Part 8 - Epilogue

Igor walked for an uncertain amount of time, without sight of getting tired, until he arrived to a soaring circular stone tower and its base was a ominous rectangular building. It was huge and old. It looked from another time, because, the older or more wrecked it looked like, it didn’t stop being majestic and breathtaking.

Igor walked in trough the building face faced to him, which was the more far away from the tower. He got in through the hole where once huge wooden doors would have been, but now, there wasn’t even a sight of the iron hinges. Was the time doing this alone?

When he was walking towards the building it was like he was in a dream. In the moment he saw it, Igor got lost on its magnificence, on its broken look, but unbelievably imposing. It was like the building was there for thousand years, wrecked and almost in ruins, but could take thousand more. As soon as he got in, his dream state broke. There she was, on the right side of the majestic building, enlightened by the sunbeams coming in through the windows and the holes on the roof, right up her head. She was sitting in a huge rock. Probably a part of the ceiling that had collapsed. She was breathtaking.

Igor walked over the dirt floor towards the mysterious lady. Maybe there was stone under the dirt, but the only thing Igor could see was dirt, brown, soft and sad, different from the lifeless black ground outside. The lady was sitting peacefully on the fraction of the ceiling. One of her weird details that popped right on Igor eyes was the big stems, because they were big and they looked like they were made of wood. They were horizontal thin stems stretching to the sides. Both at their middle and at their tip, it stretched up, making the lady look like she had four wood antennas.

It seemed that the lady was looking at Igor, but it was hard to tell due to the vein she was wearing, probably made with the skin of some animal that had walked over those lands on the times there was still life. The vein was covering her head and shoulders, only showing the bottom part of her face. Her small nose and mouth with sharp teeth and black lips. Adding to the vein, the lady was also wearing a huge dress, made of thousands of little brown feathers.

But maybe it wasn’t a dress, because after some slow steps, Igor realized that those brown feathers were also on the lady’s arms, glued to her until her elbow, from where he could start seeing skin like the one on the face, very pale, almost white as snow. But instead of soft, the skin of the arms looked like scales.

Igor stopped walking some steps away from the lady, not because he was scared or anxious, but because he felt that he should stop. He just stood there, looking at her getting up. She was majestic. The way her dress dragged on the floor while she was getting closer was breathtaking. She got close to Igor and stood there for some seconds. The two were just bluntly looking at each other.

- Hello… - she finally spoke on the same voice that had controlled Igor, but it wasn’t strong or imposing. It was much more calm and joyful. Igor had already heard this happy and captivating voice talking with him, while the same voice, this one mean and austere, talking with his friends.

This was the lady that had controlled him, but now she didn’t need to demand respect or fear, so she was showing a completely different side of her. She uncovered her head, showing her dark hair and her grey sparkling eyes. The same eyes Igor’s friends had seen while she was controlling him.

Igor was so lost on the immensity of those grey eyes, so gentle and curious it was hard for him to talk.

- Hello… - it took a while and it was on fear, but he did take out these simple words out of his throat. And now that he was already speaking it was easy for him to go on. – What’s your name?

The lady giggled on this question. It seemed to her that asking her name was a little inappropriate, due to all that was happening. Her laugh was not so harmless for Igor, who shrank himself and turned his face down.

The lady reached his chin with her long fingers and turned his face up again. Her black nails were long and sharpie, characteristic from a wild animal, but she didn’t hurt Igor, because, like wild animal’s claws, these could be careful.

-Don’t be nervous… - she was tall. If she stood completely straight there was no way Igor could look her in the eyes. Fortunately she was slightly curved, what helped Igor that truly loved this white skinned lady’s eyes. – My name is Jacklee…

- I’m Igor. – He said abruptly. Not the he was uncomfortable or nervous around Jacklee, but being around her made him feel weird. He felt his body go all crazy just for being next to her. But it wasn’t like when that redheaded girl visited her village some weeks ago. This was different.

- I know who you are… there’s no need to be nervous…

- I’m not nervous! I… I’m just a little dizzy…

Jacklee giggled again. The lady talking with Igor was completely different from the one who talked with Jean.

- It might be due to the magic in the air… - Jacklee looked proud or herself to Igor – I’m a very powerful magical creature.

- You can do magic?!

- Yes! Look around…

Igor looked amazed to the ground covered with greenish-blue grass, with bright spots due to the big windows and holes on the ceiling. The enormous room was getting filled with a beautiful pallet of blues. Vineyards grew on the wall and across the floor were blooming flowers. Not the orange ones, but some very pretty white bells. There was also green moss spreading on the fractions of walls and ceilings spread on the floor.

-Do you know why you’re here?

Igor looked at Jacklee without knowing what to do.

- To… To make my mommy proud?

