The Red Conundrum

By Lakshitha D

“Solo vivir, please”, Rhydian spoke up in a sharp tone, her red hair

bouncing behind her death stare. That was predictable because I

knew she couldn’t take anymore of Evelyn’s drama. Neither could I.

“What language is that?” Evelyn asked in the most innocent way

possible. “You would’ve known if you had attended the Spanish

classes your mom put you in, instead of doing your stupid ‘not at all

cringe’ photoshoots. It means ‘Just live’ by the way. Thank me later”

She smirked at Eve and continued walking the way she usually does,

taking short quick steps.

“Back me up here, Elle! Why are you silent?”, Eve opened her mouth

wide in shock and faced me. I am definitely not arguing with Rhydian

for Eve. I myself found her annoying for the past 2o minutes. We are

heading to a coin show which really interests me and Rhyd but

apparently not Eve. She’s been complaining all the while about how

we could’ve watched a movie instead.

“Umm, I think she’s right Eve. You know you should take me as a role

model in case of studies.” I said, proud of myself. I always scored the

first mark in class. She pouted at me as though she had done nothing

and tagged along, trying to catch up with our speed. Rhyd stared at

me and said, “Role model in studies? Oh, you mean memorizing

every single word in the book? No thanks.” I ignored her words when I

saw the building.

The tall grey pillars seemed as if they were touching the sky. The

yellow carpet fell out in between the pillars, welcoming us in elegance.

We walked in, all three of us in awe. It was all a blend of grey and

yellow inside. Eve, who was regretting her choice of coming here, five

minutes ago, was gleaming with joy. She could be so easily

manipulated with just tall buildings and good selfie-spots.

“Oh, this is crap! Shall we go to a movie instead?” Rhyd mimicked her

voice and laughed. Eve scoffed and walked around the building,

taking photos.

I walked around the glass counters. Underneath them were black

velvet cloths on which many types of coins and currencies, neatly

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packed in polythene covers, were pinned. I observed the dates and

sculptures on the coins. The paper currencies were of different sizes.

There were so many variations within each of them. Different coin

dealers were brought together here for a coin show. They all stood

behind their respective counters which held their collections and

explained the history behind them or how they developed their interest

in collecting them. I already knew half of what they were talking about

so I just avoided them and studied the coins.

My eyes wandered around the huge place and caught a faint glimmer

under a counter across the room. I walked towards the sight, trying to

see more of it. Nobody seemed to peep in that specific counter. The

man behind the counter was wearing a maroon shirt, neatly tucked in,

in his black pants. He wore a black newsboy cap, giving a final touch

to his style. His eyes met mine and it seemed as though he knew I

was wondering about the flicker of light. I reached the counter and

peeped in. My eyes widened in amusement. It was all coins, not just

ordinary coins but sparkling, unique, mind-blowing coins! They all had

a unique color. There were no paper notes. Just coins. It didn’t matter

because right now, I knew I was lost in the sight.

“Enjoying what you see, young girl?” He spoke all of a sudden. His

voice was ethereal. I looked up at him and observed his face. He had

a short mustache and a smile played in his lips. He had a long nose,

poking out of his white face. “What are these?” I asked plainly,

avoiding his question. I didn’t want to show that I am amused. He

giggled and said, “Oh, these are sweet little coins that I collected”.

“You think I don’t know that? Believe me, I know more than you think I

do. I am talking about the shine. They don’t look real”, I pointed out.

“Hmm you’ve got a smart brain, I guess. You see young lady; they are

all metal plates of unique worlds of flames and they are waiting for

you to conquer them. Don’t you want to play a little with fire?”, he

asked nonchalantly.

I glanced up at his face again. He was enigmatic. I have seen enough

movies to know that this is a dream. I pinched my wrist. Uh oh. It’s

real. “Can I touch them?”, I asked. He raised one of his eyebrows and

thought for a while. “Everything comes with a cost. What do you have

to offer me in exchange?”, he said after sometime. “1000 rupees”, I

replied confidently. I had brought that money with me to buy a pizza

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later for me and Eve but I don’t care. I just want to know more about

these metal plates.

