The Weird

by Ann

  He closed his mouth, his gaze turning to the shadows formed by the grimacing statues.

  ‘Son,’ he said after a while. ‘I’m beginning to wonder whether…Oh, nothing is strange enough here, right? I’m wondering whether the rhythm we hear is these statues’ hearts beating beneath the ground. I can’t believe a mad artist made them. Nor did God, who is said to be good. Then, I can only think of one place; maybe we’ve come to the doors of Hell. Maybe it’s the red of lost souls that tinges the sky. But this nature that consumes itself cannot understand the souls’ suffering. Neither God nor the Devil would enjoy playing such comedy.’

  I didn’t understand what Toine was saying, but I knew we needed to find a way out of this place, or a great misfortune would befall us.

  ‘What shall we do now?’ I asked.

  Toine, who seemed lost in his thoughts, started, looked at me as if he did not recognise me, and then answered, ‘First, we go back to the river. We’re going to need a lot of water. And then we’re going toward the mountain. I’m sure the key to the mystery lies there.’

  The thought of going back to the place I had left with so much fear made me shudder. I said nothing, though, and helped Toine to search the huts for something more practical than our small amphorae.

  ‘Come here and lend me a hand, son. I think I’ve found what we’re looking for.’

  Toine was tugging at a dark bulky object that resembled a huge terracotta flask. It was stuck behind several of those stone figures. We had to move the statues. We began our task, taking a thousand precautions, owing to a certain superstitious awe. One of the statues teetered too much and collapsed before we could right it. It broke with a dull noise and the head, which had come off, rolled a few metres away, like a ball.

  We stared at the debris on the floor.

  ‘It can’t be,’ Toine cried. ‘There’s a skeleton inside.’

  It was true. A skeleton stretched out under our gaze made of petrified stone like the surface of the statue.

  Without further comment, Toine turned to free the flask. As for me, I could not tear my gaze off that ribcage and the snapped spine that looked so natural. The shape was just an imitation of life, but the verisimilitude was so shockingly strong I would have held those remains as one rocks an infant.

  ‘Come away, son. I, too, feel they’re like brothers, but their predicament scares me. Let’s go fetch some water. Let’s enjoy life for as long as we can.’

  He loaded the very big flask on to his back and we left without a backward glance.

  Outside, a light wind was blowing, making the leaves the musical instruments of a plant world that undulated, rocked, coiled and tightened its spires around the doleful, wounded trunks oozing red drops like tears streaming down children’s cheek. It was a world full of life moving toward death.

  Toine, who marched a few steps in front of me, stopped in his tracks and put the flask on the ground. ‘Come quickly, son!’ he shouted. ‘I’m sure it tastes great.’

  I understood at once and threw myself at him. ‘Don’t touch it!’

  But he had already seized a vine three times bigger than the one with which I had struggled. Too dazed by the spectacle I had witnessed at the waterfall, I had not mentioned this misadventure to Toine, so he was not on his guard.

  Despite my swift intervention, the horrible wooden stem had coiled not around his wrist but his throat. Now the coils squeezed, hard and harder. I pulled with all my strength but the vine did not give way. Toine’s face was already taking on an ugly greyish hue. He was choking. His eyes bulged. Not knowing what else to do, I bit at the vine like a savage. The living rope slackened. I had just the time to jump aside before the vine could grip me as well. The creeper continued its reptilian movements a few steps away while I knelt at Toine’s side. Lying on the ground, he did not stir. He had not, however, lost consciousness because he stared at me with wild eyes.

  ‘Thank you, son. You saved me from a painful death.’ He massaged his throat where large black blotches were appearing on his dark skin. ‘I tip my hat to you. You’ve got guts. Weren’t you scared?’

  I recounted my own adventure.

  ‘Ah, you’ve been there before. That’s lucky. So you could save me.’

  ‘Yes and no. If I had talked about it, you would have been more careful.’

  I picked up the flask and we resumed our trek over that cursed land.

