Lester

Lester stood below the strange construction and looked up. Plants had grown their way to the top of the building, that was way higher than all the trees around it. He slowly reached out and knocked. It felt cold to the touch and made a hollow sound.

»What is that?«, he asked. And after he didn’t get an answer, looked to Jonathan, who was lost in the sight before him. Lester walked around the structure. It was nothing more than four beams bent towards each other, but never touching. A big round thing, looking a bit like a giant plate, sat on top of them. And between two of the beams was a ladder, connecting the ground to the three platforms spread along the height of the tower.

»You can climb up here.«, Lester said, getting Jonathan's attention this time. His partner walked to him, ignoring the little creature pulling at his leg. He grabbed the first rung of the ladder when they heard a singing even more heartbreakingly beautiful than before. Lester followed the sound and saw a similar looking, but bigger creature trapped on a platform halfway up the structure.

»It brought us here to save it's…« He paused. »It's mother I think.«

»I knew it had only the best intentions.«, Jonathan said letting go of the ladder to get on his knees and stroke the creature's back. »We will help her, little guy.«

Lester looked at him with a smile and grabbed the first rung. He was once again surprised how cold it felt. Cold and hard. There was a bit of squeaking while he climbed, but after the first few seconds, he wasn’t worried about that anymore. It felt durable. More durable than anything he knew.

The first platform was empty and surrounded by leaves. He could see the nests between them. He could touch them, feel the countless little rills. And he could smell them, longing to be here during their blossom. Lester wasn't sure if he would have been able to leave without the song from above. He took one rung at a time, always making sure not to look down. As soon as he left the shade of the trees, the strange material got uncomfortably hot. He sped up to not burn himself and therefore reached the second platform in no time. He looked up and froze. In the valley before him was a town. A town that was nothing like home. A town with houses that seemed to extend into the sky. And they were everywhere. He couldn’t see the end of them. Most were made of a grey material with lots of glass between and every single one of them had plants climbing their facades.

»Jonathan«, he said without looking down. »You have to come up here. It's incredible.«

Lester barely noticed the hollow sound of Jonathan's boots hitting the rungs, for countless questions were ringing in his head.

How many people could live there, when just one of the buildings seemed to be able to house his entire hometown? How many people had there been? And where were they now?

There was a last step, and then silence. Silence except for both creatures now singing their song. Their song they both ignored.

»What is that?«, Jonathan asked.

»A city. A giant abandoned city.«

»Yes. Ok.« Jonathan tapped his leg. »But what are these buildings even made off? What is that grey stuff? What is that we are standing on?«

Lester just shrugged.

»You do know what this means.«, Jonathan said looking at him. »It means all of this is real. I can’t make this up, you can’t make this up and neither can that man in the robe or anyone else.«

»What is this place then? How did we get here?«

»Magic. It has to be magic.«

Far below them, someone ran out of the tree-line into the valley. »Isn’t that the guy in the robes?«, Lester asked and was glad for not having to acknowledge what Jonathan had just said.

»What is he doing down there?«

»If you’re right and all of this is real, then he is probably as excited about it as we are.«

Jonathan just nodded, and they both watched until he disappeared between the buildings.

Lester was the one to finally turn around and look at the animal they came up here to help. Seeing it trapped, where two of the supporting rods met, made him feel bad for having waited so long. He got on his knees, took the creatures head between his hands, folding its ears down, and tried to gently shove it through. But gentleness was not what got it trapped and it was not what would get it back out. He slowly increased the strength, but soon reached the limit of what he was comfortable with.

Lester sighed. »This isn’t going to work. Any ideas?«

Jonathan grabbed the two rods the animal was trapped between and pulled them apart. When his face was starting to turn red, they broke. For a short moment, the three of them were perfectly still, waiting for everything to collapse. But it didn’t. The creature was the first to realize. It looked up at them with its older but equally cute eyes and bowed its head, before running down the ladder in a way that seemed to ignore gravity. Lester jumped up and hurried to the railing, just in time to see their little guide jump around his mother wiggling his tiny tail. They looked up one more time and then ran off into the forest.

»This place is not too bad.«, Jonathan said.

Lester turned around to look in the direction they had come from. Above all the colorful trees he saw the giants. Made entirely out of dozens of rocks, they were five or six times as big as himself. They peaked out of the forest all over the place. Lester could see their faces. They looked peaceful, almost lifeless. Until the one closest to them opened his eyes. His yellow eyes. A loud deep roar made the birds fly and his first step made the earth shake. In the pause before his next, there were screams. Screams of two men. Two men running toward them with a giant right behind.