The After-End -#5

"I killed him, and my father"

Maybe what they have said is true, I now know what I was but I'm nothing that now. The high priest has said that our past does not matter but the present is. Brother, I'm sorry, Father I'm sorry. I don't understand what's happening but I will get to the bottom of this.

Swear it. The voice spoke

I can't swear, it isn't good to swear, but my yes will be yes and my no will remain a no. I must get to the bottom of all this. What could I have stolen? Whatever it is, has to be mine. I can't take what isn't mine. I'm sure of it.

He cut a piece of his head cover and wrapped the strands of fabrics around the dagger blade then he inserted it into his knee-length laced-up gladiator sandal. As he does not have his sash with him. He continued his trek and hiked through the snow, whenever he got tired he leaned on the trees, sat on any boulder he could find, and then begin again. The temperature had dropped and his breath came out in warm steams. He rubbed his hands together to produce heat. Feeling uneasiness in his throat, he coughed and spat the yellow sputum to the snow. He heard a wolf howling, he perceived it is very far from where he was. He kept moving until he reached the cliff of one of the frosty mountains, he couldn't move forward because there was no way he could jump to the next one the distance was too wide. The only option was to climb down the Cliff then to the next mountain and he did. The surface was slippery but he kept on. After a while, he reached the mouth of a cave and some strange flying bat-like creatures flew out and perked him with their flat but pointed beaks. He lost his footing and fell off.

"Hahaha!" He screamed at the top of his voice.

At numerous times, he tried to hold on to something but he couldn't instead his hands and wrist had several little cuts. The cold air slammed his face harshly and brought tears to his eyes.

He stopped in the mid-air abruptly, his screaming ceased too. He dangled high up from a sharp extension of a rock which served as a hook for his garb. He knew no one could save him unless a miracle occurred. 

My brother could have saved me.

He screamed for help anyway, then the snow started falling but ended as soon as It fell.

He heard a tearing sound, he realized that his garb was tearing from its hold. He tried to keep still but the tear continued.

"Oh, god!" He yelled

He can't save you now, no one can. The voice spoke into his head

"Help, help, help!" He screamed again trying to keep still even though it was difficult.

The mountain started shaking, it seemed a volcanic eruption is about to happen. Then the snow started falling again, large and larger amounts continued to fall in full force or so he thought.

It's an avalanche. He pulled in a big puff of air as the receding snow covered him up. He couldn't see anything other than the color of the sleet. He felt wet all over his body and he began to shiver while his eyes released hot tears.

"Help, help, help!" He screamed again.

After a long while, when he became aware of the calmness around,  he tugged out his body from the avalanche with his hands. He felt a pull from his cloth and remembered how he had dangled from a rock earlier. Though he was extremely cold and he shivered uncontrollably, his hands were numb and he found it very difficult to climb but he did anyway. When he got to the mouth of the cave he fell from earlier, he climbed in and checked out the cave to find out if those creatures were still there but he found none. The cave was dark and the daylight illuminated the inside a little. Lying in a fetal position, he could something fruity instead of the usual dirt or choking smell that accompanies caves. Several nests woven from dry leaves, palm fronds, and dried twigs littered the floor. He sat on the dry floor and removed his shoes. He turned it upside down to let out the water in it.

As he moved further into the cave, he was surprised at how warm it was. He laid down to rest as the coldness ceased.

The light blue clouds danced to the breeze as the birds in the air did. The green trees with golden leaves waved from side to side. The grey clouds were nowhere to be found everything was bright and shining. Then a rainbow appeared, it extended from the beginning of the sky to the end. Tiny colorful flat birds flew in multitudes and circled the rainbow. They flew above the trees and seas, fishes and blue dolphins with white bellies jumped out and dived in again. A gigantic whale floating on the sea sprouts its water out of its blowhole. It was so beautiful. 

This is heaven. He thought.

He laid on the green grasses and stared at the sky. A little girl in pink overalls loomed over him blocking the sun rays from radiating in his face. He adjusted his eyes and gazed up at her.

