The City Of Pyramids

• "Just a little ways beyond, four people were watching; they are the Guardsmen at the Temple gates; they were in charge of feeding the Mythical Dragons, who for eons were the Custodians of The Sacred Password. Ezequiel had told her so one night just before she went to sleep. A chilling sensation invaded Jazmin. Everyone was dressed up and their appearance was threatening. Their leader was a very large and robust man who looked like a barrel and had a weird crown. I stared at him and suddenly remembered him to be a king I’d seen in my childhood visions and dreams. The olden memory was really more from very far back; this king and I had known each other from a former life. “I am Cicero The King; ruler of this city. You know, from here, I can manage the whole world, and especially those who never trust fate. Poor naïve little beings! They believe their future relies on their plans. They don’t realize that they are no more than simple servants; idiots capable of running everything if we let them do what they want. These people, and all the people of The World, must be under my total control. Besides, I make lots of money doing it, so why not?” I breathed and said, “Please, try to understand that not everything you’ve said is true. For hundreds of years, things have really changed. I suggest you start trusting.” “Silence! You wretched one!” he shouted. I saw him draw his sharp sword so, under such threatening circumstances, we chose to flee. Frightened, they were running as fast as they could across the field, while The King’s soldiers were on their heels. Max suggested that we scatter out into separate ways and meet again later. Jazmin arrived at the reflection of the temple in the middle of the field. A new dimension opened the way inside the image and she took a side corridor, all the while feeling someone stomping right behind her. She saw a door to her right, which happened to be ajar and went in, quickly closing it behind her and locking it as she could. She was right in the middle of The Central Pyramid’s Virtual Hall. It was a huge room. She breathed deeply and could sense the smell of burning herbs. It was dark, and she sensed as if a bad omen was about to come. Her eyes were fixed on a spot about twelve feet above the floor; she was so terrified that she couldn’t turn her back in time when she heard a very loud cracking sound. Suddenly, a large furry beast snatched her and dragged through a corridor. She could barely take a wild guess at the dimensions of the huge monster that held her in between its claws. The devastating sight of what was before her eyes was about the most horrifying thing anyone could conceive of. The dragon was exactly the same as the one Ezequiel described in his stories of the woods. She knew these to be the images inside her mind. The fearsome dragon brutally let go of her, tossing her into a corner of that dungeon. Right then, Jazmin realized the monster was talking to her. “What are you doing here, you foolish little woman? Did you lose something?”, it would yell. “You are so big, so very big,” said Jazmin slowly. “It seems you are in really big trouble,” grouched the old dragon, custodian of that temple’s east gate. “Are you angry?”, asked Jazmin. “But of course! I have been here for tens of hundreds of years without being able to see sunlight. I just work and work and work to spook away all the princes and knights that have tried to pass through here; but they’ll never succeed.” It opened its ugly fetid big snout, and a big ball of fire came out, briefly lighting the dismal place. Jazmin wanted to sit up, but her legs wouldn’t respond. She was shaking out of the fear she felt before this horrifying presence and kept on talking from the floor in a soothing, kind tone. “Perhaps you can talk King Cicero into giving you a vacation.” “That, I did a good many years ago. I remember it well. That’s why they threw me away in the first place, in here and out from the woods. They thought I was a threatening monster that conspired against The King. Then they condemned me to die of sorrow and confinement,” it said visibly annoyed. Jazmin gathered up all the courage left inside her and said: “So, you mean to say that you have never. . . left here?” “Never,” said the old dragon. “The King spared my life in exchange for me guarding this temple’s east gate, but my eternal dream is to go out into the woods and fly freely. Deep inside, we dragons are really kind and would rather feed ourselves on flowers, although our outer appearance may terrify people. This is truly the first time somebody seems to be interested in what I feel. But what are you seeking in this temple?” “Oh! Nothing special, I was just passing by and thought that just maybe, someone might want to talk a little.” “Bah! Go to another Dragon with that story! But now that I think of it, I’m starting to like you. You may come and talk to me anytime you so desire; after all, a foolish little woman like you represents no threat to the king’s interests. I remember now, we dragons weren’t always grumpy; when we lived out in the woods, we felt free and happy. It was the men, with their overwhelming authority, who lied and made everybody think we were boastful.” While the East Gate Dragon was talking (and rambling on about so many things he kept to himself for thousands of years and couldn’t tell anyone through his endless solitude), Jazmin was listening carefully, breathing deeply, and slowly recalling events of happiness and peace. The surrounding heavy atmosphere was slowly changing, the room filling with a warm light and the dragon’s behavior changing into fearlessness. He was slowly realizing that his anger was the key to his confinement and the destructive weapon of his great merits. Light found its way back into being and The Dragon of The East started trusting again, remembering the beauty of the woods, and if just for one day, he chose to live it as if it were the last day of his life and without anger. And so, he was forever set free in a dream. Jazmin followed the ascending path within the temple until she arrived at the South Gate. She had a fixed stare towards nowhere in particular while thinking to herself: Monsters are not always as bad as most everyone pictures them to be. Just think about how far down into darkness had this poor little giant come by believing in such nonsense. She was facing The South Gate to the Temple and slowly pushed it in, trying to avoid any creaking sounds. Holding her breath simultaneously, she carefully went across the hall of entry hoping not to run into the Dragon keeping watch in the corridors. She finally got to the main room of the temple’s South wing, finding smoky ashes, a pile of burnt paper and a few pieces of burning coal (ember). She knew for sure that the creature was lurking somewhere around the temple. Suddenly, a howling sound made her tremble in the shadowy-lighted place. She was continuously getting closer to finding The Sacred Password, which is crucial to the great transformation of humanity. Jazmin heard a very loud thump right behind her and one of earth’s most terrible beasts appeared right behind her; it had the look of death and destruction in its eyes, moving just as serpents would and making this day look like one of the worst Jazmin ever had. It was right before sunset and time was running out to overcome this new situation."