interxavier
06-10-2008, 10:23 AM
Hello there, I'm a newbie here in this forum. Nice to meet all of you here, I hope I can fit in well. For my first post, I thought it would be fun to share a short story with you guys. I wrote this back in January or was it February? Anyways, you can also find this at my multiply site with the same title. Enjoy the read. ;)
January 25 2008
On one foggy night, a blinding white light glows inside a telephone booth; however, no one seems to notice the disturbing occurrence. It is probably because the inhabitants are all asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 days later...
Gioielli is a town known for its silent inhabitants. The population used to be four hundred but now it increased to an ample amount of four hundred and fifty. There were no buildings, only small houses made of bricks. The individuals residing in this town are mostly retired personnel; former educators, engineers, artists, and singers dominate the demographics of the town. Obviously, the town had no institutions not even inns or motels. The houses were lined up next to each other to form a huge circular shape of the town; if seen from above, it can be concluded that the pattern is a letter G.
The town is located in the middle of a thick forest. It’s no wonder the place was rarely talked about; it is hidden deep in the woods and only people with treasure hunting abilities may find it. One subtle fact about the citizens of this town is that its citizens use antiques to suit their living. It appears the only latest technology it has is an old rusted telephone booth. What makes it vague is the fact that there are no telecom signals in this town.
It was eight o’clock in the evening and every single mortal was already in their slumber; everyone except for one being. It’s not every day that Gioielli is visited by a person from the outside world. If the inhabitants were all awake, they may find this visitor strange in their perspective.
Here name was Via. She has never been to this part of the country. To her, she deserved a pleasant dinner because of her struggles through that thick forest but to her misfortune, everything else was closed. Via is sixteen; she stands at 5 foot 5, her body average for a teenager, has black shiny hair that fell to her shoulders, has brownish eyes, and her skin colour was cream white. From the descriptions, one may say that her race is Mediterranean. She was wearing dark blue jeans, a blouse, a thick jacket, a pair of gloves, and yellow snickers.
That long journey seemed to have no worth, thought Via. She thought that for a moment then snapped back to reality. Her visit to this unusual town wasn’t for a holiday but for something else. Via took out her flashlight and a piece of paper from her pocket. She flashed the light to the paper where a handwritten address was scribbled: fourth house to your left. She then glanced around her and tried to locate the fourth house the note was describing. With one turn, Via quickly identified the home she was looking for. Not wasting anytime, Via walked to the house’s front door. She took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and knocked hard at the door; there was no doorbell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 day earlier...
The telephone rang oddly at midnight. Surely, no one was awake at this hour. The phone rang five times until someone finally went down to pick it up. Lucky for this caller, the telephone is only three meters away from Via’s room. Barely able to open her eyes, Via greeted the caller a “hello” and immediately asked who was calling.
“Viaggia Consperanza?” asked the unknown caller. It was clear that the voice belongs to a woman.
“uhmm,” Via first hesitated but decided to say “Yes, this is her. May I know who this is?”
“There’s not much time, I need your help Via,” there was something wrong, how did this caller know her nickname?
“Wait, who are you?” but the caller’s reply was not an answer to Via’s question. “You live in a house not from where I am. Listen carefully,” the caller paused.
Whoever this caller is must be in grave danger, Via thought. Opening a small drawer, she gets a pen and a post-it. At once, the caller said: “You mustn’t leave the house while the sun is still at rise, the best time to come here is around 7 to 8 pm. Next to your house is a forest, the place where I reside is located in the middle of it so must take a flashlight or anything that can light your way here.” Like a flash of lightning, Via’s drowsy eyes were gone but instead replaced with curious and cautious ones.
“Look, I want to help you but my mother and father forbids me to venture to the forest at night. I’m sorry but I cannot disobey--“
“Listen, I know what you seek. You have been looking for a gemstone, a silver shiny gemstone.”
Via again had that feeling, was this woman stalking her? “How did you know about that? Wait, don’t answer that question. How do I know I can trust you?”
“Very well, you may bring anything to defend yourself but I’ll be frank with you, the forest is not dangerous. There are no wild animals or anything that can cause you harms, I can assure you that. You may not know it but I’m not from this town yet my journey here was the safest of all my journeys.”
It wasn’t very convincing but if she can trust this woman, Via may have a chance in finding the item that she’s been longing to find for months. Six months ago, Via was bestowed a book that tells of a myth about seven gems. According to the book, these gems were the most important artefacts of the renaissance period and three out of four of these jewels were destroyed after an attempted robbery. The last one, coloured silver, was believed to have survived but all hope faded as the years passed. Via, who desires to make a discovery after having unsuccessful achievements at school, tried all her might to locate this jewel. She was about to give up until this woman phoned her.
