The Song Of The Phoenix...
Chapter XII
In the morning, Alex and Angela sat down for a quick chat.
“Ok, so, this is where we begin. Are you ready? Do you want to do something before we go?”, said the woman, smiling at him.
The boy, confident and happy, replied “Let me just say a prayer and we’ll go.”.
The woman nodded and waited patiently, as the boy got down on his knees and started praying.
Shortly after, Alex grabbed his black and blue bracelet and the necklace, and went out of the temple with Angela.
They stopped near a lake.
Here, the woman said to the boy to think of the bird that gave him the necklace, to call it in his mind.
As he concentrated, the moon stone changed from white to blue, and in a matter of seconds, the bird that offered him the necklace was standing right in front of him.
Surprised, but with a smile on his face, Alex looked at Angela, which said “Tell the bird to get up in the air and split the lake in two. We need to reach a cave.”.
He slowly walked towards the animal and whispered for him to do what the woman said.
The bird gently rose up in the air and started flapping its wings faster and faster until the lake started splitting in two.
As Angela painted a smirk on her face, Alex was looking, fascinated, at the way the lake was making a path for them to pass.
While the bird kept the path open, they hurried to what appeared to be the ruins of an old church.
They hurried inside.
There, they found an opening that seemed to lead under the church.
As they went through a wide corridor they stepped into a cave-like environment.
They kept on descending and descending, until they reached a gigantic wooden gate that had an inscription on the top saying “You, shall pass, leave your hopes behind.”.
Reading this, Alex felt a shiver going down his spine.
Angela saw Alex’s reaction and said “They’re just words. Don’t worry.”.
“Only words? Everything has a power, no matter how insignificant it may seem.”, said the boy, glancing at the door.
The woman smiled at the boy’s words, as she headed towards the door, pushing it open.
They reached the shore of a lake that had black water.
Curious, Alex wanted to go and touch the water, but Angela quickly grabbed him and said to him “Don’t touch the water. This is the Acheron, the river of human sins. It’ll burn you if you touch it.”.
As he backed off, the boy said “Then how are we going to cross it?”, to which the woman replied “Have you ever heard of Charon?”.
“Sure. It’s said that he was a ferryman that crossed the souls of the dead from the living world into the world of the dead. But, me and you are still alive, how are we going to convince him to take us with him”, said the boy.
“If you’ve heard of Charon then you also know that he asks for a ‘fee’ for those who wish to traverse this water. He asks for a gold coin. I got some from the temple.”, said the woman while giving a coin to Alex.
As the two waited for Charon to appear, a myriad of screaming voices were coming closer and closer to them.
“Don’t be afraid. They’re just like us, waiting for the ferryman to appear.”, said Angela while he was looking at the ghosts that were passing by.
A bell could be heard as a big old ship was coming towards the shore…
“Ok, so, this is where we begin. Are you ready? Do you want to do something before we go?”, said the woman, smiling at him.
The boy, confident and happy, replied “Let me just say a prayer and we’ll go.”.
The woman nodded and waited patiently, as the boy got down on his knees and started praying.
Shortly after, Alex grabbed his black and blue bracelet and the necklace, and went out of the temple with Angela.
They stopped near a lake.
Here, the woman said to the boy to think of the bird that gave him the necklace, to call it in his mind.
As he concentrated, the moon stone changed from white to blue, and in a matter of seconds, the bird that offered him the necklace was standing right in front of him.
Surprised, but with a smile on his face, Alex looked at Angela, which said “Tell the bird to get up in the air and split the lake in two. We need to reach a cave.”.
He slowly walked towards the animal and whispered for him to do what the woman said.
The bird gently rose up in the air and started flapping its wings faster and faster until the lake started splitting in two.
As Angela painted a smirk on her face, Alex was looking, fascinated, at the way the lake was making a path for them to pass.
While the bird kept the path open, they hurried to what appeared to be the ruins of an old church.
They hurried inside.
There, they found an opening that seemed to lead under the church.
As they went through a wide corridor they stepped into a cave-like environment.
They kept on descending and descending, until they reached a gigantic wooden gate that had an inscription on the top saying “You, shall pass, leave your hopes behind.”.
Reading this, Alex felt a shiver going down his spine.
Angela saw Alex’s reaction and said “They’re just words. Don’t worry.”.
“Only words? Everything has a power, no matter how insignificant it may seem.”, said the boy, glancing at the door.
The woman smiled at the boy’s words, as she headed towards the door, pushing it open.
They reached the shore of a lake that had black water.
Curious, Alex wanted to go and touch the water, but Angela quickly grabbed him and said to him “Don’t touch the water. This is the Acheron, the river of human sins. It’ll burn you if you touch it.”.
As he backed off, the boy said “Then how are we going to cross it?”, to which the woman replied “Have you ever heard of Charon?”.
“Sure. It’s said that he was a ferryman that crossed the souls of the dead from the living world into the world of the dead. But, me and you are still alive, how are we going to convince him to take us with him”, said the boy.
“If you’ve heard of Charon then you also know that he asks for a ‘fee’ for those who wish to traverse this water. He asks for a gold coin. I got some from the temple.”, said the woman while giving a coin to Alex.
As the two waited for Charon to appear, a myriad of screaming voices were coming closer and closer to them.
“Don’t be afraid. They’re just like us, waiting for the ferryman to appear.”, said Angela while he was looking at the ghosts that were passing by.
A bell could be heard as a big old ship was coming towards the shore…