Ashtium: City of Sun
The Temple

GRETA

My body has never felt so sore. I do not know how long I’ve been hiding back behind this fountain. After the two men left the room, I found my way back over here behind the large building.

Everything is dimmer now. It’s frustrating because I was quite enjoying being able to see objects much clearer. I suppose even in this strange place night exists. There are no stars to comfort me here though. I know Enoch wanted me to hide, but what’s the sense in hiding out here when there’s a nice structure in plain sight I can take refuge in?

I abandon my hiding spot and sneak back over to it. I love sliding my feet over the surface of it. It’s even smoother than the stone floor over in the area with all the plants.

I want to know who the person was who was talking to the false god. I think they saved me...

There are so many taller carved sculptures here. Large, cylinder beams of stone stand in a row behind me as I step further under the shade of the decorated rock roofing. I don’t know why they need so many statues, but each one is unique and equally as magnificent as the other. I can feel the patterns on them with my hands and envision their shape in my mind. My parents used to tell me about them; the statues of the gods who crafted the city of the sun.

I wander under an arched doorway, entering the big room inside. There’s the same large empty stone chair in its center that I hid behind earlier. Torches line the walls on either side of it -- their flames flickering in hues of light greys. Getting a bad feeling, I back out of the room and make my way through the cluster of statues.

“Greta?” I turn around seeing Enoch’s form walking up the sloped slate rocks leading up here. He hands me a pile of strange soft things. “I told you to stay hidden. Oh, never mind that, quickly. Let’s go,” he tells me. “Hurry.”

I follow him uneasily, knowing I’ve upset him again. The last time I upset someone here I was attacked. Enoch doesn’t carry a whip though like the man I mistakened for the god of the sun.

We walk into the strange area of plants again. Eventually, we go further until we make it to the water fountain.

“That,” He points at the large structure behind us in the distance above the stone walls and plants around us, “Is a temple. Do not go near it again unless you wish to die.” I nod my head rapidly.

He hands me the weird squishy objects he calls food. One of the firmer objects he taps, “It’s an apple. You’ll love it. It tastes better than bugs.” I can hear the smile in his voice and feel my own grow on my face.

I bite into it feeling its juicy texture. After a few swallows, he’s placing another piece of food in my hand.

“Bread,” he says.

It does not taste as strong as the other item. It’s much drier. I continue eating, trying the different foods while he talks away.

“Those stairs...don’t walk down them unless I’m with you.”

“Stairs...” I mumble confused by the word.

“You’ve probably never heard of them...or a temple. Okay, let’s just keep it simple. Stay out of the temple,” he points again at the big structure behind us in the distance. “Actually, just stay out of any of the big buildings. You know, the fancy marble ones. Marble is stone. Steps are made of marble stone. It’s what you saw me walk up on my way up here. You can’t leave this courtyard without me, got it?”

He rubs his face when I don’t respond right away. I’m still trying to soak in this new information. If I’m honest though, I’m more interested in the small flying creatures. I point at one with a smile as it flies overhead of us and lands on a crumbling stone wall on the other side of the fountain.

Enoch grabs my hand gently bringing it down to my lap. “No, please...please just try to listen. Do you understand what I’m saying, Greta?”

I nod my head, but my heart swells with anxiety sensing I’ve somehow disappointed him again.

“I heard you got in some trouble. You can’t let anyone see you.”

I tap my ankle with a frown yearning to be able to see his face. I’m tired of seeing silver.

He makes a coughing noise. “What the hell? Urdmin did that, didn’t he?”

“Urdmin...” I whisper thinking the name sounds funny.

“He’s the slave guardsman. He told my father-”

Slave. I recognize that word. My father told me stories of kingdoms far away with such horrendous roles for their own people. Enoch cannot possibly be an ordinary citizen here.

“Who are you?” I whisper with piqued interest.

“Just a guy.”

I squint, feeling him lightly touch my injured wrist and pull my hand back. His touch leaves.

I cross my hands over my chest. “I am not a child or a fool,” I retort in a harsh whisper.

“We don’t get to choose what families we are born into.”

I don’t know what that has to do with anything, but I don’t press for him to clarify. There are too many things I would never be able to tell him anyway. Can I blame him for keeping just one thing from me? He has brought me food and seems to care about my wellbeing. Then again, he did corner me in my cave and appear afraid of me then.

“What is a Krexbin?”

“The people of the desert. We thought your race was extinct though. It’s a miracle you’ve survived colorblind and alone for so long.”

“Why must I hide? And don’t say it’s because of my teeth. That is not a good enough reason to fear me.”

“People are afraid of what they do not understand. If you want to live here, you must blend in more. I’ll buy some paint for you tomorrow and powder for your skin. We need to clean your teeth first. We may be able to get all the bug grime off.”

“You are making no sense...”

He laughs, but the sound makes me even more frustrated. “I will return tomorrow morning. Do not leave here until I come back,” Enoch whispers near my face as he leans in and hands me more food.

I stand up in a hurry, mirroring his movements. I won’t be able to heal on my own. My body is too weak from starving out in the desert and exhausted from running all over the city. I’ve been cut up badly and bruised, but my clothes hide my injuries from him.

“Can you take me to the god of the sun?”

“No,” he replies curtly.

“Please...tell me. Is he real?”

“No, Greta. He’s not. Your vision is damaged permanently. There is no magic man that can heal it. It’s a shame, but if you survived alone in the pitch-black desert, you will be well fit to survive here. Just give me some time to help you.”

My heart withers as I watch him walk off toward the temple until I can’t make out his form when he rounds the corner of a row of plants. I know there is a god of the sun. My parents’ efforts couldn’t have been in vain. They believed there was a city with light. I know this must be it. It has to be.

I curl up on the “marble” ground as Enoch called it. I close my eyes for some time, but sleep never comes. My stomach keeps gurgling. The sensation is familiar. I’ve had it before after eating sick or half-rotten bugs I found dead in the sand. A few minutes pass and my stomach forms into an even tighter knot.

I sit up from my napping position and hurl up the food Enoch graciously brought to me in the tree I hide underneath. When my stomach settles, I lay back down trying to ignore the smell of my vomit.

I’m not sure when I fell asleep, but when I open my eyes things don’t look as dim as they did last night. It must be morning.

My neck hurts. The pain in my ankle reduced to a dull sting.

My wrist doesn’t ache as much, but any pressure applied to it makes it flare up in pain. I yawn, stretching my arms. My stomach rumbles and I clutch it while standing up. I scan the area around me and beyond the courtyard before heading over to the fountain in the middle.

Then I cup my hands and drink some water. When I finish getting a drink, I splash the cool liquid on my face. It’s such a luxury like this stone floor.

I could just stay right here forever and die happy.