The Hidden City Page 16

  “But don’t tell anyone I said this, it’s just a rumor that I’ve heard, and I don’t like to spread rumors around the city, especially that you work now at the Financial Council.” She leaned back on her chair and took another muffin.

  “So, do you two like my pastries?” Mary said, changing abruptly the subject.

  Margaret was intrigued by her story about the caves. She wasn’t expecting Mary to know so many hidden things about the city, but since she was in town for such a long time, and since she had that inquisitive personality, it was actually normal.

  “Ah, I do, they’re really great. Philip will probably pay you regular visits from now on, as he had the chance of tasting today a lot of your treats,” she said, looking at Philip, who returned a guilty look, while he was biting on the last cinnamon roll.

  “But what can be so strange in a cave where the stone is gathered and maybe a few crystals for the houses?” asked Margaret.

  “Well, the rumor is, my child, that when that person saw it, he found this triangle shape entrance, covered with bushes, which is totally different than how all the other ones look like. He said he saw a flickering image, appearing on and off, in front of the cave door, that resembled the rock of the mountain, that he could pass through. He tried to enter, but he heard a voice.”

  Margaret's eyes enlargened.

  “He heard a voice? In that wilderness even the birds are rare.”

  Mary nodded, with a serious face.

  “Yes, he did. He was not sure if it was in his mind, near his ears, or if it came from above, or even if there was a loudspeaker in the vicinity.”

  Margaret weighed her words and after a while, she added.

  “But...if someone wanted him not to enter, why not put a protective shield around the entrance?”

  Mary shrugged her shoulders.

  “I don’t know. He said that he found it because that shield was actually malfunctioning. But he was curious enough to ignore the warning. The entrance in the cave is actually very narrow, and it is covered with a lot of big bushes that grow wild there. I think it was one of the oldest ones, that was opened in the mountains, but judging by the entrance, I personally think that no chunk of stone was taken off that one. It’s made so only one person can enter, at one time.”

  Mary became increasingly curious.

  “Is that so...”

  “Yes,” continued the voluble lady. “And when he entered, he saw a small corridor, that went on and on straight into the mountain. He had enough courage to walk almost 100 feet, and reached the end of it.”

  “But how did he enter?”

  “Well, he said that the door was opened … something probably happened that both the shield that covered the door and the door malfunctioned.”

  Philip was catching some of the discussion, but he was too amused by the jazzy music and the cozy and relaxed atmosphere in the bakery to follow them.

  “Can you two ladies excuse me for a while? I would really love some fresh air, and I want to check on our dragons … ” he said and looked at the two.

  Mary nodded.

  “Of course, dear. Go ahead.”

  “So what did it happen when he reached the end?” Margaret asked, curious to see how the story ended.

  “Well, he ran into a perfect polished door, made of a metallic material, as opposed to the dark walls of the whole corridor, that closed the whole corridor abruptly.”

  Margaret didn’t know what to say.

  “Well … this seems like he explored the cave and found nothing...”

  “I know. That’s what I thought. But when he touched the big slab of the metal that was cut perfectly, he felt symbols imprinted on it. He managed to clear away the dust, and there were some orange characters on it. Nothing more. Oh, and he clearly heard a soft voice in his mind that was saying: “It’s not time!”. Then, he felt really afraid, and that made him run back into the corridor until the entrance, outside. Then the door disappeared as if it was not there, and all he could see was the mountain’s slope, solid as a rock can be. In a few moments, he felt as if everything, the door, and the corridor, were like a dream, as if his memories would have quickly faded away.”

  Mary took another sip of her tea and shrugged her shoulders.

  “I told you, strange things can happen here. Since then, he has not visited it again, not to mention that this place is really far away from the city.”

  Margaret was really intrigued by Mary’s story. She seemed to know all the little things, bits, and pieces that made this city full of mystery, and that was definitely because of her voluble way of being. Having a local bakery shop can make you learn a lot of new and unexpected things from the so many people that come in.

  “Really interesting story,” Margaret said. “It seems there are many mysteries in the City, and for most of them, only the Elders can enlighten us with the truth. Not to mention that in some cases, they might not even know the real truth, or they might keep it only to themselves.”

  Mary nodded.

  “I love mysteries, they make my days more interesting here, leaving me dream of the so many possibilities that there might be. But in some cases, I can reach dead ends, where I am left with no real answers.”

  Margaret took another one of the last cookies on the plate. As they were talking, Philip seemed to have indulged in most of them.

  “Do you want me to bring you some more cookies, my dear?”

  Margaret smiled and thanked her.

  “Well, it’s not necessary. I am still working today, as we speak, and I think I should soon go back. I just wanted to see you again and thank you for your wonderful gesture, of giving us free muffins that day. It meant a lot for us.”

  Margaret smiled.

  “It was the least I could do, my dears. I couldn’t leave two of our new people in town with no credits, getting out of my store with an empty hand.”

  Margaret thanked her for generosity, with a bow, and touched her amulet, in kindness.

  “Well, since we’re leaving, take these 10 credits, and if you’d be so kind, wrap us some of your favorite pastries for 8 credits, so we can indulge at home in your wonderful and tasty creations. That will make Philip very happy.”

