By Srinidhi Ranganathan in Director's Pick — May 28, 2024

The Echoes of Aleinten

Each step echoed through the silent expanse, amplifying the strangeness of this dreamscape.

Aleinten

Richard found himself wandering through a city unlike any he had ever seen. The buildings stretched skyward, but their foundations were anchored in the clouds, and their rooftops reached towards an abyssal ground. The world was inverted, and he walked on a pathway suspended in a foggy void. The city was known as Aleinten, a name that whispered through his mind like a forgotten song.

He took tentative steps along the translucent pathway, the fog swirling around his feet like ghostly tendrils. Each step echoed through the silent expanse, amplifying the strangeness of this dreamscape. The buildings of Aleinten were majestic yet eerie, their windows staring down at him with an unsettling intensity. Some were pristine, while others appeared to crumble and rebuild themselves in an endless cycle.

Richard's curiosity propelled him forward. He passed a clock tower, its hands moving backwards in a steady, defiant rhythm. People, or rather the phantoms of people, floated through the air, engaged in their own inverted routines. They paid him no mind, their faces blurred and expressions unreadable.

He reached a central square where a fountain poured water upward, defying gravity. The water shimmered with an ethereal glow, casting a surreal light across the square. Richard approached the fountain, drawn by its hypnotic dance. As he stared into the water, he caught a glimpse of his reflection—distorted, with eyes that seemed too large and a mouth that twisted into an unnatural smile.

A chill ran down his spine. He backed away, but the reflection remained, even as he turned to flee. His footsteps quickened, echoing louder and louder until the noise became a deafening roar. The city seemed to close in on him, the buildings leaning down as if to swallow him whole.

Richard stumbled and fell, the pathway beneath him cracking and shattering like glass. He plummeted into darkness, the pieces of Aleinten falling with him, their sharp edges slicing through the void. He closed his eyes, bracing for impact.

He woke with a start, his heart pounding in his chest. His room was dark, the familiar shapes of furniture providing a stark contrast to the nightmarish vision of Aleinten. He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "Just a dream," he whispered, wiping the sweat from his brow.

But as he sat up, he noticed something strange. The ceiling of his room was wrong, the angles impossible, the shadows shifting in ways that defied logic. He blinked, hoping his eyes were playing tricks on him. The walls seemed to pulse, breathing in tandem with his ragged breaths.

Richard stood, his legs trembling. He moved to the window, desperate for a glimpse of reality. But outside, the world was upside-down. The trees grew from the sky, the stars twinkling beneath the earth. He heard a faint, familiar echo—the sound of his footsteps in Aleinten.

The horror had followed him. The dream was far from over.

Aleinten had become his reality.

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