"Papa?" She said as she opened her hands wide he hugged her and began to sob childishly. His sob echoed in his mind but no tears fell from his eyes afterward, he started laughing hysterically.

A man in blue overalls like the color of the sky and golden sash stood afar off and said "It's time to go"

His voice was clear and resounding. He stretched out his hand to the girl and repeated. "It's time to go"

The little girl grabbed it and waved at her father as she took the hand. He tried to follow her but his body was held to the ground by some unknown forces. He felt their invincible hands in his head, shoulders, and feet. His mouth was sealed, he could not speak.

Don't go, please. Come back, He screamed with his mind for her not to go but she had already left. His tears fell and went to his ears. His eyelids grew heavy, he shut them and opened them again. The blue sky had vanished, in its place were the stalactites in the cave pointing to the ground.

Slowly, his senses returned. He wiped the tears on his face. He knew he had to leave before those creatures came back. At the entrance, he discovered that it will soon be dark as the moon has changed its color again. All he saw was grey emptiness, he assumed the view had been covered by the thick fog, as he could not see anything other than the grey mist. He couldn't climb downwards again but walked on the snow towards the next mountain. He surged on with more intensity and vigor than before. When he got there,  the grey mist had cleared away to reveal two ancient statues of the Wolf Totem. They stood opposite each other.

There will be wolves here, he looked back and then moved forward.

For my daughter.

The totems looked bizarre, and they are composed of a large tower of stones with a wolf shape carved into the center.  The first totem on his right had a white wolf shaped at the center, the mouth of the wolf opened and gave out white fumes while the second totem had a black wolf shaped with the red tail but its mouth gave out a red fume instead. Both fumes moved and covered the entrance.

Their faces had the most horrific and scary expressions that he had ever seen on his journey so far. The Large tower of stone had ancient letterings on it, these letterings radiated a shiny red light as if to hypnotize him. He glanced back,  debating whether to continue.

I have to move on. He concluded.

He went through the mist and he was covered up. The mist suddenly faded making the entrance very clear but he was nowhere to be seen.

He wandered through a dense green forest, dampened from the morning dew and the air was fresh and pure. The narrow soiled paths had flat smooth stones to step on. Gone were the snow blankets on the floor. Huge boulders lay silently as red poisonous mosses grew over them like a soft blanket. Amongst the thick knot of branches are various long rough vines hung down loosely like snakes making bridges between the trees. An evenly dark brown eagle above him as he treaded on a clear but narrow path stepping on the flat stone one step at a time. The path he had taken led him to a clear brook from which a white-headed lady came out. He was stunned by the image before him. 

My Wife?

As she moved to the shore, her long white hair clung to her head, it fell to her waist. She had a white pronounced wolf image tattooed on her back.

Not my wife.

She smiled at him and called out to him. He quickly averted his face and wiped away the burgeoned images. As she continued to move closer he averted his gaze. She giggled and clothed herself in a flimsy dark threaded cloth against her brown skin.

"It took you a while, follow me," She said

"Who are you? " He asked.

"What your wife should have become?" she smirked

"What--" 

"Enough talking, let's move on" She cut him off.

She led the way walking gracefully but slowly. She led him to grey foliage that has a stuffy bed of white flowers. With the wave of her hand, the fog was lifted and it hung above the setting. 

"Rest here and help yourself" she gestured to the meat being roasted.

As if hypnotized, he laid down on the bed of flowers with his back resting on a tree. Then before him appeared pork meat hanged and roasted on a dimly lit fire. The aroma rose and filled the air.

"Rest here and help yourself" she gestured to the meat being roasted.

"I can't eat this, do you have any fruit? This is unhealthy," he pleaded

"You ingrate!" Her hair flared up in spears and pointed at him

"You dared to come to my abode, and you tell me you can't" her eyes became clouded with fury "You can't, what?" 

"It's unclean, I can not eat it" He stated in a whisper.

