Perusina and Perusino: The Sun Gate
Chapter 1: A Museum Without Fries. Perusina and Perusino are visiting an Inca exhibition at the Japanese Palace in Dresden with their class. At first, it all looks like a normal school trip. Then Kusi appears, a cheeky dwarf llama who eats museum signs and leads the children directly to the first forbidden gate.
A school trip that starts boringly
Perusino knew before they even entered that this school trip would be difficult.
The Japanese Palace in Dresden didn't look like a place where you could run, laugh, climb, or eat fries. It looked like a place where adults whispered and children constantly heard phrases like:
“Don’t touch.”
“Don’t run.”
“Perusino, take that out of your mouth right now.”
Perusino stopped on the sidewalk and crossed his arms. "I find museums boring," he said.
Perusina looked at him sideways. "You find everything boring that doesn't have wheels, buttons, or chocolate."
"That's not true," said Perusino. "I also find things exciting that explode."
"Museums don't explode."
"Then that's exactly my problem."
Gold, knots and a suspicious sound
Ms. Menzel was waiting at the entrance with the whole class. She had a list in her hand and that look teachers get when they want to stay friendly but are inwardly sighing very loudly.
"Children," said Ms. Menzel, "today we're visiting a very special exhibition. It's about the Incas."
Perusina immediately sat up straight. "The Incas lived in South America. They had large cities, temples, roads in the mountains, and quipus. Those were knotted cords."
Perusino stared at her. "You secretly memorized the museum beforehand."
"No," said Perusina. "I read."
"That's almost the same."
It was cool in the museum. The display cases contained golden discs, colorful fabrics, small figures, clay bowls, and mysterious knots.
Perusina stopped in front of every display case. Perusino stopped in front of no display case.
Just as Ms. Menzel was about to explain something about an ancient sun festival, Perusino heard a sound.
“Mpf.”
“Mpf-mpf.”
Kusi eats the clue
The sound came from a display case. Perusino slowly turned his head.
Between two old clay pots stood a tiny llama.
It was barely larger than a dachshund, but much fluffier. It had dark button eyes, a cheeky snout, and was chewing on a small white sign.
The sign had probably once said: Please do not touch. Now it only said: Please don't...
Perusino blinked. Then he whispered: "Perusina."
“What?”
“There’s a llama.”
“There are many llama depictions here.”
“No,” said Perusino. “A real llama.”
Perusina stepped beside him. At the same moment, the little llama lifted its head, looked at the two children, and burped softly against the glass pane.
Perusino grinned. "This is the best museum in the world."
Something glows behind the statue
The llama snatched the rest of the sign, wiggled its backside and disappeared behind a large Inca statue at the end of the room.
Perusino already took a step forward. Perusina grabbed his sleeve.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“We’re not allowed behind the barrier.”
“I’m not going behind the barrier.”
“You already have one foot over it.”
Perusino looked at his shoe. "This foot makes its own decisions."
Then they heard it again. "Mäh." It came from behind the statue. But it sounded more like: Come on, you slow human children.
"The llama needs help," said Perusino.
"The llama eats museum signs," said Perusina. "Maybe the museum needs help."
Before Perusina could hold him back again, Perusino slipped behind the statue. Of course, she followed him. Perusino unsupervised was about as safe as a blender without a lid.
The tunnel under the museum
Behind the statue was a narrow crack in the wall. Golden light came from the crack.
“That’s not normal,” said Perusina.
“Finally,” said Perusino.
Behind it, a narrow staircase led downwards. The steps were made of old stone. Signs glowed on the walls, as if someone had painted small suns into the rock.
A sun. A moon. A feather. A paw. A snake. A lightning bolt.
Perusina stopped and looked closely. "That's a sequence," she whispered.
"Or a wall that couldn't make up its mind," said Perusino.
At the bottom, the stairs ended in a tunnel. The floor was crisscrossed with golden lines. They ran back and forth, as if someone had knotted a giant net of light.
In the middle of the tunnel stood Kusi. He was chewing on a museum map.
“Hey!” cried Perusina. “We still need that!”
The llama looked at her. Then it swallowed.
“It ate the exit,” said Perusino.
The first gate opens
Suddenly, the wall in front of them began to tremble. First, only a small point glowed. Then it became a circle. Then a golden gate opened in the middle of the stone.
It was round like a sun. Warm like a summer day. And it hummed, as if a hundred bees were secretly practicing a song.
“We’re leaving now,” said Perusina.
“We’re just looking,” said Perusino.
“No.”
“Just for a second.”
“Touch with your eyes.”
At that moment, Kusi nudged him from behind. Perusino stumbled. His hand touched the golden gate.
For a breath, everything was still. Then a beam of light shot through the tunnel. Up in Dresden, the windows lit up. The dome of the Frauenkirche glittered, as if someone had poured liquid gold over it.
And in the sky, a second sun appeared. Then a third.
Perusina grabbed Perusino's arm. "What have you done?"
Perusino swallowed. Then he pointed at Kusi. "Well, technically it was the llama."
Kusi burped. From the darkness of the tunnel came a raspy voice: "Finally. The first gate is open."
And over Dresden, three suns began to burn.
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