I failed I answered.
How old are you, boy? he said as he put the cup in front of me.
I looked at him. He had an unusual gaze and looked at me without any particular expression. It was difficult to decipher his mood, but even still I felt comfortable with him. I thought I could trust him. The hell couldve I trusted him! But more on that later.
Fifteen I answered.
Well, if you are looking for a new life, I have an offer for you. He sat back in his chair and reached for the cup. I need an assistant. There is a lot of work to do, but youre not afraid of a challenge, are you? He leaned forward a little.
No, I answered.
Ill give you shelter, food and anything else you need in exchange for a promise. You must stay here until November, when the last harvest of grapes is gathered.
All right I promised.
He held out his hand and I shook it. His grip was strong and confident. This was not a man of compromise.
9
So, thats how my life at the vineyard began. I worked from early in the morning until late at night, and soon forgot about everything. I had no time to mourn Sunny or think about Annie. My insomnia had disappeared, and my appetite returned. I grew four inches and gained strength. My old clothes now became too small, and my mentor brought me some new trousers, shirts, and boots. They were clearly custom-made, even if they were old-fashioned. They certainly werent t-shirts and jeans, but I wasnt complaining. I definitely liked this new style.
The Mentor, which is what he insisted on being called, brought me back to life. He became a father figure to me. He took care of me. I remember I once spent the entire day in the scorching sun working in the vineyard, and in the evening I came down with a fever. He took some cans from the kitchen cupboard and made an absolutely crazy concoction. The smell alone made my eyes water.
Do not worry, this wont kill you. It will help you, he said as he handed me a mug. Indeed, in ten minutes I was back on my feet and ready for my next job. I had never felt so light and cheerful.
Nature gives us everything we need, he used to say when talking about his herbs.
The Mentor taught me how, where and when to gather herbs, their types and purpose. And finally, how to make concoctions that not only cured any illness, but also improved strength, courage and even charm. Actually, the Mentor taught me a lot. I dont recall my real father teaching me anything at all. I thought the Mentor was my friend. He never lectured me or tried to probe into my soul. He didnt ask too many questions. He accepted me for who I was without trying to fix me or make me less difficult. He didnt even think I was difficult. He encouraged me if there was something I couldnt do and never scolded if I made mistakes. However, I couldnt really call him a kind man. He rarely expressed any emotion and rarely smiled. If only I knew who he really was. On the other hand, it wouldnt have changed anything if I did know.
The vineyard stood apart from busy routes and other farms. There was no-one else for many miles, and the Mentor didnt allow me to go far, since Id made my promise to him. To tell the truth, I had no desire to go anywhere. I came to enjoy the quiet and measured life full of village romance and fresh air but without any conventions, norms of behaviour, unnecessary questioning or false sympathy.
In my spare time, mostly in the evenings, I took a horse and rode around the area. The Mentor had five black thoroughbred horses. I fed and cleaned them and their stable. As a reward, the Mentor allowed me to ride. He taught me that as well. I discovered other passions too. Passions that I never would have imagined. In the living room there was a large bookcase with so many wonderful books hidden there! For connoisseurs of antiques, they were worth millions of Euros, but here they just gathered dust on the shelves. There were first editions of Shakespeare and Goethe, old maps of Europe, treatises of Greek classics. Id never been a lover of books, but the Mentors library absorbed me. I spent hundreds of hours leafing through old, yellowed pages.
My silent companion, Alicia, was always close by. Thats if the Mentor didnt have her with him. He was often away on business. I had no idea what kind of business he was involved in, and I wasnt really very interested. I thought he was just a farmer. Little naive me!
Well, anyhow, when the Mentor was not home, I had to take care of Alicia. With Alicia everything was simple; I just had to put some dog food down for her and that was it. Looking after myself was far more complicated. When I got fed-up with pasta and fried eggs, I learned to roast meat and stew cabbage. It wasnt as easy as I thought. So much food was thrown in the bin after my experiments! But at least Alicia had fun. It seemed to me that she was giggling at my sorry attempts.
Alicia was a beautiful dog. She had short black hair with a blue tint and huge violet eyes. Im not certain if it was normal for dogs to have eyes like this. And what a character! She was wilful and stubborn, and constantly made fun of me. Sometimes she hid my stuff, sometimes she hid herself so that I had to look for her around the house while she was watching me quietly from a hiding place getting ready to jump out on me. In a nutshell, we were never bored when we were together.
