City of Illusions

by Kim ten Tusscher

  “I will be your guide through Hydrhaga today and show you where you will be staying. Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.”

  He turned around with a jerky, halting movement to walk in front of the newcomers. Elion looked back for a moment. The last gate was already closed, and above it soldiers marched, guarding the exit. He took one last, lingering look at the gate, and then quickly caught up with Lumea and Ward as they headed deeper into the city.

  Hydrhaga proved to be a country with an abundance of water. Lumea lost count of the number of lakes that dotted the green pastures and fields that surrounded the city: ten… twenty? She did not know. Ward proudly explained that some of them were thousands of feet deep, and the the darkness of the water seemed to confirm his claims. The murky depths consumed all light, and nowhere in sight was there a sign of a bottom. In the middle of the lakes, dozens of small boats sailed the waterways. The shores were busy, too, with people basking in the radiance of the sun and others enjoying a cool swim. Lumea looked forward to taking a dive later in the day. Both she and Elion could not help but notice the seemingly carefree way of life in Hydrhaga.

  Dotted around the landscape were several buildings. They were oval in shape and were partly covered by earth, making them resemble natural hillocks. Each building had its own flag and the walls that were visible had windows that allowed sunlight to pierce the near-subterranean abode. The dwelling Ward led them to, however, had the curtains drawn, blocking the light, and as they walked along the corridor their guide explained the layout of the houses.

  “Each house is built much like a tree. You could say that we are walking along the trunk now. Further on it is divided, as if into branches. At the end of the branches are seven leaves, which are the living spaces. Both of you have been given a room in this building.”

  Ward stopped talking just as they arrived at the intersection where the hallway branched off and shortly thereafter he opened the door to Lumea’s room. Elion’s room was the one next door. Ward left them there, saying that they could always find him if they needed him.

  Lumea closed the door of her room behind her. It was somewhat of a relief to be alone again after the journey with Elion. There was a chair standing against the wall, and when Lumea lowered herself into it, she sank into its soft cushions. Looking around at the pentagonal room, she noted that every effort had been made to make the guests feel at home, to feel comfortable. Long, velvet curtains hung down from the ceiling, swathing every inch of the walls in the luxurious fabric. Next to the chair, there was an oaken table, polished and varnished so that the wood held a deep shine, setting off the natural texture of the grain. Against the opposing wall was a large bed with what appeared to be a fine down mattress, the sort Lumea had only dreamed of. The last piece of furniture was a marble wash basin, a sculpted branch decorated with ivory leaves hung suspended from the wall, upon which cascaded a constant stream of cool, fresh water.

  Lumea got up and walked over to one of the curtains, which she drew to the side in single sweeping motion, revealing ornately-carved window frames. From her room, Lumea could see the woods of Hydrhaga before her, like a personal piece of woodland paradise. She drew open the other curtains, determined not to closet away a single avenue of her breathtaking view. The wonder over the beautiful landscape lasted only until she noticed something strange. Nothing moved. Not a leaf stirred in the wind, not a bird flew through the air. The clouds retained their shape and stayed in the same place.

  She reached out with her hand, and under her fingers she could feel the texture of the paint. Remembering that this building was buried in sand and earth, she suddenly felt a need for fresh air. She walked out of her room and knocked on Elion’s door. Together they left the building and went to discover more about Hydrhaga.

  The lakes were busy, because the temperature outside was so pleasant. Elion and Lumea found a place under the shadow of a solitary tree.

  “Going for a swim?” Lumea asked Elion.

  He shook his head in answer.

  Lumea shrugged, took off her dress and walked into the lake. The ground immediately disappeared from under her feet, and she sank under the water. She tried to scream, but instead she swallowed a gulp of water. She had been caught unawares, because she had assumed that the bottom of the lake would fall away gradually. Instead, it was a steep drop. Her feet couldn’t find purchase, bringing on a panic she would not normally have felt. For a moment that seemed to stretch on to eternity, the water seemed to be dragging her down and into its crushing embrace.

  In her mind, she returned to the time when she was just a little girl. Lunadeiron had seen its first signs of winter. The land was covered in a white blanket and the brooks and lakes had frozen over during the night. Her brothers had challenged her to step out onto the fragile ice. She wanted to impress them and she had done what they said. However, the ice was still too thin to support her weight and it broke, sinking her beneath its glass-like surface. She was gripped by the cold; all she could see was a blurred light. She tried to find the hole she had made, but time and again she bumped into the ice instead, and she was too weak to break through. It had seemed like lifetime before someone had finally pulled her out of the icy water.

  Now Lumea panicked again, beating at the water with her arms as if looking for something to latch onto, even though there was nothing there. The panic made her forget how to swim, and she felt like that helpless four year-old again. She desperately tried to reach the surface, but instead she seemed to sink farther.

  Suddenly, somebody grabbed her and pulled her ashore. She was lying on the ground, breathing heavily. The sun quickly warmed her, but the incident had upset her.

  “Are you okay?” Elion asked when he helped her to sit up.

