it was... daydream?
— Chris... Chris, wake up, — my brother's voice breaks through drowsiness like an echo.
My eyelids slowly rise, hands instinctively reaching up to shield my eyes from the merciless summer rays. The sun here in the forest is especially bright - piercing through the tree crowns like golden spears.
— You fell asleep like a log. Didn't rest after yesterday, did you? — there's a familiar smirk in Grimm's voice.
— Such a strange dream... — I mumble, rubbing my left eye as if trying to wipe away the remnants of the vision. — A black field without a single plant around. And everything glows with azure light, as if strewn with crystals...
— What a thing to dream about, — Grimm clicks his tongue. — Come on, get up. Four more rounds before lunch, time won't wait.
Our village stands far from other settlements, and we live modestly. The whole village pooled money for an adamantium axe from the capital - without it, we couldn't cut down these terribly strong trees to expand our fields. These oaks drain all life from the surrounding soil, and even wheat won't grow near them. That's why we cut them - such is our fate. Destroying one thing to grow another.
— It takes half a year just to fell one tree, — I can't contain my anger. — Why are they so damn strong?
— Don't grumble, we have no choice. It's either us or these trees, — Grimm answers calmly, averting his gaze.
I can see he doesn't like this work either. I know that look of his - a mixture of sadness and resignation, that's why he turns away. But there's nothing to be done - time to work. Wind up, prepare, strike. Twenty-five times, then rest. And again in circles...
— Terrible heat, — I exhale, drenched in sweat.
— Tell me about it... — Grimm responds. — Hope Alice won't be late because of the heat.
Half an hour passes, it's Grimm's turn. We don't even notice when a slender silhouette of a girl with silver hair appears from behind the crown - a rare color in this region. Today she's gathered it in a tight bun and worn her favorite dark green dress, which only emphasizes her unusual hair color, creating some kind of peaceful combination.
— Right, right... — I reluctantly crawl out from under the shade of the ancient platinum oak. Its silvery bark gleams with a metallic sheen, and enormous branches quietly creak in the wind. Grimm hands me an axe - heavy, polished to mirror shine by years of work.
I should probably tell you about myself. I'm fifteen, my brother is seventeen. We're the sixth generation of woodcutters in this god-forgotten village, lost among platinum forests. The trees here are harder than steel, with bark colored like gleaming metal. Our father, like his father, and his father's father - they were all woodcutters. In these parts, you don't get to choose: born into a family of woodcutters - means you're destined to be a woodcutter. Such is our destiny.
— Sorry, I was helping Grandma Rose today, she asked me to bring cabbage from the market, — Alice rattled off apologetically.
— It's fine, don't worry about it, — Grimm replied, blushing.
"What an amazing couple," I thought, watching their warm interaction.
— Alright, let's have lunch, — Alice began spreading a blanket on the ground. — Today we have cabbage pies from grandma, dried meat, fresh bread, and milk.
— Thanks for the meal! — I clapped my hands and reached for the food.
— Likewise, — they responded in unison and started eating too.
While we ate quietly, I observed their cozy conversation. For some reason, I remembered my recent dream about people floating in the sky, but the thought was cut short by a sharp pain in my left eye.
— Are you okay? Did you get hurt during work? I have bandages, — Alice asked worriedly.
— Yeah... yeah, don't worry, my eye just itches, — I tried to reassure her.
— Yeaah, fresh lunch from Alice every day - that's wonderful, — Grimm dreamily mused, trying to change the subject. — If only the milk didn't get warm so quickly in this heat...
— I'm already trying to run to you as fast as I can. It's a half-hour walk to the village, even ice would melt in that time - it wouldn't help, — Alice noted instructively.
I suddenly remembered old Willie's story about the northern part of the forest, where supposedly glowing mushrooms grow. He said they create small ice clouds around them. Maybe it's made up... But we could check.
— Listen, I just remembered a story... — I began and shared my thoughts. — Though I'm not sure if such things even exist, so don't get your hopes up.
— Sounds intriguing, I'd love to go see, — Alice perked up. — I don't think there are any dangerous animals there, and children aren't forbidden to go.
