A Tale of Two Translators

(a story proposal I won't be writing)

There were two sunny turquoise cities near to each other— Isthona and Friuli. Because they were so near, both had suffered at the hand of the same expansive fiery blaze which burned their archives, libraries, their recent history. Though, the ancient written history of these twin stone cities was buried deep beneath the more recent archives. These two logs of ancient histories were discovered, and, because of proximity, both histories read similarly. As they were bound by the sea on all sides, there were but two translators left in the land who knew the dead language— the First Translator was hired by Isthona, and the Second Translator by Friuli.

Because the dead language was so archaic and defunct in structure, finding exact meaning proved difficult, which wove in more interpretation than translation. Each disused piece of syntax and symbol puzzled the Translators— sometimes being written bottom to top, diagonally, or in swirling shapes. Each statement more convoluted or flowery than the next, like a riddle who knew it would one day be discovered by a novice.

The First Translator was an impatient human, bound by inscribed meaning— a doctor of languages. The Second Translator was a poet. The Second saw the changing of syntax, structure, sometimes spelling and skips, as having a playful nature. They saw the words on the parchment as an alive thing and almost holding expectation for them, stored dormant for millennia. The First Translator felt every twist and turn back to square one was a trap. A riddle not meant to be solved. Work not able to be completed because of its sinister nature.

There was a sort of vinification versus vilification at play unbeknownst to both Translators. As in, one turned words to wine while the other injected pessimism and exhaust into their meaning. Though, both did their best to finish translations and upon completion— Isthona and Friuli adopted their newly perceived lost cultures. Life in each city would, of course, come to look very different…