I give each person the advice they need."

"Ok..." I glanced back around the garden. The band were packing their instruments, chatting and laughing. The singer looked kind of familiar... But he had already disappeared behind one of the panels behind the stage.

"You should leave soon. Before it is too dark. If you hurry, you can make it to the next village."

We got up. "Alright. Lead the way." We started towards the other end of the terrace. I took one last look at the empty stage. Where had I seen that guy before?

A journey without a proper destination

"The first of many." he said. I looked almost incredulous. Could one of my craziest dreams be allowed to roam free?

That was my first book. A collection of poems. Publishing it was like flinging a piece of my heart out to the universe.

And after that, a new step into the unknown, guided only by my fingers on the keyboard. It used to be a pencil on an old notebook page, eraser close by, just in case. There are no mistakes in poetry though. Just a flow of words.

Now, I must think cautiously before unveiling this new world to you. My yet unnamed story. Of "great adventures, unforgettable". A world of dreams, a search that will eventually lead back to the one most important place in the world.

I am still struggling with my ideas, who run amock like they always do. I'm still afraid and very uneasy. Will the journey be as good as the guidebook says? Will my readers be honest? Will I be honest with myself?

I guess we'll just all have to start off on this path together and see where it takes us.

Chapter 1. "Great adventures, unforgettable"

"I can't believe you managed to take me out to town."

"Correction, I dragged you out of your gloomy little den. After I cleaned off the spiderwebs and thick layers of dust off you." My friend Melinda laughed at her own joke. Haha, very funny.

"I was working. You know I can't take time off." I narrowed my eyes. Of course she wouldn't know, her family was so rich, she could have afforded to do whatever she wanted, party all day and all night long if she so pleased. She didn't notice my quick glower and went on.

"Work work work. Can't you have a little fun from time to time?" I was about to protest, to tell her again that my time was precious, but she cut me off. "Please, Liv, live a little." She giggled at her own joke again. Sometimes I wondered why I was still friends with someone like her.

We couldn't have been more different, Melinda and I. She had always been outgoing and popular ever since school. She always dressed by the latest fashion and the boys would swarm around her like bees around honey. It didn't hurt either that she was a pretty blonde with blue eyes, built like a super model.

I on the other hand had mastered the art of being invisible. If I hadn't been a translator, I would have been a ninja. I had average looks, neither ugly, nor pretty either. Maybe the guys would have noticed me more if I didn't disappear as soon as they showed any kind of interest. My mom had always said I would just end up a lonely cat lady. I would never mingle, I would never date, I barely interacted with other people. I was terrible at small talk and got very nervous around new people. But they say the best cure for a fear is to face it head on. Which is why I had let my best friend Melinda try to "socialise" me from time to time.

I snapped out of it when the waiter came with our order.

"Thank you!" my friend beamed up at the waiter and I just nodded, avoiding eye contact. I did notice the waiter's hand though, white and delicate, with long elegant fingers. A young woman, perhaps?

The waiter left. "Liv, you should have seen him, such a sweetie!"

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. So, a young man? I stole a glance back in his direction, but he was just disappearing behind a door. Tall and slender. Too bad I hadn't managed to see his face.

"This is exactly why you're still single." Melinda rolled her eyes. "A nice guy walks by and you don't even glance at him."

"Melinda, with you here, there's no point anyway. When I'm with you, I am invisible to guys. They all just look at you." The bees and honey image crept back into my mind. I was in the picture too, as a very unattractive lemon. I took a sip of my drink.

Melinda picked up a piece of paper off the table, where my glass used to be.

"This one definitely saw you!" She smiled teasingly, unfolding the note. I was half expecting it to say 'Please give my number to your cute friend.' She stared at it for a while, then handed it to me, looking puzzled. "I don't know, it makes no sense."

I read it aloud " 'Great adventures, unforgettable. Find your prince charming and change your life forever! 24 White Street.' " Was this some kind of joke? "Do you think maybe it's for you?" I tried, looking at Melinda.

