Chapter one: A new life
"Please tread carefully while climbing; stones are very slippery." "Well, according to the history books, the local natives used to worship in this location, which has ten thousand years or probably even longer historical heritage as it had a significant religious value during its period." said a relatively young man in gray mountain climbing gear, using a cane to ascend small rocks forming stair-looking stones, while his voice was reverberating throughout the cave walls along with the deep sound of water drops.
"And--sir, what are your thoughts about the legends that lie beneath these ancient stones? Do you believe them to be true?" Asked a woman in a water-soaked black t-shirt, her words accompanied by laughter.
"If you mean the Elves, mam, I admit I have no idea. But the interesting fact that I can share with you is that the source of all these superstitions or so-called legends is just a few steps ahead." The man continued walking while having a grin on his face wet with water dripping from the ceiling.
I kept pursuing him despite the cold water making it difficult for me to even feel my toes; I didn't want to go home without taking photos of everything I had seen.
"Ladies and gentlemen, here you are at the Elf Lake, also known as the moon well!" The man's enthralling voice combined with the chill in the air sent shivers down my spine.
The sight of this--moon well captivated my attention. It was the bluest thing I had ever seen, and even more alluring was the faint but brilliant white light reflecting on its surface. It had such a serene appearance that it almost made me want to wave my hand over it.
"I can summarize the whole story of this cave about this well, but I must emphasize that you shouldn't let the lake's appearance fool you; the lake should actually be at least three hundred feets deep. There is a chance of slipping if you go passed the red safety belt, so kindly refrain." The man was raising my curiosity about this location by giving thrilling descriptions that grew louder as we moved on, much like the sound of water dripping from the cave's ceiling to the water-filled floor.
With both hands, I was trying to keep my camera, which I had recently purchased, from slipping out of my grasp.
Simultaniously a thought that shouldn't have raced through my head rushed in as soon as my eyes landed on the camera's water-resistant mark that was underneath my tomb.
'What would happen if I took a picture of what is underneath that alluring surface? It must be even nicer.'
The group was leisurely following the guide as the sound of their footsteps could be heard from distance.
I jumped over the belt since it was the best opportunity to do so. passing by the long red belt that was covered in caution signs.
It seemed as though the lake was speaking to me, a voice that emanated from its very depths. An alluring silence that was more pleasant than most of the other voices out there, being more relaxant than the sound of strolling feet in the dead night and the echo of it in the open air.
I didn't need to collect my short, wet hair, but I did need to keep it out of my face while edging forward.
It seemed like the colorful leaves on the lake's surface were dancing waltz and each step I was edging forward was like changing rythm, a tranquility that was completely at odds with my excitement.
I slowly lowered the camera into the water, and as I did so, I experienced a sense of calmness that I had never experienced before. It was like feeling as though you had just taken a long, hot shower that had made your body as flexible as rubber, followed by a long massage with olive oil. It was a really pleasant sensation, but soon--I realized it was too much and that I was becoming too lethargic.
"OH, MY GOD!" It was as if I was dough when I fell into the lake, it wasn't pleasant at all while I was trying to put myself together but felt that my body was exhausted enough that I couldn't feel my body parts at all.
I wasn't sure which direction I was trying to move, up—down, I was merely moving. My only aim was leaving this damn lake as soon as possible, but it was already too late.
***
"SHI.T!"
It was as if my eyelashes were weighing down my eyes, the world was whirling like a merry-go-round around my head when I was lying on edge of the moon well.
It was dead quiet everywhere, the only sound that could reach ears was my feet sound struggling to move, my fingertips were utterly wrinkled as if I had passed hours and hours under that water. Wondering while attempting to stand on my feet 'How did I get out?'.
Although getting out of that damn place was my first periorization, I could not feel my lips and my body was not much different as well.
grabbing my camera with one hand and placing the other on my forhead; it felt like I had a headache for several days, or perhaps I should say, it felt like my opponent had given me a hard punch to the head with no refree to end the turn, with the difference that as if this pain was circeling in the veins.
I was pressing my forehead in an effort to possibly lessen the pain, but it seemed to make it worse. Inching along the ground, I was making my way to the cave's entrance.
I think it would be best to get rid of these wet clothes as soon as possible as the winds coming from the cave's entrance was making my body tremble.
