The City Below

Most people passed by the old fountain in the town square without a second glance. It was cracked, old and dry half swallowed up by vines. The kids would climb up on it on hot summer days and take selfies with their friends. Teenagers would spray it with their names and different random colors in the Fall. By winter it was just another grey eye-sore that nobody in town knew what to do with, so there it stood in all of it cracked and spray painted glory for all to ignore.

But on the night of my seventeenth birthday I noticed something that nobody else seemed to, the fountain was humming. It was not a loud hum but a faint vibration under my shoes. When I touched it with my fingers it vibrated more, a gentle vibration under my hand. I brushed back the vines and pressed my ear to the fountain’s mostly moss stone. A low endless cord filled the air which sounded like a giant cello.

Nobody saw me climb into the dry basin. Nobody saw me tap the inside walls, listening. And nobody saw me when I found the hollow spot. There was no handle, no latch, just a stone that moved under my hand with a soft click. In the middle of the basin the bottom split open like a cracked egg which revealed a narrow staircase which spiraled down into darkness.

I hesitated, of course, I did. Only an idiot would go down a secret staircase possibly leading to nowhere hidden in a dry basin in a fountain in the middle of town. That was not me. Nope, I was no idiot.

But, curiosity has never been reasonable.

I climbed down. I guess I was a curious idiot. The air smelled strange but not damp or moldy as I thought it would smell but more like a metallic smell which reminded me of rain or iron. The further down I went the louder the humming sound became. The humming was so loud it started to vibrate through my whole body.

After about thirty steps the staircase ended at the cavern. I gasped when I looked at the city which it led me to. The buildings were twisted up from the ground like crystal formations which were translucent with soft silver light. The streets were paved with dark smooth stones. Delicate tall trees lined the streets. Their leaves were the color of molten gold.

Above it all, high on a rocky ledge, a tower. Its peak vanished into the mist. I stepped forward like a moth to a flame. There were no people, no cars, no signs of life other than the trees. But, there was that sound of the endless hum which still vibrated beneath my feet and now vibrated through the stones and the silver air.

The town’s central hall was huge and circular with a pool of black water at the center. Above the tall hall hovered a small sphere of silver light which pulsed slowly like a heartbeat.

I moved closer.

In the reflection of the water I saw people. Tall graceful people with eyes like stars. They moved through the city laughing and singing. Most of all they were living. But, when I looked up from the water the city was empty.

I brushed my fingers around the sphere and in that moment a thousand images burst into my mind all at once. The city was vibrant and alive. The fall of a shadow from above revealed a city being buried, hidden and sealed away. It lay dormant in hopes that one day someone would find it again.

Someone with a kind heart.

I staggered backwards, not sure what was happening or what to think. The humming had changed. Now it sounded like a loud question.

Are you the one?

I didn’t know what that meant. I also didn’t know who had said it or what I was supposed to say. I only knew that this was some strange stuff and it felt like the city was waking up.

The lights flickered along the streets outside. The trees started to rustle. Windows started to glow.

And then I heard footsteps. I turned around quickly. A figure stood in the doorway. I felt like I was in an episode of the “Twilight Zone.” The figure was very tall and wore a dark blue robe and had silver tattoos winding up and down their arms. Their eyes reminded me of two moons, shining through the darkness.

“You heard the song?” They asked. Their voices were like music and thunder mixed together. “And you answered?”

“I..I just found some stairs. I know nothing about any music.” I stammered. “I don’t even know where in the twilight zone I am. What is this place?”

The figure smiled a kind smile. “You listened and that is all that matters.”

“Listened to what? All I heard was some vibrations that sounded like some new wave music my parents used to tell me about and swore they used to play for me when I was a baby. Of course, I don’t remember that. But, the music you are talking about I know nothing about.”

I stepped back as more figures appeared from behind him stepping from the mist. It looked like dozens of them and then hundreds, each one as luminous and strange as the first one.

The city no longer was empty. It was filling up quickly.

“We’d been sleeping.” The first figure said. “Waiting for the right soul, the right person to awaken us.”

I swallowed hard. “Am I supposed to be the right person? I am the soul that you were waiting for? Is that what you’re telling me? So now what happens?” I was confused.

“You are a part of us now. “ They said simply.

“So do I have to stay here forever and turn into whatever you are? I would rather not. I have candles to blow out on my birthday cake. My parents are probably wondering where I am and staying in this twilight zone alternate universe is not going to work for me.”

“No, you don’t have to stay here. Your presence helped us to remember and to wake up.”

“Okay, cause I was hoping that this was going to be some body snatching type of thing like in the movies.”

The silver sphere lit up again, brighter, faster and filled the room with a dazzling bright light. The humming became a chorus of voices lifting the cavern into sound and the colors of life.

Before I knew it they were lifting me up and carrying me back up the stairs to my town now that their city had come back to life with laughter and song.

Although I never went back there I never forgot the city below.