However, the most interesting things happened at nights when the Mentor was away. One night I was woken by the sound of a grand piano playing. Somewhere deep behind the stone walls, an unknown musician was telling his story. Id never heard anything as beautiful. There was every emotion within that melody: longing, passion, anger. I saw living pictures in my imagination. The music enthralled and carried me away to snow-capped mountains, then made me fall into darkness and despair. Was I dreaming? Can a dream be so real? Can we wonder in a dream whether we are actually dreaming? But the Mentor had no grand piano. There was no room in his tiny farmhouse for such a thing.
I got out of bed and walked into the living room. As far as I knew, there were only two exits from the living room. One to my room and the other into the corridor which led to the kitchen and the Mentors bedroom. But the melody was coming from behind a door I hadnt noticed before. I pulled the handle and the door opened. Behind it was a long corridor with many more doors. All of them were open. The ghostly moonlight lit the way as I explored. Most of the rooms were empty, but here and there stood some old furniture. The melody was louder now, and it filled the entire space. At the end of the corridor, I saw a thin strip of light under a half-open door. The music was coming from there. I looked in. Chandeliers with burning candles were hanging on the wall. Against one wall was a grand piano. A girl was sitting at the piano with her back to me, so I could only see her long, dark hair. I wanted to open the door a little wider, but it creaked, and then I woke up. It was already morning. Alicia was sitting in the middle of the room and staring at me. Later when I checked there was no other door. Though I have heard a piano a few more times and could swear I wasnt sleeping.
Another mysterious thing happened on the last day of the harvest season. It was almost mid-November, and the first frost was on the ground. The weather was nasty. Cold wind chilled to the bone, and the low and dark clouds were depressing. It looked like it was about to rain, but it didnt come. The Mentor and I worked together side by side until late on a crop that was particularly important to him. The Mentor said that wine from these grapes is sweet like a mortal sin and couldnt be compared to anything else. I later learnt that sin was something he understood.
By the end of the day, I was completely exhausted. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, only to be woken a short time later by voices and laughter. The sounds came from the living room. I wondered why the Mentor had guests at this hour, and why he didnt tell me about it. I rolled over in bed, but couldnt sleep. The voices were too loud and so was the music. In the end, I got dressed and looked out into the living room. It was dark and empty, and it now felt like the whole crowd was in my room. It was very unsettling. I put my ear to the bedroom wall and listened. The voices spoke in English, and I didnt understand half of it. Something about the harvest, wine and mortals, but I wasnt sure. I went back to my room and tried to listen from there. The voices were coming from inside the wall.
All of a sudden, right in front of my nose, a face appeared. It came out of the wall! It was the face of a middle-aged European man. He looked quite material and tangible, and certainly not like a ghost, although I wasnt really sure how a ghost should look. The man winked at me and said, Boo! In fear, I recoiled and fell to the floor. He laughed and disappeared.
The fun lasted until dawn, and I didnt sleep at all. I didnt doubt my sanity, and I knew what was going on was not a dream or fantasy. Everything was real, but I didnt understand how.
At 6 am when dawn broke, I got up, had breakfast and went outside. It was a little bit windy, but overall, the weather was good. I looked into the stables, but the horses were gone. Had the Mentor taken them? Next I walked through the vineyards, but everything was fine. By noon, I was back home and went to sleep on the living room couch.
A noise from the kitchen woke me. It was already dark, but some light was coming from the kitchen. I rubbed my eyes, got up from the couch and walked in. The Mentor was setting plates at the empty table. He looked tired, but happy. Alicia was curled up under the table and wagged her tail slightly when she saw me. I leaned over and patted her on the head. Five seconds later, when I looked back up, the table was already laid, and the Mentor was sitting in his chair holding a glass of red wine. Now, when I think about it, it seems strange, but at that point I was not at all surprised. I just picked up my glass and sat down in front of the Mentor.
To the harvest, he toasted.
To the harvest, I echoed.
For a while, we ate in silence. I was tormented by a question that I didnt dare to ask.
I think its time I told you something, the Mentor said, finally breaking the silence.
He leaned back, and at first, I didnt understand what was happening. Our surroundings had grown. Now we sat at a long oak table in a spacious dining room. Its stone walls were decorated with old, faded tapestries. The fire was burning in a huge fireplace, driving away the darkness. In front of the fireplace, on the bearskin, Alicia was lying, her position unchanged. I looked around, fascinated. I knew it! I knew all along that a real adventure was somewhere close by! The Mentor was watching my reaction with interest.
