«Chapter 5»
⟨⟨Waxing Crescent⟩⟩578Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lToFjVCRL
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I found him leaning against a tree at the edge of the forest, playing with his cane and his feet tapping in an unknown rhythm. The silver feathers of his mask ruffled in the wind like the leaves of trees. He smiled at me.
Not long after did I realize that he had lost his cloak for the day, but his hat remained.
"You left yesterday," I stated, dropping all the dozen empty buckets I carried in my hand in front of him.
"My apologies for that." He bowed his head at me. "The stars had dissapeared."
"Did you find them?" I said in amusement.
He nodded in all seriousness. "The clouds had stolen them."
I laughed. He reciprocated.
"Let me help you with those buckets."
I did not protest.
He started walking and I followed. His footsteps barely made a sound on the dried leaves as he walked. If he had had his cloak with him, it would have caught every stray branch into its threads. Without it, his slender frame danced through the narrow pathways carved out for a safe stroll to the lake.
Very soon into our trip, he took the wrong turn and I stopped in my tracks. "That path goes deeper into the woods," I called after him. "The lake is this way."
He grinned and motioned for me to follow. So I did. And further into the depths of the forest we traveled. The ground began steeping upwards and I realized we had started the climb of a hill.
Waverly Hill, it was called. Shorter than most hills, but also denser, it was really hard to navigate through. I doubted whether Etaine had lost us already or not. Nevertheless, I followed him without complain.
The sun was almost upon us when he came to a stop in front of a tree. He dropped the buckets and I copied the action. I walked to stand beside him.
He placed his hands on his hips and looked up. I followed his gaze and was amazed.
In front of me stood a tree twice as tall as any I had ever seen. It's top was lost in the canopy of trees dwarfed by it. The lowest branch of the tree barely reached the tops of our heads.
I was more surprised when Etaine grabbed grabbed the branch and pulled himself up with a strength I had not known him to possess, still managing to look graceful as ever.
He smiled as I stared up at him dumbfounded.
"C'mon," he said and proceeded to climb up the next branch.
"Are you serious?"
"Are you afraid?"
I bit my tongue and my pride took over. Without another word, I started climbing, following his steps, not as gracefully as him, yet I managed.
And upwards we went. And the branches got thinner, more wobbly. Time and time again, I told myself not to look down and continued upwards.
Too late into the climb did my legs give out. But there was no going down now. I simply could not move. The ground was several levels below me and the buckets looked like mere dots.
"What for did you stop?" The Magician said.
"I... I can't do it," I stuttered.
My breath caught up in my throat when he suddenly jumped from the branch he had been standing on and landed on mine like a cat. Scared out of my mind, I clutched at the trunk of the tree to save me from falling when the branch wobbled under me as he landed.
I felt his hand on my arm and looked back at him over my shoulder, still clutching the tree trunk.
"This tree is an old friend of mine. Of all my years of knowing her, she had never once let any harm come to me. And I can see that she cares for you as well. Else, you wouldn't have made past the first two branches. Come on, then. There's nothing to be scared of."
"She?" I asked.
"Marie. That's her name. She is an old friend, as I said."
"Trees are genderless."
He smirked at me. "I'll prove you wrong once we reach the top. How about that?"
I nodded, but hesitated to take another step.
"Marie will protect you. And if she lets you slip, I will catch you. You have my word."
"Alright."
We reached the top with the Magician following closely behind me.
I carefully settled myself on the sturdiest branch I could find. The cluster of green leaves was dense around me and I noticed Etaine's head pop up from underneath. I took my time before allowing myself to look around.
The view was mesmerizing.
"Whoa!" I breathed out.
All around me were treetops, several feet lower than where I sat. On all sides they descended along with the hill and rose along others. Far in the distance were, houses from the Waverly lined the horizon. On the other side was visible the huge lake, shining under the afternoon sun.
Looking up, I felt like I could almost touch the grey oncoming clouds. Their colored was none too different from the Magician's eyes.
"It's going to rain," I concluded.
Etaine did not reply. His eyes had the same faraway look they had had when he had been thinking about whether to agree to tell me everything he knew.