  We marched side by side. From time to time, Toine rubbed his throat but did not complain. His easy smile had vanished, replaced by astonishment, not even fear. Noticing my furtive glances, he said, ‘I’m so sorry, son, that you’ve got to be stuck with me in my waking nightmare. But let’s not lose our heads, or we will never come out of this. Here, everything is a mystery. Don’t expect to find answers. Like everywhere else, death prowls alongside of life. Only it’s more visible here.’

  He uttered these words for my peace of mind, but as he spoke so, I felt more and more lonely. Toine, devoid of fear, was taking the path of acceptance. It was clear enough. I wondered whether the astonishment painted on his face was not that of someone who is surprised about being alive. His old heart was tired and I was convinced it kept beating only for his young companion’s sake.

  We advanced in silence under the green canopy of that mysterious world. I knew Toine would never be himself again. The natural song of the waterfall reached us at last. A gleam of interest lit up in his black eyes. It gave me a little hope that we could still make it.

  On a tender green riverbank, we lay flat on our bellies to drink the clear water. After quenching our thirst, we remained stretched out. I relished that illusory feeling of well being, in a pitiful effort to escape the anguish that gripped me like leper.

  Shadows had once again conquered the still sky. The night had not arrived yet, but the stars were about to appear. It was the moment when the world awaited a change. The only moment that resembled any normal twilight. Only a sound disturbed the silence: the crystalline noise of the waterfall that sang under the jealous gazes of the carnivorous flowers.

  Then the black of night drowned out our short communion with hope. The nameless stars, one by one, pierced the immense, secret vault.

  Toine spoke in the darkness, startling me.

  ‘We should have brought something to make fire with. We won’t find any dry wood here. This place is as green as can be.’

  X

  I had slipped into a deep slumber without realising it. I believe I heard Toine stamping his foot and grinding his teeth in impatience, probably because I was so slow to rouse. Half angry, I propped myself up on one elbow and grumbled, ‘All right, all right. I’m getting up.’

  But my anger vanished when I saw Toine, or rather his shadow, bent over me.

  ‘Shut up, son, and look.’

  The tones in his voice, awed at something intimidatingly beautiful, affected me more than a kick in my side, because it was not like Toine to be lost in admiration at anything.

  ‘What is it?’

  I stared straight ahead. Seeing only the forest under the silvery light, I turned to Toine. ‘So what? It’s dawn.’

  ‘In the dead of night? Have you ever seen dawn break in the dead of night? And in this place where there’s no moon? Also, you know the day is red here.’

  Of course, he was right. Only sleep had made me forget about it. But then, what was going to happen now? My stomach filled with ice when I heard the sound I had mistaken for Toine stamping his foot. I gripped my companion’s arm. ‘Can you hear that?’ I asked under my breath.

  ‘Yes, son,’ he answered in a strangely calm voice. ‘One would think a giant’s heart is beating under our feet.’

  Now the grinding had resumed, similar to the cracking noise trees make when woodcutters have sawn three quarters of the trunks and the treetops begin to bend toward the ground. The sky was growing pale. A cold, luminous and thick light like mercury ribboning in water suffused the forest, which was visible now. The trunks, slightly arched, let out the m
oaning of wood on the point of breaking. I recalled Toine’s story. The same phenomenon was about to repeat itself. The whole forest began its salutation, bowing to some mysterious entity. As though to take its vows, the forest was laying its forehead on the ground. Its moans frayed my nerves. The trunks had bent in such a way I expected to see them snap. Already the leaves spread like arms on a cross and the treetops stretched out on the ground, displaying the tender colours of their budding shoots. My gaze was captured by the highest mountain far away. The mountain rose as red as a forge fire. And the beating, which had calmed in the meantime, resumed its thumping with diabolic intensity.

  A long sigh resounded, and the pale light dimmed. The forest retook its normal place, the black leaves stroking the dark sky. Silence blanketed everything. Alone, the mountain kept its red glow against the shadows for a moment before fading into darkness. The unfamiliar stars resumed their diamond-like twinkling.

  ‘It’s over,’ Toine said. He lay down on the ground. I stretched out beside him.

