The sun glistening off the chrome mirrors, Della could feel the Sun's heat piercing through her thick leather jacket as she drove to work in her red Hyundia Elantra, maybe it was the wrong day for such outfit or probably nature were trying to inform her of the value of the day to come.
As She reached the City Park crossing which was a 2-minute straight drive to the office, she was caught in a traffic jam.
Actually, a procession blocking the entrance gate to Crystal Rogue Magazines were she worked as a junior editor. It was a very long procession and the workers were her colleagues holding red flags, placards and banners in their hands demanding a raise in Salaries.
"About time they acted upon their word"
She said it aloud because she, too, felt overworked and underpaid. Della manages to go slowly at first, but then turns left towards the express bridge. Finding a parking spot, she picks up her phone and discovers that she has roughly 10-missed calls from her colleagues, two of which are from her mum. She was an only child, and she was only two years old when her dad passed-on, all she had was her mum. She attempted to call back but the line unreachable.
Della reasoned that she could just drive down to the family residence, which was approximately an hour away, and what a wonderful opportunity for some home-cooked meal this was.
On reaching the house, Della rang the bell of the entrance, but there was no response.
After 2-3 minutes, She tried to use her keys to open and to her surprise, without turning the key it easily opened. She was thinking why her mum had left the door unlocked.
The house was almost empty, cupboard was open and clutter lying everywhere. She had no idea what had happened in the house. She had listened to news of robberies, kidnappings, and other crimes on the car radio on her drive here. Della felt very frightened.
She again called out to her mum, but there was no reply. She searched every room, but found nothing except echoed silence. Della then rang her Mum again, but the line was still unreachable. Halfway through the corridor, she noticed the basement. She moved closer and called out yet again
"Mum are you down there?"
Della looked down the staircase into the murky depths of their unfinished basement. Wondering to herself why the basement door was left wide open as she recalls clearly it was always locked.
The only sound was the steady yet pleasurable music, which was unlike anything she had ever heard before, so Della walked the stairs down two at a time.
Moving in closer, Della noticed an open canvas, old paint brushes, a dried out paint paste, and a dice-like cube on the old wooden table. The only light in the room came from the sun that had managed to sneak in through the window well. It lighted the canvas, which had a lovely painting on it. One appeared to be paradise, while the other appeared to be chaotic but enjoyable to gaze at side by side.
"Did my mum paint this?"
she wondered. And even more so now understanding where she drew her art passion and creativity.
She touches the artwork with mild curiosity, as a bright light emanates from the canvas and drags her right into it.
Della, who felt as if she were falling down an unending tunnel, finds herself floating as she gently settles in this strange environment that resembled earth. She took a few motioned steps forward, terrified, and recognized a few structures from her city.
"Wait, is this Ganduwa State?"
With a sigh of relief, she said it out. Looking ahead, she observed a bright light approaching her at breakneck speed, and as she tried Dorking to avoid being hit, she felt a loud jolt that felt like an earth quake. She raised her head to gaze up, and there in front of her was this gorgeous huge entity with a human figure and wings stretched out. Della was looked at lovingly by the being.
"Hello Della, I am Neolpha"
Della still frightened manages to give an awkward Grin, while trying to stand up straight.
"How do you know my name and what is this place, how did I get here, I only touched on the pai?!"
Neolpha quickly interrupts and with a graceful smile on his cheeks reply,
"welcome to Earth's 3rd realm. I have something to show you"
As he takes out a huge flaming sword and points up to a city hidden behind the clouds. Della looked and it was the painting only that this looked far more glorious.
Before she could feast her eyes more, there was a blast, and Neolpha turns to Della,
"Quick, hide inside that cave and no matter what happens, do not come out"
Neolpha expresses it authoritatively, but politely.
Della rushes into the cave and peeps as Neolpha spreads his wings and flies towards the pandemonium.
It felt like there was a battle going on. There was so much chaos and bomb exploding that she thought she could hear everyone chatting and some pleading for help. She noted that some areas were engulfed in flames, while others were being struck by earthquakes, tornadoes, and tsunamis. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before; all of Earth's elements were warring, as though in a good-versus-evil film.
Della had exited the cave, stunned and unmoving, without realizing it. A dark force then approaches Della to attack, but Neolpha quickly swoops her away into another portal, this time ascending rather than falling.
They both burst into a realm, and she immediately recognized it as the basement painting and city Neolpha had previously pointed out.
It was a fantastic city, with spectacular architecture, big green palm trees, and flowers of all kinds and colors that were unlike anything else on earth.
These people were unusual and resembled Neolpha, although this time they were human-sized. The sun was shining brightly, yet this sun was different as well. It appeared to be a cube, a luminous dice, and she remembered seeing one before.
"Welcome to Neocity. This is the 5th realm and that is Master Dragon, the protector of this great City and we're it's citizens, loyals and friend. once in awhile at night, Master Dragon takes up a human form and dines with the people. We all have identical names because we are all treated similarly. Although a few, including myself, have unique tasks."
With a big smile on his face, Neolpha narrated. Della, still in wonder, begins to inquire as they travel from one corner of the city to another.
"What was the point of the war, Neolpha?"
They come to a halt in front of a great golden gate that leads into the city, as Neolpha turns to Della and responds.
"It's a battle between man and Earth's element. A conflict between humanity and itself. Man has long been domineering, and this is nature's attempt to restore balance while defending itself."
He continues.
"You see, Della, man is so accustomed to chaos, struggle, and misery that he believes he cannot survive without it. Man believes he needs to Fail, stumble and then succeed. But This wasn't the case from the Beginning. Man was perfect and brilliant. This city is how man was intended to live his existence in peace, in harmony with the elements rather than destroying them to satisfy his lust for power. The Earth's elements were not designed to compete with it, but rather man designed to cohabit and nurture it."
Della now sober and thinking to herself if Man will ever come to it's senses, Neolpha able to understand her quickly interrupts her thought.
"Yes! Man will come to it's senses Della. There is an open portal through Man's creativity. This City is open to everyone who Believes in what it stands for."
As Neolpha narrated, a distance call like a whisper came echoing from afar, Della immediately recognizes the Voice,
"Mum"?
She said and immediately it felt like falling through another portal, only this time she gets spewed out of the painting to the basement floor. She immediately picks up the dice and hurries out of the basement, conscious of her surroundings and with her mother's voice growing closer.
"Della where are you sweetheart?"
Her mum beckons more
"Mum, I'm right here. Thank God you're alright, I came in an..and couldn't find you. Everywhere was a mess, I got worried, Th.. then went down the basement and there was this beautiful painting which sucked me inside it an..and I saw...
Della attempting to narrate the whole experience to her mum while panting and stammering in excitement.
"Hold on dear, did you hurt your head? I've warned you about the unfinished basement. I was trying to get to you because I'm selling the house, I'm moving closer to your estate but that's talk for when we get to the eatery. pick up your bag and let's go eat, I'm famished. Com'on I'm driving"
Della, still perplexed by everything, decides to do as her mum says while clutching the cube-like dice. But One thing stood out sure for her, she couldn't wait to return to Neocity again as there she felt completely safe. A city free of the elements, the struggle for survival, and the difficulty. She also knew that her creativity was required, and that the dice held the key to that enormous city.
Her mum follows her, locks the door, and as she places the key in her fur-pink purse, another yellow dice was in it.
Her mum smiles, knowing exactly what Della had experienced and that her life will never be the same again.
It was time, and there was more to learn.
queenstarr ©2022