  Lumea nodded. “I’m a bit dizzy, is all. Must be because of the shock and all the water I swallowed.” Then she stood up. “I’m going to my room.”

  Lumea noticed that Elion was concerned, and she felt touched that he cared about her, as well as surprised to see this new side of him.

  From that time on, the dark water looked much less inviting, and Lumea preferred to remain ashore. Nobody had witnessed what had happened; the other people seemed to be enjoying themselves too much to pay attention to the newcomers. In Hydrhaga, everybody was happy.

  In the dark of night Lumea had a sudden bout of anxiety, when her heart leaped into her throat. She seemed paralyzed as she watched formless ghosts approaching her from all sides. They reached out for her, threatening to deprive her of air, the way the water of the lake so surely had. She gasped for breath, but none came. It was morning by the time she fell into a dreamless sleep. When she woke up, the pains from the previous day’s experience had nearly passed.

  On the second day, Ward had sought Lumea and Elion out, intent on continuing their tour. He sounded businesslike as he pointed out the different sights and provided brief explanations about them. Then they reached a fenced-in terrain that seemed to have been dug out some time ago. Ward explained that inside Hydrhaga’s walls the remains of a strange creature had been found, which the discoverers had named the Thuranc. The pit that lay before them was the archaeological dig-site. The guide told Lumea about the great importance of the find, and how, through further research, they hoped to uncover the secrets of the past.

  Elion was only partially paying attention, as his time was mostly spent simply examining the surroundings. Lumea, on the other hand, was engrossed. She immediately recognized that their quiet and nervous host had a passion for the Thuranc. His voice became louder and less guarded. Lumea asked him many questions, enjoying the fact that her interest brought on such a change in their guide. Ward became more animated, he talked faster and his voice seemed to break less than it had on the previous day.

  They had been standing there for some time, examining the excavation site while Ward indicated the specific locations where various segments of the Thuranc had been found, all carefully marked with small stakes and signs. It was un
expected when Ward suddenly asked them to wait for a moment. He disappeared into a nearby building, leaving Elion and Lumea behind.

  When he returned, his eyes were twinkling with anticipation, and he gestured for the two of them to follow. They entered a long hallway with closed doors on either side. At the end of the hallway there was another door which was securely locked. Ward held his hand against a palm scanner and the locks opened with a loud click. The door opened and they entered behind their host. When the light was turned on, they could see the Thuranc behind a glass wall.

  Lumea had never heard of anything like it, not even in the many myths that her own country knew. The creature on the other side of the glass was slim and towered high above her. As far as its build was concerned, it looked almost human. It was naked, and its muscles stood out prominently. The muscles in its arms were especially large, like cables coiled beneath its smooth, nearly-translucent skin. Its long fingers sported sharp claws. Its hair was braided and fell down his back, and Lumea couldn’t help but notice that it was the only hair anywhere on its body. Its head was oriented downward, giving it the appearance that it was looking down upon any visitors. Its dark eyes seemed to look right through her as she stared at this relic of a distant past.

  The creature looked as if it had never known life, but at the same time Lumea imagined it would have no trouble breaking through the window and killing them all in one fierce, terrifying display. It confused and even frightened her, and she found that she was afraid of the Thuranc. She was not sure why, but as Ward became more enthusiastic, her fears grew, but she kept them to herself. Lumea did notice, however, that for the first time since arriving here, Elion actually seemed interested in something.

  7

  After that, Lumea and Elion only saw Ward from a distance. New guests had arrived and it was his duty to showcase Hydrhaga to them as well. Lumea wondered if they had been permitted a look at the strange creature by some higher authority, or if Ward had broken some rule that now prevented him from speaking to them further. She worried that they had gotten him into trouble. Aside from that sole fear, their carefree stay continued. There was always enough food and the temperature stayed pleasantly consistent. The days were quiet, the nights passed without any more nightmares of clutching hands or crushing watery depths. As her fears abated, it became logical for life to be centered around the lakes, with their cool, calming waters. Lumea’s existence, as with all of the other guests, continued in ignorance of the secret research being conducted in Hydrhaga.

  Lumea did not speak much with Elion, even though he was always close by. She was surprised by his constant presence. There was barely the need for his protection in this safe environment, and over time his overprotective nature began to grate on her. She did not confront him about his behavior, hoping that it would subside in time. It was the carefree attitude displayed by others that eventually served to relax him a little, and it was not long before Lumea started getting used to having people around her. She even started to recognize the more common faces, learning their names and developing acquaintances. Curiously, at times people seemed to simply disappear. She assumed they had gone back home, but nobody ever talked about it. The reason why she and the others had actually come to Hydrhaga remained likewise unclear, but it all appeared unimportant, with life continuing on at its calm pace.

  Even with the communal atmosphere and pleasant days, boredom struck Lumea in the evenings. As soon as it turned dark, everyone retreated to their rooms. The window-paintings were lit differently during that time, but the knowledge that none of it was real detracted from their beauty. They would look exactly the same tomorrow, and the day after that, and the one after that.

