discupcakeisdelicious
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- Posted: Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:37:21 +0000
My cousin Rose decided to get married in old Cape Town. Everyone told her there were nicer places to get married, like New Cape Town. But, that's why Rose was my favourite cousin; she appreciated things no one else did.
Right before the wedding, my father had a sudden business meeting to attend in New Cape Town, and he was hoping that he could get a promotion. His boss was hoping she could get a new bed partner. So, it was just me and mom walking through the streets of old Town to the wedding.
Old Cape Town is a labyrinth of cobblestone streets and brick buildings, looking much too old to be standing. Some streets are so narrow you can spread your arms and run your fingers along opposite walls, and some streets are so wide thirty people can stand side by side and still have wiggle room.
I ran my fingers along the cold brick, as my mother hurried me along.
“Be careful not to get your dress dirty,” she would say as she marched along, the click of her heals echoing around me. She made sure she was unaware of her surroundings, because I knew she didn't want to think about where she was.
“Careful of that puddle!” she cried as I stopped mid-stride and looked down at my feet. Sadly, my mother's idea of a puddle was a tiny splash of water. I easily stepped over it.
As I looked at the ground, I did notice there were puddles about. But, when I looked up at the sky, it was clear and sunny. “Did it rain earlier?” I asked mom.
She shook her head, “It's been sunny all week, you know that.” Although, she didn't seem to notice that she told me to watch for puddles.
I looked at the dark brick that surrounded me, it did look like it had recently rained. But, I never heard of it raining here. The buildings and the roads were dark, like trees soaked after a storm. I could even see small patches of fuzzy moss peaking out from corners.
Downtown of old Cape Town isn't what you'd expect. There are almost no shops, too many inns and an over abundance of churches. Churches here are ancient brick giants, standing five-hundred feet tall. Each church seemed to embody the town, old and maze-like.
We arrived at an intersection with four churches on either corner. But, before I could look at the others, mom pulled me into a gothic cathedral.
Everyone was there; my aunts and uncles stood around awkwardly, making conversation and trying to forget the church they were in. My cousins stood in a corner, all dressed in pastels and bright colours. They looked at me and raised their eyebrows.
I looked down at my dress, it certainly wasn't a rosy pink or a soft lavender. It was long, shimmering gold. Much more bold than my cousins could bare.
I sat down near a group of adults and looked around. Even with the sun coming in the windows, it looked dark. But, it had the potential to be beautiful if there was more light. Something also caught my attention: the fact that the ceiling was hundreds of feet high, yet everyone's voices were muted and had no echo.
“Why don't you go exploring?” Rose said as she walked up to me after the wedding.
I shook my head, “Mother would kill me if I left, and I'd probably get lost.” Not that I thought that was a bad thing, it just related back to leaving in the first place. If I was gone for more than five minutes, there would be hell to pay.
Rose smiled, “That's why I love this town. It's so easy to get lost, but the deeper you go the more you find what you've been looking for.”
I just looked at her in awe. If she had said that to anyone else in the family, they would have scoffed and scolded her for being so odd. But, she was my favourite cousin just for that reason; she did was she wanted, without worrying about the judging eyes of her parents.
She patted my shoulder, “Go on. I can keep your mom busy for a while.”
I got up from my chair as Rose went to distract my mother. Wasting no time, I walked over to a door at the side of the room. I looked back at mom one last time, to see her gabbing with her sister, unaware that her daughter was leaving. I left her.
The inner hallways of the church were much darker than the rooms that were being occupied by the wedding. So dark, in fact, that I had to keep my hand on one wall so I didn't run into it.
A tiny breath of a draft danced along my arm, ushering me further into the dark. My hand found a wooden railing and my foot found a staircase. The wood underneath my foot groaned and creaked, but felt sturdy.
I stopped for a moment, hearing noise above me. I looked up, and the tiny window gave me just enough light to see the flight of stairs winding up and up. If I squinted the right way, it looked like there was a shadow standing a few flights up.
Slowly taking off my shoes, I padded up the stairs, trying to be as quiet as I could in case there really was someone there.
Quick footsteps echoed down to me, moving upward. This proved two things; There was a person up there, and they knew I was here.
I attempted to follow, jumping two stairs at a time. I hissed curses at the dress that limited my speed. Whoever it was, was long gone, but there was only one door at the top of the stairs.
The door opened with a tiny squeak, but I hid behind it, in case whoever it was, was angry. I poked my head into the room. It looked like it hadn't been used in ages. I assumed there would be dust on the wood floor, but all I could see was dust hovering in mid-air. It didn't float to the floor like dust would; it only seemed to swirl around slowly, as if it were dancing.
As soon as I stepped into the room, all the dust fell to the floor, causing me to flinch. The room was large, and again, looked darker than it should have. Each corner of the room was a dark and mysterious cave, but one in particular held a shadowy figure.
