At the End of the Labyrinthine Tunnel

 This is the third chapter of the historical fantasy entitled "Rhapsody of Nature."

Synopsis: The magnificent cave exhibited more than just resplendence, and the end of it dazzled the spectator...

White, blue and gold were all he could see. They're everywhere, from where he stood... to the farthest his sight could reach.

As he moved along, the rose petals slowly vanished, until it was very light but with a much sweeter tinge.

"Seems like a big cave," he uttered in disbelief.

He wanted to see more, ever-curious he has always been. The hunger, that the old man was missing, and the discomfort didn't seem to bother him at all.

As he continued, the yellow frogs began making noises. One by one, they called. High pitched, each sound was like a xylophone beat.

High pitches they started but the sounds slowly mellowed down. Brief moments later, the undulating notes transitioned with more texture, until both high and low notes chorused like chords.

He later heard what seemed to be sounds from crickets. Low as they are, they served as baselines to the higher notes of the frogs.

The secret magic of the inconspicuous cave continued on. As he walked farther inside, he noticed some frogs bearing other colors.

He saw violet side by side with the yellow. Walking farther, blue, orange, green, and red appeared, until all colors of the rainbow were represented.

"Seven colors they are," he heard a voice.

When he turned around, Blaise was actually just behind him.

"Hmmm... Sir, why did you suddenly leave?"

"I wanted you to hear their hymns without my instrument interfering. I wanted you to experience and see for yourself without anyone affecting the magic."

Esteban scratched his head. He was surprised, yes, but he somehow just didn't care anymore. As a well-traveled person, he could easily adapt to changes, big and small.

"Those colors represent each major scale of music. Yellow is C, orange is D, red is E, violet is F, indigo is G, blue is A, and green, my favorite, is B."

Esteban has some knowledge in music. He used to play the harpsichord when he was much younger so he was amazed at the keys the different kinds of frogs represented.

With much curiosity, Esteban wanted to finish the entire tunnel. As he focused too much on the frogs, he forgot about the stalactites. When he looked up, he was surprised at what seemed like ruby and amethyst glitters shining.

"Impressive. I thought I've had enough of the surprises this mysterious place has already shown me."

"Wait till you see what lies at the end, young man."

"Sure."

The cave was not so easy to explore. The pathways were narrow and circuitous. But the wonders inside took away all of that, to the point that only the beauty would all one would notice.

As the pathways were getting smaller and smaller, the frogs began to disappear. Until only one frog was left --- a green one.

"B major scale. That's actually my favorite too."

Sunlight began to appear. The cave was winding down nearby. 

He need not go too far anymore. He was just looking too much at the frogs that he did not notice the egress of the cave --- which wowed him at the very first glimpse...

The tunnel actually leads to a fine, sandy beach.

He has traveled far and wide but he never saw anything like it before. White, black, gray, brown sand beaches. Ones with rocks or pebbles. Even pink. But he has never seen something like the one that was before him.

The beach was bestowed with coppery sands made even more dramatic by ripple marks left by the placid tides of the ocean.

He immediately ran to the beach.

"Esteban!"

Somebody called him but the voice didn't seem to be coming from Blaise. He turned around to see who it was.

"Oh no! Gracias! Mi amigo, Sandro! Finally I saw you!"

"My friend, my twin is here as well!"

"Barbaro!"

Barbaro and Sandro were dark-haired twins with bushy dark-haired beards from somewhere in Extremadura. They were in their forties at that time. Both stout with huge tummies. They were best buddies since birth too and always think alike, move alike, wear alike. They also had the very same heartbeat.

The auburn-haired Esteban was sometimes called their third twin. Such was the bond among them.

"Where have you been?" The twins asked the very same question at the very same time, which has always made Esteban smile.

"I made my way by accident to a beautiful falls just beside an equally-breathtaking cave."

"You know what that means, Sandro?"

"Oh yes! The natives must be right after all!"

"What do you mean, amigos?"

The twins said exactly the same thing at the same time, "the natives told us there is a beautiful falls somewhere that hides diamonds, sapphires, rubies, amethysts and topazes. It is just beside a cave."

Other people would find the twins annoying as they often say the same thing at the same time but Esteban not only has high tolerance for them but has also found them to be a rather good company.

"I know how to get there, my amigos. Come over here, I will show you."

"Barbaro, looks like our third twin is finally going to get us there."

But as they reached the entrance of the cave, they saw nothing but vines...

"Wait a minute. It was only here somewhere."

He rended the vines but all he saw were rocks...

To be continued...