Right on the next mural, the same lake reappeared, but now empty and untouched by the grand behemoth of uncertain origin. This time the focus wasn't the lake itself, but what hovered above it: massive cauldrons floated in the sky, reminiscent of classic witchy cookpots. Inside, there were no pestles, but each cauldron had a door cut into it, and a little platform extended like a helipad.
And on those platforms ran, jumped, trained, fought- ordinary houses. The kind you'd see in any provincial town or rural region. Their limbs were house - parts: a turret, a porch, a garden, a wing, or a bizarre weather vane. With all those appendages, the sentient houses did a decent job and lived quite the carefree life.
What nonsense. - Roman finally weighed in, having only half - glanced at the drawings before now. He scratched his nose and took a sip from a tiny soda bottle he'd produced from his bottomless pockets. - What kind of junkie would bother drawing all these absurd images?
Grofo grunted in agreement, still absorbed by the mural but totally on the same page with his brother. Meanwhile, Suzy's gaze had already shifted to the third, still - unfinished masterpiece: and yes, there was just as much merriment happening there as with those ridiculous houses.
The central motif remained the lake- again in its usual place- now serving as a stage for the most wondrous beings imaginable (in Suzy's opinion): schematic stick figures, drawn on the wall with basic charcoal strokes.
I guess the artist was either too lazy to draw real people or just didn't know how. So he copied those little guys off public signage from bus stops and - Grofo mused aloud, as Suzy almost pressed her face to the mural, watching those weirdos- neither fully human, nor entirely blobs- participating in some kind of race.
On the shore stood the referee, the only character painted in pink. The arbiter wore a cap and clenched a whistle on a chain between his teeth. It was a tough job for him, because all the swimmers were moving in perfect sync- no kicking, no shoving, no overtaking or lagging behind. As if they'd agreed in advance to turn this into a friendly paddle, not a competition.
So why is there even a referee? This artist's really pissing me off… - Roman shook his head again and unwrapped a sandwich with thin slices of salmon from a plastic bag. He bit in, earning a hungry and slightly betrayed look from his brother.
The synchronized race froze just short of the finish line, save for one lone swimmer who had fallen behind and was stuck in the middle of the lake. This one had even lifted himself slightly out of the water, as if pushing off its surface. One arm propped him up, while the other pointed directly downward, under himself: - Hey, come here- there's something down there worth seeing.
If that's a hint, then it's the most obvious one in history. - Roman nearly spat out a chunk of bread, which at least made his words more - So, somewhere in the middle of the lake, underwater, there's… something.
Lightning bolts of realization struck Suzy, and perhaps people like her were the ones they meant when they said: - born under a lucky star, - for those lightning bolts spared her, never causing any harm. Waving her hand, she almost galloped out of the cave, shouting:
She knows where to go
No one heard Roman's muttered grumbling as he sadly shoved his half - eaten sandwich back into its wrapper and then into his pocket:
Everyone seems to have figured out what to do and where to Why act like you just had a revelation?
They ran with determination, not at all like the synchronized swimmers from the mural. Suzy raced ahead, energized and wild - eyed. Grofo came next, puzzled but game. And bringing up the rear was Roman, clearly unwilling to indulge this farce any further.
The distance from the cave to the lake- like in one of those eternal school problems about point A and point B- was equal to nothing less than a sharp pain in Grofo's ribs. The boy was panting, and when he saw Suzy standing on tiptoes, rocking near the water's edge, he said:
We shouldn't just stand here- we should dive in! If we don't find out what's down there, then this whole day's been wasted and we haven't saved anyone!
Though, to be honest… it was awesome. All those mushroom factories, the cave paintings. It's like a real - life quest game, like the one I played with my family back in Oslo! No… on second thought, today's just been fire! I haven't had this much fun in forever- we're better than any RPG characters now!
Just cheaper and badly - Roman chimed in acidly, catching up and clearly preparing for another verbal duel with his brother. But then Suzy let out a long, solemn exhale:
The deep is calling ..