The Tree

Music of the Night

It is that time of year again, the syzygy. The Sun is flaring with its colossal all-out tentacles reaching to envelope everything its light reaches; the moon is bold in full bloom ready to receive all there is the Sun has to give with the last traces of blemishes and imperfections gone; the Eath is coursing between the great bulges of deep dark liquid sapphire, making love to a great old song.

Lovesick cotton candies hang around the horizon, kissing the pristine golden disk, letting it melt their translucent beauty, sweetening up the cool dusk air, yellow, pink, fuchsia, magenta, purple and indigo everywhere, dancing to the rhythm of the caressing tender wind, chasing and defusing into one another. Take a full lung of that perfume, hold it still and distil. Can you smell the musk of the forest? The fresh blades of grass shooting from the forest ground, the deep red sticky amber of the pine, the sparkling dew on the edge of a leaf, the stealth of a black wolf's fiery gaze, the peaceful innocent slumber of curled up a baby deer… Hark, the night is almost upon us and the time is near. Silently, with no audible sound to the mortals, the perfectly spherical grains of diamonds are gently slipping into the bottom of the iridescent hourglass one by one, starting to form a pile of kaleidoscopic dazzle that entrance the soul of any living. Look, millions of phosphorescent dainty little fires are breaking the shadows of the land, flying in perfect synergy, rising between the leaves and wrapping around the enormous ancient tree like a nebula of stars. The gigantic sinuous roots are stretching, breaking the earth and ripping the strata apart, the bark is dilating and snapping through the age-old veins of magical chants inscribed in its rings, the bewildering howlings are echoing across the vast space and the ritual has finally begun.

It's time, my love. The portal to the Tree House is open. I know you've been waiting for this moment for a lifetime. Ready? Promise me, whatever you do, don't look back and don't let go of my hand.

High Tide

Follow me into the darkness, forget all else, your past, your dreams, your uncertainty. From this point on, civilizations do not exist and laws of nature do not apply. You feel as if standing in a vacuum, not sure which is North nor South; you can not perceive your immediate surroundings for there is no point of luminescence; you can hear the humongous tree closing its portal from behind with the sound of the slow crackling refabricating bark yet you remembered never to look back. Now, you are no one, you are nowhere, you no longer exist. Is this a tomb or a womb? Before your ponder forms a tangible thought, you heard the crashing noise of the great flood. The liquid brought the cold shivers of the night in, wetting the sole of your feet, then up the legs, steeping into your terrorized psyche. In the unnerving complete darkness, suddenly I felt your hand tightening in mine. For a moment, I recovered from my frozen stupor and snaped into your laboured breathing and quickened heartbeat. Do not struggle, it will be over soon…

Not sure how long it'd passed, a few minutes or a lifetime? Time stood still and we were suspended in the middle of the dark water, all signs of life gone. Then, out of my blur vision, I saw lights, undulating fluorescent lights of an uncanny spectrum. Then the lights started to rotate around us all the way from toe to head, gravity came into existence and our bodies started to float upward, or downward? My body suddenly kicked into gear and I start to swim, pulling you with me, closer and closer to the surface, almost there, ah… I pushed you to rest on your side at the shore to let you cough up the water.

'Did we make it?'

'Yes.'

The Descend Begins

'You've made it so far.' a voice came deep from the dim cavernous void.

'Where are we? Are we below the ground?' I asked.

'Does it really matter here? As above, so below. This realm runs deep, deeper than you can ever imagine. That little treehouse you built a millennium ago on the outside was impressive, to the mortals it's a woman living in a tree house but to the others a phoenix in her nest, however, don't be deceived, here inside the tree, it's a palace of the ether with endless halls and chambers. Just when does it end, depends on your own unique journey.' the voice echoed still.

'You knew about my nest, are you the Ouroboros?'

'Ha, indeed! One and only! But Ouro will suffice since we are twin flames.' an immaculate divine statue manifested in front of me with golden curls, alabaster flesh and a diaphanous cerulean kimono loosely hanging on the curves of his toned muscles.

'Twin flames?'

