Anna, my wife. Where is she? Is she coming with us too? When can I see her?”
Irene and Enondil exchange a knowing smile.
Enondil says: “Let's leave now, or we could be too late. Come on,” he continues, turning towards me.
We enter the strange bubble. Our bodies pass through the walls, as if they were only made of light. The sofa, on the other hand, is elastic and bears our weight. The bubble rises into the sky.
“What is this...vehicle? How did you build it?” I ask.
Irene smiles: “We didn't build it. We manifested it.”
“Another illusion?” I ask, not very convinced.
“ Ois midal musri gan ,” Enondil recites.
The bubble becomes a pyramid and the walls take on a light blue glow.
“The bubble is better, a little more aerodynamic, but the pyramid will work,” Irene explains.
An immense noise rips through the air. We instinctively bring our hands up to our ears and look towards where the deafening noise is coming from.
“It's her. Bring Antelmo to safety. I'm going to...” Irene says.
I don't hear the end of her sentence. A beam of dim light, from a point in the sky above us, shines towards us and pushes me down.
Falling from this height, impact with the ground will surely kill me. It's over. Instead I find myself in the water of the bubbling brook I saw in front of Irene's house.
The beam disappears. I try to go up to the surface. A powerful force magnetizes me downwards. I look down to find out what it is. I see that a luminous surface has opened between two rocks. It seems as if the magnetizing force is coming from there.
When I'm almost near the light, I try to resist. I brace my knees and elbows against the rocks.
“Come on, come home. You can't keep the portal open much longer. It's me, Anna, your wife. Look for yourself: this is our home.”
It's like a TV screen: inside the light I see the image of Anna. She's standing in our living room. I even see my smartphone on the table. She's wearing the same clothes she had on when I left. Near the kitchen, the table is set with the pasta already on the plates.
I still don't understand what kind of strange nightmare I've gotten into, but what I see in front of my eyes is truly my home. It's over. But this time I'm asking Anna for explanations.
“Come on, now! Careful, they're coming!”
I jump feet-first into the light source while I look to see who's following me. Irene, right behind me, is swimming with a rock in her hand. I try to take shelter and see out of the corner of my eye that Enondil has almost caught up with me. The rock bashes heavily into my head. Two hands grab my wrists. I pass out.
6
“If she was able to send out a space-time signal, she must have grown much more stronger than we had thought.”
“Impossible! Ibril never let her out of his sight! She couldn't have absorbed all that power in just thirty-three years.”
Enondil and Irene seem rather excited.
I open my eyes. I'm lying face-down on the transparent sofa. The landscape flies by underneath me.
“What powers? Who is Ibril?” I stammer.
A few seconds of silence pass. I imagine they're exchanging their usual knowing look. I sit up. I look at their faces, first his, then hers.
“Tell me!” The commanding tone of my voice seems to rattle them.
“Ibril is Costantino Valenti,” Irene says in a low voice, as if apologizing.
“Valenti, the nosy neighbor? Are you joking? What does that obnoxious old man have to do with all of this?”
“How dare you call him that! He's been so faithful to you!” Enodil starts, enraged.
“Enough!” Irene interrupts. “Everything in due time.”
“No,” I say. “I want to know everything, right now!”
“When we found you, some of us had already been transferred to Earth to find out what Cloradil's plans were and to prepare for your removal. Enondil and Ibril were among these people.”
“Why? Who are you? What do you want from me?” I ask again, exasperated.
“Antelmo, you already have the answers
Irene and Enondil exchange a knowing smile.
Enondil says: “Let's leave now, or we could be too late. Come on,” he continues, turning towards me.
We enter the strange bubble. Our bodies pass through the walls, as if they were only made of light. The sofa, on the other hand, is elastic and bears our weight. The bubble rises into the sky.
“What is this...vehicle? How did you build it?” I ask.
Irene smiles: “We didn't build it. We manifested it.”
“Another illusion?” I ask, not very convinced.
“ Ois midal musri gan ,” Enondil recites.
The bubble becomes a pyramid and the walls take on a light blue glow.
“The bubble is better, a little more aerodynamic, but the pyramid will work,” Irene explains.
An immense noise rips through the air. We instinctively bring our hands up to our ears and look towards where the deafening noise is coming from.
“It's her. Bring Antelmo to safety. I'm going to...” Irene says.
I don't hear the end of her sentence. A beam of dim light, from a point in the sky above us, shines towards us and pushes me down.
Falling from this height, impact with the ground will surely kill me. It's over. Instead I find myself in the water of the bubbling brook I saw in front of Irene's house.
The beam disappears. I try to go up to the surface. A powerful force magnetizes me downwards. I look down to find out what it is. I see that a luminous surface has opened between two rocks. It seems as if the magnetizing force is coming from there.
When I'm almost near the light, I try to resist. I brace my knees and elbows against the rocks.
“Come on, come home. You can't keep the portal open much longer. It's me, Anna, your wife. Look for yourself: this is our home.”
It's like a TV screen: inside the light I see the image of Anna. She's standing in our living room. I even see my smartphone on the table. She's wearing the same clothes she had on when I left. Near the kitchen, the table is set with the pasta already on the plates.
I still don't understand what kind of strange nightmare I've gotten into, but what I see in front of my eyes is truly my home. It's over. But this time I'm asking Anna for explanations.
“Come on, now! Careful, they're coming!”
I jump feet-first into the light source while I look to see who's following me. Irene, right behind me, is swimming with a rock in her hand. I try to take shelter and see out of the corner of my eye that Enondil has almost caught up with me. The rock bashes heavily into my head. Two hands grab my wrists. I pass out.
6
“If she was able to send out a space-time signal, she must have grown much more stronger than we had thought.”
“Impossible! Ibril never let her out of his sight! She couldn't have absorbed all that power in just thirty-three years.”
Enondil and Irene seem rather excited.
I open my eyes. I'm lying face-down on the transparent sofa. The landscape flies by underneath me.
“What powers? Who is Ibril?” I stammer.
A few seconds of silence pass. I imagine they're exchanging their usual knowing look. I sit up. I look at their faces, first his, then hers.
“Tell me!” The commanding tone of my voice seems to rattle them.
“Ibril is Costantino Valenti,” Irene says in a low voice, as if apologizing.
“Valenti, the nosy neighbor? Are you joking? What does that obnoxious old man have to do with all of this?”
“How dare you call him that! He's been so faithful to you!” Enodil starts, enraged.
“Enough!” Irene interrupts. “Everything in due time.”
“No,” I say. “I want to know everything, right now!”
“When we found you, some of us had already been transferred to Earth to find out what Cloradil's plans were and to prepare for your removal. Enondil and Ibril were among these people.”
“Why? Who are you? What do you want from me?” I ask again, exasperated.
“Antelmo, you already have the answers
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