A small city where people exist, covered by mist in the shape of a dome, of a multitude of hues, there’s an ethereal beauty that doesn’t exist anywhere else. The fog forms a tunnel that becomes a series of arches resembling the ancient Gothic cathedrals. Another type of mist forms towers of colors that oscillates into many shapes. As the sun continues rising, the mist seems to transform into birds as if they were flying away, but a sun-like mist that appears to resemble glass covers the city for the whole day. There are walls of light that protects the city from too much sunlight in the summer. The glare could be blinding to the inhabitants. The mist also acts like a transference device that transports the town from one place to another. A vortex always surrounds the city. They are dark and light, each having consequences if one falls into them. One of the vortexes resembles tangled leaves that seem innocent, but the branches of the trees turn in perpetual motion at the high speeds of hurricanes.
Each morning when the mist is strong, it seems like the first day in the world. Somehow the city feels and looks different, as if some of the structures had been rebuilt. Does the city rebuild itself? Perhaps the shape of the buildings changed; it was said they were made of flexible material that changes daily. What would be strange is that the interior wouldn’t change according to the overall outside structure. One of the city’s inhabitants had said that the inner system never changed.
After many years the city would appear again out of the mist for someone who hadn’t seen it for a long time. They would often think it was a different city. This city was in continual change; sometimes, the style and structure of the building would be transformed every day. To many outsiders, the city made no sense; it confused them because the city had changed so much.
A few outsiders were invited to tour the city; they said it was immaculate, and there was no indication of age, which wasn’t difficult to understand because the city constantly renewed itself. Visitors mentioned that the buildings were or seemed to be made of some metallic material, but it looked as if it was pliable, yet very hard. It could be manipulated like clay and resist any force put upon it. The buildings also seemed at the same time to be transparent but again shining like polished steel that reflected things around them. The light coming from the sun changed the way the buildings were constructed. It could manipulate the shapes of the structures. Were there any city planners, designers, engineers, or architects for the city? Yes, but not in the conventional sense; the engineers and architects used light as a building material and used their thoughts to instruct the light on what to do. Whatever way the buildings changed or were constructed, it was a strange city.
The city’s beauty had the power to mesmerize people, its towers reflecting the sky at all periods of the day, especially at sunset and the blue cast of the morning. The whimsical shapes seemed almost impossible.
Robert J. Matsunaga
