Butterfly's Dream - Overture 3 (fragment)

“I’ve come to this place to make sure you’re taking the proper path,” says in the end the stranger in the dark-orange robe, breaking the silence. “Your journey is going to begin here, right in front of this work of art. Don’t strain yourself too hard to understand everything at once. Understanding will come eventually, gradually, in time.”

“Who are you, really?” I ask, turning my head towards him. I plan to follow up with a few more questions, but the monk is gone. He has simply vanished into the air. Startled by his surprising disappearance, I turn my eyes back to the strangely distorted landscape from the frame in front of me. And, suddenly, I am again the man inside the print, looking at the print. Space is curling around me, wrapping my body like a dark veil. When I turn my head once more towards the hall, I feel I’m both inside and outside the frame. It is a most unusual sensation, and it makes me dizzy.

I think I’m going to faint and prepare to meet the unfriendly, hard marble floor in my fall. Yet, my knees manage somehow to stay steady. Instead, the whole room is dissolving. A few seconds later, I suddenly get comfortable, lying in a bed placed under a domed ceiling. The room is bathed in a pleasant, diffuse blue light.

“Let the story begin!” commands a man’s voice.

I fail to see its owner. The room looks empty.

“Let it begin! Bon voyage, mon ami!” replies an invisible chorus. A flash of light envelops me for a split-second. Then I seem to materialize in a different location.

The bed and the empty room are gone. For a moment, I’m aware of floating inside a giant liquid bubble, but my eyes are immediately closing by themselves with overwhelming strength. Powerless to react in any way, I’m falling into a deep dormant state. Still, I can hear voices speaking loud and clear inside my brain.

Black! I think he is sufficiently relaxed.

Gray! His body and mind are adjusting to the intermediary environment.

Red! Increase gradually the output up to half.

Orange! The readings of his body parameters are normal.

Yellow! Open the gate towards the new environment.

Green! Continue to increase the output all the way to the maximum.

Blue! The gate towards the new environment is active.

Purple! Disconnect the primary environment.

Crimson! Separate him from the intermediary environment.

Violet! Stand by for ignition.

White! Ignition and lift off! He has already crossed to the other side!

Books by Marian C. Ghilea:

BUTTERFLY'S DREAM: https://bit.ly/2PM63uU

TIDES OF AMBER: https://bit.ly/2HfcHVB

Image source: Pixabay - https://pixabay.com/photos/pinacoteca-di-brera-3529230/