“Okay, I’ll come but I need you to tell me the safest directions to where I can find you.” Decided Via
Thus the woman granted her request.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Currently...
Via knocked again and this time, she heard footsteps. Within moments, the door was opened but only ajar.
“Are you the girl by the name of Via?” the voice matched the voice of the caller, particularly the woman’s.
“I am. I reckon you’re the one who called me this morning at dawn. Is that right?” asked Via.
“That is affirmative.” Without saying another word, the woman permitted Via to come in. Upon entering the house, she saw that everything was covered with a white blanket and the only light source was a candle held by the woman. The woman herself looked peculiar; her clothing was not visible because the woman was wearing a black cloak that covered her body, her face included. The woman approached Via but the latter became a little frightened.
“I’m not here to hurt you as I’ve promised,” said the woman who placed a warm hand on Via’s shoulder. “I will help you locate the gemstone as I’ve promised.”
“How did you know about that? Better yet, how did you know my phone number?” asked a puzzled Via.
“Too many questions but too petty the time I have for answering. Do not worry, your questions will be answered but you must do what I tell you,” she placed the candle onto a desk. “Step back Via.”
She obeyed and moved back a couple of paces. The woman crouched then took out a key from her pocket. The woman removed a piece of wood on the floor to reveal a keyhole; she inserted the key then turned it 180 degrees. Placing the key back to her pocket, the woman removed another wood from the floor; this time, a handle is revealed. She lifted the handle and medium sized square trap door is opened, removing more pieces of wood from the floor.
Via moved closer to see the wooden box. The woman stared at her, her face still not shown, and Via immediately knew what she meant. Via took the box out of the trapdoor. The woman closed the trap door and gave the key she used earlier to Via. The box is opened and a shiny silver gemstone is exposed; it was the artefact Via had longed for but how did it wind up here? She stared at it for a moment then the woman took the gemstone and proceeded to the door.
“Follow me Via.” The tone was calm but Via felt it was like an order.
She followed the strange woman outside, still stunned of what has happened. After a few paces, the woman stopped at a telephone booth. She opened the telephone booth and stepped inside. Via inched closer and saw the woman placing the gemstone inside the telephone box. It didn’t make sense, how will this answer her questions? Suddenly, a bright white light begins to glow and the woman’s cloak, not noticed by Via, is no longer worn by the woman. The face had dark shiny hair that fell to her shoulders, her eyes were brownish, her skin creamy white, and her face resembles someone. That someone was standing right now facing the woman who was smiling at Via.
Her questions were now answered but before she can put together all the pieces, the woman spoke.
“My name is Viaggia Consperanza, I’m commonly known as Via. For years I’ve searched the gemstones but I couldn’t succeed. My luck soon turned when an accident happened one night during my 25th birthday. A man, wearing renaissance clothing, came to my home. He wasn’t alone; he has with him the gemstone I’ve been longing to find. It turned out that he is the man who tried to rob all four gemstones; however, he failed to do get them all and was wounded trying to escape with the only gemstone he acquired. Knowing he couldn’t run far, he hid the gemstone to a small fountain but it wasn’t a fountain. It was some sort of a headstone with a hole the gemstone can fit through. Curiously, the man inserted the gemstone which caused him to disappear from his own time to the woman’s own time.
“The man was totally freaked out upon seeing his surroundings empty as if it was a ghost town. So he travelled north and found my house. It was there that he told me before dying ‘fountain... gemstone... place it.’ I was so stunned at what I was holding so I ventured to the only possible place the man might’ve come from. When I arrived, there was no fountain but only a telephone booth. It was there that I realized the fountain and the phone booth were both illusions. Everything in this town is an illusion created by this headstone. I assumed perhaps that the illusions started to occur after the destruction of the gemstones which operates this headstone. I would’ve started my research if only my parents didn’t want me to leave our house for another country. It was devastating so that’s why I travelled nine years from now. Yes Via, this gemstone is some sort of a key to operate a time machine in this headstone. In my present time, I cannot pursue my research but you can. My time is running out, the effect of this time travel is only temporary so that’s why I’m giving the gem to you for research. Take care of it Via and don’t fail me.”
With her last sentence, the woman took the gemstone from the headstone. She threw the gem to Via who catches it. At last, the woman perishes thus leaving Via to alter her own future. Via examines the gem which shone so bright. She takes her eyes off it and peers up into the night sky where a full moon is visible.
