Mystery Land - Chapter 7 - The Royal Army of Crechia

This is the seventh chapter of the Fantasy series "Mystery Land". You can read the previous chapters below.

Mystery Land - Chapter 1 - The Mystery Begins
Mystery Land - Chapter 2 - Celina's Gift

Mystery Land - Chapter 3 - The God's Well
Mystery Land - Chapter 4 - Abar shows what a mortal can do

Mystery Land - Chapter 5 - Celina meets the Dark Wizard
Mystery Land - Chapter 6 - All roads lead to Mystery Land

Abar disappeared in the city using the cover of darkness. He had managed to infiltrate into the Mystery Land by killing the sentries and the Giant posted on the gates. He had disguised himself using a dead guard's dress. The dress was a little tight and was a bit short for his tall frame. But, he knew very well that the people always ignored the minor details and his disguise would protect him.

He planned to spy in the city for a few days and gather more information. He wanted to have a fair idea of the enemy's strengths and weaknesses before returning to Titania and launching a full-fledged attack. He knew very well that Riley's million men strong army could annihilate any enemy force. But, he wanted to avoid too much bloodshed and save men on both sides from dying needlessly. Once this city was captured, Riley would become the supreme commander of the known world. Riley would then stop waging wars and he had promised to relieve Abar from his services after this final conquest. Abar then planned to return to his small village of Hibiscus and take up farming on his ancestral lands.

Abar walked along steadily on the narrow alleys of the mysterious city looking for any Inn where he could take some rest. He had travelled a long distance and had not slept for three days. He was weary and extremely tired. The muscles in his legs and hands were beginning to cramp. Sunlight had just come out and Abar could now see a few people out in the streets. Some of the merchants were opening their stalls of fruits and vegetables. Some others were dusting their shops. A few boys were running carrying milk cans. The boys looked on in awe as he passed them. They were no doubt impressed by the tall guard.

Abar finally spotted an Inn. He went inside and addressed the inn-keeper,"Good Morning Inn-Keeper, I want a room to take some rest." The inn-keeper was an old man. He was bald and had very few tooth intact. He squinted at the tall guard and said smiling,"Welcome to my humble inn, Royal Guard. We will feel honoured by your presence."

Abar had found a bag of gold coins in the dead guard's dress. He pulled out two gold coins from the bag and handing them to the inn-keeper said,"I am tired and will need some privacy. Make sure no one disturbs me while I take rest. "

The innkeeper's eyes shined brightly on seeing the gold coins. He smiled again and replied,"As you wish Royal Guard. Your wish is my command. My boy will show you the room."

The inn-keeper called out to a boy called Peter and asked him to guide Abar to his room. Peter came running at once to lead Abar to his room. He was a young boy of around ten years old. He looked pale and lean. His face looked more mature than his age and he looked to be very intelligent. Abar was good at reading faces and making out personalities.

He guided Abar,"This way Sir, please follow me." The boy had a kind face and Abar sensed that the inn-keeper gave too much work to the little boy. The boy looked shy and spoke with lowered eyes. Abar took an instant liking for the boy.

Peter guided Abar across the staircase and led him to a room on the second level of the building. Abar was amused to see the design of the building. He had only known Keeps and Towers to have multiple floors. But, he had never seen an inn or other residential building which had multiple levels. All the houses in his kingdom Titania had just one floor. Only the King's Palace had ten levels.

Peter took out a key from his pocket and opened the room's door. The room was big and spacious. The interiors were made of teakwood and the room smelled of roses perfume.

Peter addressed Abar and said,"Royal Guard if you need anything, please ring the doorbell and I'll be back at your service."

Peter bowed to Abar and took his leave. Abar smiled at him and closed the door. Abar was weary and he took out his weapons and placed them on the teak wood table. He undressed and lay down on the soft feather bed and covered himself with the woollen blanket. He went to sleep instantly.

Abar had slept for around three hours when he was woken up by a loud rap on the door,"What on Earth? Didn't I just instruct you to not disturb me? Abar shouted angrily getting up and walking to the door. He opened the door angrily to see the inn-keeper standing outside. The inn-keeper was looking tense and he apologized to Abar,"I am most sorry Royal Guard. But, it is an emergency. All Royal Guards have been ordered to assemble at the Free Square immediately."

The old man paused to take a deep breath and continued,"Our city has been attacked. The sentries and the fearsome Kala Giant posted on the city entrance were found killed today morning. The killers are at large and all guards have been put on high alert. I am afraid you may have to leave immediately to report for your duties."

Abar nodded in agreement and thanked him for alerting him. He quickly dressed up and rearmed himself. He then came out of the inn and wondered which direction to take for the Free Square. He saw a horse cart and stopped it. He asked the horse driver to take him to the Free Square and sat down in the coach. The horse driver whipped his horses and told him,"You are the third guard I am taking to the Free Square today. It is shocking to know that our city was attacked yesterday. All the guards are being assembled to hunt down the murderers."

The horse driver sped through the narrow alleys. After a while, the narrow alleys suddenly opened up into a much wider avenue. The buildings around the avenue were all tall multi-level buildings. Abar had roamed the entire world but he had not seen such marvellous architecture before in life. The wood and glass buildings were painted with blue and red hues. He could see white flags with turtle doves and a sword fluttering on top of every building. He was confused to see the message of peace and war in the same place.

Abar could see several soldiers heading towards the Free square on foot, on horses and other coaches. He was heading right into the enemy's den. The roads were filled with thousands of royal guards dressed in bright red and blue informs and carrying their country's flag. He had never imagined that killing a few sentries on a border outpost could trigger such a massive reaction. These things were so common in Titania. Every few days few sentries or border guards were attacked by rebels. A few soldiers were then sent to kill the rebels. But, never an entire army. It seemed to him that perhaps this land had never known any form of violence. So, they were gathering in large numbers to avenge their fallen.

The coach halted at a large square. Abar saw a tall statue of an Angel with spread wings handing over the blaster weapon to a man with spread arms. So, it seems that the weapon was given to these men by gods themselves. No doubt these people were never attacked or defeated by any enemies. They had divine weapons to defend themselves. No enemy would have been able to stand up to such weapons.

The royal guards gathered around the free square which was really a very large open ground with a massive platform in the centre of the ground. A tall man in a white dress stood on the platform and addressed the massive gathering of soldiers.

"My brave Crechian Soldiers, our city is under attack. Yesterday night, four of our Royal Guards were killed while guarding our Northern outpost. The brave Kala giant was also killed in the attack. He was the only surviving giant in our city and had served us loyally for the last three hundred years. He had swum to Crechia from the Land of Giants across the four seas and was loved by all the Crechians."

He took a pause and Abar felt the tension rising in the soldiers around him. The man continued,"Never has an enemy attacked us in a thousand years. I vow to annihilate this enemy from the face of this Earth. Who is with me?".

The entire army thundered in cohesion,"I am."

The man thundered,"Follow me, your King Reather and we shall destroy this enemy."

The army split up into several small platoons of five hundred men each and proceeded in different directions of the city to search and kill their enemies. The Crechian king thought that several men had infiltrated his kingdom. Little did he know that Abar had single-handedly killed the giant and all the sentries.

Abar joined a platoon of royal guards and proceeded to search the enemy. He bent his head and smiled. He was about to get a royal tour of the entire city.

To be continued.

Mystery Land - Chapter 6 - All roads lead to Mystery Land

This is the 6th chapter of the Fantasy series "Mystery Land". You can read the previous chapters below.

Mystery Land - Chapter 1 - The Mystery Begins
Mystery Land - Chapter 2 - Celina's Gift

Mystery Land - Chapter 3 - The God's Well
Mystery Land - Chapter 4 – Abar shows what a mortal can do

Mystery Land – Chapter 5 – Celina meets the Dark Wizard

#The Escape

Sam and Celina rush through the dark woods on their horses. The evil Elves led by Prince Yala pursue them to reclaim the lost Book of Enchantments. The Elves are great riders and they soon narrow the gap between them and their prey.

