“The Rose,” said Beth quietly.
She thought of Anwar and his allotment full of roses. She remembered the rose he had given her on the bench. She remembered the white rose being the symbol for the county of Yorkshire. She recalled the birthmark on the forearm of Aklina being in the shape of a Rose. She remembered her search for Rose Akhter. It was not lost on Beth that the Guild Houses were starting to map out her journey.
“This is a coincidence,” thought Beth, “this could not continue could it?”
Beth looked up from the guide with an eerie feeling sweeping down the back of her neck. She studied the building starting from the bottom. On the ground floor was a restaurant, in front were tables with red umbrellas where people sat and enjoyed a meal and drinks. Beth looked to the left where she could see a doorway surrounded by red colored wood. A bright red and cyan striped awning jutted out from the building. It had white letters stamped on the awning, “La Rose Blanche,” the white rose. Above the wooden panels of the doorway was a ledge. Beth’s eyes were drawn to a gold colored adornment nestled on the ledge. A large gold bowl with handles housed a golden stem. From the stem grew gold shoots to the left and right each decorated with gold leafs. The center stem grew tall capped off by a beautiful gold rose. To the right of the rose was a gold and cyan colored plaque with 1702 written in stylized gold numbers. This was starting to make sense to Beth. The buildings did mirror her journey.
She wanted to skip to the end but what if she missed a clue in one of the buildings. She examined The Rose building from bottom to top. Gold scroll accents separated each floor. Rectangular windows gave way to the top floor with three small windows. Scrolls were replaced with gold cloth swags. The roof had ornate symmetrical shaped scallops. Either side of the center urn was cyan and gold colored urns balanced precariously. Beth satisfied herself that she could not see a Shell and glanced downward back to her guide. Her hands were shaking and she steadied the booklet so she could read the name of the next Guild House. Beth was walking and reading. She stopped dead in her tracks as a wave of realization swept over her.
“This is meant to be. There are no coincidences,” said Beth.
A man made a quick adjustment to his stride not expecting Beth to come to an abrupt stop. Beth was oblivious, wrapped up in the guide’s message. The next Guild House was called The Golden Tree. The Golden Tree prompted images of stricken Indian women desperate to escape their lives in Sonagachi, the Golden Tree of Kolkata. Beth remembered the looks she saw on women’s faces as she and Sanjeev passed by in that white taxi. So far the The Mountain of Thabor, The Rose, The Golden Tree had reproduced her journey in sequence.
Beth lifted her eyes and studied the building searching for clues. Two tall narrow windows flanked a wooden door with stained glass above. A row of small gold accents separated the first and second floors. The second and third floor had three rectangular shaped windows. Long stone-carved columns separated the windows. Wrapped around each column were golden accents of leaves and branches representing The Golden Tree. Small ornate stone carvings showing scenes of cherubs frolicking could be seen high on the facade. The columns ended in a splash of gold propping up a stone ledge with gold words. “MAISON DES BRASSEURS” could be seen under two stone lions. The lions reminded Beth of the marble lion in Anwar’s allotment. Positioned between the lions was a stone plaque with small gold writing. The plaque was so high Beth could not make out the words. Above the lions the roof decorations were beautiful. Gold characters spelled ANNO to the left and 1698 to the right. Each plaque was flanked by curly tailed sea serpents. In the middle and surrounded by gold leaves and a row of gold swags was a colorful coat of arms topped off with a red and gold crown. This led to a plinth where a regal looking gold statue was perched. A man riding a majestic horse seemed to point inwards at the Grand Place. Beth glanced up and down again, sea serpents but no Shell.
Beth walked slowly towards the next building her stomach full of butterflies and her feet dragging as if in lead shoes. She stopped in front of the building daring not to look at the facade. She glanced at the text within the guide. The next Guild House was The Swan; Beth just smiled but felt faint from the excitement.
Before she could read she received a message from Subra. “We’re close I can feel it, keep going,” said Subra in a voice so strong Beth could feel it in her chest.