"No, silly, it was under your glass. It sounds like fun though. You should go."

"No, I have work to do..." I protested. Yes, feebly. I was still worried about becoming an old cat lady.

" 'Oh, my work, my deadline!' " she mocked me. "This is officially your day off. Maybe it's a cruise, wouldn't that be exciting? I'll come with you, let's go!"

When she got going like this, it was easier to just go with it rather than try to change her mind. We dropped some money on the table for our drinks and left.

It was such a lovely spring day outside that I was almost grateful to her for making me take the time off. Almost.

White Street was just around the corner and our destination was a lovely white house. This was wrong, it was just someone's home, not a travelling agency. I was about to turn and leave, but Melinda knocked on the door. Damn it! Almost immediately, the door cracked open slightly.

An old man with a long beard peered from behind the door. "Yes?" He didn't sound friendly.

"My friend Olivia is here to meet her prince charming." Melinda chirped. Oh boy... The old man would definitely think we were crazy. I was about to blurt out an excuse and get out of there, but grandpa was quick.

He grabbed my arm, yanked me inside and closed the door behind us. I started to panic. I'd been kidnapped! It didn't help at all that it was very dark inside, with blinds down at all the windows and no lights on. I was blinded momentarily because of the bright sun outside. I started flailing my arms, trying to feel for the door, but it was as if it had disappeared. I was grasping at air.

"Where am I? Let me out, mister! You have no right to -"

"Calm down, little lady. You are in no danger." the old man said in a voice that was not particularly reassuring.

"Help, Melinda! Get me out of here!" My heart was throbbing in my chest. This was it, I was a goner.

"Spare your voice, little lady. She can't hear you."

My eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness and I became able to make out the silhouette of the old man.

"Let me out!" I yelled at him, not so loud this time.

He didn't reply, just flicked on a match and lit a candle on a table, then several others. In the growing light, I began to distinguish a large room, elegantly furnished, full of candles, on table tops and shelves.

"You can't get out. Not yet. And not through the same door that you came in." he replied, not turning to look at me.

"What do you mean?" I turned around, but the white door I had come in through was gone. Instead, at the far end of the room there was a stairway going upwards.

"You came here for the adventure, right?" He squinted at me. "And the prince charming, I suppose."

"You can keep them both. I want to get out." I tried to remember some kung fu moves from martial arts movies I'd seen. Grandpa had been quick earlier, but he didn't look that scary. Maybe I would have been able to knock the wind out of him and run for the stairs.

"The only way out is to go in first." Again with the cryptic responses! Let me out, old man!

"Fine, I will go in to go out. Please, lead the way."

He picked up a candle and headed for the stairs. I followed him.

"What is this place anyway?"

He didn't turn around. "Some people usually call it purgatory. Others call it wonderland. But you can call it whatever you like."

Reaching out to the abyss

A muse is... What is a muse?

Most of my love interests have been far away, unreachable in one way or another. Often, in distance. Other times (most of the times, in fact), the person was simply not interested in me.

Could there be some truth in the cliche saying that "art is created through suffering"?

This has certainly been the case with my poems. But not the usual kind of suffering, no. An emptiness in my heart, missing something or someone I could never have. And the accursed too vivid imagination to fill up the gaps with illusions.

Muses are meant to be so enticing, they elicit tears. Untouchable, unreachable... perhaps even impossible. And, to the enjoyment of the audience and to the woe of the artist, imaginable.

Imaginary foes

A military leader talking about teaching his daughter that their enemies were lowly and deserved being hated and hurt. The reason for the war might have sounded righteous in the ears of some:  the people were poor and hungry and the war spoils gave them food. The prisoner of war commented "Her belly might be full, but her spirit will be empty," referring to the indoctrinated daughter.

This is a scene from Star Trek, but even if the series is science fiction, this fragment struck me as depicting a very real issue.

War is a matter of perspective. The side that you're on is in the right and the other one is wrong. Maybe from all points of view.

