A path down the spiral road. Swirling into an unknown existence that in another life might have made sense. If it wasn’t for the call to adventure, the man would still be home.
It was a cold summer’s day. The trees were bright green but on this day, the sun decided not to burn the Earth. Grey clouds accumulated above him, teasing the land with water that it desperately needed. He was out in the mountains when he went to the cave. A cave which he read about in the newspapers a week before. Apparently, this cave was the main tourist attraction of the village. But fatal accident after fatal accident, local authorities decided that for the best interests of human lives, to close the cave permanently.
However, the cave remained opened to the scientists who found the cave worth their time. He personally did not like the scientists. They would arrive and hand out foreign objects to their children as if they were in need. Some of these foreign objects caused his neighbour’s child to lose a tooth. Apparently, according to both the mountain doctor and the doctor that visits the village every end of the month from town, the child was not supposed to eat the object. In fact, that object the town doctor said that it was a treat for dogs. How the man hated those scientists.
The man lived a very modest life. As modest as his village permits. He had three wives and each wife had four children. His compound was large, with each wife having her own house. A local merchant sold him what the merchant called concrete bricks. The merchant was even kind enough to sell him the adhesive to glue these concrete bricks together. About a month later, the merchant came with a friend who taught him how to build houses with these concrete bricks and the adhesive. The merchant apparently talked with his friend to build the first three houses for him free of charge. The friend built the main house, the house for his first wife and the house of the first born on the family who was about to begin his own family. The house of the second wife, he built with the friend, teaching him how apply the adhesive and place the bricks. The friend, a beautiful soul, left him with the tools to continue building the other house for the third wife.
He did not regret building his houses with the concrete bricks. At the time of the Monkey Star, the winds become so strong that even trees are rooted. Every time, after the winds of the Monkey Star, the whole village would help each other to re-build their homes. After the mending of the homes in the village, the whole village would prepare a huge feast. The feast was prepared with the cattle that the winds killed and also the crop that the winds destroyed. The women of village were skilled cooks. From the damaged crops, the women would gather that night and prepare the most delicious of meals. This year, when the wind came, his compound stood. Not a single house in his compound was destroyed. Only the roofs made from the large leaves of the trees blew off. He was happy.
At noon of the cold summer’s day, he was walking up the mountain. He usually walked the mountain when he had a lot on his mind. He was thinking about asking the merchant when he returns for more newspaper. The merchant taught the man how to read the newspaper. He was thinking to ask the merchant something for his roofs as well. Surely, he must know of some material stronger than leaves to conceal a house from the heavens. The merchant was a dear friend who managed to leave the village many moons ago. They were hunting friends and used to hunt the wild life together. The merchant however told the man one day, that he wants to get out. The merchant said that he wanted to see the town that the fancy doctor came from. He wanted to see the lives of the scientists. He wanted to go beyond the life they live in the mountains and explore the world. “Surely, the Creator of things did not create this one mountain,” said the merchant before he left the village.
He was thinking about this when he heard a sound from a far. A fine sound that sounded like the cry of a dying goat. Suddenly, grey smoke emerged from the earth. The smoke rose in twirls, dancing its way to the grey clouds above. He thought that perhaps it was the mountain doctor conducting an experiment or channelling some spirit into the realm of humans. However, the smoke and sound came from west of the direction of where the mountain doctor stayed. When the scientists came, they were as silent as night. Their existence was forgotten by the village, only remembered when they require food or some aid. The grey smoke thickened as it touched the clouds above. The clouds roared with pleasure. His heart heard the call to adventure.
Revered as the village’s best hunter, he approached the smoke bravely. As he walked to the smoke, mountain snakes appeared from the ground. They were many and different in colour. He pulled his machete from the side of his hip. As if seeing the machete, the mountain snakes gave way to the man. This never happened before. He continued to walk to the smoke, but did so with great caution. The closer he got, the more fine and faint the sound become. The smoke itself began to fade into the air. He walked slowly until he reached the end of the mountain- the opening of the cave.
As a child, his elders taught him that he should never go to the cave. The cave was only for the mountain doctor the elders used to say. When the local authorities began to build small buildings and gates around the cave, the village elders protested and fought against the authorities. Unfortunately for the elders, the loud sticks the authorities used quickly silenced them. The mountain doctor lost a finger when he thought he could hold the stones that the sticks spat. The mountain doctor ever since that day spent more days on the mountain. The cave, said the local authorities, was a heritage site of the village that had to be shared with the world. A cave so scared to the village became the world’s playground.
However, the wisdom of the elders prevailed. The more the world visited the cave, the more the world disappeared. The mountain doctor once said that in the heart of the cave, there was a fruit that belonged to the spirits he called to the realm of humans. The cave was a place to be respected said the mountain doctor when he used to spend most of his days in the village. As more of the visitors disappeared, scientists came to investigate. They first blamed the village itself. The merchant explained to him what the word cannibal meant. He read this word in newspapers that described his village. The thought of eating another human was barbaric as the scientists that gave children treats meant for dogs. The cave was later closed to the public but remained opened to these scientists that soiled their land.
The scientists themselves never entered the cave. The few that did never returned so they were told. As he approached the cave, fear crept in his body. The mountain snakes below him kept hissing and passing through his feet. They brushed his heels in a way to suggest he goes into the cave. The grey smoke slowly emerged from the dark hole of the cave. The smoke reached his nose. The scent knocked him to his knees. His eyes widen to the sweetness of the scent. He slowly got back to his feet. The fine sound conducted the snakes to block all his movement but leave one path open. A path- to the cave.