Fortune Teller

Fortune Teller

"This way please", the guide says, and the people silently follow him while gazing at the many artifacts which surround them. As a lover of ancient architecture, I am greatly enjoying the tour through the castle. A magnificent, unconquerable building from the outside, it seems surprisingly comfortable on the inside.

"This is the living room, where the landlord and his family gathered. Though the soldiers of the castle fought for them, often to death, they were not highly respected. Most soldiers, however, were very rough people, that must be told. Measures for discipline were strong and painful." the guide tells us.

When the tour advances, we reach the barracks for the soldiers. They are small, dark, and nearly windowless and the ancient stench of the death seems to have never left the walls. A coin, balancing on its side, would stay in that position for years, so little wind and fresh air seems to be here. It’s unfair that those who fought for the life of the landlord and his family are domesticated in such holes, but very few people had acceptable living conditions, especially compared to modern standards.

The tour continues and we reach a higher place in a tower. The sight from the window is magnificent, as the castle is built high on a mountain and I can look many miles over the landscape. Fascinated by the sight, I don’t see that the people advance further and nobody seems to miss me. I imagine armies of heavily armed soldiers, trying to besiege the castle until the inhabitants either starved or fell prey to disease. The garrison was usually prepared for a long siege and the battle must have looked pointless to both sides. I don’t even hear a large, wooden door open at my side.

"Please come in, dear one", I hear a voice saying. It frightens me, as it came totally unexpected.
"Sorry", the voice says. "I did not mean to frighten you, but much less I would enjoy it if you walked away without my council, which might be very valuable."

I turn my head to the right, where the voice is coming from. I see somebody with gray hair, though he does not look particularly old. He has a small, gray beard on his chin and he is dressed in a long robe, which even covers his shoes. Who would walk today in such garments? It certainly is a trick of the tour operator, who must have added some live action to the tour. Still feeling a little uneasy, I enter the room.

The room is circular, as is the shape of the tower we are in. A small, worn-out stair made of heavy gray stones leads to a trapdoor upwards. There are bookshelves on the wall, filled with ancient books which look costly. There is a large, dark, oaken desk, filled with yellowed sheets of paper. A small telescope peeks through a very small window. I wonder whether it serves to watch the sky or the ground, in case the enemy is gathering.

He carefully closes the door and guides me to a large chair in front of the desk. He takes place in a chair behind it.

"I am the landlord’s fortune teller. He had a lot of responsibilities, not only for himself and his family, but for very many people. He provided protection for the villages around the castle. A good counselor was very valuable to him and he visited me often. As he died a long time ago, I get very few people asking me for council. Therefore, I’m very happy to have you here."

If he’s an actor, he acts remarkably well. But what else can he be?

"Sure, go ahead", I say, playing the game with him.

I see him frowning. "You must neither take my advice lightly, nor come here with an unprepared mind. I might tell you things which you don’t want to hear, and you will shy away from the truth, until the truth is your worst enemy. The enemy of the truth is the lie, and you will live a life of deception and, perhaps, die on a death bed of regret when it is too late to make up for your mistakes."

His words are spoken sternly and seem to pierce my mind like sharp needles.

"You can go ahead", I reply. "I’m actually quite curious to what you have to tell me."

"If you are here only to satisfy your curiosity I might deeply disappoint you. There is a chance that you leave with many more questions in your mind than when you entered my laboratory."

He starts boring me. "Go ahead, as I said. I really need good advice."

He shakes his head, barely visible. "The stars are an excellent source of advice, though they speak a language very few can understand. Though I, arrogantly, consider myself an expert, I have the greatest of trouble when I try to read them. Last night, however, they seemed screaming for attention when I looked at them. Even though millions of people may have seen them, very few realize what these sparkling heavenly gems can tell us. I immediately took my tools and copied their positions in the nightly sky. Today, I have tried to decipher their clues. Never during my life have they spoken so clearly."

I start feeling a little uneasy. This all must be a trick, but I’m only so sure because it cannot be anything else.

