Dawn Over Vineta
I landed in the lost city of the Baltic Sea that only materializes for 24 hours every 100 years. Only for a brief moment in time will the city appear out of the deep sea. Dawn is breaking and everyone is awakening of a sleep that has lasted for centuries. The glow of the morning is all over the houses.
It is going to be a glorious 24 hours! People are getting ready for visitors. For the big celebration. There will be feasts everywhere. There will be fireworks. Here, fireworks start early and last the whole day. No minute can be wasted. Not even a second. Music is playing and laughter and dancing fills the air and spaces. This is the legendary city of Vineta.
People once lamented about not having enough time. They were not appreciative of the riches they had and spend all their time complaining to and about each other. A curse fell on them so that the people of Vineta would only have to endure each other for a single day in 100 years. The rest of their 36,525 days, they have to see and be with nobody. Think of nothing. Their lives slowed down just as they have so desperately wanted.
During the 24 hours they have with each other, though, no second is wasted. People started to take out the windows and doors of their living spaces so that they would be with each other during these precious 24 hours. No one is a stranger anymore. The whole city is a joyful welcome.
What a price to pay, though! People can feel the toll of the curse. Sleeping for 100 years is hard on their bodies and spirits. When they wake up, they crave each other. They want to shake the loneliness that has come over them but so far they haven’t been able to do so.
Every spell can be broken you say?
How long does this city already exist, you ask? - Nobody knows. The people have no time to think about that in their 24 hours of precious togetherness.
Hm, I wonder… Is it a curse at all?
