You’ve just arrived in a swampy, dim town. As you look around, your gaze is met with shacks and cabins. It smells of rotted wood and wet moss. You duck and step into a tattered tent, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the tent, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town? she begins, then pauses to study your face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a cushion, “Tell me your story.”
I take a seat on the accompanying cushion and let the soft fabric envelop me as I start to share our peculiar tale. Inspired by the mysteries that await us, my words are a combination of restless curiosity and nagging fear. The narrative began in a distant town, far from the depressing atmosphere that surrounds this region. My older brother Bruno, who was 32 years old, and my twin brother Altair, who was 19 years old, were also present. Our joy was not yet over, though, because our family's historical records mysteriously did not include the name of our elder brother, who was 26 years old.
As we delved deeper into the enigmatic threads that had led us closer to the marshy town, we were resolved to fill the huge void this mysterious brother had left in our lives. Our ties to this peculiar location became increasingly profound, drawing at our very beings with each new discovery and path we pursued. The town itself was a mystery within a maze, its past lost to persistent shadows and its secrets as dark and perilous as the murky waters that encircled it.
Now that the room is filled with the ethereal dance of flickering candlelight, the tension in the air is palpable. I pause, allowing the gravity of our mission to sink in the silence. "That's precisely why, dear lady," I continue to speak in spite of the mounting pressure, "I have ventured to this somber town, in pursuit of the elusive clues that connect our fates and to implore your assistance in unraveling the intricate puzzles that have ensnared us in their web of intrigue." My words hang in the air, bringing with them hope and the prospect of more revelations.