They were facing the wall, but even if they were facing me, I wouldn't easily see their face. I hesitated, recalling what my mother used to say about strangers. Even though I had heard about incidents of people going missing in other towns, old Cape Town never seemed to make the news with crime. Whatever made the news was usually another business going bankrupt, or the plans to demolish a church– though the plans never actually did anything.
The figure mumbled, inaudible to me. They didn't look at me or turn around. “What?” I asked, not moving from my position by the door.
“You should not be here,” they said louder, turning to me. I still couldn't see them very well, but I was sure it was a man.
“I'm not stealing anything,” I said, “and I wouldn't have come here if you hadn't run away.”
I could hear him breathing loudly until he said, “Do you know what happens when people come here?” When I shook my head, he continued, “When people from the outside go places they should not, the town starts to crumble.”
I shrugged, “I like this place better than my own home.”
“How so? No one likes this town, anymore.”
I shrugged again, “Because this is the only place that has secrets but no lies, I guess.”
“You are smarter than most,” he said, hesitating before continuing, “Actually, most people from the outside do not bother to explore outside of their designated area.” He stepped out of the shadows, and looked surprisingly younger than be sounded. His skin was chalk-like under the grey light coming in from the windows, and worsened by his dark hair.
“Are you a ghost?” I said aloud without thinking. I glanced behind me in case the question offended him.
“You could say that all the remaining people here are ghosts, made so by the world that turned against us.”
“What happens when someone moves in?”
He took another step towards me, “That does not happen very often anymore, the only people who come here are tourists and contractors.”
“The tourists are usually disappointed, aren't they?”
“I would not say that. They tend to get lost in the city's individuality.”
My stomach dropped as I caught on to the second meaning in his words, “You mean, the tourists never leave, do they?”
He shook his head and took another step, he was close enough now that I could see the grim smile on his face. “It is how the city survives, smart girl.”
I knew I should have run, but I didn't want to. This place had become as sinister as the rest, but I couldn't make myself leave it. I thought of my mother, who was still downstairs, and my cousin, who was following her dreams as a new wife. I thought of my dad, who was probably being seduced by his boss, and I knew I didn't want to be like the life I was leaving behind.
“I want to stay, but I won't be a tourist.”
He nodded in recognition, “I understand. You are smart, and will fit in here.” He reached out his hand, in a charming manner.
I took a deep breath, sure of my decision, before taking his hand.
“But, I must warn you,” he said, “the deeper you get, the more lost you become.”
Right before the wedding, my father had a sudden business meeting to attend in New Cape Town, and he was hoping that he could get a promotion. His boss was hoping she could get a new bed partner. So, it was just me and mom walking through the streets of old Town to the wedding.
Old Cape Town is a labyrinth of cobblestone streets and brick buildings, looking much too old to be standing. Some streets are so narrow you can spread your arms and run your fingers along opposite walls, and some streets are so wide thirty people can stand side by side and still have wiggle room.
I ran my fingers along the cold brick, as my mother hurried me along.
“Be careful not to get your dress dirty,” she would say as she marched along, the click of her heals echoing around me. She made sure she was unaware of her surroundings, because I knew she didn't want to think about where she was.
“Careful of that puddle!” she cried as I stopped mid-stride and looked down at my feet. Sadly, my mother's idea of a puddle was a tiny splash of water. I easily stepped over it.
As I looked at the ground, I did notice there were puddles about. But, when I looked up at the sky, it was clear and sunny. “Did it rain earlier?” I asked mom.
She shook her head, “It's been sunny all week, you know that.” Although, she didn't seem to notice that she told me to watch for puddles.
I looked at the dark brick that surrounded me, it did look like it had recently rained. But, I never heard of it raining here. The buildings and the roads were dark, like trees soaked after a storm. I could even see small patches of fuzzy moss peaking out from corners.
Downtown of old Cape Town isn't what you'd expect. There are almost no shops, too many inns and an over abundance of churches. Churches here are ancient brick giants, standing five-hundred feet tall. Each church seemed to embody the town, old and maze-like.
We arrived at an intersection with four churches on either corner. But, before I could look at the others, mom pulled me into a gothic cathedral.
Everyone was there; my aunts and uncles stood around awkwardly, making conversation and trying to forget the church they were in. My cousins stood in a corner, all dressed in pastels and bright colours. They looked at me and raised their eyebrows.
I looked down at my dress, it certainly wasn't a rosy pink or a soft lavender. It was long, shimmering gold. Much more bold than my cousins could bare.
I sat down near a group of adults and looked around. Even with the sun coming in the windows, it looked dark. But, it had the potential to be beautiful if there was more light. Something also caught my attention: the fact that the ceiling was hundreds of feet high, yet everyone's voices were muted and had no echo.
