We sit in silence for a long time. I'm hoping that Lin tells me I am wrong and I was able to enter the Human Realm, but he keeps silent. He seems confused and looks at me and then away again, apparently trying to figure out what happened.
I look around to find proof; a mouse track, a flying bird, anything non-faerie. Instead, that big-eyed, big-headed squirrel jumps on a tree branch and looks at us. Is that the same one that was in the Great Oak? In any case, that was in the Faerie Realm.
"Oh come on, just let us be already!" I should at the squirrel. It looks at me, offended, then turns away and jumps to another tree and disappears. Yep, this is definitely not home.
"Well, we are halfway done, aren't we?" I try to sound optimistic, although I'm not sure whether I want to convince Lin or myself. "Now that I'm here, you can just open a door, and I get back home. Right? You're good at doors."
Lin doesn't say anything. He has obviously already thought about that, and what I said made no difference in his thinking.
"Well, um..." he finally starts. "I'm afraid that it's not so easy. You know, magic is complex, and now that I've done you a favour, you need to first..."
"What!" I lose my temper. "You got me into trouble in the first place, and now you've got me into another trouble! I don't see any progress or favours in this whole damn ... business ..."
I fall silent as I see Lin's mournful eyes. A tear rolls down his cheek. Just a second ago I felt lost and desperate. Now I also feel miserable.
"Hey, Lin. I am sorry. I know you try hard to help me. You did your best. But I am scared and I was so hoping to be back home again."
Lin makes a noisy sniffle.
"Yeah, me too." He is silent for a while. "But you know, we will sort this out, together. We will get you back. This is just a longer route."
"What do you mean by a longer route?"
"Magic is an art of balance. And reciprocity. Now that I've helped you out of the In Between, my magic is weaker for another favour to you. That is, until you do something for me." And as if he sees my counterargument coming, he continues. "Whether the favour was favourable, is mostly irrelevant in the balance, because favourability is even more complex than magic."
"Er, what?" The explanation makes me understand even less.
"Do you remember the woodcutter from your village that saved a faerie's nest long time ago?"
"You mean the man who got three wishes for saving the tree where the nest was? Yes, he got annoyed at his wife and wished her nose to be a sausage?" I smile a bit, as this is a story that I have heard many times from Dad. The last wish was used to remove the sausage, so it had at least a sort of happy end. "He died before I was born, but I know where he lived. And his wife made sure that everyone in the village heard what a stupid husband she'd had. Poor fellow, Dad said that his life was pretty lousy ever since."
"Yes, but from the magical balance point of view, everything went just right. He saved the nest and got the wishes and used them as he pleased. A balance was achieved. But it is impossible to balance for perception or attitude: the woodcutter still had everything he had had before and would have been happy. But his wife perceived that not getting something that was coming meant that she had lost something invaluable."
"Oh, I think I understand. The magical gift itself was potentially valuable and did not cause woodcutter's problems. It was the wife's greed and disappointment that radiated into her environment and marred it. So you helped me even if I am not exactly where I wanted, and I have to do you a favour before you can open a door for me?" He nods. That makes things pretty straightforward then. "Well, what do you want me to do?"
He makes a face. "It is not about what I want, it is about what I need," he says. "There is no wishlist that you could read and get me some stuff and I can't really think of anything that I need that you could get me just like that."
We sit for a while, but then I start feeling cold. I raise up and stretch my arms and legs.
"Well, I am tired of magic anyways for a while. Do you think that we could find my uncle Aidan? Now that we are in the same Realm and all."
"Sorry Charlie, Aidan is not near the faerie village. It's a small place, I would know of it. But..."
I look at Lin. He thinks for a while.
"But he is here somewhere. I know that there are humans in Borados. It's a faerie town some five leagues south from here, just at the edge of forest."
"Oh, there is also a human town in that direction, called Donchester. Is it nearby?"
"Yes, it's very near."
"Okay, I know the place. Let's go there. If I walk briskly, we may be there before midnight. Maybe chance is on our side."
I was also desperate to make a plan, something to focus on so that I wouldn't all the time worry about my own situation. But I didn't want to say that aloud.
____________________________
The next topic is Board.
No comments:
Post a Comment