This is just the beginning, thought Via.
-end-
January 25 2008
On one foggy night, a blinding white light glows inside a telephone booth; however, no one seems to notice the disturbing occurrence. It is probably because the inhabitants are all asleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3 days later...
Gioielli is a town known for its silent inhabitants. The population used to be four hundred but now it increased to an ample amount of four hundred and fifty. There were no buildings, only small houses made of bricks. The individuals residing in this town are mostly retired personnel; former educators, engineers, artists, and singers dominate the demographics of the town. Obviously, the town had no institutions not even inns or motels. The houses were lined up next to each other to form a huge circular shape of the town; if seen from above, it can be concluded that the pattern is a letter G.
The town is located in the middle of a thick forest. It’s no wonder the place was rarely talked about; it is hidden deep in the woods and only people with treasure hunting abilities may find it. One subtle fact about the citizens of this town is that its citizens use antiques to suit their living. It appears the only latest technology it has is an old rusted telephone booth. What makes it vague is the fact that there are no telecom signals in this town.
It was eight o’clock in the evening and every single mortal was already in their slumber; everyone except for one being. It’s not every day that Gioielli is visited by a person from the outside world. If the inhabitants were all awake, they may find this visitor strange in their perspective.
Here name was Via. She has never been to this part of the country. To her, she deserved a pleasant dinner because of her struggles through that thick forest but to her misfortune, everything else was closed. Via is sixteen; she stands at 5 foot 5, her body average for a teenager, has black shiny hair that fell to her shoulders, has brownish eyes, and her skin colour was cream white. From the descriptions, one may say that her race is Mediterranean. She was wearing dark blue jeans, a blouse, a thick jacket, a pair of gloves, and yellow snickers.
That long journey seemed to have no worth, thought Via. She thought that for a moment then snapped back to reality. Her visit to this unusual town wasn’t for a holiday but for something else. Via took out her flashlight and a piece of paper from her pocket. She flashed the light to the paper where a handwritten address was scribbled: fourth house to your left. She then glanced around her and tried to locate the fourth house the note was describing. With one turn, Via quickly identified the home she was looking for. Not wasting anytime, Via walked to the house’s front door. She took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and knocked hard at the door; there was no doorbell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 day earlier...
The telephone rang oddly at midnight. Surely, no one was awake at this hour. The phone rang five times until someone finally went down to pick it up. Lucky for this caller, the telephone is only three meters away from Via’s room. Barely able to open her eyes, Via greeted the caller a “hello” and immediately asked who was calling.
“Viaggia Consperanza?” asked the unknown caller. It was clear that the voice belongs to a woman.
“uhmm,” Via first hesitated but decided to say “Yes, this is her. May I know who this is?”
“There’s not much time, I need your help Via,” there was something wrong, how did this caller know her nickname?
“Wait, who are you?” but the caller’s reply was not an answer to Via’s question. “You live in a house not from where I am. Listen carefully,” the caller paused.
Whoever this caller is must be in grave danger, Via thought. Opening a small drawer, she gets a pen and a post-it. At once, the caller said: “You mustn’t leave the house while the sun is still at rise, the best time to come here is around 7 to 8 pm. Next to your house is a forest, the place where I reside is located in the middle of it so must take a flashlight or anything that can light your way here.” Like a flash of lightning, Via’s drowsy eyes were gone but instead replaced with curious and cautious ones.
“Look, I want to help you but my mother and father forbids me to venture to the forest at night. I’m sorry but I cannot disobey--“
“Listen, I know what you seek. You have been looking for a gemstone, a silver shiny gemstone.”
Via again had that feeling, was this woman stalking her? “How did you know about that? Wait, don’t answer that question. How do I know I can trust you?”
“Very well, you may bring anything to defend yourself but I’ll be frank with you, the forest is not dangerous. There are no wild animals or anything that can cause you harms, I can assure you that. You may not know it but I’m not from this town yet my journey here was the safest of all my journeys.”
It wasn’t very convincing but if she can trust this woman, Via may have a chance in finding the item that she’s been longing to find for months. Six months ago, Via was bestowed a book that tells of a myth about seven gems. According to the book, these gems were the most important artefacts of the renaissance period and three out of four of these jewels were destroyed after an attempted robbery. The last one, coloured silver, was believed to have survived but all hope faded as the years passed. Via, who desires to make a discovery after having unsuccessful achievements at school, tried all her might to locate this jewel. She was about to give up until this woman phoned her.