She read the guide. The Guild House The Swan is now a restaurant called “La Maison du Cygne” or House of Swan. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels stayed here in 1847 during meetings of the German laborer’s union. Trembling, Beth raised her eyes and immediately centered her gaze above a narrow stone door way. The door lay above four stone steps with a thin black wrought iron handrail. A wooden door topped with a glass panel welcomed guests. A small ledge above the door housed a vibrant splash of green foliage creating a framed border. In the center of this border against a royal blue background was a beautiful white swan. The wings were outstretched; it held its neck straight with its yellow beak facing forward. The swan looked as if it were to take flight from the building ledge at any moment. The beautiful white swan statue bordered by green foliage stood out from the stone and the gold. Either side of the swan was red and cyan awnings. People inside were enjoying exquisite food at a premier restaurant. Above the swan was a stone balcony supported by gold scrolls decorated with gold lion heads. Beth moved her eyes skywards and saw two stone cherubs holding a golden ring. In the center of the ring was a design that Beth could not recognize; it was a busy series of intertwined lines. To the left a striking red and gold plaque read AN.NO. To the right of the cherubs was another plaque in the same colors 16.98. Still higher was a triangular shaped stone roof with three stone statues of women. Each carried a small gold highlighted object. The swan reminded Beth of her time in Toronto and her visit to Kaigara, Sakura and Swan Property Investments. She remembered the Swan of the Pacific, the beautiful white-hulled schooner docked in Yokohama on the Tokyo Bay. The buildings continued to trace her journey in exact detail and Beth felt physically sick. She clasped her hand to her mouth and coughed loudly. The following Guild Houses were in sequence; The Mountain of Thabor, The Rose, The Golden Tree and The Swan had told of her journey.
Beth thought she had completed the Guild Houses in this row but the guide pointed out one more attraction. Joined to The Swan building was a thin building that had multiple floors but no ground floor. The building’s first floor was a support structure of dark grey stone arches and columns. It looked a little out of place. A small crowd of people huddled under the arches and seemed to be interested by something within. Beth leaned against an ornate cast iron lamppost.
The guide informed Beth that the building was The Star and it was once occupied by Amman the Dukes representative in the city. The Star, Beth shook her head and felt the blood drain from her face. Toshie Osanami was the frightened young woman in Tokyo committed of fraud, having her mental sanity questioned. To escape persecution she followed her destiny to Belgium to find the gate. She had to change her name from Toshie to Hoshi.
“Hoshi, Japanese for Star” said Beth into the pages of the guide. Beth glanced upwards to inspect the building. The Star building was plain, supported by dark grey stone columns it was three levels tall. Above the arch was a plaque. An oval shaped cyan disk was visible surrounded by golden scrolls. It looked like a ring that you could put on a giants finger, plain and oval shaped. A few small accents of gold led to a modest triangular shaped stone roof. Sitting proudly on top of the stone triangle was a beautiful gold Star. It was angled to give a three dimensional feel.
“Hoshi, Star,” thought Beth. “The Guild Houses continue to map my journey; this can’t be a coincidence; The Mountain of Thabor, The Rose, The Golden Tree, The Swan and The Star.”
She continued to read the guide. Under the stone grey arcade is a brass statue of a medieval Brussels hero. Legend has it that striking the forearm of the statue brings great luck. The statue is of Everard ‘t Serciaes.
“Eve
rard, my driver,” thought Beth. “That’s it, strike the arm, that’s the portal,” thought Beth shaking with fear and excitement.
“Strike the arm,” shouted Subra.
Beth walked under the columns and entered the arcade. A brass plaque was black from the grime and the oxidization. The plaque was three-dimensional with a figure reclining, his head to the left. The body and part of his face draped in a death shroud. His entire body was now a shiny yellow brass color. Many touches had rubbed the grime and dirt away. At his feet you could see the head of a loyal hound, yellow from the touches. Floating above the body was a cherub face surrounded by wings. The face was yellow but the wings remained black. Beth waited patiently and moved to the front of the line. Her heart in her mouth she was next. Most people were slapping Everard’s arm with their fingers.
“Are you ready Subra, get ready to grab Corom?” she thought.
Subra was stronger than ever feeding off the pure energy. “I’m ready Beth, strike him.”
Beth approached the brass wall sculpture and slapped his prominent right forearm with her fingers as she braced herself and closed her eyes. Nothing. Nothing happened.
She opened her eyes. In a panic she thought, “I must have missed his arm.” Beth kept her eyes open and stared at a patch of Everard’s forearm, yellow metal exposed from the touches. She saw her hand slap the exact spot. Nothing. Nothing happened. The people behind Beth nudged forward as if to indicate their impatience. Beth slapped the left forearm this time and incurred a comment in Flemish that she did not understand. Disappointed she beat a hasty retreat and screamed in her head.
“What happened? Nothing happened that’s what. What were you playing at Subra? Why didn’t you go through the gate?”
“That wasn’t the gate Beth. Did you see a Shell? That wasn’t the gate but don’t give up it’s near,” said Subra loud and strong.
“Are you sure?” thought Beth.
“One hundred percent, I’m telling you Beth the gate, the portal, its here we just have to find it. I’m certain this is pure energy and it’s coming from the gate,” assured Subra.
“What do I do now?”
“The guide has tracked your journey through the Guild Houses why not follow the guide and keep going?” suggested Subra.
“You’re right!”
