Andariasmeni, the Buildings and her Friends

By Konstantina Koraki

“Why do all these people want to climb on the buildings?”

“They don't want it, it’s being imposed on them.”

“What does this mean? If you object to something you just don't do it.”

“Life used to be simple, but we made it very complicated.”

“But we should react! Why are we so obedient?

“We tried back then, but things were so difficult...”

“Back then? When? Do you mean...”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Konstantina Koraki
• Release date: Jan 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310745355

Konstantina Koraki

Konstantina Koraki lives in Athens, Greece. "Andariasmeni, the Buildings and her Friends" is her first novel. She likes fantasy, surreal fantasy, mystery, sci-fi etc. “One day a book was read to me, when I was a child, I was told about a story so original and fine. Three little animals set forth at a different time, to go to the woods, having no one to say goodbye. They came to a glade, in front of a huge tree, it had a hole inside, which get us to our story's gist. The little animals were hesitant, they didn't know what they would find, the two decided not to go on, they thought security was right. The third, who was strange but at heart was just the same decided to enter the trunk, reveal what the wood may contain."

Book preview

Andariasmeni, the buildings and her friends

By Konstantina Koraki

Illustration

Alexandros Korakis

Text copyright 2012 Konstantina Koraki

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Contents

1. The dreams

2.The buildings

3. Stories of a whale

4. Poetry and a captain.

5. Her friends

6. A fairytale

7. You came at the right moment.

8. The world of the climb.

9. The plumage

10. Efthalia remembers

11. We are going to touch reality.

12. A bizarre salvation army

13. A chessboard and a song

14. Fear

15. A serious mask, a joyful one

16. Together

17. Running fast, standing still.

18. When we cough we go cough, cough...

19. Extraordinary doors and a hem.

20. Everything is already set in motion.

21. Measurements and the tribes.

22. Safenia. Xi-Ni. The moments.

23. Disbelief A dance.

24. In many hardships you will be involved…

25. About the author and the illustrator

1. The dreams

The name Andariasmeni comes from the Greek word antara : It's the atmosphere caused by heavy clouds before a rainstorm.

Andariasmeni opened her eyes and saw a closed door in front of her. She hesitated. She had the choice not to open it; perhaps it would be better this way, if she didn’t find out. A few seconds went by. Or was it a whole hour? There are moments when time loses its normal pace. She decided that she shouldn't think anymore. She opened the door and saw a giant bird... or was it perhaps a hippogriff? No, hippogriffs didn’t look like that. This one had wings, feathers like every other bird but its size was extraordinary. It looked old and weather-beaten. Its feathers were not in good shape. They weren't even pointing in the right direction. They were turned towards its head. What was the meaning of this? Their direction was not the normal one, towards the tail. Its feathers turned towards the head, they looked outside the ordinary. It might have looked ridiculous but it didn't. It was a proud and gracious, huge bird. Its plumage was white with light blue at the edges. It looked deep into her eyes. It didn't leave her time to think, nor did it introduce itself.

Ride me it said.

By the tone of its voice she realized that it would not take no for an answer. She looked at it for a few seconds and she obeyed. She climbed on it without hesitation and they went on to fly high. Really high. Above seas and mountains. The wind blew against her cheeks and her eyes went wet. Everything looked very small from such height, things looked like they were one, no visible lines separating them. There were no houses, no streets, no towns; they were all just one seamless surface. It was like they were fading away, not coping with the distance. Suddenly, as they were flying over an endless sea, the bird told her calmly.

It's time for you to go down...

But why? asked Andariasmeni.

She felt strange. The bird didn’t speak at all.

There was no answer. The bird leaned its back gently and Andariasmeni began to fall... She was falling from very high feeling helpless. She decided to close her eyes, filled with tears because of the speed. The bird wouldn't want to harm me, was the only thing she ever had the time to think. She fell into the sea with a splash. She didn't hurt herself, she just felt cold. She sank deeper and deeper, fast. She had no time to realize what she was seeing. She saw shapes, creatures and fish. Some of them were very weird. They weren’t fish; she didn't know exactly what to call them. She didn't even have the time to observe them thoroughly. Then, she got to the bottom of the sea. She heard voices...Human voices? Voices of sea creatures or were they the ghosts of drowned men? They had been expecting her; that was what they told her. She was their Queen. She denied it but they insisted. They caught her, put her on a high throne and gave a big feast for her. They celebrated joyously, they were all in ecstasy. Their Queen had arrived; they had been expecting her for so long. Queen Andariasmeni was looking around startled... She told them that she wasn't the one they had been expecting, they must have made a mistake. She was just a girl, who didn't even know why she was there.

