4 - The silence of the High Summits

The journey of Sulfur continued tirelessly. He went along the river of blood. From the corner of his eye, he could see from time to time shadows that seemed to wave in the current without ever showing themselves entirely.

After several days of walking, his steps led him to the foot of a chain of rocky mountains. Vegetation became increasingly rare and roads became steeper. Unfriendly rocks threatened to lacerate anyone's skin and the trail became harder and harder to decipher.

Surprising, Sulfur didn't seem to worry about it. He continued his journey among the ebbs, his steps were disconcertingly stable and his hands were often full of rock shrapnel which he had unfortunately broken by leaning on the walls of the mountain. As he threw a new stone down, the long ears of Sulfur trembling to the sound of distant whispers. The savior stopped and looked for the source of the noise. Unfortunately, the voices bounced against the cliff walls making research impossible.

Not in the least discouraged world, milky eyes Sulfur closed and he stretched out his ears more beautiful. Tough, stirring in all directions, they scanned the least sound around. Then suddenly he opened his eyes again. He finally found what he was looking for. As agile as an antelope and as stable as a chamois, Sulfur Fragrated a path, leaving nothing behind him, not even a tiny cloud of dust. To see it like this, one might have thought that walking around the mountain was a play of children.

A strange feeling emerged in him. He felt like tingling in his limbs that made him braid. Despite his dry throat, he couldn't stop swallowing. He tried to put a name on what he felt but something seemed to prevent him.

Currently, Sulfur saw from the corner of the eye a small shadow moving between the crevices of the mountain massif. In a reflex he did not know himself, he stretched his arm with a staggering speed and caught the creature by the throat. Both beings stared intensely, their eyes mingling in an atmosphere of surprise and ... excitation. Yes, that was the strange feeling he felt. Sulfur Finally managed to put a name on it and his white eyes radiated then with a short glimmer.

At this sight, the wood of the creature trembled slightly. This shivering brought back Sulfur to reality. His eyes returned to their original appearance and studied being a prisoner of his grip. It was a small ball of brown hair, not larger than a hare, with long and straight ears with a short tail and tufted like a pompon. At the top of his skull was a pair of equally long wood sprinkled with a light layer of green foam. No doubt it was a jackalope. In his black plums, one could see a mixture of fear, curiosity and admiration. His mouth remained open, pretending to mean something but too intimidated to let the slightest sound escape.

Again, whispers were heard. Feeling like a familiar presence, Sulfur released the young jackalope who landed gracefully on his feet. The whispers became more and more distinct and audible, so that one could almost understand what he was thinking: "Sulfur, Sulfur, savior...". A jackalopes herd then appeared along the steep slope and the little hairy creature finally free joined them in a few graceful leaps.

Sulfur Turned back in time to see them scatter among the rocks as they sang his name. The familiar sensation came back. Sulfur slowly headed towards her. The more he advanced, the stronger she became. Finally, he found her. She was stuck between two rocks. It was a transparent gem with green inflorescences similar to a microforest.

At its touch new memories resurfaced: stars with a blinding radiance falling down on the earth, digging the ground, melting the stones, transforming the landscape. Having nowhere to escape the jackalopes were condemned to run until exhaustion. Constant explosions pierced their eardrums, but despite the pain and blood flowing from their ears, they continued to flee as far as possible. Then nothing. No more noise was heard in the middle of this field of ruins. The heavenly world continued to fall upon them in a disconcerting silence and the leporids understood at that time that never again would they hear the voice of their congeners.

The vision ended. With some delicacy, Sulfur He came to lay the new stone on his wood. Then, without a look back, he resumed his journey, leaving behind the deaf songs praising his name.