ASCENDING LIGHTS

The doors knocked, no-banged, in the early morning. Sensing the intensity of the doors, my feet rushed from my kitchen to the living. The neighbour's son, a young lad, stood outside the door, breathless and drowned in horror.

He spoke, catching his breath, "My father. He acts strangely. Please, you must come with me right now. He asks for you."

"What happened?"

"He speaks strange things. He is baffled, terrified. You must hurry."

His expressions and fear forced me to rush in and change myself into my professional attire. We moved toward his house at once. The old mansion beside his house reminded me of William, but I couldn't focus on it. As we walked in, the old man sat in his room, facing the door. His breathing was yet to be calmed, but he had managed to stabilise himself, as he looked less terrified than what his lad described.

"Mister, are you okay?"

"That old mansion. That mansion is an abomination. It must be destroyed at once. At once." He was fast with his words. "That house must not stand in that place any more."

I kept my cane aside and my hands reached out for the stool. The young lad stood at the door when, sitting opposite to him, I asked, "You must calm down. Your son said you asked for me. What happened?"

He tried to calm his breathing. He drank a glass of water, wiped his sweat and completely leaned on his chair. After he had managed to calm down, he looked back at me. "I must suggest you to leave that case at once and do not enter those dark gates of death again."

"You must stay calm. And tell me what happened?"

Through the big window on his left, his eyes directed toward the old mansion for a moment before he snapped them back and looked at me. "Yesterday, in the early hours of moonlight, I heard the strange music notes, again. My son said there was no music, but I heard music notes. I've always had a good sense of hearing for such faint musical sounds. But yesterday, there were patterns in the sound.

I sighed, "I must ask you to stay relax," I smiled. "It is an old, lavish mansion and must be possessing some old musical instrument. My friend, William, loves music and is very fond of such old musical instruments."

"Your friend?"

"Ah, yes. William had a very peculiar feeling last night. He felt he was missing something obvious. He stayed back, stayed in the house last night."

Horror filled the old man's eyes, "What do you mean, Mr Watson? Bring your friend out of those gates at once!"

My voice raised, "Will you tell me what happened at once?"

He was stunned for a moment. Then said, "I believe it was past midnight, the moon was high above the heads, in the final hour of the seventh arc of time. I was observing the moon before heading to bed, standing in this very window when the music started again. There was a different charm to the house, the beauty I would not be able to describe. Never had I seen something so magnificent, even in the two regions I travelled on this continent. That was before bright, blue lights ascended from the house toward the high skies.

I was filled with terror while the first rays of the rising sun touched my face through the windows. I glanced at the old mansion, its borders shining with the sun's rays as it stood innocent in that lavish vicinity.

"I speak the truth, George Watson." He looked toward his son. "I'm aware I have been very tired lately. But I was totally sane. I speak the truth."

My feet backed off. "Get your father some rest, young boy," I said and walked out of the house. I pushed the rusty gates open and charged into the house's vicinity. I don't remember if I really believed the old man's words, but I wanted no risks. The house, the white statues and elegantly carved designs on the pathways only terrified me this time.

"William!"

There was no answer and he was nowhere to be seen. I advanced the stairs and the second floor was all empty. Following his steps through the same corridor, in the last room which was once locked and couldn't open with my strength, was the answer to the music. A clean, grand piano. Seeing from a particular angle, the light revealed William's fingerprint on the keys, and the page kept on the stand on the top said 'fur Elise'. One of the oldest surviving notes after the said-calamity 500 years ago.

He had played it.

"William!" I shouted, running in different sections of the house until it was clear he was nowhere. I ran outside, visited his room, Charles' café, and other places he'd often visit, to find him nowhere.

Helpless, I finally made up my mind and knocked on Rita's doors.
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OUTLANDER

"I felt a gush of wind against my chest, as I finished one of my most beloved music tones on that grand instrument of melody. I opened my eyes and something felt very different, the floor, walls, the designs on the interior and the sealing were all the same, except the layer of faint blue on it. I thought my eyes were deceiving me.

"I looked up at the emptiness of the same room, at its cleaner environment, no dust and the fragrance of fresh blue lilies; O' how long had it been since I had smelled that fragrance?

"The moment I gained back my mental presence, resisting whatever was around that was keeping my senses dull in that place, I sensed a living presence around; a very familiar one. Looking around, noticing the similarities of the place to my recently-recovered memories, my feet couldn't summon courage to move a step ahead for some time.

"But the disturbed consciousness I sensed forced me to approach it, the person was uncomfortable, flustered or scared by where it found itself. I exited the room and, ignoring every detail of the route of the hallway I walked approached closer to his presence.

"I could hear his breaths, standing outside the room he had occupied. Breathing heavily, but trying to calm himself; to force his brain to find a way out of such a strange place. He grasped when I entered, shrinking himself to one of the corners before I said, 'It is okay, it's just me.'

"And he made a run, and hugged my chest tightly. 'You have found me at last.' he calmed himself. 'I was sure, if anyone, it must be you who should find me.' And his breaths were calmed.

