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Lila sat atop the plateau and watched the second sun slowly glide across the horizon, drowning in its own haze. A massive book lay beside the animated one, and the wind occasionally flipped its pages, breaking the silence that extended for miles.
"I can hear you," the monkey said without turning around, "You don't have to hide."
Goody, who had been slowly sneaking around behind her, stiffened, stood for a moment in indecision, feeling the sand drumming against his visor, and shuffling deliberately to show that he really wasn't hiding anymore, approached Lila.
"Sorry," he rang out, sitting next to her.
Lila looked him over and turned back to her book.
"Everyone's sick of me," he said, glancing down at the pages. "You're probably too."
The spring behind his visor rattled, resembling a bitter chuckle.
"I hadn't thought about it," Lila shrugged, "I just wanted to read alone."
"I got it," Goody nodded.
"What?" said the monkey.
"That you are like me," he looked into her eyes, "You don't remember anything."
Lila looked back at him, and then shifted her gaze to the book.
"I don't understand why, but it's hard for me to ask," Goody shook his head, trying to fill the pauses. "Everyone looks at me in such a way that it makes me feel... um... ashamed."
"Interesting," the monkey almost whispered.
"Is there anything interesting in the books?" he asked.
"Yes and no," Lila lowered her head, "Someone wise wrote in the title that every book is really about you, because you're the one reading it. Like in a mirror, everyone will see their own reflection."
"What is this book about?" Goody said.
"It's an ancient history of the City," the monkey raised her head and looked at the sun, split in half, against which the thin threads of the city towers could be seen, "A very old book, you can't find them in the City itself now. Someone must have stolen it from the library when they ran away. I read about how... we were created."
"We?" Goody asked.
"The animated ones, dummies, toys, slaves, dolls – like you and me," she replied.
"Slaves? How strange that sounds," Goody wondered.
"Yes, that's what the animated ones are called between the first-born and the humans. We were created by humans and have always obeyed them. We have fulfilled their goals and whims. The book says that we were used in the first place, when they captured the first-born in the time of 'the exaltation of man.' Our brothers took their lives for the glory of humans," the monkey said, staring at the sunset.
"Yeah..." Goody said in response, wrapping his arms around his metal knees.
"Weird truth," Lila nodded, "But, as far as I'm concerned, it's better to know than not."
The wind brought sand, which rattled the shell and clattered between the hinges of the animated one.
"Do you think they're still, well, offended?" Goody asked.
"Sure, but that's not quite an appropriate word, they rather hate us," sighed the monkey.
"What does 'hate' mean?" Goody's voice rang uncertainly, and his gaze fell on a lonely paragraph in the book. The monkey puckered up her painted mouth and turned the page.
"It's when you wish for someone that all bad things will come true for them in a single moment."
"And what is 'bad'?" Goody asked, grinning with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, there's that shame again. There's something just curling up inside of me."
The monkey laughed:
"You just asked the hardest question."
"Every question is hard for me," Goody grunted sadly.
Stopped laughing, the monkey closed the massive book and stood up:
"Come on, the sun is almost down, we can hardly find the hatch in the dark."
Goody looked at her and got up, too. Lila fastened the straps, grabbed hold of them, and dragged the volume deep into the plateau, where a valve on the hatch cover leading to the stairs could be seen.
"Let me help you," said the animated one, grabbing the other strap that encircled the book.
They were dragging it discordantly; then Goody pushed Lila off with his pelvis and, with one deft movement, hoisted the book onto his back and carried it on his own. Lila looked at him and smiled:
"Thank you."
"It's easier on my own," Goody quacked, adjusting his grip, "Like a fluff."
The sun had already set below the horizon when they reached the hatch, but the sky still reflected its light.
"Look," Goody nodded at the sky, "The moons."
"Yes," Lila nodded and started counting, "Twelve of them."
They went down to the library hall, hidden from the canyon by Sid's branches. Birds were flitting around, carrying books from place to place, and the librarian, a girl in a wood-cloth dress, was playing different tunes on a pipe, turning now and then to one side or the other.
