Episode 15 - The Makers in one side and the King in the Other

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height


She stands up, raises her forehead and joins her hands.

I look around, it was a table full of books, journals of supposed doctors, letters from the merciful, paintings and some lights to illuminate this part of the library. There were names of each of them, but I had to wait for Sali to mention them because I had trouble pronouncing them or even reading them.

"Are you ready to hear the story of this place?"

"Of course, just wait for me to get my papers out, I don't want to forget anything."

After getting ready, I took notes, although it is obvious that I later corrected them until now when I had more free time in the underground warehouse.

"Once upon a time, a long time ago, a group of founding members, here on the wall we have their photographs and illustrations."

"The most important one was Edward Reicherstorfer, not only because he had the largest painting, but also because he was the one we had the most information about, with handwritten letters regarding the ambitions he had for this city. In every way, he is easy to consider as the father of this city.

"Ambitions? Like what?"

"He said that this city was a bastion of humanity, a new beginning if everything went according to plan, although it wasn't.

"To begin with, in very few writings he hinted that this was for the people of Europe, especially Germans, although it was thought that many from the African continent would come to the new city that was receiving cultivable land, buildings built crazily, and many more things that made it stand out as if it were a walled oasis.

"In his words, Reicherstorfer mentioned immigrants from the Congo region, which the city is approximately located in the north, but I don't know exactly where, and the Middle East as 'unwanted and rushed guests, impulsive as any black person.' On the other hand, he said that 'the city was not ready to be inhabited,' so there is a lack of literary interpretation of whether he really hated those with different skin tones or if he was annoyed that he could not see his dream come true.

"Some argue that Reicherstorfer was a good man who suffered the misfortune of not being able to live in the city he had created and that others were already arriving before him, while others are a clear example of how the white, wealthy, and greedy man lacked humanitarian vision for us.

"I consider that, like any person with a big idea, he thinks of his closest loved ones first, although well, that observation is very subjective on my part, that's why I don't like to say that I am an attempt at a historian, according to the guards they named me as their historian, but I am very passionate about taking a political stance.

"Anyway, what do you think?"

"I wouldn't know what to tell you, you know them more than I do, tell me more about the other members and then I'll see what I say."

"Oh, sure, let's see, their other founding members were..." She starts pointing with her finger while moving her head quickly to check if she was pointing to the right person. "Hernán Rorschach, main partner and possible right-hand man of Reicherstorfer, it is known from Edward's writings that Hernán was in Switzerland and that besides being a founding member, he was a close friend."

"Deustesalvet, we don't have much information about him.

"Guglielmo Bonanno Pisano, we tried to find out what he did, but we couldn't find anything except that he was possibly what they called a Socialite from a country called Italy, located somewhere in Europe."

"Yes, I hear about Italy."

"Carl Saint Nino, another one we know nothing about other than that he contributed funds to the city.

"Franca Feraud, the same as Deustesalvet, unknown.

"John Walton, this is an interesting case, he was in a country called 'United States', it's a strange name, I know, but he could be considered a protagonist of the third world war based on all the mentions they have. But that's not all, because in reality, Walton was a family, and there were so many millionaires there that it's not known for certain who it was attributed to, they attribute it to a certain John but that family had several Johns.

"Shinji Hideki Mikami Kamiya was the one who had the most influence in the Asian area, despite being from a Japanese family. Due to having a double first and last name, it's most likely that he was born in another country, unless Japan changed its rules at some point. Unlike us, in other places, there was an obsession with everyone having a last name and not just a name. Maybe that attempt at independence made them appear more as separate individuals rather than as a town and people. What do you think?"

Smiling a little for the first time in weeks or even months, I say;

"Look, I'm trying to grasp everything you're telling me, but yeah, I noticed that with characters like Sherlock Holmes. It's not something I see happening here unless someone is from a 'high-class' family. I don't understand the point of having so many last names."

"I know, right?" There's a moment of silence, which she expects me to fill, and it becomes uncomfortable until Sali breaks the ice.