Beth walked past a narrow street and under a Belgium flag attached to a flagpole protruding from the Town Hall. The flag fell limp in the calm night air. Above the flag was a round stone clock face. The face was black in color with gold Roman numeral markings and gold hands. The time on the clock read 7.25pm. Beth walked past the carvings of nobles, saints and allegorical figures. She marveled at the tall arches. She loved the gargoyles, some were beasts others squatting lions. Some had wings and beaks. Some had pigeons perching indignantly on their ornate backs. The birds enjoyed peering down on the crowds below. Beth stopped at the arch above the main entrance to the Town Hall. Two wooden doors studded with iron remained open.
“The gate,” thought Beth walking towards the opening.
The open doors led into an area with a high vaulted ceiling. Beth could see another open door with a figure above the door carved into the stone. Through that was another open door that passed through the entire building.
“That’s the gate,” thought Beth. As she started to walk towards the entrance she felt hot.
“No, not through there, that’s moving away from the energy,” said Subra.
“So much for the gate theory,” thought Beth.
Beth glanced up at the five figures on top of the door and examined each little cluster of carved stone figures forming a decorative arch. Not a Shell to be seen anywhere. Beth walked the length of the Town Hall until she came to the end of the building and another narrow street. She looked at her guide and skipped the section on the Town Hall.
Subra was screaming in Beth’s head, “Yes, Yes, Yes.”
“That’s not useful,” snapped Beth.
Looking at the guide she tried to orient her position and locate the next Guild House. By now the light was starting to fade. She started to read the guide again. The next Guild House was the House of Traders and on top of the house is the popular St. Nicholas or Santa Clause. Beth couldn’t resist, she peered high on the roof and there perched on top was a gold figure of a man. Her eyes dropped back to the guide.
This Guild House was called The Fox from the trader’s guild. Beth looked up to examine the building. She had seen Santa and she worked her way down examining the building. It had an ornate facade with a large window surrounded by stone arches, columns and gold accents. Faces stared out from the stone. A woman’s face was prominent. She stared out from the building her face painted in brilliant gold. Surrounding her head was a star burst, an aura of solid gold (unlimited potential). Beth cast her eyes down the building, more windows separated by figures of women holding flowers and other objects. A gold accent created a border of leafs and scrolls between the floors. A large stone balcony with a stone railing jutted out from the building. The stone railing was held in place by stone spokes accented with gold. Between each tall window beautifully carved full sized stone women stood majestically. Five women draped in robes carrying objects painted in gold. They gazed down calmly on the crowds below. Under the balcony muscled men supported the weight on their shoulders, their faces showing the strain of the task.
A small unimpressive window above a narrow stone door housed a dirty figurine. It was painted gold but the pollution, dirt and grime had turned it to a dark yellow with large patches of grey grime. Beth rubbed her eyes and looked again. There was no mistake. Sat on a small ledge in front of an equally small rectangular window was a fox! Not any fox but the same design that Beth had tattooed on her right wrist. The fox was sitting facing Beth with its brush lying on the ground tucked between its legs. The fox had its front feet planted either side of its tail. Beth could not believe what she was seeing. Underneath the fox statue was a dark stained stone ledge that separated the window ledge from the door beneath. In the three inches of space that ran the distance of the ledge were badly stained gold letters. They were originally gold but the staining and pollution had turned them dark. Because they were attached to the stone they were raised and you could still see the message clearly. IN DEN VOS
Beth closed her eyes and opened them to see if it was a trick of the light. IN DEN VOS was written below the sly fox statue.
“This has to be it,” thought Beth.
The doorway below led into a small open room only large enough to house an instant banking machine. The brightly illuminated signs of the ground floor window proudly announced the name of the bank that offered the machines. The signs shone brightly in the fading light. The neon signs were Indigo colored with white lettering. The Indigo light shone down onto the cobbled slate flagstones outside. Battered from wear the stones were small and square shaped. Beth was shaking as she looked at the fox, the IN DEN VOS sign and her wrist. As she raised her eyes from her wrist she caught a glimpse of something sparkle on the dark slate floor.
The Indigo light from the banking machine sign had reflected by a highly polished brass stud inlaid into a stone cobble. Beth walked forward and examined what was embedded into the cobble. Her heart leapt from her body! It was a perfectly shaped yellow brass Shell contained within a slate square. It had no right to be there, no purpose. Beth felt a surge of energy swelling through her entire body. She instantly felt hot and dizzy. Her body seemed to take on a life of its own and she had the sensation that she was no longer in control.
“Step on the Shell,” was the order rushing through her mind.
Without thinking Beth stepped on the well-worn brass Shell with both feet. Beth immediately felt a searing pain in her chest and neck. She could feel her knees buckle and began to fall. It seems strange now but in the time it took to fall to the ground Beth experienced so many things. She knew that Subra and his precious cargo had managed to surge out of her body and into the portal. She was conv
inced that she could feel him reach out and grab Corom.
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