"What's going on?" Lila asked, walking over to the spinning girl.
But she just shook her head, not taking her eyes off the pipe, nodded at the book, and then at the table beside her. Lila shrugged and unloaded the volume off Goody's back. The girl played a new tune, and the book was immediately picked up by a dozen birds and carried to a shelf far away at the top of the branches.
They walked out of the library hall and down the wide branch of the tree into the canyon. It was all lit up with many bright lights, blazing like a fire running down its walls. They caught sight of another monkey running by.
"What's going on?" Goody asked, catching her by the shoulder.
The monkey looked at the doll, then at her sister, and answered in surprise:
"What do you mean, what?"
And then she broke free and ran away.
"What do you mean, what?" Lila mocked her and showed her painted tongue. "Pfft."
"Is this shame you have now?" Goody asked.
"Not shame, anger," Lila muttered back.
"Is it like hate?"
"Kind of," the monkey muttered, as she walked down the trail to the bottom of the canyon.
On platforms and balconies, here and there, one could see unusual structures burning with an unnatural shimmering color. They were brought out of the caves for public display. On his way down, Goody passed a balloon that played a tune as they approached, and a seven-headed wolf, dressed in an unusually long robe, who emerged from behind the balloon, shouted after him:
"He played your tune! That's what you sound like."
But Goody was already distracted by the stream of winged oysters. Glowing with bright colors, they cleaved the air, gathering into images of moons and suns floating across the sky.
The animated ones descended to the bottom just as a ship glowed iridescent in the depths of the canyon with its luminous sails raised. A huge tent had been erected on its deck, where all the inhabitants of the Free City had flocked. And on top of it spun a huge and mysterious moon-fish. Lila and Goody climbed the large wooden stairs and were immediately carried by the crowd to the hastily built stage, where something was going on behind the scenes. Everyone around them was whispering in anticipation, and they could hear the musical instruments being tuned backstage.
"You know, it can be good in some ways," said the monkey, jumping up on Goody's back and sitting on his shoulders.
The animated one lifted his head up and looked questioningly into her eyes.
"It's all so exciting and interesting again," Lila laughed bitterly.
"That's if you've forgotten everything. And if you never remembered?" Goody asked.
"Doubly so!" Lila smiled.
She wanted to say something more, but then the trumpets sounded behind the stage, and the curtains slowly began to move apart to the applause of the crowd. The audience was shown the stage, on both sides of which stood musicians playing solemn music. And in the center, a sparkling orb lit up above the beautifully carved chair and illuminated the transparent top of the tent. The light from the floating moon-fish entered the tent and enlightened the figure sitting in the chair, who was wearing a fine suit and a triangular hat with a plume. The moon-fish descended, completely illuminating the stage, and the applause grew even louder.
The sitting one was a man of about twenty-seven with delicate features, he threw up his hands in white gloves, and the music and noise ceased in an instant. He stood up, adjusted his doublet, bowed to those present, took off his hat with a plume, bared his blond curls on his shoulders, stepped toward the crowd, and spoke:
"Brothers and sisters. Alive and not much, visible and invisible, we all know what a beautiful holiday we will be celebrating today."
Everyone around Goody and Lila murmured approvingly.
"Of course we do!" Lila grinned sarcastically and tapped Goody on the head.
"But we must all remember what this day brings for us, along with joy and gladness. The twelve cycles of the twelve moons have passed. And this is the last time in our lives that we see the twelve moons in the sky. Together."
He fell silent and looked around at the hushed creatures.
"If we don't have the guts to do the job this time, the world is doomed."
The people around shifted.
"What's he talking about?" Goody asked. But Lila just tapped him on the head with her paw and continued looking at the man.
"If you have a heart, you can't not know. If you have a heart, you can't not hear it. Our Heart is in danger. Now more than ever. It cries out to us. It begs us to come and save it before it finally suffocates. There, in the City, fools keep it imprisoned. There, in the City, they live their idle lives, drowning in luxury and feeding on the misery of others. They do not hear!"
