He was not a pure scavenger, but Wizard still admired him.
Each man had his own calling, Cassie would say, yes, and every woman, too.
Wizard waited politely for Euripides to pause between tunes.
He watched the passing folk, those who tossed a quarter and those who didnt. A little girl in Seattle Blues jeans and a Kliban cat sweatshirt was coming down the steps. Her mother was walking behind her, a rather annoyed look on her face, for the child was going very slowly. A second glance showed the mothers face to be more anxious than angry, irritated by some unseen threat. The girl was thin, and her dark skin seemed to be darkest in the wrong places. Euripides played for her.
The girl gave two skips and stopped to listen.
She drew closer and closer to the fiddler, paying no attention to the mother who warned, Sarah! Come on now, or Ill leave you. Her ears belonged to the fiddler as his bow danced through the Arkansas Traveler. Closer still she came, bobbing like a little bird to the music. When Euripides made his final flourish, she did not hesitate. From her pants pocket she tugged a crumpled one-dollar bill. Hastily she smoothed it, and stooped to place it in the fiddlers case. Euripides had put the bow to his fiddle again but, at the sight of the green paper, he paused.
Thats a lot of money to give a beggar, he said. His voice was not like his fiddle. It sawed and creaked.
I liked your music, she said simply.
He played a few errant notes thoughtfully and gave a glance at the mother, whose face was not approving. Well, I dont think I can take it. Not that much money.
I liked your music, she said simply.
He played a few errant notes thoughtfully and gave a glance at the mother, whose face was not approving. Well, I dont think I can take it. Not that much money.
But I liked your music that much, the girl insisted.
And I like you. Euripides looked at her deeply. Tell you what. I gave you a tune, and you gave me a dollar. Let me give you one more thing. A wish.
She laughed. Im too big for that. Wishes arent real.
Euripides was serious. This one is. One of the very few real ones left in the world. And Im giving it to you. One wish.
For you alone to have and make. So you must promise me to use it wisely. Dont wish it today, for a ball of green yam or a blue rose. Dont even wish it tomorrow. Because you must think it through carefully, and not be like all the foolish folk in the old tales. Think of all the consequences of the wish.
And when youre sure you know what to wish for, wait three more days. Just to be positive. Will you promise me that?
The girls face had changed as he spoke. From the laughing face of a little girl who is Just a tiny bit annoyed to be mistaken for such a baby, her expression had changed to one of doubt, and then wonder. Euripidess earnestness had taken its effect.
By the time he finished, there was belief and awe in her face.
The crumpled dollar bill seemed a paltry thing indeed compared to what she had been given.
Hes given me a wish. Mommy, she exclaimed excitedly as she turned to her mother.
So I heard. Mommy was not completely sold on the wish idea, but she did not look as annoyed as she had a few moments ago.
One more thing! Euripidess rusty voice stopped them as they turned away. He focused himself on the child. A wish takes belief and heart. You have to believe youll get your wish. That means being prepared for it, and working to help it grow. The wish is like a seed. I can give you a seed and tell you theres a tree inside it. But it wont come out unless you believe it, too, and believe it enough to plant it and water it and keep weeds and bugs away. So care for your wish.
I will, she promised, eyes shining.
Sarah, her mother prodded gently.
They left- Wizard moved closer to Euripides. What was it? he asked softly.
Leukemia, he sighed. I just hopes she remembers the wish. They dont know, yet. And when the chemo-therapy has taken away all your pretty curls, its hard to remember a ragged old fiddler in Pike Place Market.
Maybe you should have given it to her mother, to hold for her.
Naw. She wouldnt couldnt believe in it. She would have thrown it away, or forgotten it. He cleared his throat huskily. You know. Wizard, that was the last one I had, too.
God only knows when Ill be given more. I hate to think it might be wasted.
Shell remember it. Wizard said comfortingly. Kids remember the oddest things.
Do you Know that? Euripides demanded of him, eyeing Wizard keenly. Or are you just talking?
Wizard couldnt meet his eyes. Just talking, this time. The Knowings are like your wishes, fiddler. When youve got a wish to give away, you feel it. And when I Know, I just know it- But not this time. I do hope it, though.
Me, too.
Hey, seen Cassie?
The fiddler grinned. Not today. Three, four days back, she was here. She was the Gypsy girl, in a flaming skirt that wouldnt stay down, and a white blouse that clung to her shoulders like mist. She started to dance, and I couldnt stop playing.
Played tunes I didnt even know. My fingers are still sore. I had so much silver in my case, the coins were bouncing off each other and ringing with the music. Some old dude in a black suit and whiskers even joined in the dance, til his granddaughter hauled him away wheezing. And when Cassie was all done, she wouldnt take a dime. Let me buy her some potatoes and carrots, and a red rose to carry in one hand as she walked down the street, but that was all. That Cassie!