He continues. "The stars predicted your arrival here. Perhaps not the coming of you in particular, but somebody who could be of help to somebody else."

He looks deep into my eyes, which makes me feel nervous.

"A tragedy took place many centuries ago. What exactly it was, the stars could not tell me. But somebody, some creature, has spent many centuries in mourning of a great loss. The stars regard the creature as a friend, or even a companion. How somebody, or something, who is not a star itself can be a companion of them is yet unclear to me. Their only companion is the moon. I suppose you have rarely seen the stars without a moon. Their greatest enemy is the sun, who orders them to leave at sunrise. They seem to have a kind of truce, though, for every night the sun gives room to the stars and the moon.”

More and more, I get convinced that this is not a trick at all. The expression on his face is too serious even for a great actor, and I can see sadness in his eyes. That sadness seems very real.

He goes on. "The stars are looking for aid for their companion. You seem to be the one they have chosen. Obviously they have some knowledge of you. Certainly you have gazed at them many a night, haven’t you?"

I wonder how he could have known that, but I love venturing in the forest at night, far away from anybody else and more than once the stars have struck me with their magnificent beauty, recognized by so few a mortal.

"What am I supposed to do?" I ask him in bewilderment.

"Follow your heart", he says. "If you do so, the results will be good, for you as well as for somebody who is mourning a great loss, yet unknown to the both of us."

"Where is this ‘companion of the stars’", I ask him.

"The stars have not given a certain location. Follow their path, but not towards their sworn enemy, the sun. You have a chance of finding the creature. Will you follow the cry for help of the stars?" He again looks me deep into my eyes.

"I don’t know yet... I need time to think about this." It’s not even a lie. I really need to think this over.

"Please, follow your heart, and not your mind. Somebody out there needs you. Rarely have the stars been so clear."

He grabs my shoulders. "Please, go find the creature. You may be its last hope. Please!"

I don’t want to say 'yes' yet. I need time to think.

"I will think about it. I promise."

"Make your decision wisely, dear girl. Perhaps, one day, you will need help, no matter how much despair is in your mind. You may one day cry for help, just as the creature does, and you will beg for somebody to hear you.”

I just want to leave, and get up from the chair.

"Choose wisely", he says again.

"I will do my best", I reply. "Thanks for your help."

"There is something out there which will show you a thousand times as much gratitude as you can ever grant me. Fare thee well, dear one..."

He gestures to the door, and I leave, more confused than I’ve ever been.

The gathering of tourists did not seem to have missed me, busy as they are with the guidance of the guide. I walk towards them and reenter the gathering. As soon as they walk on, I go to the guide.

"It’s an excellent part of the trip, the fortune teller", I tell him, but with much less convincement then I intend.

"What fortune teller?" he asks me.

"In the room back there", I reply, pointing at it.

"If there was a fortune teller as part of the trip, I would certainly have known it. I have given tours in this castle for over a decade and never have I encountered one. "

I want to be sure of it. I take his arm, and drag him backwards to the room. The door is locked.

"I don’t know what a creative mind you have, but this door is locked, and has been for ages." he says.

"I have been in there!" I reply viciously. The joke has gone on long enough.

"You cannot have been in there", he says. "What are you up to?"

"Can you please let me have a look in this room? Please?" I hope it will finally show to me that it simply cannot be real.

To my delight, the guide takes a key and unlocks the door. I open it and look inside.

Inside is the laboratory of the fortune teller, but the huge amount of dust, which wasn’t there when I entered, shows that nobody can have been here for a long time.

"I don’t see any invisible fortune tellers in here", the guide says with a large smile on his face.

"I'm sorry", I say. Perhaps the ancient surroundings have played tricks with my fantasy. Sorry that I have bothered you. But can you please tell me the function of this room in the past?"

