Blackrift Gate

  Sighing, he took out some bread from his bag, though he did not have any apetite. There was a lot of bread still left, but he did not feel like eating a lot. Tasteless, bland, and possibly stale, though it could be due to his mood for not having any sales. He felt unfair that his wares are not selling. He had seen a few shops that were selling similar goods, and they seemed to be getting sales. What are people thinking?

  “Its just because it was early morning… people will notice.” Gepetto thought.

  Another day passed like nightmare. Gepetto found himself sitting in utter hopelessness with his wares. He could not believe it. Not a single thing he had brought was sold. Not a single customer stopped to even check. Everybody ignored him, no matter how hard he shouted or how hard he tried to sell his things. He even went out to check the prices and other sellers of similar things and to his surprise they seemed to be getting a really good price for their stuff, some of which seemed much worse quality than him. He did not understand. He almost felt like crying at the unfairness of it all. It seemed just like a curse that had befallen him for some unknown reason.

  As night fell, and the activities in the fair ceased, Gepetto lied on his back, looking towards the sky from the sides of the tarpaulin he had hung over him decided that he should try to find a new sitting place tomorrow. He could not sleep at all and kept thinking about his son, and the mysterious incident at the forest. Suddenly he felt an eerie sensation towards the open side of his makeshift shack. Turning his head, a little, his heart jumped. In the backdrop of the dark silhouettes of the tents and shacks of the fair, against the star etched sky, he could see one of the figures he had seen in the forest. The same shadowy outline, and semitransparent body, the outline of the tents vaguely visible through it. He screamed, and got up, but the figure immediately vanished. He could not sleep the rest of the night, and stayed cautious. What could this mean? Was what he experienced in the forest a real thing? Or he was having nightmares again? Should he ditch his plan and go back? But then all his hardships would be in vain, which he could not afford to do. By morning he gained back his courage, and decided he would stay no matter what. This was a fair after all, full of people even though they would be sleeping at night. Besides, he could be safer if he returned with the crowd when the fair ended. He did not want to pass that forest again by himself.

  In the morning, he decided he would first try to find a better place. He went to the part of the fair where others were selling things like him, and getting good prices for them. Unfortunately, all possible places were already taken. He did not think it was his position that was holding him back, but did not understand what it was that he had not gotten a single customer. He just kept on feeling jealous about the others who were.

  “They already gotten enough to pay for that medicine for Peter!”Gepetto looked jealously at the merchant nearby.

  He could not believe how good the prices were. He would happily sell in half the price they were getting.

  “I have to try! At least they may ask where my shop is and then they will all go there. That’s it..they just dont know I am selling much better stuff so cheap!”

  He already had taken his things with him so that it would not get stolen, so it did not take long for him to put his thought into action. Desperately he picked out a bit of fragrant wood and tried to entice a customer.

  “Hey sir, good sir, please take a look. I have great quality incense woods and herbs.”

  The man did not even look at him, and walked away.

  He tried it with some other customers, who all ignored him as if they could not even hear him.

  He did not understand and looked at his clothes.

  “Am I wearing something weird?”

  He could not find anything that could make him look weird.

  “Cant you even hear me?” He cried out in sheer frustation.

  It seemed so. He lost his temper and grabbed a customer by his sleeve who seemed to be nearest.

  “Why dont you all even look at me? Why are you ignoring me?”

  It felt to him as if the person melted through his fingers, as if his form was made out of thin air. Horrified, he moved his hand again and it cut right through the person’s figure. He did not even notice. Gepetto however, felt something this time. It seemed he could feel a tingly sensation in his fingers and a sensation of what he could only describe as a bunch of thoughts that he felt belonged to the person he touched.

  Gepetto screamed and ran back to his shop, running his hand through everything, and everything just seemed like made out of air. He felt like he was amid an ocean of ghostly entities! As if he has come to a fair of dead people, specters with no substance…or was he?

  A chilling sensation went down his spine as he neared the mirror shop. He had no reflection here, while everything else and everyone seemed to be reflected fine.

  He came near his spot to find a scrawny looking man with shaggy beard selling some pickles. His tarpaulin and clothes were gone. He thought to talk to this man that this was his spot, but he stopped. He had realized that it was pointless. That no matter what he would do, nobody would notice him. That it was impossible for others to see or hear him.

  That it could be him who was dead.

  He sat down silently for a while. An extremely uneasy sensation came over him. He got up.

  If he was dead, why he still had his bag with him? Can dead people carry stuff to sale? His hands shaking, he opened his bag, and took out a piece of fragrant wood. It looked and felt substantial. He sniffed it. Everything seemed normal. He tried to tap it on a wooden pillar of a nearby shop. His bit of wood went right through it, like his hand and fingers. His things were like him, made out of air, not solid substance.

  He gathered all his things and plopped down on the ground. His buttocks went down through the soil and dirt, like the ground did not exist until he was paying attention. He wrapped his arms around his knees and wept, as he knew he had failed.