"I had already closed the first part of the old mansion's case; I stood in the presence of the missing, young lad who I was appointed by his anxious, beautiful mother to search for. He continued his hug, and I looked around the room. The room was well lit by the massive window that opened to the vast lands of fallen ruins, that further connected to the clear land that flourished a humongous tree in full bloom, stretching from the green lands to the skies-the roof of the plane, and far beyond.

"It was obvious he chose this room to wait. It was arranged well and the light from the outside made it less eerie. I caressed him for some time and escaped the hug.

"'Forgive me for I must have acted more responsibly,' I said. 'For people always follow who they look up to, but people do not always think outside their emotions, who they wish to look up to. It is my fault. But I should hope now you understand who and to what extent you must choose to follow something. This urge is as destructive as addiction.'

"The young boy nodded. I continued, 'Your mother loves you dearly, and is very worried for you. Do not think much of what you witnessed in this strange place, for it is just a fleeting dream. It is not real; effect of the un-natural old mansion. Wake up in the real world, exit the mansion and do not enter again.'

"He nodded again and I caressed his face. I touched his forehead and asked him to focus on my thumb. The boy must have felt intense heat for a brief moment as I saw him resist, before he was gone from the place, with the faint blast of the red petals. He was gone leaving red flower petals scattered in the air in his place.

"I sighed and stood up. I walked near the open window, and found myself amused at the majestic view of the humongous tree that flourished with life that made its presence very clear, and distinct-from surface to the skies.

"'You are awake,' came the voice. 'Do you feel well?'

"My eyes traced the voice, looking toward the figure standing at the doors of the room. How must I describe him, a male-looking, fair-skinned, tall figure. His attire was . . . strange, but that was the last strange thing there.

"'Do you feel. . . well?' the figure repeated, and sighed after my obvious confusion. 'I understand this must be strange. Allow me to try to explain it,' he said while hinting me to follow him.

"'What place is this?' I asked as I followed him through the hallways, walking on the similar carpet and structures on the wall. 'Do you really not know?' said he. 'Or, perhaps, do you choose not to recognise.'

"I was calm, asking him what does he imply.

"'Your body . . . must be feeling very light, and strange from inside. What you experience, right now, is anti-universe, an anti-physical plain. I say it is non-physical because it is not false, or an illusion. It is real but with no physical existence. It is like a place between life and afterlife, living and the After.'

"'That doesn't sound. . . possible.'

"'Does love, and emotions, sound possible?' he replied. 'I suppose for your three-dimensional mind, you can imagine it as a manifestation of emotions. This place-except that big tree- looked different before you entered. When you entered, the energies answered to you and the place recreated itself around you. That is how I was able to find you.'

"He was not wrong. From the walls, and hallways to the stairs and glass roof, the scale of it really convinced me this place was similar to where you brought me up, Mother.

"'Why am I here?"

"'Perhaps, the ley lines responded to you.' and he kept walking ahead. The visions felt unbearable in that place. That feeling was similar to being high on some drug, a similar feeling I had experienced when I was drugged and captured when the . . . well, when mafias targeted George. It was painful and my mind resisted the memories.

"He said to me, 'The visions you are getting are not common in this plain, but you must not resist them. The more you struggle in the quicksand of your mind, the more painful it will get until it consumes you into the dark. Observe your thoughts, and your memories, and everything will open itself to you.

"I ended up telling him about you and what of the past my mind had revealed to me recently. Us, Rita, and the sweet little white fox."

"The white fox?" Mary would question.

"Do you not recall her, mother." William had a questioning tone. "The white little fox. She was always with you and we all loved her very dearly, very passionately. After you were gone, she was gone too."

"Mary said nothing after that, and William continued. "Upon hearing about me, the figure voluntarily revealed himself to be the outlander to this world. Valefor, the name that would later be connected with The Ranks. He told me about his world. A beautiful, calm world with his family, living their lives just like any other normal family; going to their work, farming their lands, him playing with his kids and loving his family.

"Was being synchronised with our world really their fault? That when the lights appeared in the skies, when the skies were torn open in front of their eyes and the world descended from above, clashing with theirs. Ours was the one to survive. The said-calamity of 500 years was real. It was hard to believe his words, but what I experienced in that plain won't sound real either.

"'I understand,' he said. 'It is very hard to deal with the past. You can keep working on gaining it back, or accept what has happened and learn to live with the responsibility of it.' he smiled to himself. 'Though I say this, I seek to return to my family and try to prevent what had happened.'

"Sympathising him, my eyes shined with hope, 'Is that really possible?' He nodded, 'As impossible as it might seem, I've seen there are sacrifices of my kind . . . but there is a narrow way through. To turn the flow of things. Will you help me, friend?'

"I questioned myself and to him how would I-a person already lost in that plain with no idea of things-be of any help? And he said, 'There is an entity, residing in this plain. You possess a strong control over your energies and can help me navigate the way through. Help me get to it, and I will help you get out of this place.'"