The Lost Symbol, Tales from the Crystal Ball
Excerpt from the Book
In the third bright month of the greenyear summer, on the first sunny day of the Sunshine week, in the Green Land of Kramelet, in the fjord city of Nesoftsev, a very strange person arrived in a small, snug passenger carriage.
It was Issed, the Stranger from the Rose Land. He wore patterned, slightly faded clothes and a small backpack on his back. He was coming to Kramelet to seek and see exactly what Happiness was and to find out how people lived in the Main City of Ladorve.
He had been told that it was a great city with an interesting life and that its people were intelligent and well-rounded. He looked around with eyes wide open — he was leaving his home for the first time and now he was looking around with interest and curiosity.
But after a few steps, he stopped, confused. He had imagined the Green Land of Kramelet teeming with life, with smiling people and merriment, and what he saw frightened him. There was no joy, no music, no smiling faces.
Instead, the Greenlanders walked, each lost in their own thoughts. Tehidravs stood proudly on their heads, but the light coming out of them was dimmed. They all looked very different.
Issed wondered. What were those things on the heads of passers-by? He looked amazed and the smile, together with the happy expression, disappeared from his face. The city was beautiful, but it lacked life, it lacked joy. He suddenly felt like crying. Is that why he left his cozy little home in the Rose Land?!
He wondered where to go. He saw unfriendly faces everywhere, and no one paid any attention to him. They just glared at him — he didn’t have a Tehidrav, they frowned and thought he was some madman from the far end of the Far-off Land.
He started to cry. He knew he would meet the Different People here, but he didn’t expect them to be so distant and inhospitable.
He suddenly felt the urge to turn around and get back on the carriage, but just then, a cart pulled by magloves (draft animals with the body of a lion and the head of a donkey) passed by.
A short, ragged old man was sitting on the cart. His Tehidrav was clean and sat well on his head. The old man smiled at Issed:
– Where to, young man? – he showed white, nice teeth.
– I don’t even know – replied Issed, looking at the old man. – I am going to Ladorve to see Happiness. They say that’s where I can find it.
He looked around and his expression turned sad.
– I must have the wrong place. I’m not sure I’ll find Happiness here. But anyway, I am here now — I will continue forward, whatever happens, happens – he said decisively.
The old man smiled again. There was something mysterious and cheerful about this old man.
– Get on! – he invited Issed – That’s where I’m headed. I’ll take you. Who knows, you might find what you came for. Wait, take your time, meet other Greenlanders – and if Srevinu, the Supreme Shadow, has said so, you will find what you came looking for.
Issed climbed onto the cart, sat down, and clutched his backpack tightly in his hands. He thought that since he was already here, he had better try and get to know the life of the inhabitants of the Green Land Kramelet after all.
The old man started talking cheerfully.
– What are these things on your heads? – Issed asked innocently.
– Oh, these, young man, are our Tehidravs. It is the thing that no Greenlander can live without.
– What, do you die if you lose it? – Issed wondered.
– No, no, we don’t die, but if we lose it, we lose everything. In one who has lost their Tehidrav, people see a dead man walking, a soulless, faceless man. That’s why we are really protective of our Tehidravs. No matter how unscrupulous and valueless a Greenlander is, they always guard their Tehidrav.
Issed looked at the old man’s Tehidrav and smiled. The cart was rattling gently on the stony road and Issed soon dozed off.
CHAPTER ONE
My everything starts here. It begins with the small, insignificant Greenlander Foken Slinnet. He was short, with short legs, and a big belly. This belly was also indicative of his lifestyle. Yes, Mr. Slinnet lived to eat, which, however, did not bother him, for he felt well, and it fully met his desires. He had everything he needed to lead a quiet, boring, pleasant life of a Different One. It was important that he go to his boring, monotonous job as a clerk in an office. His boss, Mr. Ingen, a tall and impressive man, couldn’t even tell apart the Different Ones who worked for him. He walked past his employees’ desks, looked down on them, and thought how smart of him it was to find such unambitious, stupid Greenlanders who went about their business without asking too many questions. Everything in the office looked impressive… just like Mr. Ingen himself. The desks were large, wooden, with beautiful fittings. The workers behind them seemed even more inconspicuous. Foken Slinnet even sat lower in the chair, his nose barely showing above the desk, and he wished he could hide completely.
– You made a mistake…Stuppit…I don’t want there to be mistakes in the text! – Mr. Ingen’s voice suddenly came from behind him.
– Slinnet, sir… Foken Slinnet. – Foken’s small eyes looked at Ingen expressionlessly, as they usually did.
– What? – exclaimed Mr. Ingen.
– My name is Slinnet, sir.
– Oh, yes, good.
The name didn’t interest Mr. Ingen at all. To him, they were all part of his furniture, and he didn’t understand why they were so attached to their names.
Foken Slinnet crouched behind the desk – he wanted the world to disappear, and he wanted to disappear with it. He looked at the clock with a heavy heart and waited for the cherished hour to strike, so he could go home. He adjusted the Tehidrav on his head – it was a little uncomfortable for him – and looked at the clock again.
Every inhabitant of the Green Land possessed a Tehidrav. The Tehidrav was the most important thing in every Greenlander’s life. Without it, they perished, they lost themselves as individuals. For women, it was in the form of rose petals woven into their hair, and for men, it was a small green hat that covered only the crown of the head. If the people lived well and happily, the Tehidrav glowed red for women and yellow with a green tint for men. It stayed in place all the time; they took it off only if they had to shower, and then would leave it in a safe place. It was not to be touched by anyone but its owner. Greenlanders received their Tehidravs at birth, from the Tolfs, sparkling blue birds with cat’s heads; majestic, they glowed in emerald light as they handed the briefcase of future life to each Greenlander. For Foken Slinnet, the Tehidrav was the most unnecessary thing in life. It bothered him, weighed him down, and he kept wondering which way to put it on his head to make it easier for himself. His Tehidrav did not emit any light, and at times like this, when Mr. Ingen noticed it at all, the Tehidrav even shriveled up and looked like crumpled parchment.
Foken Slinnet looked at the clock again – the time was barely passing. He only had a few more hours left and he would be on his way to his home, which was just as boring as his work.
Foken Slinnet was married. His wife, the silly Mrs. Slinnet, was also different from the Different Ones. Her Tehidrav was faded. No color or life. Stupid and naive, she did not even understand how much her neighbors and acquaintances laughed at her. She stayed at home all the time, never went out, never had any fun; she just took care of her stupid husband and the modest household of the Slinnet family. Every night, she waited for her husband to come home and tell her the Emptywords of the day…and that was what the different life of the Slinnets consisted of. But something was about to happen that would turn their lives from Different Ones to the Most Different Ones.
