by R. Twine
It was without regret that I left my collège in Paris, because I had never had time to get used to it. The news about my departure electrified my classmates and teachers; they didn’t want me to leave.
‘I wish you weren’t leaving us,’ said Madame Baurget in a sad tone of voice. She was a short and somewhat stout middle-aged woman who wore Dior glasses. ‘I wish you luck and happiness. Don’t forget us. We’ll always be glad to see you, so come back to see us whenever you get a chance.’
I liked studying; it came amazingly easy to me. I had a good memory, and my mind was capable of processing almost any information. My parents taught me to always remain who I was. I didn’t like to adjust myself to my surroundings; I had a strong character, but the main thing was that I was self-confident.
Having packed my things, I went down to the hall which was filled with boxes, to help my grandma.
‘Miriam, I’d like to store our jewelry and the ring in a bank – that’s if you don’t mind,’ my grandma told me, marveling at the emerald in the sunlight; sunrays passing through it made the jewel shine with a bright green shimmer. ‘It’s dangerous to keep such things in the house, let alone go out with the jewelry on. I won’t sleep soundly as long as this ring remains in our cupboard.’
‘Granny, this ring, apart from being very precious in the sense of jewelry, possesses a magic force, and is capable of protecting its owner from misfortunes. I don’t want to part with it; if it goes into a strong box I will be denied the opportunity to talk with it whenever my soul feels like it. I don’t want this connection to be broken. This ring is the only thing I have left in memory of my parents.’
‘It’s been many years since I gave up wearing jewelry,’ my grandma sighed. ‘The jewels have been kept in a safety deposit box in a safe for over ten years. Sometimes I intentionally go there to have a look at them. This emerald,’ she said without taking her eyes off the stone, ‘can drive anybody crazy – its purity is simply incredible! I’m still at a loss as to why Laura never wore it.’
It was with great impatience that I was preparing for changes in my life. But at the same time I looked calm, because I had no desire to let anybody into my inner world.
In the evening, on the eve of my departure, my classmate Sheen and I were returning from our collège. I didn’t feel well: my body was aching and burning with fever, and my throat was parched. Suddenly I saw scarlet flames before me.
‘What’s that, Miriam? Something’s on fire, isn’t it?’ Sheen exclaimed, spooked.
The strange fire engulfed me, and cut me off from the earthly world. In a moment Sheen saw everything around her return to normality, but I wasn’t by her side anymore.
‘Miriam, where are you?’ she called out, and, fear-stricken, rushed home.
The fire gradually died out; its color turning from bright-red to pale-yellow. I peered into a red shadow which grew more distinct as it came nearer. A man came up to me and pierced me with his intense stare.
‘Congratulations from Michael the Archangel. I’m your guardian. I want to show you the place from which you descended to Earth. I share your pain, but you have to understand that everything is doomed to die sooner or later. Everything that is born dies, to be reborn after its death. This cycle taking place in earthly space is crucial because one has to die to come into existence again.
‘There’s always a beginning and the end of the beginning. The planet has entered a new cycle, and this cycle is going to be difficult for all its living beings. The spirits of the Earth got tired of grappling with self-assertive and arrogant mankind, and therefore they called in the forces of Light and Darkness to help them. The Earth has already begun getting rid of mankind, and the peak of the process will happen in several decades – the time will come when diseases and famine will be killing people by millions. The situation will snowball out of mankind’s control. Chaos is coming, and only the human beings branded with a special mark are going to survive.’
‘Should I be expecting another loss?’ I asked, interrupting his monologue.
‘This isn’t the last death you are going to encounter on your path, Miriam. But you are not to blame for this.’
‘Does it mean I will be suffering again?’
‘A human being can suffer throughout his or her entire life because nobody can be secure from sufferings. But we’ve sent you here for a different mission.’
He put his red cloak on my shoulders, and took me by the hand. The air around me became compressed, and I shrank involuntarily. We began ascending through white clouds. When we arrived beyond Earth’s protective screen we became surrounded by giant angels; these creatures were woven from threads of light; their eyes illuminated our way forward. There were stars flaring up and dying out around us, their white shimmer lighting up the darkness. Suddenly I saw a bright comet coming straight at us at an enormous speed, but one of the angels shot it down with a ray he fired from his hand. The comet exploded overhead, and millions of its burning fragments lit up the void.
‘I thought the skies were filled with light but the higher we go the darker it gets,’ I remarked, huddling up. ‘Besides, it’s cold over here.’
‘My cloak will warm and protect you.’
‘‘Surely enough, any human body when lifted to such a height is likely to yield to pressure and die in a fraction of a second, ’’ I thought.
‘Follow me,’ said the Archangel softly, and we proceeded to where the light was coming from.
The angels disappeared, and we found ourselves near a slowly revolving transparent sphere. We went inside, and I saw the sheen of multiple colors and hues; they flared up changing their distinctness. There were planets moving everywhere at different velocities.
