Hmm. I like it! – The girl smiled – Just like in my favorite fairy tale about Eraqel.
– That's right, my dear.
***
When Alice woke up, she immediately grabbed the box which was right next to her bedside table and began to study that short verse again. The girl realized that the dream she had was not an accident. And the mighty oak tree which still stands in the woods near their village is most likely the same “sleeping Ont” who keeps the secret. That was a secret she had to solve.
Being an absolutely diligent student, Alice never skipped classes at the university. She always did all her home tasks and actively answered questions in the classroom. But not today. Today, she had completely forgotten about everything in the world. Quickly jumping into her jeans, putting on a jumper and jacket, Alice put a bun in her mouth and ran into the woods.
Many years have passed when Alice last time was in this forest. And even more since that days when she and her grandmother went here to collect mushrooms and berries. So she had to spend at least two hours before she came to the glade with the oak tree.
The first thing which caught her eyes were the leaves. It was fall, the end of September. Deciduous trees actively yellowed and dropped the leaves, but not that ancient giant. The leaves were rich green color, like it was not September but May, and it wasn`t even going to indulge for a long winter sleep. It seemed it will stand here all winter, spreading it`s mighty green branches, in the middle of the snowy desert.
Alice sat down on the grass a few meters away from the tree and began to learn that verse again. Now she was interested in the first line. What kind of light? What kind of wings? And what is the “right position”? What does the author mean by the word “right position”? The right position regarding to what? How can all this things point to the truth?
Because of long and hard thinking Alice began to feel a little headache. She put the box aside and lay down on the grass. The sun disappeared behind the clouds. “Oh, come on… I don`t need a rain now! Well, Grandma… you left me such a hard puzzle” – the girl thought to herself.
After a while, the sun came out again, but still it was a little dark around the oak. It`s crowns were so curly so they almost didn`t let the light in. Alice continued to think about the puzzle and realized – she had only one “wings” which the verse was talking about. Those which were engraved on the box. She got up to take a look on them again, and the next moment she saw something what made her shiver slightly.
A small ray of light, shining through the curly oak leaves, fell down exactly in the middle of the picture, and the wing, which was to the right start shining, like bright light bulb was under it. Alice began manipulating the box. Without moving, she turned it thirty degrees to the right, then sixty degrees to the left, turning clockwise and counterclockwise… No special changes occurred. Every time, the wing which was on the right side has glowed. “What if…” – thought Alice and moved the box in that way so the beam fell down not in the center, but on the left wing. Something changed. The wing began glows more brightly, but not more than that. Alice put her hands to her face: “Oh my God, what am I doing wrong? How else should I turn it, damn it!”
But when she took her hands away from her face and looked at the box again, she immediately froze in a daze. The wings are glowed like they were made of gold by soft yellow light, and from the right wing there was a beam which is pointed somewhere at the trunk of the oak tree.
“So I did everything right! All I had to do just wait for a while. I did good, I did good, I did good!” – Alice repeated to herself, and without wasting a second, she ran to the spot on the tree where the beam of light was pointing. The bright spot on the oak's bark shimmered like it was not a wood at all, but some kind of mother-of-pearl stone. Alice pressed it by her finger. The tree bark moved a little bit inside and then just below this point, another piece of bark fell off the oak trunk and fell down to the ground. The girl looked in that place and saw a small recess, which has a small key. Without a long time thinking regarding purpose of it, she picked up the box and inserted the key in the lock. A light click and the box has been opened. Alice opened the lid and saw a small recess, which has another key. Medium-sized, wooden, with the same symbol of two wings carved on the handle.
“Oh, come on… I solved the puzzle and fond the key of another key but a little bit bigger?! Well, grandma, you have a lot of secrets around” However, she wasn`t upset at all by this discovery, but rather even more excited, because now she had to find out what this new key opens. Put it back in the box and shove it into the pocket of her jacket, she set off on her way back.
Chapter 3
After she walked approximately half way, the forest around her changed drastically. There were no more yellowed autumn trees, the air became warmer, and the wind brought a pleasant scent of blooming spring meadows. Shortly Alice began to doubt if she is going back the right way. The path she was following sharply turned to the right and went slightly uphill. But Alice wasn`t in the thick of the forest. She knew any path would lead her somewhere sooner or later.
When the ascent was over and the path become straight again, she saw something in the distance that she hadn`t expected to see there. A very small house stood on the right side of the path she was following. Alice walked a little faster and when she got very close, she was even more surprised to see a little old man sitting on a stump and smoking a long pipe. He was dressed in a warm caftan, which is wasn`t appropriate for the weather at all, and his face was hidden under the visor of a huge hat. Only a thick gray beard fell almost to his knees. Alice spoke first:
– Greetings, Grandfather. My name is Alice. I would like to ask you how can I get to the road?
– Hmmm – the old man chuckled – Hello to you as well, young lady. My name is Oks and to be honest, I have no idea what road you're talking about – he replied and looked at her with a suspicious view of his small gray eyes. Catching the nature of this view, Alice asked:
– Is something wrong?
– It's strange to see a man in this forest – the old man muttered.
– What's so strange about that, Grandpa?
– This is a very ancient forest. Not every person dares to come here. Maybe elves could come, but the humans…
The surprise on Alice's face, after a moment, was replaced by a grin, and she said:
– What are you talking about, Grandpa? The elves? My house is a couple of miles away from here. There can't be any elves here. They can`t exist, – she paused briefly – except in fairy tales.
– Do you really think so? – The old man looked very attentively into the Alice's eyes, so she was confused.
– Well – she drawled – I guess.
– Okay, let's go inside, I'll treat you to some delicious herbal tea – the interlocutor offered then got up from the stump and took Alice by the hand.
– But I need to… – she started to saying.
– Come on, you will tell me inside.
When Alice entered, she was plunged into the semi-darkness of a small room, with a round table in the center, a couple of stools, a fireplace, and a bed in the corner. A couple of candles were burning on the table, and a few fire woods were smoldering in the fireplace. The air was filled with the smell of smoke and some unknown herbs.
– Sit down at the table, my dear. I'm going to light
