day 5
6.
The Elders clearly loved to live in luxury - everything was clean, bright and extremely expensive looking. Walking in, the foyer was decked out in forest greens and earthy browns, with gold laced through many of the branches. There were actual trees growing inside the building, but a cement path led the way past the help desk and into an antechamber. There, we were asked what our business was by a tall, well built man who was shirtless, showing off a very rippled stomach.
“Name. Purpose.” He sounded bored, and he examined us with dull, black eyes.
“Oliver Reid. I come to see the Elders,” he responded, then nudged me.
Was I supposed to say something? The man looked at me blankly, and I could see a hint of annoyance brewing in his brow. “Dylan Morgan. I come to see the Elders,” I replied slowly, wondering if it was the right thing to say.
“The Elders are busy,” the man stated, standing up to his full heigh, which was twice the size of my own. “You’ll have to make an appointment.”
“No, Sir, but I have-”
“Reid, right?” the man said, sizing Oliver up. “I told you boy, the Elders are busy. And you,” he said, turning to me skeptically. “Where is your uniform?”
“... Uniform?” I whispered, my throat dry. I looked at Oliver desperately, seeing for the first time that he wore the same coloured clothes of the people of the forest. I looked despairingly down at my own attire - jeans and a band tee - and realised I definitely stood out.
“She just arrived in Home,” Oliver piped up, and I felt slightly relieved I wasn’t about to be throttled by this man.
“By just arrived, you mean-”
“She was born.”
“The Elders will see you right away, Mr. Reid, Ms. Morgan.”
Shocked, I watched the man step out of the way of the door, even going so far as to open it for us. “It’s good to see you here, Dylan,” he said before the door was closed behind us.
“What was that?” I hissed, stunned.
“There is plenty of time for explanation later,” Oliver quipped, leading me forward with a hand on my back. “But right now we need to see the Elders.”
“Do you promise to answer all my questions later?” I asked, looking him dead in his hazel eyes, seeing him nod seriously.
“I promise,” he said, and I knew he would honour that promise. “Can we go now?”
Walking forward through the long halls, I noticed that the Elders’ House had turned from being a forest to looking much more profession and historic. The halls were made of a dark wood and lined with many portraits of what Oliver said were past Elders - they were all descendants of the originals. All of these Elders seemed gray haired and forever unhappy; their faces were grizzled and gnarled, and they were dressed in long grey tunics with long grey hair that cascaded to the ground. There seemed to be an equal number of men and women amongst them.
“Walk faster,” Oliver said, and I had to practically run to keep up with his long strides.
The halls we were walked seemed, to me, to resemble much of the forest that we had come from - there were so many, and I soon lost track of which turns we had made: left, right, right, left.
“Have you been here before?” I asked, my lungs burning from the distance and the pace at which we were walking. I told myself that back in reality I would really have to start going to the gym.
“Once.”
With that comforting thought, Oliver eventually led us to a large, wall-sized mahogany door. There didn’t appear to be any handles with which you could open it, but instead a large door knocker. Oliver, being the taller of the two of us, stretched up and tolled it several times. The sound was frightening - it echoed down the halls and in our heads, and I wouldn’t be surprised if even outside, people could hear it. We stood there, waiting, for something - anything - to happen. I tried to remain calm as the giant doors swung inward, revealing a circular room that was painted white.
It was into this white, sterile room where, seat up much higher than the ground we walked on, were the Elders. It was a given that they were important - their aura seemed to glow with self importance and respect. I couldn’t but stare up at them as we walked in - they were majestic, which was the only word I could think of to describe them. There were five of them, all seated in a semi circle around the visitor - us.
Looking down at us were three men and two women, all with wavy grey hair that cascaded down behind the desk, and I knew it fell to the floor, at the least. Dressed in dark, grey tunics with exrtremely wrinkled and old faces, the Elders made a foreboding picture. I felt all their gazes burning into me, and it was extremely intimidating.
“Elders, your lordships, I-”
“We know why you are here,” said the male Elder sitting in the centre of the semi-circle, not ashamed of cutting Oliver off.
I looked at him and saw him blushing.
“Your name, child?” asked one of the woman Elders, glasses perched on the end of her long nose.
I looked at them all with a little disdain - I was not a ‘child’ and I didn’t appreciate their ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude. But I could see Oliver staring at me, praying that I would follow their wishes and replied with, “Dylan Morgan, your lordships.”
“Morgan, Morgan...” muttered the Elder closest to my right. He was flicking through a spinning roll full of papers, pausing every now and then to check the pages. “Here: Morgan, Dylan.”
