CHASM

TWO

     It's been only a day since I've met my unknown twin, the very individual I saw at the other end of the Village. Only for a moment, of course. He was gone in a flash, and I, being insatiably curious, decided to look for him with my one-eyed friend, who I now know as Wolliw.

We had been searching for some time before seeing him from behind: he was just like me in every aspect, except in color, for he was as black as the Darkness, and I was light like the conical buildings.

On second thought, he was also different in personality: talkative and lively, compared to my quiet thoughtfulness. This aspect greatly intrigues me because we were both born in the same Darkness, with the same empty, memory-less minds. What caused his personality to change?

But that's beside the point. I like him. We go well together, like yin and yang. As I've gotten to know him, he has told me the story of his waking up, which is much different from mine, for he never mentioned the Darkness and the Light or the feeling of the cool, hard Chasm rock. Instead, he told me about a wooden sign sticking out of the stone. A sign that he could, strangely, read. According to him, it said:

"This is your doing. Welcome to the Chasm. Hopefully, you will learn the truth about it all."

Now, what could that mean? I have been mulling the words over in my head, but, just like the other words, they always start to scream at me. Nevertheless—

"Are you okay? You've been intensely quiet," Wolliw says to me, jarring me out of my thoughts.

The restaurant fades back into view.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply, "Just thinking."

"Speaking of thinking, I've been conjuring up some names for you two to dispel all this awkwardness. I feel like your name should be Esir," Wolliw announces, pointing to me. "You, on the other hand,"—Wolliw now motions to my twin—"should have the name Nur."

"What do those names mean?" I ask.

"Well, 'Esir' was the name of my dad, who was very contemplative, like you. 'Nur', on the other hand, is the name of the spirit of Signs, like the one you saw when you woke up."

"I like those names," I say, smiling gently.

My counterpart extends his hands, mocking formality:

"Mr. Esir, it is a pleasure to formally meet you. I am Nur, Master of the Signs!"

I laugh happily, shaking Nur's hand. "Nay, the pleasure is all mine, sign-seer!"

We all laugh heartily before asking for a check and leaving the restaurant, eager and curious about the future.

The lights of the bustling Village jar my eyes as we pass through the eatery's glowing walls.

"You guys can stay at my place. There's plenty of room there. Follow me," Wolliw beckons, excitement in his voice.

As Nur and I walk behind our friendly guide, I observe the creatures around me: many like us, bipedally going about their business, some babbling with their comrades, others passing in and out of the blinding cone structures. Some of these civilians look very retrograde to ourselves: six-legged insects clatter down the stone pathways clumsily, large, heavy, four-legged beasts lumber down the larger paths, and nimble, floating beings hover serenely in the air. I marvel at it all.

"Alright. We're at the stop-and-go station," Wolliw declares.

I stare in bewilderment at the sight before me: a small, cylindrical building just as bright as the cones. A sign with a map is posted beside it.

Wolliw passes through the borders of the building. Nur follows suit. I study the odd map for a moment before tagging along.

The inside of the room is simple and unseemly, besides the complex, buzzing, beeping, flashing, keyboard-like machine inset in the curved wall.

Wolliw clicks an assortment of numbers on the machine, which in turn whirs excitedly.

"Welcome to your first stop-and-go station," Wolliw says happily, "These cylindrical buildings can take you anywhere you want to go in the Chasm, thanks to an interconnected system of tubes right below our feet! Believe it or not, we're moving right now. Want to see?"

Nur and I nod eagerly.

Wolliw taps a couple of extra buttons on the wall keyboard, causing a holographic screen to appear above us. It displays a white dot moving on a complex track of lines.

"That dot represents us," Wolliw explains, "and those lines are the different underground tubes."

The hologram flashes a message. It states:

NOW APPROACHING DRADNATS CITY.

I am reminded of something:

"Wolliw, why was the place we departed from called the Village? Does it have no other name?" I ask.

"It's just an advertising name. The whole place is a huge shopping district. People travel there all the time on vacations."

A group of beings walk into the station.

"Just a routine stop," Wolliw says.

We stand absentmindedly for a couple minutes, quietly observing the beings who entered the transporter: one appears to be made entirely of grains of light, while another is a hovering box with eyes.

The holographic map displays a new message:

NOW ENTERING ECARRET CITY.

"Home, sweet home," Wolliw sighs.

Wolliw walks out of the transporter, gesturing for us to follow him. Stepping into the city, I gasp at the marvelous landscape before me: Tiny bundles of buildings rest on ledges stretching high up into the Chasm. I then realize we are on one of the lower ledges, surrounded by small houses and stores.

"This...This is unbelievable!" Nur states emphatically.

"My place is this way," Wolliw reminds us.

He leads us to a somewhat tall, skinny building. We follow him inside...

Wolliw's apartment is odder than I could have ever imagined: a spiraling staircase stands defiantly in the middle of the room, surrounded by intricate machinery and meter-long stacks of paper.

"What do you DO in here?" I ask bewilderedly.

"Well, to be honest, I've been spending years studying life outside the Chasm, painstakingly searching for any sign of Outerchasm habitation.

"To put it bluntly, for years, I've been searching for you two."