THE CLÉRIGOS TOWER REVISITED IN THE LITERARY STYLE OF FRANZ KAFKA*
The Clérigos Tower and the Labyrinths of Perception – a short tale.
In the vastness of the city, a solitary man named Heitor lived in a basement of an alley, right behind the Clérigos Tower. Heitor grew up looking at it. For years and years, he became accustomed to contemplating that immense structure that rose up to the clouds. Imposing and haunting, like a needle piercing the veil of the sky.
One day, he had the opportunity to pass through the door that granted access to the Tower. Someone had inadvertently left it open. Heitor ventured forth. He didn't hesitate. Used to living on a subterranean level of reality, he had always dreamed and fantasized about the idea of seeing the city from above. How much light could there be?
As he climbed it, the 225 steps seemed to multiply in confusion, a vertical labyrinth that threatened to engulf him. Heitor felt like a being entangled in a surreal web of steps and turns, while time and space danced around him, as if they had lost their meaning.
Upon reaching the upper levels, reality began to oscillate. Dimensions distorted. Dark walls gave way to dreamlike landscapes, while the sounds of the city merged into an unintelligible murmur. The very Tower, once solid, now seemed to pulse and breathe like a living entity.
Clouds collided with Heitor's thoughts, and thoughts danced like leaves in the wind.
Finally, Heitor reached the summit. On the balcony surrounding the bell at the top, he saw Porto in all its splendor. Space expanded, and he found himself in a transcendental dimension, where the lines between his body and the world had vanished. The city stretched out at his feet, buildings and people merging into an indistinct mass. The 360º view was a dazzling tapestry, where Porto stood out in all its grandeur.
He realized that the Clérigos Tower, built by the architect Nicolau Nasoni in the 18th century, had picked him for a labyrinthine journey into his own mind. The journey was internal, an exploration of the unconscious, a metamorphosis of perception.
As he descended, the steps regained their structure, and reality resumed its familiar form. The city regained its contours, but Heitor remained touched by the surrealism of his experience. The Clérigos Tower, the seeming symbol of stability he had admired for so long, had cast him into a world of enigmas and revelations, a profound dive into the abyss of life. After all, he didn't just climb a tower; he embarked on an entire journey through the unknown that forever transformed his perception of existence.
*In a combination of AI and human skills, this text seeks to recreate the literary style of Franz Kafka, the great master of ambiguity. Between reality and the inexplicable, the Clérigos Tower becomes a stage for unsettling metamorphoses.