‘Every color corresponds to a particular planet. Depending upon a distinctness of image we can see what is going on there: the brighter the contrast the smaller is the number of misfortunes taking place over there – this is a very good sign. But when a planet’s color gets darker and its contrast begins to fade away, the planet undergoes negative changes, and starts losing its balance… All planets depend upon each other, and their lives are interlinked. The purer its outer shell, the better it is for the particular planet and for the planets surrounding it. If a color gets dim, it means that a planet’s screen begins to lose its protective function.’
‘And what happens afterwards?’ I asked.
‘We intervene – that’s what happens afterwards – in order to decide what its future will be,’ said the Archangel, pointing at one of the planets. ‘What can you say about this one?’
I stared intently at a revolving sphere for a while, and realized it was our Earth.
‘It has a dim blue-gray color. There are big holes visible in its protective screen. The planet is gradually deviating from its axis, and this means an accelerated loss of balance. I’m not sure whether this process can be stopped,’ I said quietly, and then asked, after making a small pause, ‘Aren’t there changes for the worse taking place there? Can it possibly be the result of human activities?’
‘Mankind has been contributing to the process for many years.’
‘When is the disaster supposed to happen?’
‘It will happen very soon indeed. The countdown is about to begin. There’s going to be a spike in the number of disasters, causing an ever increasing amount of death and devastation… All kinds of diseases and viruses will claim a lot of lives at an alarming rate. The bad years that are coming are going to become so difficult that the whole world will inevitably sense the pressure coming from outside.’ The Archangel paused for quite a long time. ‘Achievements accomplished in the sphere of nuclear arms will lead to hostility between the nations, followed by skirmishes which will trigger really big troubles.’ Michael’s voice was monotonous and emotionless. ‘There will be frequent sporadic contractions of the Earth; these contractions will force the water out, flooding more and more cities and towns. The water will breed various mutants which will start devouring everything they me
et on their way. Many cities are going to witness the rise of hideous killer-monsters which will start proliferating at such an alarming rate that their destruction will prove actually impossible. The monsters will be killing and lacerating animals…and human beings.’
‘But this is all far-fetched,’ I said with a shudder.
‘If mankind devastates its environment, then the whole Earth is doomed to extinction. Once out of balance, it is likely to cause significant changes in the other planets, and this can result in a major catastrophe in the entire Universe,' he explained.
‘But Archangel, when all the people die, will it be better for the planet?’
‘To find out about this, mankind will have to vanish from the face of the Earth forever.’
‘It means that it cannot be predicted with certainty, doesn’t it?’ I insisted.
‘This is a hypothesis. History has already known other civilizations that became extinct. They simply disappeared in a physical sense of the word, Miriam. We’ll return to the subject later on, and now I’m going to show you the place where your soul had been dwelling before it returned to Earth,’ he said. ‘Maybe, you’ll recognize the abode you abandoned many years ago.’
We left the sphere and started to descend, escorted, as before, by shining giants.
‘Who are these creatures?’ I asked him. .
‘These giant angels are so powerful that they can even stop the movement of planets. They come from the planet named Enza situated in the center of the Universe. They are made of the Threads of Light which can neither be damaged nor destroyed.’
Chapter 12
We approached an island of a planet hanging in the air; angels armed with swords were hovering nearby.
Michael said quietly. ‘You may go, and I’ll wait for you here. Don’t take my cloak off your shoulders.’
I nodded and felt my feet easily touch solid ground. Stepping carefully on emerald grass, I made for the center of the island. I was looking around as I walked, and couldn’t stop admiring the place. Everything seemed so bright and beautiful there: the lush green crowns of the trees propped up the azure sky where beautiful birds were circling; there were little streams winding through fragrant grass, outlandish flowers were blooming in the openings, giving off such an odor that I felt a slight dizziness. The place really looked very much like Heaven! It was like a miracle that had come true.
I saw a small silver bridge with a calm river flowing beneath it. Its water was so clear that I saw the river’s bottom, where shoals of little fish were frolicking in its depths. I got down on my knees to quench my thirst; even water had its own peculiar taste here. I sat marveling at my reflection, but suddenly it disappeared, replaced by a vortex that quickly formed on the water’s mirror-like surface. The water became dark and began to bubble over. Scared, I backed off, but the river’s surface quickly became smooth again. Finally curiosity prevailed, and I bent over the water once again. Staring back at me, there was the face of a blindingly beautiful girl. In a moment the face was replaced by a new one, as beautiful as the previous image. Then came another and yet another... A succession of faces passed quickly before me, ending in my own reflection. I was astonished – all these women looked alike, and all of them had green eyes! My eyes!
Reluctantly, I got up and walked on. I had a strange sensation of having been there before; the sensation didn’t leave me for a single moment. I saw beautiful animals playing nearby. They weren’t afraid of me at all.
Two golden angels met me on a clearing and said, taking me by the arms, ‘Congratulations! Follow us.’
And we took off and flew in an unknown direction. There were green hills below washed by a blue lake; white birds were hovering overhead. That island reminded me of a scaled-down version of our Earth.
‘‘In my time here I haven’t seen a single human being,’’ I thought, and found myself in the green garden again. I didn’t feel like leaving this island, but there was Michael the Archangel waiting for me outside.