With Sam in his sight and barely a fifty yards away, Yala takes out an arrow and takes a careful aim. He releases the arrow. The threatening arrow zips wildly through the air and is about to strike Sam when an astonishing thing happens.

A dark shadow comes in between the arrow and Sam. The arrow falls down on the ground as though it had struck a rock. Yala can no longer see beyond the dark shadow. Sam turns back to see Hawa, the Spirit shielding him.

Two Elves get very close to Celina and are about to catch hold of her. Celina is the Wizard of the dark woods. She has absolute control over the wooden realms. She closes her eyes and chants a spell. The old trees sense that their Queen is in danger. They quickly move out of her way creating a clear passage for her and Sam. Sam is awestruck to see the trees moving away and making space for them. Celina smiles and bows to her old friends. As Celina and Sam pass the trees they quickly block the passage again so that the Elves can longer pursue them. The Elves are struck by the branches of the tree and fall down from their horses in surprise.

Prince Yala senses that Sam is being helped by the Lady of the Woods. He orders the Elves to stop the pursuit. He decides to set camp in the woods for the night and resume the pursuit in the morning. He sends a message to his father the Elvish King Runal that the Lady of the Woods is blocking their path and would need to be eliminated.

Celina and Sam soon reach the edge of the dark forest. The thundering river separates the dark woods from the Mystery lands beyond it. Celina hands him the magic book and tells him to cross the river to get to the Mystery Land. She tells him about Abar and says that she would help him to defeat King Riley if he brought Abar safely back to her. But, she warns Sam to not reveal his true identity to Abar and also to not mention that he was planning to kill King Riley. Sam promises her that he would bring Abar back to her safely.

"This is where we depart Dark Wizard," she says to Sam. "I am in your debt, my Lady. Thanks for saving my life," Sam says to her with gratitude. Celina turns her horse and returns back to the dark woods.

Sam opens the magic book and chants a spell. The river creates a passage for him. He crosses the river on his horse. Sam smiles and is happy to see that his plan is working.

#The Final Conquest

King Riley is ecstatic upon learning from his father that he is a descendant of a demigod. His father tells him that he can also transform into a demigod by drinking nectar from the God's well. The God's well is located in the Mystery Land. This is the only place that he has been unable to conquer yet. His father has warned him that the Mystery Land is guarded by fearsome creatures and demigods. He pleads his son to drop any ambition of conquering this land. But, Riley only mocks his father and calls him a weak person.

He sends a message to all his Vassals and Generals to gather their armies. He is sure that his army of a million men can annihilate any other army even if it contains demigods.

He wonders if Abar is alive yet. He vows that he would kill all the demigods if they had harmed his friend in any manner.

He holds his magic scepter and mounts his eight horsed chariot. He thinks,"Nothing can stop me from becoming an Immortal. I shall rule this world forever."

To be continued

The Lottery Ticket

Mary Edwards was a poor Spinster. She worked as a waitress in a cheap hotel called Anthony’s Bistro. She was over-worked and underpaid. She was lean, pale and tired.

The owner of the Bistro was Anthony Hawkins. He was a scrooge. He never took care of his waiters. He complained about everything. He hired people from the surrounding poor localities. He knew that jobs were hard to come by for the poor and uneducated. And, he exploited their weakness.

There was a Lottery Shop called Jack's Jackpot right opposite the Anthony's Bistro. Many people staked their fortunes in this shop. Very few people ever won anything of consequence. Most of them lost their hard earned money.

Jack Welch was the owner of the Lottery Shop. He was a miserable old man and walked with a limp in his right leg. He had been involved in a few robberies during his heydays. He had been shot in the leg by the Police during one of his heists. He had been caught and had served ten years in the state penitentiary.

After serving his time in the Jail, Jack had opened the Lottery Shop. He had some connections with some local gangs who had lent him the money to open the shop.

There is always a strong connection between Poverty and Hope. The poor people bought lotteries from Jack with great hope of winning something big one day. But, alas only a few people made a little money. Most of them just drained their savings. The only person who made a good fortune was Jack.

Jack had lunch in the Bistro every day. He was a good friend of Anthony. He was as miserable as his friend. He rarely tipped any waiter. If ever he did tip any waiter he gave them a lottery ticket instead of cash. The waiters were disgusted with Anthony and Jack. But, they went through their jobs. Their jobs provided two meals for their families every day and they just could not afford to lose them.

Jack had once tipped a lottery ticket to a waiter called Peter Saddle and he had won a ten dollar reward from his lottery ticket. Jack never forgot to mention this to any waiter when he tipped them.

Jack had once just finished his lunch and as usual, walked away without paying any tip. Mary was the waitress who was attending to him. She noticed that Jack had forgotten his gold watch on the dining table.

Mary ran behind Jack who was limping across the street to his Lottery shop. "Mr. Welch, please stop" Mary ran behind him breathlessly. Jack turned around surprised. "What is it, Mary? It better be something important" he told her in his usual annoyed tone.

"Yes, it quite important Mr. Welch. You forgot your gold watch on the dining table" she answered handing him the gold watch. Jack took the watch and looked pleased. Mary smiled and turned back to return to the Bistro.

Now, even a miserable man like Jack sensed that Mary's act deserved some reward. So, he called out to her and said: "Mary, take this lottery ticket." Mary insisted that she had only done her duty. But, Jack insisted that she accepted the reward and handed her the lottery ticket.

Mary folded the lottery ticket and slipped it in her bosom. She returned to the Bistro and went about her job as usual.

A month later the winning lottery numbers were published in the newspaper. “146-789-251” was the lucky number of the Jackpot Lottery ticket winner. The winner would get 10 Million Dollars reward. There were a thousand other numbers with rewards of a dollar to a few hundred dollars.

Mary took out her lottery ticket and started matching the numbers. She started matching the numbers from the bottom of the list hoping that her number would fetch her at least a week's grocery. She had scanned the exhaustive list to the very top and still, she was out of all luck.

Her hope had almost faded when started matching the first number. The first three numbers "146" of her ticket matched. She sat up tightly. The next three numbers "789" matched. Her eyes lit up. The last three numbers "251" matched. She let out a scream and fainted.

She got up a few moments later and then double and triple checked all her numbers. She was dazed and the stroke of sudden fortune had not completely sunk into her.

After about a half an hour she got up and put on her best red colored dress. She kept the lottery ticket in her handbag securely and headed to Jack's shop to claim her reward.

She opened the door of the lottery ticket gently and said softly "Mr. Welch I have come to claim my reward." "So have you won the Jackpot Mary?" Jack asked her mockingly and chuckled.

"As a matter of fact, Mr. Welch I have," Mary answered with pride and showed him her lottery ticket.

Jack pulled out his spectacles from his overcoat pocket and looked at the number. He matched the number with the winning number in the newspaper. He pulled his hair in horror and screamed. He fainted with shock.

Mary took out a glass of water from the shelf and sprinkled some water on his face. Jack got up and without saying another word limped to the telephone booth and called up the lottery company. He told them that he had the Jackpot winner in his shop waiting to claim her reward.

Mary got ten million dollars reward. All the newspapers carried her rags-to-riches story the next day. She opened a new restaurant called Mary’s Bistro in the same locality. She also opened a school and hospital for poor people. All the people in the locality loved Mary. As for Jack, he started tipping cash to all the waiters. Anthony continued to be a scrooge and soon his hotel closed as everyone left him to work for Mary.

The End

The Survivor

My name is David Steiner. I am a sixty-year-old survivor. What have I survived? Well, I have survived over twenty accidents and five attacks in which at least two hundred other people have been killed.

I was only a two-year-old baby when I survived an air crash. Fifty people died in that air crash including my parents. I was the only survivor. Next day, all the newspapers carried the story of how a baby had escaped miraculously from the air crash.

