MOUNT OLYMPUS

We had no idea what the current situation was. We quietly followed the angel until we passed through an archway to another building. Or at least, it was supposed to be another building.

Surprisingly, we ended up in another outdoor space, if you could even call it that. I could see the ever-present sprawling clouds in the distance, but there were blooming flowers beneath my feet. I could see a few ivory pillars, much like the ones from outside the Pantheon, jutting out of the ground here and there. Since the pillars were supporting only a huge single slab of marble, they kind of reminded me of Egyptian style architecture.

But what waited at the end of the hallway was an entrance to a new world completely out of everyone’s imagination. As the same teasing source-less light pulverized my view and as per the usual routine the scenery presented itself in full glory, the gigantic ‘Mount Olympus’ stood before us. A flock of mysterious birds with feathers as white as milk flew up high in the sky as if welcoming us after our tiring journey had came to temporary halt. For some reason I wanted to hug and feel their warm fluffy feathers, but maybe some other day.

I took a peek at the face of the angel out of sheer curiosity. And I could tell through the sinister aura radiating from his body even though he was wearing a poker face, but inside he was laughing and howling at his full voice,’ be amazed you pathetic lowly mortal humans. Imprint this in your weak mortal memory because you may not find a treasure of this grandeur again.’

The serrated white mountains loomed in the distance under the clear blue sky. The legs of the mountains were very wide. The peaks of the mountains were like harpoon tips shrouded in ghost-grey mist. Just as we approached, a chute of snow detached itself and went trundling down on its other side. It slid over the knotted edge and then went crashing into the chasm below. The silence that followed was spine chilling. It froze our marrow to think why we had been brought to such a dangerous place. The angel was startled too by this unexpected avalanche but reassured us that there was nothing to fear with his smile and we continued to follow him. I concluded that the heat had displaced the snow from the tip of the time chiseled mountain. It sure was summer even in the divine realm.

As we reached the bottom of the mountain, my gaze fell upon a flight of golden stairs which traversed and ended exactly at the middle of the mountain. The angel started climbing the stairs. But we students have become too impatient to think how much time we will have to continue to walk. But no one resisted the Supreme Being. Not because of fear, but the eccentric situation which each of us found ourselves and the fact we have died had already drained our mental capacity.

At mid mountain an unexpected huge expanse of flat land caught our attention but the true surprise was the settlement that occupied this half plateau. It was an old fantasy setting of a prehistoric city which took pride in its rich culture and heritage but there was much more to it. “I welcome you all to the holy city of Gods CARDELIA. A place of unimaginable blessings.”

Every treasure man holds valuable will pale in comparison to the magnificent city of heaven. Precious stones lavishly adorned the towering walls that firmly surrounded the Cardelia city. The city had no need for the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of Gods illuminated it. At the gates of the city there was no barricade or door, as if showing the hospitality that anyone may enter to seek shelter.

 I wondered will the streets and houses be made of gold. But I was glad that was the not the case, the God of Architecture sure was not extravagant in his constructs. But something about the material used in the construction bugged me, as if the road, the buildings, were they alive! Even in this chilling breeze a warm sensation from the walls and street enveloped my body. It was as if I was in a heaven-made kotatsu.

As we followed the angel, we saw several Gods and Goddesses passing by us or looking at us up from their balcony as we continued our tiny procession. The houses were neither very tall nor short; most of them were two-storied or three-storied mansions. After taking a straight path and a left we came to a halt. We finally reached the hotel or maybe an inn or whatever they call it here. When we entered through the door, the scenery totally changed, it was not at all what one would visualize after seeing the outside infrastructure of an old-fashioned three-storied building.

Then we were given the instructions by our extraterrestrial guide who found comfort in seeing our stupefied looks of amazement and praises of this divine realm.

“In this city you do not need to learn the routes because the streets always keep on changing. Just remember the destination in mind and you will be guided by the roads themselves. This inside space is a pocket space connected to another dimension and has twenty floors, with a single room on it. Each one of you will get to occupy one room. Every room is equipped with a kitchen and a bathroom and all other amenities like food, books, water, air required by the mortal race as stated in the ‘Holy Scriptures of the ways of life of the Inferior Races’. All of you are required to appear in the General Assembly at 6:00 pm. So be prepared five minutes prior and I will come here to escort you to the Assembly myself.” The angel stopped and took a long breath and cleared his throat.

Amazinggggg!

What an awesome navigation system in this outdated town-setting. What a relief! I will never get lost in my life again. For those who don’t know I am very bad with direction and learning routes. I mean very bad, maybe the worst. I had got many times lost and always had to seek the help of locals or police from time to time which was the reason I never travelled much or ventured outside the house on earth. Could it qualify as one of the reasons for me being a shut-in? And what’s with this freakish extra dimensional-pocket space? If such a thing existed on earth then maybe the price of renting a house would go down and there would be no homeless people and earth could support a much larger homeless population. Why don’t they share this technology with the people on earth?

Ah!

I think I get it. Isn’t it pretty obvious with that stupid name of the book he mentioned? He really thinks he is the best.

 Lost in my thoughts I came back to life or maybe after-life, considering that I am already dead, I saw that I was standing alone in that long corridor. Where did everyone go? I should hurry up and get to my floor.

