Harmony

The Village

It was probably about ten to twenty minutes' walk from her current position. She was feeling a good deal of relief at the sight of buildings that would provide shelter and comfort. Adding to this relief was the appearance of a narrow path leading towards the village, not far ahead of her. It was a walking trail only, but it was definitely there. The concern for her welfare vanished, and her thoughts turned to how the villagers would receive her.

As she got closer she still could not see anyone moving around. It was the middle of the afternoon, on a pleasant day, yet no-one was outside? She would not have expected this in any village from her knowledge bank. There were seven buildings in total. Six of a similar size and a larger central building. A few more minutes of walking and studying it, and there was still nobody outside and no clear signs of habitation, such as items positioned randomly outdoors, as she might see if she was looking at a settlement that was fully or even partially occupied. The whole village was surrounded by grassed areas and trees, nothing more. It was clean, beautifully laid out, but was apparently unoccupied.

Her hopes of resolving her amnesia were slipping away. She desperately wanted to know who she was, where she lived, and the people in her life who mattered to her. An abandoned village was not going to help with resolving this problem.

There must be someone: friend, partner, relative, who really cared and wondered where she was. They'd be concerned for her welfare and this notion along bothered her as much as any. She began to pine for companionship, for someone to talk to. Anyone, it didn't matter if they were strangers. This was the only settlement visible, and it seemed a very remote location. If there was no help here, where could she go? She began to despair as she thought along these lines.

A wave of calmness hit her again. The rush was so strong and reassuring that her previously worrisome thoughts vanished immediately. She was grateful to whoever was sending the nice thoughts to her, even if she had no idea how they were doing it. Hope returned, and she could now study the village. No need to completely give up just yet.

The construction of the buildings was at once foreign yet comforting. Their appearance did not fit in with anything in her knowledge bank about how houses should look. They were not made of wood or brick, or even metal. They had a strange white plaster appearance, with unusual windows and doors made of some sort of reflective crystal, preventing her from seeing inside. The houses were perfectly square in shape. The roof of each house, as well as the central building, sloped upwards on all sides, reaching a four-sided pyramidal shape at the top. The top portion of each roof was covered by more of the same strange crystalline material as the windows. Such advanced looking buildings held the promise of providing good shelter. As for food, she was not so sure.

The stream she had been following most of the day had been gently widening of late. Within the village, it was very much an attractive centrepiece. A bridge between the two middle houses and near the larger central building permitted movement across the stream. There were some tall, leafy trees scattered throughout the village, in amongst the houses and surrounding the large central building.

The village was strikingly symmetrical in its design and it was obvious that the buildings had been constructed at the same time. Crafted was perhaps a better description: their appearance was as near flawless as her knowledge bank would permit her to imagine. The six identical houses were laid out in a uniform, pre-planned pattern, with the community centre, as she was now calling it, in the middle of the village and clearly a focal point. It was as if it was all designed for a specific purpose or a set number of people.

"Hello?" she called tentatively as she approached the middle two houses. Silence was the only response.

"Is anyone there?"