I was six years old when I was riding to school on my school bus. On a sharp bend in the road, the driver lost control of the bus and it broke the side railings and fell straight into the river. Five school children and the bus driver lost their lives that day. Again, I was the only survivor.

Since then I have survived ten car accidents, two motorbike accidents, five bus accidents, one boat sinking, one helicopter crash and two plane crashes. I have also survived two shootouts and a knife attack.

I am not sure if I am lucky to survive those accidents and attacks or if I am a carrier of ill fate. I would like to think that it is the former.

I was leading my life quietly when suddenly another accident brought massive attention to me. A famous Reporter called Sandra Rocks from a leading TV news channel somehow got news of my miraculous escapes. She started chasing me for an interview. 

I kept refusing her for a long time. But, she offered me a lot of money. So, I finally agreed to come on her show for an Interview.

The Interview was meant to be a Live One. I was invited to the TV studio on a Saturday morning. The Interview was scheduled at 10 AM. I was asked to report two hours before the Interview. So, I went to the TV studio at 8 AM. The TV stylists brushed my face and explained me the details of the interview. They asked me to relax and look normal during the Interview.

Finally, the show started at 10 AM. Sandra introduced me to her Audience and commenced the Interview.

"It's unbelievable" Sandra exclaimed. "You survived all those accidents. How on earth did you do that? Do you believe that some higher force might be helping you?".

I nodded and replied "Yes. I think I am very lucky. God keeps saving me. I guess he has a higher purpose for me in life."

"So, tell us how does it feel like knowing that you are about to die? How does it fell in those last few moments?" Sandra asked me.

I answered "I felt really scared knowing that I am about to die. In those last moments, I felt very stupid and had many regrets. I felt like Death was the real truth. I was holding onto my life too tightly. I just wanted another chance to correct things".

Sandra chuckled and looking at the TV said "I guess God has given you many second chances. Do you think you have corrected everything now."

I smiled and answered "I realized it is a human folly. We never learn. I have been given too many chances already. But, it is the same feeling every time. I guess we just can't give up the feeling that life is temporary and it will end one day. We always keep looking for second chances."

Sandra asked "Did you have any near-death experiences or out of body experiences? How did it feel?".

I replied "Yes, I had such experiences on several occasions. I remember that during a recent Helicopter crash I suffered serious head injuries. As they were carrying me to the hospital I felt that I was traveling in air. As I looked down I could see my body lying lifeless in the Ambulance. I was traveling like a balloon in the Air."

I paused and took a sip of water before resuming "I stood in front of a tunnel of white light. I was about to enter it when I heard a voice saying,"Not now. Go back." Suddenly, I felt a feeling of falling down from a great height. When my head hit on the ground I woke up suddenly. My eyes opened to see the doctors applying the defibrillators on my chest."

Sandra said with amazement "Wow. This almost seems like a movie story." She asked, "Did you feel any intuituion before any such accident which warned you and saved your life?".

I replied "Yes, I feel that something around me changes and warns me of the danger. I was about to board an ill-fated bus to return home from a client location when I started feeling an uneasiness in my chest as soon as I sat down on the bus. Just before the bus was about to start I got down and decided to relax for another day and catch the bus the next day. I was sleeping at night when I received a call from my wife. She was in a great panic. She thanked God that I was alright. Apparently, she had received a call from the bus authorities informing her that I had been killed in a bus accident that evening. All the passengers on board the bus had been killed in that accident and they were still identifying the bodies."

Sandra gasped "Unbelievable. You are so lucky."

She was about to ask me another question when I told her softly that I wanted to go to the loo. She announced a commercial break and asked me to hurry.

I got up quickly and rushed to the toilet. I had barely reached the toilet when I heard a loud crash followed by a hysteric cry of a woman.

I ran back. To my horror, I saw that a heavy old air conditioner had fallen on the ground. It had fallen at the exact spot where I had been sitting for my interview just a few moments earlier. Everyone in the room was just staring at me in a mix of horror and awe.

I had just survived one more accident. This time on Live TV.

The End

Mystery Land – Chapter 5 – Celina meets the Dark Wizard

This is the fifth chapter of the Fantasy series "Mystery Land". You can read the previous chapters below.

Mystery Land - Chapter 1 - The Mystery Begins
Mystery Land - Chapter 2 - Celina's Gift

Mystery Land - Chapter 3 - The God's Well
Mystery Land - Chapter 4 – Abar shows what a mortal can do

Celina rode on Abar’s horse Swift. Swift galloped quickly through the Dark Forest. Celina had seen blood in her crystal. This meant that Sam’s life was in grave danger. She thought that King Riley might have sent men after him. She was unaware that it was not King Riley but the Elves who were after Sam. But then she did not have any reason to suspect them.

 Sam was riding gingerly through the Dark Forest. He was not aware of any danger looming over his head. His spirits had informed him that a powerful Wizard lived in these woods. He had come to seek her help to avenge King Riley. He had been informed by the Spirits that Celina hated Riley as much as he did. But he was curious to know why Celina hated Riley.

Elf Prince Yala had come to know that Sam had left his village. He wanted to capture Sam and reclaim the ancient Book of Enchantments. The book had belonged to the ancient Elves. Once they had the book it would empower them to defeat all the mortals and demigods and rule the world once again. Yala had assumed that Sam had gone to the Mystery Land. The Mystery Land was once known as the Elf Land. It was the home of the ancient Elves. But after the demigods stole the book from the elves they had lost their powers. They were driven away from the Elf Land by the demigods on the peril of their lives. He was sure the demigods who lived in the Elf Land had handed the book to him. He wanted to stop Sam before he crossed the Dark forest to reach the Elf Land.

Celina finally reached Sam. She saw a fat boy of around sixteen years of age riding a small brown horse. She saw hundreds of spirits accompanying the boy. “Why have you come into these Woods, Sam Thorne?” she questioned the boy. The boy looked surprised. He smiled and gave her a bow. “You must be Lady Celina, the mighty wizard of the Dark Forest,” he said with delight. Celina was amused by the boy’s manners. “That I am. But you have still not answered my question. What are you doing in these woods with all these Spirits? Why are you looking for me?” she asked him again.

Sam answered “My lady I come to seek your help. These spirits are my friends. We have all been wronged by the wicked King Riley. We have sworn vengeance against the King. I understand that you too despise him. I come to seek your allegiance. We shall defeat him together”.

“What makes you think I despise the King? How could a boy and few spirits dream to overthrow such a mighty ruler?” she asked him.

Sam replied “My lady my spirits have overheard you speaking ill of the King several times. I do not know why you despise him. But I know that you do. I request you to not underestimate my power. My spirits are not powerful yet. But, I know some dark magic which would make them very strong. I need your help to accomplish this task.”

Celina replied angrily “I dislike the King because he is an evil man. He has killed millions of people. He has even imprisoned two of my sisters. I escaped him by hiding in these woods. The King has powerful allies and Elves to help him. He can’t be defeated, Sam. His men are already looking for you and they mean to kill you. I am afraid I can’t help you.”

Sam dismounted from his horse and walked towards Celina. His spirits hovered over him. He patted her horse gently and said “My lady, I can understand that you are afraid of him. I am sorry about your sisters. His men killed my sister Sheila. She was a good wizard. She used to practice magic to help people. One day she saved a little boy from being hanged by using her magic. Riley’s soldiers captured her and hanged her for practicing witchcraft. They threw her dead body into the river. I saw her body floating in the river. I swore to destroy Riley and his men that day. I have a magic book of ancient spells. It was handed over to one of my ancestors by a demigod called Al. I can’t understand all the spells in this book as they are written in an ancient language. I need your help to interpret the spells. Using the magic from this book we can defeat Riley.”

Sam took out a book from his coat and handed it to Celina. Celina took the book from him. Her heart started beating fast as she saw the book. She wondered if it was the same mysterious book which had disappeared many ages back.  Now even the wizards thought that it was only a myth. When she opened the book a bright light came out of the book and she gave a cry in disbelief and exclaimed: “My god, this is the ancient Book of Enchantments.”

