TWO

After the unfortunate deaths of her parents she had moved in to live with Edgar, naïve, only a child and no where else to go she had held on to the man who had comforted her and she had lived with him ever since. 

 

 

He was the kingdom’s physician, very skilled, each day people from afar with all kinds of ailments and afflictions trooped in to be sure by him. He was very knowledgeable about herbs and this knowledge helped him greatly. However he was also a wizard and sometimes when he encountered difficult cases and with no knowledge of what herbs to mix, he would use his magic to heal them. 

 

 

Once upon a time as a child she had thought she possessed some mystical powers, it was common knowledge that she was different from the other children. If she entertained a mere thought in her head, it would manifest in reality. 

 

 

As a child she had paid little or no attention to it. One incident however had changed her forever, she was five. She was playing with the other children on a wide expanse of land, just in front of the houses. She was asked to light a make believe fire so they would cook the stones and leaves they had put into a container. 

 

 

She crouched and pick two stones and struck them against each other in a bid to light the fire. She tried several times and before she knew it, the container was set ablaze. All the kids ran home terrified by the increasing fire, some mothers snatched their kids and were told the tales of how Cleopatra had caused the fire. 

 

 

She stared at the blazing fire as it melted the container, unmoving oblivious to the rampage around her. Her mother had grabbed her at that moment and held on to her. 

 

 

No one could give a reasonable explanation of what had happened, not even her parents, the kids stories were written off as cock and bull as they seemed very fallacious. Her parents had ignored the issue like it had never happened but she had never lit a fire since that day. 

 

 

After her parents died, her life had spiraled down, she lost the will to leave nor do anything else. Edgar in those times had been her strength. He tried relentlessly to engage her in all his activities, she helped out with preparing the herbs, she would also accompany him to the woods to fetch leaves, special spices and woods to make healing antidotes and medicines. 

 

 

He always made sure she was around when he casted spells or communed with spirits. She would watch on in childlike wonder every time something out of the ordinary happened. At first she had not taken it to thought and had assumed he just liked her company and just wanted to spend time with her, anything to ease her pain.  As time went on, the realization hit her that maybe Edgar had other plans for her. Maybe he wanted her to continue on after him. She could see it in his detailed explanations to her and how he involved her in his activities. 

 

 

 

She had once confronted him, however he had downplayed it by telling her she never knew what the future held for her. She did agree with him, life was unpredictable, this much was true. She had lost her family all so sudden, however she did not see herself doing anything of that sort. Little did she know that life was about to hit her with another huge surprise. 

 

                                                *** 

 

 

Edgar prepared tea leaves, his mind strayed to Cleopatra and her recurrent dreams, he didn’t understand any of it, he desperately wanted to get her mind off it. Although he had tried to down play it as nothing, he knew it meant something important just like Cleopatra had said it did. He had nurtured her into a smart and strong willed woman. He knew she would not easily let it slide. However he only wished that she would take a break from constantly worrying. That she would find happiness and enjoy life. 

 

 

“Cleopatra”, he called out to her, “Come have this tea”, he stretched his have towards her, the cup in his hands. 

 

She walked towards him and took the cup from his hand, “What kind of tea is this?”, she asked quizzically. 

 

 

“It is a herbal tea…” 

 

 

She rolled her eyes, “Of course”, her lips curved up in a smile, “What was I expecting from a physician, sweet tea?”, she asked rhetorically. 

 

 

He laughed heartily, “It would sooth your nerves” 

 

 

She inhaled it, her nose scrunched in disgust, “This smells awful…” 

 

 

He chuckled, “The bitter things of life teach the sweetest lessons”, he said all of a sudden, a distant look on his face. 

She drank a mouthful and quickly spat it out, “I don’t see the lesson this one is going to teach” 

 

 

“It would make you feel better Cleopatra, you need to drink it all”, he advised he slowly got to his feet, “I also think a walk in the woods will make you feel better, so when you are done we will take walk, I’ll pick some things on the way. I believe the fresh air will do you a lot good” 

 

 

                               *** 

 

 

“I will need some aloe Vera leaves”, Edgar said. They were walking through the dense forest. 

 

 

She absentmindedly stared at nothing as she walked through. “We need those leaves to prepare a healing potion of old lady Gertrude. When I was her age…”, he smiled, “I was still very agile and strong. At seventy I still turned the heads of various women”, he smiled, showing a missing tooth. 

 

 

They trudged further, “Now all my bones are weak and tired. I fear I might soon join my ancestors”, he added. Then he spotted the cinnamons, “I see some over on the other side”, he pointed with his fingers, “I will go get some”, he moved in that direction but then he turned and saw she was not trailing behind him but was staring off into the distance a twig in her hands. It was then he realized she was lost in thoughts. 

 

 

“What is on your mind my dear?”, he tapped her on her shoulders. 

 

 

She jerked startled at the sudden interruption, “You have not been listening to a word I said, what bothers you?”, he asked again with genuine concern. 

She smiled sadly, “A lot of things happened here, in the woods…” 

 

 

“I know my child”, he interrupted in a calming voice, “I know how hard it is for you” 

 

 

“I just have a strong feeling in my heart grand father. Like there is a missing piece of my life and somehow it is connected to my past. I feel it deep within me pa…” 

 

 

He nodded, “In time, it would all make sense”, he hoped.