He tore the page from the roll and passed it down the line to the centre Elder, whose eyes had been staring at me the entire time. He looked permanently unhappy. “It says here,” he said, studying the paper. “That you were not meant to be here for another two years.”
The Elders all looked down at me, expecting an answer. I was baffled. “I do not understand how I came to be here,” I replied. “I had no control over it.”
“Explain, if you will,” said the second female, who smiled at me slightly. This made me feel a little more relaxed.
I nodded, and took a deep breath. “I went to sleep in my own world and woke up here. And now everytime I sleep, I’m here. I can’t control it.”
The Elders all exchanged looks. “It appears you have not yet made a decision as to which world you belong in,” said the centre Elder. “Hence the coming and going.”
“I was not aware I had to make a decision,” I said, startled.
“That is why you are in Home, Dylan. You have been given the opportunity to live amongst us; live a more meaningful and fulfilling life. You have not yet decided, and therefore, you flit through the two worlds, sampling and hoping to come to a decision,” explained the female Elder kindly.
“Perhaps,” said the centre Elder, “she is not meant for this world if she cannot make a decision.”
He really did not like me.
“Alzar, please - her name was on the list,” said the Elder who had found my name on the scroll. “She needs time.”
“Yes, let’s offer everyone a tour of Home.”
“I did not mean that. I mean she needs time to decide - it is a large decision.”
One of the women Elders spoke up, saying “she does have a life in the other world.”
“Time,” mused the third Elder who had not yet spoken. “Yes, we shall give Dylan time.”
“How much time?”
“As much as necessary!”
“Six months.”
“A year.”
“Until she is ready.”
I watched his verbal sparring match and wondered why my fate was lying here - why did I have to make a decision? Couldn’t I come and go? I heard them debating my time limit, and their voices seemed to be getting louder and louder, their faces blurring. I quickly clutched Oliver, frightened.
“It’s happening again,” I whispered, tightening my grip on his arm. “I’m leaving.”
“Stay, stay!” he urged, his eyes suddenly desperate and wild. “They haven’t decided! Dylan, you have to stay-”
The last thing I saw was the furious face of Alzar, the head Elder as he watched me fade away, back to reality. I knew I was never going to get his vote, but I couldn’t care less - the Elders couldn’t make me choose my life in reality over Oliver and the comfort of Home.
The Elders clearly loved to live in luxury - everything was clean, bright and extremely expensive looking. Walking in, the foyer was decked out in forest greens and earthy browns, with gold laced through many of the branches. There were actual trees growing inside the building, but a cement path led the way past the help desk and into an antechamber. There, we were asked what our business was by a tall, well built man who was shirtless, showing off a very rippled stomach.
“Name. Purpose.” He sounded bored, and he examined us with dull, black eyes.
“Oliver Reid. I come to see the Elders,” he responded, then nudged me.
Was I supposed to say something? The man looked at me blankly, and I could see a hint of annoyance brewing in his brow. “Dylan Morgan. I come to see the Elders,” I replied slowly, wondering if it was the right thing to say.
“The Elders are busy,” the man stated, standing up to his full heigh, which was twice the size of my own. “You’ll have to make an appointment.”
“No, Sir, but I have-”
“Reid, right?” the man said, sizing Oliver up. “I told you boy, the Elders are busy. And you,” he said, turning to me skeptically. “Where is your uniform?”
“... Uniform?” I whispered, my throat dry. I looked at Oliver desperately, seeing for the first time that he wore the same coloured clothes of the people of the forest. I looked despairingly down at my own attire - jeans and a band tee - and realised I definitely stood out.
“She just arrived in Home,” Oliver piped up, and I felt slightly relieved I wasn’t about to be throttled by this man.
“By just arrived, you mean-”
“She was born.”
“The Elders will see you right away, Mr. Reid, Ms. Morgan.”
Shocked, I watched the man step out of the way of the door, even going so far as to open it for us. “It’s good to see you here, Dylan,” he said before the door was closed behind us.
“What was that?” I hissed, stunned.
“There is plenty of time for explanation later,” Oliver quipped, leading me forward with a hand on my back. “But right now we need to see the Elders.”
“Do you promise to answer all my questions later?” I asked, looking him dead in his hazel eyes, seeing him nod seriously.
“I promise,” he said, and I knew he would honour that promise. “Can we go now?”
Walking forward through the long halls, I noticed that the Elders’ House had turned from being a forest to looking much more profession and historic. The halls were made of a dark wood and lined with many portraits of what Oliver said were past Elders - they were all descendants of the originals. All of these Elders seemed gray haired and forever unhappy; their faces were grizzled and gnarled, and they were dressed in long grey tunics with long grey hair that cascaded to the ground. There seemed to be an equal number of men and women amongst them.
