Erk and some kind of a book. Innokenty Mamontov

      My name is Erk. When I was fourteen, I’ve met a very strange companion, so unusual for the human’s world. I don’t even have an idea, whether it’s he or she. It just suddenly showed up and started talking to me. May be, some other guy would be scared or decided, that is was just a mirage, but not me. My new friend, the only one to always accompany, to always guide me. It always listens to me, always can give me a piece of advice, it always supports me. It is always optimistic, telling me, that there is nothing impossible.

      “All the ‘impossibilities’ are only your personal ‘impossibilities’, you are creating them with your own hands” – told it.

      I figured out, who was my new friend, when it talked to me for the first time one sunny may afternoon.

      That was the Death. And the same night it appeared in front of me. Death wasn’t similar the way people usually portray it. It was completely another. It was like two rotating hollow cylinder contiguous to each other, the white and the black one. To make it easier for me to perceive this creature, on the top of the cylinders there were images, looked like some human faces, they constantly appeared and vanished. Those cylinders shined white from the inside.

      Beginning not from the beginning

      Well, I studied in a parochial school for two years, and almost each day I spent in the corridor. Of course, I studied in the state school, too, but, in that particular period I’ve met a new friend. I learned from him a lot: how to become happy, how not to make yourself any problems, how to get rid of the things, usually discomforting people.

      The meeting

      One day, in July, I took my bike and drove to the garden near the forest, outside the city, like I always did. I took the “Practical magic” by Papus in order to try raise some goats or other creatures.

      When I reached my destination, I prepared a few woods to set a fire. As it started to dark and many mosquitoes came, I lighted a little oven, standing outside the house. The house resembled a barn, but it was quite cozy, mats were laid on the floor, tea and candies were on the table and there were bunk bed, made of long and wide wood boards.

      The Moon was bright, the stars were shining. Sitting by the oven, I opened the book and started to read the Friday spell. As I finished, it started to be windy and the big grey clouds were floating in the night sky, but, in a minute the wind stopped and the clouds were gone. A strange creature were about ten meters from me. It was the Death. It approached me. At first, I was really scared. But suddenly, all of my fears disappeared, like someone calmed me down. The Death came to me, became a little smaller, so it looked like it is sitting with me by the fire.

      I kept silence and stared on this unbelievable creature out of this world.

      – “Make a tea, let’s talk about your, human life, about the vanity you live in”, – it suddenly told me.

      I got up without saying a word, entered the house, and poured plenty of freshly brewed tea from the teapot, put three tablespoons of sugar and came back to the oven. The kettle with boiling water stood on the oven that is why it was so hot. I poured the water into a cup and gave it to Death. Then I put some little woods in the fire and got back to my seat.

      I was attacked by hordes of mosquitoes. I started to drive them off and slapped myself, just where they sat down.

      Damn mosquitoes! Wish they were gone, at least for tonight… – muttered I nervously.

      Suddenly I spotted a hand of Death, it was like a human one, but it looked like a hologram, though, it seemed to me, if I would touch it, it would feel quite material. Death flicked two fingers and all the mosquitoes flew away at a blink.

      Faces of Death were constantly changing, every time different eyes looked at me. I didn’t know what to do and what to say. I waited my night visitor to speak.

      – Where are you? What are you? Why all this around? What is the point? Your great philosopher minds are trying to answer these questions. Others creatures of your kind live and listen to them. They agree to every single word, believe them and start trying to live just as they told to. Do not believe them! Do everything for yourself. You can listen to them, understand what they want to say. You can agree or not. But always have your own opinion. And you can always speak up your mind, if you have the desire to.

      I made a sip of tea and asked the first thing that came to mind:

      – What is love for our, as you said, creatures?

      – Not many of you manage to grasp it. But I know two of your kind. After their met they became wizards. Probably, this is how do you describe such people in your fairytales, the ones, who can do anything.

      Suddenly a cigar appeared in my friends hand, and it lit it.

      – But smoking kills – I admitted.

      Death sighed:

      – Yes, it may kill you. You made up smoking and the harm from it yourself. Those of yours, who smokes, know that it harms them. And only those who have become wizards or magicians, I suppose that is how you call them, they did not receive any harm from smoking because they know it doesn’t exist. They do not doubt themselves and their abilities. Moreover, they, on the contrary, despite of all the general knowledges experience only healthy effects of this amazing process.

      Then I finished my tea and the Death disappeared. Then, I was attacked by hordes of mosquitoes again. I tried to drive them away by thinking about it, but nothing happened. After sitting a little more, looking at the fire in the oven, I decided to go to sleep.

      I could not sleep for a long time. I just kept thinking about having a conversation with my new friend. After lying probably for about a half an hour, I finally fell asleep with the idea of wizards and magic.

      Blue Cat and Green Owl