Chereads / At the edges of infinity (Apocalypse) / Chapter 3 - #3 : The fruit of the hazard

Chapter 3 - #3 : The fruit of the hazard

Recap :

In the previous chapter, the young man Jamil was visited in his sleep by the god of dreams, and his visit to the realm of crystals, which is highly sensitive to direct human contact, was the site of several disturbances. In fact, Jamil was the first human being to set foot in the world of crystals for a very long time, and during his visit he discovered two polished silver rocks whose parallelepiped sides featured two stained-glass windows sheltering creatures, either angelic or demonic, which in reality are nothing more than the mischievous and honest instincts of human beings. A storm was triggered by the young visitor's tear at the sight of this spectacle, which necessitated the intervention of the portal's guardian after the latter had been destroyed. The guardian answered some of the mortal's questions and finally revealed to him a dark porphecy of which he would be the outline. The afflicted young man was carried with this heavy secret by the north winds out of the world of dreams. The pilasters of the grotto that were supported by the suspension bridge rising above infinite oblivion (the place where rebels were punished) were altered and destroyed by the storm caused by Jamil. These celestial columns bore paintings in which prophecies, including the one foretold by the guardian, were engraved, but the destruction of the columns led to the loss of the prophetic paintings in the world of oblivion.The guardian of equilibrium, whose responsibility it was to protect the frescoes, failed in his mission and went to see the golden-threaded weaver god, author of the paintings, who suggested he visit the divine brother gods, the wisest and most powerful of the gods. Only they could enlighten him on the contents of the empty paintings, which were only waiting for the right time to be unveiled. The guardian did not do as the dwarf with the golden thread suggested, and did nothing. The young man woke up and told his sister about his dream, and she took him to the doctor, to whom she gave a large sum of money to diagnose his brother as insane and rob him of his rightful share of the inheritance.

Chapter 3: the fruit of the hazard.

The relationship between the young man and his family got worse and worse, and every day and every sunrise heralded a decline in the sense of family. This was due to Jamil's sister, who insinuated into the ears of his relatives the same ideas with which she had perverted the doctor. Day after day, the young man immersed himself in books, trying to find explanations for this mysterious dream, but the inadequacy of the writings he was reading made it even more intolerable, and vindicated his sister's lying hypothesis.His days were exhausted in the pages of grimoires, and his nights the spirits at his bedside tormented him, then took pleasure in watching him fade like the candles in his burlap under the pale light of the moon, which also reminded him of the beginning of his dream. Thoughts tormented him day and night, so much so that he became unrecognizable, the color of his face turning dark and sour... A family reunion was called for, but without the presence of the young man, who was not invited. This gathering brought together the young man's sister and his two brothers, one of whom was very unkind and the other mute, as well as cousins and all those who bore the same blood or who shared in the inheritance. Everyone entitled to a share was served, and at the end of the meeting a banquet was held in honor of the day, at which the goods were shared. Around a banquet where lust was free to mutate as it pleased, and where the lady sat as queen, game was served, as well as the noblest dishes, and then at the end of the day, the verdict was pronounced. Fearing that the young madman would fall victim to his insanity, he had to leave the family home, and before the cock crowed, he had to be dead! That's when the two black-clad men who had attended the young man's funeral were summoned to the manor, and seized the disinherited young man, blindfolded him and led him into the forest .but remembering at that moment the dark day of his burial, their conscience could not allow them to stone an innocent man, so they were content to leave him to his sad fate, far from the gaze of his loved ones, who rarely left the residence, and not having let him see the road they had traveled for the good of all, felt they had accomplished an act of nobility... how unfair life is, the past resurfacing once again! Jamil knew in his heart of hearts that his destiny would be dark, having referred to the guardian's words, although he still didn't know if the dream and the thoughts that followed him everywhere were real. An immense grief seized him and, alone in the forest in total darkness, he closed his eyelids, huddled against the ground under the cold howling of the wolves. The next day, he woke up in excruciating pain, but was glad not to have been attacked by ferocious beasts during the night, and set off in search of help. He came across an old man grazing his sheep on the damp morning grass and asked for charity. The old man, named Isaie, was grumpy and didn't much enjoy the company of men. When the old shepherd saw the young man approaching, he got defensive and said: "Stay away from my flock, stranger, whoever you are". Jamil replied wearily: "I beg your compassion.The young man's face was frightening, indescribably thin and very dark. The old man saw in the flagrance of Jamil's gaze a sincere distress and his heart filled with compassion for the young man, reminding him of his two sons who had been taken from him by the war and whose death caused the exile of the latter, who never wanted to mix again with human ugliness, and spent his days among the animals... Isaiah took the young man into his cottage and his affable wife took great care of him, serving him turkey soup by a roaring fire and listening to his every need. Night fell, and Isaiah suggested that the young man spend the night in the stable next door, which he owned. He couldn't let a stranger sleep under his roof, which also housed his two daughters, and he couldn't let the young man, who had begged for his help, leave for the forest in the middle of the night...

