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