"You were talking about Marie," I said, patting the thin trunk of the tree. I was sincerely hoping to divert his attention to whatever was going on in his mind.
I was successful as he turned towards me with a bright smile against the greying background.
"Ah, yes! Marie was my friend. That was a long time ago. Then she was buried. Right down there. And then she grew again. In the form of a tree. And I watched her. I fed her. And she grew tall and taller. And we played together." At that a rumbling of sorts went through the tree and shook its branches and leaves. Etaine chuckled. "She's happy," he said, then turned an analytical gaze towards me. "Do you believe me?"
The way he was looking at me told me that there was supposed to be a right answer to this question and I had to know it. Except, I didn't. So I shrugged.
"You said you watched her grow?"
He nodded.
"She's a big tree."
Again, he nodded.
"She must be old."
"She is."
"Then you must be old. How old are you?"
"How old do you think I am?"
"You can't even grow a peachfuzz! How old am I supposed to believe you are?"
He shrugged. "I will be able to answer better if I knew how old YOU are."
"I will be seventeen this turn of season."
"Then take me to be around twenty in the next few years."
I laughed. "But, really though, how old are you?"
"Do you want to know?"
"I don't know. Is this as hideous as the secret you hide behind that mask of yours?"
His eyes turned steely the next time he looked at me. His gaze had a habit of wandering in all directions when he was talking fun, I realized. But when something caught his attention, he remained transfixed.
"Not nearly," he finally answered then remained quiet and let the time stretch out. He turned his eyes back onto the rolling hills.
I saw two flocks of white seagulls fly past before he opened his mouth to answer.
"Eighty years, give or take."
I raised my brow. "Eighty years? And not a single grey hair in sight? Impressive."
He laughed. "That's it? No questions?"
"You owe me every single question I ask of you and I still have about thirty more days to get answers to all of them. I will bide my time until I deem you ready to be asked those questions."
"YOU deem ME ready?" He scoffed.
"Why, is that hard to believe?"
"No. I can answer any question you throw at me right here, right now."
"Really? Well then... What's under that mask?"
"I-" his breath hitched.
I smirked. "See? Not ready yet. I won't push you until I deem you ready. That's my final word."
"And what if I am not ready before the thirty days are past? What then?"
"Then I will wait more until I see you again."
"How can you be sure that you WILL see me again?"
"You passed eighty years with your face staying that young. I am ready to believe that it can stay the same for eighty more. I am willing to bargain on the fact that I can make you care for me the way you did for Marie - watch her grow into something so big and so beautiful even after she died. I am willing to believe that you will wait for me."
He smiled. "That is not possible. I am sorry to disappoint you but don't hold onto the belief that I would ever care for you, or anyone for a fact, the way I cared for Marie."
The tree rumbled again. This time, it reverberated throughout me.
"Did you love her?" I asked.
Without a pause, he nodded. "I loved her. She was my mother."
"Oh," was all I could say.
The grey clouds now hung over our heads and the first drop of rain hit my forehead.
"We should get down and seek shade under her leaves," Etaine said.
I nodded and dropped without looking, trusting Marie to catch me with a branch. And she did not disappoint.
I felt in me a sense of pride for having landed with almost an equal amount of grace as I had watched the Magician do. Etaine arrived a few moments after, somehow dropping on the same branch as me.
"Tell me, Etaine," I asked after we had settled down. Not another drop of rain touched me. "In all those eighty years of living... Have you fallen IN love?"
"Yes, I have. Haven't you in your mere seventeen years?"
"No. I prefer not to indulge in those matters. My books are the only ones who deserve my love."
"Why?"
"They provide me with knowledge. Knowledge is all I care about."
"I am providing you with knowledge. Does that mean you would grow to love me?" He mocked.
"I would love you as I love my books."
He nodded. Now, I noticed in his hands a green braid he had made out of the leaves of the tree. He fidgeted with it like he often did with that cane of his. But his cane was sitting on the ground, and his hands had nothing else to fiddle with.
"Who was she? The one you loved, I mean."
He turned his attention to me. "You deem me ready for THAT question?"
I nodded eagerly.
