Cave of Wonders

Crystal, a former peasant girl helped a Witch, Lady Hilda to find a genie to assist her to find the potion of health to heal her village's people.

The lady sat on a dimly lit table. The orange light in the strange room originated from a glowing orange bulb. She sat holding a black feather in her hand as she scribbled some words on an open book. She looked up at me as I approached her. "Welcome back, Crystal!" She greeted me. I smiled and politely greeted her back. She nodded back at me and smiled while she carried on scribbling on the empty pages of the book.

Finally, after a short amount of silence, she finally looked up at me. "My dear, you have done perfectly well." I looked at my feet as her black cat with green eyes meowed playfully while trailing a ball of black yarn on the floor. I lifted up the bottle, "Yes, I found the genie." The lady Hilda was a good witch. The kind of witch that helped heal the sick. I met her while I was getting water at the well. During that time, I was just a normal peasant girl. After my father fell sick, things became tough for me and my siblings. Our mother left us when we were little so dad and I had to take care of the others. Dad was a carpenter. He had to go deep into the woods to chop firewood and sell them, he also has a shop full of wooden artworks.

I put down the black pouch containing the blue liquid. It would be used to help the genie. Marcie, the black cat meowed and carried the pouch over to the lady Hilda with its mouth. I smiled as I stroked Marcie's velvet black fur. Marcie meowed again and purred, this time lovingly at me. Lady Hilda opened the black pouch and took out the bottle, immediately she muttered some enchanted spells and took some of the blue liquid as she opened the other bottle, where the genie lay.

Immediately, there was a noise like a loud clap of thunder, and the bottle cap containing the genie flew open. In a mist of yellow smoke, there lay the genie. He was wearing a white turban and a white suit. Something which reminded me of the story about 'Ali Baba and the fourty thieves'. "My mistress, how can I assist you?" The genie was tan and he played about with his moustache while holding a harp in his other hand. "You need to help Crystal here, to find her lost father. She also needs your help in finding the sacred potion that could cure all diseases in this village. It is located deep in the Green Forest and you need to help her find it." Lady Hilda gave her direct orders to the genie.

The genie played his harp and finally, I found myself transported on a white magic carpet together with the genie. I let out a low gasp as I realised that I had nothing to hold on to. The carpet continued to float its way through the air and I noticed that we had travelled past gardens, valleys and hilltops. The genie carried on smoking his pipe while he lazily eyed me. "So tell me, mademoiselle, what makes you want to take the lead in finding the potion." His eyelids were drooping and I believed that the answer he wanted to hear might not be much of an interest to him. "My father disappeared and I need to find him. Besides, our city village has been invaded by elves, who also infected the villagers, young and old with a certain virus, which only Lady Hilda could heal." My blue eyes looked distant as I plunged into the memory of my grandfather, the chief of the village. How he invented a potion that could cure all diseases. However, before the cure could be brought out in the village, he died of an unknown cause and Lady Hilda had insisted that the only cure the people could get, was the potion.  

"I can read your mind, little girl." The genie silently stood in front of me. "I believe in you and trust that your courage to get the potion shall set your people free and heal their land. As you are the chief's granddaughter, I believe that you inherited much courage from your late mother." The genie carried on playing his harp as I clung firmly on the tip of the carpet, afraid to fall over.

The wind finally slowed down and the carpet took a sharp turn before disappearing in the woods. I found myself on the ground with the genie. There was a man carrying a pitcher of water and I was told by the genie to wash my hands and face with it before I enter the cave nearby to get the potion. The potion is guarded by Souls of the Dead, which can't harm you only if you are protected by a certain water at the Lake of The Living. "This is the jug of the water from the Lake of The Living?" I asked the man who poured the water on my hands and face. He immediately nodded so I decided to fill up the balance of the water in my empty tumbler.

As I started to pack my knapsack to leave, the genie gave me one word of advice. "Never ever turn around if you hear or see anything!" I nodded and opened the bottle while the genie flew back into his nest. I turned to look at the pitcher man who faded back into blue smoke to enter the other bottle, I mean, as he was his assistance. I look towards the cave, there was a small light shining through from the genie's bottle and I heard him say, "Follow the light!" Immediately, I followed the dim white light that led me into the cave.

