Amentia

Chapter 6 - A very rare thing

Nina came out of the portal in a messy fashion, tripping over her own legs and getting her arms tangled with the strap of her satchel around her torso. She landed heavily on a wooden floor, and a high-pitched ringing in her ears left her deaf for a second. As the sound stabilized and the pain receded, she looked up at a figure standing in front of her, shadowed by the light coming in from the doorway behind it. Since she couldn't see the details of the face, the first things Nina noticed were that the head was furry and the hands were placed in a curious position: one was over the other, crossed in the shape of an X, with the palms facing up.

"Welcome," he said in a deep but surprisingly soft voice, as he stretched his arms slightly to show her his hands, like an offering. He took a step forward and sideways and Nina was finally able to see his face properly.

It was a white fox. Or rather, a person that looked like a fox. He stood like a human, two legs and two arms, ten fingers and ten toes; but he was covered in snow-white fur that Nina found very tempting to stroke. His features had some human resemblance, but they mostly looked animal, and it was impossible to tell his age. His face was long and sharp, with high cheekbones and a thin nose; his honey-colored eyes were bigger than the average human eyes and deeper too. And the white robe he wore made him look even wiser than he sounded. He looked like the kind of creature that lived in Nina's mind.

He offered Nina his hand to help her up, and it surprised her to find out how strong he was. He pulled her up with hardly any effort. When she was on her feet, Nina realized how weak she felt, dizzy, as if being woken up after a day-long nap.

"That is the effect of the trip, I'm afraid," the fox-man said before Nina could make the comment. "It will wear off in a minute or so."

Nina was speechless. And confused, and exhilarated, and other feelings she couldn't quite make out because they were a mess. She took a breath, as if to speak, but nothing came out. As the dizziness started to settle, her thoughts were beginning to clear. She had gone through a portal in her living room, and this was the other end of it, obviously.

"I am sure you must have many questions, but I am afraid you will have to wait a bit before I can answer them, as we are expecting other guests like yourself," said the fox-man in a calm and polite manner. "In the meantime, I will walk you to the reception," he added, turning around to face the door.

It was only then that Nina noticed her surroundings. It was a large square room, made entirely of dark, opaque and seamless wood. As she was walking out the doorway, she turned around to look at the only object in the room and saw the portal she had just come out of. It was a high arch, and the only thing in the room made of stone, small blocks of it piled on top of each other. It was black stone, shiny, and carved with symbols that Nina obviously didn't recognize but assumed were magic symbols of some kind. The same bright light she'd seen in her flat covered the area under the arch, but it didn't seem to whisper anymore, like it was inactive, or perhaps it was whispering on the other side of it.

As she stepped out, the bright light dazzled Nina for a moment, and she stayed put until she could see again. When her eyes adjusted, she found herself at the end of an open corridor, like a low wooden bridge of sorts, with a ceiling and railing made of the same dark wood as the room she'd come out of. The ceiling was curved, and the railing was intricately carved with vines, leaves and flowers. Nina looked up to observe the ceiling as she took the first steps onto the walkway; she could hear a river babbling below her feet. Lowering her head again, she saw that the corridor was surrounded by forest. The second she saw it, Nina rushed to the side to lean on the railing and get a better look of the place.

The trunks of the trees were the regular brown she was used to seeing, but their leaves and the grass were purple. All of them. All different shades of purple, ranging from dark violet to fuchsia to bright pink. Nina was blown away by how magical it looked, how perfect, peaceful, strong and delicate, how dreamy. Earth had some purple trees, but not like this. The orange light of the sun filtered through the purple leaves and shone onto the grass, making it seem like every single leaf and blade of grass were alive. They seemed to shine the light back, as if thanking the sun for giving it to them in the first place. And they moved along with the breeze, rather than being moved by it, as if the entire ecosystem communicated with each other and was in perfect sync. The air was so pure Nina felt like she was breathing for the first time in her life. She didn't know what the hell kind of oxygen she'd been breathing back home; this was the proper one. Her chest felt bigger, her mind felt wider, her heart felt stronger. There was magic here.