"Well, I have to say that I do not deem YOU ready for the answer."
"Try me. I am sure I can take it. Unless she turns out to be my grandmother. Because that would freak me out."
He huffed. "I am pretty sure the one I loved was not your grandmother."
"Well, that's a relief. Now tell me. Nothing wrong with a name, is there? And as I said, you owe me every question I throw at you."
"Yes, I do." He sighed. "But I have a condition."
"What condition?"
"You are not to judge me, nor tell anyone about this for the fear of losing my reputation."
"I am sure it cannot be any worse than it already is. Did you know that Filly, the Carpenter's daughter has been spreading pretty nasty rumors about you giving her sister the disease because of which she would not come out of her room for over a week! I honestly believe that the Smith did something or the other to her, if you know what I mean?"
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, so I've heard. And for that matter, you are wrong. I gave her the disease. But not by the means you might imagine. She was just too bothersome so I had one of the Bradzees cover her corset with a horse's snot. In my defense, she deserved that."
I burst out laughing. "Are you serious?"
"As serious as serious gets."
"Wow. And yes, in everybody's defense, she did deserve it. I thank you on behalf of Waverly."
He bowed dramatically. "I accept the honor."
"Now, tell me. What was her name?"
"First, agree to my terms."
I sighed in annoyance. "Yes, yes. I agree."
After a pause he said, "His name was Dravit." Then looked at me as if waiting for the worst reaction he could expect.
I sat there in shock.
"You said 'his name'."
He nodded.
"I don't understand."
"I loved a man before."
"Oh."
"Is that alright?"
"We're sitting on the top of the world on a tree with your mother's soul. And you are eighty years old. I guess anything would be alright now."
"I am glad."
"And Dravit... Did he love you back?"
This time he smiled at me, it did not reach his eyes.
"No," he said. "Not in the way that I did him, at least. I think his way was purer. Only I had the disgusting tendencies in the moments we shared."
"Did you tell him you loved him?"
"Yes."
"No, I mean, REALLY tell him."
"I treated him the way one would treat a maiden while trying to court her. What more was there to tell?"
I sighed. "So you never told him." I changed the subject before he could protest. "Did your mother know?"
"I was a stupid boy. I practically just ran towards her and spilled my guts about having the slightest of feelings towards the new boy."
"What did she say?"
"'Don't tell your father.'" He laughed again - a sad laugh. He let the braid slip from his fingers and I watched it spiral down.
I nodded solemnly.
"Tell me, oh great Magician of Waverly," I said animatedly. "How is it that you can be alright with your mother being a tree, the Bradzees living in plain sight and loving a boy, but still not believe that Gods exist?"
"It's simple. I have noticed and observed these things with my own eyes. And what I see, I believe in. And never have I ever seen a God with mine eyes."
"Be vary of what your vision tells you, old man. Not all of it which looks real can be real."
"When did you get so clever?" He joked. The spark had returned to his eyes. I was glad.
"I was always clever. What I lack is wisdom of when to act as so and when not to. And I look up to you to teach me it."
"Ah, that is easy. It is something that I discovered some thirty years into my life: in front of a fool, act like a fool for they believe themselves to be geniuses of the highest order."
"I believe YOU to be a genius of the highest order."
"You are no fool, then." He grinned. "We should get down. I believe the buckets must have filled themselves till now."
"You knew it was going to rain?"
"I am a wise old man. I always know when it's going to rain."
I raised my brow.
"No, we just got lucky today. Really, you should stop holding me to such high regard. But I can tell you for sure that the buckets will be filled to the brim before we get down."
"Let's get going, then."
The descent was easier as I only just blindly dropped myself in the hopes of Marie to keep catching me. I reached the ground safely and soundly. And the buckets were indeed full.
"What should we do now?" I asked.
"Start towards your home. Why?"
"It's pouring. And we need to carry a dozen buckets. That would take at least three journeys back and forth even with the two of us."
"We need only one journey to get you home. I'll take care of the buckets."
"How?"
"Trust me. The buckets will be there before you are."
I did not protest.
He murmured a goodbye to his mother before he began leading the way.
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