It was a particularly unpleasant night for the young man who, in addition to the bellowing of the cows and sheep and the ululation of the owls, had to put up with the smell of the salts rotting on the hay on the ground, as Ïsaie and his wife were getting on in years and could no longer clean up their herd's excrement every day. The next day sounded like a sound of deliverance for the young man, who greeted Isaie and asked for his help again in finding work.The old man thought for a moment and asked the young man to clean the stable and give him until evening to receive the answer to his request. The old man took his herd out as usual early in the morning, and the young man set to work as well. And even if this task was more or less thankless, Jamil took great pleasure in it: at least he wouldn't have to put up with that infamous smell during the night.

On the evening of the same day, Isaiah returned home and offered Jamil a job in his childhood friend's winery, the only one he had left. The next day, when the sun was centered on the clear blue sky, he went to the place Isaiah had described to him and sought out a man named Jeremiah. Having found him, Jeremie, who spent all day half-drunk, felt an immediate sympathy for the young man, who set about tidying up the place before the customers arrived, impatient from day one. At night, he would return home tired and early in the morning, get up, clean the barn and go back to work. It was a productive cycle for the young man, whose heart felt a sense of relief, having on the one hand had no more nocturnal torments for some time, and on the other earning his living. One day, he was sitting at the table next to Isaiah,jamil hesitated to ask the identity of the figures in the portraits that hung in the house, he wondered because the figures in the paintings were very young to be the old man's parents. Ïsaie, though sympathetic to the young man, had not spoken of these sons since their death, and any conversation about them in his home was forbidden. But in a most bizarre conversation, the subject of the war and its victims came up, and Jamil began to talk: the two men in the pictures were Isaiah's children, who had died in the same war that touched Jamil, who told his story too, and the adventures that his sister had also told him after her recovery. "Good heavens! "cried Ïsaie, the story was no stranger to him, for two years earlier he had saved a dying man with the same name as jamil. The data given by the two interlocutors complemented each other perfectly. There was no longer any doubt: the shepherd who saved Jamil's life during the war could only be Isaiah!

The old man remembered the young man's name, since the dying man's parents had taken him to hospital and called him by his first name, even though he had not been conscious before.And as fate would have it, they were soon to meet up again and get on well together. Following this conversation, the relationship between the two men grew stronger in the days to come, but Jamil asked Ïsaie to keep the identity of his family a secret even from his wife, to avoid any unwelcome surprises. Time passed and ïsaie, his back bent with age, gave up the ghost, taking Jamil's secret with him one rainy Friday evening. He was a brave and valiant man who did good during his life. The grandfather was buried, and the famous brebie, who found Jamil and was Ïsaie's favorite, was sacrificed on an altar in gratitude. The old man's cowshed and thatched cottage now belonged to his wife Madeleine, who saw in Jamil the son she would have liked to have seen, and asked him to carry on with his life as if Ïsaie were still present, as she saw it: it was her dear husband's wish. Years went by and Jamil found himself intrigued by one of Isaie's daughters, but not daring to speak to her, he worked day and night, earning more and more money to get to know her better. As the days passed and the first wrinkles began to appear on Jamil's forehead, he finally decided to ask for the hand of Rosée, Isaie's daughter from his mother Madeleine.

This was granted, and a beautiful engagement took place in the rose garden: not too far from their modest home. The couple were happy, and a silent wedding took place as winter approached a few months after the engagement, under the blessing of Rosée's mother. Jamil, for his part, was slightly saddened not to be able to invite any members of his family, and having once believed in the fidelity of men, found himself even more disappointed. He tried to camouflage his feelings, but the apple of his eye concealed a great deal of annoyance. The two lovers lived happily and lovingly, despite their poverty. Rosée never dared ask Jamil about the cause of her parents' death: he had lied to her about it in order to conceal the true story, which only Ïsaie knew and took with him to the afterlife. Even so, she asked herself a few questions that grew with each passing day, blasé about tomorrow. Rosée; with her mother's blessing received her share of the golden inheritance and decided to sell it to move out, having thought long and hard with her husband about starting a beautiful family. And one day, when they decided to go to town to sell the gold that Rosée had received from her mother, Jamil saw out of the corner of his eye his infamous sister, the one who had driven him away and was the cause of his misery.He did not greet her, but his mood was disturbed, and this was felt by his wife, who nevertheless remained silent. They continued their journey and then returned home. Jamil had a vague idea of the family manor house where he had lived for years, but the days had corroded this memory, and his wife had asked him the identity of this woman, but his reply was "nobody! ". And the question fell into the abyss of oblivion. His sister in turn returned home and kept the meeting a secret. Feelings of guilt surfaced in the heart of Berthe, Jamil's sister, but only for a short time, and her selfish nature resurfaced, muffling the sound of agonizing conscience. Whether Berthe had a selfish nature from birth - after all, it was she who opened her brother's coffin in the past - or whether this sudden mysterious nature was the result of the guardian's prophecy being fulfilled, there was no real answer. A year later, the couple moved to the town and had their first child, an angelic-faced daughter whom they named, and the following year their second child, Jacob. The birth of this offspring marked the beginning of a brand-new era that had been planned centuries ago in the other world.

... to follow ...

Chapter 4 : Resurrection of the past .