Suddenly all the birds in the forest started to chirp loudly. Celina looked up and cried to Sam “Quickly get on your horse. We must leave at once. They are here for you.”

Sam ran to his horse and suddenly an arrow came whizzing past him and stuck in a nearby tree. Sam hurriedly jumped on his horse. His spirits turned the whole place dark so that he could escape in the cover of darkness. Celina shouted, “Hurry Sam, this way”.  Celina thought “Let me lead him to the Mystery land. Riley’s men will not dare to follow him there”. She patted Swift and told him “Lead me to your master”. Swift galloped at full speed in the direction of the river outside the Dark Forest where he had left his master, Abar.

To be continued.

Mystery Land - Chapter 4 – Abar shows what a mortal can do

This is the fourth chapter of the Fantasy series "Mystery Land". You can read the previous three chapters using these links.

"Mystery Land - Chapter 1 - The Mystery begins"
"Mystery Land - Chapter 2 - Celina's Gift"

"Mystery Land - Chapter 3 - The God's Well"

A

Bar decided that he would use the weapon Celina had given to him. He walked to the huge Iron Gate. He pressed the green circle on his weapon. A crystal appeared in front of his eyes. The crystal was glowing brightly with a blue color. He pointed his weapon at the Iron Gate and selected the image of the Gate on the crystal. He pressed the red circle.

 A huge blast echoed in the hills as the huge Iron Gate came crashing down. Abar ran inside wielding his weapon cautiously. The land inside was engulfed in a strange mist. Abar was finding it difficult to see what was ahead of him. His only source of light was the Full Moon in the sky. Abar heard a sound and suddenly stopped running. The sound was like the rumble of the earth during an earthquake. The sound was approaching closer now and Abar could feel the land beneath his feet shaking. Abar pressed the green circle on his weapon and pointed it towards the direction of the sound. He looked at the crystal to see if it could catch any image.

Suddenly the crystal showed an image of a huge monster on the screen. Abar pressed the red circle. A blast of red light escaped his weapon. He heard a huge shriek from the monster. The monster was hit. The blast had perhaps injured it but not killed it. The monster kept shrieking and was now running away from him. Abar thought that the monster’s cries would wake up the entire city. He decided to run after it and hunt it down.

Abar ran at full speed after the monster. The mist had now begun to clear. Abar saw the huge monster running away. He was astonished by the huge girth of the monster. The monster was at least twenty feet tall. He saw that the right hand of the monster was missing. He guessed that it might have been cut when he had shot at it. Abar pointed his weapon at the monster and shot again. This time the red light from the weapon went through the back of the monster. The monster gave a short cry before falling face down to his death.

Abar ran ahead of the fallen monster. He wanted to enter the city before sun dawn. He saw a couple of watchtowers in the distance. He slowed down now and crawled slowly towards the towers. The towers were well lit and they stood on either side of a wooden bridge. Each tower had two guards stationed on it. The guards were armed with the same weapons as him.

Abar knew that it would be impossible for him to take down all four guards at the same time. So he devised a plan to distract the guards. He quickly gathered some dried leaves and twigs and put them close to a bush near the first tower. He quickly took out a small bottle of highly inflammable dark oil from his shirt’s pocket and poured some oil on the leaves. He then quickly crawled to a hiding place near the second tower from where he could still see the place where he had placed the leaves. He took out an arrow from his quiver and poured a few drops of the dark oil on the iron arrow tip. He took the arrow tip and simply scratched it against a stone. The arrow lit up at once. He took a quick aim and fired the arrow at the dried leaves. The arrow went zipping through the air and landed at the perfect spot. The leaves at once lit up and big flames started spreading in that area.

The guards stationed in the first tower saw the flames and at once rushed to douse the fire. Abar waited for the guards to come down. He took out his mystery weapon and quickly took an aim at the guards posted on the second tower. He pressed the red circle and in the next instant, the two guards dropped dead. The weapon was very silent and did not produce any sound. Next, he took an aim at the guards that were dousing the fire. Just as he was about to press the red circle one of the guards turned back and saw him. He shouted and immediately took cover behind a tree. Abar only managed to get one of the guards with his shot.

Abar rushed to take cover under some bushes. The guard who had managed to leap aside now started firing at Abar. But, he too was finding it difficult to identify Abar’s hiding place in the darkness. He stopped firing and waited for Abar to make his next move. Abar sensed the guard’s intentions and decided to play a trick on him. Abar had the ability to throw his sound at a distance so it would appear to his enemies that he was hiding somewhere else. He shouted, “I want to surrender. Please don’t kill me.” As soon as he said the words the guard started firing again. No sooner had he done this that Abar took out two poison-laced arrows from his quiver and fired in the direction of the guard. The arrows found their mark and pierced the heart of the guard. All the four guards lay dead. Abar quickly changed his dress with one of the dead guards and ran to the wooden bridge.

After crossing the bridge, he entered the city. A huge arc of at least a hundred feet in height and fifty feet in width stood at the city’s entrance. Abar entered the arc and saw two huge statues near the arc. He could not make out all the details of the statue. But, they looked like an Angel fighting with an Elf. It was almost morning and Abar wanted to find a place to hide. He quickly disappeared into a narrow alley and thought, “These people may be different than us and may have better weapons than us. But, they can still be killed.”

To be continued.

Mystery Land - Chapter 3 - The God's Well

This is the third part of the Fantasy series "Mystery Land". You can read the previous two parts using below links:
"The Mystery Land - Part 1 - The Mystery begins"
"The Mystery Land - Part 2 - Celina's Gift"

#1: King Riley learns of the God's Well
"Why are your here Son? What do you want from me now?" the old man questioned King Riley. The old man was King Patrick. He was a wise and just ruler. He had maintained good relations with all the neighboring countries. When Riley grew up he thought that his father was a weak King. So, he staged a coup and imprisoned his father. Even though, he had imprisoned him his father still loved him. Riley knew this very well and he came to him for his counsel for important matters. But, he dared not to release his father from prison for fear that the people might revolt against him.

Riley takes out an old scroll from his coat's pocket and hands it to his father. He asks his father to take a look at the scroll.

King Patrick takes the scroll from his hand. He wonders what secret his son had got hold of now.

The scroll read: "Today, King Arthur demonstrated a super-human feat. He was being shown the new Palace being built on the Southern side of the kingdom. As he was surveying the building, the workers that were putting a new pillar in place suddenly lost control of the rope tied around the pillar when one of them was stung by a king cobra. The pillar was about to fall with full force on two ministers who were standing near the pillar. King Arthur saw this and ran a hundred yards leaping like a leopard and with his strong hands stopped the pillar which was weighing at least a hundred tons. This account demonstrates that King Arthur is no ordinary human. He is surely a demigod."

When King Patrick had read this account he scorned,"Do you believe in this nonsense? Your grandfather created these myths to scare his enemies."

"No father, he didn't create any myths. This scroll was recovered from the great library of Thales. It has the royal seal on it. This account was written by none other than Arthur's most trusted minister Merlin."

King Patrick felt a lump in his throat. There was no point in pretending anymore. He asked,"If you know everything now, why have you come here?".

King Riley smiled wryly. "Don't be so bitter Father. I know now that King Arthur was a demigod. I want to hear it from you."

King Patrick acknowledged that King Arthur was indeed a demigod. The secret that he had managed to hide all these years was finally out.

Riley's eyes shined brightly with this confirmation from his father. All these years he had heard whispers and rumors. He had always been in wonder and awe of the accomplishments of his grandfather.

How could one man have defeated an entire tribe of Bali savages single-handedly? How could anyone have swum for seven days continuously to reach the shore after being shipwrecked? Which sane person wrestled with elephants and ran alongside horses? There were so many tales of Arthur's super strength that Riley almost thought they were all made up to deter his enemies.

