After “Vers la Flamme” by Alexander Scriabin
Towards the Flame (1)
The calming breeze gently murmured, as the tender swooshing and brushing of the curtains awoke Alexander prematurely. His peaceful state lingered despite the sudden vanishing of his languid dream. His eyes smarting from the abruptness of his waking,he found it impossible to close his eyelids again.
Glancing outside, Alexander could not help but marvel at the finely calibrated cerulean colour of the firmament. Faintly glowing stars glimmered, embodying ever-changing patterns: a soaring dove, a blossoming flower, a cascading fountain…
Outside his room, the world began to spring to life. The lush trees were just beginning to display their liveliness, with their shade of relaxing moss green gradually fading. Resting on a branch gracefully were two charming birds, whose vivid purple feathers outlined the shape of their majestic bodies, as if governing a prosperous empire. Their soothing duet impressed Alexander even more than their appearance because of the birds’ sweet tones and their intertwining melodies that crafted an ingenious fugue. The birds’ graceful dance complemented their lyrical voices, which fused a spellbinding sensual experience.
Completing this heaven of a sanctuary was a sapphire lake. Its undisturbed surface depicted a vivid image of Alexander when he glanced down. Alexander was 43, whose bright and auburn hair had once scintillated under the sun, but since the Fire started, only his grandiose moustache could . He relished this magnificent patch of facial hair, for he had tended it since it had first appeared, carefully keeping its symmetry and its handsome upward curl. Ever since his birth, Alexander’s innate feebleness had prevailed - his muscles were never instructed to grow; all his peers surpassed him in height by the length of his head. He had always loathed the shape of his body.
Alexander remembered setting off for this remote place months ago. He was a resident of Sochi, whose convenient seaside location enabled its people to be well informed about The Fire. The image of a beautiful Sochi, whose wonders used to melt Alexander’s heart, was vividly ingrained in his brain.
With the increasing emission of greenhouse gases, heatwaves and droughts had become an ever-present annoyance. Gradually, wildfires became more common and fierce, while the firefighters became more ineffective with the passing of each day. This trend seemed unstoppable to Alexander when he had received the news that a fire had broken out nearby. It would inevitably reduce his city to a pile of ruins. Deeply terrified, he fled the place he had called home for so long to northern Russia.
