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[thepassageofpages]

#02 - Mongrel

Muffin, the cozy Pomeranian, puffed up his cream-brown fur and cuddled himself against Eldirc’s feet. His master all the while was working intensely to save his Love. Well... he calculated, muttered and sipped some hot tea, with a drop of milk. It was, for all means and purposes, the most snug rescue operation one has ever seen. Not because he wasn’t desperate. Oh no, he imagined the most horrid pictures in his mind. Calesandra might be in unthinkable pain, dreadful danger - but, one has to do solid calculations before any further step could be taken. If only he had been that thoughtful before taking her along on the trip. But love has it’s own ways. You want to impress, be the hero, act like everything is under your control. All that excitement, the butterflies, the electricity flowing through your mind and body. No wonder you end up with the Brain of Frankenstein’s Monster - or worse. Oh love, foolish love. He knew, he would never be able to forgive himself, if he failed to rescue her. Green light... green light... why a green light? Let’s think, what was it they did? The day began so perfect. Warm sunlight shining into his room. Her soft knock on his crackly, wooden door. Her enticing smile and that spark of adventure in her eyes. She had packed a small backpack with the most useful things imaginable. Like it was second nature to her, to go on a wild and unmeditated trip. She took a lot of pride in showing him the contents for her bag and he was baffled by how genius every part was selected and packed. His rucksack, in comparison, was a muddle of things he might eventually need, mixed with things i just loved - like his tea and his pink bunny slippers. “Where, on earth, are you going to wear these?” she taunted him. “Not on earth, my dear!” he responded with a smile. “You are a mess” she declared. “Well, i guess, by that definition, you love mess...” “I hate mess...” “Au contraire, mon amoure. If i - am - mess and you - love - me, you undoubtedly, consequently and inarguably must love mess. It’s only...” She pinched him in the butt “Who said i love you? Now shush and keep on working to get us there!” “Yes ma’am!” - Oh, what a day... ohhhhh? Ohhhh! ‘i still need to rescue here. Ok, ok, back on topic.’ he thought. So he focused again and analysed that puzzling green light. Maybe, if the story mixed with another story by accident, it might turn green... because... uhmmmm... ah! Because the overlap of stories mixes their aura and thus creates new shades of color. Which would mean that, somehow, the book they visited must have blended into one or more other stories. Does that mean all stories are connected somehow? Maybe through the spirit of the author? Or through the mind of the reader? Or through the shelf they are placed on? And since the light was still emitting from his device, he should be able to enter that mongrel of a world. Only this time he would not know what to expect or where he would land...

[thepassageofpages]

#01 - Calesandra

Eldric woke up, finding himself lying on the ground, between piles of old books and notes he had write over the years. Some blood dripped from his nose and he thought “I lost her forever!”. The morning sun lurked in through a small window in his study. Dust dancing happily in the air and shining bright. A small room, in a high tower, made of big, old slabs of stone. Medieval in design and quite nice. He had been here for over 15 years. It was home. But for Eldric there was nothing bright and happy about it now. His mood was sad and grim, a tear forming in his left eye. Why did he follow his hunger for adventure? And why did he drag her into it? She might still be alive, had he never told her of his device. That tall and slender woman he loved so much. While he was short, chubby and quirky, she had all the elegance in the world. At least to him. Both of them book worms through and through. He liked that, and she liked it too. Nothing like a nice, crackling fire, a big old book, some tea and her. Eldric could spend a lifetime like that. But now all that was lost forever. She is gone, dead. Nothing to do about it. He stared with empty eyes into the room and tried to hand himself over to the sadness. Something interrupted him. A twinkle. A bright, green light that was caught in the tear that had formed in his left eye. What was that? There it was again! He looked around in his study. Books, more books, old notes, a dirty sock, his dog “Muffin” sleeping peaceful on a pile of more notes, 18 tea cups that need cleaning, his beloved reading chair, her pink bunny slippers, his pink bunny slippers, his device. His device! Yes! It was blinking. Green? It never made any light of that color. A ghostly, sickish, awkward, but somehow fancy green. Might she still be alive?  Eldric jumped up, grabbed some papers and started calculations. “Let’s recollect: I invented a machine, which came to me in a dream, that enables me to travel into the world of books. I visited some novels i like. Small, save and friendly stories. But of course i couldn’t keep my mouth shut. I had to tell Calesandra. Of course she wanted to come along. And not a save and nice story either. One of those scary books she loves so much. But could she still be alive in there? I need to check the numbers, cross-reference, prepare, analyse, and... i think i need to travel there again... alone...”