He frowned his eyebrows and said, “That’s a little too less but

considering your age, I’ll accept it. You can touch them; the glass is

not going to be a disturbance. But remember one thing, fire can bring

light or burn the light itself and so does knowledge. It can bring

benefits or outwit your own benefits. I believe you require wisdom;

knowledge will do you no good.” I nodded my head, not paying

attention to anything after ‘I accept it’. I reached my hand and touched

the glass counter. The glass deformed into small bits and moved

aside leaving space just enough for my hand. As if this was not

enough to make me faint in surprise, the coins levitated and were now

about 5 centimeters above the velvet cloth. Each coin seemed to have

an aura surrounding them.

I grabbed the one which was giving a fiery red aura; symbolizing

passion, respect and affection as I recollect my floriography studies. It

gave out a red-light flash which made me cover my eyes. I opened

them after a couple seconds to find myself somewhere I didn’t know.

It was full of shades of red, the land; the sky; the trees, all of them.

There was not a single sound. Complete silence. The land was a tint

of bright crimson; the clouds, a sweet cherry red. Everything had its

own shade. I found a pathway before me which was the only source

of grey color. As soon as I stepped on it, the scenery before me

changed to an old white vintage house. I knocked on the door but got

no reply. I opened the door and walked in. The only furniture inside

was a turquoise old – fashioned computer. It had something typed on

the screen. I moved closer to make out the letters. It read, ‘Press

enter_’. I looked down at the keyboard and found only one button;

‘Enter_’. I clicked it without hesitation. The letters changed to another

phrase, ‘Understood. Burning it down_’.

I didn’t quite understand what it meant until I felt the room suddenly

warm. I opened the door to realize I had just given permission to burn

this whole illusionary world down somehow. The land was on fire,

turning to ashes within seconds. The clouds were all burnt already,

falling down as fine dust. I couldn’t take another step ahead.

Everything was already caught on fire. I ran back in the house and

shut the door behind me. Panting heavily, I searched the room for

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some kind of escape door. My eyes glanced at the computer once

again which was again changing its phrase. It now said, ‘Bring light or

Burn the light_’.

The coin dealer’s voice floated in my head. I looked down at the

keyboard, it had two buttons now; ‘Bring light_’ and ‘Burn the light_’ I

didn’t understand what it meant but considering the situation I found

myself in, I clicked the button that read, ‘Burn the light_’. The

computer replied with ‘Understood. Burning the light_’. I thought it was

wise to do so because the light mentioned must be the fire that had

already spread across the area. And then came the next realization

that I am totally dumb.

The fire started to spread inside the room slowly. The ‘light’ actually

referred to the color of the room which was completely white. I

panicked and returned to the computer which now said ‘Knowledge

has no light without wisdom_’. There were no buttons now. It was a

blank turquoise plate. The fire had conquered the whole room except

the place I was standing in. The computer burst into bright arctic blue

ashes and swirled above, and disappeared. The fire neared me slowly

as if trying to not hurt me. I was drenched in sweat. The tip of my long

floral frock caught on fire. I shut my eyes tight and screamed out loud

even though I knew no one is there to help me. My whole life flashed

in my head and then everything became a blur.

“Elle! Elle! Come on, focus! Let’s grab some pizzas and then leave. I

got some good pictures but I don’t want to stay in this place

anymore.”, Eve poked my arms. I opened my eyes and found her

pulling my hands towards the food counter. Rhyd was walking beside

me. I needed some time to figure out where we were and then I

remembered everything. The coin dealer; the red coin; the computer;

the fire. Then I was here. I am alive! My eyes searched the room for

the coin dealer. The counter I had seen him in before was now

occupied by another lady in a long red floral frock, similar to mine.

She seemed enigmatic too but she had normal coins not those of the

magical type.

“Are you okay? Please don’t start with your biological terms to explain

me your mental state right now, just tell me if you’re fine or not.”, Rhyd

asked me in annoyance, pulling me out of my thoughts. “Oh, I am

good. Just a weird experience in here”, I shot a forced smile at her.

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That was a whole lot to take in and I am going to spend ages trying to

figure out what exactly happened but I know one thing for sure,

Knowledge has no light without wisdom.

By Lakshitha D