  ‘We can sleep now,’ he said. ‘It won’t move anymore. Last night, I stayed awake to see if it was going to move again.’

  A question burned my lips.

  ‘Where did you find the courage to pick up the fruit?’

  ‘First thing, when I entered the forest, the trees were already lying down. I was starving, and I saw only the fruit. I didn’t wonder what was going on. And the first time, the clarity that made you think of day wasn’t there anymore. I must confess I wouldn’t have touched anything in that light. Did you get the impression you were looking through a shroud wrapped around your dead body?’

  Exhaustion adding to our emotions, we lost control of our reactions and sank into a sleep that resembled stupor.

  When we came to, establishing contact with reality again – but was it reality after all? – the luminous red was back. We lay still, listening to the liquid sound of the waterfall nearby. A light wind blew through the leaves of the revived forest.

  ‘Son,’ said Toine. ‘How ’bout a nice bath?’ As I stared, astonished, he smiled, making his wrinkles dance. ‘Why not? It can only do us good.’

  He stood, stripped down and dived into the river. After a moment, his head resurfaced in the middle of the current.

  ‘Come on in,’ he shouted. ‘You can touch bottom here.’

  No sooner had he uttered these words than he disappeared. He was not long, however, in resurfacing, and began swimming toward the bank. When he reached it, he hoisted himself out of the water and lay on his back without speaking. Intrigued, I moved closer. His body, trim and fit, incredibly young for his age, trembled and shivered.

  ‘What happened?’ I asked.

  He let a few minutes pass before answering. He then turned a strange gaze on me, and said in a strangled voice, ‘Son. I’m starting to doubt what I just saw. At the very instant I called you, the gravel under my feet gave way and I felt like I was sucked in. At first, I thought I’d set my foot in quicksand and I stuck my head underwater to see how I could free myself. That’s when I realised my legs were imprisoned not by quicksand but a moving hole shaped like a mouth. And son, what I had to pry open. Lips. It was like lips made of sand. That I had to pry open to free my legs.’ He gave a sad laugh. ‘Of course you think I’m mad.’

  ‘No. Not at all,’ said I, in what I hoped were reassuring tones.

  After what we had experienced, it did not occur to me to doubt anything my companion said. Horror gripped me, but I looked him in the eyes. ‘Whatever happened in the river doesn’t matter. Didn’t you say we needed to keep our heads if we wanted to get out of this place? So let’s keep our minds on one thing: finding the way out.’

  My friend relaxed as I spoke. An amused gleam lit up his dark eyes. When I had finished, he whistled through his teeth. ‘Well, look at that…You’ve become a man, haven’t you? A real man. In this case, there’s no reason on earth we can’t extract ourselves from this mess. On Toine’s word!’

  Coming from him, these words filled me with joy. Now I thought I could handle anything, even the worst possible situations. My anguish had not disappeared but I was growing accustomed to it. Courage is no more than learning to live with your fear.

  XI

  We followed the river up to the waterfall in a stifling heat. The fresh morning air had vanished. Finally, we arrived at the banks where the gigantic flowers awaited their prey. Seeing them again sent a shiver down my spine. They seemed to have grown in numbers since my visit. How was it possible in so short a time?

  Toine, who was gazing at the flowers with interest, said as if he were speaking to himself, ‘Something isn’t right about the presence of carnivores.’

  I did not see what he meant by that. I must confess I was not trying to solve puzzles. The mere sight of those plant-like monsters was enough to scare me to death. To avoid seeing them, I let my gaze wander about the liquid dust that, escaping the waterfall, sparkled in the red light.

  Toine’s voice made me jump.

  ‘Son, instead of daydreaming, help me understand how these carnivorous plants can survive in a place with no animals at all.’

  Toine’s information surprised me first, but I soon had to admit he was right. How did this upside-down world survive when no life other than vegetal was visible? Not on the ground, in the river or in the air. Save for the stone statues resembling human beings and animals, nothing indicated that a physical life made of flesh had ever existed here. Still, our presence proved that life was possible.