  After a while, he opened his eyes and raised his head. It was mid noon, and the people were moving about, busy in their lives. Gepetto tried to think what he should be doing. He did not know, but he got up. He picked up his bag too, but now he was suspecting it was all an illusion.

  He aimlessly walked through the crowd. People often passing through his figures. Each time he was sensing vaguely about their feelings, their thoughts. He caressed a few heads of the passing children, their innocence and cheerful thoughts reminding him of his son. He would still be waiting for his papi in his deathbed. Maybe his villagers will think that he left his son to die. He clenched his fist and pushed it on his chest, as even though he was dead, he discovered that grief and distress still bothered him.

  It was right at that time he felt like he was being watched once again. This time the sensation was stronger as he knew it was not possible for ordinary people to see him.

  As he moved about, he kept his eyes open, and soon enough he was able to see it through the corner of his eyes. It was one of the shadowy figures. It was almost unseen, like a fleeting image. As soon as Gepetto turned towards it, it seemed to have gone away from its spot. Carefully, he looked around again, and saw the shadow moving away from him through the crowd and shades that were being cast by everything. Nobody noticed it.

  Gepetto thought a little. He had nothing much to lose anymore. He was pretty sure these shadows were responsible for his death, so he wanted to know what these were. He followed the shadow.

  Soon he saw that the stray shadow which he was following was passing through some particular path and it was not alone.

  There were shadows, hiding almost in plain sight, moving around the shadows of people. All were moving towards almost the centre of the fair, where a large white pink tent was erected.

  The door to the tent was adorned with exotic decorations, and dark red curtains bound with golden silk ropes revealing the dimly lit interior. Posters were laid around the tent, showing the name of Mephisto, the Miracle medicine man.

  Gep
etto frowned. A few people had started to gather before the gate, some holding up their family members who were sick, some had people in stretchers, some rich patient brought a palanquin. From their talks Gepetto found they all came to have a visit with the Miracle man Mephisto. Gepetto did not enter right away, as he guessed Mephisto would be sitting right inside and he did not want to be anywhere near him, considering the shadows seemed to be thicker in population around this particular tent.

  The shadows were all around, moving around people who were oblivious to their presence. Many of them were going into the tent from behind, passing through the clothes at few points.

  Too many of them were here for Gepetto to go near the tent without being seen by them, though he did not know if they were able to see him. A few times he was close to these things, but they did not seem to notice. He did not want to take any chances. However an idea crossed his mind. A last speck of hope for his son. The medicine he sought for must be here somewhere. If he can somehow grab a bottle, he could be able to save his son! If he could do that, at least his death would not be pointless.

  Gepetto waited for an opportunity to arrive. But as time passed and the second batch went away, he came to know that the medicines were all exhausted and Mephisto would not see any more patients. He came out in a palanquin, all covered in silk curtains, and entered an ornate horse drawn carriage straight away. A dozen or so shadows followed him, flying behind the horses and the carriage. His apprentices waited to pack things up and go with him later. Two guards stayed back to guard the tent. Knowing that the medicines were exhausted here, he went with the apprentices and their luggage, which mostly consisted of empty crates and sacks, and some common herbs, incense etc.

  Chapter 5

  As he reached the mansion in the western outskirts of the city, the sun was already well past the mid sky, and the shadows had started to elongate over the long stretches of dry, almost unpopulated road that lead to this desolate mansion. The mansion was situated besides a river, and from some ruinous plates of stones peeking here and there, Gepetto could assume that it was once an old cemetary, almost beside the mansion.

  He could also see what mortal eyes could not. There were many of the shadows, flying around in the sky, in their grotesque, unnatural fashion. Shambling, uncouth shapes that closely approximated human silhouettes, except for the odd and stiff postures. Gepetto waited in shadows himself and observed. As time passed, it seemed that the number of the shadows kept on increasing as the day passed. Some of them flied in, some from the eastern horizon, some from the north, in swarms, with faint noises that reminded him of the deafening eerie sounds he had experienced in the forest. All this time, he noticed that there were still some people that were getting in and out of the mansion in batches, waiting before the gate. Apparently, this was the main place where Mephisto would see his patients in other times, and the tent in the fair was mostly for the time of the fair as a lot of people would be available there.

  But what bothered Gepetto was the fact that the number of shadows were increasing as sun started to set. Many more of them came, flying around the mansion in circles, like a murder of crows.

  Gepetto regretted not getting in while the shadows were less in number. But as night fell, a lot of them were seen flying back towards the ways they came from. Swarms after swarms went out. Soon the numbers were thinned.

  He tried the front gate and found that there were many people sitting around. There he saw Mephisto. He had a slender figure and intense eyes and an enormous turban that covered his head and a large red gem in the centre. Suddenly Mephisto’s piercing gaze fell at the doorway where Gepetto was standing. Even though Gepetto was sure he was invisible, a fear came over him, and he did not enter that way.

  From the back of the mansion, he tried again, and entered the servants quarters. They seemed mostly empty, and dirty. Some had bloodstains on the walls. Gepetto walked down the rooms to a corridor where some of Mephisto’s apprentices were working on last few batches for the day. In the other side, there was a large room, bolted well and locked. Gepetto went through the wood and gave out a shriek.