At the entrance of the cave, I heard someone calling my name. "Don't bother it! Just keep moving!" The genie reminded me softly. I nodded and carried on walking. Immediately, I heard footsteps in front of me and saw some giant footprints. This time, I felt nervous but I decided to carry on the journey. "Don't look inside the cave, just follow the white light!" The genie's voice echoed throughout the cave. Suddenly, a stalactite dropped from the top of the cave, hitting and crashing to the ground, huge splinters of wood was everywhere. I ducked, hoping not to get hurt. I also heard distant voices coming in the dark, fairy like white creatures roamed the cave. One even stuck out its hand and touched me on my elbow.

I squealed in pain and fury as something ice cold brush through my arm. The chill went through my bones, soaking into my spine and finally, I had a splitting headache. "Are you alright, my dear." A sweet voice echoed throughout the cave. My vague vision suddenly faded and I saw a nymph dressed in white standing at the entrance of the cave, "Are you looking for this, love?" She was smiling at me, her dazzling beauty nothing more than a lure of a seductress to man. I hesitatingly replied, "I'm looking for the potion, hidden in the green forest." The nymph suddenly exploded in an explosion of bright white light, sending flying white debris everywhere.

I closed my eyes and covered my ears in fright. The genie suddenly managed to pop out of the bottle, "Well done, that was the guardian of the Dead. Oh my moustache, I wonder how did you manage to make her explode. She was supposedly indestructible." "Maybe it's the myth," replied the assistant. "That a girl about eighteen will one day break the curse and she will be in line of the throne." The assistant replied in a squeaky voice. "I heard about the legend too, the legend of the heroine who save the village city!" I replied excitedly, "but I can't be the one! I'm not from a royal heritage nor am I a warrior. I'm just the chief's granddaughter."

The puzzled genie finally looked at me saying, "Maybe you don't have to be of noble blood, the people will honour anyone of age to break the spell and set the people free, anyone." He gently replied and continued, "Lady Hilda knew about you and she wrote the story." "She knew that I would save the people. How?" I continued asking questions that only genies could afford to answer. The genie smiled and said, "She wrote it all in her book, the book of knowledge and wisdom, the book that only genies could read." He took a huff and puff from his pipe.

"The book of knowledge and wisdom which only genies can read?" I repeated after the genie who instantly flew back into his bottle together with his assistant. Suddenly, I felt the cave turned darker and in the midst of the darkness, I heard the sweetest voice ever. "Welcome, dear child to the cave of wonders. In it holds the secret of only the wisest could have known. Tell me, what do you seek?" I couldn't see anyone but in reply, I said, "I need the sacred potion to heal my village people. I need to bring restoration and healing to the land which has been invaded by elves and gnomes." My voice was shaking as I looked all around me.

The sweet voice laughed passionately, "Very well, dear child. You can have the healing potion back. Your grandfather sent it to me to guard it. I am the guardian of the cave of wonders. I was your grandfather's friend back then many years ago. Your grandfather died while trying to produce the potion, somebody poisoned him." I thanked the voice and bowed low as a bottle of green liquid rolled out to my foot in the midst of the darkness. "Take it and heal your people. It will serve them well for another hundred years." The mysterious voice echoed the cave with a tinkling loud laugh and finally disappeared and everything was silent once more.

"What in the world was that?" I asked, the genie had stealthily got out of his bottle again and was smoking his pipe. "That is the guardian of the cave of wonders. She was imprisoned here by the Souls of the Death who demanded her to guard the potion of health and life. She denied them the custody of having it and they guarded her here knowing that she was immortal and they couldn't destroy her, she was bound to be chained here for a hundred years." "However, you broke the spell now she is free to go anywhere." The genie took another puff and went on his way. I followed the duo and found the light outside. It was nearing midnight. Everyone was asleep. However, I know that I have a message at hand to spread to the village's townspeople. It's about time for a merry celebration!

Reviews

[The Storyteller]

I like how you portray the Genie as a being that cares less about the affairs of humans or the delusions of grandeur. I also like that when you mentioned not having anything to hold on to, while riding the flying carpet, I got a real good idea of what it must be like to stand on rug that is flying through the air. Unfortunately the story didn't hold my attention and I had a difficult time following the storyline.