The Traveller Lost - Part IV

Max and Emem followed behind him on the coloured pathway. They were finding it difficult to keep up with Slick, who was glancing back at regular intervals to check on their progress. The pathway seemed to be curved and stretch out to as far as could be seen. Endless, to Max, it seemed to go on till eternity. After all it had been quite a long time walking on this very dull pathway with nothing at all to see. But perhaps they didn't know that eternity is not as long as it is made out to be. It could quite often last for an infinite amount of time, or could just be over in a matter of few seconds, the reasons of which are better known to Time and Eternity. Rumours indicate that they have been having a cold war for quite a while now, and both of them is trying desperately to refute the existence of the other. And it was this minor rivalry that was going to present the travellers with a minor problem.

Slick had sped way ahead of the two, and Max was trying his best to match him for speed.
"Bammmmm!!!!" Suddenly Max walked into an invisible wall of sorts.

Slick quickly turned back. "Ouchhhh," Max was holding his face in pain.
"What the hell did I just hit," Max cried in pain.

Slick rushed back to the spot, and tried to feel the invisible wall. His hand went through the transparent wall, and the wall glowed for a second. A shiver went down his spine.

"OH NO! ETERNITY RECACULATION!" gasped Slick.

"Eternity what???" Max still in pain somehow managed to ask.

"Hurry friends we don't have time, eternity recalculation has just begun. Pup you fill him in with the details later, for now just break on through to the other side."

Max gave Slick a puzzled look.

"Just jump through, and hurry up!"

A storm was brewing out of nowhere at this very moment. Chaotic winds were moving in their direction, and the black serene sky now had shades of grey and turbulence. Max took a few step backs and then jumped through the invisible wall. He was hoping to crash through glass or some sort of substance, but instead he felt like his soul had just been electrocuted, burnt and bludgeoned all the same time. Ofcourse it didn't hurt his body, but it you ever have had the same experience with your soul then you would actually understand better (and I would also suggest you to write back to me about the whole incident).

"That was weird," Max was shivering.

"I know, very weird indeed! Let's go now." Slick said.

Emem was slowly making his way through to them too. He didn't have a soul, so that made it easier. Slick was now pulling Max by the hand and making his way across the stretch quickly. Dark winds were gathering behind them, and forming a huge vortex. It stood right there on top of the their heads it seemed spinning violently and pulling everything towards itself. Max was being dragged ferociously by Slick, and Emem had been left far behind by the two. The pathway was breaking into small chunks , like bricks, orange shiny breaks, which were further crumbling into dust behind them. And the orange dust was merging with the vortex, giving it a dark orange shade, which looked very ominous.

Slick dashed across the pathway which was soon reducing behind them. Emem was nowhere to be seen. Was he pulled away by the violent winds or did he fall into the darkness below? I am afraid I did not see that either. A gaint jump, and Max landed on solid ground.

The winds ceased as mysteriously as they had appeared. Max stood up slowly and looked behind him. He could see nothing but darkness as far as possible, while he himself stood on the edge of a narrow stone ledge, which overlooked this darkness. A ledge that had saved them from being a part of this darkness. Emem was lost in the storm. Max stared into the darkness for quite some time, hoping he would see that little thing.

"He's gone.......," finally Slick broke the silence.

"Where?"

"Dunno! Probably got sucked into the eternal sphere."

"Eternal Sphere??"

"Don't know much, they say eternity storms usually pull things into eternity sphere."

"Doesn't anything ever get out of it?"

"Not that I've ever heard of it!"

Now, this last line of Slick's may not be exactly correct. I once met a little mouse who escaped the eternity sphere and he told me all sorts of fabulous stories about the sphere. Stories of how wonderful the place is, with a garden so beautiful, even more so than eden he claimed. Only that its cluttered with all the stuff that has been pulled in every now and then. And of how a young poet is stuck there, writing poems for eternity, under an apple tree which also has a rubber tyre hanging down one of its branches. The mouse also talked fondly about his poem - Eternity Minus a Day, which goes like this some what :

Eternity Minus a Day,
Is not the same as an eternity
Take away a day
And you're left with a little less
A little less to write
A little less to see
And a little less to bear

Mathematically Etenity Minus a Day
Is the same as an eternity
But ask those who are stuck in an eternity
And they will tell you
that eternity minus a day
is eternally shorter than eternity

Even Ouroboros, who is largely preoccupied with eating up his own tail, seems to be fond of the poet, and wouldn't let him get away. The mouse however managed to escape one day while Ouroboros was distracted by the poet. He never told me the exact way out though.