  Lumea spent most of those lonely hours reading, but one night she put aside her book. It was impossible to concentrate on the words for some reason. She had read the last page three times already, and still she had no idea what it said. She thought of her parents, and wondered if she had made the right choice in coming here. What would she have been doing now, if she had stayed? Quite likely, she would have been surrounded by guests who would end up spending the night.

  Those evenings were always full of company. The guests would tell stories and sing songs. When she was little, she always tried to find a small corner somewhere so that she would not have to go to bed. There, she would sit quietly and fight against sleep, a battle she would always lose. Her father would then take her into his strong arms and place her gently into her bed. She would wake up for a moment just as he tucked her in and wished her the sweetest dreams.

  As she grew older, her father would often ask her to sing for their guests, who listened breathlessly. She loved those moments, because they made her feel as though she actually belonged. It was a feeling she did not have very often, for most of the time she felt more like an outsider.

  Lumea stood up and walked out of her room. She knocked on the door next to hers. A woman opened it.

  “Hi, good evening. I was thinking in my room just now – well, actually I was being bored in my room, and I thought maybe it would be nice to get together with the people in this corridor, you know, as a way of getting to know each other? What do you think?”

  The woman’s reaction was enthusiastic, and they agreed that she would come to Lumea’s room in a moment. Others agreed as well, and before long they had all gathered. Most of them had brought a pillow with them so that they had a place to sit, and some brought food and drink to share. Elion chose the window sill to sit on, from there he could survey the group. Lumea sat on the floor in the center of the gathering.

  The impromptu party started out somewhat stiff and tense, because they did not know each other, but soon enough, conversations started up among the gathering. Except for Lumea, all of them came from Omnesia, and they started comparing memories of home. The atmosphere grew more animated and even though she could not join in many of the conversations, Lumea was visibly enjoying it.

  Suddenly, everything turned dark; the lights in Hydrhaga went out at a certain time. The only light that remained came from the emergency lamps within the corridor. Some people got up to go back to their room, but Elion had brought a lamp which he lit and handed to Lumea. She put it in the middle of the group.

  The atmosphere turned mysterious as the lantern’s light was not quite strong enough to reach the corners of the room. Elion sat in the dark and watched how the light shone on Lumea’s face and made her tattoo glitter. Almost as if she was conscious of this fact, she started singing. It was a song about Lunadeiron, in her own language. Nobody understood the words, but even so her voice took them to the mountains and vales of her home. At times her voice was warm, like a summer’s day, and at others clear and clattering like a waterfall. Everyone listened without even a murmur.

  At the end of the song, they remained quiet for a moment longer, then a woman asked her to sing another song. Lumea remembered the beautiful duet she used to sing with her father. She was sure it would sound less magnificent if she sang it alone, but as she searched for a different song the melody of the duet kept intruding, making it impossible to think of anything else. She started singing, but her voice was unsure during the verses that her father normally sang.

  Suddenly, Elion’s voice joined in with hers, and she was surprised as he took her father’s part of the song. The language he used was different—she did not know it—but it complimented the song very nicely. She looked up at the man sitting on the window sill. He smiled at her and nodded encouragingly. She felt her cheeks flush, but nobody knew that he was not singing the song the way it was written. The fact that he seemed to know the words only convinced them that he must come from Lunadeiron as well.

  When the song ended, a man got up and left the room for a moment. When he returned, he had a small harp tucked under his arm. At first he played and sang alone, but the songs became rowdier and soon people were singing along and laughing. Even Elion laughed exuberantly at some of the lyrics. Everyone was in high spirits and by the time they
got up to leave it was late. Lumea stopped Elion as he was leaving and looked at him enquiringly.

  “Your song reminded me of one my parents used to sing. I only used their words in your song, that’s all,” he told her. He quickly walked through the door before she could ask anything else. She accepted his answer.

  Similar nights followed, and Lumea and Elion relieved the boredom of the lonely nights in Hydrhaga through their parties.

  Weeks passed this way, with nothing of importance to mark the passage of time, until one day, months later, Lumea discovered something new. For once, Elion was nowhere to be seen, and as she walked towards one of the lakes movement in the air caught her attention. When she turned towards it, she realized she was looking at kites. Some of them hung motionless in the air, except for their tails, colored ribbons that fluttered in the wind. Other kites swooped and dived in front of the passing clouds. They were made of thin paper and the sun shone through them, intensifying their colors, which stood out against the lavender sky.

  The play in the air made Lumea feel cheerful, and she walked in the direction of the flying kites, her pace quickening, until finally she was running. When she crested the top of a small hill she stopped. Beneath her she could see a man operating all the kites. Most of them were attached to poles in the ground, but the man was holding two lines.

  Two butterflies were dancing in synch through the air. The paper of the kites made a clapping sound in the wind, which sometimes changed to a low hum. Once or twice, the kites looked as if they would crash into the ground, but just before it happened the wind would pick them up again and they were flying high once more.