As I stood
before the most underwhelming sight of my life, the legendary source of eternal
youth, I couldn't help but feel a bit cheated. Here I was, expecting the sort
of dramatic scenery you'd find on the cover of a fantasy novel, and instead, I
got a scene that wouldn't look out of place in a suburban park. A waterfall, a
brook, some rocks, and a lemon tree that was supposedly the fabled Tree of
Life. Not a single golden fruit in sight. Not even a glimpse of divine glow. And
that other tree, the one with white blossoms, was that the Tree of Death? It
looked more like it belonged in a florist's spring collection.
Above me, a
marble sphinx statue gazed down, its expression a mix of boredom and smugness.
"Seriously?" I muttered. "No fire-breathing dragon, no mystical
elf, just a statue?" I expected no answer, of course. Statues don't talk.
Except, apparently, this one did.
Its lips
twitched. I blinked. A trick of the light? Then, a sound like laughter, weaving
through the splash of water. I spun around, half-expecting to find a hidden
crowd of pranksters. But no, it was just me and the sphinx, who seemed to find
my confusion amusing.
"Yes,
you start to understand the game," a voice echoed in my mind, unmistakably
the sphinx's. "Retrieve water from the source of life. But be warned,
approach from one side to gain the elixir of life, yet approach from the other,
and you will find yourself with the most potent potion of instant death. Just
choose the right side. A simple choice, yet not so simple."
I eyed the
paths to the left and right of the brook. "That's it? No epic quest, no
heroic battles, just a left or right decision?" I scoffed. "You've
got to be kidding me."
The sphinx
chuckled again. "Oh, young seeker, sometimes the greatest challenges are
the simplest ones. And beware, the trees are merely trees. This is a game of
chance, a coin toss between life and eternal sleep."
Standing
there, I felt like a contestant on the world's most existential game show. Was
this some cosmic joke? The wisdom of the ancients reduced to a 50/50 gamble?
Then it hit
me. This was the lesson. Life isn't a neatly laid out adventure with clear
signs and predictable outcomes. It's a series of choices, each with its own
risks and uncertainties. The wisdom wasn't in finding the right path but in
making a choice and embracing its consequences, whatever they may be.
With a
shrug and a wry smile, I chose my path. Left or right? A sudden realization
struck me. The sphinx had said, "Just choose the right side. Right!"
Could the answer really be that straightforward? The enveloping silence offered
no clues. Approaching the waterfall from the right, I cautiously filled my
flask with its water. Had I overlooked something? No time for second guesses—it
was now or never. I took a sip, and... nothing happened.
"And
here is your reward," the familiar voice spoke in my mind once more.
"Now, you shall live long enough to understand whether the gift of eternal
life is truly a blessing or the worst curse imaginable." The sphinx's
laughter rang out, sounding like thousands of tiny bells, a melodious yet
ominous finale to my quest.
This experience is made with:
FANATIK Architecture to build the rocky landscape
:Fanatik Architecture: WATERFALL set
:Fanatik Architecture: RIVER BED set (Straight and Turn R are used)
:FANATIK: ROCK BOULDERS set (16 boulders in 5 textures to bring variations in a rocky landscape)
Parts of Grotto set are used together with the Cliff covers set
Trees by Little Branch:
LB_BloomingTree{Lavender}Animated
LB_LemonTreeV1
LB_PoplarTree.v2{Animated}*4Seasons
22769 - Sphinx Statue White Marble
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