As I walked trough the endless corridors of the mine looking for a site to dig I came upon a wooden circular door. A big round iron handle was placed in the middle of the door. Ela, my shadowy muse, and I looked at each other in dismay. What was a door like that doing inside a mine? Well, I suppose that in here, a very different mine, you could find almost anything. So it shouldn’t be a surprise to me that a round door was placed in this mine.
“Should we open it?” –I asked Ela for she was my companion in this adventure.
“Why not? There’s nothing stopping us.” –she whispered, like always for that’s the way she talks.
“Yes, let’s see what lies beyond that door.”
We walked to the door, took the iron handle, holding it very tight, and pulled with all our strength. It was a heavy door and as it gave way it made a loud noise like screws that have not been oiled for a long time. We opened the door completely and look to see what lay inside that room. To our amazement it was not a room but a garden, a gorgeous garden.
We went in to have a closer look and admire its beauty.
“Wow!” –I exclaimed.
Ela was speechless; she looked at the enchanted place not believing what her eyes were seeing. I was in the same state of shock. How would a place like this exist inside a mine? I remember I have read of the existence of this rare gardens and worlds in the book One thousand and one nights, but I thought they were only legends. It harvested elegant green trees, flowers of all sorts of colors and shapes. Green pastures and a lake of crystal waters. Willows were caressing the surface of the lake with its branches that fell elegantly down to the ground. The breeze was soothing and perfumed with all the aromas of the flowers. What caught my attention was that inside that place instead of being dark it was daylight. There was no sun, but as you looked closer to the ceiling you could see that it was filled with clear crystals.
We walked beside the shore of the lake and inside it were fishes of all sorts of colors swimming by as we walked. One of them was very curious and jump trying to grab our attention. We kept walking and the fish, which was a deep red color with golden fins, kept jumping gracefully out of the water. I was having fun watching him and all of the sudden he smile at us. I froze and immediately exclaimed to Ela pointing to the fish:
“I think he smiled at us!”
The fish with his head out of the water said:
“I smiled because she smiled.”
I looked at Ela, who had a huge smile on her face, and as I was ready to tell her something I realized the fish gave me a response!
“Do not be rude by commenting that he talks. Just approach him and converse with the lovely fish.” –said Ela catching up with my thoughts.
She was actually right and I didn’t want to be rude. As I was pondering on what to talk about with the fish, I sat down near the water. Ela sat down beside me with the same smile as before. I looked at the fish that was just emerging from the water witch I imagine he went down for a breather. He looked at me for a while with out saying a word probably waiting for me to speak.
“This place is incredible. What is it doing here?” –said Ela excited.
The fish that looked very happy to have a conversation said cheerfully:
“Well it is very interesting story. Long ago the god Zeus in his battle with the Titans threw one of his most powerful bolts to the earth witch it stroked so hard to the ground that it open a crack and it gave way to a passage to this world. Zeus, after that great battle, came down to relax and have a walk along the great garden that once lay above us.
“He noticed the crack and making himself small enough to fit in it came down and found an enormous cave that extended for miles underground. He felt in love with the clear crystals that are incrusted in the ceiling. So he, there and then, open the crack to let the rays of the sun come down through the crystals so the light could shine inside this cave.”
“But what happens at night when only the moon is up and there is no sunlight to shine upon the crystals?” –I asked full of curiosity.
The fish went down to catch his breath again and continued -“The rays of the moon shine upon the crystals and submerge us in a blue magical light. If you stay long enough you might see it and maybe you can see the magic of this place.”
I smiled for I was not going to miss that opportunity.
“Zeus was so excited with the out come that he, almighty that he was and all, started walking back works looking at the ceiling. The all powerful king of the Olympians Gods stumbled on a rock. That one you see over there.”
He pointed at a big rock that was covered with bright green moss and beautiful ferns grew majestically around it. From it crystal water flowed to the lake.
“The waters of this lake come from the water that flow from that rock.” –said he emerging once again- “You see when Zeus fell down on the rock he opened a small opening and water came out of it. When he tried to get up he cut his hand with a crystal, nothing serious of course, he is a god after all. He washed his hand with the water that flowed from the rock. The combination of these magical waters, called ‘El Manantial’, and that of the blood of Zeus was what this place needed to start life. From the drops of blood that fell in the ground emerge creatures just like yourselves. But with dark black hair and bluish skin, for the blood of Zeus is of a bluish color. These creatures can make things grow out of the simplest things. They live in the farthest corner of the Manantial cave and love their privacy. So do not disturb them. They also pass their days playing with their magic and waiting for the return of Zeus, their father.”
“What happen to Zeus, did he die?” –asked Ela intrigued. She was really paying very close attention to the fish.
“No!” –he exclaimed- “He is a God. He just grew bored of this place.”
“So, who built that door?” –asked Ela.
Emerging form the waters the fish answered –“Well the King of the Manantial people. They don’t stay here for they do not like the door. It reminds them that there is a strange world out there that they don’t know and might bring contamination to theirs. That’s why the followed the river down stream, that grew from the lake, where they found another bigger one and settle there.”
He went down once again and continued when he came up –“It’s getting late and I have to go know. It was really good talking to you. I hope to see you tomorrow and we can talk more.”
“Of course, thank you for your help.” –said Ela.
“You welcome.” –said the fish smiling.
“Wait! You haven’t told us your name” –I exclaimed.
“Oh! What clumsy of me. My name is Zep.” –saying that he swam away living us alone.
There was silence as the light became dimmer. Only the sound of flowing water from the ‘El Manantial’ echoed in the cave. The light change rapidly to a blue dim and the crystal of the ceiling sparkled majestically. Sparkling lights came alive when the night finally came and even the rock from the ‘Manantial’ sparkled full of magic. Ela took out of my back pack a sleeping bag witch she told me Morpheus had given to her ‘cause he knew I will need it in case I wanted to spend a night inside the mines’.
We lay down staring at the sparkling crystals embracing the beauty of that place.
“They look like stars.” –commented Ela.
“Yes.” –I said inhaling the pure air that surrounded us.
“What are we going to do tomorrow? Are we going to stay here or go back to the mines?”
“I do not know Ela. What ever tomorrow brings I know it will be good and full of blessings. Let us, for know, enjoy what we have been blessed with.”
¡Comparte conmigo en Facebook!