He almost shouted the last phrase as he jumped off the stage into the crowd. The moon-fish, shimmering and glittering, followed him. Goody was now very close to the speaker and was astonished at the presence of this man, overflowing like a goblet of sweet honey with the attention of the assembled crowd.
"Our task, our great goal, is to set it free. Unshackle it. Destroy the City!" the man shouted, and the crowd shouted approvingly along with him.
Goody stumbled back from fright and almost fell, but Lila grabbed the edge of the stage and kept their overall balance.
"The day when our efforts will be justified is coming. When we throw off the yoke of narcissistic bloodsuckers and avenge our humiliation! Whether you are animated or human, golem or first-born! We will live in a world where no one will serve anyone!" the man said, raising his hand triumphantly, and the crowd echoed his cry, hands and limbs similarly raised.
The man's gaze fell on Goody for a moment. The animated one didn't follow the example of the crowd and held his arms out to Lila, who didn't seem to have found the urge to raise her hand, either. Goody felt a tension run through his whole body. The monkey slowly raised her arms following the others, and the stranger, squinting, turned away.
"I don't think any of you knew you'd live to see this. Well, except for the animated ones," the man grinned, and then someone in the crowd laughed loudly. "I didn't expect this grand event to come to my life. And I certainly didn't expect that I would have to lead it."
He bowed his head, showing the weight of his responsibility.
"But the times are not something to choose. And if we look at the sky, for the first time in millennia, we can see all the twelve moons: they are lined up, pointing to the City. A sign. Our sign for action. The Heart is calling us! There is no turning back. The past is gone forever, but the future... The future is in our hands. Let us step into it with hope. For victory, for justice, for good fortune – forever!"
The man looked around at the crowd and smiled: the crowd was cheering.
"And now we have time to forget all the trials that lie ahead. Now we can remember what we are fighting for."
He picked Lila up from Goody's arms and placed her on his shoulder.
"Let us forget all our quarrels. And let us put the roots of endless love in our hearts. So that our shared Heart, our main Heart, beats in each of us! And, shiver me moons, let's have the wildest and craziest carnival of this era! I declare the celebration of all moons open!" the man raised his hat and waved it up, causing Lila to fall off his shoulder back into the crowd, who were jumping and hooting at the top of their lungs.
The music began to play again, and everyone rushed around hugging and dancing. The garlands, glowing in the clutches of shining butterflies, flew over their heads. Goody was distracted by them, but caught by the wave, his feet began to tap and stomp in time with the music. The animated one looked up in surprise and consternation at the monkey that had emerged from the crowd.
"Don't worry," she laughed, "It's normal. It's called dancing."
Goody was staring at his dancing feet, and before he knew it, the whole room was swirling around him – and he with it.
Soon they were out of the dancing crowd and moving up the canyon toward the great hall, whose stone pillars resembled a mouth full of teeth. The tent audience danced around them, rising with Goody and Lila, bringing dance and music to all corners of the canyon. In the flickering light of the lanterns, it was impossible to tell who was there: first-born, human, or doll – all dressed in masks and carnival garb. The musicians, surprisingly unaltered, ascended with the dancers, playing variations on a melody from the tent.
"What's the meaning of this?" asked the animated one, walking past a couple of snakes tapping their heads in the drums. Several creatures in long robes were shaking around them, their faces covered by gas masks.
"It's music," the monkey hummed. "They emit a special kind of vibration, a harmonic vibration. It's invisible to the eye, but some first-borns are said to see it. It resonates in you, and you 'catch the wave.' When you allow it to move your body, you dance."
Goody dodged a string of small birds and hummed:
"What if my hinges come loose?"
"You go to Father, and he'll put the screws on," Lila replied nonchalantly, and in two short jumps she was at the top of another staircase.
"Who is this Father by the way?" Goody caught up with the monkey and moved next to her on the narrow ascent to the hall.
"Father is a nickname," Lila shrugged. "He seems to have created a lot of things here, that's why they call him Father."
"He's strange," Goody said, and looked back at the salute from the ship that had risen above the ground.
"Beau-u-utiful," said the man in the gleaming mantle of moon scales, standing nearby.