- Well, that too… - although she had a smile across her face, Jacklee was sad. She wasn’t sure why. She never felt bad about what she did with other people, but this boy was different. Where all humans like this? – You’re here to help me. Locked on the floor there is magic. It’s impossible for me to get it… but with your help I can finally use it. Finally use it to re-grow beautiful enormous forests!

Jacklee stretched her arms to the sky. Her enthusiasm quickly spread to Igor, who got his eyes sparkling while he asked:

-Really? What do I have to do?

- Nothing… you just need to be here… - she landed her hand on his shoulder. – I’m taking care of it since you jumped into my domain.

Jacklee pointed to the door from where Igor came in and he, right in the moment he saw the outside, he started running.

Igor went enthusiastically through the blue grass that was growing since the beginning, where it had already started growing sporadic bushes and flowers with all the imaginable sizes, shapes and colors. Igor kept running through bigger trees with less space between them, until he was completely surrounded by huge and vigorous trees, which covered the sun with their blue leaves, bushes with all shapes and seizes and even more flowers.

Igor ran happily and carelessly, scaring wild animals with all the noise he was making. They were mostly birds perched on the trees.

- From where did these come from?

- I made them myself – Jacklee had arrived to fast to someone who walks so slowly, but that didn’t concerned Igor. While she approached Igor, a flock of bluebirds landed on her horns. She seemed to don’t care. Quite the contrary, she was looking at the birds happy and proud.

Jacklee glamorously sat on the floor and signed Igor to join her. Slowly Igor sat on Jacklee’s side and rested his head on her lap. It was comfortable, with all the small brown feathers.

When the bluebirds started singing, she couldn’t resist comment:

- I missed these. I made them out of memory. I always loved bluebirds.

Igor just looked at her. Eyes full of curiosity and wander. Lost in the middle of so many things happening. Jacklee was looking down, with her sparkling grey eyes fixed on Igor. The light beams that crossed the clouds and leaves surrounded her.

- Do you want me to show you more?

- YES!!! – Igor jumped with enthusiasm so fast that he didn’t even saw what happened to Jacklee, right in front of him.

When he finally came back from his senses, he had giant wings in front of him. When those opened, Igor could see an owl like creature, brown with white dots, but bigger than a grizzly bear.

Although it looked like a western screech owl, it was also very different, with its big mouth and sharpie teeth on the place of the beak, its completely dark eyes with white spots like a sky full of stars and its much bigger and more complex horns. They were unexplainable. It also had big eagle feet and a long tail of feathers, which dragged on the floor, like a peacock tail.

Igor stepped back, frightened and amazed. He didn’t know what to do, until he heard Jacklee’s voice inside his own head. It was telling him not to worry. It was telling him to climb to its back.

And Igor obeyed and climbed Jacklee’s back. As soon as he was up there, she took off, going through tree branches and leaves. she flight to the tower, going up and up, until she reached the top. Carefully, Igor sat on was remained of the outside wall of the circular tower while Jacklee came back to her usual self and sat with him.

The sun was finally setting and it was creating a completely magic view, with its orange sky and the leaves turning a shade of purple far away. The forest was still getting better, in such way that it was hard to tell from where did Igor came from.

- It’s so big… - Igor was amazed with the size of the witch domain. Anywhere he looked, Igor couldn’t see the frontier. Igor didn’t know how much time he had walked. He knew he had walked for a long time, but he couldn’t remember most of the trip.

- It’s really big. It will demand some time to finish everything…

- Jacklee? – Igor was still nervous. There was so much he wanted to ask. So much he wanted to see. So much that he wanted to know.

- Yes?

- When I finish help you, can I come back to my mommy? – Igor didn’t had the courage to look at Jacklee. He was so nervous with that question. He wanted to stay with jacklee. See everything there was to see and help her.

Jacklee’s heart became heavier because she knew that deep down Igor didn’t want to be there, which was devastating because she had a proposal to do. It was one of the main reasons that made her pick Igor, more than his wild imagination and joyful presence, typical from any child.

- Of course you can. – Jacklee smiled with orange light making her face glow. – However I have a proposal to make. I could teach you magic.

- Really?

- Yes, but when we start you won’t be able to come back for a long time. You may never see you mom again.

- And what if I go see my mom and them I come back?

- No…

Igor suddenly turned to Jacklee. He wasn’t angry or sad.

- Why?

Jacklee put her hand on Igor’s chin again, turning his head. She smiled at him.

- Let’s not worry about it now. You have a lot of time to think about everything. Let’s just appreciate the view… I can’t wait for working with you. – The two of them looked at the ever-changing ground again. – What do you think about a lake over there?

And the two of them stayed there, talking about what they could do, with such childish joy and excitement, while birds took off and landing. While the sun went down and down, until it disappeared under the horizon line. While fireflies around, with their purple, green or even yellow lights.