Dylan frowned and looked away. “They would know that we are fine, Claire. I really want to see the magic that he is speaking about.”
“What magic? Besides, you don’t even know who is talking to us all this while,” Claire said.
“But that is also part of the magic, Claire,” the voice said.
“Please let us go. Our parents are going to be worried sick about us,” Claire insisted.
“No, Claire. I can assure you that your parents are not worried. Do you want me to prove it?” the voice asked.
Claire was surprised at the last statement. “What? You mean that they would not be worried about our whereabouts?”
“I assure you that they are not worried. Let me show you something to prove what I am saying,” the voice said.
As if on cue, the side of the wall closest to them slid open and a widescreen television appeared. The screen was turned on already. Dylan and Claire came close to look at it. Displayed on the screen were several vehicles stuck in a slow-moving traffic hold up.
The camera viewing the entire scene zoomed in on one of the cars in the traffic scene. Almost immediately, Dylan clapped his hands and pointed. “That is them. That is Mum and Dad!”
Claire looked closely and was forced to nod in agreement. “You are right, Dylan. That is indeed Mum and Dad. And they are both looking calm and cheerful. How can that be possible? Are they not worried about us?”
“I told you, Claire. Your parents are fine. They are not worried about your whereabouts at all. Now do you believe me? Would you like to see more magic?” the voice asked.
Dylan was nodding his head vigorously. “Yes, yes, yes. Show me more magic.”
Claire shook her head. “Wait. How did you locate our parents?”
“I can see that even though you are hesitating, you are also interested in knowing more about my magic,” the voice said.
Claire shook her head. “Even if I am interested, how do you think you can keep us interested when we don’t even know who you are? Why not show yourself to us?”
“All in good time, Claire. All in good time. So I now take it that you both are keen on seeing more magic then?” the voice asked.
Dylan nodded. “Yes, yes, please. Go right ahead. I want to see more magic.”
Claire took her eyes off the television screen, glanced at her younger brother, and sighed. “I don’t know what to say. Okay, maybe we should see what you are talking about.”
“Good. Can you both see the counter in front of you?” the voice asked.
Claire and Dylan turned and looked ahead at the counter. “Yes, we can see it. What should we do?” Dylan asked.
“Walk up to it,” the voice ordered.
They both walked up to the counter and stopped.
“Can you see the coloured cases on it?” the voice asked.
It was not difficult to find the cases. There were several of them displayed on the counter.
Claire touched the counter. “There are so many cases here with different colours. What do you want us to do?”
“Pick up the red case, Claire,” the voice said.
Claire picked it up.
“Open it, Claire,” the voice ordered.
Claire hesitated. “What is inside it?”
“You will see. Just open it, Claire. Open up the red case,” the voice said.
Dylan saw his sister was still hesitating. “Come on, Claire. Why are you wasting time? You heard what he said. Open up the case!”
“Wait a minute, Dylan. How can we be sure if what we are doing is the right thing? What if we are wrong?” Claire asked her younger brother.
“We are stuck in the shop already, Claire. There is no other way to get out of here. Besides, he has already shown us that Mum and Dad are fine and not worried about us. What more reason do you need to trust him and open up the case?” Dylan asked.
“That is a very smart analysis from your younger brother, Claire. Why are you still hesitant? Or don’t you want to see who I am?” the voice asked.
Claire raised the red case. “Of course we want to see who you are. But what has this case got to do with that?”
“Everything, Claire. That case is everything you need to see me,” the voice said.
“This case?” Claire repeated.
“Yes, Claire. Just open it and tell me what you see inside,” the voice said.
Claire took her eyes off the red case and glanced at her younger brother. Dylan was nodding at her. She glanced around the counter and some parts of the store briefly. Finally, she took a deep breath and opened the red case.
As she did, a cloud of white smoke popped out of the case. Immediately, Claire dropped the case. The white smoke began to fill the counter and it diffused all around Claire and Dylan, mimicking the movements of a living being like an eel or a snake, curling around their legs, hands, bodies, and heads. And as quickly as it had appeared, the smoke vanished completely.
“Wow,” Dylan said as he looked around in amazement.
“What is the jubilation all about? It was just smoke, Dylan,” Claire said.
“Don’t be a spoilsport, Claire. Do you want to tell me that you were not enthralled by that display?” the voice asked.
Dylan raised his hands and waved excitedly. “I was, I was. Do it again. Please.”
Claire glanced at her brother briefly and shook her head. “It was just smoke. What is so special about white smoke, Dylan?”
“You need to open your mind and your heart, Claire. Otherwise you will miss out on all the magic that is going on,” the voice said.
Claire shook her head. “This is just a silly prank. When are you going to show yourself?”
“Inside the red case, Claire. Did you look inside the red case?” the voice asked.
Claire searched the floor. She saw the case and picked it up. Inside there were two rings. The rings appeared to be made of a mixture of gold and some green pendants. Claire took them both out and admired them. “They are beautiful,” Claire said as she admired them.
“Yes, they are, Claire. I am glad that at last there is something that you are impressed with,” the voice said.
