City of Masks (Chapter 6)

A lone masked man emerged.

“Svool, xsrowivm” he spoke.

“Stand back!” Renei exclaimed. “I’m armed with a can opener and I’m not afraid to use it!”

The man however stepped forward making Renei tremble as he approached near towards us. He raised his hand over Renei.

“Ivozc. Ivozc. R’n mlg tlmmz svig blf” he said while patting Renei.

“Renei” I said. “He doesn’t seem to want to hurt us.”

“It’s a trick I tell you” she mumbled.

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The man bent down and inspected me.

“Hello” I gleefully said.

“Zivm’g blf zwlizyov?” his tone seemed curious.

His face seemed fixed at me. I can’t read his facial expressions, but his emotions seem radiant. It was as if he was happy to see us.

“Flor” Renei signalled. “We should probably leave now!”

“Do you live here?” I asked the masked man. “Are you alone?”

“Flor!” Renei complained. “Stop trying to talk to him!”

“R szev ml rwvz dszg blf’iv hzbrmt” the man scratched his head.

“See?” I tried to reason with Renei. “He’s friendly. By the way, I’m Flor. And that’s my twin, Renei.”

“F-flllooorr” the man said while looking at me. He turned his face towards Renei. “R-rennn…”

“Close enough” I congratulated him.

“Rh hsv nzw?”

“Renei? She’s just scared of your mask.”

“I’m not scared!”

“Mask” I repeated while pinching my own face.

The man pointed at his face. “Gsrh?”

“Yeah, that.”

He removed his hood and started to unstrap his mask.

“Flor, are you nuts!? I just told you that they look—“

The man detached his visage. Now, we see a normal looking adult. Probably about 30 plus of age. Renei looked shock. I was prepared to stay calm if I saw a scary face. But this was the exact opposite.

“Hgroo hxzivw?”

“You look quite okay” I commented.

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He gave us a tour around the cathedral starting with first floor. At the altar, a few gestures he made implied that he was a priest. Later, he beckoned us to follow him and climb the stairs to the upper balcony.

“Renei” I said. “I think he’s a priest.”

“That doesn’t make me trust him.”

The view looks good from here. I could imagine the once amazing artwork of an inner sanctum buried in the dust. In fact, I could hear the church organ play as the service proceeds. Maybe a bit too well.

I turned around and saw the priest playing a pipe organ.

“This is creepy” Renei said with furrowed brows.

The music continued playing. I felt rather entranced as the priest struck more chords. I got nearer to the instrument and watched as his hands moved around the keys.

“What are you doing?” Renei whispered.

I couldn’t help it. I pressed a few keys. The priest ended the piece and noticed my interest. He pointed at the keyboard and pressed a few notes. It was a part of the music he just played. I followed the direction and got the riff right.

“Vcxvoovmg” he said.

He played out a few more notes with increasing difficulty. I made a few wrong presses but he was kind enough to repeat them for me to follow.

He stood up with a smile motioning his hand to tell us that he wanted to show something. Renei kept mumbling.

We followed him to a dusty old room full of items scattered on the floor. Webs were on every corner and the wallpaper has peeled off. There was two beds and a study table with a broken lamp.

“Hgzb.”

He swayed his hand to present the room. He wasn’t just showing it; he wanted us to have it.