"Um, well, let's continue with the founding members. Alberto Prebisch Jr. and Maurice Émile Sauvestre were the main architects of the city because Reicherstorfer had faith in them. I theorize that in some way, they all made decisions, but they had more participation in organizing how the city would function. Newell was the last of them and another case of not knowing much about them except that they gave life to the idea of creating a city, with the rest of the others."

"It can't be that there's so little information. Did they not say anything? Were they leaders or not?"

"These eleven founding members, in addition to being partners, have something sad in common. None of them saw the city finished." Sali approaches me while emphasizing those words. "They didn't make it before the war ended the world, and we almost didn't make it either."

"Oh, now it makes sense, but how did they not make it?"

"According to Reicherstorfer's last letters, 'not everyone contributed their personal fortunes. Instead of using their savings, some diverted their profits and are now accused of embezzlement of funds.' (Whatever that last part means). But the most important thing he said was, 'We're not getting good press. People are willing to let several of us die before going to the new paradise we're creating, all in the name of revenge.'"

"The world was ending and people were complaining about... what? Money? What did they expect to spend it on? Is because there had an better idea to spend the money? It's ridiculous."

"Exactly, the old world worked in a strange way. When you read about it, you think it's a lie. You check it again and again, study it, check more sources, and in the end, you have to assume that all the evidence indicates that it happened, no matter how fictional it sounds."

"Well, then... From what you're telling me, I'm going to assume, I mean, assume that indeed the founding members didn't see the sunlight before the night ended. Why do you say 'We almost didn't make it either?'"

"Before a black smoke covered the city with the rest of the known world, a group of people from different nations with different cultures got to work creating this city.

"While they were building it with its buildings and walls, people from Babylon, Congo, and other regions came to this new city located in the Central African Republic to pass through its walls and be protected when the dark mantle arrived and the climate changes covered the continent that was known as Africa. Scientific explanations are not my thing, but it happened.

"It happened earlier than everyone was prepared for, although more importantly, the first start-up and revolutions of that purifying machine would still be the slowest.

"It's disturbing to think that where there's now a desert, there were once trees and grass, a whole tropical place that had been lost because the new world hadn't forgiven it. What Asia Central had lived with the Aral Sea in the 21st century, Africa was starting to suffer now almost entirely. It's unknown if this also happened on other continents.

"People spent years in the laboratories with the dream of going to the surface, at that time they lived off small ecological gardens and spent their days debating on what to call this city. Different names were proposed, but no one could agree: 'New Babylon', 'New Jerusalem', others who left the old world behind called it 'The Heart of Africa', or in honor of Edward, 'The Bastion of Humanity', although no one could agree on it in the end. It wasn't necessary to come up with a name for the city because it was believed to be the only one remain.

"The purifying machine did its job, the city was destroyed, but much of its structures remained standing. The central plaza emerged and since then, with the passing of generations, people have expanded. The laboratory, for its part, was almost empty. The days when everyone lived cramped and fearful of what the future would bring were long gone.

"Many of us thought that the world had ended and that the only thing left was what the walls guarded, with eternal deserts and eroded oceans, until you appeared."

"So, is that the whole story of the city? Does it end with me?"

"Without going into details of its darkest era that I've told you in a nutshell; Yes."

The girl adjusts her glasses and scratches her head.

"Well... I don't see any hurry." I reply.

"I didn't see much of that part, I know many people lived in the laboratories as if it were a shelter until the purifying machine did the job of cleaning the air. The central plaza was the first place where people started to settle, but that's about all I know."

"Well, that doesn't seem like very little to me."

"I know, ugh, I'm sure it feels like it's took long for explain myself, right?"

"With you, it went by quickly, Sali."

I see her biting her lips as she crosses her arms and shrugs.

"You didn't lie when you said you've been wanting to tell this story for a long time. You look so happy."

"Hahahaha, I? Yeah, thank you for listening to me."

"No, thank you for telling me. Regarding what you asked me, it's strange for someone with good intentions to be... I don't know how to say it."