'Indeed my dear, we are destiny, you and I, entangled at the birth of the universe with unbreakable ties through space and time, forever and more. Hard to fathom, huh? You and I, Light and dark; Ying and Yang; fusion and fission; explosion and implosion; matter and antimatter; order and chaos; an unstoppable force and an immovable object; things that defile laws of nature; abominations that made of sacrileges; colliding forces that only end in disaster; volatile together and volatile apart.'

'Cut the crap, you know where it is?'

'Of course I do.'

'Take me to it.'

'Uh, not so fast, you are on my turf now, remember?'

'Did we die?' you asked as you come to your consciousness.

'Hmm, this one is not from this realm. You broke the rule. I suppose he's the other half of the puzzle. Interesting how he survived, or not.' the Ouroboros' head tilted.

'He's fine, he's holding my hand.' I looked deep into his two pools of electric blue with an unshakable determination.

'Mm, we shall see, won't we?' the delicate kimono slipped effortlessly off Ouroboros' ripped chest, sleek hips then bulged calves, and his godly looking lips curled up a contemptuous smirk.

I was little perplexed by his abstruse comment for a brief moment but all I could see in front of me was the huge Barberini Faun in living flesh, and all I wanted to do was climbing up his masculine body, kiss all over his perfectly chiselled face and fervently embrace his red-blooded manhood in an uncontrollable craze. I was in a deep trance, something has got to me. Nooo, no, no, no, I made eye contact. How stupid was I, I just couldn't help it, ahhh. I need you to wake me up, fast, or I will be lost forever. And you, you will pulverize in a blink of an eye. Hello, are you there, can you hear me? No, I am attached to him, I am all over him, I can't pull myself away.

And then out of a sudden, it was over, I felt your hand tight in mine again.

'What happened?'

'This.' your eyes landed on a pile of alabaster rubble on the floor. 'I still had one hand free so I knocked him out of commission. Is he dead?'

'I was long dead, but never gone.' that same magnetic voice echoed in the air with an eerie laugh, 'Without a demigod's soul I will not live to enjoy the pleasure of the flesh but rest assured, I will haunt these halls as long as the life force of magic flows through the ether.'

The Enigma

'What's this?' you picked up a black wooden box no bigger than an open palm among the wet scintillating pearlescent sand.

Under the luminous light of thousands shades of oscillating fluorescent blue sparks, the box looked ancient with some arcane inscriptions embedded in the ornamented carvings that resembled star constellations.

'There's a gate before you, but you will need the key from the box. You alone know how.' Ouroboros' voice echoed.

I ran my fingers along the carvings trying to find a clue. There were three rows of rotating pins two in a set with numbers on them.

'Ha, curiouser and curiouser. What could it be? Magical, cultural, religious symbols or what?' you looked puzzled.

'Could be any, all or none. But it has something to do with me, me, and me alone, something intrinsic, something of the essence of my entire being, something seared into my soul through all my reincarnations, something I will never forget and only find when I search from within. I can not get it wrong, or we will be trapped for all eternity. I must meditate.' I sat in the lotus posture and closed my eyes.

Celestial bodies rotated in the outer space in endless cycles like clockwork, meticulous and immutable, however, like the slides of moving pictures rushing through space, the space-time continuum within the ether paused at a single spot, transcending the physical and metaphysical, morphing into infinite possibilities for me to inspect and browse. Through the shattered memories of time, forever bending, unfolding, distorting and cyclically fluctuating, I am forged and transmuted; I am incarnated and reincarnated; I have been broken and made whole again into a tapestry of endless tempering, a symphony of boundless triumphant, a garden of multitudinous forking paths, a blank page saturated with incalculable unwritten words, a caudex of continuously mindblowing untold stories.

I opened my eyes. You looked worried.

'You know the answers! Are you gonna do it?'

'Yes.'

'Are you sure?'

I picked up the box and turned the pins, setting our fate in motion.

11, 22, 33

'11, 22 and 33? That's it? What do they mean?'

'The three master numbers of higher vibrations, key to the gate of preternatural powers.' I answered and heard a faint click. The box was unlocked.

'These numbers are intrinsic to you?'

'Very much so.' I nodded, took out the elegant key made of pure gold, 'Let's open the gate.'

