Some might read the plaque and wonder whether the artist had got it wrong as there were clearly only 4 figures standing on the platform.
"But that's because the 5th one is special" - A memory came into Atlas's mind, one of when Julietta first brought him into this place.
- Where's the 5th one? - the scene in his mind overlapped with one that was happening in front of him. Before he realised, a parent and child stood beside him, the latter asking the exact same question he had asked years ago.
The parent smirked, before pointing at a tiny line in the horizon, at the column that seemed to hold up the starry sky, the Acacia.
It was a clever trick, one that none but the sculptor herself knew the answer off. But for some reason.... "If you look at the Acacia in the distance, she, the 5th brave will appear"
- Woahhhh! - The child hummed in wonder after he realised, something that Atlas did too back then.
Was he still be able to look at the Acacia with such brilliant eyes? Atlas did not know,, looking at the pillar in the distance left him with nothing more than worries for the future.
Atlas sighed deeply as he closed his eyes. Then he raised both hands to his cheeks, his fingers splayed wide.
*Slap!*
His palms met his face, an action that he kept repeating with a hard rhythmic pat, harsh but just what he needed to coax himself into a more positive state. After doing so, he felt much better - "Worrying about the future won't solve anything"
"But at the very least!" - To lull on soft cushions and take a much deserved nap. At the very least, that was a wish that he would be able to satisfy on his journey back to the capital of Duskae.
****
The Dome of Dusk is composed of 37 districts, each the size of a big province and each with its own inhabitants and unique cultures. It would take one weeks to go from one end of Duskae to another on foot, but luckily for its inhabitants, each and every district was connected by a line of trams. Or more concretely, sonic speed trams or SST for short.
- Lad. Lad. Wake up - a rough voice rustled Atlas awake.
Atlas found the light surrounding him to be too harsh on his eyes, it took them some opening and closing for them to focus properly. - "Where am I?" - he wondered as he looked outside the window.
It was still nightime, a clear indicator that it hadn't been more than an hour since he had decided to take a nap but the driver's next words would jolt his body awake. - C'mon lad! I'd rather not stay in the 37th for any longer. Really, why do they still have us come to this place.... - the driver stood tall, broadening his shoulders. It was clear for anyone to see that he was trying to appear confident, but the jitter in his body and his penchant for jumping at every minute sound betrayed him.
- The 37th? Are we already in the 37th district?. - Atlas asked.
- Yes. Yes. So can you tell me whether this is your stop or whether you slept through it so that I can leave this godforsaken place once and for all?
Atlas combed his hair back and thought - "I slept through the morning?" - It was only then that he realised how fatigued he must have been. - "That slave driver of a master...."
From the capital of the Empire in the first ring all the way to the outskirts in the third ring and then from there to The Dome of Nochae and back and not a glimmer of rest in between. This was the first time he had gotten any decent sleep in the last couple of months.
Atlas bid goodbye to the grumbling tram driver before entering an unassuming alleyway. As he was doing so, he thought about his sad excuse of a life.
- Got any change man? Just a little bit of change.... - Atlas dropped a coin on a beggar's hat as he passed him through.
"There are a lot more people here than a year and a half ago...."
The deeper he went through the 37th district, the more desolate the area around him became. Before Atlas had realised, cobblestone streets had been replaced by an uneven surface composed of packed earth and scattered stones and the air had gotten thicker with the stench of rot and decay, the latter battling against an overpowering foul odour coming from the pooling wastewater next to a drainage.
Decades of unplanned developments had left this area looking like a wasteland with roofs sagging precariously under the weight of scavenged shingles and narrow alleyways twisting and turning like a labyrinth; plenty of fairytales told to naughty children were of those who had had been lured here to play never to go back, of the minotaur who apparently lived by feeding itself of the succulent flesh of the former. They were fairytales of course, but Atlas knew that they were rooted in truth, not entirely baseless.
Two more turns into another alley and a sharp turn into an unassuming corner, finally straight ahead and at the end he was met with a dead end. Yet this was exactly where Atlas had wanted to be.
He looked around him and only after making sure that the peering eyes around him had dissapeared did he take a step towards the wall. Then, he rummaged inside his belt pouch and took out a golden coin, one that the beggar sat near the entrance had discretely given him. - What have these eyes of mine seen? Were the words written on top of its lustrious exterior.
There was a coin slot in the wall, small enough for anyone it didn't know it was there to miss. With practiced hands, Atlas slid the coin in it.
*Clack*
Soon after that, with the sound of the coin falling into a metallic surface as a kind of signal, the world began distorting and after it had finished doing so, everything around him had changed.
A soft grin made its way into Atlas's face as he watched everything around him with familiarity, nostalgia and warmth.
High, timber-framed buildings extended from both sides of the road, their upper stores nearly touching, casting the alleyway into twilight. Atlas walked through the latter whilst smelling the earthy scent of aged wood hinting at the place's long history.
"Frozen Lake Avenue", the sign embedded on top of one of the building's walls read, confirming that he was inside the real 37th district; the Oasis.
Atlas briskly walked to his lodgings. He was trying hard to hide the excitement he was feeling, but the slight uplifting twitch on the corner of his lips betrayed him.
- As expected - A sign in which the words "Closed" were written hang on the door. He tried pulling into the latter but with no avail.
It was well into the night and different from the capital of the Dome and its immediate surroundings, the 37th had already closed its eyes.
- It will have to be tomorrow - he murmured dejectedly as his eyes landed on a sign that read the tavern's name - "The Fabled Chalice" - thinking about the girl whose name was used for the tavern's a small chuckle escaped his mouth.
Atlas walked to the right hand side of The Fabled Chalice and looked up to a window on the second floor. It took him less than a breath to climb it.
*Thud*
He tried to push it open, but then realised that it was locked from the inside. - "She's not in?" - To confirm his suspicions, an envelope fell down from the window's cracks as soon as he loosened the hinges holding it together.
The envelope was white, sealed with a deep crimson wax and pressed into it was an emblem of an eye hiding behind a blindfold. A closer inspection revealed that it carried a unique scent, reminiscent of a moonlit garden - a mingling of jasmine and night-blooming cereus. Atlas understood it had to be from his teacher for this was one of the scents that she used to mark her belongings.
Atlas set the letter onto the table, intent on leaving whatever was written inside for tomorrow; fatigue was slowly pulling down his eyelids and any attempt at concentration he knew would be met with resistance.
But just as he was about to lay on the bed, Atlas's gaze was drawn by the window of the building across his, lingering gently for a long time.
He had wanted to lay in his bed as soon as possible but thought about what the one behind that window would say if he had done so without cleaning up first.
- .... - a snicker escaped his mouth as he thought about the way she would react.
Thus, he knew his first night back would last for a little while longer.