  ‘See, it’s like a world of silence,’ Toine said.

  ‘Not entirely,’ I countered. ‘The waterfall makes as much noise as any other waterfall. Last night, the trees groaned rather loud. And there’s this beating that comes from the depths. It never stops, does it?’

  ‘True, but for me these sounds don’t belong to the world we come from. Even the fruit don’t look like anything I know. You’re going to say it’s normal because they change with the region. But I know all the regions in the world, and I’ve never seen these species. It’s the same with the trees. One or two new species, I can understand, but an entire forest of unknown trees? It’s impossible. It’s too much for my old head, which can’t trade reality for dreams any more. And besides, I wouldn’t dream of scaring you, but wasn’t I almost swallowed alive by a riverbed, this morning?’

  This thought made me shiver. We filled our flask with fresh water and resumed our crossing of the forest, headed toward the mountain. At first, our trek was easy. The trees grew sparse; the undergrowth was not thick enough to be an obstacle, and we advanced making no sound on the mossy ground, wary of the vines that hung from the trees, unmoving but watchful.

  Just as we were congratulating ourselves for our uneventful progress, we realised the trees had become more numerous. From the vines that touched the ground, more young trees sprouted, like a miniature forest. To cap it all, the day was waning.

  Long before the sky, which we glimpsed through the canopy, had grown dark, we found ourselves in pitch-black shadows beneath our roof of leaves. Not wishing to spend the night in the forest, we continued going forward, in the hope of finding a clearing. The vines attacked us and we had to cut them away. Like snakes, they coiled their fibrous bodies around us. The heavy flask impeded our progress, but we could not resolve to leave it behind.

  Toine stopped.

  ‘Son, we can’t go on like this anymore. We don’t even know if we’re heading in the right direction. Let’s spend the night here. I know everything is hostile, but we have no light to direct our steps, right?’

  We lay down side by side in a narrow patch free from vines. Finding our sleep proved impossible. Above the treetops, the wind created a noise similar to a tiger’s hissing, while from beneath came the muffled thumping, and the vines made reptilian creeping noises on the ground.

  Sharing our fears was pointless, and so we kept our tongues. I hoped the night would pass without accident. I was about to fall asleep when I sprang up, my fingernails
digging into Toine’s arm.

  ‘Did you hear that?’ I screamed.

  The infernal noise we knew all too well had resumed. The entire forest pulsated with long shudders, accompanied by the heartrending cracking the trees made as they bent toward the ground. This time it was ten times more terrifying because we were at the centre of a phenomenon that could destroy us. Toine was screaming, too, and our shouts mingled with the moans coming from the trees. We got to our feet and braced ourselves for the massive weight that was about to crush us.

  ‘Let’s curl up at the feet of the nearest tree before the trunk crushes us,’ Toine said.

  I followed his advice, surprised that a man like him could hope such a tactic would protect us from that enormous mass. I slipped under a tree, but without Toine. In my panic, I had unwittingly moved away from him. I called him to no avail. Among the concerto of moaning and cracking, not even a bugle would have been heard. I soon gave up and clung to my tree. I felt the life of the tree. Its sap dripped over me and I imagined tears of blood. It’s all over, I thought, when I heard the leaves rustle against the ground. In a childish gesture of self-protection, I closed my eyes.

  The enormous din, compounded of cracking and leaves brushing against the ground, ended. From the bowels of the earth, the hammering recommenced and the noise became deafening.

  When it was over, I heard Toine’s voice call me. My eyes still closed, as though awaiting death, I could not bring myself to answer. It’s useless, I thought. Only a miracle can save us now. When his voice grew more insistent, I cracked my eyes open. The forest had reverted to its normal state, and everything bathed in a strange light. In this otherworldly phosphorescence, I could discern the trunks, now erect. But something equally luminous struck me – Toine, not far from me. I got up. ‘Here. Over here!’

  He turned in my direction and approached, astonishment painted on his face.

  ‘D’you know you’re shining, just like the forest?’ he said when he reached me.