Our Queen is humble! The creatures screamed all together and danced wildly celebrating her arrival. They didn't pay any attention to her words, she had arrived at the right moment and they didn't intend to let her go. They so badly needed someone to confirm what they had on their minds and Andariasmeni was the right person. She was their Queen. They put a majestic crown on her head with shiny little starfish and colorful seaweed instead of pearls and other precious stones. They put a long, deep blue cloak decorated with drops around her shoulders.

What are these drops? she asked them. They shine so much and some of them seem to be dancing on my cloak.

They are tears, our Queen! They are the tears of our people who have been expecting you for so long and were in pain because of your absence.

Andariasmeni’s cloak and its tears...

A tribe of sea creatures was trying to live happily but it was difficult. The creatures were fighting with each other and ruined their lives, usually over silly things, silly probably to someone else, but not to them. Sometimes it was about the place each creature had at the bottom of the sea. Every creature had its own place where it could rest, think or curl up to sleep. It was really important for each and every one to have its own place to rest. Everything would have been very nice and neat, if it hadn’t become an issue. Some places were better or at least that's what the creatures thought, and that caused quarrel. Little by little the creatures lost their smile and their good mood. The only thing that mattered to them was their places and how they could maintain them or how they could take other creatures’ places away. This caused unhappiness to the tribe.

The old man of the tribe, understanding that the situation was rather unfortunate and would bring about disaster, decided to do something. He had tried so many times himself to explain to them that those things weren't important, because they caused dissension to the tribe, but he didn't achieve anything. Then he thought something up. He ordered the mermaids to make a cloak with threads from the finest seaweed. The cloak had a deep, blue color. Some parts were a lighter blue. The old man took the cloak and gathered the creatures around him. He told them with a very worried and sad look on his face that after so many years of living at the bottom of the sea he realized that their tribe had come to a stalemate. He revealed to the tribe that he wouldn't be with them in the future because he was getting too old. Nevertheless, another creature from far away would take his place, a creature which didn't belong to their world but would come in order to help them find their lost essence. When she comes, everything will be solved. No quarrels will arise. He said she because it would be a woman, a girl to be exact, with long unbraided hair which would flap in the air according to her mood.

The creatures were shocked. They wanted their Queen as soon as possible. The story made quite an impression on them and they wanted to know when their Queen would come and how they could make her come sooner. The old man looked at the cloak for a while. He was in deep thought. He had an idea.

You should all give your tears to the cloak. That is how our Queen will hear your sorrow and come to find us.

The old man concluded his speech with a tear. It was the first tear which was poured onto the cloak. He left the cloak at the centre of the bottom of the sea and told them that whenever they wanted to fight with each other, they should come over to the cloak, so they could free themselves from rage through their tears. This would bring peace to the tribe and at the same time they would bring their Queen close to

them. The creatures cried. They cried a lot. Some of them were crying with sobs, others cried quietly. However they were pleased. There was hope for them. Some creatures forced themselves to cry. They thought that this would make their Queen come to them sooner. The old man explained to them but it was of no use. They needed true tears.

Look, he told them. Some of the tears are staying on the cloak. These are the real ones. Only these stay on, the rest slide away and blend with the water.

This was true. Some of the tears stayed on the cloak and shined. They looked like diamonds in the shape of a shimmering tear. Several tears didn't stay, they just slipped into the water. The old man sighed with relief. He had to find tricks to gain time.

Andariasmeni listened to the story thoughtfully. It was true that the cloak had little diamonds shaped like tears which shined.

But how could you feel sorrow for someone you don't even know if he or she exists?

Our Queen, in our tribe, legend had it that someday a girl with long, wavy hair would fall from the sky. The ripple of her hair would depend on her mood. We believed that legend with every part of our soul and now our hopes came true, since you came here.

Andariasmeni noticed that her hair waved back vibrantly.

But I don't know what to do! What must a Queen do? You have to tell me!

Our Queen doesn’t have to do anything specific! As long as she exists among us, it is enough!

They continued their frenzied dance and they changed places constantly. It seemed that it didn't matter anymore because they had their Queen. Nothing was more important than that. Their places were not an issue anymore; everyone could use someone else's place if they wished.

However, this didn't last long. Perhaps it lasted just for a while, like a deep breath. The sea creatures changed their minds and decided to rebel. This simply happened without any significant thought. Someone planted the idea in their minds that they hadn't been happy because of their Queen. Because of her, many of the creatures had given their places to other creatures. They couldn't understand whether they had been really happy. Someone asked whispering if they had known what happiness really meant. Maybe they were happier now. The sea creatures who have wanted to usurp Andariasmeni's place made him disappear and then they tried to attack her. They claimed with certainty that the problem with their places was her fault.