"Why are we mortals then, Father? Why are we not demigods like my grandfather?" King Riley asked his father out of curiosity.

"Son, to become a demigod, a mortal must drink nectar out of the God's Well," King Patrick answered his son.

"Where is this God's well, please tell me, father," King Riley begged his father.

"The well is located in the country on the edge of this world. The same place that we all know by the name of Mystery Land," King Patrick replied.

King Riley sneered. So, this was the Mystery of this place. If he drank the nectar he would become a demigod and would rule over the whole world forever.

King Patrick saw the smile on his son's face and cautioned him,"No mortal who has set foot in this place has ever returned back alive. This place is guarded by fearsome beasts and demigods. Your grandfather had told me this secret when I was just a boy. He had made me promise never to attempt to venture into this place. He said that Immortality was a curse and he always wished to die as a mortal. I kept my promise. Now, I want you to keep out of this place. Don't be consumed by your lust for power, lest it consumes you".

King Riley mocked his father,"Thank you very much for your counsel, Father. Now, I will return back to you as a demigod. It is a pity that you knew this secret all your life and never made any attempt to become a strong demigod. Instead, you chose to live as a weak person."

He returned to the lift and ordered the soldier posted there to take him up.

#2: The Elf Prince Yala goes in Pursuit of the Book of Enchantments

Many thousand years back, the ancient Elves were very powerful. They had a special magic book called The Book of Enchantments. Some people said that the book was given to their Elders by God himself when he created this world. He provided them this book so that it would help them in building a great civilization. The Elf Elders used the book to build a great world. But, as time progressed they forgot the true purpose of the book and began to misuse it to fulfill their selfish desires. Their hearts were consumed by lust for power.

God grew angry when he saw their evil behavior and he sent demigods to attack the Elves and recover the Book of Enchantments from them. A great war was fought among the Elves and the demigods. At last, one brave demigod called Al managed to enter the Elf Palace and steal the book. The Elves were powerless without the book and surrendered. The Elves were banished from the Elf land which was now known as the Mystery Land. The demigods carried the book and hid it in a secret place.

It was believed by the Elves for a very long time that the book was hidden in the Mystery Land. So, they did not dare to attack the Mystery Land. They knew that the demigods could not be defeated without the magic book. So, they waited patiently for an opportunity to attack the demigods and reclaim their kingdom and magical book.

When Sam chanted the ancient enchantments and brought the dead to life, the Elves realized that the book was now in the possession of a mortal. The Elf King Runal ordered his son, the Prince Yala to go in Pursuit of Sam and recover the book from him.

But, when Prince Yala reached Sam's village he realized that he was already gone. Yala knew where Sam was headed and he turned around his horse in the direction of the Mystery Land.

#3: Abar reaches the Iron Gate

It was dark by the time Abar crossed the Dark Forest. He was standing at the edge of the Dark Forest.  A river separated the Dark Forest from the lands beyond it. From where he stood, he could see a hill on the other side of the river. The river flowed with a strong current and it was impossible to cross the river on a horse. So, Abar got down from his horse Swift, patted it and told him to return back to Celina. The horse neighed and disappeared into the Dark forest.

Abar took a deep breath and dived into the dangerous river. The river was deep and he had to swim against the strong current to cross it. But, Abar was a trained warrior. He was a great swimmer and with his great strength, he pushed through the gushing water with great force. After an hour's swim Abar was able to cross the river.

As he emerged out of the river, he saw a small rocky hill. He saw a bright light shining on the top of the hill. He climbed the hill. On reaching the top, he saw a huge Iron gate. The top of the gate was lit with flaming torches. The Iron Gate was forged into an invisible wall for he could not see any wall on either side of the gates. Nor could he see what lay beyond the gates.

He crawled silently to the side of the wall. He tried to feel the invisible wall with his hand. His hand made contact with a soft rubbery material. He tried to punch the wall but he just bounced back as if someone had pushed him back. He wondered how he would cross the Iron Gate to reach inside the Mystery Land.

#4: Sam comes to meet Celina

Celina sees Sam mounted on a horse and entering the Dark Forest on her crystal ball. She sees that he is accompanied by several spirits. She remembers the ancient prophecy of the Golden Circle of Wizards that a dark wizard would raise an army of the dead which would bring an end to a great tyrant's rule. Celina is happy that finally, the prophecy is going to come true. But, she sees dark clouds and blood in her crystal ball. She realizes that Sam's life is in great danger. He must be protected at all cost to bring Riley's rule to an end. She fetches her magical staff and rushes to meet Sam when suddenly she hears a horse's neigh. She turns around to see a beautiful blue horse without a rider. She recognizes it instantly as Abar's horse. She is concerned about Abar and hopes he is safe.

To be Continued.

Mystery Land - Chapter 2 - Celina's Gift

This is the second part of the Mystery Land series. You can read the first part by clicking on the following link "Mystery Land - Chapter1 - The Mystery Begins".

#1: Celina's gift

Abar turned around to see a beautiful lady carrying a strange weapon. He instantly recognized her face. She was Celina the Wizard of the dark forest. Abar bowed down to the lady and thanked her for saving his life.

"What are you doing here Abar?" Celina inquired. "My lady, I am here on a quest," he replied to her without revealing his real intentions. "Another Quest, ha! Your King will never rest till he burns down every single village in this Kingdom. Tell me, Abar, why do you follow such an evil man? An honorable man such as you should know better."

"Evil or not he is my King. I have followed him this far and I shall not abandon him now. Once Riley conquers the whole world I shall return to my family and serve him no more. I shall honor my promise that I made to him when he took me into his service when everyone else had abandoned me."

Celina knew that King Riley had taken care of Abar as his own brother. So, it was natural that Abar felt indebted to his King.

"My lady, thanks for saving my life. I must take your leave now," saying this Abar mounted his horse. "Wait, Abar. I know where you are headed. I saw some of your men cross the Dark Forest a few days back. They were heading towards the Mystery Land. But, I saw none of them return back. I have no doubt that Riley has sent you here to scout for him," Celina stopped him.

Abar just looked at her and admired her ability to read his mind.

"Beware Abar. You have no idea what you are dealing with," she cautioned him.

"I do not fear death, my lady," Abar remarked. Celina sighed. She knew it was impossible to convince Abar.

"Take this weapon with you, it will keep you safe. Your sword will be of no good against these people," saying this she handed him her weapon. Abar looked at the strange weapon in wonder. It was a small white pipe the size of his hand and a red light was glowing inside it. There were green and red circles on the side of this pipe. Had Abar not seen the power of the weapon with his own eyes he would have passed it off as an ordinary toy.

"I got this weapon from these mysterious people. They come to the Dark forest for hunting sometimes. One of their men was mauled to death by the Lions and I found this weapon by his side," Celina explained how she came into the possession of this powerful weapon.

Abar accepted the weapon from Celina and stared at in amazement. He was surprised to find how light the weapon was.

"Abar, promise me that you will not use it on mortal men and use it only to defend yourself," Celina said holding her hand to her heart. "You have my word lady Celina," Abar promised her holding his hand to his heart.

Celina showed him how to use the weapon. "You need to press the green circle first. It opens a crystal where you can see everything around you. You need to select all the things you need to fire upon by placing your finger on the crystal. When you are done, you need to press the red circle. It took me about a year to learn how to use this weapon."

Abar wielded the weapon as instructed by Celina and fired at a nearby tree. The tree was cut in half as a red light escaped the weapon. Abar wondered how much destruction his King would cause if he came into possession of this powerful weapon. No doubt Celina looked so worried.

Abar took leave off Celina and headed to the Mystery Land. Celina looked grim as Abar disappeared out of sight. She loved Abar and hoped he would be fine.

#2: King Runal - The Elf King

Two Elves marched hurriedly into the court of the Elf King Runal. Their names were Shalan and Matas. They were the Elf spies. "We have some important information, my King," Matas addressed the Elf King. King Runal signaled all the elves to leave the court. All the Elves except his son Prince Yala and Princess Zena sat in the court. King Runal signaled his spies to deliver their message.

