Part 3
The sound of wind chimes was the first one that Sam heard when she woke up. She moaned quietly and felt something warm and tender next to her left cheek. She opened her eyes softly and saw two fingers almost touching her nose. Moving her head slightly, she followed the fingers to the hand which she recognized immediately. The thumb then moved, but in such a way that it brushed against her skin. Shifting her eyes more to the left, Sam saw Daniel sleeping next to her with his hand unconsciously next to her face; his face turned to his right, enough for Sam to have a better view of her friend whilst in his dreams. In that moment, while he was still devoured by the unconscious, Sam could forget his real age and simply imagined a little boy sleeping next to her. She smiled. Wanting to remain longer in her place, Sam was disappointed when she realized where they were. Carefully, she took his hand and slowly moved it away, placing it on his stomach. The moment she did that, Daniel opened his eyes.
"Morning," Sam smiled at him.
"Ah."
Daniel covered his eyes with his hand and yawned so much that if it were
possible to swallow the entire planet with this, he would have done it. "Morning already?"
"Afraid
so," Sam replied and sat up. "Come on, Utra's
waiting for us." She slapped him on the shoulder and removed herself from
the bed.
They
met the older woman just outside of the house. "Was your slumber a
pleasant one?"
"Yes,
it was, thank you," Sam replied.
"I'm
pleased," Utra said and smiled. "My apologies if the quarters seemed
unusual, but here it is custom for a husband and wife to share the same
bed."
"Uh." Daniel lifted his hand.
"No, we're not married."
Utra watched them in slight confusion. "Oh, forgive
me. I wrongfully assumed that you were. Forgive me."
"It's…
quite all right." Sam nodded and exchanged a glimpse with Daniel.
"Well,
now… please follow me." Utra gestured towards
her.
-----
What
was expected to be a large temple – was instead a small house, almost a hut.
Unlike all the previous houses and other buildings that they had passed and
which were decorated with numerous paintings on their walls, this little
structure was barren of such decorations. Every piece consisted of white wood.
There wasn’t even a door at the entrance.
When
the three of them stepped inside, the interior was completely different from
the exterior. The walls were of course made of wood, but everything else
consisted of red stone; the floor - red, a small carpet in the middle also red.
A small patch of ground was visible next to a corner from where roots of a thin
black tree were settled. The leaves on the tree were bright green with small
spider-shaped flowers next to them.
On
the left side of the entrance and beneath the opening, that was supposed to
resemble a window, was a flat bench made of the tiniest pieces of rock
imaginable. Across from the entrance was a glass oval-shaped door and, what
could be seen as planted flowers behind it. Next to the door was a small girl
with a gold painted ball in her hands. The moment the visitors came inside, her
head shot up and her large black eyes darted towards the unfamiliar faces.
After a moment of observation, she smiled at them.
"Nezna, could you call her please?" Utra
asked the little girl who responded with a quick nod. She carefully opened the
door with a gentle push and ran into the supposed garden.
"Why
are we here?" Sam asked.
"We
arrange this meeting for all of our visitors, Samantha," Utra responded and smiled politely at her.
"What
kind of meeting?"
Utra only kept her smile without providing a verbal answer
for the visitor.
The
door opened again and a younger woman passed through. Her dress seemed not
different from those of the other inhabitants of Krasna,
but her brown hair, that was in a long, single braid, almost touching the
floor, had strange streaks of silver. Her bare left shoulder was decorated with
a green-inked tattoo of a snake in a tamed position. She slowly approached Sam
and Daniel, speaking to them in Macedonian.
Sam
instinctively brought her head closer to Daniel's for a translation of the
woman's sentence. "She seems to find it interesting that we were this
young," she heard Daniel whisper to her. After few more words, "she…
asked for your hand," was Daniel's translation. "My hand? Why?" But she only saw him shrug
in confusion. Having no other choice, Sam lifted her right hand which was soon
taken between the woman's two hands.
Lifting
her right hand to hover above Sam's, the woman focused her eyes on it. A moment
later, a glittering, and pale blue beam emerged from her palm and pierced
through Sam's hand. Expecting pain, Sam was surprised not having felt anything
else but the woman's fingers beneath her palm. It lasted for what appeared like
ten minutes when the beam ceased and the woman released Sam's hand.
Leaving
her with a look, the woman stepped in front of Daniel and spoke the same words.
Understanding her question, Daniel raised his hand and the same 'ritual'
followed. Once it was finished, the woman's gaze was longer with his. That
followed with a quick glimpse of Sam. Distancing herself from the visitors, the
woman was followed by Utra where the two of them
exchanged some words. Their quiet conversation was appeared to be uncomfortably
long, making Daniel and Sam a little nervous.
When
they were finally done, Utra eyed both Daniel and
Sam. "Please stay here," she told them and walked out of the house.
"How
is it back on Earth?" the woman spoke to them right after Utra's departure.
"Almost pleasant." Daniel
scrunched his face in confusion as she had transformed her language into
theirs.
"Interesting. I had expected
for it to be near death by now."
"It's
doing pretty well actually," Sam told her.
"For
how long is the question," the woman said and smiled. "I am sorry for
my negative views. I am
"Like
the ancient city in
"Yes,"
the answer came out simultaneously from both that it surprised Daniel and Sam.
"Excuse
me, but why did Utra bring us here?" Sam asked.
"They
do that with every visitor which passes through their gates. Call it a security
check."
"You
scanned us?" Daniel asked referring to the blue beam.
"In a way. The Krasnians have
seen their share of hostile races and betrayal so this is an attempt to not
allow such hard times to reoccur. I simply help them know if it is safe for
them to proceed in a friendly or hostile manner."
