THE ISLAND OF CHARON
a novel in the series
"PLAYING ANOTHER REALITY"
CHAPTER 7. THE MOON BOOK
7.3. THE MOON BOOK AND THE SUN BOOK
The front door to the Abandoned Lighthouse wasn’t locked, as usual.
I climbed the spiral staircase to the very top and knocked on the door. The Stargazer opened it and smiled.
“I knew you’d be back! Everyone comes back, since… our Island is round! Come in, Alice!”
The Stargazer gestured for me to sit down at the table, and then he turned the globe with the constellation map counterclockwise.
“Tell me, Alice!”
“I feel like I’m out of my mind…”
“Of course, there is some truth in this. How many of us are completely in our own mind here? No one, I assure you! However, there is no creature in the Universe, except perhaps the Creator, who has never lost his mind. So calm down, Alice. Everything is okay!”
“I want to get out of here, but the pier is overcrowded even without me. Besides, as I was told, there is no ferry schedule at all!”
“That’s right. Many people want to sail away, but they can’t. And those who can, don’t want to. It depends.”
“Why? Aren’t these people…”
“Do you really believe that you ended up here by accident? I’ve already told you that absolutely everything in the world — both worlds, this and that — is predestined by the Creator. Or… as the church books say, not a single hair will fall off from your head without Lord’s consent…”
“Why are you here? You have been on the Island for a long time, haven’t you? Don’t you want to leave?”
“I have my own relations with the Island, and you have yours,” the Stargazer replied evasively and sighed.
“But I want to go away!” I insisted. “What should I do?”
“You should understand… What is keeping you here?”
“Nothing!” I exclaimed.
“What about your lanterns?” the Stargazer chuckled.
“Why? What’s the connection?” I got surprised. “It was the price of my wish!”
“Did it come true?” he asked.
“Not exactly! It came true, although it wasn’t real, just like a dream. I realized it later… The power of my thought, or my will, which visualized, lit and hung light bulbs on the Tree, created the dream as an illusion of my wish fulfillment.”
“Maybe,” the Stargazer shrugged, and I suddenly remembered Yanis’ words about the two mysterious books.
“Tell me, please, what’s the difference between the Moon and the Sun Books?”
“Wow! Don’t you really know?! You needn’t to be a Stargazer for that! The Moon means, night, soul, astral or stellar body… The Sun means Consciousness, it’s day, it’s life, it is…”
“When I was in the Cave of Magicians,” I tried to comprehend his words, reasoning aloud, “they showed me my friend in the Moon Book. What does it mean?”
The Stargazer took out both Books and placed them on the table in front of me.
“Alice, try to think of someone and to find him first in the Sun Book, then in the Moon Book.”
The first one, who came to my mind, was my grandmother the witch, and a shiver ran through my body. I opened the Sun Book, but the spread turned out to be completely blank. Putting the Sun Book aside, I opened the Moon Book and…
Shuddering at my guess, I began to sort through the Books all my relatives and friends…
“No!” I exclaimed, remembering Michael. “He is alive!”
The Stargazer got up from the table, walked over to me and sat down nearby.
“You are alive, too. And me, too, by the way. Or not?” he said quietly and embraced me giving a meaningful glance from behind.
I clutched my head in my hands.
“No! Please, help me! I have to get out of here!!! What shall I do? You know!!!”
“Everyone solves this problem in their own, Alice. But once you solve the riddle, you won’t have to wait a second for the ferry!”
“Stop! Whose riddle am I supposed to solve?”
“The ferryman’s, of course! However, it’s time for goodbye, because it’s getting light.”
Unable to contain and comprehend the chaos in my head, I thanked the Stargazer and returned to my hut with the first rays of the Sun.