Matas who was the senior of the two spies spoke,"My King, a dark Wizard has raised a dead army. He plans on attacking King Riley very soon." Matas explained that the two Elves were crossing the countryside when they heard an enchantment in the ancient language of Shu fill the air. They got curious as to how a mortal man knew this language. They sneaked into the graveyard and hid behind the graves. They saw a young wizard spelling dark enchantments and raise dead spirits. They heard the spirits promised him to seek vengeance against the evil King.

As King Runal heard this detail from his spies a sinister smile crossed his face. He exchanged amused looks with his daughter and son and they all smiled at each other. It seemed like one of their plans was in motion.

#3: King Riley

King Riley used the cover of darkness and slipped quietly out of his palace. He mounted his horse and headed to the Golden mountains. At one time it was the main source of the Gold in the kingdom. But, now the mining had been stopped as all the Gold had been mined out. King Riley had used the abandoned mines to build a Prison. This deep underground Prison was used to keep the most dangerous prisoners. Only a few trusted soldiers knew of this Prison.

King Riley got off his horse and tied it to a post. He entered the lift chamber which was guarded by two fearsome ax-wielding soldiers. The soldiers bowed down to their King and hailed,"Victory my Lord." The King raised his thumb and ordered,"Take me down to the prison." One soldier entered the Lift Chamber and pressed the lever down. The lift creaked as it slowly started its descent into the deep mine. The mine was very deep and dark. The lift took a long time to reach the bottom of the mine. As the lift touched the ground, King Riley jumped out of the lift and ordered his soldier to wait for him.

The King pulled out a torch hanging on the wall. He ducked and made his way to the prison chamber. He soon reached the prison and brought the torch in front of him to see the prisoner inside the dark cell. An old man saw the light and covered his face. "Is that you Riley?" he croaked. "Yes Father," King Riley replied. "I am here to seek your help."

#4: Sam

Sam knew that the dead spirits he had raised were not enough to destroy Riley. He knew very well that Riley had powerful Wizards and Elves at his service. He needed more help. Sam sent his spirits far and wide in the Kingdom to find out if there were others who were willing to help him. A spirit named Hawa returned to him and told him that there was a powerful Wizard in the Dark Forest who despised the King as much as him.

"You must seek her help," Hawa advised Sam. Sam took Hawa's advice and at once prepared to ride to the Wizard to seek her help in destroying Riley.

To be continued

Mystery Land - Chapter 1 - The Mystery Begins

King Riley was a ruthless ruler. He ruled over the vast country of Titania with an iron hand. He was always looking to expand his kingdom and crush the neighboring states. He didn't believe in having any allies. He thought he was more powerful than any other ruler so there was no point in maintaining a truce with anyone. He wanted to conquer the whole world. And, conquer he did. For he killed millions of people and enslaved the remaining people. There was no one who could stop him or so he thought.

Sam Wrily was a simple farmer in Titania.  But, he had a truly exceptional gift. He could communicate with the Spirit World. His father had passed him this family secret before dying. Sam had concealed his gift from everyone for fear that the people might hang him for practicing witchcraft. So, he communicated with the spirits only at night when everyone else was asleep. Unfortunately, Sam had been a victim of King Riley's atrocities as well. Riley's soldiers had forcibly carried off his beautiful sister Sheila. A few days later, he had found her abandoned body near the river bank. They had cut her like a pig and murdered her brutally. Sam had sworn to take vengeance on Riley and his men. He had promised that he would not die until he had reduced Riley and his men to ashes. To fulfill his promise, he started communicating with the Spirit realm to seek their help in this endeavor.

One night when everyone was sleeping, Sam went to the graveyard to practice a dark magic. He chanted several mystical spells and after some time, dark shadows started rising out of all the graves. Sam had called upon every single spirit in the graveyard to help him. Many of the people had died because of Riley and his men. And, now the spirit of these dead men vowed to help Sam. Sam was rising an army of dead men to kill King Riley and his men.

King Riley was a man of a great physical stature. He was seven foot tall and had arms the size of tree trunks. He was a gifted swordsman, archer, and horseman. He was an expert war tactician and had knowledge of every single weapon on the planet. But, his main source of power was his magical scepter. He had made friends with some wicked Elves and had given them gold and some land to live in. In return, their evil Elf King Runal had given him a magical scepter as a gift. The magical scepter made him invisible to his enemies. King Riley had to chant a secret spell while holding the scepter to vanish. King Riley had slain many of his enemies by becoming Invisible. King Riley had kept this knowledge a secret from all mortal men. Only the evil elves knew of his secret power.

King Riley looked at the world map to plan his next siege. He saw that there was only one small kingdom in the continent left to be conquered. The name of this kingdom was The Mystery Land. It was named as Mystery Land because no person had ever set foot in this kingdom. If ever someone had ventured into this land they had never returned back to tell the tale. King Riley wondered what should be his approach in conquering this mysterious kingdom. He had sent a few messengers and scouts to this kingdom to make the King surrender. But, none of them had returned back. The king decided to send a few spies to this land to gather more information before he invaded it. He wanted to know what was in store for him before he attacked the enemy with full force.

King Riley called upon his most trusted lieutenant Abar and asked him to bring information about the Mystery Land. Abar was a decorated soldier. He had single-handedly decimated many enemy regiments. He was devoted to his King and was prepared to die for him. Abar did not favor the atrocities committed by his King, but he had vowed to fulfill his king's dream to conquer the whole world. So, he promised his King that he would not return alive without getting information about the enemy. Abar mounted his horse Swift and raced out of the King's Palace at top speed.

Abar was crossing the Dark forest to reach the Mystery Land when he was suddenly attacked by a pack of wolves. A huge gray wolf jumped on him and he fell off his horse. He drew his sword to defend himself when suddenly a white light flashed in front of him blinding his eyes. When he opened his eyes, all the wolves lay dead around him.

To read the second part Click here.

Coincidentally

Do you believe in Coincidences? The dictionary meaning of coincidentally is "in a way that results from chance despite being very unlikely." In my opinion Coincidences are nothing short of miracles. I am about to tell you a story which may make you start believing in coincidences.

My name is Rosa Angulo. I work in a Multi-National Company in California. One evening, my boss Lucy Meyers called me to her cabin. She said that the company had some urgent client meeting next week in India and I had to fly to the Bangalore office that weekend. I was excited with the opportunity to travel to India. I hurriedly packed my travel bags and made my travel list. Visiting Taj Mahal and the Mysore Palace was on the top of my travel list.

I reached Bangalore on Sunday evening. My company had booked a Hotel for me which was at a walking distance from my office. But, my company was about thirty miles away from the International Airport. My friends who had visited Bangalore before had warned me that the traffic in the city was horrible. To make matters worse, it had been raining continuously for the last several days. The state of the roads was in a really bad shape. I hailed a cab from the Airport to take me to my Hotel.

My cab driver was a guy called Ganesh. He was a friendly guy and liked to chat a lot. Although I was tired from my long journey I replied to his questions courteously. During my long journey of three hours, he asked me from which country I was? He asked me about my work and also about my family. I had been told by my friends that Indian people like to ask personal questions as a matter of culture and had asked me not to feel offended.

At one point in our conversation, he said he had a young friend who was also from the US. He told me that his friend was around sixteen years of age and he spoke fluently in the local language Kannada. At first, I thought that the young boy must have been around in the city for a long with his parents. But, I was surprised when the driver told me that the boy was all alone. He said the boy did not have any parents. He said that many years ago, the boy's father had deserted his mother and the boy who was just two years old at the time and had never returned back. Being an American, this seemed like an all too familiar story to me. How many mothers had to raise their children all alone? I felt really sorry for the young boy. The driver said that the boy's mother had passed away a few years back owing to tuberculosis. Now, the boy worked as a car mechanic in a Garage.