With thse thoughts in mind I arrived at the cave's entrance, but this time, instead of seeing other colourless mountains out of that mountain's summit, a forest was visible, one that seemed to go on forever. Everything was green, save for the blue sky devoided of clouds.
"WHAT THE F*CK!" Still I could feel my eyes which in shock I could not even blink, even though it felt like my head had been buried under a drum that had turned into a kid's toy.
Yes, I must have entered the cave from the opposite side; perhaps that was the case, and I should have turned around. At least, this provided a response to the question "where am I?" and a way to return home. I didn't feel like stumbling around aimlessly in this untamed forest.
I was feeling my ears unlocking as if i had gone deaf; in a manner that was incredibly difficult to define I kept searching for a hint of another outlet.
"Ooi, can you hear me...!?" I felt as though i had been granted a new life When I heard a man's deep voice behind my back, perhaps it was the guide; I whirled around; but Contrary to my expectations, an elderly man with white hair that seems to have been ironed and clothes making him appear as if he had just returned from a war—not a modern war ofcourse—handing a blood-red appearantly decorated sword, as well a long black cloak covered him top to bottom.
"ARE YOU LOST TOO!" I questioned with a startled tone
"This way--FASTER!" I was observing the man tearing his throat beckoning me to follow him while he was stepping backward into the bottomless jungel.
I reasoned that perhaps the homeless man was in pain and pursued him; it felt like my headache was gradually going away and I could feel my legs better. However, the feeling did not stay that long when I realized 'yes--my legs might have recovered but I am convinced that I have lost my mind!.'
Similar to the previous man's attire, dozens of other men were fighting some wolves with all manner of sharp objects and swords, but when I tried to squinte my eyes, I saw skeleton-like creatures whose bodies were not so much attached to flesh; it was similar to childhood nightmares, with the exception that it looked very real and their voices were as if a person is in the middle of a herd of hyenas; hair would stand on end.
"Are they filming or something here..." Simultaniously that I tried to talk with the man, he pulled me by my wrist so firmly that I thought my hand would break.
"LOOK, sir, I'm sorry to have disturbed your filming, but you called me yourself--OWW, sir, I'm with you...are you deaf?," I said.
trying to release his hold; to come true, I no longer wanted to be a victim of this day's bad omens, all I wanted was to take a taxi back to home;
He carried on stalking until we turned a corner, a lake next to the cave with fairly dark water.
I assumed he wanted to cross the lake, I didn't want to get any wet at all, but it seemed my physical strength was not accompanying me to have another option.
However, the situation turned out to be even worse than I had anticipated.
"What...the hell are you doing? No, no, no...!"
He forcibly held both of our heads underwater as soon as we took a few steps into the lake. I initially believed the man to be a serial killer who was tryna kill me for spoiling his movie, but I was mistaken; a headless body was right in front of me, and this time, the third person did not resemble to be fake at all.
The man's hand covering my mouth was preventing me from screaming.
Except for when I fell into that dreadful lake, this was the first time in my entire life that I had such a fear of dying.
My inaction was an attempt to flee from a death that I had no idea what it was or where it was coming from; however, it was clear from the man's pale face that I had to avoid any movement.
For a brief period, we were submerged in the water, which had already turned into a nightmare for me, until the countless shadows of bent-like men who resembled to be kind -- creatures, began to move quickly.Time would tell if it was a good or bad sign, And that was all could be seen.
We came out from under the water, and as we did, the man agilely persuaded me to follow him to the other side, appearing to be equally terrified as I was.
As the sunlight was gradually separating the shadows from the giant trees and the sky was starting to grow darker, the view before my eyes was seprating my conscious out of my head.
The ground was covered in blood and carpeted with the corpses of both humans and the wild creatures.
It seemed as though the devil himself had come to the earth. A sight that reduced hope for life to the thickness of a hair.
We reached under a tree that was apparently tall enough to compate with Khalifa building; before I could open my mouth to question or complain, the old man began while taking out his wooden bow.
"What were you doing there, lass, who did you come with, Huh?"
"What am I doing here? You...what...what's going on here?"
"Haha, I think you have lost you murbels--were you drunk...damn--why are your ears like that?" Said the man, With eyes that appeared to fall out of their places any moment and a tone as though he had seen a ghost, to come true, the way I was staring at him was no different.
His razor-sharp ears were as pointy as his blade while he was attempting to touch my ears and I was sure that he was as shocked by the scene as I was.