The Wizard of St. Main

The Wizard of St. Main

I walked beside my friend, thrilled at the prospect of discovering something new. Such was the air of mystery surrounding forests and this one too. The trees whispered stories of adventure, in a land so peaceful. The smells were enlightening as much as the sights and sounds. I, Grace, 11 yrs old, preferred a quiet walk rather than too much chatter though Amanda, my friend would constantly come up with arguments as to why we were going this way, by the way and made for a good conversation on the way. We absorbed the freshness of the place we called and felt charming with all our hearts
. 
We were Grace and Amanda. While I, Grace, was dark-haired, Amanda was a typical blonde-fair and beautiful. While I was innocent and cute, quite pretty, Amanda was more aware though both were as intelligent, I being more childish and freer than Amanda. While Amanda was European, I was Indian. Both of us were innocent and free in our own ways, like all children are. 

We wished to see a river stream, it was there. We hastened our steps and immediately soaked our feet in the cool stream. Pebbles and rocks lay underneath the cool breezy stream. We stayed there as long as ourselves wanted, taking in all the love of the place. “Isn’t it beautiful?” I said to my friend. She resounded with a nod. “It's lovely, “she said. We could sit here for hours on hours and not go away. “Are you comfortable?”I asked of her, “yeah but is it safe?, she enquired. “Not a speck of dirt!” I cried, and we laughed. 

“Let's take a picture”, she said and then we took loads of pictures of the beautiful stream and trees rustling nicely. 

I was the carefree, explorative kind while my friend was the more cautious, controlled kind. Wondering whether she was enjoying as much as I was didn’t take away from the goodness of our walk. Such was the mystery inherent in the forest-a refreshing one. You could think, do whatever and it would not affect the lovely environs around, the richness of the place.

We found a place in the forest to sit and relish the food that we packed from home. It was an empty place in the middle of trees and we spread our sheet there. There was no joy better for me than exploring the quiet charms of this beautiful place. It was heavenly so I didn’t really care what my friend was experiencing. I was busy enjoying the environs by myself. She relished the food more than me. I was still enchanted by the forest cover-absolutely divine-I muttered to myself. “No place like this”, I said to my friend. 

After we’d devoured our eats, fruits, cake, drinks, chips, etc, we began to move on. “So do you like this place? I asked my friend. After she’d relished the food, she said,”Yeah, nice,” with her same cautionary tone. Nice was too little a word for me, I said “It's beautiful!” Then I turned to look at the sky. It was a dim blue color but like everything else, matched the intensity of the forest hues and shades. 

The trees stood tall and as beautifully as blossoms exuding the beauty of peace, quiet and exuberance to one n all. Beauty and harmony echoed their diverse forms. We were excited, not just by their hues and colors but quiet charms. Such peace, radiating as never before.

The tree trunks were endearing to touch, sight and smell. The leaves and branches breathed life to the trees. Their calm tall selves had us baffled and gawking at their beauty and self.

The earth paved adventure’s way like a red carpet laid of leaves and rocks strewn here and there. Yet no problem presented itself to us during our walk, such was earth’s sublime charm. 

The stream didn’t string us cold but was just right to the touch; we felt cleansed and overjoyed to dip our feet into it. The pebbles and rocks made for a natural flow. 
Sitting, eating in the middle of the forest was like guests gathered at a party that never ended, Tuck Everlasting, yes, except we were still mortal and happily so. 
The spiritual dimensions of the forest were high as sun shining in the sky and filled us with glee, warmth and happiness. 

We couldn’t imagine joy, happiness better than this we had here. And it was all free. 
Dusk came and filled our heart with trepidation but the forest never incited any fear. 
“Let's go back,” my friend said. “No, we’re almost through to the other side; it’ll hardly take a while.” I urged her to keep moving.

We walked on and sure enough upon reaching the other side of the big forest, we saw a sight as we could never imagine in our wildest of dreams. 

A mansion. A big and beautiful mansion like the forest we’d just come through. 

“Let's go,” my friend said for a change. She liked the mansion as much as I did. 
We were onto something, we knew in our hearts, from thereon.          

                                                          ***

The Mansion

Our eyes, ears, hearts were all set. A mystery mansion. We couldn’t wait to enter. We walked fast. 

At last we reached the big door. 

We knocked, no answer. We knocked again. Again, no answer. After ringing the bell and knocking several times, we entered the mansion. It had big windows and just one entrance.