“Can I have one? Come on, Claire. There are two rings. Hand one over to me,” Dylan insisted.
“Do I offer one to my brother?” Claire asked.
“Yes, Claire. Of course you may hand either one of them to your younger brother,” the voice said.
After she had given Dylan one ring, Claire raised the ring towards the light. “What kind of rings are they?” she asked.
“Why not put them on, and then you can discover what the rings are capable of doing,” the voice said.
Claire lowered her hand. “We should put the rings on?”
“Yes, Claire. Put them on your left thumb,” the voice said.
Claire frowned. “Our left thumb? Isn’t that an odd place to put a ring?”
“I agree with you about that, Claire. But by now, you should know that magic involves doing things which others might find a little odd and strange.”
Claire saw that Dylan had already put his ring on his left thumb and was busy admiring it. She shook her head and quietly slipped the ring on her left thumb.
“There. We have both put the rings on. Now what?” Claire asked.
“Use the index finger on your right hand to rub the ring,” the voice said.
Dylan raised his right index finger. “You mean we should use this finger to rub the ring?”
“Yes, Dylan. Use that index finger to rub the ring,” the voice said.
Claire shook her head again as she saw Dylan rubbing his ring enthusiastically. She did not bother to say anything else but began to rub hers as well. “Is that all we should do? Rub the ring with our right index finger?” Claire asked.
“No, Claire. There is an enchantment you should say while rubbing the rings,” the voice said.
Claire removed her index finger from her ring. “An enchantment? This is really becoming weird.”
&nb
sp; “It is just a short phrase, Claire. Come on. You have already gotten this far. Why stop now?” the voice asked.
“What is an enchantment, Claire?” Dylan asked, still rubbing his ring.
“It’s something people say to invoke things,” Claire replied.
“To invoke things?” Dylan repeated.
Claire nodded. “Yes. To invoke. Like causing things to happen.”
“I see. So what is going to happen?” Dylan asked.
“You mean when we repeat the enchantment? Well, I wish I knew the answer to that. Maybe we have to ask our mysterious friend what will happen since he is the only one who has all the answers,” Claire replied.
“Come on, Claire. You are beginning to sound like someone who is trying to scare everybody. You really don’t have to frighten the young lad Dylan,” the voice said.
“I am scaring everybody? Really? You should be saying the same thing about yourself. What happens when we repeat the enchantment?” Claire asked.
“What do you expect? I will become visible to you, of course,” the voice responded.
“I would like that to happen, Claire. Come on. Let’s say the enchantment he is talking about,” Dylan said.
“Easy, Dylan. We still do not know what is really going to happen. Besides, it is only him who knows what the phrase is,” Claire said.
“Look, Claire. I assured you before and I am repeating it again: no harm will come to you two. It’s a promise. I am not going to hurt you,” the voice said.
“How can we be sure?” Claire asked.
“You have trusted me so far. You just have to trust me some more,” the voice replied.
Claire shook her head. “All this just does not sound or look right. I mean, why are you not visible to us? Why must we repeat some enchantment for you to become visible?”
“Claire, you are asking too many questions, and their answers can be easily obtained if you simply do as I have just said,” the voice replied.
“You mean the enchantment? Where do we get it anyway?” Claire asked.
“It is on the screen, the television screen on which you saw your parents earlier,” the voice said.
Both Dylan and Claire looked at the screen. The images of the traffic had been removed and in its place there was now a blank screen with no images or pictures.
“There is nothing on the screen,” Dylan observed.
“Patience, my dear Dylan. Now, you both need to rub on your rings and repeat the words that I am going to display right about now,” the voice instructed.
Dylan glanced at Claire and began to rub on his ring with his index finger. Claire glanced at the screen again and nodded. A message had been written on it. She began to rub her ring as well and read out loud what had been displayed on the screen:
“Into the dark I come,
Without inhibition, I do so willingly.
Into the dark I seek to dwell,
Let me see, let me be free.”
CHAPTER 2
Claire shook her head and stopped rubbing her ring. “Wait. What sort of an enchantment is that?”
There was no response. Claire glanced around. Suddenly, she felt someone touch her arm. She spun around and saw her younger brother by her side. “Dylan? Are you okay?”
Dylan shook his head slowly. “No, Claire. I am scared. Where are we?”
Claire was now feeling infuriated. “Hello? Hello, are you still there? My brother is already getting scared, and frankly I am not finding this whole thing funny. Where are you? I need you to explain what those words mean before we recite them. Hello?”
There was still no response.
By now, Dylan was holding onto his sister’s arm tightly. “Why is he no longer talking, Claire?”
“I wish I knew, Dylan. I really wish I knew,” Claire replied.
“Did you recite the same words on the widescreen?” Dylan asked.
Claire shook her head. “No, not really. Did you?”
Dylan nodded his head. “Yes, I did. And you did as well, Claire. I heard you say the words.”
Claire frowned. “Say which words? I did not recite anything. I only read out what was written on the screen. I did not—” Claire began to say, and caught herself.
She looked around frantically and gasped. Slowly, she began to see that their environment had dramatically changed. They were no longer stuck in a candy store. Rather, all that Claire could see around them were tall trees and thick shrubs.