"This was the office of the lord’s wisest counselor. The story goes that the he one day told the lord to attack the army of his enemy. Wars between landlords were common in those days. The lord was greatly outnumbered and normally would never have given the order to attack. The counselor insisted though. The lord had great trust in his wise counselor, and against all the odds ordered his army to attack. He had to threaten his own officers with instant execution before they were willing to start the battle. "You can die an honorable death on the battlefield, or a humiliating one on the end of a rope", it is said that he told his officers. Reluctantly, they went to the battlefield. The enemy, certain of an easy, decisive victory, relentlessly attacked. But at that moment, a great storm emerged and very heavy rain fell down. The heavily armored enemy got stuck in the soil, where they were easy prey for the army of the lord, which had a lot of archers. The few who managed to engage the army were defeated. It’s difficult to defend against an army as long as they keep their lines, but the lines were broken because of the soldiers who kept behind in the swamp. Ten men can beat a thousand men if they come one by one, and must fight against a tenfold overpower.

After the battle, the lord wanted to show his gratitude by giving half of his wealth to the counselor, but he refused the gold he was offered. "My reward I have already obtained. It is your trust in me. That's what I value more than anything else." the counselor said.

Now when the enemy was defeated, the area knew a long lasting peace. New war broke out only after many generations. It is remarkable though that the grave of the counselor has never been found. That is why few believe the story.

We must go on with the tour now."

"Thanks a lot", I say. What exactly it is I am grateful for is unclear, for he has thousand folded my confusion.

I go on with the tour, but hear little of his words. I only want it to end. I need to be alone...

That night, I again venture out in the forest. There is a clearing with a small hill. It’s far away from the inhabited world. The sky is bright, and the stars are visible. Being far away from the inhabited world, there are no artificial lights which normally block any clear vision of the stars. The Milky Way is clearly visible, like a river of diamonds in a sky which seems to be made of pure darkness… I stare at it. I wish the stars could speak to me, but only the counselor seems to understand their language.

I gaze and gaze, and I lose all sense of time. A thousand times I think of the words of the counselor. "Follow their path, but not towards their sworn enemy, the sun." All of a sudden, I realize. Their path! The Milky Way is so clearly a path that I curse myself for not having realized before! It's even in its name! Now I am sure that the counselor's story must have been true. It makes me feel uneasy. Somebody, or something, needs my help, and it feels as a great burden. I rethink of the desperation in the eyes of the counselor. I decide to go, find the creature.

I start walking to the north, for the sun is to the south. I wonder whether I am crazy or not. Everybody would declare me crazy, but they can do it with my blessing. As the counselor said, one day I might be in need of help, and beg for somebody to give it to me, no matter how much against the odds.

I walk on for hours, the forest is dense. The full moon caresses it with her silver rays, which gives me enough vision not to stumble against trees. After many hours of walking, the forest gets less dense. Sunset arrives and the stars leave the sky, as their enemy orders them to leave. Without the guidance of the Milky Way, I don’t know which direction I should follow. I stare in the distance. Far away, I see a small house. It surprises me. Who can live so far away from the inhabited world? I decide to walk towards it. Perhaps the house is not inhabited at all.

After a long walk, I reach the house. It's a small one, with a straw roof. It’s made of roughly hewn stones. I see a small light through one of the small windows. It’s flickering, projecting an act of shadows on the window itself. I wonder whether I should knock on the door or leave this whole house behind me. My curiosity beats my fear, though I shiver. I knock so softly on the door that it seems that my unconsciousness tries to protect me. It fails, however, for somebody opens the door.

I see a man with long black hair, tied together. He wears black pants, made of thin fabric. His blouse is white, and around his neck is a thin golden chain. His black leather boots shine, though the light is sparse so early at dawn…

"Welcome, dear visitor", he says. "Please come in. I rarely get visitors these days, so you are more than welcome, no matter who you are."

Reluctantly, I enter the house. I try to make my legs not shake, but I fail. He either does not notice or manages to hide it.