“Walk faster,” Oliver said, and I had to practically run to keep up with his long strides.
The halls we were walked seemed, to me, to resemble much of the forest that we had come from - there were so many, and I soon lost track of which turns we had made: left, right, right, left.
“Have you been here before?” I asked, my lungs burning from the distance and the pace at which we were walking. I told myself that back in reality I would really have to start going to the gym.
“Once.”
With that comforting thought, Oliver eventually led us to a large, wall-sized mahogany door. There didn’t appear to be any handles with which you could open it, but instead a large door knocker. Oliver, being the taller of the two of us, stretched up and tolled it several times. The sound was frightening - it echoed down the halls and in our heads, and I wouldn’t be surprised if even outside, people could hear it. We stood there, waiting, for something - anything - to happen. I tried to remain calm as the giant doors swung inward, revealing a circular room that was painted white.
It was into this white, sterile room where, seat up much higher than the ground we walked on, were the Elders. It was a given that they were important - their aura seemed to glow with self importance and respect. I couldn’t but stare up at them as we walked in - they were majestic, which was the only word I could think of to describe them. There were five of them, all seated in a semi circle around the visitor - us.
Looking down at us were three men and two women, all with wavy grey hair that cascaded down behind the desk, and I knew it fell to the floor, at the least. Dressed in dark, grey tunics with exrtremely wrinkled and old faces, the Elders made a foreboding picture. I felt all their gazes burning into me, and it was extremely intimidating.
“Elders, your lordships, I-”
“We know why you are here,” said the male Elder sitting in the centre of the semi-circle, not ashamed of cutting Oliver off.
I looked at him and saw him blushing.
“Your name, child?” asked one of the woman Elders, glasses perched on the end of her long nose.
I looked at them all with a little disdain - I was not a ‘child’ and I didn’t appreciate their ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude. But I could see Oliver staring at me, praying that I would follow their wishes and replied with, “Dylan Morgan, your lordships.”
“Morgan, Morgan...” muttered the Elder closest to my right. He was flicking through a spinning roll full of papers, pausing every now and then to check the pages. “Here: Morgan, Dylan.”
He tore the page from the roll and passed it down the line to the centre Elder, whose eyes had been staring at me the entire time. He looked permanently unhappy. “It says here,” he said, studying the paper. “That you were not meant to be here for another two years.”
The Elders all looked down at me, expecting an answer. I was baffled. “I do not understand how I came to be here,” I replied. “I had no control over it.”
“Explain, if you will,” said the second female, who smiled at me slightly. This made me feel a little more relaxed.
I nodded, and took a deep breath. “I went to sleep in my own world and woke up here. And now everytime I sleep, I’m here. I can’t control it.”
The Elders all exchanged looks. “It appears you have not yet made a decision as to which world you belong in,” said the centre Elder. “Hence the coming and going.”
“I was not aware I had to make a decision,” I said, startled.
“That is why you are in Home, Dylan. You have been given the opportunity to live amongst us; live a more meaningful and fulfilling life. You have not yet decided, and therefore, you flit through the two worlds, sampling and hoping to come to a decision,” explained the female Elder kindly.
“Perhaps,” said the centre Elder, “she is not meant for this world if she cannot make a decision.”
He really did not like me.
“Alzar, please - her name was on the list,” said the Elder who had found my name on the scroll. “She needs time.”
“Yes, let’s offer everyone a tour of Home.”
“I did not mean that. I mean she needs time to decide - it is a large decision.”
One of the women Elders spoke up, saying “she does have a life in the other world.”
“Time,” mused the third Elder who had not yet spoken. “Yes, we shall give Dylan time.”
“How much time?”
“As much as necessary!”
“Six months.”
“A year.”
“Until she is ready.”
I watched his verbal sparring match and wondered why my fate was lying here - why did I have to make a decision? Couldn’t I come and go? I heard them debating my time limit, and their voices seemed to be getting louder and louder, their faces blurring. I quickly clutched Oliver, frightened.
“It’s happening again,” I whispered, tightening my grip on his arm. “I’m leaving.”
“Stay, stay!” he urged, his eyes suddenly desperate and wild. “They haven’t decided! Dylan, you have to stay-”
The last thing I saw was the furious face of Alzar, the head Elder as he watched me fade away, back to reality. I knew I was never going to get his vote, but I couldn’t care less - the Elders couldn’t make me choose my life in reality over Oliver and the comfort of Home.