Idols of Remembrance

She floated down the endless hallway, draped in frail cloth, her name long since lost to time. The ornate halls before her were dressed in an array of colors, and amazingly different sights. To her left and right stood statues of those who came before her. Like me, who they are has been lost in the Halls of Eternity. Some of the statues were much older than others, their names and features had begun to fade. But those of the Old Ones carried in stages of decomposition. Each idol was dressed and decorated as if they were captured from where they stood in their prime; natural flora lay around them. She stopped in her tracks, a newer statue stood before her. Oh Dear, when did you get here?

She let out the breath caught in her throat, her eyes softening upon the stone. Another addition, when will it stop?

She inched closer to the unworn idol. Still bright, the life freshly blown from its eyes. You were once alive, like the other. The front half of its body is carved from stone, between dry brush and dense foliage. Its name at the base in intricate lettering read, Diceros bicornis longipes.

Time isn’t linear in these long hallways, like a maze wound in time. She was in the past, present and future. But here they stood still in time, only appearing before her when it was time. She hesitantly raised her hand to the smooth stone, grazing her fingers along its profile. Flashes of its life- beginning, middle, and end flashed before her eyes like they were her memories.

You lived long, you should've lived longer. They aren't worthy of your presence.

Slowly she stepped forward, away from the statue. In these halls you can rest, there is no suffering here. After so many statues there was a 3-way intersection; she could go left, right, or continue forward. Either direction she chose, there were statues ahead of her. Names and faces etched into stone around her; Panthera tigris sondaica, Thylacinus cynocephalus, and so on.

Throughout her time wandering the halls, she would find statues that made her smile. Their poses, frozen forever in stone, were her bridge into their world. For them to end up with her, stuck in those halls, was their last stand. A home for them to rest, to be safe for eternity. They won’t all be remembered, but they will remain.

She could tell, when their features dulled, and the air around them turned stale- their memory in the world was fading. Some idols would never dull, their names as perfect as when they first appeared.

Will there ever be an end to this?

Do the statues ever stop?

Her thoughts would run, never speaking a word, just her thoughts and those stone-etched faces. Sometimes, she’d find herself going in circles, revisiting the same statues over and over again. She treated them like a family, the statues were her children. She would float by, dusting off different statues. With her, they would remain. She would remember them.

All she could do was wander the halls and gaze at the statues. She would smile, dust them off, and ruffle the foliage. She would turn down hallways, and marvel at their structure each time as if she'd never seen them before.

With every new addition, she would feel her blood boil. There's no stop to this madness. With pity and anger in her eyes, she would think of ways she could try and stop it. However, she knew that wasn't up to her. The storm of her temper couldn't stop them. No matter how hard she tried- how hard she wished it, no attempt would stop them from appearing.

So she floated down the endless hallway, her name still lost to time, even she couldn’t remember. The twisting halls before her were dressed in an array of sights. All around her stood statues of those who came before her. Like me, who they remain lost in the Halls of Eternity. Some of the statues stood fresher than others, their names and features seemed freshly carved; those of the Old Ones those in between, seemed to fade faster. Each idol was dressed and decorated as if they were still at home. Their natural flora and fauna draped around them. She stopped in front of a newer statue, one she hadn’t noticed before. Another addition, when will it stop?