‘This place looks familiar to me.’
‘This is the place where you belong, Miriam.’
****
We returned to the South of France. Back home at last! My grandpa got down to repairing the house, but my parents’ bedroom was not to be touched – it was decided by common consent. The freshly-painted sitting-room was brightened up, and began to look more spacious than before. I put the little angel in his former place – and it seemed to me that his face lit up with joy. “The Genius” ended up in the study, on a light-purple wall which still bore the signs of having been just recently painted.
‘This young woman has the same hair as you, Miriam. It’s a pity her face is veiled,’ said Natalie, examining the picture. ‘This work is really very extravagant. What a mystical image! And who is this mysterious shadow? Everything and everybody is interlinked here. In my view, Laura wanted to convey the moment of forbidden passion between two or even three characters. The bottom line is that what is hidden from sight will not always be disclosed; all of them are hiding something… The context of the picture is suggestive of despair and hopelessness… Laura really had a talent for painting; her imagination is to be envied – you can be proud of your mother. You never know - maybe, in time her paintings will be worth millions!’
‘I won't sell them whatever the price, Nat, because they are priceless to me. My mother left me what cannot be bought with any amount of money.’
****
My new collège was situated in a magnificent high-rise built in the beginning of the twentieth century. Its headmistress was a tall, middle-aged woman dressed in a burgundy formal suit who wore small spectacles on her nose. She was waiting for me in the corridor.
‘Good morning, Mademoiselle Henderson. I’m the headmistress here at Saint-Paul. You have got an excellent character reference, Miriam, and I’m glad you’ve decided in favor of our collège. I’m Madame Renault. I’m the principal here.’ The sound of her voice was harsh and unemotional. ‘We have well-equipped, modern classrooms – you’ll see for yourself soon. Come with me, I’m going to introduce you to your classmates.’
The headmistress opened the door with a confident and firm hand, and gestured for me to come in. Everyone was staring at us, breathless. Madame Renault gave the students a stern look, and said in a strict tone of voice, ‘I want to introduce Mademoiselle Henderson to you. I’m sure you will treat her with respect. Miriam, you may take any vacant seat you like.’
‘Thank you,’ I replied formally, and, followed by curious glances, took a seat at the farthest desk.
The atmosphere in the classroom was tense and even somewhat hostile.
When the break came, I made up my mind to go out into the garden.
‘Hi, my name’s Serge,’ a boy said, taking a seat near me. You are new, aren’t you? Where do you come from? I’ve never seen you before.’
‘I’m a local,’ I said in response.
‘You are a hard-worker, it’s immediately obvious, it’s immediately obvious,’ he said, smiling. ‘They say you’ve come from Paris, so how come you’re a local?’ he insisted. ‘And what is that book you’re holding in your hand?’
His questions got me irritated, so I stopped reading and said, looking straight into his eyes, ‘I’ve lived here since the day I was born, but it was in the other collège that I studied. I lived in Paris for a year and a half, but now I’ve come back home. Do you have any more questions?’
‘No, I don’t. You know, your eyes are so peculiar; they have such a rare green color…And, on the whole, you look really attractive,’ he added after a small pause.
‘Don’t bother me, I’ve got no time for idle talk,’ I said, waving him away like a pestering fly.
‘OK, go on with your studies. Perhaps it will make you even smarter.’ The boy left, offended.
A bell rang and I returned to the classroom. The boys were giving me curious glances, but this wasn’t the case with the female members of the class; the girls were casting envious
and almost hateful stares at me. I knew I was good-looking. I also knew that people often whispered behind my back. There was one thing I didn’t know: why was I disliked? Was it because I was more beautiful, or more clever? Or was it simply because every human being has an in-born gene of hatred? Was this gene present in every person, or only in some of them?
I looked somewhat strange to many students, and perhaps this was the reason why nobody in the collège accosted me. Nobody bothered me; in fact, nobody would even come up to me, although it is true that I didn’t make any of my own attempts to be especially friendly to my classmates. However, I knew the situation would change someday soon.
‘How are you getting on with your classmates?’ Natalie enquired.
‘There’s no use in talking about it. I’ve got a suspicion that I’m going to have a lot of problems in this collège. I didn’t like it from the very beginning. It seems I’m simply disliked there.’
‘But it’s only been a few days since you came here, so you may well change your opinion, Miriam. Take your time. You know quite well that newcomers almost always face a biased attitude.’
‘I’m not going to be liked at this collège. I can feel it.’
Nevertheless, I tried to do some fence-mending in order to improve the situation. I drew a psychological portrait of every pupil in the class – I just had to make friends with someone, after all. I couldn’t possibly remain alone all the time.
Silence would fall in the classroom when I got up to answer a question – almost all the heads turned in my direction to closely follow every gesture I made, and every word I spoke. But I wasn’t embarrassed; I felt confident because over the course of two weeks I managed to get somewhat accustomed to my new surroundings. The teachers were pleased with my performance, and often praised me. To be honest, it was very flattering to me.