Andariasmeni was saved in the last minute. She was swallowed by a whale. The whale sucked her in with kindness as it had been expecting her. We should give credit to the whale for this kindness. Andariasmeni stayed in there together with a seagull and a dolphin. How did these creatures end up there? No one knows, maybe it’s not important. Andariasmeni came out in the light suddenly. The whale was fished and cut open. A lot of pictures of a startled girl, a dolphin and a seagull -who was a philosopher- were taken. The seagull was wise in a way, he had seen many things and no one paid any attention to him. This made him significant and rare. Andariasmeni got up, she didn't want to give interviews. With an annoyed expression on her face, she pushed the people around her. Suddenly, she slipped and fell down. A man with a top hat took her by the hand. He asked her to join his circus. In the circus there was a big tiger and it would be nice for her to meet Andariasmeni. The tiger was looking at them through her cage, but she was feeling bored. She didn't care for them. One day the tiger found her cage door open and tried to eat them. It opened her big mouth towards Andariasmeni and she...

2. The buildings

She woke up soaked in sweat. She realized it had been a nightmare and soon came back to earth. Her dream couldn't be compared to what would follow. The nightmare would start in a while and was lying in front of her... She looked outside her window with a tough despair in her eyes. Every morning she was faced with the same scenery: this intolerable city where everything kept repeating itself. Everything was happening again and again without any change, without any purpose.

Lots of high buildings with strange colors were standing in front of her. Unspecified, dim, grey, intolerable colors. Their surface made them look like a big blur. When you looked at them, you would feel something unpleasant. As if something weighed you down. But still, you couldn't help looking at them. Even if you looked away to avoid them, your eyes would turn there again in a few seconds. It was like a giant magnet. Each building had its own energy, its own magnetic power. It had the ability to attract anyone within some distance towards its direction. The energy of each building was becoming one with the energy of the other buildings and the result was an eerie atmosphere. You didn't have to pay attention to them but at the same time you couldn't ignore them. They were always there and they challenged you, each one in a different way. But the result was still the same. The life of the people of this town was connected to the buildings, in a different way for each person.

When Andariasmeni was younger, she used to look at them through her window for hours. At first the buildings tried to charm her. They were imposing, their surface was as shiny as possible and they nodded to her so that she would come closer. You could say that they even smiled at her with an icy, disgusting smile. There are times when smiles can be disgusting. It’s like when someone says something really mean to you in a sweet way and with a fake smile in order to offend you. The same was with the buildings, they smiled at you but inside them there was nothing which resembled a warm smile. Andariasmeni felt very unpleasant and didn't smile back. She looked at them very seriously. Her lips were a straight line. Her eyes were silent but sparkling.

No, she said quietly. You can't trick me!

As soon as she said that, the buildings lost their shine and became dreary. Grey. Ugly. They were just like before, tall and imposing, but very ugly. From that day on, whenever they saw Andariasmeni at her window looking at them, they were acting as if they were competing in a contest of ugliness. At times, when she would look at them intensely and with contempt, they would suddenly get darker. Like grey mud. Sometimes they looked blurry, as if they had no particular form. An intense, piercing sound would come from them, an unbearable sound. Andariasmeni would shut her ears and keep looking at them, determined to do something. The buildings would continue to unfold their ugliness. They had a lot of ugliness inside and maybe this gave them comfort. They realized that Andariasmeni had known what they kept inside and they did not even try to hide it. This girl was not like most people in this town and they sure didn't like that. Everyone had to be under their control or at least had to acknowledge their superiority. They didn't want anyone to be different. When someone differed, several actions were taken.

Outside the buildings you would see many people climbing on them, trying to reach the highest windows. They were trying to get in through the windows as if it was their most important goal. It was true that, in their society, climbing on the buildings was really important. At any cost. It was the only way for someone to be considered a worthy member of society and be admired. That’s why everyone tried to climb with every means they had. Some people climbed- these were usually beginners or people with the habit to embark on something with no prior thinking- and they were the ones who fell instantly. As soon as they got on the window ledge, they slipped or were hit, let's just say by...accident, by someone who was climbing near them or was a little higher. All the same, their attitude didn’t change. They fell and then they continued with their habit, again and again. Perhaps they didn't want to go any further. They would rather make an unfinished effort without getting particularly tired so they could tell their friends a story afterwards. Others climbed with ropes and nails so they could get up on the walls more efficiently. But this did not have good results. Whenever they climbed up a little more than the others who were just climbing, if they hammered the nail a little harder than usual, a moan could be heard. As if a person was in pain and was screaming. Did