“Okay, I’ll come but I need you to tell me the safest directions to where I can find you.” Decided Via
Thus the woman granted her request.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Currently...
Via knocked again and this time, she heard footsteps. Within moments, the door was opened but only ajar.
“Are you the girl by the name of Via?” the voice matched the voice of the caller, particularly the woman’s.
“I am. I reckon you’re the one who called me this morning at dawn. Is that right?” asked Via.
“That is affirmative.” Without saying another word, the woman permitted Via to come in. Upon entering the house, she saw that everything was covered with a white blanket and the only light source was a candle held by the woman. The woman herself looked peculiar; her clothing was not visible because the woman was wearing a black cloak that covered her body, her face included. The woman approached Via but the latter became a little frightened.
“I’m not here to hurt you as I’ve promised,” said the woman who placed a warm hand on Via’s shoulder. “I will help you locate the gemstone as I’ve promised.”
“How did you know about that? Better yet, how did you know my phone number?” asked a puzzled Via.
“Too many questions but too petty the time I have for answering. Do not worry, your questions will be answered but you must do what I tell you,” she placed the candle onto a desk. “Step back Via.”
She obeyed and moved back a couple of paces. The woman crouched then took out a key from her pocket. The woman removed a piece of wood on the floor to reveal a keyhole; she inserted the key then turned it 180 degrees. Placing the key back to her pocket, the woman removed another wood from the floor; this time, a handle is revealed. She lifted the handle and medium sized square trap door is opened, removing more pieces of wood from the floor.
Via moved closer to see the wooden box. The woman stared at her, her face still not shown, and Via immediately knew what she meant. Via took the box out of the trapdoor. The woman closed the trap door and gave the key she used earlier to Via. The box is opened and a shiny silver gemstone is exposed; it was the artefact Via had longed for but how did it wind up here? She stared at it for a moment then the woman took the gemstone and proceeded to the door.
“Follow me Via.” The tone was calm but Via felt it was like an order.
She followed the strange woman outside, still stunned of what has happened. After a few paces, the woman stopped at a telephone booth. She opened the telephone booth and stepped inside. Via inched closer and saw the woman placing the gemstone inside the telephone box. It didn’t make sense, how will this answer her questions? Suddenly, a bright white light begins to glow and the woman’s cloak, not noticed by Via, is no longer worn by the woman. The face had dark shiny hair that fell to her shoulders, her eyes were brownish, her skin creamy white, and her face resembles someone. That someone was standing right now facing the woman who was smiling at Via.
Her questions were now answered but before she can put together all the pieces, the woman spoke.
“My name is Viaggia Consperanza, I’m commonly known as Via. For years I’ve searched the gemstones but I couldn’t succeed. My luck soon turned when an accident happened one night during my 25th birthday. A man, wearing renaissance clothing, came to my home. He wasn’t alone; he has with him the gemstone I’ve been longing to find. It turned out that he is the man who tried to rob all four gemstones; however, he failed to do get them all and was wounded trying to escape with the only gemstone he acquired. Knowing he couldn’t run far, he hid the gemstone to a small fountain but it wasn’t a fountain. It was some sort of a headstone with a hole the gemstone can fit through. Curiously, the man inserted the gemstone which caused him to disappear from his own time to the woman’s own time.
“The man was totally freaked out upon seeing his surroundings empty as if it was a ghost town. So he travelled north and found my house. It was there that he told me before dying ‘fountain... gemstone... place it.’ I was so stunned at what I was holding so I ventured to the only possible place the man might’ve come from. When I arrived, there was no fountain but only a telephone booth. It was there that I realized the fountain and the phone booth were both illusions. Everything in this town is an illusion created by this headstone. I assumed perhaps that the illusions started to occur after the destruction of the gemstones which operates this headstone. I would’ve started my research if only my parents didn’t want me to leave our house for another country. It was devastating so that’s why I travelled nine years from now. Yes Via, this gemstone is some sort of a key to operate a time machine in this headstone. In my present time, I cannot pursue my research but you can. My time is running out, the effect of this time travel is only temporary so that’s why I’m giving the gem to you for research. Take care of it Via and don’t fail me.”
With her last sentence, the woman took the gemstone from the headstone. She threw the gem to Via who catches it. At last, the woman perishes thus leaving Via to alter her own future. Via examines the gem which shone so bright. She takes her eyes off it and peers up into the night sky where a full moon is visible.
This is just the beginning, thought Via.
-end-