We enter a small hallway, with doors at the left and right side and a steep, small stair at the end. He opens the right door for me and lets me in first. What I enter seems to be a small living room. There are only two chairs, which look very comfortable though. At the side of each chair is a large candle holder, each with five thick candles in it. The candles at one chair are lit. The flames are dancing in the draught, which project the imagery on the window which I saw outside. He takes a small piece of timber, lights it in one of the candles and lights the five candles next to my chair. In the fireplace is a fire burning.

“Please have a seat”, he says, while pointing at one of the chairs. I sit down in it.

“Very rarely travelers venture into this area but I enjoy company now and again”, he says. “Please make yourself comfortable.”

I try, but I feel way too nervous to feel comfortable. Not to violate his hospitality, I try to hide it.

“Can I offer you a glass of wine”, he asks me.

Perhaps wine is what I need right now. “Yes, please”, I reply.

He takes a bottle from a wine rack and takes the cork of it. He fills two glasses and hands one over to me. I take a small sip. The wine tastes great and perhaps it’s the alcohol which makes me feel a little less nervous.

“It does not seem you traveled towards here with the intention to visit me”, he says. “May I please ask what it was that took you here?”

“Well…” I reply. Should I tell him about the counselor? About the stars which guided my path? I know that I am crazy, but he does not. I have no intention of making it clear.

“I was just having a walk in the forest and I got lost… So I saw your house and decided to knock on the door.” I lie to him.

“Do you always take walks during the night? I must say I am pleased to hear. The night can be very beautiful, if only because the humans are asleep, and can neither bother one nor destroy the beautiful surroundings with their mere presence. But it’s actually remarkable that you found my house just by walking around and being lost. The whole area is deserted for many an hour walking.”

“Yes, it’s quite remarkable”, I say uneasily.

“There is one easy way to find my house, though”, he replies. “Just follow the path of the stars, but not towards the sun. If you did not follow their directions, it must have been chance which guided you here. And that very, very rarely happens…”

I start feeling ashamed of the lie I told him. “Perhaps I followed the path without being really aware of it.” I reply.

“You were unaware that you did?” he replies, with a questioned expression on his face. “Following the path requires you to walk into a straight line. A lost wanderer rather walks in circles, trying to find a spot he previously visited. Besides, if you get lost, you can better await sunset. The light of the day, though destroying the beauty of the night, can be a valuable guide.”

“Well, I did follow the path”, I say, looking at the floor.

To my relief, he smiles. “Very few have ever done so, which is one of the reasons I get very few visitors. People do not recognize the path, even if they have seen it a thousand times. The stars have much to tell us, but their language is hard to understand…”

I don’t care whether I am crazy or not. I will tell him the full story…

“There was a counselor at a castle I visited. At least, I suppose there was, for he disappeared when I left his room and when I reentered, he seemed never to have been there at all. He told me that the stars had spoken to him and that I should follow their path. I don’t really know why I decided to do it actually. But I felt I had to do it.”

“Ah, the counselor”, he says. “There are many legends about the counselor, but all legends are based on certain facts. That he appeared to you is remarkable. He very rarely appears to mortals. And if he does, it is only for a moment. That he appeared means he had a very great burden on his mind.”

“He seemed to have”, I reply. “He told me about a certain creature who has mourned for centuries. He could not tell me what it was or what troubled it. And he seemed desperate…”

“And you have followed your heart, and not your mind. Few of us do nowadays, but it certainly means you have a good heart. A creature in mourning needs you…?” He seems to think deeply… “yes, that might have been it…”, he mumbles. “Why did I never think of it myself… How many things you don’t see even in front of your very eyes. How could I have missed it all the time…”

“You know more of the creature?” I ask him. He has strengthened my curiosity.

“I do not know the creature you talk about. But you should await the night, and you might listen to it.”

“Listen to it? What do you mean?” I ask him.

“You should listen for yourself”, he says. We must await the night. A great thunderstorm is coming, which is required. In the meantime, you should sleep. You must have spent the whole night walking, for the path is only visible during the night. If you decide to continue your journey, you must have rest. If you decide to return, there might indeed be something in mourning, perhaps until the end of days…”

He takes my hand and helps me out of the chair. The whole world feels more and more unreal to me. Somehow I wish that I stayed home and forget about the counselor, but I can’t. Something needs my help, I’m sure of it.

