He was trawling the dark web one evening when he found the site.
After the divorce, his evenings had dragged. Coming out of an unhappy childless marriage, spending this time at the screen seemed to bring him some small measure of joy. This particular site was intriguing. It seemed to be some sort of multiple choice survey of twenty questions, all about happiness. It said those who got nineteen out of twenty correct, could go on to the next stage. He sat thinking for a while, then took the survey. When he’d answered the final question, his screen went black for several seconds, then a large message box appeared on the screen. It read: The Crystal of Happiness. Underneath this, in much smaller text was a footnote, this said: This is only available to a true seeker of happiness. This was followed by a small ‘Enter’ button. He hit it.
The next screen carried an explanation that the location of the crystal is revealed on the following screen and went on to describe the power of the crystal by saying that if it is held in the hand for one full minute, happiness is bestowed on the bearer for the rest of their days. This was followed by another small ‘Enter’ button. So, he hit that one too.
The instructions that followed were strange to say the least. He read through them several times. He read that to fulfil the requirements of the quest, he had to make his way to a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea named Chios. He would need to visit the Maritime Museum where, beneath a curved staircase, he would find a village map. In the upper right corner of it he would see a village square, and this would be his destination.
The instructions went on to say that the square sits in the centre of a crossroad of alleys. It stated that this must be approached from the east, saying that care must be taken to approach the square, not only from the east, but to progress along it no further than half way; no further than the line of blue, flat, rectangular stones that run across the alleyway from one side to the other. It was stated emphatically that this must not be crossed, until the time was right. Although not visible from there, a distant bell would toll at exactly two in the afternoon. It was indicated that there would be no need for haste, as time itself would stop while still in the alley. This mysterious piece of information was how it ended.
When he’d finished reading through the instructions once more, he considered the overall nature of what he had read. Despite the strange nature of it, he realised just how extremely detailed and precise the whole thing had been laid out. It all seemed to be too exact to be anything other than a clear set of directions. He sat thinking for a while. On reflection, he had the resources, he had the will, and he certainly regarded himself as being a true seeker of happiness. So, within a few short days, having made the necessary arrangements, he was on a plane to Athens. From there he took the ferry from the port of Piraeus to the island of Chios.
Once there, he visited the museum as instructed and found the map. Looking for landmarks, he saw the best way to enter the alley. At the entrance of it, he made doubly sure of his orientation and direction by using the compass on his phone. He proceeded to enter the alley from the east. He gaged it to be some one hundred metres long and about three metres wide, with buildings on either side. He walked slowly forward until he came to the blue line, as described. He used his phone again to check the time; it was comfortable. He stood waiting, for what seemed an age, for the distant bell to sound. Remarkably, he was looking down at the World Clock site on his phone when at exactly two o’clock the ancient bell rang out. He slowly raised his foot and stepped across.
In that instant, the alley he was standing in had changed completely. His vision seemed to be temporarily blurred, but he could see that he was no longer alone. There were thirty, or even forty people, all wandering up and down the alley. His eyesight gradually improved as he made out men and women who were obviously in a variety of ethnic dress. They had on clothing that seemed to represent a cross-section of cultures from around the world. Some seemed to be meandering about aimlessly while others were stooping or crouched. It was then, after squeezing his eyes shut really hard a couple of times, that he became aware of the fact that the floor of the entire alley was covered with crystals, each one being no larger than a thumbnail.
He crouched down and picked one up.
He’s still there!
