††††††††
†††† ††††
†† ††
† †
† †
† the glass factory. †
† †
† †
†† ††
†††† ††††
††††††††
@@£†:--,,, several centuries after it had last ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, belonged to us, we went on an outing to ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, the glass factory that bore our family ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, name. it had changed owners many times ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, since our ancestors death, and then ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, stood abandoned for a long while. ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, finally, the natural end station for ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, the buildings that survive: a museum, ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, and a gift shop. ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, there's a long time since my family ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, made anything. by many, we would be ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, considered poor. ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, there are two main factory buildings, ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, domed things of several floors, made in ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, yellow brick. large but narrow windows, ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, reminescent of some cathedral. ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, custom-made glass, of course, large and ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, leaded, and ashen. a bit too dark to be ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, practical. on the eastern building, ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, some are shattered. ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, the other one is publicly open. there's ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, a museum, with wax figures of my great ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, great great grandfather, or something. ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, various tools (or replicas) laid out on ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, tables, with explaining texts. a lot of ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, glass of varying thickness. ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, †† ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, †† †† ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, ------- † † ------- ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, †† †† ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, †† ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, i quickly sneak out, and climb into the ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, other building. the contrast is ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, overwhelming. it must have stood ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, derelict for a long time, windows ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, broken, metallic trash and pools of ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, dark glass all over the floor. no ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, electric lights, but i can see by the ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, light that shines in wherever the dark ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, windows are missing a pane. ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, however, the greatest difference is the ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, higher floors: this building has none. ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, it is one massive hall, stretching away ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, infinitely above me. somewhere up there ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, is some great iron latticework, from ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, where chains are suspended, and parts ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, of machinery has been falling down. ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, there is, in the middle of the great ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, hall, a thin spiral staircase that ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, leads up there. i sneak over there, and ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, take a few reluctant steps. after just ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, a revolution, i notice that for each ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, step the building starts to glow, the ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, bricks turning a dark red, and then ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, orange, all the piled up debree being ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, lit from behind. ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, i stop ready to run down and out, but ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, there's someone else on the staircase ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, with me now, pressed close. he's ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, looking like me, short hair and thin ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, arms, but with ears from some animal, ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, and more disturbingly, completely made ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, of dark liquid glass. ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, †† ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, †† †† ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, ------- † † ------- ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, †† †† ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, †† ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, my fear holds me in place while he ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, starts operating levers and dials set ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, in the center of the staircase. slowly, ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, it starts spinning, circling upwards. ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, it's an elevator! i start to run ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, downwards, but now the liquid boy ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, creature grabs hold of me. i try to ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, shake him off, but he's too strong, and ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, pulls me back up beside him. ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, this time, i turn angry instead. what ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, the hell? who is this guy, acting like ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, this? i reach out my free arm and slam ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, a random lever. some metal bar is ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, suddenly released between us, hitting ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, him on the arm, forcing my release. i ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, shove him off of me, and he falls into ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, the levers, messing them up. ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, immediately, a thin rusty chainmail ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, curtain is dropped around me. but the ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, elevator also speeds up significantly. ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, the walls are flaring now, yellow, ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, white, almost blue. i close my eyes and ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, curl into a ball. but then, the glass ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, boy screams, a piercing sound that ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, forces my eyes back open. i watch as he ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, becomes too liquid, his body pooling ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, down in his now massive tail, and the ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, tip of it suddenly breaks of in a glass ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, drop that falls toward the factory ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, floor. ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, he's crawling on the stairs, unable to ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, keep his body upright. can't reach the ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, levers, claws at my chainmail cage, ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, while his body is turning into dark ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, pearls. finally, he's lost too much of ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, himself and the scream is cut short. ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, the last of him rains down. ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, i still can't reach the levers from ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, within my cage. looking up, i try to ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, make out the ceiling, but it's all a ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, whirling sea of colours. below me glows ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, the hellfire of the factory walls, but ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, very faint. i sit down, curl back up, ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, become still. ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, †† ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, †† †† ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, ------- † † ------- ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, †† †† ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, †† ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, a large clunk shakes my entire body, ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, and snaps me back into reality. i'm ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, back at the factory floor, but the ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, stairs are still moving slightly, ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, clicking in place, carrying me the last ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, few centimeters. i came from below, ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, somehow. the chainmail is retracted, ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, and i slowly dismount the stairs. ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, shaking and crying, i make my way over ,,,--:†£@@
@£†:--,,,, the factory floor, wading through dark ,,,,--:†£@
@@£†:--,,, glass marbles. a quick glance down, and ,,,--:†£@@
@@@£†:--,, i see there's something faint inside ,,--:†£@@@
#@@@£†:--, them. embryos? are these eggs? ,--:†£@@@#
@@@£†:--,, ,,--:†£@@@
@@£†:--,,, i shudder, and climb back out. ,,,--:†£@@
††
†† ††
† †
†† ††
††