Wizard grinned. Sorry I missed it. But if you see her, tell her Im looking for her.
Will do. By the bye, my friend, the garbage truck broke down. It didnt get to the end of its rounds, and the replacement truck missed a dumpster. That green one, with not alt men are rapists spraypainted on it. You know the one. Some good stuff, from the look of it. Everyone cleaned out their Halloween stock.
Thanks.
The clacking of feet coming down the steps sounded. Euripides lifted his bow and set it dancing to the same rhythm.
Wizard merged back into the flow of people and disappeared.
At the top of the Hillclimb, he stopped to survey his domain.
The steps spilled down the open hillside amidst plantings and landings. In the summer, some landings had little white and yellow tables with people laughing and eating. But the chill wind off Elliott Bay had blown away such diners today. A shame, thought Wizard. The wind was juggling seagulls for an empty grandstand. Past the gray chute of Highway 99, there were the piers of the Aquarium and Waterfront Park. The waterfront Streetcar clanged past, elegant in green and gold. Wizard had ridden it once, for the extravagant sum of sixty cents. We had stayed on for the full ninety minutes allowed, touching the shining woodwork and gleaming brass, smelling the past in me vintage 1927 genuine Australian trolley car. They were a recent import to Seattle, but already he loved them as much as he loved Sylvester and the pigeons and the market itself.
At the bottom of the Pike Street stairs, he sauntered along past parked cars to the dumpster. Even from a distance, he could see it wouldnt yield much. Two men with green plastic trash sacks were working it for aluminium cans. He slowed his pace to allow them to finish. It was painful to watch their pitiful efforts. They had the basic idea of scavenging, but could not surrender their belief in money. There were too many steps to their survival. Find the cans, crush the cans, haul the cans, sell the cans, and go buy a cup of coffee. They wouldnt have too much luck; the dumpster looked as if it had already been worked several times that morning. Ironically, there would be more in there for a pure scavenger than for a can hunter.
He watched them plod off with their sacks over their shoulders before he approached the dumpster. He gave a snort at Euripidess idea of good stuff. Fish bones and stray socks. empty cans and crumpled newspapers. A ripped tutu. Seven squished tubes of Vampire Blood, complete with plastic fangs.
Empty cardboard boxes and packing. A plastic fright wig. A box of brown lettuce- A brown paper sack labeled WIZARD.
It was cold, suddenly. Not that the wind came any swifter off the bay. The seagulls were still screaming as they wheeled, the traffic still rushed and rumbled. A breeze, half of power and half gray, stirred his hair. The cold began in the pit of Wizards stomach and emanated outward. His ears rang and he cringed from the expected blow.
A pigeon swooped down suddenly to alight on the edge of the open dumpster. He eyed Wizard anxiously. He was very young, his beak still wide and pink. Im all right, Wizard reassured him. Just give me a moment. III be fine. The pigeon fluttered closer, to peck at the fish bones, and reject them. A sudden jab of his beak rustled the paper sack. Yes, yes, I see it. It just took me a bit by surprise, thats all. Go along now. Popcorn later, at the park. If you see Cassie, tell her Im looking for her. No, on second thought, stay clear of her. Youre still tender, and you arent fast enough to get away from her. Just pass it on to anyone. Im looking for Cassie.
The young bird was gone in a clap of wings. A lot of homer in that one. Wizard thought, watching his soaring, careless flight.
He flicked the fish bones away from the bag and extracted it from the dumpster. It was not heavy. He felt it cautiously.
Cloth, perhaps. He walked slowly away with it. He was not ready to look inside the bag. Not yet. It swung ominously at the end of his arm and disturbed him. It didnt thatch his clothing. It betrayed him. No one in this suit and shoes would carry a dumpster-stained crumpled brown bag. He could get away with trash digging in a suit; people were always throwing things away by mistake and digging through dumpsters for them: lottery tickets and car registrations and phone numbers scribbled on the backs of envelopes. But men dressed as salesmen did not wander around the city carrying dirty paper bags labeled WEARD. He felt the cold touch of the power on him again, both a threat and a consolation. If he could find the balancing point, he could use whatever force was working here.
If he failed to find it, it would smash him.
Today he had had enough of shadows and the rumble of Highway 99 overhead. He needed sunlight. He crossed Alaskan Way recklessly and wandered out onto me pier of the Aquarium.
The sky was overcast, but he sensed the sun behind the clouds and took comfort from it. He sat down on the guard mil of the dock and looked down at the sloshing water. The bag leaned against his leg, rustling secrets whenever the wind touched it.