Ganesh kept me engaged in conversation for the next three hours and finally I reached my Hotel. I thanked him and gave him a good tip. He gave me his card and asked me to call him if I ever wanted to go out for shopping or to some other tourist place. I promised him that I would call him and accepted his card. I went to the Hotel and completed all the check-in formalities. I was very tired and went straight to sleep.

The next day, I had a successful client meeting and was able to close out the deal. My boss was pleased with my work and promised to give me a good raise that year. I was over the top of the world. To celebrate my success, I decided to visit the Taj before leaving India. So, I packed my bags and took the next flight to Delhi. From Delhi, I took the express train to Agra. The train was mostly occupied with various foreign nationals. The seat next to mine was occupied by a middle-aged man who seemed to be in his late 50's. He was a white man with a bald head, no beard, and thick grey mustaches. He took deep breaths in between his words which made me think that has was asthmatic. 

The man introduced himself as Bob. Bob asked me if this was my first visit to the Taj. I said, "Yes". "It is a beautiful place. I visit it every year," he replied. We then talked casually and he said, “You know Rosa, I have been coming to India for the last ten years. I am searching for my lost wife and son. I have been looking for them all over India for the last ten years."

Bob said that many years back he had come to India on a business trip. He wanted to import Indian Tea leaves and start a new business in the US by manufacturing Tea. He had come to the trip with his wife Mary and a two-year-old son. One evening, he received a call from his business partner that there was some legal hurdle in procuring the tea factory license and his signature would be needed in person. Bob had invested a lot of money into this venture. So, he asked his wife to stay in the hotel for a few days till he returned. He said that he did not have enough money to pay for the flight tickets for all of them so he asked her to stay in the Hotel and promised that he would return to her within a week's time.

Bob took a flight to the US with a transit from Dubai. During the flight transit, his luggage got mixed up with someone else and he was detained by the Customs officials. The customs officials held him for smuggling narcotics which is a very serious felony in Dubai. Bob pleaded with them to let him go and told that there was a mistake. But, he was arrested and put into prison. He was kept in the Prison for four years and was finally released when the real smuggler was caught. During this time, Bob was not able to contact his wife or son. He wrote letters to the hotel where he had left his wife and son during his Prison stay but none of the letters were answered back.

Once Bob was released, he rushed back to India in search of his wife and son. The hotel people told him that his wife had left a couple of weeks after he had left them as she did not have enough money left to pay them. Bob had left his wife in Delhi. So, he filed a missing complaint with the Delhi Police and also reported the matter to the US consulate. But, even after searching for several days he could not locate them.

So dejected, Bob finally returned to the US. He was shocked to learn that his business partner Alex had confiscated all his properties and Bank money to pay for the Tea factory. So, he filed a legal petition and got entangled in a bitter legal dispute which he finally won. 

Bob kept returning to India every year to search for his missing wife and son and kept checking with the concerned authorities. When Bob had finished his sad story, I suddenly remembered my conversation with the cab driver in Bangalore. I told Bob about my conversation with the cab driver and his eyes lit up with hope. He begged me to share the cab driver's number. I shared it happily and even promised to accompany Bob to Bangalore.

The next day we went to Bangalore and I called up Ganesh. I told him that I would like to go out for shopping and that I was accompanied by a friend. When Ganesh came to the Hotel, I told him that I wished to see his American friend. He happily agreed. He took us to a car garage and pointed out to a tall slim lad who was working on the engine of a car. The boy had jet black hair and had grease all over his face and clothes. I looked at Bob. His old eyes were moist and I could see that his hands were shivering with nervousness. "Is that my son?” he whispered to me.

Ganesh called out to the boy," Tom, you have visitors." The boy looked up and smiled. "Hi, Ganesh says you wanted to see me," he said smiling. "Yes, we do," I told him and asked him to sit on a chair.

We then asked him about his mom and how he had come to be in Bangalore. He told that his father had deserted them when he was just two-years-old and never returned back. Not having any money, his mother was forced to work in a club as a dancer in Bangalore. He cried when he said that his mother had died a few years back and he was very angry at his father. Bob asked him the name of his mother. "Mary Stuggart," Tom replied. As he heard the name Bob bit his fingernails and let out a cry, “Oh God, Oh my God. I am sorry Mary. I am really sorry." 

Tom was very shocked to hear this reaction from Bob. He asked us who really were. So, I narrated the whole story to Tom who was too dumbfounded to react. Finally, the father and the son hugged each other and cried. I cried too and so did Ganesh. I had just witnessed the greatest Coincidence of my life. Or should I call it a miracle?

The End

One little boy and three bad ghosts

Have you ever had that feeling while you were sleeping and you felt like you were falling? You are falling fast into a deep pit with no boundaries and no light. You are screaming for help but you can't even hear your own voice. You feel light. You feel helpless. And, just when you have given up all the struggle you fall hard and your head smashes with full force on the ground. This is about the time when you wake up. You check to see if your head is still in one piece. You look around and make sure everything is normal. In the end, you smile thinking that it was just a bad dream. I am sorry to tell you that you are wrong.

This is the story of a little boy called Olaf. Olaf was a lean, tall and strong boy of eight years. He worked in the farms with his Papa and two elder brothers. He had a little sister and an elder sister who stayed at the house with his Mamma. Olaf looked after the cattle and fed the chickens. He ran around the farm and helped his brothers with endless things. One evening, Olaf was returning home with his pet dog Jojo. Jojo loved to play with him. Olaf had a ball which he kept throwing so that Jojo could fetch it back to him. During their game, Olaf once threw the ball a long way. Jojo ran to fetch the ball. But, he did not return. Instead, Jojo started barking at something. Jojo was looking towards a big old Oak tree and barking. Olaf came to Jojo and looked around to see why he was barking. But he could not see anything. Jojo kept barking at the tree and did not move from his place.

Suddenly there was a big gush of wind and the Oak Tree started shaking menacingly. The little dog got scared badly and ran away back to the farm leaving little Olaf alone. An eerie sound was coming from inside the tree. Suddenly, three spirits emerged out of the tree and started to hover in circles over little Olaf's head. One of the spirits was wearing a bright red coat with big buttons. On its head, this spirit wore a big blue hat. The other spirit was completely white. The only thing Olaf was able to make out was its big head, small eyes, a little mouth and a big tail. The third spirit was a lady's spirit. She wore a black dress and a big black colored hat. Poor Olaf was scared to see all the ghosts and asked what they wanted of him.

The lady's spirit stopped circling around him and stood in front of him. The spirit was very tall and when she opened her mouth to speak Olaf could see her rotten golden colored teeth shining inside her big mouth. "Little boy, we are the spirits of this tree. You and your dog have disturbed our sleep. Now, you will have to pay up for it with your life", saying this she brought both her hands forward menacingly and took them to Olaf's neck to strangle and choke him to death. Olaf got really scared and screamed,"Spirit, I am really sorry. Please don't kill me. Tell me what I can do so you can spare my life?". The spirit laughed wickedly. It was as if she had been waiting to hear these words from the little boy.

"We have been caught on this tree since two hundred years, you will need to free us if you want us to spare your life." Olaf replied,"Tell me spirit, how can I do that?". The spirit smirked and replied, "You will need to find three other people who are ready to die and take our place on this tree. You have three days until the next full Moon to complete this task. If you fail to bring three people then we will come and take you with us." Saying this, the spirits started laughing and started circling around the little kid and finally disappeared again.

Little Olaf was scared and walked back home. He kept thinking where he would find three people who were ready to die for him. He was sad and was quiet during the dinner. His Mamma Jenny saw that her little boy was very quiet that day. After the dinner, Jenny called him aside and asked him what the matter was. Olaf never hid anything from his mother, so he told her the entire incident and how he had to find three people who were ready to die for him in three days time.

His Mamma listened to him and assured him,"Go to sleep, my little boy. Let me take care of this problem. Pretend nothing happened to you and do not tell about this incident to anyone else." Olaf promised his Mamma that he would keep this incident a secret and he would not tell his brothers, sisters or Father about this incident.