Upon entering, the sights engrossed us to no end. The living room was a really cozy dwelling of this mysterious place. The house was traditional with apt furniture. But we just loved it. There was an aura of mystery everywhere. There was a rocking chair and a fireplace nearby. The walls had portraits of all kinds �" royal men, women, beautiful. But it was dark. We searched for a light. No lights. Just a bulb lit the whole place giving it such mysterious hues. There was so much stuff to explore. It looked like an abandoned place. That heightened our curious urges to unearth all kinds of treasure hidden there.

There were stairs leading to a floor upstairs. We alighted them deciding we’d explore the house first, then its treasures/secrets. There were rooms, each with a different theme. Like this we went to the second floor, more rooms and sights. Totally enthralled by it, we decided to explore the floors one by one. 

Ground floor- there was a diary laid on the cupboard. We immediately got onto it and opened it. Poems, stories, quotes were written inside. It was beautiful. The rest was filled with daily routine. At the back were some letters. Written to her family and lover, we skimmed through them fast. The lady in question seemed to be a beautiful young woman. Onto a box full of jewels and other things-the storehouse of imagination. The jewels gleamed in their intricate designs splendidly.. 

Soon we saw a lady standing at the height of stairs. We were shocked and held our breaths, ready to leave, till we saw she was a pretty lass who told us “wait.” 
We felt secure enough by her appearance to wait. Next, she slowly came down the stairs. 

“Please, don’t leave,” she spoke in a soft voice. “I want to talk to you both,” she said.

Soon, she beckoned us to have cookies that she offered on a golden plate. We took them as they looked deliciously shaped. 

We offered to tell her then, “Hi, we just wanted to explore the place after no-one seemed to be there Sorry, we didn’t know you were here.” We uttered the words from our mouths honestly.

“I understand,” she said. “Won’t you take a seat?” she then urged us to sit. “I was in the backyard,” she clarified for us.

We sat down comfortably ready to hear her story. 

“I’m Susanne, “she spoke again in her tender voice. I saw you both leafing through my dairy. It’s ok. I rather love now that you have read it. Since years I had no-one to share my story with,” she said. “So I’m glad you read some of it,” she went on. “And now I want to tell you my whole story,” she went on. 

“Please do,” we said. “We’d love to hear it and be of any help, “we gave her an encouraging nod.

The lady spoke, “I was in love with a man, or thought I was. But when he left me, I realized he just wanted to bid time with me and use me, though he had everything, he didn’t have what I had. He left me all alone in this place and never returned. I would write him these letters and then decided not to send them. So they’re here but all the words are now hollow with meaning as I feel no love in my heart for him. “
“How could he do this to you, you being such an angel? “We asked. By now, we were sure, she was some sort of a fairy princess and we’d landed ourselves in just the right place. But we were eager to help her now as much as we could. “Please go on”, we told her. 

“Anyway, soon the place started to haunt me and I started yelling and screaming because of voices I heard. I thought there were ghosts and spirits in this house, but that they couldn’t harm me.  So I kept talking to them and telling them to leave but they’d just not go. Moreover, they got me involved in their worlds and commanded me to do things I didn’t want to do, like hurt my loved ones. So, after hearing me go mad with them, my family too left me. They sent me a doctor though to heal me. The doctor was a local resident from nearby and then he told me everything. “
We couldn’t believe what we were hearing. It was all a mystery unfolding right before us, though we couldn’t have enough of it.

The lady went on. “The doctor then told me there’s a crazy man with evil powers who resides nearby and anyone new who comes to the area, he spooks and scares people in their house. So, you’re not hearing these voices in your head, dear, now your mental condition has so deteriorated, you must visit the Wizard who can heal you completely. Because of these disturbing voices, you’ve become quite mentally disturbed, the doctor told me.”

“Now, we must find the wizard,” she said. He lives on an island in St. Main. Either he must be brought here or we must go there ourselves,” she said. 
“Wow, what a nice story, “we exclaimed. Both of us uttered at the same time “we must go to the island ourselves, as it won’t be safe leaving you here alone. We can take the help of your doctor. “And so we prepared to go to the island of St Main. Susanne collected all her precious belongings and clothes in a suitcase, and then that very day, we departed to the doctor’s house. We told him of our plans and he got ready very quickly too. 

