Not Forgetting / Karni Zor

As the voyager entered the magical forest, he could hear an enchanted tune, which he followed. The music lead him to a forest clearing, where, in the light of the new moon, he could see the fairies dance. The cheerful fairies caught his eyes, he was enchanted by their dance, lightness and beauty. Quite quickly the fairies noticed the voyager and invited him to join their dance.  The sweet sweet smell of fairies and flowers, the magical music and very bright dance, lured the voyager to a wonderful swirl in the air, as the fairies held his hands.  If only possible the voyager would stay in this land of fairies forever, but he suddenly remembered the reason for his quest. He was there to see the magician and to ask the magician to teach him the magician’s ways. He moved away from the fairies’ circle and started to embark on his own and new path, into the woods.

Before the fairies departed they gave him some berries and mushrooms and herbs from the forest, which he thanked them for. All was packed for him in a yellow small sack, tied with a green ribbon, for him to take on his way.

After a few hours’ walk in the forest the voyager could see a wooden hut. Although this small cabin house was very simple he knew this was the magician’s house. At the doorstep of the cabin laid a small red dragon, looking with his red-hot eyes directly at the voyager. “Even a small dragon – is nevertheless a dragon” said the voyager to himself, and sensing what awaits he then put on his shield, made of red steal, with a yellow flower on its front and a white solar cross on its back .

When the voyager started approaching the magician’s house he noticed that with every step he makes the dragon grows bigger and bigger. When he stood in-front of the dragon, the dragon was the size of the hut itself.

The dragon’s flames, coming out of his mouth and nose, were aiming right at him, burning the edges of his cloths, but the fire did not harm his shield, which was made of the finest metal. The dragon’s claws approached his face and made a deep cut.  He was wounded and bleeding from the fighting with the dragon, not knowing how to proceed. The dragon grew stronger and stronger as the voyager fought him. And then the voyager had an idea. He started to walk backwards, away from the dragon. With each step the dragon became smaller and smaller. His colors changed from red to green, to yellowish orange, to deep purple and then many fascinating shades of indigo and violet. When the voyager now looked at the dragon from a distance, it now was only but a tiny blue dragon, and it was sleeping. He knew that now, when the dragon is asleep, it finally safe to approach the magician’s house.

The voyager knocked at the door of the White Magician. While waiting for someone to open the door he could see his own reflection of the glass that decorated the doors. There was a great scar on his forehead, freshly made from the dragon’s claw. His own reflection moved away as a servant opened the door; a simple old man, his back a bit bent, wearing brown clothes. “The magician is not home” the servant said “but come inside; I will fix us dinner while we wait”.

The servant showed the voyager the way to quite a big kitchen. The servant put some ingredients on the table: potatoes, meet and bread. The voyager took the yellow package which he have just gotten from the fairies and added to the lot the mushrooms, berries and herbs. Now a wonderful dinner could be made. They chopped, cooked and prepared the table, and whilst doing so a conversation began:

“This is quite a scar you have there!” the servant pointed to the voyager’s forehead.

“Yes, it is from the dragon outside of this hut”.

“Very strange indeed!” said the servant. “I didn’t know there were dragons in this part of the country… oh, well. I hope the scar will always remind you of the fight you won. After all – not every day you get to meet a dragon! It might actually be a wonderful souvenir!”

The servant and the voyager continued their conversation. Waiting for the magician they moved after dinner to the den, where a warm fire was let by the servant. After the voyager took his bath, they both sat near the fireplace and the servant told the voyager some beautiful stories.

After a while the servant looked deep into the voyager’s eyes.

“Are you full?” asked the servant “Have you eaten enough? Have you heard enough stories? Do you want to sleep now, perhaps?”

The voyager looked directly at the servant’s eyes. He wanted to be polite, being grateful for the time spent with the servant, but he kept true to his purpose and replied: “My stomach is full. My body provided. My emotions are balanced and I feel very clean and at home. But my hunger is not yet fulfilled, for I did not come for the meal, nor for stories, I have come to meet the magician”.

As the two men looked at each-other the servant’s cloths started to change. His brown gown was no longer, and now he wore a deep blue cloak filled with dazzling silver stars, which really looked three-dimensional. He had a pointy long hat with galaxies in white painted upon it. His face became clearer, smoother and brighter. His posture strong and tall. The magician, with all his might, was now standing in-front of the voyager, who slowly realized that he just had dinner prepared for him by the magician himself, and heard stories straight from the magician’s mouth.

The magician held his wand up straight against the ceiling, and as he was pointing the wand up it seemed that for a split second the ceiling itself disappeared and the voyager could see the stars in the skies. The magician then said with a clear, strong voice:

“Do Not Forget”.

 

The voyager did not know what to say. He was confused and he did not want to miss this opportunity, the special time in the magician’s house, with the magician himself. “Please, teach me” he said.

“Very well” said the magician “I will show you the path to the library, in which now you will be able to learn all you need”.

The voyager followed the path the magician showed him. It was a corridor which lead to a huge wooden door painted in bright green. The voyager approached the door, and the wizard stayed in the corridor. The voyager opened the door of the library and made a step in.

But as he pass through the door the voyager found himself back in the clearing of the forest. He looked around him. The magician’s house was nowhere in sight and he knew a long time will pass till he will find the hut again, if at all. The night was clear, the forest filled with wonderful sounds and sweet smells of flowers. It was just before dawn and he could see above his head many many stars. And as he looked at the stars he noticed a very thin waning crescent of the moon, although he clearly remembered that only a few hours ago the it was a new moon in the skies. A whole month has passed, but he could not remember it.

A fairy flew near him and asked the voyager about his visit to the magician’s house. “Oh… said the voyager… “I really do not know what to say… it is so different than this forest…. ”

“No. it is not different than the forest” replied the small fairy

“can’t you see? You are in the magician’s library…

Learn, my love, learn… ”