“No! No! No!” Claire began to scream.
Dylan was sobbing as the same realization struck him as well. “We are no longer in the candy store, Claire! Where are we?”
Claire fell down on her knees. She grabbed a fistful of dirt and leaves in her hands and screamed, “We were foolish, Dylan! We should have known it was a sort of trap. We should not have said those words. We were tricked into making the enchantment!”
“Tricked?” a voice said suddenly from behind them.
Both siblings spun around in fright and apprehension.
“Who is that?” Claire demanded.
“Of course it is me, Claire,” the voice replied.
“Who are you? Why are you hiding?” Claire demanded.
“Am I hiding? No, I am not, Claire. I am right in front of you,” the voice said.
Claire and Dylan looked closely again. Initially, all they could see were the trees and the shrubs. Then, gradually, the trees seemed to move, along with some of the leaves and branches as well.
Out of the thick bush, a being appeared. It had the build and structure of a fully grown man. But he was covered in leaves. His eyes were a deep red colour, with no pupils or iris. Just a void of deep redness filled his eye sockets. There was no visible nose and only a slit for where his mouth should be.
His arms, chest, stomach, and legs were all covered with leaves and branches, as if he was wearing a thick bush around his arms and midsection.
Dylan screamed as it came forward towards them. Claire took a step backwards and tripped over a small rock, falling backwards. She struggled to stand up and run, but her state of fright forced her legs to disobey her instincts to run. Like Dylan, who was still screaming, Claire was paralysed with fear.
The being stretched forth what looked like an arm towards Claire. “Please, don’t cry anymore, Dylan. And you need not be afraid, Claire.”
Dylan stopped screaming as he watched the being help Claire stand up on her feet.
“Who are you?” Claire stuttered.
“I am called Raquetr, the custodian of this forest,” the being said.
“Raq—what?” Claire asked.
“Raquetr,” the being replied.
Claire looked around. “So, we are in a forest?”
Raquetr nodded. “Yes, Claire. When you repeated the words, you were transported to my domain, which is this forest.”
“So, we actually said the enchantment?” Claire asked.
Raquetr nodded again. “Yes, Claire. You actually did.”
“But what about the candy store?” Dylan asked.
“You are no longer in the candy store, Dylan. You are both now here with me, in my forest,” Raquetr replied.
“But that was not the deal,” Claire protested.
“Is that so? What was the deal, Claire?” Raquetr asked.
“You promised not to hurt us,” Claire said.
“And I have not done so. Or have I?” Raquetr asked.
“You never said that you were going to take us away from the candy store,” Claire said.
Raquetr nodded. “I never said so. But I promised to allow you to see me and get to know who I was. Or is that not what I promised you?”
Claire bit her lip. “You tricked us. You simply played on our ignorance of what the enchantment was going to do to us.”
“No, Claire. I did not trick you. I only brought you to see me,” Raquetr said.
“But what about my candies? I want my candies,” Dylan protested.
Claire shot him an angry look. �
��Dylan. What is wrong with you? It is your foolish desire that has led us into this mess. We don’t know where we are and yet you can only think about candies?”
Raquetr waved a hand at Claire. “It is all right, Claire. After all, he is still a child who is much younger than you. Don’t worry, Dylan. Here you go. Have some candies,” Raquetr said, handing Dylan a big bag.
“Wait. What is that?” Claire demanded as Dylan collected the bag.
“It is just candies, my dear Claire,” Raquetr replied.
By now, Dylan had opened the bag and was smiling broadly. “Yes, Claire. It is candies all right.”
“No. Wait a minute. This is not what we wanted,” Claire protested.
But it was too late. Dylan had already opened one of the candies and was biting away at it. Claire was exasperated and fell down on her knees again.
“Claire, don’t you want some?” Dylan asked.
Claire shook her head as she watched her younger brother. “Dylan. What is the matter with you? Can’t you see? We are no longer in the candy store.”
Dylan nodded while eating away. “Sure. I do. We are now in a forest. We should not be afraid. After all, we have Raquetr with us.”
“Raquetr? Do you even know who he is, Dylan?” Claire asked.
Dylan nodded. “I know who he is. He is someone who has promised not to hurt us.”
“But what of Mum and Dad? Don’t you want to go back to them again?” Claire asked.
“Of course we will get back to them. But that will be later, Claire,” Dylan said.
“Later?” Claire repeated.
Dylan nodded. “After we have explored this wonderful forest.”
Claire gave up trying to make Dylan see reason. She turned to look at Raquetr, who had been silent all this while. “What have you done to my younger brother? Why can’t he see reason?”
“Reason? But he is only a small kid who is living out his fantasies,” Raquetr said.
“Living out his fantasies? But our parents? We have been gone for such a long time. Surely, they will be worried and looking for us by now,” Claire said.
“Is that what you think?” Raquetr asked.
“It’s what I know,” Claire insisted.
“I am sorry to disappoint you, Claire. But they are not,” Raquetr said suddenly.
10 Paranormal Stories Page 12
