Story 5. Amethyst world, or the search for Liata

So, where was I? Ah yes, Muss and Shipunshsh would have no trouble getting me to the Amethyst World and helping me find Liata there.
 
Great news, I tell you). Let's get to it, friends!
 
Shipunshsh explained that to start with, Muss and I would need to retrace Liata's steps – visit the place where the Radiant Sapphire's Palace had grown, wait for Tiu and Miu to introduce us to the Rainbow Jellyfish. The Rainbow Jellyfish would show us the Amethyst Palace. After that, we'd have to rely on our luck and act as we saw fit. But it seemed Muss had an idea. That was reassuring, because I personally had no ideas whatsoever. So, we would follow the plan.
 
We went through all the stages of the plan one by one. As we went, it turned out these were gradual shifts in perception, guiding us towards the places Liata had visited and tuning us into the space where she was now.
 
I tried so hard to follow in Liata's footsteps that at one point I began to feel as if I was her. Muss gently explained that this was a normal process and I shouldn't be afraid – I was still myself, but for now it was better to forget that, otherwise we wouldn't find Liata. He said it was a kind of 'like attracts like' principle. I didn't understand a word of his explanation, but I stopped being afraid and started watching the changes inside me with interest.
 
'Well,' I thought, 'this is fascinating. I'm even starting to enjoy it. At least I'll find out what Liata is really like. I hope it helps us become friends when we meet.'
 
While I was intently looking inward, noticeable changes began to happen outside: somehow, Muss and I found ourselves inside a Palace, and an amazing creature was approaching us – the biggest octopus you could possibly imagine! I squeezed my eyes shut in fear, and only Muss's cheerful, calm presence stopped me from running away in terror. I don't know how long I kept my eyes closed, but at some point I heard quiet purring and laughter. I held out a little longer, then carefully opened one eye. And what I saw! My eyes flew open in spite of themselves, from surprise and delight. Before me stood an OctoCat in all its shimmering, pearlescent glory! A magnificent sight!
 
I politely greeted this unearthly (and it was completely sea-born!) creature. Muss introduced us. The beautiful OctoCat's name was Punia. Punia said he knew why we'd come. Muss had contacted him telepathically while we were retracing Liata's steps and waiting for the Amethyst Palace.
 
'How convenient!' I thought. 'They have telepathy here, and flying, and all kinds of magic. And how, I wonder, will I manage without all this when I go back to my world, huh? If, of course, I ever go back at all… That's the thing. On the other hand, it's so interesting here, more interesting than anywhere I've ever been. So, let it all just unfold. If I need to go back, I will. How and when – that's a secondary concern.' With that thought, I completely relaxed and decided to let the adventure unfold without my expectations, fears, and so on. Completely unlike me. It must be because I'm not really myself right now, I'm kind of like Liata.
 
Hmm… But now I understand how she dared to go to the Amethyst World. For her, there was no risk, just pure, healthy curiosity and an insatiable thirst for knowledge. I still have a lot to learn from her.
 
Meanwhile, Punia was telling Muss and me how to get to the Amethyst World (it turned out Muss had never been there either and had no route mapped out to that place).
 
First, we needed to relax and have a cup of some special sea tea and wait for a Messenger – a small pink octopus – to appear. Punia himself promised to treat us to the tea.
 
I liked the sound of that. It was so unusual. In our world, before any important undertaking, you have to gather yourself, concentrate, become deadly serious, tense up, and only then start acting. Here, it was the opposite – relax, become peaceful, don't strain, have a cup of tea – lovely. In practice, though, it turned out to be almost the hardest task for me, simply because I wasn't used to it!
 
After the Messenger reported our arrival to the Chief Guardian, who guards the entrance to the Amethyst World against uninvited guests (so complicated!), and the Guardian came to meet us, we had to wait for nightfall. Then, through the depths of our Sapphire Sea, the waters of the Cosmic Ocean from that world would begin to appear, and we were to go to sleep right here. In the morning, we would wake up there.
 
Could it really be so simple? I couldn't believe it. But Muss whispered to me that it only seemed simple. In reality, we would be precisely and purposefully managing our perception and shifting to the state corresponding to the Amethyst World. The tea, relaxation, and sleep were just intermediate stages to help focus our perception.
 