"Racist?"

"No, I don't know what that is."

"Is for those who hate people because of their skin color."

"That exists?"

"It did."

"That's weird, well, if that's what you're telling me; then that's the word, it doesn't sound like he liked us."

"It's almost what the merciful king thinks."

That's when I opened my eyes in indignation.

"But wait, how can he think the same?"

"He doesn't see any of these founding members as good people, he believes it's better to forget them."

"But that doesn't make sense, while I have my doubts, closing the library is not a good idea, the ideal thing would be for everyone to draw their own conclusions."

"He says it's better to look ahead and not believe in leaders who-"

"I don't care what he thinks, if in fact the reason the library isn't public is because he wants only him to be seen as a king and no one else, not for any other reason."

There's a moment of wordless considerations.

She looks over my shoulder, approaches in a low voice and answers me;

"Listen to me, I think very similarly to you, but he has a lot of influence, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you, no... it's not a threat, just that we have to be cautious."

"Yes, I've been told that a lot, but what the king is doing is wrong."

"I share your opinion."

"And what will you do?"

"I'll keep insisting that he change his mind, but he's very stubborn, he believes these figures should be forgotten to avoid them becoming idols of worship."

"The best way to avoid that is for people to know about it in the first place, to make it common knowledge, otherwise it will generate curiosity, what he's doing doesn't make sense. People should know what's really here, they could form their own opinions."

"You're absolutely right, Broken Forever, I can't argue with you."

After talking about other things for a while, she accompanied me to the painting area before going to the library exit.

I found a painting that personally caught my attention.

It was written in several languages, it was called "The Death of Marat."

On that same painting, there was a note written, but on top of the canvas, a paper was nailed with a nail, it seemed to be the translation of what it said, or so Sali suggested.

"It is enough that I am very unfortunate to have the right to your benevolence." Except that in the painting, it was in the feminine form word in the original language, Sali emphasized.

As I examine the paper, I notice something strange on the walls. I turn the lamps or lanterns, whatever gives light to the place, and I saw a kind of reminder written in white paint or chalk that said, "Forgotten by those who love you + Remembered by those who hate you = Villain." It had the same handwriting as the note.

I turn the page that was pinned on the painting, on the reverse side it said, "His name is Malik Adeyemi."

Sali looked puzzled as we left the hidden part of the painting area. I asked him what all this was about, but he only joked that it was a good reason to keep the library closed.

I thought about taking the note, but with the little that was written on that paper, it wouldn't cost me anything to write it down on my own sheets. Besides, even if I could hide it among my belongings, the risk wasn't worth it.

The visit had ended, and as Sali accompanied me to the door, I asked him about the hunchback dwarf of the city, but he also seemed not to know him. He must have a story. The more I know about the city, the more I wonder why he is the only one of his kind, as if he were alien to all social classes in this city.

Seeing the sky again, I noticed that it would soon be nightfall. Although the rain had stopped, the sand and the walls of the structures were still damp, as is logical.

"Well, how was the visit?" Sali asked.

"It was the most pleasant thing I've had since I arrived in the city." I replied.

"Wow, I'm so glad!" Sali exclaimed. "I hope you'll come back to the library someday."

"I will, although it may take several days until I can arrange another appointment."

"I'll be waiting for you."

"I hope that someday the library will be open to the public. Maybe things will be easier then. I'll see what I can do, I promise."

"Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise to make things better."

She didn't seem to be listening, but she approached me to give me a kiss on the cheek and quickly whispered to me.

"Take care of yourself, please." With a hint of concern in her voice.

As I saw her by my side, I noticed that beyond what she whispered to me, she was so happy, but I don't understand why it was more than just telling me the story of the city.

With her hand on my back, she told the guards that our guided tour was over, and after they checked me, they said, "Are you ready to go back to the central plaza? You won't be allowed back without authorization."

I saw Sali's smile disappear at the mention of that, even though she already knew it.

"I know."

"Then, let's go."


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net