The Bridge of Roses

As I turned the key, the heavy gate with intricate gold gilding opened inwards leading to a bridge in mid-air. The sky is emerald green with looming dark clouds and the bridge charcoal black buried in copious purple rose bushes. Under the bridge is a river of slow cruising crimson blood, on the bridge walked corpses of lost souls, semi skeleton with falling flesh and complete skeletons with colourful opalescent shimmer.

'Decomposing bodies treading on roses, this is more maddening than the Day of the Dead parade!' you looked around in bewilderment.

'Trust me, this is not a celebration, far from it, everywhere you look, there is only suffering.' I braced myself for the skeleton walking towards us.

'Welcome, travellers, I see you have managed to open the gate, you must be exceptionally special. I have not seen a soul, living or dead, passing through that gate ever since, um, since, never mind, it's a very long time ago. You lose track of time in this neck of woods.' the skeleton counted his fingers and shook his skull.

'And you are?' I asked.

'Look here.' the skeleton pointed to his forehead with an inscription of Memento Mori etched in the grooves of the bone.

'Yep. Once under a cold Blue Moon, I baptized myself with the annihilation of my own flesh in a pool of coagulated black blood. I no longer remember the secular name of my past life and am stuck with this mark ever since. The bridge was very much the same, it used to be the most beautiful white marble and not this large but layers and layers of coagulated black blood coated it over and over which had the same effect of earth forming.' he sighed wistfully, 'Anyway, I was supposed to lead you across. It's not gonna be easy but this is the only way if you wish to reach the other side, walk across the bridge.'

'Lead the way.' I nodded.

As we stepped on the bridge, the beautiful rose petals got crushed into pieces.

'Pitiful, yes, but death, beauty, what's the difference? And this is not the worst part.' the skeleton looked back, 'Be careful not to fall into the river.'

With each step forward, the vines wrapped onto our legs tighter and tighter; the prickly thorns dug deeper and deeper into the flesh; the nerves were assaulted by thousands and millions of burning pins. Soon, blood started running down our legs, down the vines, down the bridge, into the crimson. You winced with every move but did not scream nor curse, you knew there was a price to be paid, whatever it may be.

'Climb on my back, I will carry you across.' you pulled my hand.

'No, I have a better idea.' my eyes were on fire, gigantic feathered wings burst out of my back and I returned to my true form.

'What's that sound?' the skeleton turned and its jaw dropped, 'You, you are the fire phoenix?'

'Yes, I think I just found another way. You two, climb on my back.' with a thunderous stump, I lunged into the air, carrying both of them with me. 'Hold on tight!' I breathed the wrath of the Sun onto the damned bridge and set all the roses ablaze, petals, sterns and roots, everything. The wind carrying millions of petals like an enormous cloud of fluttering butterflies singed by the fire, dancing in the conflagration of deep cleanse.

'You are here for the hatchling?' the skeleton asked.

'The egg has hatched?' you asked.

'Oh yes, for some time now. I think he can fly now, as a matter of fact, I've seen it hovering a few times, from afar of course but I not sure whether he could breathe fire yet.'

'Wait, it's a he?' I asked.

'Yeas, no doubt, I heard the priestess call him Rex.'

'My son. Take us to him.'

'It's not that simple. You know I'm not allowed in the upper spheres, right? Besides, the high priestess was the first person the hatchling saw and they are probably bonded.'

'Any suggestion?'

'Let's go see the Blind Hermit! If anyone knows where to go from here, it's him.'

'Yeah? The Blind Hermit huh?' you said, 'Who's he?'

'Oh yes, the Blind Hermit, he, is a long story, wizened as a thousand years old mummified salami. I'm not sure he's omnipotent but he sure is omniscient. I don't think there is a single thing he does not know already, past or future.'

'So he's a seer?' I asked.

'Yeah, you could say that.' the skeleton nodded. 'Wizard, sage, seer… I will let him tell you all about it when we get there. But first, we need to find him, which is tricky, as he lives on an island in an invisible sphere floating mid-air.'

'Invisible? That takes hermitage to the next level.' you chuckled.

'Talking about the devil, phoenix, you see that incognito eagle? 30 degrees to you right, just above the horizon?'

'I'm looking, ah, I see the flare. Gotcha! He's entering a thick storm. Hold on tight.'