But she heard him and laughed at him. Reading his mind and feelings, she calmed down to her normal self.

"I need to find my daughter" he immediately stood to his knees after discerning the change in her look.

She moved closer to him while he quickly took a step back.

"You think your daughter could climb up on that mountain?" She asked talking to him as if he were a child.

"Even if she were to pass, you won't find her here, I would have eaten her, such a pure soul can't be left lying around" she smirked at him and drew closer.

Her red eyes sparkled as her nails shifted to sharp claws and her skin drifted to a hairy white fur.

Perceiving the danger lurking around, he leaped to his feet and escaped.

"My sister craves faggots like you" she laughed softly as she watched him go.

The earth began to shift and fold beneath him. The dark soil began to change to coarse brown sands. Everything around him vanished leaving a vast flat landscape of sand. He was confused and frightened. He was all alone and he felt alone. He had trekked for many miles yet he did not know where he was or where he is going neither has he come across any person. Weaving through the winding dunes of the desert, the sky gave clear but rosy hues marred by the fluttering shift of screeching eagles who also felt surprisingly the heat strokes from the sulfur-orange moon. His black habit felt sticky on his body with an awful smelling sweat, he felt stabbed by millions of sun blades and spears. His tongue was swollen from lack of water and it cleaved to the roof of his mouth.  His feet trembled as numbness in his feet spread to the joints in his body. Then he started to hear drumming sounds.  The sound he heard was the beating of his heart He staggered towards a large cluster of sandstones. Eventually, an overwhelming desire to sleep overtook him.

He bent down on his knees but when he looked down he noticed a footprint of a camel at his knees. He wiped his face with his garb and glanced down again but there was no print in the sand. He shook his head to wipe away the misjudged thinking creeping into his mind, he believed that he was seeing things. He looked up and spotted a mirage-like image of a sun-tanned woman with flaming red hair and flimsy black wrap riding on a black hairy camel. 

What desert trick is this?

Moving closer, he saw a red-haired lass in a black wrap with only two front teeth smiling at him. She extended her enclosed hands to him, on which a juicy red apple was revealed.

"For me?" he inquired in disbelief.

She replied by nodding her affirmation. He knelt before her and examined the fruit. Looking yummy,  he took it and bit from the apple. The taste on his tongue almost choked him. He spat to the ground. As the content hit the ground, it turned to sand. The apple on his hand had become sand too. He looked at the little red-haired girl before him but she had transformed into the beautiful sun-tanned lady in a dark wrap. The surprising thing was that she also looked like his late wife. With bulged eyes, he glanced up at her. 

She hovered over him at a tall height, her ruddy eyes lined with black kohl staring at her in fury. He jumped back as she flung her clawed fingers at him and his garb became shredded in monster slashes at the front, it made some faint scratches on his sun-kissed skin. Knowing he had to escape, he made a false move to the right to deceive her, and then, he finally leaped to the left and escaped. He maneuvered back to the large cluster of stones to find refuge. She chased after him. When he got to the sandstone he searched for a space to hide, but the spot he found wasn't a good one either. She called out to him but he did not show himself. She imitated a child's voice so that she could bait him to come out. But, still, he didn't. In anger, she transformed into a huge green serpent. She began to spit out venomous sputum at him, the sputum looked like a white steaming ball. It landed on the sand like stray landmines that blow people off. She spat sputum on sandstone and it exploded into pieces. As she throws them, he leaped into a run away from it. The sandstone blew up and scattered sands into the air. The wind howled at his ears as he continued to run through the desert. Glancing back, he saw the huge green serpent following swiftly behind. He searched for another refuge, he noticed a dense mass of succulent cactus and ran towards it. She released another venomous sputum and it landed on the fleshy cactus. The remains of the cactus were scattered on the sand. On getting to the remains he fell into sinking desert sand. It was so fast he didn't know what was going on. He fell in heads first and his legs sprang up after him. He shouted for help but it sounded like he was mumbling. He was sucked into a dark hole.