We headed in a taxi to the airport of Montfort, where we were, without telling our parents. We decided against that as they’d ask us not to leave otherwise.  We’d tell them upon reaching the island, by the time we’d be secure there.
                                                        
                                                            ***

The Wizard

We arrived on the island. Susanne had a nice time in the flight as she hadn’t ventured out much before that. But when we discovered the island, it was more than just beautiful. The beach, the waters, everything was crystal clear as if no-one had ever come here before, and surrounded with trees. 

The doctor finally told us after an hour of exploration to head to the wizard’s place. We went up rocks in the middle and back of the coastline and reached our destination in time. It was the next day in the afternoon we arrived and the sun was shining bright. Hadn’t seen an island like this; neither like Hawaii nor the Bahamas. 
The wizard’s castle was big and stood on lush green grounds, near the beach, on the hills. We awaited the next moment with baited breaths; it was beyond our wildest imaginations. 

We rang the bell. The caretaker opened the door. “Hi, we got your call doctor. I am the caretaker”. And so he asked us to come straight up to the wizard’s room following him. We reached the private living room of the wizard heading up the stairs. There was a small pool besides and a comfy environment, cozy too with a fireplace. The wizard was standing at the other side of the room, facing the large window. As soon as he saw us enter, he turned his tall frame and came towards us. 
We were awestruck by his sight. He was a most handsome man in his 40’s, good-looking and looked kind too.”Hello everyone, he said. Take a seat.” And then he got us to sit “Now, before we leave matters to later realms of the evening, let’s talk immediately of pressing concerns”

We spoke. “Hi, I’m Grace and I’m Amanda and that’s Susanne and the doctor, “we said. 

“Susanne, yes, I know all about her already. So, how are you?” he asked her kindly

“Well, I was thrilled to see your island,” she spoke.”Its beauty is beyond words”

“So is yours,” replied the wizard.  

And then Susanne described her problem and we supported her at various junctures. 

“I see, well no problem at all. It’ll take a few days to cure your problem and kids you can enjoy too, if your parents allow. “

“We’d love to explore” we cried.

“Sure, the caretaker will take you around” he spoke. 

Meanwhile he told us about himself, how he was not just a wizard but could heal people too and gift them with needed powers. He then, showed us some tricks that were all very scientific, nothing miraculous, just psychological. He turned to Susanne, and gave her a hug and kiss. “It’s going to be alright, honey,” he said. And with those introductions, Susanne and him started exploring the greens and strode along the beach soon while we played around in the castle that was warm and colorful, interesting, varied, adventurous, and romantic. 

“Susanne, “he spoke along the beach. “What is it that bothers you most?” “These voices in my head, some are so violent and negative, and I don’t even want to have them or hurt people even with the power of thought alone” Susanne went on describing her whole history. And then, the wizard did a strange thing. He kissed Susanne on the lips. And all her venom seemed to disappear. She felt this happening literally. She felt clear in the head with no more negative thoughts rising, disturbing even the conversation the wizard and her were having. “Next, we’ll go to the castle and I’ll give you a juice every day, that’ll develop more positivity in you. It’s been specially prepared with a dash of my powers. You don’t need to worry, Susanne, with me, you will get better everyday.”

And with those words, he gave Susanne another kiss on the cheek. “Susanne, the little I’ve known of you, I’m totally in love with you. Won’t you stay with me on this lonely island for good?

“Susanne was thrilled to hear the words. “Ofcourse, if I can, I will. I trust you completely too ,”she replied. 

And with those words, the wizard and Susanne headed back to the castle. 
They each said “I love you’s” to each other besides talking about each other in general.

Upon reaching the castle, the Wizard spoke, “Kids are you having fun?” We replied in the affirmative overjoyed with our discoveries of the treasures, toys and things in the castle that we relished and explored more and more. The mysteries were never-ending.  

“But in order for your complete protection, we’ll need to do something about the crazy man who terrifies people in your country.” He became busy in thought and finally came out with a plan. Alright, I understand that man was driven crazy by ruffians; I saw this in his history. But his powers are all evil. I will need to cure him with some spells before he can infiltrate our kingdoms with his evil powers. And so he muttered some words under his breath. “Done,” he said. Now, he shall have no problems nor cause us any. 

The ending? Like any fairytale ending, the wizard and Susanne decide to live together and the wizard assures Susanne he will protect her from all dangers to come. In the ensuing days, they roam the beach and live in the castle happily for a long long time to come.