The Blind Hermit

The sky turned blacker and more ominous in a blink of an eye. Suddenly we are surrounded by monstrous dark brooding clouds and our eardrums are bombarded with the deafening sounds of thunderclaps from all directions, each one louder than the last. The powerful harmonics resulted from the syncing of the sound waves make the pain insufferable and confound my orientation. Flashes of Lightning are striking out everywhere, igniting a colossus unbroken web waved with millions of dendrites electrifying and ionizing the atmosphere. It feels like being trapped in a Tesla's cage and punched by invisible titan.

'Are you two ok?' I asked.

'Yes, but barely surviving.' the tremulous skeleton cried. 'I regret my decision, this is my last visit.'

'Shall we turn back?'

'But which way is back?' the skeleton looked around. 'It's black all around us.'

'Keep going!' you shouted.

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, if you are going through Hell, keep going.'

'Ok, yes, I see the eagle. Locking on.'

Suddenly the dark clouds disappeared as fast as they manifested themselves. Like breaking the sound barrier, the noises stopped with a loud boom and we entered a brightly lit sphere with a trial of black mist behind us. In the middle of the sphere is an island surrounded by a shroud of a rainbow.

'It's the queerest thing,' you said, 'Are you seeing this?'

'Yes, a most unusual rainbow, circular around the sphere with no end nor beginning. Guys, I think we are entering a higher dimension.'

I followed the eagle and penetrated the mesmerising rainbow sphere. Right away, an opulent octagonal two storage villa with two attached side wings in the shape of hemispheres shimmering the colours of ammolite manifested in front of our eyes. In front of the villa next to a fountain of pearls, standing on the floor of nebula looking tiffany stone is a silver-haired elderly man dressed in the most exquisite burgundy robe embroidered with gold floral patterns, holding a giant intricated carved owl-shaped wooden staff with one hand and reaching out the other in the air. The eagle landed on his arm swiftly as a gentle breeze and packed its scintillating gossamer wings away, behind its wild calcite eyes shined a preternatural piercing gaze. I landed right next to the old fellow and de-bussed my passengers.

'Hey, old man, long time no see.' the skeleton reached out, 'High five,' he mischievously reached low and got a hit, 'low five,' he reached high this time and got another hit. 'Not bad, not bad at all, so tell me, old chum, how come you are not half as a shrivelled up raisin as I last saw you? Got dipped into the Fountain of Youth for prolonged exposure?'

'Ha, skeleton, cheeky as usual. Well, here's something new for you to learn about me. I died after the last you saw me.'

'Died? You seem very much alive to me.'

'That's just it. I resurrect after every death and live my biological clock backwards.'

'Damn, you must be a lot older than I care to think. How many cycles have you run so far?'

'Lost count, lost count, so here is another reason why one shouldn't judge the book by the cover, eh? I see you brought some friends.' the hermit walked towards us.

'So it is you, fire phoenix!' the silver beard smiled with a pair of mystic quartz looking straight at me while I transformed back into my human form.

'Enchanted, sir! You know me?'

'Oh, yes, for lifetimes and more. I saw you coming through the eyes of Hermes and led you here.'

'That bird, it is no way organic, It is impossible for any earthly creature to survive the storm, I hardly made it.'

'You are right, Hermes is a drone, a droid, a dream within a dream.' the hermit nodded, 'I made him myself, he is my eyes and ears. Follow me inside, my charming visitors, after an aeon of solitude, I could do with some company.'

We followed the hermit inside the villa into a spacious gilt nacre atrium filled with heavenly aromas of exotic flowers, spices and burning incenses. It has muralled walls and rooms on all sides and in the centre, curious otherworldly light rays shone down from the lightwell onto an immaculate crystal prism which splits the light into a kaleidoscope of wonders.

'Welcome to my domus, this way to my library.' the paterfamilias shuffled on slowly one step at a time with his staff tapping on the crisp floor which creates divine musical sounds. He pushed a white marble arm and a door with tinted glass opened.

'Wait, that arm, it looked familiar. Can't quite think where I saw it from, but…' you said as we walked past the door.

'Ah, that's one of the missing arms of Venus de Milo, the other one opens my bed-chamber. I borrowed them and she didn't mind.'

'You what?'

