acatalepsy

T W O The Bookkeeper's Riddle

T W O

The Bookkeeper's Riddle

It was an effort to keep up with him. His body gracefully leapt and ran down the wall, the echoes of his laughter following not far behind.

Pan.

That was what I had decided to call him. Among other things, he reminded me of the most cunning character I knew: Peter Pan. I figured that the name would due for now - until I figured out his real one that was.

I wasn't sure how long I trailed after him, only aware that after several winding turns and long corridors, we had arrived at an entrance. Whimsical stone statues guarded the archway, it's edges bordered by an array of fluorescent flowers. Pan jumped off the wall as he approached it and I followed closely behind.

"Hang on," I panted, desperately trying to catch my breath after I had recklessly chased after him. I kept a close eye on him in fear of a repeated disappearing act, but he simply continued on his path, walking through the entrance at a mock slow pace. He turned around and rose an eyebrow in arrogance as he waited for me to catch up.

I was almost there - sprinting to the archway with the determined mindset of catching him - before suddenly, the two statues moved. They blocked my entrance with their large cemented bodies. From behind them, vines and thorns grew and wove into a makeshift barrier.

Pan's vibrant eyes peered at me through the obscure plants in curiosity. I looked at my surroundings in sinking despair.

"Oh well, guess you weren't fast enough. You'll just have to answer the riddle then."

Pan moved to sit down on the ground across from me. He rested his elbows on his knees, chin in hands, and he waited for me to make my move.

"What riddle? Who are you and where am I! If you aren't going to answer any of my questions, I might as well just go back to where I woke up in the first place."

Frustrated, I crossed my arm across my chest. I was going to have my questions answered, one way or another.

Sighing, Pan rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Oh what a bother, why must you ruin the fun? Fine, fine. I'll answer one of your questions once you make your way over, just hurry up. We're on a tight schedule; places to be, people to see!"

One question.

It wasn't a lot, one question was. But, figuring that I wasn't going to get much more out of him, I regretfully complied. I gazed around quizzically, looking for whatever 'riddle' he was talking about.

"If you're looking for the riddle, I'd try the arch," Pan droned in a amusement.

I shot him a glare. "I knew that."

I turned my attention and looked above the garden entry. To my dismay, Pan was in fact correct. I squinted my eyes at the stone arch resting above the entrance, attempting to decipher the tiny scrawl edged onto its surface.

"If its information you seek, come and see me. If it's a pair of letters you need, I have consecutively three. Who am I?"

Dear God.

"How the hell am I supposed to know what this means?" I demanded, frustrated by the mystery and trickery of this place when all I wanted to do was go home.

Pan simply raised his shoulders in a shrug, an innocent look on his face and a vexing glint to his eye.

He was, for lack of better words, an utterly futile contradiction.