8 A Lullaby (3)

Feather was stubborn, and just that bit won't be enough to stop her.

After resting properly, she went into the lake once more. This time she went down the opposite wall.

She went as far as twenty minutes long and all was well, except there was nothing like a shore in sight aside from the one she'd already been to.

She returned to the shore and lay down on the floor looking at the ceiling.

There was nothing there. Feather had checked both sides of the cave and couldn't see anything resembling another shore or any kind of passage.

But she hadn't explored all the lake yet. The lake was so big that even after going far into it, she still hadn't managed to see the other side. That meant there could be a passage there.

'I need to go further,' she decided.

And to go further, she would need to disregard her safety.

If she didn't find an exit she would have to die either way. There was only a week's worth of food left.

:::::

Feather rested once more and decisively went into the water. If she had to die either way, she'd rather not give up.

So she went all the way she could go. Though she was fit, Feather only learned how to swim for a week. In the end, after an hour of struggling she could go further no more.

She couldn't see a shore. Even the shore she'd left she couldn't see anymore.

The water was warm, and the light was lulling. It was rippling with her every movement throwing reflexes on the wall.

The depth of the lake was glowing and welcoming.

:::::

She woke up on the shore once more. Feather didn't know how much time had passed but she had an inkling of how this happened.

She had breakfast, exercised, and went into the water once more.

She had to check to be sure.

...

It was strange. The water was completely still until she was tired. As soon as she tired herself out, she would be washed ashore.

There she would rest and go into the water again, and be washed back after tiring herself out once more.

...

This cycle went for several days, but she was still unable to reach her destination.

She didn't even felt a bit nervous anymore, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, to be washed ashore after nearly drowning.

:::::

Another three days had passed.

It was longer and longer that she was able to stay afloat.

Today, she went on for more than five hours, and in the end, there was a shore!

Finally!

Feather was ecstatic.

She nearly drowned at that moment because she forgot herself with happiness. But Feather quickly caught herself. She wouldn't end as silly as drowning just as the salvation was in sight.

She left all her things on the shore, but that didn't matter to her now. Even without all these things, as long as she was alive.

She felt herself reenergized and swam to the shore with all her might.

And then she saw there a tree. Fire-blazing orange tree.

She didn't know how she managed not to see it earlier.

It should be another tree, right?

There are many such trees in the world, aren't there?

No, there are just too perfect conditions for this kind of trees there. So there were actually two of them in this cave!

Feather dashed out of the water. 'Let it be another shore! Please, Gods, let it be another shore,' she prayed.

Alas, a miracle didn't happen. There were her clothes and backpack lying on the floor.

Feather slowly stopped. She looked dejectedly around. It was the same small part of the cave beside the lake. The same tree. Even her clothes were there.

It took her five long hours to circle this lake, and in the end, there was nothing.

Nothing resembling a passageway that could've led her away.

Feather collapsed on the ground. She was exhausted. Physically and mentally.

There probably could be an underwater passageway, but who knows how much time it would take her to explore the bottom of the lake, even if she could hold her breath long enough.

She checked her bag. The food she had left there were just several tiny pieces of dried meat. No matter how she tried to economize, in the end, it still was depleted.

:::::

Feather tried not to think of it and went to sleep.

After a lot of swimming, she was so tired that she'd fallen asleep almost instantly.

This night she saw a dream.

She dreamed of herself being a little girl of four or five years old.

She was there with her elder cousin brother. There was another man with them. That man, she recalled seeing him on portraits. He was her father.

She only remembered her father from the portraits. She was too little when he died.

They went to a village. The village was small; there were only three houses there. All of them were dilapidated, there were holes and moss on the walls.

Then, there was a well in the center of the village.

They went to the well. The earth around the well was dry and cracked. Feather looked into the well, there was water there, alas, deep deep down. It was a tiny layer of water just barely covering the stones on the well's bottom.

Her father stood beside her and she heard him say:

"You see, there is still water at the bottom of a hole."

:::::

Feather woke up and lay down watching the cave's ceiling.

What did her father mean, there was water?

Of course, there was. A full lake worth of water.

What did he say else? She tried hard to recall the exact phrase.

'Something about me seeing the water at the well? No, it wasn't the well, he didn't say the well. How did he put it? At the bottom of a hole? A hole?'

Did it had to do with the hole? Why would father tell her about the hole? Why did it even matter now, she was already inside the one. It wasn't like she could just go and come out of here through that hole.

Or could she?

Feather sat abruptly.

No one had come into the cave after her, so she had forgotten about it.

She was so caught up in exploring the lake that she had completely overlooked this possibility. The possibility to return the way she came in here.

Feather went to the circular path but found that she couldn't tell which part of the passage she exactly came from. There were three possible places which were similar to the one she remembered.

The ceiling at all three places was quite high, and there was nothing in the cave to climb on. But she didn't give up just yet.

Feather went around the cave and found some pieces of crystal. Then she went and tried throwing these pieces at the ceiling.

She spent several hours doing this, but to no effect.

The stones were bouncing off the wall. Not one went through.

Feather was disappointed but not dispirited.

If the stones couldn't go through the hole, it doesn't mean she couldn't. She just had to find a way to reach the ceiling. Perhaps it was a hole which only let animated objects through it.

There was the water with such properties in this cave, wouldn't it be logical if the hole was the same?

Feather circled the cave several more times but found nothing she could climb on.

Aside from her and the tree, there was nothing here inside.

She looked at the tree. How great it would be if she could eat its fruits.

She finished the last of her food just earlier while throwing the stones at the ceiling.

The tree was the only thing in there which she could climb on. If she could move it into the passage and climb it she would be able to reach the ceiling. It was a pity to cut it, but it was a way for her to survive.

Feather took out her swords and tried to chop at the tree.

She felt the tree looking at her with contempt. Her swords didn't leave even a tiny mark on it.

:::::

There was nothing to do in the cave. And no matter how she tried, in the end, she didn't find a way out.

The tree, she also had no way to cut.

No matter how many times she tried, not even a mark was left at where she chopped with her swords. It wasn't a treasure-tree for nothing.

Trying to break crystals off the wall and climb them also didn't have an effect, as she wasn't able to do it either.

She went for several days without food already and wasn't feeling so well.

Take into account all her exercises while trying to cut the tree and break the walls. She spent a lot of energy.

Her intestines hurt. It was a numb pain, the kind that can be easily disregarded, but which was always there, slowly tainting your existence with itself.

To not go nuts she did her best to distract herself with her sword-training.

She knew, that she would die this way faster, but faster or slower didn't matter much here.

Feather was prideful and stubborn. No matter the circumstances she would not let herself give up. But she herself didn't know anymore, for what kind of miracle she was waiting.

With time, she found it harder and harder to move.

The pain wasn't bothering her that much anymore. Either it stopped, or she had just grown numb to it.

She was laying on the floor and watching the walls, the tree, and the water.

As she stopped moving, it was so quiet here.

She always looked for a way to survive, so she had never noticed how quiet and peaceful it was here.

Feather could hear every leaf on the tree, she could hear even tiniest ripples of water. She could hear her heart drumming heavily in her ears. She could hear herself breathing. She thought that she could even hear the crystal walls emitting light.

The time moved slowly. It was like it was stretched across this cave. Feather could hear it.

All these sounded like a lullaby to her. She slowly drifted from and to sleep. In her sleep, she wouldn't be hungry, and she wouldn't be in pain.