This is why the devil was created, so we could have an embodiment of evil to hate and fear. Likewise, many artful leaders have led their people to war against make-believe foes. See the crusades, Hitler's wars and possibly others.

It doesn't only happen in war either. We see it in everyday life. It's called discrimination. It's when we think one person or one group is bad just for a single trait we might not like or simply don't understand.

Sadly, these fallacies can cost lives and the happiness of many people. It only starts with one small misconception.

Bitesize fiction. Normality

"Ok, why exactly are you here?"

"Because I thought my intelligence would get the better of me."

"Oh?"

"My intelligence... You see" and he looked left and right, then leaned in to whisper secretly "I'm almost certain my mind is a lot smarter than I am."

"And you see that as a problem?"

"Well, yes. Especially when it's trying to take over my life." The look on his face was very serious.

"Go on."

"The situation is getting out of control. People are looking at me in strange ways. They are starting to ignore me. My girlfriend complains I'm trying to make her look stupid."

"And you would like to change all that."

"Yes, I want to be a normal regular guy all the time. No spark of genius, no sleeping on the couch."

"I understand what you mean. We have had several cases similar to yours. I will prescribe you a medicine that will suppress your neural paths. You will be an average Joe."

"Thank you." He smiled for the first time since the meeting.

Sometimes, too much of a good thing can have harmful consequences.

The winner

The contest is over and the winner has been found.

Congratulations to Desiree! To everyone, thank you for participating! I wish I had more coupons to give away.

But, if you still want to get my book, there is a 20% off discount you can use on Blurb, code BLURB20.

I'm sorry I had to choose the winner without a live audience, although I waited for a while. I can assure you I was 100% fair.

If you want, here is the recording. The sound isn't as good as it was live, so there are subtitles. Click on the "CC" button to enable them.

Again, congratulations to the winner and I hope everyone had a good time. Also, don't forget, your dreams and ambitions are waiting for you to fulfill them.

Choosing a winner

The book giveaway contest entry period is over. Now it's time to find out who has won the $75 book coupon from Blurb.

First of all, here is a list of everyone who entered, in the order of their comments:

1. Desiree
2. Practical Parsimony
3. Carol Wyer
4. Odie Langley
5. Felissa Hadas
6. Vicky at PPCT
7. Justlittlecajunme
8. Juanita
9. Storycollector
10. Georgia Little Pea

Your ideas for your own books are varied and very interesting. I hope you do grab the chance and make your dreams come true.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

As mentioned before, I will choose the winner randomly. I will use a random number generator to generate a number between 1 and 10 and whose number comes out is the winner. That sounds simple and fair enough.

Also, to make it even more fair, I will run the program live. In this post there will be a live broadcast video and everyone is free to come and watch. There will even be a mini chat. This will happen at 7PM GMT.

I know not everyone will be able to see the live broadcast, but I'll wait for some people to gather, so we can have an audience. I will also post the recording afterwards, for who wants to see it.

Good luck everyone!

Book coupon giveaway contest

As you might have heard, my poetry book, The relativity of a corroded mind, has been published! But don't rush to buy it just yet, since you might be able to get it for free.

The people at Blurb, who published my book, have given me the opportunity to give away a $75 coupon to be used on their site. That would allow you to get even several copies of my slim little book. Maybe you want to give some as gifts to your friends, who knows?

However, first I will be holding a little contest to find the lucky winner for the coupon.

Here are the rules:

• To enter, please specify that you want to participate and answer this question: If you decide to make your own Blurb book, what would it be about? (let your imagination run wild, I know I did)
• Just one entry per person, please, and no cheating.
• All entries are accepted, provided Blurb can ship to you. Please check the regions here. Don't worry, though, they can get almost anywhere.
• The contest ends on the 6th of July, at 0 AM GMT. I have included a counter to make the Maths easier.
• To be fair, I will choose the winner randomly.

You can tell your friends about this, all entries will be considered. You don't have to follow the blog to participate, only if you like it.

If you have any questions, by all means, ask them. My e-mail is daftline @ gmail . com

Good luck everyone!