Chapter Text
Air entered the temple behind Khindrub, and the moment he stepped inside, he moved from one world… into another… a world completely different from the one he had come from.
The temple was extremely vast on the inside… as if it stretched on without end… highly organized… like an ant colony.
Air noticed a huge warning sign written in red letters in several languages, including English: Beware that the President sees you…
Air was astonished and wondered to himself: What does this mean!...
Air walked along a path paved with gravel…
On both sides of the road stretched small, beautifully shaped huts.
Behind the huts extended vast fields planted with all kinds of crops and fruit trees, so much so that Air began recalling every name he knew, yet he could not identify all the kinds of fruits he was seeing; many of them he had never seen before…
He saw flocks of boys his age, older and younger, working with tremendous energy… planting or harvesting.
He saw another group of young men working in a carpentry hut, others in a blacksmith’s hut, others in a leatherworking hut, and others in huts for… every kind of craft Air knew… and others he did not know…
A magnificent building appeared within sight…
A massive structure built over a wide area at the southern edge of the temple…
He pointed toward it and addressed Khindrub: Is that the President’s house?
Khindrub trembled for a moment as soon as he heard the President’s name, but he did not turn to give Air the slightest answer.
After walking for some time along the path of huts, Khindrub stopped and pointed to one of the huts.
Air understood that this was the place where he would settle, and there was another warning sign hanging on the wall of the hut like the one he had seen at the temple entrance…
Beware that the President sees you…..
Air entered the hut….
The hut was extremely simple… and also extremely clean, to the point that Air was amazed
by its beauty despite its simplicity, and he wondered to himself: Could a person’s home be beautiful without piles of furniture inside it…?
There was no furniture in the hut except for a neatly arranged mattress on the floor, a pillow placed on top of it, and a wooden cabinet beside the wall…. and nothing more.
Air placed the bag he had been carrying all along the journey beside his mattress. Khindrub looked at it with disapproval and extended his hand toward Air to take it….
Air said in astonishment: My bag…!
Khindrub extended his hand firmly, and Air had no choice but to hand it over in surrender.
Air took out his mobile phone and was about to call his father, but Khindrub extended his hand once again, even more firmly.
Air exclaimed regretfully as he handed him the phone:
The phone too!... How will I talk to my brothers and my friends? And what will I do in my free time? Are games forbidden here as well!
Khindrub pointed to the wooden cabinet, then left.
Air stood up and opened the cabinet, taking out clean white clothes…
He removed his clothes and put on the new garments. Despite their simplicity, he found them very comfortable. He lay down on his mattress and fell into a deep sleep after the long journey and those astonishing wonders.