* * *
“Why don't you go exploring?” Rose said as she walked up to me after the wedding.
I shook my head, “Mother would kill me if I left, and I'd probably get lost.” Not that I thought that was a bad thing, it just related back to leaving in the first place. If I was gone for more than five minutes, there would be hell to pay.
Rose smiled, “That's why I love this town. It's so easy to get lost, but the deeper you go the more you find what you've been looking for.”
I just looked at her in awe. If she had said that to anyone else in the family, they would have scoffed and scolded her for being so odd. But, she was my favourite cousin just for that reason; she did was she wanted, without worrying about the judging eyes of her parents.
She patted my shoulder, “Go on. I can keep your mom busy for a while.”
I got up from my chair as Rose went to distract my mother. Wasting no time, I walked over to a door at the side of the room. I looked back at mom one last time, to see her gabbing with her sister, unaware that her daughter was leaving. I left her.
The inner hallways of the church were much darker than the rooms that were being occupied by the wedding. So dark, in fact, that I had to keep my hand on one wall so I didn't run into it.
A tiny breath of a draft danced along my arm, ushering me further into the dark. My hand found a wooden railing and my foot found a staircase. The wood underneath my foot groaned and creaked, but felt sturdy.
I stopped for a moment, hearing noise above me. I looked up, and the tiny window gave me just enough light to see the flight of stairs winding up and up. If I squinted the right way, it looked like there was a shadow standing a few flights up.
Slowly taking off my shoes, I padded up the stairs, trying to be as quiet as I could in case there really was someone there.
Quick footsteps echoed down to me, moving upward. This proved two things; There was a person up there, and they knew I was here.
I attempted to follow, jumping two stairs at a time. I hissed curses at the dress that limited my speed. Whoever it was, was long gone, but there was only one door at the top of the stairs.
The door opened with a tiny squeak, but I hid behind it, in case whoever it was, was angry. I poked my head into the room. It looked like it hadn't been used in ages. I assumed there would be dust on the wood floor, but all I could see was dust hovering in mid-air. It didn't float to the floor like dust would; it only seemed to swirl around slowly, as if it were dancing.
As soon as I stepped into the room, all the dust fell to the floor, causing me to flinch. The room was large, and again, looked darker than it should have. Each corner of the room was a dark and mysterious cave, but one in particular held a shadowy figure.
They were facing the wall, but even if they were facing me, I wouldn't easily see their face. I hesitated, recalling what my mother used to say about strangers. Even though I had heard about incidents of people going missing in other towns, old Cape Town never seemed to make the news with crime. Whatever made the news was usually another business going bankrupt, or the plans to demolish a church– though the plans never actually did anything.
The figure mumbled, inaudible to me. They didn't look at me or turn around. “What?” I asked, not moving from my position by the door.
“You should not be here,” they said louder, turning to me. I still couldn't see them very well, but I was sure it was a man.
“I'm not stealing anything,” I said, “and I wouldn't have come here if you hadn't run away.”
I could hear him breathing loudly until he said, “Do you know what happens when people come here?” When I shook my head, he continued, “When people from the outside go places they should not, the town starts to crumble.”
I shrugged, “I like this place better than my own home.”
“How so? No one likes this town, anymore.”
I shrugged again, “Because this is the only place that has secrets but no lies, I guess.”
“You are smarter than most,” he said, hesitating before continuing, “Actually, most people from the outside do not bother to explore outside of their designated area.” He stepped out of the shadows, and looked surprisingly younger than be sounded. His skin was chalk-like under the grey light coming in from the windows, and worsened by his dark hair.
“Are you a ghost?” I said aloud without thinking. I glanced behind me in case the question offended him.
“You could say that all the remaining people here are ghosts, made so by the world that turned against us.”
“What happens when someone moves in?”
He took another step towards me, “That does not happen very often anymore, the only people who come here are tourists and contractors.”
“The tourists are usually disappointed, aren't they?”
“I would not say that. They tend to get lost in the city's individuality.”
My stomach dropped as I caught on to the second meaning in his words, “You mean, the tourists never leave, do they?”
He shook his head and took another step, he was close enough now that I could see the grim smile on his face. “It is how the city survives, smart girl.”
I knew I should have run, but I didn't want to. This place had become as sinister as the rest, but I couldn't make myself leave it. I thought of my mother, who was still downstairs, and my cousin, who was following her dreams as a new wife. I thought of my dad, who was probably being seduced by his boss, and I knew I didn't want to be like the life I was leaving behind.
“I want to stay, but I won't be a tourist.”
He nodded in recognition, “I understand. You are smart, and will fit in here.” He reached out his hand, in a charming manner.
I took a deep breath, sure of my decision, before taking his hand.
“But, I must warn you,” he said, “the deeper you get, the more lost you become.”
