Once there was a girl named Dania. She was 18 living on the edge of the forest with her mom and dad. One fine morning, she went to the woods to pick some fruits to eat. She came across a bearded man with a heavy build along her way. His hair was jet black, with grey eyes and a straight nose. His lips were bulging out, and his cheeks were pale. His chest was massive, and his legs were long and robust. His name was Valek. He spoke profoundly and asked the girl where she was going. Dania trembled and said in a shaky voice that she wanted to pick some food for her family.
Valek laughed and said there was no food in this part of the forest. She should be going back to her family. Hearing this, Dania told the man that her family was feeble. They had not eaten for days and begged him to let her go in search of food. He said he would accompany her as it is dangerous to go alone. At first, Dania was terrified, but then she agreed. On their way, they introduced one another.
They crossed the darkest part of the forest and arrived at the other side. This part of the forest was different. In this part, Dania could smell the sweetness of the grass, and she could feel its softness. A soft breeze was blowing with the sun shining on the ground; it was pleasant and warm. She started to inhale the liveliness of nature and felt alive. She came across the trees, which were soft and delicate; their leaves seemed like they were made of cotton.
On them, she saw various kinds of fruit she had not seen before. They were reddish-orange, and their shape was like a mango. Dania started to take deep breaths to inhale their sweet smell. She began to jump to reach the top of the trees to pluck them up. But trees became tall and out of reach whenever she tried to pluck. Valek was watching her with a straight face and amused expression. Then he told her that if she wanted to have fruits, Valek told her that if she wanted to have fruit, she must first befriend the trees.
Dania approached a tree and started to rub it. On touching the tree, she found its trunk soft and tender; it was not hard. It felt like it was alive; something was throbbing in it. She got scared and removed her hand at once, but Valek did not allow her to remove her hand. Instead, he held her hand and placed it on the trunk. She could sense the coldness in his hand; she looked into his eyes and, deep down, saw something she could not overlook. She got lost in his eyes; she caught a glimpse of his memories. She saw hundreds of soldiers fighting each other; there were blast sounds and a vast crowd, but she could not grasp the situation as Valek blinked, and she came back to reality. She felt dizzy and fainted.
Valek caught her before she could hit the ground. He took her to his place, where he lived with his aunt Porrima in the middle of the forest. He asked his aunt to check on the girl and told her the whole story. Porima was a witch and a seer. She examined Dania and became shocked. Valek asked Porima what the matter was. Porrima took a minute to reply. She then said that this girl had powers no one had ever seen. She could heal the souls. She was the shaman. She then asked Valek where he had found this girl. He replied that he had met her in the forest.
She was searching for food when he took her to the clearing of the woods. She touched the trees, looked into his eyes, and fainted. On hearing this, Porrima told the Valek that her powers must have been hidden, and when she touched the trees, her powers showed. She must have been overwhelmed and fainted because of the forest’s magic.
Porrima told Valek that this girl was vital in finding his happiness. Valek looked at the girl and saw the peace on her face. Porrima asked Valek to carry the girl to the next room. The following day, Dania woke up and looked around the room, the room was circular, and there was a
fireplace on the left side and a window on the right. The fireplace was made up of black marble with smoldering coals in it. The thick white and black curtains covered the windows. A table and chair were beside the door, and a single bed was on the other side of the room. There were multiple paintings of different creatures all around the room. She started to roam and touch the images, wondering where she had been.
Porrima came into the room silently, holding a breakfast tray and putting it on the table. She saw the girl standing in front of the painting. She called her by her name; on hearing the name Dania became shocked and turned to see the middle-aged woman standing behind her. She had green eyes with brown hair forming a curtain around her heart-shaped face. Porrima smiled and introduced herself. She asked Dania to eat her breakfast and then come into the lounge. Dania saw the breakfast tray on the table. Porrima had made scrambled eggs with two slices of toast and a glass of orange juice. Dania ate breakfast and then went out into the lounge.
She saw Valek standing beside his aunt. She can see the resemblance between the two of them. On seeing Dania, Porrima smiled warmly; she asked Dania to sit at the table. Porrima sat opposite and gestured to Valek to go outside. Valek left, leaving the two alone. Porrima smiled and asked Dania about her family. Dania told her about her parents living on the forest’s edge and that her family was poor. Porrima asked her about the previous day. Dania told her what she had seen in Valek’s eyes.
