The second trial was much stranger; we had to hike through the city on a wild goose chase, hunting for clues to find a “hidden wonder.” I don’t know why they called it that. What I found was anything but wonderful.
They gave us each a clue. They were all different, but eventually they would lead us to the same place. A thin brown piece of paper with three words; seven yellow birds.
I looked around the narrow, busy street. There weren’t any birds in this part of the city. So instead I wandered down the slim brick path, my new white silky skirt swishing in the fierce wind. The people around me gave me odd looks, keeping their distance. I figured word had gotten out that six village girls were wandering around the city like stray cats.
I looked up and down the block, but still saw no birds. The city had been rid of animal life, other than hunting dogs and beady-eyes felines. Defeated, l slumped down onto the steps of yet another brightly colored brick house. The marble stairs were cold like ice, but I didn't care. It felt like the whole world was crashing down around me. Like I was a tree trying to hold up the sky. And no matter how hard I tried, it would just keep falling.
I looked up again at the blue building. There was a sign, but I couldn’t read the swirly, elegant writing. Instead I reached into my pocket to feel a pouch of silver coins jingling, then pulled myself to my feet and hauled myself inside.
The second the door opened, out wafted the smell of chocolate and pies. Naturally, it was a bakery. The floor was tiled white and pink, gray and coral. Chandeliers dripping with jewels hung in each corner. The line was small, but each table was full. I sighed, realizing how hungry I was. Again, I dipped a hand in my pocket, feeling the cold, smooth silver of the coins. I clutched them as I waited in line, letting the warmth of my hand heat them.
At the counter was a boy, maybe nineteen. He looked a bit like Kai; the same caramel-toned skin and brown hair. Only Kai’s is always messy, and his smile is crooked and mischievous. This boy had his hair slicked to one side, and he smiled nervously as I approached him.
I looked in the glass case as the boy watched. “What can I get you?” he asked. I shrugged. “Just kind of wandered in here....” I trailed off as I spotted something out of the corner of my eye.
At the edge of the case was a tray. Granted, there were many trays in the case. But this one was different. Whereas the rest were wood painted white, this one was thin and made of silver. On it were cookies, exactly seven of them. All shaped like birds, all covered with bright yellow frosting.
“Seven yellow birds.” I whispered. I straightened up and looked at the boy, pointing to the tray. “I’ll take all seven of them.”
***
The waterbridge.
It wasn’t the clue I found in the cookies. That one led me to the town hall, and after that the butcher’s, and after that the big tower in the middle of the city, and after that I don’t remember. But the waterbridge was the last clue, before the end. It didn’t say it outright, of course. Just, water under the bridge. I got directions from a man with a purple top hat.
The bridge itself was actually a dam, which was normal enough. It was made of faded grey bricks and the railings were silver. It was nice, especially in the fading light of the sunset. The rays trickled like dewdrops on the bridge. The only place left in the city with natural light.
It was tied around the base of a lamppost. As soon as the thin, crackly paper touched my skin, I felt my heart drop into my stomach. I don’t know if it was because of what happened. But that feeling was a warning. I know it was.
I unwound the paper and spread it between my hands. The words sent a chill down my spine as I read them aloud. “Where the living meet the dead,” it said.
Almost instantly, I felt something click in my mind. They wanted me to go to a graveyard. This wasn’t just a scavenger hunt. Everyone knew to go to the city’s graveyard alone meant you must have a death wish. But I couldn’t see any way around it, so I stood up and started walking towards it.
Even the street leading up to it was dark and dismal, unlike the other colorful buildings and brightly lit parts of the city. The setting night didn’t help much, either, because the ally walls blocked out any remaining light. There was an old woman, grubby and bundled up even on a warm summer day. As I approached her, I realized the air was slowly seeping away, getting colder and thinner. Each breath made a cloud of steam in front of me. I shoved my hands into my pockets to keep them warm.
At the end of the alley was a gate, tall and rusted. The bars were thick, but wide apart and held together by a strong chain. I rattled the gate, and it didn’t budge. I took a few steps back and braced myself.
I ran straight at it, hurtling myself at the gate. Nothing happened. I ran at it again, and again, and again. It wouldn’t give way. I stomped my foot on the stone ground. “Open, god's damn it!” I screamed, clenching my fists. Still, it didn’t budge. I groaned, rolled my eyes, and trudged off towards the city again.
But as I walked away, I heard a low, slight creak. I turned around and saw the gate slide open of its own accord. I looked around, but the only other person in the alley was the wide-eyed woman, and she was still bundled on the floor. She gave me a weary look, but gestured that I should continue on anyway.
As I thought, flurries of white started to swirl around me. Some landed on my skin and sent pricks of cold through my body. It was snowing. In the middle of June. it was more jarring than the look of horror on Kai’s face when he heard my name called.
Kai…
The thought of getting back home to him, and with Gwen, made me push on. Because maybe if I got out of this damned trial, I could leave. Go back to the mountains and the liliads and my father and just stop worrying.
The snow had already started to settle in massive clumps around me, but dispersed unevenly. I hitched up my skirt and waded into the wads of white. Do it for Gwen, I told myself. Do it for Kai and for Father. Do it for them.
the graveyard was… massive. Bigger than it should have been. It seemed to stretch on forever, like a sea of stone. I looked at one of the stones- dated four years ago exactly- and shuddered. The whole place felt… off, somehow. Like something there wanted me gone.
I turned back to leave.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
I spun around, startled. There was no one else there.
“You need to leave. Now.”
I panicked. There’s no other way to say that. I turned and ran, stumbling through the drifts of snow. The gate was already shut though, and the lock had snapped shut. I still couldn’t see anyone, but I felt a presence getting closer and closer. Bile rose in my throat and I wanted to scream.
I gripped the bars and started to climb. But as I did…
No. I can’t talk about that
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