'I grew more and more fascinated and enamoured with them so I borrowed them. Anyway, listen, it was wise of you that you didn't go to the other side of the rose bridge.'

'How so?' I asked.

'Because the other side of the bridge is a labyrinth.' the skeleton replied.

'So the high priestess will have you believe. Although it has the appearance of a labyrinth, it is definitely not one. No one entered that place has ever emerged from the other side ever.'

'What is it?'

'It is a place of most despicable evil and cruelty indeed, it is a torture chamber. You go in and you never come out. The high priestess has become an exceptionally depraved individual who's deeply infatuated with inflicting pain that nothing can satiate her ravenous desire for the atrocity.'

'That's why you sent the eagle to catch my attention.'

'Yes, to lead you here and evade that heinous death trap.' the hermit walked towards a large vellum covered tome on a carved ivory stand, 'I believe you would like to see this.' he pointed to the centrefold with several sanguine studies on one side and a vivid drawing of a young boy in the most splendid watercolour embellished with gold leaves on the other.

'Who's this dreamy Adonis in the golden feathered robe? What a beautiful boy! He has the most captivating, wondrous and everchanging looks with his radiant golden hair in a glorious metallic sheen, pristine ivory skin and dewy rosy cheeks, strikingly bright deep sapphire eyes like the midnight moon, elusive and alluring smiles like a recurring dream of the muses. This is, is…' A suddenly burst of ecstasy exploded in my heart.

'Yes, a mother's instinct is always correct, it's the young phoenix. His beauty dims the stars, outshines the sun and charms the angles off their clouds. His movements, elegant and graceful, o, divinity in motion.' the hermit nodded, 'He flew over a couple of times and I grew more and more fond of him. I tried to capture his likeness with fervent ardour, and yet, his deific beauty remains an intangible concept.'

'Our son!' you shouted with overwhelming joy. 'I am so proud! But, is he, good?'

'Oh, very much so! He is a creature of temperament most gentle, refined and enchanting. But he has melancholy in his eyes whenever he comes over. He disapproves the high priestess' behaviour but finds himself powerless.'

'Oh, my poor darling.' I cried.

'Oh no, no. I think it's a good sign. It shows he is an individual thinker and the wicked claws of the high priestess are losing control over him. The only thing missing is confidence, yes, confidence, and support from myself and now his real parents.'

The Induced Dream

'His real parents…' I nodded wistfully. 'Oh, how I wished to let him know all these years.' tears streamed down my cheeks.

'Yes, I perfectly understand your agony. The high priestess has tried everything to bar you from your child, hasn't she? How heartless and cruel! To separate a child from the mother.' the hermit nodded and stroked his silver beard. 'But it is not entirely without hope.'

'Whatever do you mean?' I looked up with renewed hope flashing in my eyes.

'In all my years of research, physical and metaphysical, I gradually came to the realization that there's never a clear divide, well, in anything. How do you put it?' he tapped on the edge of a huge carved wooden table in deep cinnabar, 'One substance oozes into another, one structure superimposed onto another, one vibration synced with another in perfect harmony.'

'Entanglement?' I asked.

'Oh yes, yes. Entanglement! Everything in the universe was entangled from the very beginning and afterwards ever since. Even more so in certain cases, mothers and children, twins, lovers…' he paused with a joyous countenance,' Perhaps, we can tap into that special frequency and influence it.'

'You mean like radio?' you said.

'Precisely my man, like radio, the same principle.' he nodded in approval.

'How?' I asked.

'Have you heard a state of rest called the lucid dream?' he asked while reaching for a green leather-bound book from his bookshelf.

'Yes, it's a state when one dreams with vivid images.' I nodded.

'Uhm, right, right!' He perused the pages of his book, eyes tracing with his index finger down the pages. 'And sometimes, even with sounds and smells.'

'Like you are awake.'

'Yes, apart from you are not.' he smiled, 'but you can't tell the differences.' he winked.

Comprehending his suggestions, I smiled back.

'So, this is what we are going to do.' the hermit started telling us his ingenious plan.

In the middle of the night, we were led into a beautifully decorated chamber with lush thick floral carpets on the floor, soft cushions of all sizes and shapes lying around and an intricately carved silver censer sitting in the middle effusing an inexplicably pleasing scent.

