The Great Ski-Lift. Anton Soliman

that somehow mesh with the fairy tales you listened to when little. Townies always imagine some romanticized idyll that a working shepherd would never dream of. - Oskar poured more of the beer that Clara had left on the table.

      - I understand. This sounds like the -Recognition- debate, a big problem, I've heard of it. You know, I'm an engineer and for some time I was interested in computer models. I've also read a few books on Artificial Intelligence, he said breathlessly, -but at this point, I don't want to get too technical, and I’m no means an expert in this regard.

      He passed a nervous hand through his hair as if upset by an unpleasant memory. Why did he start talking about Artificial intelligence? He had gone off on a wild tangent, best return to the original topic: - Sorry for going off on one; let's get back to the cable car. So it was built to cross over a wall? It all sounds a bit mysterious.

      - They tell me the cable car crosses the tower and reaches a pasture up high. That’s all I know- she now seemed irritated: - I told you, I never reached the plateau!

      - And the snow starts after these pastures? Therefore, anyone skiing has to go all the way up and then descend to the forecourt using one of the slopes. I get the impression that we're in the wrong season...Or maybe the snow is late this year?

      - No, we're in full winter and it's cold for us too. It rarely snows down here in the valley to be fair; all we often get is this whitish sludge. In the winter, it is usually cloudy, and we usually get sleet. It sometimes snows at night but not for long, within two or three days everything melts.

      - So this cable car should be used in summer to go on hikes! – chuckled Oskar.

      - No, you're wrong. The Mayor built it to connect to the Great Ski Lift, the plant manager knows the details. I'll introduce you tomorrow morning.

      The two changed the subject and chatted a few minutes more; Oskar was then led to a wing of the old building with a room that was nice and warm.

      It was an old room, partially used as storage: inside were furniture and family items. Clara said this was the room of memories and that Oskar would not feel cold here. A bit like what happened in the kitchen.

      In Valle Chiara

      Oskar woke with a jolt. He barely remembered the previous day's events. How did he get to this unfamiliar room? From the window, a faint whitish luminescence betrayed the winter light. He looked at the watch and discovered it was ten o'clock in the morning. He started to get up but gently lay down again: he had nothing to do. He was on holiday in a room full of ancient objects. When his eyes became accustomed to the shadows, he calmly observed the objects from the past piece by piece.

      Did he really like the past? The past is an obsession; the clues in the present always start from childhood. This hypothesis is now a classic many people resort to. So you needed to regress to find the broken thread... and what then? To emerge again in the present, transformed. Yet, in that moment, this possibility seemed impractical.

      

      Sometimes he reflected on his perception of the world as a child. It was a pleasant world to look forward to adulthood in. Maybe unpleasant events, in existence back then too, did not concern him so closely. At that time, he was detached from Evil. He had reached Harmony without even realizing. Everything then crumbled because of the world of desires. No one could ever explain to him how separation from harmony begins. Any trivial thing, maybe desiring something beyond a certain intensity. When desire is present, the nascent Centre acquires a gargantuan mass, deforming the rest, rupturing harmony which vanishes forever at light speed, together with the Present, leaving the Being at the centre of the disordered dregs of Reality.

      Following this…Things are no longer what they were.

      It must have happened just like that.

      He had been jolted out of a fantastic train and forced to wander in a frozen tundra to gather fragments. Certainly, that train was running at light speed.

      There was a knock at the door and Clara came in with a breakfast tray.

      - Good morning! Did you sleep well? I brought you breakfast in bed because we consider you an esteemed guest. My dad asked me to take care of you, - She said grinning.

      Surprised by the warm welcome, he thought of the melancholic landscape seen the day before and the deserted cable car forecourt while sleet fell from the sky. For some reason, a deprived child's first day at school came to mind...

      The inn had welcomed him like a needy relative. Undoubtedly, what he was experiencing was not a stable situation for spending a holiday. That feeling of hot and cold was familiar to him from other places, from other people. Yet he had arrived here in a particular spirit, which was connected to the Change in some way. Oskar stayed in bed enjoying his breakfast: -Yesterday you talked about a plant manager I could ask for information.

      - Yes, of course, I'll take you there afterwards.

      The sky was overcast, and only a few passers-by on the street. Some were carrying hay; others cleaned or fiddled with tools. However, everyone moved slowly. Oskar was reminded of the animated mechanisms fitted on the clocks of Gothic bell towers.

      The manager's office was on the other side of town. It was a new one-storey building, built without any particular care. Clara knocked on the door and someone immediately opened it.

      - Mr Franchi, good morning! My father sends his regards, she said, before glancing at Oskar and adding: - This is our guest here on holiday. He has heard about the cable car and wants some more information.

      With the introductions over, the young woman bid goodbye to those present, saying she had errands to run in town and quickly stepped out.

      The manager had a shy look; he asked Oskar to make himself comfortable and yelled at someone in the next room to make coffee. - Would you like a cup of coffee? - he asked smiling: -Tell me, sir, how did you learn of our mountain association?

      - Let me first introduce myself, my name is Oskar Zerbi. One of my friends, a mountaineering enthusiast, told me about the station here. In fact, he told me about a ski resort here in Valle Chiara linked to the Great Ski-lift circuit-; he shook his head and added: - You see, I arrived yesterday and curiosity drove me straight to the forecourt where the ski lifts should leave from. Believe me; I was taken aback by the abandoned state. Moreover, I can hardly believe what I’ve seen so far can be a ski station.

      The manager had followed him, nodding in assent throughout; when Oskar finished talking, he said with a half-smile: - Mr Zerbi, what did your friend really tell you? - Maybe it sounds weird that the manager of a ski station asks such questions but reserving all judgment I must, in any case, admit that the cable car is to be considered... experimental for now.

      Oskar liked this version: he was finally extracted from a situation that felt very unreal.

      - My friend, who like I said, is passionate about mountains, mentioned this village by name. Now, I can't remember exactly if he used your station to climb up the slopes or to go down to the valley... But based on what I have seen up to now, this seems an important detail. – You’re quite right to emphasize this aspect. It is more likely your friend used our cable car to go downhill. You see, from what I can remember, there's not one person I don't know who has used the line so far. At this stage, we have only trialled the plant with testers.

      The manager paused a moment as if to better assesses what he was saying, before stating: - Starting this winter, our company has decided to open up to the public!

      - So I would be the first tourist to use the cable car?

      - Not quite. Let's say that apart from the test pilots, three or four people have gone up. Trustworthy people we...but, - his face took on a worried look, - I can't say anything else!

      Oskar thought back to his friend who as far as he understood, had not reached the plateau starting from here; now it seemed more likely he had used the cable car just to descend. Maybe he came across the plateau by chance and gone up from a more known lift station. Therefore, moving from one