Zalán Kaposvári
I was walking in a nature-dominated region. Forests grew vividly wherever I looked. It was so peaceful, calm and so devoid of human and artificial sounds and noises that I started to feel home in this completely abandoned area of the world.
During my tour, the hand of my watch reached another ten minutes when I noticed an unusual sound. A human one. So I went to investigate the source of the action which generated excitement in me. Fortunately, it did not take long to get there. But the sight was quite uncommon, just as the sound suggested. A magician made it, and with a purpose.
“You have finally come,” he said. “I have a task for you, specified only for you.”
“But I am only a tourist here, I came from the city, thus I can’t take on any tasks in this deep forest,’” I replied.
“That’s even better—don’t worry. Your job will only include a special tour into a house. You have to search for something there. Something special,”’ he said. His voice got progressively slower.
“Okay, maybe that’s good news, but what exactly I am supposed to find for you?” I asked.
“Not for me. You will be searching for something that you need personally. Don’t worry. You will find it…eventually,” – he told me at an even slower pace.
These were all the important and really helpful instructions for a type of quest I had never heard of. In fact, the wizard’s manner of speaking was quite strange and unsettling, as he repeated many things over and over again in a slow, indifferent, bored tone. After having introduced me to “the rules of the game,” the strange magician started to give me a brief description about the place I was going to visit.
So I decided to take on the mission, and began to tread the path of an unknown destination.
While walking on the road, I felt that I was somehow destined to take part in what I hoped wasn’t madness, just as I was destined to find the asset I was looking for. I felt a chill running down my spine when my eyes grew familiar with the area the wizard had just described.
The house was situated in the middle of a clearing. I wouldn’t have been more surprised either, if that house had stood in the exact middle of that circle-shaped place, as the infrastructure itself was so special, indeed. For this house is known for its spectacular symmetry (hence its name, House of Symmetry). It did not reflect the size and scale of a massive building, nor was it rich with architectural marvels and impressive decorations the cathedrals in the cities were armed with. I had always found relaxation and peace in simply gazing at the marvelous and breathtaking wonders that sparkled and glittered in the golden glow of the sunshine.
The house itself was somewhat small—or rather, it looked like a medium-sized cabin. I expected the least from its inside; what kind of magic could such a building with one room show me?
Anyway, I mustered up some courage and stepped inside the house I was destined to enter. I found myself at one of the ends of a corridor. It was not like one I had imagined of a regular hallway, whose walls generally lacked nice paintings of picturesque streets and other natural scenery, as well as portraits of famous historical figures, leaders, kings and emperors, who formed our present. This hallway contained the entrance to two different rooms.
I entered the one on my right. This room was a special one, indeed, especially since that it was so bright that rarely can people equal that same ”bright” mood. Looking around, I found myself surrounded by an abundance of quality birch furniture, each with a unique glance of laughter and brightness. Even the window frame gladly took part in this beautiful parade of happiness. For it was the one which called upon the playful breeze to take a tour in the lively space of this cheerful room.
I suddenly realized that my heart had created an immediate bond with the atmosphere of this room. I felt I wanted to live here. And it didn’t even sound so strange. But then the Sun probably took a different position, so everything inside became even brighter. Nevertheless, I somehow knew it meant something. I recalled the wizard’s words: the place where I was going was not one fond of truth; instead, it reflected the opposite nature of things. Maybe he meant that all rooms hide their true nature beneath a cloak of deception? This way, the lively and happy room is instead one infected by a set of dark furniture resonating with disheartening gloom? Immediately my fear of potential danger depleted me of any motivation to progress with my mission. Thus, I quickly ran out of the room and desperately rushed into the one opposite without careful consideration.
