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Passage under the Twelfth Lantern


Passage under the Twelfth Lantern
For a few weeks now, Anna, Maciek and Julia had been meeting every day after school on the edge of town, where the old cycle path passed by the rusting lamppost number twelve. No one but them paid any attention to this forgotten place, and the lighthouse itself - with its slightly crooked head and chipped paint - was a silent witness to all their conversations, dreams and woven holiday plans. That day, however, something changed. The powerful storm that had passed over the town the previous evening had left not only mud and puddles in its wake, but also a strange, pulsating shadow right at the base of the lighthouse. Anna spotted it first - it shimmered with a violet-blue light, almost invisible in the cloudy afternoon light. Attracted by the unsettling aura, all three cautiously approached the lighthouse. - It looks like... - Maciek did not finish, because suddenly the sound of a bell came to them from within the shadows, although after all the nearest church was a long way away. Julia reached out her hand. Her fingers passed through the shadow, which instead of being cool and damp, was strangely warm and soft, like the air just before a strong lightning discharge. She lowered it quickly, looking puzzled at the others. - 'Touch, it's ... impossible - she whispered. They didn't know if what they were seeing was an illusion, or if they were simply witnessing something that defied logic. Anna looked at Maciek; there was a flash of uncertainty and excitement in his eyes. Everyone knew that the line between curiosity and reason had just started to blur. Suddenly the shadow widened, forming a perfectly circular portal. Through it shone a world that looked like their own, but with a rumpled sky, hovering houses and an air filled with luminous symbols. The smell of ozone and wet grass curled in the air. A quiet whisper came from the portal, pronouncing Anna's name. The girl took a step forward, stopped just at the edge. For a moment, everything went quiet - even the city seemed to stop breathing. - Shall we go? - She asked quietly, feeling that the answer would no longer be as obvious as before. At that moment, the portal lit up with a bright light and the wind blew under their jackets, lifting leaves and torn pages of school notebooks into the air. The three teenagers looked at each other as a strange shadow began to emerge from inside the portal - was it someone familiar to them, or something else entirely? It became clear that one crossing of this boundary could change their lives forever....


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Age category: 16-17 years
Publication date:
Times read: 29
Endings: 2
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