All Things I've Done To Save You

Dare To Know

Herman and Amanda didn't mind and they respected Alaksolan's privacy. So they only smiled politely.

"But tomorrow, the time machine will be ready for us to use." Alaksolan gave his guarantee. Herman and Amanda were glad to hear that.

The three of them spent so much time chatting and dining. The spotlights glimmered and moved here and there, synchronized with the tune of the music on the stage, played by musical groups on the stages. The opening ceremony party was so extravagant and nowhere near holiness.

Suddenly, there was a Breaking News broadcast on TV, so several people turned their heads. So was Herman, interested in that Breaking News.

A reporter reported that someone was building an ark. And then, the picture showed closer that a black-skinned man was supervising the building of a gigantic wooden boat. The gigantic boat or the ark was shaped like a tire. That kind of shape certainly didn't have a port, starboard, a bow, and stern. It was as though made only for floating, following wherever the current took it.

"Viewers, just this afternoon we manage to shoot an exclusive about the Boaster, who is building a wooden ark," the reporter commented. "Come, let's ask him directly. For what he builds the ark, which according to our sources was prepared for a long time?"

The cameras showed the reporter boarding an anti-gravitational hovercraft with the capacity of three people. The hovercraft they were on looked like a horseless carriage and had one seat for the pilot only. The two others as passengers could only stand. The pilot directed the hovercraft closer to the Boaster. Just then the man already knew about the TV crew's presence.

"What a crazy guy!" scolded a guest from the table next to Herman's, wearing a medic uniform. "He never tires of inviting everyone to live strangely. A life with less fun and more discipline is no life at all!"

The bushy-bearded man threw a nutshell towards the TV, followed by his friends' laughter.

"They are the medics prepared for tomorrow because there will be many people fainting after the booze party," Amanda explained to Herman.

"He tried to scare and threaten people too," said another fellow medic.

"He even said there will be an Apocalypse as the result of our way of life. That's weird, huh?" added the third man who never took his hat off.

They laughed again, mocking the Boaster. "From what galaxy that guy is from, eh? Men have existed for millions of years but there has never been an Apocalypse whatsoever!"

"This is heaven, man!" said the hat man. "Apocalypse is impossible! We live a long life as the residents of heaven!" Laughter echoed from guests on other tables who watched the same broadcast.

"Well, logically, I can understand why they mocked that guy. This is a Pangaea and a continuous rainstorm won't be able to flood this planet. What is his name?" Herman asked Amanda about the man on the TV. Amanda only shook her head.

"He is only known as the Boaster," said Alaksolan, explaining. "But who exactly he is, no one knows – or to be exact, no one cares. For centuries he has traveled here and there, inviting people to go back to the original teachings of God and leave our current way of life that he said was wrong!"

"How wrong?" asked Herman. Alaksolan only shrugged, he didn't seem interested to talk about it.

"I heard, before you worship the Sun God and others, you worshipped another god from the north. To what god was that?" Herman tried to extract some information from Alaksolan.

Reluctantly, the latter answered, "We once worshipped the God of the North who made the earth axis rotate perpetually, creating day and night on Earth. But Amun Ra, the Sun God was more real, he has a form, a figure that we can worship directly."

Herman was satisfied enough with this answer, and he wasn't interested either to debate about religion and personal faith. His faith.

"Please pass me that," asked Amanda, pointing at the dessert on a plate near Herman. Herman then took the plate and passed it to Amanda.

"I've been here quite a while, but I haven't tried this one. They said it's very delicious," said Amanda, taking a cake and eating it. Amanda chewed the cake, nodding and making a thumb-up.

"Here, you must try it. It's good!" Amanda offered. Herman leaned forward, taking a scoop from Amanda.

Seeing Herman and Amanda enjoying themselves and enjoying the meal, Alaksolan knew his place and took his leave, giving the lovers a chance to enjoy the rest of the night together in private.

"Well, gotta go home now. I still have lots of work to make sure the time machine is ready tomorrow," said Alaksolan, standing up.

"Don't forget, if anything happens, call me." The wise man reminded the couple by putting his hand on his ear, with a signal like talking on the phone.

Amanda nodded, scooping some more cakes for Herman who ate heartily. However, not long after Alaksolan went away, the young lovers couldn't stand being at that place any longer. The ambiance of chatter, noises, and laughter was too noisy for them, the stench of alcohol even reeked stronger and stronger in the air. So, Amanda took Herman out after paying at the cashier.

As soon as they were outside, the air became so different because it felt fresher. Although this place was on the border of Atut Baton District, it turned out so many campsites were erect, filling the public rooms up. Those pilgrims had no choice but to camp there because all the hotels and inns were fully booked.

To fill the time tonight, the campers burned big campfires while they sang with other pilgrims, or visited the entertainment stages. Uncountable empty beer and liquor bottles and cans were thrown away in any place, just like that.

Herman and Amanda passed through the campsite with a frown on their faces. Maybe it was better to go straight back to Amanda's apartment.