'Smells nice in here.' I said.

'Oh yes, I'm glad you like it. It's a special blend I created for this singular occasion. Please sit down and feel at home. It is essential that you are able to operate in a relaxed manner.' the hermit gestured at a large pile of cushions.

'Here?' I sat down with you by my side.

'Yes, perfect!' he nodded and sat down himself opposite us. 'The boy should be asleep by now. Shall we begin?'

'Yes please.' we nodded in unison, my hand in yours.

'Ok, close your eyes.' he nodded, 'From now on, you shall follow my voice closely. If anything unexpected happens or you feel you are in danger, squeeze his hand as I told you and I will bring you back, understood?'

'Yes.' I nodded and breathed out.

'You are walking down a magnificent dark marble hall with your bare feet. The air is cool and so is the floor. There's light at the end of the hall, dull at first but it's getting brighter, brighter and brighter still…' the hermit's magnetic voice slowly guided me. 'Now, you come to a door. Describe it to me.'

'It's a double door, wooden, thick, with gilt embellished panels, four on each side, very intricately carved glinting gold patterns.'

'What kind of patterns?'

'Fruits, thorns, fire, phoenix…'

'Good, it's a good sign. Now open the doors.'

'I can't. They are heavy, very heavy.'

'Push harder.'

'No, it's no use.' I shook my head. 'Wait…'

'What's happening?'

'The doors…'

'What's happening to the doors?'

'They are opening themselves.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, I am certain.'

'Can it be?' there are twinkles in the hermit's eyes. 'It must be!'

'What should I do?'

'Nothing, it's ok. Let it happen.' the old man's voice seeping into my dreamscape. 'Now, is it opened enough for you to pass?'

'Yes.'

'Enter and tell me what you see.'

'A magnificent garden, with the most fragrant flowers in profusion. There's a sandy path in the middle.'

'Follow it, slowly. Continue to tell me what you see.'

'The path is windy with flower bushes on either side.'

'Can you see past the flowers?'

'No, not really.'

'Ok, continue.'

'I see…'

'What do you see?'

'A large multi-coloured marble fountain with a cascade of clear blue sapphire waters running down the marble stairs from the aqueducts hidden in the shrubs above.'

'What's in the fountain?'

'A white marble statue standing on a seashell covered in pearlescent nacre at the centre.'

'What does the statue look like?'

'It's wearing a golden toga and it looks, oh my god, it looks just like your drawing. It's my boy!' my heartbeat increased suddenly and I felt blood rushing through my veins.

'Stay calm, is anything happening to the statue?'

'No, it's perfectly still but it's looking at me.'

'What's his expression?'

'Longingness, like it wants to communicate something to me. Wait, there's a…'

'What is it?'

'It's a hummingbird. It's flying towards me. What do I do?'

'Stay perfectly still, do… not… move…'

Silence…

'What's happening? Are you there?' the hermit called.

'Yes, this is the most incredible thing! The hummingbird kissed my lips and flew up to the statue and kissed his lips. And now…'

'Yes?'

'My son, my son is coming alive. He's setting himself free from the stones. My son!' I opened my arms and caught him as he walked down.

'Sweet lady with the face of an angel, I've seen you in my dreams before. Who are you?' the boy's twinkling eyes looked into mine.

'I am your mother, my darling boy!'

'My mother?'

'Yes.'

'No, you are mistaken lady, my mother is the high priestess.' he looked bewildered.

'Oh, my poor darling! No, she is not your mother. You've been lied to your whole life.'

'Why are you saying this to me? This is all very confusing.' he looked perplexed.

'Because mommy and daddy are here to take you away with us and nothing will ever separate us again.'

'Mommy and daddy? I never had a daddy.'

'But you do, my dear boy, you do! Though not a god, he is the most distinguished gladiator ever existed.'

'He's human?'

'Yes, and he loves you with every fibre in his body.'

'Ok. If you are my mother, then who is the high priestess?'

'She is your grandmother.'

'Wait, what? My grandmother! Is this a trick?'

'No, not a trick. Everything I said is true. Please, just let me explain. I am the fire phoenix.'