— We could go early Sunday morning, to make it back before sunset, — Grimm unexpectedly spoke up after being quiet. — The forest is far, we'll need to follow the river so we don't get lost.
While Alice was gathering her basket, we thanked her for lunch, said goodbye, and hurried back to work - daily quota wasn't going to complete itself.
On the appointed day, we agreed to meet in the square. The morning was cool, and the fog appeared at the wrong time - it would only make finding these strange mushrooms harder. Hopefully, by the time we reach the edge of the forest, it will clear up. While I was shifting from foot to foot, two silhouettes appeared in the distance.
"Must be Grimm and Alice," I thought and slowly moved to meet them.
Meeting on the road, I saw that Alice was again in her favorite dark green dress, but today she had braided her hair into a long plait and wore a large straw hat with a silver ribbon. Grimm looked as usual - simple black shirt and pants. I noticed a basket in Alice's hands but didn't have time to ask.
— We'll be there all day, so I brought some food for the journey, — she calmly explained. — And we can test how well these mushrooms cool things. If we find them, of course.
On our way to the northern gates, we left the village and, keeping along the river, reached the forest after several hours of leisurely walking. I took the basket from Alice - she'd already done enough with preparing lunch. Walking behind them, I watched her cheerful gait: she kept hopping around, gathering some medicinal herbs that I knew absolutely nothing about.
— Curious one, must take after her mother, — Grimm mused, walking beside me. — Born into a family of healers, so she has to be interested in all these plants.
— That's how life is here. Even the feudal lords' children inherit their parents' work. No escaping it, — I replied with what felt like a rehearsed phrase. Grimm clearly didn't like my words - a flash of despair crossed his face.
— The sun's not at its peak yet - we have plenty of time to look for mushrooms, no need to rush, — I added, continuing to watch Alice.
Soon we found ourselves on a path leading into the cool forest. There were enough gaps between the crowns for sunlight, so we didn't bring lanterns - we'd make it back before sunset.
— Almost forgot to mention, — Alice began cautiously. — According to village rules, we're not allowed to cross the burned territory. It's seriously punishable, though I don't know exactly how. Mom warned me before leaving, but even she doesn't really know why. People just don't cross that border, the rule existed before we were born.
— Strange, first time I'm hearing this, — Grimm responded. — But okay, we're here for mushrooms anyway, let's not risk it.
I silently processed what I'd heard: "It is strange indeed, even the elder never mentioned this. But better to heed the warning just in case."
Entering the forest, we followed the beaten path. Alice kept stopping to gather some plants, while Grimm and I discussed ways to speed up forest cutting and kept an eye on her to make sure she didn't wander too far. "Easy to get lost here," the thought crossed my mind when I first saw this grove, but I quickly dismissed it - "We're following a path after all."
Time passed, we'd ventured quite deep into the forest, but found no trace of those mushrooms. Alice was starting to lose patience.
— We've wasted so much time, and there's not a single mushroom in sight. It's actually frustrating, — she snapped irritably.
While Grimm tried to calm her down, I sat by a tree, looking at the sky. Gray clouds were gathering into a large mass.
— Guys, it's going to rain soon, we should head back, — I said. — We knew we might not find anything. No need to be upset, let's go back. The first drops caught us on our way. There was nowhere to hide - only trees around. We quickened our pace, trying to stay under the canopy to somehow escape the rain.
– There's a clearing between the trees! – shouted Alice, pointing somewhere to the left. – Maybe we'll find somewhere to hide!
Making our way through the wet undergrowth, we burst into a small clearing and froze in amazement. The tall grass was glowing with blue light, and in the air... were those snowflakes? Looking closer, I realized - the raindrops were freezing before reaching the ground.
– It can't be... – whispered Grimm. – Those mushrooms...
Parting the grass, I saw oddly shaped mushrooms emitting a blue glow. Everything around them was covered with a thin crust of ice.
– I thought the elders made up this story for children's tales, but here it is... – Grimm said slowly, not believing his eyes.