"Herman!" Suddenly, they heard a yell and instantly saw a girl who came out from the group of people in front of a campfire. Herman turned around to see the caller. It was Noullis, the girl he once met in Lainatupia.

Not far from there, some women and men are sitting around the campfire, and some of them were having fun braiding each other's hair.

"Come and join us," Noullis invited after she hurriedly went after Herman. Herman didn't expect at all to see this exotic, beautiful girl again.

This time Noullis wore a blazer, but her upper buttons were unbuttoned so part of her big breasts was shown. A lit cigarette was held with her left finger. The cigarette smoke was so stinging, making Herman and Amanda quickly feel dizzy. That "cigarette" this ravishing girl was smoking was cocaine.

"Let's have fun, babe!" She repeated her invitation with a lustful stare a normal guy like Herman was difficult to resist. But, Herman was still aware Amanda was standing by his side.

"Where's your girlfriend, Noullis?" Herman asked, looking for another woman in that group.

"Who?" Noullis asked back. Suddenly she remembered something. "Oh, yes. That chick you saw back then. She went out with somebody else, well… another chick. Never mind about her, she's boring," she complained.

"Now I'm with my new boyfriend," Noullis continued, looking to her back. She then pointed at a man from the group. Noullis waved at that man, and the man holding a bottle of liquor in his left hand waved back at her, and his right hand was holding a cocaine cigarette too.

Since his first meeting with Noullis, Herman had already thrown away the desire to know her. Even now, after he knew what was that girl like with her group.

"Perhaps next time. Now I have an urgent business to attend to," Herman declined most politely. "Have fun, you all. But remember, take care of yourself." Noullis looked disappointed, her eyes stared with dislike towards Amanda. Seeing that, Herman hurriedly took Amanda away, leaving Noullis.

"Who was she?" Amanda asked curtly. "She's pretty."

Herman fell silent. From the tone of her voice, he knew Amanda didn't compliment the black-skinned and blue-eyed girl. But his girlfriend didn't like him to act too friendly to Noullis. So, tacitly and with good timing he tried to explain how he met that black-skinned girl back then. Finally, Amanda understood what really happened and laughed instead.

However, knowing a bit about Noullis' and most of the people in this festival, plus how they reacted towards the Boaster who invited the people to revert to a good, healthy, and spiritual life. Maybe he did that to avert the earth from the looming Apocalypse. And when the world scorned him instead, he began to build the ark to save whoever and whatever he could from the inevitable doom. Maybe it was like what was written in the Bible.

Maybe.

The longer they linger at the campsites, Herman and Amanda finally felt uncomfortable seeing many homosexual couples showing their affections openly, getting drunk and high under the influence of liquor and narcotics. Finally, they chose to go somewhere else quieter, trying to use whatever chance in store to just take a stroll cozily, enjoying the festival opening night in Atut Baton, just the two of them.

                                                                        ==oOo==

A few days later, most of the committee members and volunteers were on a leave, because the acolytes and the priests were cleaning up the main square in Atut Baton. In short, during that week it was taboo for "outsiders" to do any activity in the Atut Baton surroundings.

The fabric covering Anubis' statues was washed and replaced with special fabrics for major festivals. The idols were washed and polished so they would be shinier and more "godly" at the ceremony time. Although they could use the robots to do the cleaning, they didn't do it. The procession would be deemed sacred if the whole thing were done with their own sacred hands.

From this place, the noises and the music sound system from the stages were not too loud. The Wash-and-Dry Ritual of Anubis' body and cover fabrics went solemnly. This very essential event was broadcasted by many TV stations. But, the public was forbidden to participate in it directly, so they could watch the ceremony through television only.

One group of priests performed the washing of the great cloth covering Anubis' main statue. While the previous cloth was washed, another group of priests clothed the statue with another cloth from the special containing case for big, special occasions like now.

The priests wore their uniform robes decorated with various prestige accessories of distinctive size and colors to differentiate between their status hierarchies. The clothes and accessories they wore were similar to the murals and bas reliefs in the Khufu Pyramid.

Just then, the High Priest and the priests were surprised by the presence of the President. They moved back to give way. At the same time, the High Priest hurriedly came to greet the President who came with his lover. The bodyguards walked in a formation to guard their boss. Murag clung his hand to the President's waist, spreading his flamboyant smile to everyone.

Herman and Amanda realized that this place of idol worshipping ceremony was not where they wanted to be, forbidden or not. They were still on standby in Atut Baton, but they must go far away from the spot where it was taboo for non-priests in times like this.

"Come, let's go to the planetarium!" Amanda invited excitedly. Herman just went along as his girlfriend took his hand.

The trip to the planetarium was taken by the unattended hoverbike they found in the parking lot. This time Amanda drove. Herman sat on the back and hugged Amanda's waist. The bike went slow because they thought it would be a waste to miss a thing from this wondrous place… before it was gone forever.

The trip took twenty minutes because they had to take a longer route around the restricted area. Herman just let Amanda take him to whatever way to reach the destination because she already knew the way. The proof was, that the alarm on the hoverbike didn't blare even once.