'The legendary fire phoenix.' the boy started to seem to come to a sudden realization. 'So am I! Now it all makes sense! The high priestess was the first person I saw at my hatching so I naturally took her as my mother but I've never seen her do what you and I can do, transform and fly.'

'No, that's because she can't. She is only human, but she gave birth to a demi-god, me. Maybe to other women, it would be a blessing, but to her, it was a constant reminder of what she is not. She thought I was undeserving and unworthy so she became more and more depraved, jealous and resentful. She was a very manipulative mother while I was growing up, trying to take my powers and keeping your father away. She offered to look after you and keep you safe while I was away fighting the Kraken with your father. She stole some of your power when you were still an egg and delayed your hatching. When we came back to our nest, she had already taken you into the tree with her. The tree would remain sealed by the magic she performed for a thousand years.'

'She used my power to lock my own parents out.'

'Yes.'

'And she was lying to me in my face, day after day, calling me her son, doing dirt in front of my eyes and blaming me not appreciating her sacrifices. What sacrifice? Look at this place! It's an abomination! We have nothing in common, nothing at all.' two flames lit up in the boy's eyes.

'I know, the hermit told me about your sufferings. How did you live with that insufferable woman! I am so sorry, mommy and daddy came too late.'

'Not too late.' the hermit's voice rang through.

'Hey old man, is that you?' the boy looked up trying to figure out the direction of the sound.

'Yes, indeed, young phoenix. It is I. And I want to tell you that both your parents are here with me. Come, fly to us. They are dying to meet you.'

'Oh yes, I would like to be there now.'

'No, not right now. Don't raise the high priestess' suspicion and put yourself in danger. Come whenever possible, like your other casual flying-abouts. Can you do that?'

'Yes, of course! I will do that.'

'Good! We will be waiting. Now, go back to sleep.' the hermit's voice getting lower and lower still.

The End of the Nightmare

In the small hours of the next morning, the wind chimes started jangling all around the house.

'We have a visitor.' the hermit suddenly stood up and looked at the huge ivory framed mirror on the wall.

A flash of blazing flame penetrated the storm wall, leaving a trail of dark mist behind.

'Ah,' the hermit breathed out, 'Don't be alarmed. It's the young phoenix. But I told him not to come right away. The youth these days, no patience, no patience at all.' he picked up his staff and shuffled to the door.

'Old man!' the phoenix transformed into a boy and ran towards him.

'Slow down, young man,' the hermit raised his arms with concern, 'I remember I specifically told you not to come right away. This has been only a couple of hours and you are already here. What happens when the high priestess wakes up and finds you not there? Wait, you look disconcerted. What happened?'

'Oh god, oh all mighty god, old man, you have no idea what I've seen.' the young man looked flustered and horror was written all over his face, then he saw me.

'Mother! And father! Are you really here?' his eyes suddenly lit up and we rushed to embrace him.

'Yes, son, we are here.' you replied, kissing his ivory forehead with your arms around his shoulder tight. 'And we will never leave your side.'

'Am I still dreaming? Tell me that I am not.' the boy looked up with tears rushing out his beautiful eyes like strings of pearls.

'No, you are not. And we love you so much.' I held him in my arms kissing the other side of his forehead. 'What happened? You looked terrified.'

'Mother, grandma and dad are both humans, yes?'

'Yes.'

'And it's been a thousand years.'

'Yes.'

'So they should have been long dead, right?'

'Right. But your father was granted the elixir when we killed the Kraken.'

'So dad became an immortal?'

'Yes.'

'What about grandma?'

'Now son, you are right, that doesn't make much sense, since even with magic, a thousand years seems a dreadfully long endeavour for a mere mortal to keep alive. Just whatever has been keeping her alive?'

'Well, not just alive, I heard she's not old at all, is that right boy?' the hermit commented.

'Yes, and I think I just found out the answer to that mystery.'

'Do tell son.' you said.

'Well, after such a vivid dream. I suddenly woke with an immense passion to kill the wicked woman right there and then because I thought I was man enough to handle the problem myself.'

'Go on.' the hermit gestured.

'I took a knife with me and sneaked into grandma's sleeping chamber. I…'

'You saw something that startled you, what did you see?' I asked.

