The Bendo.

“Hey, wake up buddy.”

“Huh?” I groaned.

The guy hovering over me chuckled. “You’re not going to spend the entire festival sleeping, are you?” he asked.

Festival? I didn’t know what he was talking about. All I knew is that I felt like I woke up from a long night of drinking, and this stranger was keeping the harsh daylight out of my face.

All I could think to say was, “I’m not asleep. I’m just waking up.” But waking up to what? I sat up and heard nearby cheers and laughter of all the revelers that surrounded me. Not long after that, I scanned the area to try and get an idea of where I was. Wherever it was, it wasn’t vegetation-friendly. This place was as hot and dry as the back of my throat. The arid, yellowish landscape just fumed of lifelessness, yet there were throngs of people here, standing around. Some were dancing to the beat of their own phantom drummer, but none showed any concern for me. I was fine with that though. I didn’t really feel like I wanted any attention.

Is it possible to wake up from a dream and still be in it at the same time? That’s what things seemed like to me. I found myself suddenly remembering all of these weird, unique experiences while still being immersed in yet another strange experience altogether. Nothing seemed real, yet I accepted it anyway. In fact, I acknowledged all of it – the beach, the village, and even that bizarre palace that nearly killed me. Or maybe it did. I honestly had no clue.

Just then, a young man hauling bottles of water in a wagon stopped and looked at me quizzically “Dude, do you want something to drink?” he asked.

“Sure,” I replied. “How much?”

“How much?!” he repeated, surprised. “Dude, you don’t have to pay for it. Haven’t you been to the Bendo before?”

That word caught my ear like a fish on a hook. “Been to the what? Did you say ‘the Bendo’?”

“Uh, yeah…okay.” He patted me on the back and left a bottle with me. “Maybe you just need to lie down a little bit longer, dude.” After that, he was onto his next customer. “Dude, you need some water, dude?” he shouted.

I figured there was no point in sitting there any longer, so I stood up slowly, stretching every point on my body along the way. My legs felt as though I hadn’t supported my own weight on them in a long time. The corners of my eyes were caked with the crust of a long sleep. I wiped them away enough to where I could make out several objects in the distance. Among these people’s celebration stood large structures, one behind another, arranged in pairs. They also looked to be set up in two circles: an inner ring and an outer ring. I could see either side wrap away from the horizon and toward my peripheral vision. That’s when I looked up. At my feet and above my head stood an enormous wooden “X.” I then glanced behind me to see another one just as large. They had me sandwiched between them. Instantaneously, I realized what the things were. They were the Bendo, just like what I had found in the palace, but at least three-thousand times bigger and positioned upright in the ground. That’s when I figured out why they were pictured so huge in the book. The book!

I searched my pockets and everywhere else for the book I found in the palace, but it was nowhere. “I must’ve lost it in the flood waters,” I thought. But wait a minute! What about Chaotica? What about that freezing, destructive entity that should’ve killed me? It was nowhere to be seen, as was the case for any bodies of water. Nevertheless, I told myself that this place, as hot and dry as it was, had to be the remains of Mont Lac.

Part of me was still clueless about the whole event, so I stopped a stranger for more information. “Excuse me, what is all this? Where’s the Palaza?” I asked.

“I’m sorry?” she said.

“The Palaza of Avare. This is Mont Lac right? Or am I somewhere else?”

“My brother,” she calmly told me, “this is Mont Lac, and you are exactly where we all need to be.”

“What about those Bendo things?”

She looked at me again like this time she really did believe I knew nothing of this place. “You really don’t know, do you?” she said.

I shook my head.

“The incineration of the Bendo is the best part,” she told me. “Fortunately for you, it should begin momentarily.”

“Well, what do I do? What’s the point?”

“The point is to enjoy it,” she yelled as she left. “Enjoy yourself! Enjoy life! There are no inhibitions except those we put upon ourselves!”

No inhibitions, huh? I wonder what she meant exactly. I didn’t know, but I felt that it was time I found out on my own.

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