Chapter 38 - 39. Mickey
I and Antonie got along well very fast. In some points, we had similarites, such as hobbies in drawings, and favorite food that was all about potatoes, a lot of stories of life at schools, and all stuffs about friends.
Although our age gap was quite different significantly, we could understand each other quite well. He always looked cheerful although I suspected that there had to be something wrong with him. In every smile he drew, he hid sadness and I pretended not to see it.
I still did not know what kind of place we were locked up right now. Through the iron bars of the cage, nothing could I see down there but darkness. The walls of this room were of dark brown metal. The scent of the iron was so strong mixed with rancid smell from somewhere made me dizzy.I could not point where it was from. Far down there, a huge fireplace kept burning. The fire was red, the one I never saw before.
Antonie warned me to stay away from the fireplace, and a snake was taking care of the room where we were. I did not really understand what he said about the latter. I never saw that creeping animal or anything, but both of us since I was kept in this hanging cage.
"You will see it later," he said. "That snake has shiny scales, and the head was like human's head. The gas coming out of its mouth smells so awful that it can kill you," I knew he was just trying to scare me off.
I tried to comprehend what he told me but it did not work well. "I never see things like that," I doubted it.
"Of course you never see it because it comes from the underworld," And that was his last words before I finally ran my eyes around the room.
I really could not differentiate either it was day time or night time, because it was a securely closed building. I just could see small light like starts through the glass dome on the roof.
The star came out of one direction and moved slowly to another direction. When I stared at that star I suddenly felt very sleepy. My eyes were closed out of my control, until I felt something knocked my head.
"Don't sleep," Antonie warned me. "Look up there above you!" he pointed at the ceiling of glass dome of various colors. "As long as there is light there, never allow yourself to sleep."
Without asking too many questions why I could not do that, I decided to hear him. Strains of song from a flute distracted me from my drowsiness. I turned my head to find out where the music was from, it was from Antonie. He blew a flute, I wonder where he got that thing from.
I saw some people and other creatures locked up in their cages were also feeling drowsy. They yawned several times. Not long after that some of them fell asleep. I was fighting for that drowsiness because Antonie threw me with gravels anytime I wanted to sleep. I had to stay awake.
A low hissing sound startled me. My drowsiness had instantly gone. I looked at Antonie, he stopped blowing his flute at the moment. His expression was alerted.
"It is coming," He spoke in low voice. At the same time something was crawling up the wall of the room that shaped like a tube. I was curious and decided to peep.
And he was right. Something shiny was crawling from the totally dark bottom floor. Faintly I saw the body of a snake. I looked at it very closely to locate the head of that animal. And I was in total shock when I saw its head. It was the head of a man with his wide mouth of that creepy animal. His hair was full of slimy liquid that smelled really awful. The scent was smelled until where I was.
Antonie looked so calm, he smiled widely to see that I finally believed what he said. That snake was crawling on the room wall in a spiral motion. I kept watching it. He was staring at us one by one in the cages.
He looked interested to five children who were caught sleeping in the cage next to mine. He glided closer with his hungry look. Slowly he opened his mouth wide so that I could see his two fangs, then he swallowed the cage completely.
It felt as if my heart stopped beating when the cage was thrown up again. Those five children were gone. His eyes flickered at me, a pair of big green eyes. I could smell his very awful breath.
I waited what he would do to me. But he was just looking at me quietly. Then he shifted to another cage and left me.
Crawling from one cage to another where the occupants were sleeping. Beyond my awareness, I counted the number of cages he came by. I wondered where all those creatures were gone when that snake saw them.
I looked up to the glass dome and the light turned dim. He snake glided down, to the bottom which I could never saw what it was like. .
"You can sleep now," Antonie said.
Ignoring what Antonie said, I preferred asking him something bothering me. "What was that?" I was really curious..
"Have some sleep. I will tell you later when you wake up," as he said he gave his back to my face .
…
The glimpse when that monster opened his mouth wide and swallowed person or creatures in the cage was well recorded in my mind. That made me hard to close my eyes. But I knew I had to use that moment my best because it was the only chance for me to rest.
Just few minutes I closed my eyes, a gravel knocked my head, I was awake again. It was Antonie who did it. "Hey, wake up! It is time to eat!" he woke me up.
A slice of bread and a glass of milk was served by a spirit of an old woman. Her clohes were shabby, her face was very ugly, but her smile was very friendly.
"Thank you Nini," Antonie thanked that old woman in a friendly manner.
That woman spirit served mine. I nodded and smiled. She replied with her friendly smile as well.
"Is this place in different dimension from where I live?" The idea just crossed to my mind because I remembered Barones church which was from different dimension from where I was from.
"His place is in human dimension," Antonie looked at me seriously. "It is just the location is hidden. They made magical wall to protect this place so that not anyone can come here," he explained.
I quite understood his explanation, but I was still curious. "What kind of place is it?"
"This is a prison," he pointed to every cage with persons or creatures whatever they were, I was not sure myself. "All who stay here are from black witches and they made a mistake," I looked at him with my obvious interest. "Some are here because of their very dangerous magic, including me," he smiled mysteriously.
"Some say this is not the real me. There will be time when I will be the real me in complete package and all of them say at that time, I will be very dangerous," I looked at him in suspicious, looking for seriousness in what said. "That snake is Falak, he is the inhabitant of the underworld who has the biggest eating portion. Anyone who are against the regulations here are for his snacks before the awakening day".
I was really bewildered. It was really confusing for me. If all who live here are criminals, am I one of them?. "Why do they keep me here? I am not even a witch? I don't have any skills like they do. I only can run when they are after me, and… come on! What am I so hat I deserve to stay here?" I was so upset that I kept chattering.
Antonie only smiled. That made me even more upset. He might think I was weird, but I just did not care that.
"How can I get out of here?" I looked at him in a serious expression and I hoped he would give me advice. "Please tell me. I believe they made a mistake," I gave him my pitiful look
"there is only one person failed to be brought here. It was Zarina," when that name was mentioned, my memory was skidding around to the time when Zarina brought the death to alive with the fire lily from me. "I did not say she could run away from this place, but it was a a failure to bring her here. It happened twice. She could not be sent into a cage because she ran away to another dimension,"
I did not speak a word. It would be impossible to tell him that I knew the person he was talking about.
"Falak will not prey anyone who still awake when the light is still high up there. That's the key," Antonie continued. "I have been living here for almost a year and he has known that I will be awake during those hours.. That is why he only glances at my cage and then leaves," this statement at least answered my curiosity, about his knowing the schedules of that monster's coming.