And, as if the forest obeyed her will, the trees parted before this self - declared mistress of the wild, and her boot stepped out onto a snowy plateau scattered with frost - bitten wild scrub. At the far edge of this frozen plain stood a sharply outlined dotted line of mountains, towering and powerful. And at the center sat the cherry on this frozen cake: the lake.
Övrekjäla! The one and only!
The girl stretched her arms out toward it and froze, as if wanting to touch every little drop and shard of ice drifting along a course only she could see. If it weren't for those little thawing streams - the last boats of a retreating winter - the lake would've looked so perfectly still, so serene, that just gazing at it could bring Suzy inner peace.
What beauty! It's just like home - only without factories or Suzanna can step forward and feel the wonder. -
Without thinking twice, the girl gave in to her instincts and quickly - almost running - reached the edge of the water. Dipping the tips of her fingers in, she closed her eyes at the icy burn and, pulling her hand out, immediately smiled.
And why did Mom refuse to bring Suzanna here? There's nothing threatening in this piece of nature. Just like Petra, Suzanna believes that you shouldn't disturb the spirits of a place or threaten their But if you behave properly, they'll see that Suzanna just wants to enjoy herself and doesn't pose any danger to their home. -
Satisfied with her thoughts, the girl peacefully stared into the lake's waters and, after standing like that for a while, suddenly felt a sharp headache. It was as if her skull had been clamped tight- she clutched her head with both hands and cried out from the pulsating poison spreading through her brain.
And then, all at once, it stopped.
Dazed, Suzanna looked at her hands, and then glanced around in confusion- but the fact remained: the pain had vanished almost instantly. Above the mountain peaks, the sun gleamed cheerfully, dressing the ridgeline in a juicy cartoon outfit. Everything looked so wonderful and bright that the girl got lost in the transformation.
The pain was gone and didn't return. Suzie looked again into the lake's waters... and found herself staring into a kind of abyss. The murky water had sharpened, like someone had cranked up the contrast on a TV, and it was no longer an opaque barrier to sight. Even the waters of tropical oceans would seem less transparent than this near - immaterial veil.
And beneath it, a new world opened.
It looked so absurd and disconnected from familiar reality that Suzie's head now began to spin from how deeply her gaze sank into the chasm that had replaced the lakebed.
Down there, far below, lay a fantastical city. It looked like a futuristic metropolis, where dazzling skyscrapers shimmered like a star orbiting above them. This glowing orb illuminated the buildings
and served as a light source instead of street lamps. Around it flickered billboards showing a completely blank surface.
No ads, no text, nothing.
Nearby, coal - black chariots cut through the air, pulled by no horses, apparently powered by mechanical force. The streets of this city lay beyond even the magically sharpened vision of Suzanna, and she couldn't make out what was happening deep down below.
Her eyes shifted from the chariots to steel birds flying in flocks over the rooftops, clearly not flying aimlessly but following their own mysterious logic and tasks.
The birds swooped past a rooftop where Suzie spotted a boy standing by a chimney. He leaned on it calmly, waiting. When one of the largest metal birds reached his head, he grabbed onto it with both hands, and together they began rising upward.
Up to where Suzanna stood!
Their ascent played out in slow motion, as though the resistance of the water still hampered their progress.
Suzanna didn't know what to think. Truth be told, she wasn't thinking at all- she simply dropped to her knees and plunged her arm in up to the elbow, hoping to help the boy make it to land. The traveler did the same, even releasing one hand from his flying device to unzip his gray hooded windbreaker.
How much longer will she have to wait? Come on, hurry up, please! Suzie's -
Ignoring the girl's plea, their speed didn't increase, and the would - be rescuer felt another rush of pain in her head. Crying out, she broke away from the vision and stood up, feeling like she was being torn to pieces. Grabbing her temples, the girl staggered away from the lake's edge, off into the distance.
You could say she walked - wherever her eyes took her. - But her vision had suddenly blurred, and she couldn't see where she was dragging herself. Suzie was moving purely by feel, relying on her senses to know she hadn't passed out just yet.
The flash receded just as quickly as it had stormed her body. Suzie noticed that, without realizing it, she had made her way to a large boulder that looked like it had been lying there for hundreds- if not thousands- of years. She braced herself on it with her hands and shook her head. Her mind was foggy and her thinking muddled, but she was at least somewhat back to herself.
Pushing off from the rock, the girl stood up- only to immediately plop back down, now in a sitting position. And right in front of her, just a couple of steps away, stood the boy.
You made it out? Good job! - Suzanna said cheerfully, without even having the time to be frightened by this stranger who had suddenly appeared in front of She just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
The boy bowed his head gratefully, clearly pleased with the warm reception, and raised a hand to his forehead.
Suzy got it right and replied:
No, it doesn't hurt It's fine. Where's your bird?
He shrugged and waved vaguely, like - somewhere over there. - She decided not to press him, tucked her legs underneath herself, and asked:
Did you come here to make friends with me?