3018 The Black Robe And The Black Dress
Ye Xinxia woke up from her sleep. She did not hear the usual chirping sound from the forest outside her house.
When she opened her eyes, the forest was still covered in darkness. The stars were spa.r.s.e in the sky above the mountains. They looked hazy and distant.
The sky was still dark. Ye Xinxia closed her eyes again.
Unlike the past, she did not fall back to sleep. She was in a clear state of mind. It was so clear that she could paint a subtle painting in her mind. She could even see the patterns on the pillars very clearly…
!!
She saw pots of white flames appear before her. Later, she saw red figures. She also noticed a man in a lengthy white robe with unkempt hair who gave off an air of majesty.
She sat in the middle of the white flame pots. A woman chatted with the man in the white robe. She could not hear the exact conversation. She saw people fall on their knees and cheer, as if an era that belonged to them was about to arrive!
Ye Xinxia opened her eyes.
It was dawn. She heard the familiar chirping sound. The sea was blue and the sky above the mountains was red.
She had the same dream again. She wondered if she had seen it before or if she had imagined it all. Ye Xinxia was confused.
She lifted a pen. Before the images in her dream faded from her mind, she quickly sketched them.
“Fiona, help me find out if these images represent certain symbols.” Ye Xinxia rolled up the paper and pa.s.sed it to Fiona.
“Okay. But before you start your day, drink the cup of flower tea from the G.o.dly Seal Mountain,” said Fiona.
“I’ve been sleeping quite well lately.” Xinxia knew about the special effects of the flower tea from the G.o.dly Seal Mountain.
“Really? I’m glad to hear that. You were still facing the sea when you fell asleep last night. I thought you didn’t sleep well,” said Fiona.
Ye Xinxia looked at the mountain and glanced at the sea. It had two different orientations. The bed chamber was long, and the beds had almost extended to the outside of the base mountain.
This was a common sight in the Parthenon Temple. It was extravagant.
Ye Xinxia was deep in her thoughts upon hearing Fiona’s words.
The bed was extremely large. Ye Xinxia usually slept on one side. Ever since she was young, whenever she slept, she did not have the habit of turning over because of her legs’ condition.
“Recently, all I see are the mountains whenever I wake up,” Ye Xinxia said to herself.
“Haha! It seems that you didn’t really have a good night’s sleep, after all. I often move from one end of the bed to the other when I am asleep. My Lady, imagine how many times you have to turn over to get to the other end of the large bed!” Fiona said to Ye Xinxia.
Ye Xinxia hesitated for a while before she took a small sip of the warm flower tea. She was having some difficulty sleeping recently.
“My Lady, your white dress and black robe are ready. Do you want to look?” asked Fiona.
“No need.”
“I look forward to seeing you put on the white dress. You look beautiful in that dress. You give off an aura that comes naturally from the owner of the white dress, just like the Greek G.o.ddess that we adore. You are the symbol of wisdom and peace,” said Fiona.
The white dress had become a special symbol of the Greek G.o.ddess. The Greeks did not usually wear a white dress. It seemed to signify respect.
During the Flower Festival, the Parthenon Temple’s personnel wore black robes and black dresses. The final elected G.o.ddess would wear a holy white dress. She would become the limelight among the crowd.
The Parthenon Temple’s culture had become a part of the Greek cultures, especially the Greeks in Athens.
On election day, the Greeks and the tourists all dressed in black to blend with the atmosphere. A city full of olive branches and jasmine flowers, with an elegant and dignified woman dressed in a long white gown ascending step by step to the altar of the G.o.ddess in the middle of the spectacular and colorful black crowd certainly was a striking sight.
The stunning figure in white was a crown that surpa.s.sed all glory. It was a perfect symbol that inspired the country with many races!
…
At the arrival of the election day, Athens was covered with flowers.
The city looked like a perfect garden. The angles of the high-rise buildings looked as if they had been smoothed out by the beautiful branches. Although it was a modern city, they seemed to have traveled to an ancient, mythical country with flower branches as walls and petals as streets.
Many people were dressed in black robes and black dresses. Black color itself had a very broad definition, not to mention that the Mediterranean clothing was highly variable. There were various types of black clothing. Some wore s.h.i.+ny, smooth black leather jackets with black stripes interlacing with the light. It was a moment for everyone to show off their uniqueness.
There was a wide array of styles.
The black robes and black dresses were just one tradition. Only the Parthenon Temple personnel strictly complied with the rules of the robes and dresses. Meanwhile, the rules did not apply to the Greeks and the tourists as long as they wore decent colors.
Of course, some young people who wanted to show off their personalities wore whatever color they liked.
However, these people would usually be “squeezed out” from the election site by the majority of the people in black clothing and other believers. People had subconsciously followed the culture and custom of wearing black robes and black dresses during the election day. There was no law enforcement or explicit prohibition about the tradition. If they refused to blend in the culture, they should not join in the fun in the first place. They should follow the crowd.
…
“What will happen if I refuse to dress in black?” One of the tourists asked the tour guide as they walked along the streets in Athens.
“That is your choice. But I have to warn you, many crazy people will bring their own black spray or black paint on that day. Anyone who doesn’t dress in black on the main streets will most likely be sprayed in black,” whispered the tour guide to the tourist.
“Huh? Do those people have a few screws loose in their heads?!”
“It’s true that quite a few of them are mad on that particular day. They don’t mind the risk of being detained.”
“Okay. I’d better wear black, then.”
“By the way, where did the flowers come from? It looks as if the city is filled with flowers. Are they transported from various states in Greece?”
“I suppose so. The flowers play a major role in this festival. How could the Flower Festival live up to its name otherwise?”
The more flowers there were, the stronger the fragrance that filled the buildings. There were at least three flower chains draped on every street sign and streetlights. The laurels that had been planted throughout the city.
The laurels seemed to have been enchanted by a certain spell. They bloomed and covered the concrete buildings. When people wandered around on the streets, they felt as if they had accidentally barged into a Greek mythical garden.