  Mary’s face lightened up all of a sudden.

  “Of course my dear, follow me at the counter.”

  They both raised from their chairs. Mary gave her some of her freshest cookies that she currently had, and packed them in a special colored box.

  “Thanks so much for hosting us today, Mary. I promise we will visit you again, and sorry for having to leave in such haste. The past 30 minutes have been a pleasure to me, talking to you.”

  “Go, my dear ones. The spicy life of the City awaits you. And poor Philip probably got very bored today, we monopolized the entire discussion,” she said, chuckling.

  “Indeed. We will be back soon. Have a great day!” Margaret said and exited the shop. The doorbell rang once as she closed the door.

  Outside, Philip was petting and talking to his dragon.

  “Hey! You girls have finished talking already? I felt guilty that I ate most of the cookies, and at some point, I got so bored in the discussion, that I needed to go outside. Mrs. Mary seems to know many secrets that go around her bakery, but if you ask me, I’m not sure which one is true and which one is not.”

  “I know. Mary is very voluble, at her age, but I really like her inquisitive personality. Here, put these treats in your backpack. I really have to go back to work, now. You are free to roam around with your dragon and indulge in these cookies or do whatever you feel like today. And please, save me some sweets for when I get back from work, this time.”

  “Alright, Maggie. Have a beautiful day at work. I will be on my way back home soon, I want to clean the back garden of our house today before you come home.”

  “See you later,” Margaret said and buckled her dragon.

  Philip’s image on the bench outside Mary’s shop shrunk more and more, as Margaret went up
in the sky. The intriguing things that Mary told her today, were still in her mind. Her image about the City started to gradually change ever since she got her job, and she began to understand that behind every little piece of their safe haven, there was a mystery that made that thing possible. And probably all this mysterious glow of the city, that she could feel in her heart from time to time, was one of the best-kept secrets, that only the Elder knew, the elite of the City that kept everything going so smoothly. There must be a price for everything, Margaret thought so that we can continue living every day in this magical place, and if the price is having secrets that no one knows about, the Elders will make sure that they will guard them at any cost.

  Chapter 14 - The Machine Room

  Today was a big day for Margaret. She was celebrating one month at the Financial Council, and she was as thrilled as ever. Working there for the past month has been an incredible experience, helping her bring along her unique contribution to the community, putting in a lot of work hours, not to mention making a lot of friends, and earning a lot of credits. That day, she wanted to wake up at least 2 hours before arriving at her job, to get ready and have a clear mind throughout the day. She went out of bed silently, as usual, careful not to wake Philip up, and requested for her breakfast. Eating in silence and enjoying every piece of her meal had become lately her daily ritual, as she discovered that having a mindful breakfast, would gently open the way to the unexpected experiences that each day carried in itself. Her recent attitude was inspired by her meetings at the Order’s locations; meditation felt like a glove for her, helping her tune more into the peacefulness and quietness of the day, and above all, into the deepness and silence of her own self. She tried to introduce Philip to the Order too, telling him about the great experience that she had there, but he seemed not to be interested in pursuing such a dedicated practice, at least not at the time being.

  After finishing her breakfast, she put her hands together into prayer and thanked for a great meal, looking forward to the great that that was about to begin. She began arranging her few clothes, on the bed, in the next room. She picked her outfit for today, took her blue robe over them, perfumed herself softly, and carefully arranged her emerald necklace around her chest. Today was a special day for her and she wanted to create a great impression on everyone she shall meet.

  Walking very quietly, she left the house and went into the backyard. The two dragons were already awake, playing with each other. She gently caressed her dragon for a while and jumped slowly up in the saddle. The dragon welcomed her, turning her head and looking her into the eyes, and started flapping her big green wings. In a few moments, they were up in the sky, right above the house. She chose to fly slowly for a while, around the houses of her neighborhood, in large circles, feeling the refreshing air caressing her face. Her blue robe and her long hair were blown by the quiet wind as she was holding her dragon tightly around her neck, as the sun was beginning to warm up the land, with its orange morning rays. The skies were blue, and you could see a few white clouds floating everywhere, in the distance. From above, she could see neighbors coming in front of their houses and rejoice in this beautiful morning, some of them waving at her, seeing her gliding up in the skies. After flying around for a while, she decided it was time to go to work. The Financial Council’s building was a merely 10 minutes flight from her house, so she reached it in no time.

  A few occasional morning people were just opening their mobile shops, in the vicinity of the imposing Financial Building, unpacking their ice cream and food goods. She descended gently into the backyard of the building and left her dragon there. In her quiet mind, a few thoughts wanted to sneak in, as she was excited about her celebratory day, but she avoided any unnecessary thinking. She walked around the building, on the small cobbled path that was on the side, and entered the front door, wishing just a few people were inside. And she was right: the usual mornings welcomed her with a few of the employees, talking on corridors and enjoying their coffees, but today, only three of her colleagues got this early to work. When they saw her, they greeted her, touching their amulets, in reverence. She did the same and felt the great kindness in their hearts. The corridors were cool and they were lit by the sunshine that got in through the windows of the adjacent offices.