What a bother, everyone had occupied the lower floor and some were complaining that the upper rooms got smaller and smaller. After climbing a hefty amount of stairs again I reached the 20^th floor. As expected for some reason it appears that the building is a triangle and not a square. Hence the rooms got smaller and smaller as one ascended.

The admiration I had for the God of Architecture shattered in pieces, what use is this pocket dimension and navigation system if walking is the only thing they could do. It is so tiring, to monotonously climb stairs since we reached the Pantheon. How dare they call us inferiors if they cannot provide us with a van to travel or install escalators and lifts?

As I held the knob of the door, it shone with a red colour and a ‘click’ sound as if it registered me as one of the tenants. It was a smaller room but much bigger than the miserable storehouse I lived in. It was amazing in itself that the room had a sci-fi vibe to it.

There was a small kitchen and a pantry. I took out a packet of potato chips and poured a glass of apple juice and enjoyed the delicacy on the massage chair which was totally unexpected. All hail to the God of Hospitality!

I took a bath, and the another pretty interesting thing I saw was there was no tap.

“Is the God of Architecture really does not care! All I wanted was a bath after a tiring day.”

I looked inside the small opening in the wall and searched for flowing water.

“Ahhhh!  My eyes. Its too cold. Sttttoooop it!”

The water gushed through the hole and striked at my eye and then suddenly stopped.

“I get it.”

We just need to think of taking a bath and water would itself come out running at full speed from the shower. Similarly you can also control the temperature. Its pretty funny if you think and enjoyable at the same time.

I soaked myself in a fur towel which was so smooth that I kept it rubbing on my cheeks after drying my hairs with a hair dryer without using electricity. I used the same logic again. The image of hot air manifested itself from the hair drier. I thought I was using magic and it was fun too. I found a pair of ironed clothes in the drawer.

After wearing these new clothes, I watched myself in the mirror.

But the little smile on my face disappeared. The girl who stood before me was cursed throughout her life by her adoptive parents. The abuse was constant, raising a child in that environment was unthinkable, and I was warped by it. ‘Stupid brat, always got that sad, nasty look in her eyes, we can’t kill her so why doesn’t she try to take her own life and spare us the trouble.’ Remarks like this had become a normal exchange of words between my uncle and aunt. I had a single photo with my parents when I was little. The photo depicted my parents hugging me in front of our old house. I don’t remember their faces even in my memory. The ones in the picture are they really my parents. I don’t even remember the voice of my parents and how they felt about me. Did they too want that I was never born? Were they kind to me? Did they really love me? At least I would like to think they did.

 There was no person on earth who could have mourned over my death and my little cousin who liked me during her adolescence started avoiding me after her middle school due to the instigation from her own parents to stay away from me, severed our bonds. Maybe she would have felt a little bad after hearing about my death. Will anyone even remember me?

I looked up and the unconscious and dusty black hair covered half of my face. To look straight at someone I had to focus my hardest but looking down at the ground was the easiest since making an eye contact with anyone gave me the chills. What if the person started hating me? At least if I don’t make any contact then there will be no dilemma of being liked or hated. I blocked these thoughts and then curled up my hairs.

The mirror depicted a beautiful young albino girl with a skin colour so white that is rarely seen in the country. Long velvet-black hair caressed my pinched-in cheekbones and offset my red lips. Black emotionless eyes in which one could look and experience the abyss itself. ‘I am truly a beauty. Should I apply for role modeling? I am sure I can capture anyone’s attention. The granny at the confectionary shop always told me how lovely I was to look at and scolded me for hiding my face under those untidy and sun-scorched hairs of mine.’ I too wanted to dress up fearlessly like other and show my face to the world but this attractive looks and lovely body of mine was covered in an invisible blanket of gloominess and drenched in darkness. I tried to smile but my face did not change whatsoever. I then tried to force a smile but it looked more horrible. I quickly put down my hairs which crashed in front of my face and covered the sides and forehead down to the eyes.

I jumped on the bed and covered myself with blanket. I was afraid. Did anyone see my gloomy face? Will they start abusing me with the same abuses as my uncle did? I scanned the room and there was no one.

 I then slowly put my head on the pillow. I was really tired and maybe out of my mind too. To think that that I would be able to overcome my short comings and insecurities. Even after being dead I was still worrying about my dismal looks.

Then again the bright source-less-light wrapped the entire room not even leaving my own shadow. I didn’t find any tube light or hidden bulb. How am I going to sleep? It was already four o’ clock. Is there even night in this city?

The lights got turned off. I thought about a bright room and the light reappeared. It was fun to repeat the same activity without using any kind of switch. Does this room have its own consciousness?

I looked up at the roof and there was no hole or the ceiling appeared broken, it was but anything smooth as cream. Is reincarnation really possible? Will we really get another chance to live? Will I find happiness, family and friends this time? Will everyone be given equal opportunities? Are there really no demands from Gods? Is it really a free service?

Will all of my classmates agree to this? I wonder how they feel about being dead. Are they sad that they have to leave their parents behind and other people who loved them?

 Well I had no attachment to my previous world. I was totally devoid of friendship, companionship, brotherhood, love and care of family members. I can only remember anything but pain and disappointment. What will the new world be like……..

I don’t remember when my eyelids fell down and sealed my vision and sleep overtook my brain and body.

 Will I wake up and find myself that I was dreaming all along.

***