The next day Jenny got up early in the morning. She took a large Axe and headed straight to the tree Olaf had described to her. She took Jojo with her so that he could point out the right tree to her. Jojo accompanied her and as soon as they approached the tree he became scared and started whining with fear. So, Jenny told him to leave. Jojo ran back to the house. Jenny went straight to the Oak Tree and started chopping it with the large Axe. As soon as the first blow of the Axe landed on the Tree the spirits arose and let out an eerie cry. Any other person would have got scared and run away from the place. But, not Jenny. She was prepared to do anything to save her child. So, she kept chopping the Tree. The spirits of the Tree got very angry and attacked Jenny. Jenny was not scared and she kept chopping the Tree. Finally, the lady's Spirit requested her to stop. But, Jenny would not listen. So, the lady's spirit begged her,"Please don't chop this tree. If you cut this Tree we will never be freed from our curse. We would keep haunting people for eternity." Jenny stopped finally. She told her,"I'll stop. If you promise not to hurt my child." The lady's spirit told her that it was beyond her power to save the child. The deal Olaf had made to them was now approved by the Devil himself. So, Olaf had to keep his promise or else the Devil would come to take his soul.

Jenny asked her if there was no other way to save her child. So, the lady's spirit replied that if she agreed to take her place on the Tree then her child would be spared. Jenny agreed. The lady's spirit entered Jenny's body and Jenny's soul was now bound to the Tree. The lady's spirit was called Diana before she has become trapped in the Tree. Diana was very happy to get a new body after two hundred years. She headed to the farm to her new family.

Meanwhile, Jenny came to know about the other two spirits. One of the spirits was a French Naval Doctor called Abraham Petit. The other spirit was of an unborn child. The lady Diana was his wife. The Doctor had been hanged on the tree two hundred years back for murdering another man during a drunken brawl. Two days later his pregnant wife had hanged herself from the same tree. Jenny said that she was sorry for what had happened to them. Abraham told her that Diana had lied to her. She would kill Olaf and her husband on the full moon night so that he and his unborn child would also be freed from their curse. Jenny was very angry when she learned this. She tried to fly back to the farm. But, her spirit was caught in the branches of the tree. Invisible chains bound her to the Tree. She could not escape these chains. So, she wept for her child and husband.

When Diana returned home, Jojo saw her and immediately recognized that she was the evil spirit. But, when he saw the large Axe in her hand and saw that she was heading straight to him he realized that she was coming to kill him. So, he ran with top speed and disappeared. Diana was happy that no one could recognize her now. She prepared a great meal that night and came to know about everyone in the family. She waited for the full moon night two days later because her husband had been hanged on a full moon night. Their curse would be released only on the Full Moon night.

That night, when Olaf was sleeping he saw a dream. In the dream, he saw that he was standing in front of the Oak Tree. He saw his mother was trapped in the Tree and she was calling him for help. He climbed the tree to talk to his mother. His mother told him of what had happened to her and told him to go back. Suddenly, the other two spirits attacked him and he lost his balance and fell from the tree. As he fell he screamed. But, he could not hear his own voice. He fell with a big thud as his head smashed against the earth. The next instant, Olaf woke up from his dream. He turned around and saw that he was lying in his own bed. He went to his parent's room and saw that his mother was sleeping peacefully. He smiled thinking that it was just a bad dream. So, he went back to sleep.

The next day, Olaf was sad because he could not find Jojo anywhere. He searched for him everywhere. But, he could not find him. That night, Olaf saw the same dream again. This time he saw that Jojo was sitting near the tree. To his surprise, Jojo was speaking to him in human tongue. Jojo warned him that Diana had captured his mom's body deceitfully. He warned that tomorrow night she would kill him and his father. Before he could tell him any further. The other two spirits of the Tree attacked him and once again he fell down with full force from the tree and smashed his head. Once again, Olaf woke up in his bed drenched in his sweat. This time he was convinced that what he had seen was not a dream.

The next morning, he ran to the Oak Tree and saw Jojo sitting next to it. Jojo ran to him and licked him with great joy. Olaf understood that their lives were in danger. So, he called his mother's spirit for help. Jenny appeared from the Tree and told him,"My dear child. The wicked Diana will try to kill you and your father tonight. However, if you can find her grave and place a water lily on it before the night she and her family will be released from this curse. She will no longer trouble us and I will return to you. Go soon my child for we have very little time left."

Olaf ran back to his home. He went back to Diana and pretended that he did not the truth about her. After sometime Olaf noticed that Diana got up silently and started going out of the house. He followed her precariously keeping a good distance from her so that she could not see him following her. He saw that Diana went to an old abandoned French house. She disappeared in this house for some time. Olaf waited for her to return. After some time, he saw her coming out of the house wearing a blue hat and carrying a rattle. She was smiling and talking to herself. Suddenly, she burst into a loud laugh and started singing a lullaby in a hoarse voice. Olaf had never heard of this lullaby before. But, he was very scared seeing Diana singing the lullaby to herself. Olaf waited till she had gone out of sight. He then sneaked into the abandoned old house. As he walked into the house, the old wooden floor creaked beneath his feet and produced a blood-curdling sound. Olaf was scared. But, he had to save his parents. So he searched the house looking for some clues.

Olaf saw an old painting hanging on the wall of the bedroom. The painting showed Diana and her husband standing in front of their house. It seemed like their wedding painting. Diana was wearing a blue lily in her hair. Olaf searched the whole house but he could not find any clue where to find the grave. So, disappointed he came out of the house. As he opened the door, to his shock he found Diana standing outside. "Why you little brat, you thought you could sneak up on me," saying this she pounced on the little kid. Olaf ran back inside the house scared. He ran up to the first-floor bedroom and locked himself inside. Diana started banging the door violently. The scared child saw a window and an Oak Tree adjacent to it. So, he opened the glass window and climbed the nearest branch. Just then, Diana opened the door and burst into the room. When she saw Olaf climbing the Tree she went to the branch and shook it with full force. Olaf lost his balance and fell down.

As Olaf fell he remembered his dreams. But, he knew that now he was not dreaming and he was sure to die. So, he just gave up and closed his eyes. But, as he fell he landed straight into a pond. He swam to the top to see Water lilies growing all around him. He looked up to see Diana staring at him angrily and cursing. She disappeared from the window screaming loudly. He knew she was coming to get him. He jumped out of the pond and plucked a water lily. Olaf ran and turned behind to see Diana running behind him. As he ran, he heard the bell of an old church. He had never before come to this part of the village and did not know if any church existed there.

Olaf ran with all his energy towards the church. He was surprised to find the church abandoned. He wondered who had rung the church's bell. He suddenly heard his mother's voice,"The grave is in the church's backyard. Hurry my child." Olaf ran towards the door but he saw that Diana was blocking it. He ran towards her hoping he could slip below her. But, Diana flung her arm towards him to catch him. Just then, Jojo appeared out of nowhere and flung at her and bit her hand. She writhed in pain and started cursing loudly. She attacked Jojo and tried to throw him down. Meanwhile, little Olaf ran out and searched for the graves. In the backyard of the church, he saw a graveyard. He searched frantically for Diana's grave. He finally found her grave in a corner. Just then, Diana emerged out and ran towards him with great menace. Olaf placed the water lily on the grave. Just as he did this, he heard a loud scream from Diana,"No." She fell down and he saw a dark spirit leaving his mother's body.

He ran to his mother. Jojo came and licked her face. Soon, Jenny regained her consciousness. She was very happy to see that her son was alright. She said that Diana would never trouble her family again. The next day, Jenny accompanied her husband and burnt the Tree. A Pastor was called to offer prayers at the spot. Diana and her family were released from their curse and they were free to be reborn as humans again. As for Olaf, he now knew that if someone fell down in a dream it was a warning of a bad thing about to happen in real life.

The End