  Inside her office, everything was exactly as she left it, last night. Because no one was really there, there was a lot of silence, and on the big windows of her office, she could see the yellow sun spreading its warm rays. It was close to 7 am in the morning. She quietly sat at her office and checked for any new messages. She opened them and started immersing in reading them.

  In the first month at her new job, she learned a lot and progressed every day. She learned how to improve the time in which she signaled the needed products in the area of the bakeries that she was in charge of, and when she showed that to Jillian, she was amazed at the great work that she put in. Margaret was one of the new addition to the Financial Council and everyone was talking about her great performance.

  It must have taken her 20 minutes to read her messages. She replied a few of them and then she began checking the early needs for the bakeries when someone just knocked on her door.

  “Hey, Margaret! How is your day, today? Kind perhaps? Busy?” the man asked, standing in the door frame dressed up in his white robe, with his long wooden cane.

  She wasn’t expecting anyone, especially the leader of the Elders to come at this rather early hour in the morning, in her office.

  “Prival! It is as good as it gets! I’m managing, striving, and trying to be of service,” she said with a rather shy tone.

  “You are humble, as usual, my dear. I’m glad to hear that. I heard you enjoyed a lot your last encounters at the Order building. I will try to make an appointment on Rose Street 32, maybe we can meet there sometimes.”

  He paused for a few moments and then added.

  “But to cut to the chase, the reason I’m here at this morning hour is that I came to ask you if you’d care for a trip with me to the Council Building. I need to show you something since you somehow seem to get involved with the City more and more lately, and you are everywhere these days,” he said and pointed her gently out of her office. “And bring your blue robe with you, you are going to need it … ”

  She looked at him with surprise in her eyes.

  “Well ... sure, of course, Elder,” she acknowledged quickly. “My duties can wait for a few hours,” she said, respectfully.

  The two went quietly downstairs, talking about her first month at the job and the new assignments that she got from Jillian, lately. Outside, in the back of the building, Maggie and Prival’s dragons were eating berries from the bushes. She arranged the saddle in a more comfortable position for her and for her dragon and in a few moments, they buckled them and went up in the sky. The dragons were well-rested, and the fresh air of the morning was invigorating. Prival led her towards North, where the Council Building could be seen, from afar.

  The main square of the City was almost quiet. Just a few mobile shops that were opening here and there, and a few more vendors coming with their shops from the adjacent city streets. A few people in blue and orange robes were browsing through the few shops that were opened, exchanging morning impressions with the vendors.

  Margaret and Prival left their dragons in the front of the building and Prival opened the main door with a rather large and bulky metal key. Margaret loved how the Elders kept these ancient details, that they probably had borrowed from their life at the monastery, on Kriya. Inside, the usual coolness of the blue corridors welcomed them. They walked silently on the left corridor, right until its end. The semi-darkness atmosphere of the Council Building’s corridors always intrigued Margaret, as it reminded her about the times when she was tracking down artifacts, in many of her missions. Prival was silent and he was walking at her right side. Once they reached the end of the corridor, they turn right and they stopped.

  He pointed at the second door to the l
eft that looked indeed quite interesting, as it was made of a dark gray metal alloy, with an orange sign on it, reminding her of the Cube that got them here.

  “Here, that’s what I wanted to show you, Margaret,” he said, with a rather quiet voice, as if he wanted no one to know about this. “Do you recognize this sign?”

  “What is it? Yes … I do,” Margaret said, with utter curiosity.

  Prival nodded.

  “This is the Machine Room,” he replied. “I wanted to show it to you, since you already have more than two months in our City, and you have become a very valuable member of our community. I knew how intrigued you were, when I told you about it when you first arrived here,” he said, and touched the symbol on the door with his emerald amulet. “Remember, only an amulet can open the door, this was how the Creators wanted.”

  The door opened all the way to the right, entering the wall. Through the opening, Margaret could see a myriad of systems with little lights, of all colors. There was a slight humming in the room, coming from all the technology that was crammed in the rather big space of the room. They entered quietly and the door closed behind them.

  The room was twice the size of their house's first floor, and it was filled with electronics and devices of all sorts. The walls were of a dark blue color, seemingly made from the same alloy of the door.

  “Here is the machinery that controls the Planet. Everything you see here is the control room, but the Machinery itself extends a few levels below. The planetary system is over there,” said Prival, showing her some rather big consoles on one side of the room, “then there are a few other consoles here for controlling the weather system and the City’s defense perimeter. There, you can see that little console that we use only for the Financial System, that you work with, and there, where the four big consoles with green lights are, is the core of the Machine itself that controls all the Cubes that we have in orbit. That’s one of the original and oldest parts of the Machine Room, as we were being told by the Creators.”

  He allowed Margaret to have time to see all the little control dashboards of the Machine because he knew how passionate she was about technology. She passed quietly between them, looking at them as they were the Holy Graal of the technology, touching the corners of the material that the control panels were made of. All the consoles showed strange characters, rolling from one side to another, control lights, buttons, keyboards, and little displays. The alien technology that was behind the Machine was indeed something out of this world.