'Wait a minute,' I thought, 'we use similar means in our world to change our state. Does that mean we're also focusing our perception there?'
 
Muss nodded in answer to my unspoken question. Well, I never!
 
'I'll have to ask him more about this sometime. Here we are, living in our "dense" world with our eyes, hands, and feet tied, and our ears plugged. How is that possible? No wonder everyone there is so serious, stern, and sad. And they all insist this is normal. Some normal!' I got so lost in my thoughts that I missed Punia's last sentence.
 
He was just about to say goodbye and swim off on his own business, reminding us that we could contact him telepathically even from the Amethyst World. He had special abilities that allowed him to communicate with the inhabitants of all worlds without exception, anywhere in space. Now that was good news!
 
So Muss and I went to put Punia's plan into action – relaxation, cheerful conversation over a cup of sea tea (which had somehow appeared right in front of us), and sleep in a pleasant place.
 
Everything happened just as Punia said – the Messenger came, looked at us, we got acquainted. Then the Chief Guardian swam up. He scanned us with his amazing amethyst eyes and gave us permission to visit their world. Immediately, the seascape outside the window began to change into a cosmic-seascape. Calmed by this sight, Muss and I went to sleep.
 
We slept and dreamed amazing dreams about the violet world. I even thought I saw Liata there. And it seemed like she felt my attention. At least, she perked up. Or maybe I just imagined it?
 
Morning was fantastic! Muss and I sat on the bed for a long time, mesmerised by the landscapes outside the window, which kept changing one after another. One thing was certain – this was it – the Amethyst World. And I think I fell in love with it at first sight!
 
Muss suggested we get some food. He said that eating something from another world would help us acclimatise faster. Meanwhile, he would contact our good friend – that CatSnail who had given us a ride around Muss's world on my very first day there. He said it would be good for both her and us – we'd get to see the world and have an easier time getting around. Well, an excellent idea!
 
Our friend the CatSnail, whose name was Rozzea, arrived in the form of a little white cat. Together, we each had a cup of some thick, syrupy, bright lilac drink and set off to explore the Amethyst World.
 
In her usual manner, Rozzea gave us rides in all the forms she knew – now turning into a Flying PlainSnail, now into a white CatSnail with a shell on her back, now into an Airship Snail.
 
The 'Airship Snail' form is great because you can travel both on the outside and on the inside – on soft, fluffy little sofas, like in Miyazaki's CatBus (for those who don't remember, it's from the anime 'My Neighbour Totoro').
 
'No doubt about it, Hayao Miyazaki didn't just pull his images out of thin air. He must know something about the structure of other worlds,' I thought, watching the flying islands with their little houses and gardens drift past us.
 
Muss and Rozzea, meanwhile, were watching these flying islands closely – they were looking for a specific one, it turned out. I was just enjoying the flight. Soon, they spotted the island we needed in the distance. Rozzea turned into a mini Tram Snail, and we headed east, towards a pale pink, mysterious glow.
 
For your information – the flying islands in this world are both settlements and portals to other places in this world. Whatever door you open, that's where you end up. Very convenient!
 
A small island with a one-storey house, a big tree, and a clearing with wicker chairs hung motionless in the air, as if inviting us to visit. Muss fluttered over to it and waved his white paw at us from there. Rozzea winked at me and whispered softly in my ear, 'You can fly too now, remember?'
 
'Whoopee! That's right! I can fly too!' I cried joyfully and instantly flew over to Muss on the island. Rozzea, laughing, said she wanted to explore the world a bit more and would join us later.
 
We waved goodbye to her and went to explore the little house.
 
Inside, it was much bigger than it looked from outside. Outside, it was a sweet little one-storey cottage, like our dachas, but inside it had several floors, a terrace, and a balcony. From the terrace, there was a breathtaking view of incredibly tall, narrow, craggy mountains that seemed to rise straight out of a bluish abyss. Of course, it wasn't really an abyss, but the ground of this world, very, very far below.
 