He takes me back to the hallway and we ascend the stair. There is a hallway with two doors, just as below. He opens one of them and I enter a small bedroom with little more than two beds. He points at one of the beds.

“Good night, dear visitor”, he says, “though I should rather say: good day, for it is sunset.” He closes the curtains and the room is near totally dark. “I will wake you at nightfall, if it is not the thunderstorm which awakes you before.”

When I enter the bed, I feel how exhausted I am after many hours of walking. I fall asleep in a moment.”

I don’t know how long I have slept when he reenters the bedroom and opens the curtains. I see its dark outside. I must have slept the whole day.

He takes me downstairs again. He enters the living room and takes a pipe from a small chest. He fills it and lights it.

“We must go outside. The walls will block any sound.” he says.

We go outside, and we walk towards the back of the house. The roof extends over the wall, which makes a small lean-to. I see the clouds moving at great speed.

“We must wait a while”, he says. “It’s the wind we need, and the worst hasn’t started yet.”

We wait, and he slowly draws at his pipe.

The wind gets stronger and stronger, violently tearing at my clothes.

“The wind comes from the north. Further along the path of the stars. It’s only audible when it comes from the north, so I suppose your destination is in that direction.”

I listen with intense concentration. I seem to hear words, but it might have been my own fantasy, incited by intense listening.

“If you listen well enough, you might hear the screams of despair. I always thought it was my own mind playing tricks with me, but I only hear it when the wind comes from the north, and when the wind is very powerful. It is your arrival which makes me understand.” he says. “How often have I failed to…”

To my surprise, I realize he is right. Hidden deep beneath its ordinary sound, I hear somebody screaming. Crying. I hear intense screams of despair, mourning and sadness.

“The counselor has always been right, as far as I have known him. Somebody needs your help. Perhaps the wind has convinced you. You must go on.” he says.

The sadness in the wind has nearly moved me to tears. He has noticed. He hugs me powerfully with both arms.

“Don’t feel sadness, dear one”, he says. “It is determination what you need. And there is somebody who needs it much more. Follow the path of the stars. I beg you to… If you decide to return, I will not stop you. But I will greatly regret it…”

I have decided to go further, further into an unknown landscape. But I must…

“I will go on”, I say. “Thanks for your help.”

“There will be somebody else a thousand times as grateful”, he replies. He looks in my eyes for a moment. “I wish you luck”, he says, smiling at me.

I look at the sky. To my surprise, the clouds have disappeared and once again the path is shown.

“Goodbye”, I say, when I walk further along the path.

I walk on, not knowing what lies ahead of me. The forest grows denser but the path is clear enough. Hours pass, but I walk further, determined to go on until I find what I am looking for or fall down in exhaustion.

A lake emerges in front of me. The full moon is like a silver ray on its tiny lakes. Rest is what I need, and this seems an excellent place. I sit down, leaning against a large rock. I slowly doze away…

“Hi”, I hear somebody saying. I am frightened to death. I expected nobody in this deserted area.

“There is no need to be frightened”, I hear somebody saying. “I have not harmed anybody in my entire existence. Shanhvit is my name.”

I get up and look where the sounds come from. I see a young woman, wondrously dressed. Her hair is blond, and shines like gold in the light of the moon. She wears a dark brown skirt, made of pointed leather straps. On her feet are high boots, made of brown fur. She wears a bustier which is made of the same fur as her boots are. It is interwoven with fine silver thread. She has large leather straps on her wrists, which nearly extend to her elbows. Around her forehead is a very thin silver chain, decorated by a small, sparkling star.

“The lake is beautiful, isn’t it?” she asks.

“It is”, I reply.

Her face saddens. “The lake is so beautiful it can be deceptive. Somehow, it has meant my doom. But I’m afraid it’s more my stupidity which is to blame. The lake did not harm me.”

“The lake has meant your doom?” I ask her. “Did somebody drown in it?”

“No, it’s not that”, she replies. “It is a very long story…”

Now when I am fully awake, I finally realize what a strange situation I am in. She does look far from ordinary, but I am afraid it would have struck me even more if I had found somebody ordinary at this place. But I’m at the point that few things amaze me anymore.

She sits down on a rock.

“I am not what you think I am. What I am is difficult to explain. Actually I do not belong in this world. My home is above. Far away. We have seen the emergence of human civilization. Often, we traveled to this world to give council to the humans, whom we regard as our friends. There are many myths and legends about us. We never showed ourselves to more than one human at a time and when they told their stories, nobody believed them.

We have wings, made of the feathers of swans and with these wings, we can fly. We fly from our home to the earth and back. Without our wings, we cannot fly but we rarely take them off.

This is a beautiful place. I loved coming here. One day, there was a human who was clearly in need of council. We have seen so many things in this world that we usually make great counselors. I tried to help him out as well as I could. In that I succeeded. But then he told me: “I don’t know who you are, but you are not going to leave me behind. You will be with me forever.” “I can’t”, I replied. “My home is not here, in your world. My home is high above, among the stars. You cannot enter it and I cannot stay behind.” But the determination on his face frightened me. “You are going to stay here with me”, he replied. Even if that means that I must move the world to any star in the universe.” “Don’t even try, for all efforts will be of no avail”, I replied. I felt sad that I had to hurt him, but life can sometimes be bitter. It sounds silly, but I just flew away.

I have underestimated his determination. He had been looking for me. We can travel at great speed, and we don’t often visit the same place. Your world is so big, with so many interesting places… But this place, with the lake, is by far the most beautiful one and sometimes I returned. I did not realize that he was waiting for me.

One day I was swimming in the crystal-clear water of the lake. I had taken off my wings. This area is usually deserted. All the times I came here, I have seen nobody. It has made me careless…

When I left the lake, I saw that my wings had disappeared. Panicked, I searched for it everywhere but no matter how much I looked I was unable to find them.

The man came to me. “As I told you, you will be with me. If you reject, you will stay in this world forever. For I have your wings and without those, you will not be able to return. The choice is yours, but I know what you will decide.”

I fell to my knees in front of him. I begged him to give them back, but he obviously realized how powerless I am without my wings. No matter how much I begged and cried, he refused. I had no choice…

Time in your world means little to us. The years passed, and I must say he did his best to make me feel happy, for he obviously loved me deeply. But your world is not mine and his caresses could not ease my pain. For me, his love was a curse.

More years passed and he grew older. He knew that if he returned my wings, I would leave him. I missed my world and my companions… On his death bed, I begged again for my wings, like I did uncountable times before. He just repeated the same sentence: “please, do not leave me behind…” I held his hand, until he blew his last breath. With his spirit, the hiding place of my wings has gone…”

I see tears emerging in her eyes.

“Countless times, I have looked at the stars. My world is among them. I miss my friends, I am so far away from them. They long for me. They have waited for me all those years. I miss my world. Countless times, I have screamed for somebody to help me, especially when the wind blew with great force, for it’s the wind we fly on and it reminded me of my loss. I begged my friends to help me but it has been to no avail. If I could just get my wings, I would return. We don’t visit this world anymore. Our task has been fulfilled and nobody of my kind ever visits this world again. I am so lonely in this world…”

She buries her face in her hands and cries.

I sit next to her and put my arm around her shoulders. I hold her against me. “The stars are your friends?” I ask her.

“Yes, we live among them. They must have seen me all the time.” she whispers.

“It were the stars which guided me here”, I tell her.

“Did they?” she asks in amazement. “The humans have forgotten their true meaning and see them as nothing more than spots in the sky. But they mean so much more. Actually because they often failed to guide humans they have asked us to visit this world and fulfill their task.”

“Somebody from ancient times seems to have understood them. How he encountered me is not clear to me yet. But he told me there might be somebody in great need for help and he told me just to follow the stars. They have not forgotten you…”

“Did you come here to help me?” she asks in bewilderment.

“I think that was the intention”, I reply.

“But how can you help me?” she asks me. I have looked for my wings for centuries.

“I am sorry to say that I don’t know how to help you”, I reply. “Something has guided me here, but I know nothing else. I did not know of your existence until I met you, and I knew nothing about your great loss until you told me.”

She tries to smile at me, but her saddened face does not allow her.

“You don’t have a clue where I must look for my wings?” she asks.

“I am sorry, but I fear I don’t”, I reply. She tries to hide her disappointment, but she fails miserably.

“Can’t he have hided it in the house where you lived?” I ask her.

“If he did, he hid it exceptionally well.” she replies. “I have searched for it everywhere. But we can have a look at the house if you please. Even though I doubt I neglected any place.”

I agree. We walk for a while through the forest. I expect to see a house, but what I encounter is a ruin.

“You have lived here with him?” I ask her.

“Yes, I did.” she replies. “It was no ruin when we lived there. As I expected he hid the wings in the house, I nearly tore it down during the years.”

She is obviously speaking the truth. The roof has been completely ruined. There are holes in the walls and deep holes in the floor, where somebody obviously has been digging. Many rocks have been torn from the walls, making large holes. If there is any place where something may have been hidden, she would have found it. They cannot have been in the house for sure…”

“If there is any place I did not search, I must be blind.” she says. I am afraid she is right. If her wings are not in the house, they can be anywhere in the forest. I will take centuries to look everywhere. I feel desperate, and I realize how strong her despair must be.

“Are you not willing to sleep?” she asks me. Actually I want to go on looking for her wings, and look at the forest which surrounds us. I do not see any place where something might be hidden. I know she is right, and I need sleep. I cannot help her if my legs fail to support me. I wonder if I should feel regret for coming here. I must have given her a lot of false hope.

“You are right”, I reply. “Perhaps a good night of sleep will ease my mind.”

“I hope it does for you”, she replies. “It has failed for me though. On the contrary, every day which passed increased my despair. Follow me.”

She guides me to a small room in the house. The roof has been destroyed, but there is enough shelter to have a night of sleep. There is a blanket in the room, but even the bed has been demolished.

“If you don’t want to sleep under the sky, this is the only place where you can find shelter.” she says. “I am sorry, but I cannot sleep in this house. I have done so many times, and never alone. Let the sky be my cover… Goodnight!”

She leaves the house, obviously looking for a place to sleep. Now when I am alone, I realize that the counselor must have spoken the truth. The path of the stairs guided me to a creature in great despair. I feel sad that he did not tell me how I could help her. I am on my own.

I sleep uneasy that night. Constantly, I’m brooding, brooding about where her lost wings might be. The forest seems the same in every place and the house has been thoroughly searched. They cannot be far very away though, for the man must have taken them and returned during a moment, as she was swimming in the lake. The thought that we are so close but unable to find them is a great burden on my mind, but must be far greater on hers.

“It is noon already, you must wake up”, I hear a voice saying. I get up from the blanket. “I will take you through the forest”, she says. “Perhaps there is some place which I overlooked.” I know she cannot be right, but I don’t want to make that clear.

We commence a walk among the forest. It is dense and seems to have no end. I remember walking for hours through it until I found the lake. If her wings are hidden in it, we can search for a thousand centuries without finding it.

After many hours of walking, we reach a clearing. It seems to be the only one in the forest. The rays of the sun are not blocked by the high trees. Their warmth pleases me, but don’t seem to have the same effect on her.

“Have some rest”, she orders me. “I am used to walking among the trees, but you are not.” We sink down in the grass. Rest is welcome for me, as I have walked for hours.

“Tell me when you are ready to leave”, she says. “You most certainly like to travel during the day. The night is when humans sleep. Worldly time means little to us, and we actually never understood why humans sleep during the night. We cannot stay here for long, unless you enjoy the night as much as I do.”

Even though I enjoy the night, there is truth in her words. But my legs are tired and I enjoy my rest.

Slowly the sun sinks towards the horizon, and shadows slowly fill the clearing. I get up to walk backwards, back to the sun. The day is cold and the warmth of the sun pleases me.

All of a sudden I think back of the words of the counselor. “I suppose you have rarely seen the stars without the moon. Their greatest enemy is the sun, who orders them to leave at sunset.”

“We must leave now, unless you want to reach the house by night”, she says. “I know you are tired, but you will be much more if you reach the house at sunset.”

“Wait!” I say.

“What for?” she asks.

“Just wait. Trust me.” I reply.

“If you want to”, she replies, obviously in amazement.

The sun sinks lower and lower. More shadow covers the clearing, until the sun has disappeared. I carefully followed his rays, until he has sunk too deep. If the stars are the friends of the creature, she sun must be her enemy. What more obvious place to hide her so beloved wings then in the arms of her sworn enemy?

I start digging the ground. The roots of the grass hurt my fingers, but I will dig until I reach the other end of the world if necessary.

“What are you digging for?” she asks. “My wings? I have dug at so many places which seemed in some way special.” She obviously has little hope after those centuries. She helps me with digging though, but I have the impression she does it rather to please me.

After a while, I hit something solid. I dig deeper, and I see a large chest is hidden beneath the surface. Her eyes open in amazement and she starts digging with convincement I have rarely seen in any human. I realize she is no human after all.

We pull the chest out of the earth. It is made of heavy oaken logs. The lock has been rusted. It seemingly takes ages until we manage to open it, but she looks like she would have grinded the logs with her own teeth before giving up. Finally, we manage to open it.

“My wings!” she shouts in utter delight! In the chest are two long wings, made of bright white feathers of geese. “We found them! Finally!”

She straps the long wings on her arms. They extend beyond her wrists. She has a blissful look on her face.

“Thank you so much”, she says. She walks towards me and hugs me powerfully.

“There is no way I can thank you enough. There is not even a way to show you a thousandth of my gratitude.” she says.

“You don’t need to. I am happy enough I managed to help you. That is the greatest blessing I will ever get.” I reply.

“I am sad that I cannot take you to my world”, she says. “It is a wonderful place. Human language misses the words to describe it. After all those centuries, I can return. If you ever learn to fly, I will take you there. You are more than welcome and I will be your greatest friend forever.”

Her words are spoken so vividly that I even long for her world, which is so far out of reach.

“There is one other thing I can give you though”, she says. “From now on, all the stars will be your friends. Take their guidance when you need and try to understand them. They are much more then spots in the sky. They guided you here. They have helped me. From now on, they are your friends. Follow them when you need…”

I wonder how they can be to my aid, but they must have been to hers. She releases her hug.

“Goodbye, dear friend”, she says. I must return and I will not visit this world again. Our task has been fulfilled, and so has yours. To reach home, just follow the path of the stars again. Now, you must walk towards the sun, who finally seems to have mercy for me. I hope to see you again once, but that is a secret of time and she rarely reveals her secrets. Thank you so much!”

“Goodbye, dear creature”, I reply. I feel happy for her.

She flaps her wings and flies above towards the sky. I follow her with my eyes until I am sure she has disappeared from my sight.

I return to the lake, and spend the day until the stars emerge again. As soon as they are visible, I start walking along their path. The weather is foul, as if the winds seem to mourn the loss of their prisoner.

At dawn, I reach the house of the stranger. He is waiting for me.

“I know you have succeeded”, he says. “Tonight, I listened at the winds again. For the first time since I can remember, they did not carry the mourning of a poor creature. What I heard was the wind, and nothing else.”

He wraps an arm around my shoulder, and I look up to the bright sky. It seems the stars smile at me. My friends, like hers. I smile back at them.