It seemed to be a reasonable possibility that I had made a reckless decision, as this room embodied just the same series of thoughts and ideas that I had imagined of the first investigated room. The walls were completely obscured by the tight and meticulous arrangement of the dark pieces of furniture there. They may have been made of dark oak, at first glance. They all haughtily absorbed even the few rays of light that filled the room. With a mocking, menacing demeanour, they all stared at me with their uniform yet menacing gazes. The window frame was different, though. It did not possess a dangerous atmosphere, nor was it willing to be integrated in the evil sect of the other contemptuous pieces of furniture. This was the attitude which beckoned me to approach the lonely window frame. It was indeed lonely, as getting closer, I noticed it lacked the friendly, warm and kind partnership of a window pane. I seized the unexpected opportunity and decided to have a look outside, to find out: why came this gloomy darkness? I did look out the window, and my face felt dissatisfied: this environment lacked the pleasant, playful breeze which had so delightfully visited the former room. The sight provided was a further reason to call this place a grotesque “home.” The nice forest clearing was somehow turned into a field of complete devastation. The lifeless scene of withered trees and dry bushes had transformed the once inviting forest opening into a desolate sight. However, the sky looked otherwise. In the absence of clouds, the stars filled the sky with a twinkling dance reflecting a harmony of total innocence and calmness. The glowing moon seemed to be glad to have been joined the dazzling parade. Although the dangerous conspiracy of this room’s interior imbued me with pure fear, the sky somehow still provided me a cosy spectacle, which gave me enough courage to press on with the mission.
I stepped out of the second room and decided to have a closer look at the other end of the hallway. I was a bit confused, though. The end did not appear to have any kind of door. And as I walked further down the hall, this strange fact became undeniable. There was nothing there, just the wall – the very wall that brought this special corridor to an end. However, at this very moment, all the experience I had gained so far echoed something in my mind. Although I was not able to distinguish the different sounds, I still managed to sense that this wall waiting patiently in front of me was not a wall. It was instead its opposite: a door! Therefore, I began to search for a handle. I expected it to be resting around a place where the door knobs are usually located. Believe it nor not, despite the complete absurdity of the phenomenon, I managed to get hold of a solid part of the air. Perhaps, this was the one that functioned as a handle. I pushed the door handle, and the “wall” opened! I immediately rushed in.
However, the sight that unfolded before me completely startled me. The same lovely green trees smiled at me the very same way as they had when I first arrived at the house. The glade was surrounded by a relatively shorter set of lush trees and creepers. They were the ones that covered the thick and mighty trunks of the ancient-looking, sky-high pines. Their height greedily blocked out the sunlight, so this small area bathed only in dim light. I became more than confused by this point: could this be the third room of the house? After all, it seemed like a reasonable possibility, since the wizard told me that this building consisted of three rooms and a secret one. And asif summoned by my very thoughts, he suddenly appeared.
He told me that I had found what I was looking for—or, at least, what I was supposed to be looking for. I found it; I saw the perfect symmetry with my own eyes, and thus the “true” embodiment of perfect balance. And now, he said in a proud, solemn voice, I should come, because he was about to show me what kind of picture this earthly reality paints of itself. It took only a moment for me to feel unable to see, after which the wizard pointed towards the very same house. He urged me to have a look inside. I didn’t hesitate, I opened the same door in a slow pace. What I found inside was simply astonishing. Inside, the true, complete, authentic inner image of this small, insignificant building suddenly appeared. Complete mayhem reigned. Everywhere I cast my eyes, everything was laughing in my face at the incomprehensible chaos and disorder that reigned inside. It was a heartbreaking sight to see such an untidy, disorganised scene. I caught the sight of some pieces previously belonging to the first room I visited. They were not resonating with absolute perfection. There was no gentle breeze which once so sweetly, so warmly, and so playfully danced with the birch furniture. Their whole lacked the relaxing cheerfulness they once had. And those dark pieces, once part of the second room, were no longer glaring with a terrifying gaze either. All the same, I missed the soothing scenery of the sky, which shrouded the horrible landscape of the apocalypse with a uniquely sparkling set of glimmering stars and the glowing moon.
The strange wizard was standing behind me, speechless. Yet I felt that all the experience he had provided me with, all the sights he had shown me, were speaking instead. Looking at the tangled mess of light birch and dark oak, I finally understood. There was no absolute joy, nor absolute terror. Only this chaotic, intertwined reality. The house hadn’t hidden the truth; it had merely torn it apart into flawless illusions. A pure tour of deception it was, indeed.