'I saw a corpse looking thing lying in the bed with a hideous all shrivelled up face like a mummy. In the corner next to the bed was what I presumed a transfusion machine pumping blood into her dusty cold veins. And on the clothes rack standing next to her bed, hang a human skin with a painted face that looks just like grandma. What a ghastly sight! It was the whole piece of a younger female's skin.' my boys' pupil dilated.

'Ah, that must be what she's been doing in the torture chamber disguised as a maze. She's been skinning her victims and using their skins as her own. The darn old crone is more wicked than I thought!' the hermit shook his head.

'What did you do then?' you asked, 'Did you kill her?'

'No, I was scared witless. I turned around and I ran, as fast as I could, with all the strength I had, running and flying, all the way here.' his tremulous hands holding tight onto mine. 'I am sorry mother, I failed you both.'

'No, my son, you are human and murder is a business most unnature, not to mention the victim is a blood relation.' you replied. 'I'm glad you don't have blood on your hands, you should not have to bear the burden of such haunting emotions.'

'But, what do we do now mom?'

'Now we've got what we came for and we shall leave this wretched place.'

'No, mom, we can't leave the old man here with that evil creature.'

'Yes, you are right, my son. I am deeply moved by your humanity and benevolence. Daddy and you are leaving now and I will end this once and for all.' I nodded to you, you understood my plans immediately and held onto our son's hand.

The boy transformed into a phoenix and you hopped on.

'See you on the other side my darling.' you smiled, looking at me with a gentle nod.

'Yes, I will be right behind you.' I wave goodbye.

'Now old man, so now it's you and me.' I turned towards the hermit. 'I would like to know if you have any suggestions on how to proceed before I burn everything into soots?'

'It's tedious work, burning everything. May I suggest we lift the evil from the root?'

'I'm all ears.'

'So, this is what we gonna do...'

In a short amount of time, we were able to transfer the atrium into a death trap. We hang the giant mirror upside down in the centre of the ceiling facing the impluvium. Then we filled the impluvium with a giant pool of deep purple potion.

'Are you sure about this, old man? We have one go. If it doesn't work…'

'No ifs, no buts. This should do, yes, this should do wonderfully.' the hermit laughed amusing himself. 'If not, you can always reverse to your original plan and roast her in this bath.'

'I'd rather not but will do if I have to. Are you ready?'

'Oh yes, I was ready yesterday, you?'

I nodded.

'Well, off you go then.' he gestured towards the mirror.

I spread my wings, with a thundering thump, I leapt into the air and disappeared into the mirror.

'Fire Phoenix, so it is you. Finally.' mother sat in her gilt throne watching me approaching with a raised corner of her mouth in contempt.

'Mother, we meet again. You look well. Or shall I say to the hideous undead underneath that meat suit?'

'He found you.'

'Yes.'

'I knew it, I saw him coming in the dead of the night. By the time I fleshed myself up he was already gone. I thought I'd wait till morning and find him again like I always did.'

'Not this time. He's gone by now.'

'I should have caught him right there and then, but I didn't know you were here.'

'No, you didn't.'

'How did you get to him?'

'In ways your murderous soul couldn't.'

'Ha, dare to judge your own mother! You insolent ungrateful little brat.' she became livid with rage.

'Look at you, always so bitter. But you lost, I'm afraid. I came to say goodbye. And now, this is it, goodbye mother.' I turned and started walking away.

'Don't you dare leave me, I am your mother, you owe me your life, everything, everything, you hear me?' she chased after me and into the portal.

With a swift turn, I stopped and hovered in mid-air after coming through the mirror. But mother wasn't so lucky, or you could call it a lucky dip, she plunged straight into the thick soup the hermit cooked her. Turning and kicking in the impluvium, with her eyes and mouth wide open, she looked wild in surprise and ire.

'Hey, old crone, no, she can't hear you. Save that for your prayers for your afterlife.' the hermit smiled into the impluvium. The soup will drain all your remaining magic out and in the meantime, it's lights off and repenting time.'

The atrium turned into perfect darkness as we blew the last candle out and walked off in silence.

'Old man, this place is yours now. Look after it.'

'Yes, I will, thank you for trusting me.'

'You are welcome, I can not think of anyone more deserving. Goodbye, and take care.'

'Goodbye, you too. Come to visit sometime.'

'I will.'

The End.