'Oh my! Good thing I can fly, or just looking down would make me dizzy,' flashed through my mind.
 
As we walked on the terrace, enjoying the view, voices came from above us:
 
'Oh, our new guests have arrived! Welcome, welcome!'
 
Muss and I looked up and saw a girl and a white cat on the roof of the house. The spitting image of me and Muss! I was even taken aback.
 
The hosts laughed merrily and jumped down from the roof to join us. It turned out that for them, changing their appearance was a game, like me trying on a new dress. What a game! They could have warned us!
 
But Muss was just as surprised as I was, even though, you'd think, he'd be used to all sorts of transformations. Muss shyly rubbed his nose with his paw and introduced himself. I gave my name too.
 
The owners of the house were called Ayane and Kotess. They lived in this portal-house and, on the instructions of the Chief Guardian, would sometimes transport travellers from other worlds where they needed to go. Well, not exactly transport – they'd invite them into the house, show them to the right door, and give them permission to return. Without permission, the door only opened one way. And you couldn't use their portal-house again.
 
'They've got things seriously organised here,' I thought. 'No wonder Liata got stuck. Maybe she didn't get permission to return? But no, she lost her memory. So where are we going to look for her?'
 
'Where are we going to look for her?' I asked out loud.
 
'Oh dear, my thoughts are getting out of control and being spoken aloud. Right, right…' I thought with displeasure.
 
As it turned out, I needn't have worried. Voicing the question on your mind out loud is considered good manners here. Much better than waiting ages for someone to finally ask you why you've come and where you need to go.
 
We told Ayane and Kotess that we were looking for Liata and her lost memory. They nodded eagerly and said they knew a place where travellers from other worlds lost their memory. And they would gladly take us there and give us permission to return at any time.
 
Ayane led us out onto the second-floor balcony. The exit to the place we needed was right there. We stepped onto the balcony, exchanged glances with Muss, and stared questioningly at our hosts. The view from the balcony was exactly the same as from the terrace. They smiled and asked us to turn and face the entrance to the balcony, then look again. We did. What a miracle!
 
Just moments before, we'd been facing a tall, narrow cliff and a blue abyss; now we stood on the threshold of a one-storey cottage, covered up to its roof in some small-leaved climbing plants, in the middle of a wide, sunlit valley. Only a turquoise planet with pearlescent rings hanging in the transparent, bluish sky reminded us that we were in another world. Everything else looked so much like our Earth.
 
Ayane and Kotess smiled knowingly and said that the place they had brought us to was closely related to the world I came from. The inhabitants of our Dense World sometimes ended up here, even without a guide like Muss, in moments of delight and inspiration.
 
'Ah, that's it!' I thought joyfully. 'So it is possible, even without dreams! How wonderful!'
 
Meanwhile, Ayane was showing Muss the path we should take to reach the gate. I couldn't see any gate in the visible landscape, but that didn't seem to bother Muss. He listened attentively to Ayane's instructions.
 
'When you leave the house, walk for a while without looking back, until you feel you want to look round. Then turn and look. If you don't see the house, turn back round, and the gate will appear before you. Go through it, and you'll enter a garden. But if the house is still visible, walk a bit further and repeat this turning procedure. In the garden, you'll see a swing. Sit on it and swing as long as you like, forgetting about time.'
 
'Forgetting about time is essential!' Ayane said seriously. 'As soon as the light changes, you'll be in a different garden, connected to this one, but in a different world. Wait for twilight there. Then, Muss, you go and look for the sea, and let Enny swing a little longer on the swing, until she's grown up just a tiny bit. This grown-up feeling won't last, but it's necessary,' she reassured me, and continued, addressing Muss: 'When you find the sea, come back for Enny. Go to the coast and wait for Kotess. She'll lead you where you need to go.' Ayane gave me a peck on the cheek and shook Muss's paw in farewell.
 
'I'm not saying goodbye; we'll see each other soon,' said Kotess, and they both dissolved into thin air.
 
'How extraordinary all this is!' I thought.
 
'You can say that again!' Muss's words echoed in my head.
 
We exchanged glances and set off along the path, looking around eagerly, waiting for the moment we would want to look back.