Age 18: A Wish For Brighter Days
At 18 the magic came through a wish for brighter days, and caught the attention of another…
The sun shimmered, the sky was a brilliant blue, the likes of which hadn't been seen in forever; winter had lasted far too long. Sarah was determined to take advantage of the wonderful afternoon, and pulled on warm clothes, for there was still a chill in the air.
She ensured Toby was well protected from the cold for their long-promised afternoon at the park, and he smiled in anticipation of the fun that lay ahead.
Spring was coming, but it was still far off, as the skeleton-like trees in her favourite park attested.
Everything still looks so dead, she thought glumly.
She walked deep into the park, finally spying a large tree stump that served as a natural chair.
Or a throne - when I was young and used to play games of make believe, I would have been queen of this winter-land.
She smiled fondly, remembering many youthful hours given over to imaginary worlds. She pulled a sketchpad from her bag, adamant to master drawing - her early efforts had left her disheartened. Sarah's talents tended towards the theatrical, but she wanted to master this art form too. Toby sat beside her happily, then spotted some ducks waddling up the riverbank.
"Toby, don't wander too far" Sarah called, and he remained close, having enticed the birds with crumbs of the cookie he'd been eating.
Sarah focused on a small tree that had sprouted the first promising tips of new growth. It was an interesting subject - a good mix of death and life, sleep and wakefulness, and it offered more variety than the dead twiggy landscape all around. She drew fluidly, noting each part as she committed the outline to paper, drawing in the new shoots with delicacy. She glanced at her work, attempting to be accurate, then back at the sprouting buds - they had grown longer.
She noticed instantly that they were nothing like her drawing of only moments before. She stared, wide-eyed as they reached out further, branching into lush green foliage.
This time Sarah wasn't entirely surprised. These happenings, while still unique, were becoming more commonplace to her.
A chance to make something beautiful, she decided, and focused intently.
She still recalled the disasters and negative impact of previous unexplainable occurrences, but this was different; here was an opportunity to create something positive, somewhere private, which couldn't bring harm to anyone.
Toby sat beside her, all agog, chuckling in wonder. His pleasure made her smile, and she aimed to make something wonderful for her brother, as recompense for his fright during that first unanticipated surge of magic - she could no longer deny there was something magical here, try as she may.
She envisaged vivid greenery, and delicate white and rose blossom. In response, seemingly desirous to please, the tree flourished, outshining all else in the park. It was a natural wonder, even if it was untimely.
Toby gave a shrill laugh, careering towards the tree; he reached out to the tempting colours above his young head. He managed to grasp one of the flowered branches, and yanked it, breaking the stem. The illusion ended; the leaves withered and the flowers became dusty shells as he watched, his eyes welling with tears.
Sarah saw, and pulled him close to her, drawing his attention to the wonders that remained before them. Nothing is ever without a sting in the tail, but I won't let anything upset him this time, she promised herself, imagining brighter hues of pink and red, which bloomed before their eyes.
"How absolutely stunning, and totally out of season" a voice broke her concentration, and she turned to see a middle-aged woman with a dog trailing behind her on a lead, looking very sorry for itself.
Sarah felt edgy, wondering how much the woman had seen, but it became clear she hadn't witnessed exactly what had happened only moments before; she believed the tree to be a beautiful rarity.
Something not entirely normal, Sarah thought, suddenly troubled as she buttoned Toby's coat and told him it was time to leave.
This time no harm was done, but look what happened before. I'm doing these things, but I still have no idea how, or why.
Her thoughts whirled restlessly, throwing up one word over and over… magic.
She thought then of the labyrinth, a place of magic. Since returning home she'd found nothing to indicate the labyrinth existed beyond her own imagination.
Her friends had promised to be there should she need them; she couldn't imagine a greater need than she felt now, but all remained silent. She recalled a time when she'd been offered everything, and found the strength to refuse.
Is that why this is happening now? What else could I have done; surely he must have known? Sarah thought.
The price was too high, she reminded herself, glancing at Toby, who trotted beside her happily, lost in the innocence of childish thoughts, as was his right.
She watched him fondly, and the bitterness receded. She would master this, just as she had mastered other trials before.
Overhead, perched on a barbed, craggy branch in a seasonally bare tree, a large owl, creamy white and golden, with striking eyes, watched the pair walking below with curious intent. He observed the fair-haired boy, and the tall, dark-haired young woman at his side, a protective arm lingering on his shoulder. The owl's bright eyes appeared to widen, almost in recognition. It gave a loud, hooting cry and launched itself from the branch; spreading huge, powerful wings it sailed on the gentle wind, high above the heads of the two unsuspecting humans below, destined for some faraway land.