On hearing this, Porrima said she had seen the past of Valek. She told her that Valek was a thousand-year-old man. He was a soldier and lost the love of his life in a battle. After which, he cried his eyes out and stopped eating. After some time, Valek asked Porrima to remove his heart from his chest to stop his suffering. She could not see his nephew in this state, so she pulled his heart out and locked it away in an enchanted vessel that a strong person could retrieve. Porrima told Dania about her destiny as a shaman with ultimate powers to do unimaginable things. She told Dania that only Dania could retrieve his heart and only she could make his heart beat again.
Dania became shocked on hearing this. At first, she denied it, saying she had no powers and could not do it. Dania wanted to go back to her home. Porrima became sad but did not push her; she knew Dania needed time to process all this. She asked Dania to take some rest before going home. Dania went back to the room and lay down on the bed. When Dania closed her eyes, she had visions and saw Valek fighting in a battle and saw a sword slicing through the body of a wonderful woman. Saw him crying beside her body. She saw Valek going to his aunt and asked her to remove his heart.
She saw Porrima using magic to open his chest, pull out his heart, lock it away and hide it in a tree. It was the same tree that had been touched by her earlier. She saw some ancient runes flashing through her closed eyes. She woke up with a startle, breathing heavily and sweating profusely. She went to the window to get some fresh air. She saw Valek standing and looking at the sky with a cold expression. She continued to see him until he went back into the house. The next day, Dania told Porrima she was ready to help her nephew but did not know what to do.
Porrima was happy to hear this. She thanked Dania for her help. She took her to the same place where Valek had taken her. Dania started to see everything around her. Porrima showed her the tree where she had hidden the heart of Valek. Dania approached the tree. On touching the tree, she could feel the softness and strange pulsations. Dania at once knew that this was where his heart had been. Porrima said some enchantments and inserted her hand in the tree’s trunk; she brought out an old enchanted vessel. She holds that out to Dania. Dania took the boat and looked at it. Saw the markings around its edges.
These were the same runes; she had seen in her dream. She told Porrima about the runes in her dream last night. Porrima said no one could open this box, not even her. This box could be opened only by a shaman or someone who could see the runes on the vessel, as the runes were invisible to any other person. Dania brought the vessel back to the house with Porrima. She could feel the container beating erratically as soon as she entered the house. Dania held it firmly in her hand. Dania looked at Porrima; Porrima told her it shook because it could sense its owner in the place.
Valek came out of his room, breathing heavily, feeling uncomfortable and out of breath. He saw the vessel in Dania’s hand and became shocked. Could not believe his eyes. He started to speak something, but at that moment, he could not. He felt dizzy. Porrima helped him and lay on the couch. Dania saw the markings and closed her eyes, muttering and twisting the vessel. It opened with a loud screech.
Inside the vessel lay the abandoned heart covered in the black moss; loneliness had made it black. Porrima picked it up and placed it gently on her palms. Dania looked at his heart beating erratically. She took it out, put the other hand on the top of the heart and closed her eyes. Dania could see the runes dancing before her, making shapes through her closed eyes. She moved her hands, holding his heart in toward the runes. With each movement, moss cleared. She opened her eyes, amazed at herself. There, in her hands, lay the red beating heart. She handed over his heart to Porrima. Porrima whispered a few spells. She cut open the chest of Valek just as she had done before. She asked Dania to place her hand on the heart and asked her to put it back in its place with each spell. Dania did as she was told.
With each spell, the beating of the heart became more stable. It went to its original place. As soon as it went to its original position, Porrima closed the chest of Valek. Bright white light filled up the room. When the light faded away, his breathing stopped. Then he gasped heavily and opened his eyes. Color returned to his face. He blinked his eyes and saw Dania, who was bent over him. He looked into her eyes and saw the satisfied expressions on her face. She straightened up and turned to Porrima, smiling at her. Porrima nodded. She was beaming at her nephew; he was back. He was indeed awake and felt the wave of affection for his aunt. He smiled after a long time in years. They both hugged each other. Dania was watching them and was amazed at herself. Porrima thanked her.
She asked her what she could do for her in return. She invited her and her parents to stay with them, but Dania denied saying that she would love to, but she had more things on her mind. She thanked Porrima for helping her find her powers, and now she would help those who would need her. After saying this, she left their house confident in herself, went home and told her parents about the whole story and what she could do. Her mother said that her grandmother was a shaman, and after her death, they thought her powers had died with her, but Dania inherited her grandmother’s power. They permitted Dania to help others in healing. Dania decided to leave. Her life got changed after the visit to the magical forest. She went on the quest and helped others to heal for the rest of her life.
THE END.
