Beyond Doubt: Whispers of the Unseen - Chapter 77

Welcome to my seemingly endless journey.
A trip that will take you to places I might have visited many moons ago.
It´s a tale that came back to me when I meditated on one of my past lives. A life I told you about in my unbelievable true story.

As promised in that story I will now share this story with you.

Chapter 77

After staring for a long time, I realize that if the steps on the other side are cut out of the wall, they would not be visible to someone standing there on the edge of that gorge. I sink onto my stomach and slowly move forward just enough so that my head and shoulders hang beyond the edge of the chasm above the depths.

A few meters to my right is the answer. There are also steps cut into the rock on this side and these run in the same direction as the step on the opposite side. I stand up and wave upstairs. Reiko has been watching me for some time, and I feel that he wants to leave. I step over the edge onto the first step. All faces turn white for a moment, until the shock gives way to a cheer.

While the rest descend, I carefully descend the stairs. The steps are wide enough that I do not have to be very anxious about the depth on my right side. Still, I try to stay close to the wall. After all, I have no idea how long this staircase has not been used. It is quite possible that wind and rain have eroded the hardness of her steps.

The stairs make a gentle bend, behind which the solution has to lie. Where does this lead? I can't imagine that this staircase goes hundreds of meters into the depths, and then finally ends up at the water at the foot of the wall. Fortunately, I don't have to wait long for the answer. After taking the bend, there is a narrow, but at first glance still relatively intact bridge.

Thick braided ropes, together with some wooden planks, form a connection with the other side. It has clearly been subject to erosion. Many pieces of wood are missing, but the rope is so thick and apparently of such quality that despite being exposed to the elements for decades, it appears barely weathered.

The rope is dry and hard, yet flexible and strong. I can't imagine what it must have been made of to still have such power after so many years, but I am very happy with it. I give one of the bottom rope cables a hard tug. Two wooden planks, which seem to be solid and look reliable at first glance, have managed to disguise their age well, but now have to show their color and collapse into the depths. Now the bridge is almost stripped of all its wood, but the rope has not even cracked.

Although my confidence in the work of my ancestors, at least as long as no one can prove otherwise, I assume so for the time being, has grown after this simple test. Still, I plan to wait for Retsj to put this bridge through a final test.

Retsj´s strength does not break the ropes, which seems sufficient to me to attempt the crossing. To avoid taking unnecessary risks, I tie a rope around my waist. The gap isn't wide, probably about seven or eight large steps, so if I fall I won't be crushed against the mountain.

With the rope securely around my waist and Retsj holding the end, I start the bridge. The ropes give way under my feet, and I feel a slight sway with every movement I make. The bridge does not budge. The water is far below me, but I have all the confidence in Retsj. No matter what happens to the bridge, it will lift my weight up the wall with ease.

I make it to the other side without any problem and turn to my friends, who are watching this spectacle intently. Reiko laughs: “You need come back, you forgot your packing,” he jokes with relief.

The horses have been left at the top of the gorge. Reiko has temporarily tied them to a rock, since we can't take them with us. Now that we know that the other side is feasible, a place has to be quickly found for them where any pursuers will not see them. As soon as the pack is over the bridge, Reiko and Cabilah immediately take charge of this as twilight could spread across this area at any moment.

As I walk back onto the beach, I understand why the stories about the old country still live on. The green landscape against the red-yellowish mountain wall. The ascending vegetation of marram grass and low crops to the trees that grow more towards the gorge and that immensely long mountain wall that limits the horizon. There is something majestic about it; if this small piece of earth belongs to us, we will honor and manage it.

As soon as I wake up I feel I am drawn to the water and while getting undressed, a leather folder falls out of my clothes. It is a wonder the soldiers have not found it. On the other hand, they have only quickly sensed whether I am carrying a concealed weapon somewhere and have not been looking for valuables. It is no longer the questions that stimulate my curiosity, but the first place has now been taken over by this small stack of texts preserved in leather.