Chapter Sixteen
Superman was almost forgotten as the town came into view. It was a bit different from what we imagined. What from afar I’d thought to be the church now looked more like a temple with several roofs, one on top of the other with some space in between. It could also have served as a designer Christmas tree. Then again, maybe it was just the home of the mayor or whatever.
The place was empty. Well not really empty - empty, there were houses and such. But nothing moved. The silence was deafening. No cars on the streets, nobody in sight.
The only things around were bicycles. Some were parked against walls or held by metal forks in front of the houses. Others had apparently been thrown into the forks with a haste which had caused them to roll out again. Bicycles everywhere, almost like a plague. People didn’t seem to care about their state. Most were quite run down. But as there were no cars to cause even more damage, it didn’t matter much.
The overall mess gave me the impression the town folks had been in quite a hurry before they left - if that was what they did. The houses were small and looked as if they were made out of cardboard paper, colorless and very fragile. The temple was the only exception to that rule.
The streets were rather narrow. The town obviously was not designed for cars. Because it also lacked parking space, Louis put the bus in the middle of the square right across from the building we’d by then decided was a temple.
Watching it up-close and from that angle, there was no doubt about its religious purpose. In a way it looked like one of those Asian temples from ‘Tiger and Dragon’, with all the roofs, but instead of being square it was shaped like an egg, and white.
“These people must be rather small,” Mark said pointing at the building. “Or the space between the roofs doesn’t necessarily mean separate floors.”
“Ve’rrre in Lillyput, in Lillyput,” Nudjia squeaked.
We got out of the bus to take a look around. Lucy and Mark tried knocking on some doors, but except for one falling out of its frame and the rest opening in itself because they were unlocked, nothing moved. Everything looked very fragile. The houses’ construction resembled that of square tents, a wooden frame carrying the roof, with the four corner poles each embedded in a concrete stump. Holding things together was a treated paper-like tissue, more or less wrapped around the poles. I preferred not to think of the damage a thunderstorm would inflict here.
It all felt very peaceful, though. A few birds were singing and the wind played with the leaves.
Suddenly Nudjia took my hand and didn’t let go. She was scared. She held me tight and kissed me tenderly. Maybe the silence reminded her of the basement where she had been locked away. She didn’t say anything but then there was no need to.
“Don’t be afraid, love,” I said. “You’re among friends now. You’re safe, trust me.”
“Let’s do some sightseeing,“ Mark said, trying to lift the tension. „We’ve been traveling for three days now and haven’t met anyone but freaks. I’d like to visit the egg-temple and see what’s inside. Maybe we’ll find someone in there.”
From the look of the place I didn’t expect us to meet anything but more freaks, but what the hell …
“If you don’t mind, I’ll stay by the bus,” Louis said. “I’ll take a look at Tiko, see if he needs anything, then a short break under a tree.”
That of course was fine with us.
We walked over to the temple. The entire building was painted white, except for the roofs which were a yellowish red. The entrance was in the middle, about five meters high and four wide, egg-shaped. It was a kind of long hall which got narrower the deeper you got in.
After about ten meters it had become impossible to walk next to each other. We continued in a straight line, pulling in our heads. I felt like a duckling walking back into Mom’s womb. There was a door at the end. The styling bored me to death. Egg-shaped, like everything else, sporting a slight outward bulge. As I got closer, it opened in itself. Because the whole atmosphere was so peaceful we didn’t think twice and walked in. The moment we were inside, it shut without a sound. Darkness.
Nudjia clung to my back. Her palms were sweaty and she trembled a little. I tried my best comforting her, as did Mark and Lucy.
After standing there for a few minutes, our eyes began to adapt to the darkness and we discovered that it wasn’t all just black. The bright sunlight had blinded us so that at first we weren’t able to see. As I peered into the room, I was able to make out shapes. Guess what, more eggs.
A tiny amount of light entered through a hole in the tip of the roof. It spat directly onto a huge egg in the middle of the room. Next to it a bald man was kneeling. Looking up, I could make out several galleries with connecting staircases sticking to the walls. There were no ceilings. In the back of the hall stood a table with guess what - Yes! Big balls as chairs.
The man stood up. Even if I’d have ignored the way his eyes zoomed in on Lucy’s boobs, I was very sure he liked their shape.
“You have finally arrived!” he yelled, spreading his arms open wide.
Tears came running down his huge round face. He fit in perfectly. He was dressed like a Japanese fashion guru. Just a guess, I never met one. Judging from his size he could also have been related to the Blob or even the Russian twins.
I held firmly unto Nudjia’s hands, to assure her everything was all right.
Remember what I said earlier about meeting more freaks?! I have to admit this guy was different from what I expected. He didn’t exactly look like your average next door neighbor, but he smiled so friendly and innocently that I quickly forgot about the other ones.
“Eh, have we met before?” Lucy asked in her very direct way.
“Well my dear, that depends on how one would define the word meet,” the man said.
The only meat I could think of at the time was Nudjia’s body, but with it well hidden away under her skirt, I tried my best to pay attention to the bloated guy.
“I called you in my dreams some weeks ago because I knew you’d be the ones who’d listen and be able to help us.”
Oh no, not again. I’d been right after all. Another one. Freaks are the same everywhere you go. This was definitely heading in the wrong direction. Why on earth did they always have to pick us for this kind of bullshit? Or could it be that we attracted them in some way?
“What do you mean by helping you? As far as I can see you already have your holy egg, so what more do you need and why should we help you find it?” I asked.
Lucy walked over to me and pinched my arm.
“Please apologize my little brother’s behavior, dear man. He has been going through some severe stress lately. He sometimes forgets his manners.”
“Oh, my sweet young princess, I was prepared for his harsh words, but as a matter of fact he is the one who will return to us the sacred holed egg.”
Yeah right. As I thought: completely gaga. I’d had enough and just wanted out.
“Dear man,” I said, please don’t take this personally, but since you already seem to know me as well as my future actions, I guess it will be of no surprise to you that I’m now leaving you and this room, Goodbye!”
I was so furious. I paced straight back towards the entrance, Nudjia running after me. The door slid open and shut. Silence … again.
The harsh sunlight blinded me. I’d stopped so suddenly that Nadjia bumped right into me. I turned and holding her at a little distance, looked her straight in the eyes.
“Sorry Nudjia, this has nothing to do with you, but I think I need a little time off. Don’t understand me wrong. Just please leave me alone for a little while.”
I touched her temples and stroked her soft cheeks. She smiled a little.
“Before I met you, I never had a girlfriend, I never was constantly surrounded by people. I just need a little space, that’s all.”
She took my face in her hands, her nose brushed mine as her eyes looked into me.
“I underrrstant sweethearrrt. Don’t vorrry about me, I’ll go back inside and ve’ll meet vhen you come back. I’ll be vaiting forr you.”
She blew me a kiss and pushed me away. I turned and walked into the sunlight. When I looked back over my shoulder I saw her reentering the building. She waved. I waved back.
Then she was gone.