"Is it beauty?" Goody asked.
"Do you think not?" the man was surprised, fixing his gray mustache. "Do you often see such a thing?"
"That is what you rarely see is beauty?" Goody clarified.
"Well... you could say that," the man in the mantle answered thoughtfully.
"Thank you!" Goody shouted and hurried after Lila, who had gone far ahead.
He ran up the ledge in front of the entrance to the grotto, illuminated by a waterfall of sparks from the serpents of Joe's platform that had flown by. It immediately disappeared behind the canyon wall, leaving a long smoky trail of colored ribbons tied to its edges in the air. As hasty as he was, Goody lost sight of the monkey, and now walked between the stone pillars all alone.
This was the site of the main bazaar on the day of his arrival, but now there were clothes and other things for the carnival. As he passed another stall, Goody stared at the glowing bugs in jars being tried on the broad-brimmed hair by a smiling drum with massive hammers. The animated one did not notice how the oysters flying by put a triangle with a puffy blue feather on his own head, something reminiscent of the one the man on the ship had been wearing. He discovered it when he realized that children were staring at him from the back of the sofa. Behind their backs was an empty space prepared for dancing, which immediately caught Goody's attention. The children laughed as he stared at the flock of burning candles floating beneath the dome and his hat almost fell off his head.
The musicians gathered on the dais in the center of the grotto and played a new tune, subtle and delicate, touching an unfamiliar string in the animated one's chest. Picked up by the same feeling, several couples swirled beside him. An unknown force swirled Goody along with them until it carried him into someone else's arms. He opened his eyes and saw an abyss of blue, obviously staring back at him.
"So that's what the sea is," he muttered.
The abyss narrowed, and through the music he heard distant laughter, as if someone had dropped a crystal somewhere on the other side of the grotto. He closed his eyes again, startled by his sensations, and felt an arm pressing his left hand to the waist while the other held onto his right. What to say about his legs? They were doing something completely unknown to him, moving to the beat of a new rhythm that rose up and swirled him along with an unseen companion. His consciousness flew away, falling back endlessly in someone else's gentle hands. And those hands... The hands he held in his were as soft as clouds. It was definitely skin, he could tell that without even opening his eyes. So fragile that he was afraid to squeeze his fingers too hard, so he wouldn't hurt it.
When the music ended and there were applause and cheers of approval all around, the animated one found himself in front of a girl of about twelve. Dark-haired, in a white dress, with big blue eyes, she looked at him and laughed. Goody frowned embarrassedly and wanted to say something, but the girl interrupted him.
"I am not the sea at all."
"And I..." he began, but then stammered.
"You're a pretty good dancer for a dummy," she grinned, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm not," he began again, but was silent.
"That you are 'not,' I have already managed to figure out."
"I'm Goody," the animated one introduced himself.
"I am Gerda," said the girl, and bowed.
Goody bowed hastily in response, causing his triangle to fall from his head, and he bent sharply to pick it up. But the girl bent down, too – and they bumped heads together.
"Oh, you're such a blockhead. Now it's going to bruise," Gerda hissed, holding her forehead.
"Bruise?" asked the animated one confusedly.
"You have a bad, naughty, horrible iron head," she said, rubbing her forehead.
"In fact, only the helmet is made of iron. Well, the part you hit. Everything else is wood, except for the visor... and the ringing mechanism..." Goody stopped short when he saw the girl lose her balance.
She staggered and found herself on the floor.
"You could have given me the help I needed in this situation," she said angrily.
"How?" Goody asked, leaning toward her.
"Help me evacuate to that bench," the girl answered, closing her eyes and pointing toward the large open balcony, grabbing her head with both hands.
The animated one walked up to Gerda's side and, awkwardly grabbing her dress around her belly and back, began to pull her up.
"No, oh, absolutely not, there are hands," the girl became angry.
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9RYEbyNooG
Goody panicked. The music played again, and the dancers swirled around them. The animated one picked up Gerda, who had given him both hands, only the second time, and dodging the dancing couples, he led her out of the grotto into the air.
126Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBvAJFedhO
