THE PATERNAL STAG

THE PATERNAL STAG

Samantha Wills and her family lived in the western part of Canada, near a forest, with her father, Henry Wills, working as a woodcutter. Samantha would be celebrating her birthday the next week and would be turning eight years old. Her short hair and round face made her look like a cute kiddie. As she lived near the forest her house was filled with the aroma of fresh trees. She could listen to various sounds of the animals living in the forest and was always curious to find what was in the forest. But, her parents had restricted her strictly from going there.
Henry, had left for work into the woods as usual. Samantha was playing in the kitchen and her mother, Jessica Wills, was washing the dishes, when Samantha saw from the window a beautiful stag staring at her. She gazed back at it with a sight of admiration. The stag kept staring at her so intensely that Samantha went out of her house to have a clear vision of it. When she started to move near the stag, she noticed that this stag was not a usual looking stag, whereas it was transparent with blue and grey shades in it. Samantha was confused and stepped ahead to touch it gently. But her hand had just passed through it and she was completely mesmerized. She tried again to touch it but she was unable to feel the stag.
“Samantha,” said the stag with a cold voice. Samantha was taken aback and was completely shocked to see the stag speaking. “Who are you?” asked Samantha, “And how on earth are you able to speak?”
“I am a stag and my name is Lucifer. And yes I could speak like you because I have the ability to speak unlike other animals in the forest” answered the stag gently. “Well then how do you know my name Lucifer? Am I not a stranger to you?” asked Samantha still confused. “No darling you are no stranger to me, we have met before. I was just in a different form then.
“What? When did we meet and what form are you talking about? It is completely impossible for us to have met before because my father doesn’t allow me to come here, near the forest.” Said Samantha by bombarding him with questions. To this Lucifer said “I don’t think it’s the right time to answer you with those questions but I will definitely answer those questions one day.” he further asked Samantha if she would like to see the forest with him.
“I don’t think my parents will agree with me going to forest. They just think it is unsafe to go there.” said Samantha hesitantly. “Don’t you worry little heart I would not let anything harm you and I promise you will safely go back to your house.” said Lucifer.
Samantha agreed to Lucifer and they further headed towards the forest. Samantha felt her dream come true as she always believed that she was somehow connected to this forest. Lucifer asked Samantha about her parents and he somehow knew their names. He was like a human in an animal form.
“So the place where I am gonna take you now is a breath taking one so get ready for it.” Said Lucifer.
There it was, the most beautiful thing Samantha had ever seen. There was a tree which was bearing light and was shining in the dark woods. It was unique and was like a sun among the solar system. Samantha couldn’t get her eyes away from it. She never expected anything of that kind to be in a forest, unknown to the world.
“We call it the Gloomer and it is the king of trees in this forest.” said Lucifer and then added “It is about a thousand decades old.” They sat under the tree for a while and Samantha was highly appreciating the beauty of it.
After a while they resumed their journey. Samantha saw beautiful creatures and diverse flowers which she had never seen before. Then they saw the waterfall, the mountains and they even met some of Lucifer’s friends. By that time it was already noon and Samantha was afraid that if it gets too late her mother would be angry at her so she said Lucifer “I would better leave now. It is getting late.”
“Come let me accompany you to your house.” Said Lucifer. When they almost reached her home Lucifer asked Samantha if she would like to meet him again. “Yes, of course. It was the best day of my life. I will surely like to meet you again and I think we should wander like this every day because now even I am sick of just being confined to my house. So possibly let’s meet tomorrow. See you again. Good bye.” said Samantha and after few seconds she was gone.
Eventually they started to wander in the forest every day and gradually Samantha grew older and older with time unlike Lucifer.
Samantha was now twenty years old and she had grown into a beautiful adult. She had kept her friendship with Lucifer a secret from her parents. Finally the day came when Samantha was ready to get married. She decided to meet Lucifer for the last time and spend a good time with him. On this day Lucifer asked Samantha “Do you remember the day when we met you asked me a question that how you were not stranger to me?” “Yes I do remember.” Answered Samantha.
“Well I think this is the appropriate time to answer that question. I have kept something unrevealed to you for these many years, in fact I and your mother have kept something unrevealed to you.” Said Lucifer, further adding “I was a human before like you and your mother, Jessica was my wife. We use to live in London and I use to work in a factory. You were my first child. But one day when I was working in the factory some terrorists had attacked us and I unfortunately died in that attack. You were just one year old so your mother decided that she would get married to Henry for your sake. After she got married to Henry, they came to Canada and settled here. Eventually I became a stag and got adjusted to this forest.” Then Lucifer took a pause and a droplet went through his eye. Then he said “Look I don’t want you to go and fight with Jessica on this issue. She just did what she found right so let it go.”
After this long speech Samantha broke down and went ahead to hug Lucifer but she soon realized that he couldn’t be felt by her. She didn’t say anything but gave Lucifer a sign of goodbye and went. Her eyes were as red as fire and she was trying her best not to cry in front of her parents. Samantha didn’t have any complaints in her life.