  There was a pool, where he saw a creature. He did not know what to call it. It looked like an enormous bladder, with leathery skin and pale blisters, and numbers of appendages that looked like snake tails, and were pierced with hooks and chains to hold the creature in place. Tubes and contraptions restrained the creature, and it was half submerged in a pool that was raised from the ground. Multiple oil lamps lit the room, and the walls were adorned with marks and writings he could not read.

  The creature was slowly undulating, as waves of contraction passed through its skin. There seemd to be no eyes, but the snake like things seemed to respond to Gepettos presence. Gepetto quickly got out as the chains started to clank and clatter, and he heard an otherworldly hissing sound.

  He saw the shadows again, moving into the corridor from the walls. Startled, Gepetto quickly hid in the room next to the creature. He could hear the faint noises from the corridor, the rustling wind like sounds, much fainter than the horrors he had seen.

  As the shadows did not seem to come into this room, he felt a bit relieved. There were shelves in this room, and as he calmed down a bit from the horrors, his heart jumped once.

  Ceterum Sanguis! Bottles and bottles of the priceless medicine were stacked on these shelves. The one he had come here for. If he could just take one to his son! He came closer to the shelf and reached out for one. As expected, his hand went through it. But he did not expect how he felt to him. He felt his fingers tingling, as if the bottles contained something that was eerily familiar to him in recent times. It felt like when he tried to touch people and his hand went through them. He tried to touch another bottle and experienced the same thing. He could not think why it would be like this, and neither wanted to think about it. All he now wanted was to pick up one of them by any means. He kept trying, but his hand kept on going through them. With a lot of failed attempts, he stood back. Frustrated, he sighed and stared back at the bottles. It did not seem to work. But he refused to give up. This was his one chance of helping his son. Besides, what would Sisillia think if he gave up so close? He went back to the rack and started to try each of the bottles again and again, taking his time to feel and focus on the bottles. Each of them felt different. A few of them even seemed to move a little. More he could be in tune with the feelings, more they moved. One of them might be easier to pick up, he thought.

  And, as he was onto the fifteenth bottle on the second rack, he stopped.

  He knew this feeling. A sense of love, and he could almost smell wild roses. He felt this way when he caressed the fur shawl when Sisilia left him alone.

  Gasping, he tried to picked up the bottle, and then realized that he has actually picked it up, almost effortlessly. He was almost about to drop the bottle in shock, but he clutched onto it before it could slip. He clung it close to his body.

  Just at this moment the door to the room banged open. Mephisto the Miracle man entered the room. His eyes were burning and fixed at Gepetto.

  “You will regret coming here.”

  Mephisto walked towards Gepetto.

  “I…I am sorry sir..I was not trying to..”Gepetto kept the bottle back where it was.

  “You think I will let you go if you apologize?”

  Gepetto walked backwards, though he knew that behind this wall was the room with the creature. He went through the wall, as Mephisto cackled.

  “You went right there? Great! I was going to take you there myself. You would make an excellent servant.”

  Gepetto again saw the tentacles springing up towards him.

  He did not know what to do. He could hear Mephisto’s footsteps coming to this door. Escape! He jumped towards the walls that he thought would lead him to another room behind him, and then possibly outside this cursed mansion, but to his shock and horror, the wall now stopped him.

  He thrashed and clawed at the wall, feeling thousands of pins being pric
ked whenever he touched it. The letters on the wall seemed to be glowing.

  Gepetto watched in horror as he saw the door move and being unlocked. Soon Mephisto entered the room, with Gepetto standing as far away from the door as possible while avoiding touching the ominous tips of the tentacles, which were raised up from the ground, not even bothering with the hooks and chains that were almost digging into its flesh.

  “Please let me go!”Gepetto begged.

  “So you can tell others?”

  “How can I tell others? I am dead!”

  “And you think the world only is made up of the living? You know it is really funny how little people like you know about what is going on with the world. I am not afraid of you telling this to any other human! However…” Mephisto stepped forward slowly, almost seeming to enjoy Gepetto’s misery.”..However, there are other things…far more dangerous!”

  “Please, sir!”Gepetto begged.

  “I have no option.” Mephisto raised a stick he was carrying. It was dark, and there was a crystal on top of it.

  “What do you want to do with me?” Gepetto looked at the ominous wand.

  “Me? I have nothing to do with you. Whatever shall be done to you would be done by the Nobeej-Kohsohs sitting there. I will simply give you a nudge…and then you will become one of my puppets. How do you like that? " Mephisto raised the stick towards Gepetto. The crystal was glowing. At this moment, Gepetto felt he was being pushed towards the creature and he felt that the creature was draining him of his energy and memories like he was when he was attacked by the horrors of the forest. Another push from Mephisto, and Gepetto shifted a few more inches. He was trying to resist it.

  He focused on the memories he held most dear, the memories of his dead wife..of his son…of his friend..what was his name again? Gepetto was fighting a losing battle. But he could not afford to lose now. Peter was waiting for him back home! He remembered that name, even when everything was fading.