Is this real? I finally asked.
Yes, Walter, the house youve lived in for almost four months was a simple illusion.
Illusion?
Which you created yourself. Ive only shown you the direction, and your imagination drew up the missing details. If you want, Ill teach you how to create illusions and control the minds of people.
Of course, I wanted this! Who would refuse to learn magic?
There is only one condition, Walter, he said. There is no way back. You cannot go back to your old life and to those you knew. Are you ready for that?
I have nothing to lose I shrugged. Of course, I agree.
I was nervous and excited, but it was a pleasant excitement. I was enthralled by my mentor, a real magician, within this fantastical setting of a medieval castle. I had a feeling that I was part of a fairytale, or some kind of elaborate joke. I was expecting an anchorman from a popular reality show to pop out from behind the fireplace with the film crew hiding somewhere behind the curtains, but nothing like that happened.
The Mentor filled our glasses with wine and motioned me to stand up. I obeyed. He came up and put the glasses in front of me. Like a wizard, he pulled a long needle out of his sleeve and pricked his finger. A few drops of blood dripped into the wine. Then he held out his hand to me, and I knew that he wanted me to do the same. As if mesmerised, I watched as a drop of my blood dissolved in wine. He took my glass and handed it to me.
I took a few sips and felt something strange. My heart grew cold and was beating slower and slower. The chill spread over my body. I was freezing on the inside. I couldnt breathe, and greedily gasped for air. The glass fell out of my hands and broke into small pieces. Wine spilled over the stone floor. My body faltered as I tried to stay on my feet, but I couldnt and fell to my knees. I didnt feel a thing, but my mind had never been so clear. I could see everything that was happening to me. I saw the Mentor, who stood to one side and watched me. I saw Alicia, who was sitting beside him and looking at me too. My mind was now out of space and time. I had no body. I felt no pain, no cold, nothing. Suddenly, everything disappeared. For a split second the darkness fell, and I was gone.
10
I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. A large red canopy was spread over my head. I looked around and realised that I was lying on a huge bed. Across from me, in a chair, the Mentor was dosing. We were in a small room with panelled walls. A fire was crackling in the fireplace. By the window, I could see a heap of my old books on a desk, and my clothes on a chair. I sat up, and my body immediately started to tingle in response. I looked at the Mentor, and found that he was not asleep anymore, but watching me. I gave a start in surprise. A hint of smile flashed on his face.
Am I dead? I asked.
No, he said, youve just reached a new level.
Does that mean Ive died physically? I asked, but then thought what a stupid question that was.
No, Walter, he smiled. You are all right. Go to sleep.
He rose from his seat and touched my forehead. At this very moment, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
I didnt wake up until the next evening. When I arrived in the hall, the Mentor was waiting for me. The table was laid and candles were burning. We dined in silence. Hundreds of questions raced through my mind, but I didnt know which one to start with. I still couldnt believe that this was actually happening. From time to time, I cast a glance at my Mentor, but his face showed absolutely no emotion.
After dinner, he took me to his study. It was quite cosy, with relatively new looking leather furniture, a large desk and an old bookcase. Was it the bookcase from the small house? While I was looking around, the Mentor sat down in his chair and started to talk.
What I am going to tell you, youve already known for a long, long time. You are becoming one of us, Walter. Im sure youve heard the stories about sorcerers and witches. People have made up stories about us over the years, but they still dont know the real truth. But I will tell you.
He explained that magic is not given to anyone, and not everyone can use it to its fullest. He also told me that magic itself isnt black and white, but it is divided by Sua beings that possess and command it. Many thousands of years ago on earth there was only one race, human. The human race grew and occupied more and more territory. Under the influence of natural conditions and a new way of life, ordinary man was doomed to adapt or die, and so he started to mutate. Thats how Sua, dwarves, werewolves, vampires and many other creatures came into being. Once they were folklore, and now they are blockbuster stars. Many of them ceased to exist a long time ago, but the human, having no special abilities or outstanding physical strength, survived. Humans destroyed almost everyone who might be a threat. Everyone who differed, everyone who possessed greater abilities to theoretically achieve superiority. As a result, other beings went into hiding or vanished among people, and those who could not were gone forever.