Winter Wish

5

Magic Dream

As Luna opened her eyes in the darkness of the forest, her body trembled so much that she hugged herself and tried to find a solution, but it was futile.

She looked around carefully but could see nothing, the forest was too dark. It was dark beyond the stark black that evening could provide... It was as if all the light in the universe had somehow been sucked out and decided to drown them in this fog.

"Who are you?"

She jumped like a startled rabbit when she heard a voice. Her heart started beating wildly as she turned to her left, in the direction of the sound.

"Who's there?" she said, trying hard not to scream.

"Are you answering my question with a question?"

"Yes!"

She heard the same voice laugh mockingly. Then a dim beam began to spread around her. She blinked her eyes and peered into the forest as a beam of light resembling ice blue surrounded her. When and how had she gotten here? She shouldn't have entered the forest! Why had she done such a thing and how could she forget it? What was this light?

"Who are you?" the same voice asked.

Suddenly a cloaked shadow appeared in front of her. Her face was invisible, hidden beneath her hood, her countenance like a void in the darkness.

"I... I... Luna!" she said with difficulty. "Who are you? Why did you bring me here?"

"So, your name is Luna..."

As the shadow moved around her, Luna sensed that it was a woman. Although her voice sounded strangely echoed in her ears, something in her movements or aura made her think it was a woman.

"Who are you?" she asked once more.

Then she suddenly thought of the wizard. The owner... or mistress, if she was not mistaken... of the dark forces that dwell in the forest.

"Little Luna, I don't have to answer any of your questions unless I want to, so don't bother."

Luna opened and closed her mouth in amazement, then lost herself in the discomfort of her circling around her and gripped the shadow's cloak tightly with one hand. "Stop spinning around, you're making me dizzy! And what do you mean by small, am I smaller than you? What's so obvious? Do you know how many younger siblings I have?"

She didn't even realize what she was saying, but somehow she managed to stop the shadow.

"So... Am I supposed to know that?"

"Yes! We are nine brothers and sisters!"

"So?"

"So... I... I... I... I'm an older sister!"

She said this with such pride and in such a loud voice that her voice echoed deep into the forest. Luna couldn't help grimacing as the words reached her own ears. What did she think she was doing? Why was she being so brave with this terrible shadow? What was wrong with her?

"So that's the kind of spirit you are, Luna Fulgor. That's very interesting."

"So-how do you know my last name?"

The shadow leaned forward. It was as if the darkness was staring into her eyes. Luna shuddered and wanted to run backwards, but she couldn't move.

"Every second I'm in your dream, I learn something about you, and when you're here, you can do what you want without fear or principle."

"W-What do you mean?"

She reached out her hand once more, intending to pull down the hood of the shadow in front of her. Her hand, frozen in mid-air, was met with a laugh.

"So you wonder who I am."

"Yes! Wouldn't you?"

"I suppose I would."

The shadow retreated for a moment, and Luna found herself inside a house, sitting in front of a roaring fireplace. The room was bright as if bathed in sunlight, everything was brilliantly bright.

As she looked around in amazement, she realized she was in an ordinary house and let out a scream, this time she couldn't contain herself.

"We... We... We were just in the forest!"

"You're dreaming Luna, calm down."

"Dreaming?"

She batted her eyelashes in confusion and leaned back, realizing she was sitting in a chair. Just as she took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure, another person sitting in a chair appeared in front of her.

Luna stared in horror at the woman's face, stunned by her beauty. Who was this beautiful woman with green hair and green eyes, as pretty as a doll, who looked to be about the same age as her?

"Your hair is green," she said, as if that was the only thing she should be surprised about.

She grinned wryly. "Yes."

"How can that be?"

"Well..." she closed and opened her eyes and Luna leaned forward in admiration as her hair turned blue.

"And now they're blue."

"Yes."

"And your eyes are pink..."

"Mm-hmm..."

"How can this be?"

"You're dreaming, Luna. Why is that so hard for you to understand?"

"But I'm not myself in any dream!"

"That's not true. In every dream, a man is himself. In his very core self... The true self underneath all the fear, anxiety, rules and social impositions..."

The woman raised her eyebrows as Luna weighed this in her head. "But you don't remember that."

"What we did in the dream?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

She shrugged her shoulders gracefully and her eyes and hair turned green again. This time her hair was aqua green and her eyes as bright as emeralds. She smiled as Luna sighed in admiration at this unnatural beauty.

"You are an interesting person, Luna."

"Me? Look at you!"

The woman laughed again. This time her smile was not mocking. Her face shone with a happy glow.

"Do you at least understand who I am?"

"I think so!"

"So tell me... Who am I?"

She asked mysteriously, raising one eyebrow. She really seemed to be having fun talking to her.

"You're the scary wizard in the forest!"

"Scary?" She giggled in a childish way that was not expected of her. "So that's what they still say about me out there."

"Yes! For years you've been torturing anyone who enters the forest to death!"

"Well... Is that so?"

"And you sealed a circle around the forest."

"Why?"

"So no one but you can enter!"

"I seem to be a cruel person."

"Yes! Very! You curse people!"

The woman laughed and waved her hand in the air. "Who have I cursed?"

"We don't know. You destroyed them all, along with their families."

"Interesting..."

"Maybe you eat them."

The wizard laughed and shook her head. "Maybe..."

"Or you bury them in the forest!"

"Why?"

Luna realized for a moment that she had no answer. Really... Why was the wizard doing all this? Namely, according to the legend?

"I... I don't know," she said hesitantly. "Why do you do these things?"

It was very strange, but she had never questioned it before. She had assumed that everything she had been told was true, "According to legend this, according to legend that," and it had never even occurred to her to think, "Why is the wizard doing all this?"

Or was everything she thought she knew just an illusion?

Who was this woman?

"You really are a very interesting person, Luna. I haven't seen anyone as brave as you in years. It must have been hard for you to be stuck in this tiny town."

As she looked at her with her bright green eyes, she couldn't help but sigh deeply.

How could she know that? Was she reading her mind? Was this woman really the terrible sorceress of legend? Then why didn't Luna feel scared at all?

She was about to open her mouth and ask her something when the woman got up from her seat and approached her.

"It was nice meeting you, but I have to go now. If you want to see me again, whisper the words you learned before you went to sleep again and maybe I will answer you."