A shadow in this new world

The first thing she noticed was the breeze, gently and cool, playing with the loose strands of her wavy hair. She must have walked into a room with air conditioning. The respite from the outside heat was refreshing. Where was she? The light was too bright. She couldn’t open her eyes. What had she been doing? Wasn’t there a strange cat?

That’s when she remembered the moths, the bright lights, the flaking skin and her clothes...

Her face turned red. Lucija quickly opened her eyes, but they were still unable to adjust. She patted herself down and let out a sigh. Thank God, skin and dress still there.

As her eyes grew accustomed to the light, she became aware of an open space, light and airy. All around her was a great curving wall covered in frescos telling stories of heroic acts and great betrayals.

Something flew in front of her face. A moth. She followed its black and violet wings as it joined a large murmuration. They meandered up towards the ceiling, a ceiling of blue revealed between the beams of a glass dome.

She bent her neck so far back her ears nearly touched her shoulders. As she spun, taking it all in, the camellias on her dress danced on their field of blue. She ran to the wall and brushed her fingers along the back of a giant snake, twisting in overlapping loops, eating its own tail. She smiled as the gentle bumps of the plaster tickled her fingertips.

She heard laughter and faint voices above, but she didn’t understand them. On the second and third levels were large galleries, partially hidden behind frescos. She could just make out their faces, but however hard she looked, she couldn’t see any pointy ears or scaly skin.

A cough cut in. Not too far away from her were two other people. A boy that must have been her age. He had dark skin and the beginnings of a potbelly and was smiling at Lucija while waving awkwardly. He pointed to himself, saying ‘Lucas’ and ‘Brasil’.

Lucija returned his smile and spoke English ‘Lucija and I am from Malta. Do you know where we are?’

‘Sorry, no Ingles.’

The two shuffled awkwardly for a while, not knowing what else to say until Lucija remembered there was a second person. She was a tiny little thing made smaller because she was crouching down on the floor. She squeezed tight a fluffy cat toy as she desperately tried to cover up her pink PJs.

‘Hello, do you speak English?’ Lucija asked her.

The only reply she got was a short ‘no’. The small girl started to rock on her feet while adjusting her glasses.

‘OK, well I guess it’s nice to meet you both, even if you don’t understand me.’ Lucija said through a forced smile.

Lucija was attracted to a growing noise in the centre of the room. A tall platform stood there with a bright blue light shining on top. A group of frenetic people moved this way and that. They talked to each other in raised voices.

The blue light formed a beam that shot out onto the floor just in front of Lucija. Where before there was an empty space, a person now stood. He was older than Lucija, but still young with broad shoulders and dark hair. Straight backed and confident, he looked completely unfazed as he surveyed his surroundings. The effect was ruined, however, by his teddy-bear-print pyjamas.

He looked left and right towards the two iron doors on either side of the room. He spoke a few words and headed to the only one that was open. Men in armour blocked his way. They were covered from head to foot in mail as well as steel plates. Each wore a helmet topped with animals. Teddy bear stared down dragons, boars and wolves.

Six of the guards surrounded the newcomer, slamming their rectangle shields down against the ground. The newcomer stopped. They slammed the shields down again another two times, filling the whole room with the sound of metal against stone. He stepped back and began to shout. Lucija thought it might be Japanese. The volume of the voices in the gallery became louder.

While everyone watched the confrontation, they missed another flash of light. Another man, older than the rest, maybe 30, appeared. His arms were raised as if to protect his face. He staggered as he tried to straighten his body. His head darted in all directions, his eyes constantly moving.

‘Where am I? What is this? What’s going on? Who are you people?’ his scattergun words leaked out, directed at no one in particular, ‘I... what’s going on? I was... where... this is... I don’t understand.’

That was English. He was incoherent but Lucija could understand him. He was clearly confused and overwhelmed.

Lucija heard steps. A group of people were running down a spiral staircase leading from the central platform. Each spoke a different language.

'Kollox sew, inti fis-sigurtà. Jekk jogħġbok, ibqa' kalm.'

Lucija picked up the Maltese among the rest. She didn’t expect to hear someone speaking Maltese in another world. However, no one was speaking English. The arrival of even more new people, shouting and running, attracted the attention of the Englishman.

'Who are all of you? Stay back, stay the hell back. Stay away from me.'

The world shook without moving.

The air cracked without a sound.

the temperature plunged without changing.

Everyone stopped. Around the man small black clusters took shape and grew. First a few centimetres, then ten, then twenty, within a few seconds they were over a foot in size and began coalescing. The shadows swallowed the man, and then a flood.

A mass of black engulfed the entire space, swallowing everyone. Lucija was blind. She could not see her hand in front of her face. It was as though she had been swallowed by ink. It filled her lungs and made her choke. Screams broke out. Panic and running. The scrap of metal. Breathing heavy.

Lucija dropped to her knees. Her skin was cold. Ice was forming on her eyelashes and in her hair. Her breathing was heavy and slow.

She tried to speak, ‘Can anyone... Can anyone hear me? I... I... I feel tired. Can anyone help me?'

Words filled her head. Once upon a time. Are we going on an adventure. Miracles do come true. They lived happily ever after. Words that she had heard a thousand times, but they felt like accusations and mockery now. Had she failed before she had a chance to start?

A red light shot overhead and filled the space.

All around bodies lay unmoving. Some seemed to be covered in a thick layer of frost. The Japanese man was conscious, but he was bent over, one knee on the ground. Even most of guards had collapsed. Two remained standing, joined by a new arrival, a man dressed in leather armour. A red light glowed in his hand.

All three ran towards the Englishman. He was on his knees, his arms splayed out to his side, his heard turned to the sky. Thick blackness poured from his mouth. The red light of the mage could not penetrate its depth.

The two guards grabbed the man’s shoulders and held him down to the ground. The mage then placed something on his wrists. Manacles. The flow of black stopped. The pressure died down a little and the room felt less cold. The shadow melted away bit by bit, turning the hall dull grey before returning to normal: blue sky up above again.

The hall was silent. The few people conscious didn’t have enough strength to speak. More people came rushing in. They were dressed like the mage in light armour, a red cloak flapping at their heels. The young mage gave them commands, and they began to check on the unconscious lying on the floor.

One came up to Lucija and helped her back up onto her feet. She said some words that Lucija didn’t understand and smiled.

'Thank you.' said Lucija.

She smiled again and moved on to help someone else.

The ice in Lucija’s hair and on her face melted. She rubbed of the water. Her body was still cold. Shivering, she stamped her feet and rubbed her arms. The guards lifted the Englishman, now unconscious, and dragged him away through the large doors.

Lucija was glad to see him go. She walked over to Lucas and gave him a shake, asking if he was ok. The only answer she got was a groan.

‘What a start in this new world. I could use something warm to drink.’ She said to herself, ‘I really hope I never see that Englishman again.’