"I
see," Daniel replied and rubbed his hand with fingers. "You don't
seem… Macedonian… o-or Krasnian."
"That's
because I'm Qitian. It's a
race neither of you have heard of. Knowing you better now, I can tell you that,
ten centuries ago, my homeland was destroyed by the Goa'uld.
My people fled. We were soon given refuge by the Krasinans. We stayed with them until they were even
more generous to provide us with a safe place to live. As a form of gratitude,
because of our… unique gift of reading different species well, my mother and I
stayed here to help the Krasnians. "
"When
did your people leave Krasna?" Sam asked.
"Nine
centuries ago." Seeing their astonished expressions,
"That's
amazing," Daniel said. At that moment, the little girl came into the house
with a red flower in her hand. "And who's this?" he smiled at her.
"This
is my daughter – Nezna,"
Crouching
down, Daniel was pleased and a little surprised that the little girl knew his
name. "Yes?"
"Funny
name," the girl said. "Visit again?"
"We
sure will."
Nezna looked up at Sam expecting the same answer.
"Definitely," Sam replied.
Nezna smiled again and then brushed Daniel's cheek with her
hand. "Pretty," she said and looked up at Sam.
Seeing
the little girl's stretched hand, Sam crouched down also and allowed Nezna to touch her cheek. "Pretty, too," she said
and ran back to the garden again.
"She
is still learning,"
"Sweet
little girl," Sam said and stood up.
At
that moment, Utra entered the house. "Come with
me," she told them.
-----
Two
large pillars on the backs of horses greeted the visitors. Each pillar was held
by two black horse statues with white manes, their noses touching in a loving
manner. The pillars were painted with images of ravens – some in flight, others
standing on a branch with their gaze fixed on who ever happened to pass
through. A narrow beam rested on the top of the pillars with engraved letters.
Some of them appeared Cyrillic.
“The
drawings look incredibly life-like,” Sam noted as she and Daniel had to stop
and observe.
“I
agree. They seem to have a fascination with art. Especially this kind,” he said
and pointed briefly at the paintings of the ravens.
“Is
that Greek?” Sam then looked up at the sign.
“Some
letters are similar but -…”
“Daniel.
Samantha.” Utra interrupted them from the other side.
“Are you coming?”
Both
scientists quickly walked through the two pillars which led them to what
appeared like a wide courtyard. The fence that surrounded it was made of white
marble with trees and flowers carved into them. The floor was made of small
bricks with a giant portrait of the sun. The intensity of the paint used was so
strong as well as the details, that at the beginning it managed to play with
their minds, thinking that they were walking on an actual sun. They had to walk
slowly. The way the colors greeted them it caused their feet
to slow down.
“You
are not the first ones to have been overwhelmed by what you see.” Utra said to them.
“It’s
just that the details of every picture are amazing. The colors are almost
perfect,” Daniel said.
“We
like to paint. Almost every Krasnian
knows how to make something like this.”
“Wow.”
Sam placed her hands on her waist. “Everyone? How?”
“Expression. We like beauty,” Utra
replied. “You are from Earth. Not everyone paints?”
“No.
Not many have the talent.”
Utra smiled. “It isn’t about talent, Samantha. It is about
expression.”
“But
to make something this realistic you have to possess something which others
don’t.”
“Back
on Earth, I can see how that might be true. Here in Krasna
– we have come a long way since our ancestors. They loved drawing. We simply
reached a higher level over the ages.”
“Interesting.” Sam grinned.
While
walking, Daniel and Sam captured looks from passing Krasnians.
Some smiled at them, while others chuckled. It was puzzling to the visitors why
the latter happened.
“Do
not be uncomfortable by the laughter,” Utra said.
“They have seen visitors from many cultures, but they still find their clothing
amusing.”
“Not
very different from Earth,” Daniel said.
After
passing the stairs, they reached a wide hallway. On the brown walls were images
of rivers, forests and lynxes. The floor had a painted grass and pebbles. “You
seem to enjoy painting nature themes,” Daniel noticed.
“We
do. Unlike others, we do not limit which themes we place in which buildings.
Everything not made artificially is beauty to us,” Utra
responded.
They
soon reached a square door where a female guard was standing in the same
uniform as the guards at the desk, but instead of a hammer, a small knife hung
from her belt. Seeing Utra with the visitors, the
guard stepped aside and the door opened.
The
corridor seemed to continue into a large hall. It appeared empty. There were no
tables, chairs, bookshelves. A single statue of a horse sitting down presented
itself as the only object in this space.
“You
are fortunate. Had it not been for
“Yes.
I am.”
“With a great knowledge of Egyptian mythology?”
“That’s
right,” Daniel said and approached the older woman.
Utra pulled out a thin silver pin and inserted it into the
center of the box. As a response, a combination of male and female whispers
echoed throughout the hall with an unknown source. Utra
uttered a few words in Macedonian and almost immediately at the center of the
hall, a wide table materialized from nowhere.
When
Daniel approached it, he found the table to be a an odd combination of pallets,
sheets of green paper, small pen-like silvery objects and other things
difficult for an outsider to correctly describe. “You will find what you need
here,” Utra told them and began walking away.
“Wait.
You’re not staying?” Sam asked.
“We
trust
When
Utra left the hall, the door closed, leaving Sam and
Daniel alone. “For a people with strict security rules – they let us in pretty
quickly,” Sam said. “
“She
sure did. Who knows what she told Utra if she allowed
us to come here.”
“And
now the question is: where are we?”
“Let’s
find out.” Daniel clasped. “Okay, Sam. Let’s get started.”
“Yeah,” Sam agreed and picked up a tablet.