– I wonder if the effect will remain if we cut them? Let's check, – I said, taking out my knife.
Carefully grasping the cap, I cut the mushroom at its base. The cold instantly burned my hand, and the raindrops falling on the mushroom turned into snowflakes right in the air.
– It's like holding an ice cube, – I said in amazement.
Grimm and Alice watched curiously, hesitating to touch the mushroom. It seemed the effect remained after cutting, and the glow might have even intensified from the water.
– I think they're safe to collect, nothing strange is happening, – I encouraged them.
Grimm looked at me skeptically but nodded, took out his knife, and carefully began cutting mushrooms, gathering them together.
Despite our soaked clothes, we were excited about the find - now we could preserve food in the heat and enjoy cold milk.
– Let's collect a few, test how long the effect lasts, then decide what to do, – I began, but suddenly heard a strange sound behind the trees. – Hey, did you hear that?
– Hear what? The rain's too loud, I can barely hear you, – Grimm responded.
– I definitely heard someone's voice beyond the trees. I'll go check, you keep collecting mushrooms, – I said and moved forward with the basket and knife in hand.
My head started spinning again. For the past week, I'd been haunted by strange dreams - in them, I wandered through a black field while a gentle voice called to me, leading me somewhere. Each time I woke up in cold sweat, not understanding what it was. And now... this whisper... so familiar...
Pushing through the grass and branches, I wondered: "Strange, where did all this foliage come from? There was just a clearing here." My hands were shaking - either from excitement or from the flood of dream memories.
I pushed aside the last branch - and froze. Before me stretched the very field from my nightmares: black earth covered with mushrooms. Not a single living plant - just an endless sea of blue radiance, like a lake of glowing crystals. Within this field, a mysterious light pulsed.
I stared mesmerized at this unearthly beauty when I heard that same voice from the center of the field: "Victor... Victor..." The same timbre, the same intonation as in my dreams. My heart beat faster - I felt both curious and afraid to go there.
Without realizing what I was doing, I stepped into the cloud of azure mushrooms, reached almost to the middle - and then my left eye was pierced with unbearable pain. I fell to my knees with a scream. I tried to call my friends, but before my eyes appeared the text "code 0471: border limit". That's the last thing I remember before losing consciousness from the pain.
— I heard a scream. Could it be Chris? — Alice asked anxiously.
— I don't know. He said he wanted to check something, but I didn't catch where he went. Let's go look, — Grimm responded cautiously.
We moved in the direction Chris had gone. Strange that he hadn't explained where he was heading. Alice silently nodded and continued pushing through the dense foliage.
After a while, we came to a clearing and froze - before us was a steep mountain slope, and on the ground lay an overturned basket.
— Where's Chris?... — Alice whispered and burst into tears. Grimm silently embraced her. At that moment, the rain stopped, and the first rays of sunlight broke through the clouds.
— Let's look for him a bit longer, and if we don't find him by sunset - we'll get help from the adults in the village, — Grimm suggested in a trembling voice.
— O-okay, — Alice sniffled, wiping away tears.
A session termination notice appeared before my eyes. I removed the virtual reality glasses, and the teacher monitoring the immersed class immediately addressed me: – Victor, why did you disconnect before everyone else? What happened?
– I don't know... We were in some village, and then, after I went beyond the gates - I don't remember anything, – I answered, not noticing tears flowing from my left eye.
– Very strange, – the teacher said with surprise, adjusting his round glasses. – According to the program, we should be studying Roman history, the scenario has been tested many times by different students, there shouldn't be any errors. I'll save your recording for further analysis. Write down the homework for next lesson and you can go.
– Thanks... Goodbye, – I mumbled and, gathering my things, left the classroom.
In the summoned taxi, I flew through Seventh Avenue. Lifeless buildings with neon signs flashed by outside the window. My head was slightly dizzy - probably the effects of abruptly exiting the immersion.
Tonight I'll dream of that forest again. I know this for certain because I've been having this dream for many years. But before I was always just an observer, and today, for the first time, I became a participant.
And somehow I'm sure - this won't be the last time.