The Timeless Library

68. Lavender Labyrinth

All I see is the color purple.

Purple walls, surrounding me in a maze I have yet to explore. Purple sprigs of lavender, swaying softly in the breeze. Purple skies, with clouds floating like cotton candy. Even the air tastes sweet.

I don't know where I am, or how I got here.

I check my pockets for clues, but all I can find is a box of candies. Purple candies, like the violet-flavored ones that I'd buy at the plaza when I was a young boy. Now I think their flavor is too overpowering, but I suppose back then that was part of the charm.

Suddenly I am overtaken by a powerful gust of wind. It comes from the east side: how I know that direction is east, I'm not sure, but wind must mean there is a current, and where there is a current there must be an opening. An exit, if you will. My feet move almost on their own, and I trust them to take me home.

I follow the scent of lavender deeper into the labyrinth. The identical walls and perfectly pruned shrubs confuse my eyes, so instead I rely on my other senses to keep me moving forward. I used to do something similar when I sailed the Mediterranean: with nothing but a vast expanse of water before me, my sight was useless, and my compass was my best friend. It would've come in very handy here as well.

Thinking of water has brought me to the coast, or at least that's what it feels like when I find myself standing on sandy shores, staring at an endless sea. The odd light from this purple sky makes the waves look... violet, of course. I seem to have found my exit, but without my boat, I am still stuck in this maze.

The gust of wind returns from the way I came, and this time it speaks. Ven...

For some reason, I know that is a command. Whether it's directed at me, I'm not sure, but still I feel compelled to obey.

Retracing my steps, I follow the sound instead of the scent this time. It guides my feet away from the beach, deeper into the heart of the maze: the passages become narrower, denser with aromatic foliage. At first that soft ven is barely a whisper in the wind, but the closer I get, the more it sounds like a voice. A woman's voice. It gets sweeter with every step, compelling me to hasten my approach. I break into a sprint, wanting desperately to embrace her again. It has been far too long since I was last enveloped in her violet perfume...

At last, I crash out of the narrow passages and into a garden within the maze. There, I see her, carved in marble and standing atop a bed of violets, beautiful as ever. She seems to be smiling at me. I can barely make out a name carved into the base of her statue, but I dare not disturb the flowers around her just to take a closer look. Violets like those were her favorite, after all: that's why we named our daughter-

"Violeta," the statue says with a whistle as the wind moves through its hollows. "Violeta, ven..."

I can hear a child's gleeful laughter coming from one of the labyrinth's other passages. I turn and catch a glimpse of her lavender dress, but then she's gone. Again my feet move on their own, wasting no time in this game of hide and seek.

"¡Violeta! ¡Ven!" I cry out.

Purple walls and purple clouds and purple lavender fly past me in a blur as I dive back into the maze. Following the girl's laughter, with the seas to the east and my favorite smile at the heart of it all, I am no longer disoriented. I am exactly where I should be; my feet stop moving. Finally, I am home.

It's a quaint little house, worn over time and consumed by the growth of the bustling city around it. The wood is old and damp, and the plaster is coming off in chunks, but to me there is no lovelier place.

I step inside and close the door, leaving the purple labyrinth behind.

When I open my eyes, I realize that I am lying in bed. Violeta, all grown up now, is asleep on the chair next to me, still holding my wrinkly hand in hers. A stick of incense fills the air with the soft scent of lavender.

I feel like I'm waking up from a very peculiar dream...

...sin embargo, lo único que consigo recordar de ese extraño sueño es el color violeta.