The North Wind

"It was a Winter evening, just as this" said the old man, as he shuffled on his Wing chair adjusting the thick house-coat, making himself comfortable at the porch. The children sat in a circle around him, with eager eyes, listening to his story with utmost interest.


"The Sun was contemplating his slumber for the day. A car stopped right outside our small wooden gate. A little girl in a red hood stepped out. She was fair, with streaks of dark brown hair peeping out of her hood. I knew her instantly. Little Enya is home!
My heart filled with joy. I ran towards the gate to usher her in and help her with her luggage. She greeted me with a warm hug."

"What is a warm hug, Grandpa?" one of the little ones quipped.
"Oh, it is a hug that can melt ages of snow! It can reach so deep in your heart that you feel the warmth running through your veins. All your pain goes away just with that hug."
He continued.

"Enya was a blessed girl. She brought joy wherever she went. Days were happy with her around. I can still remember her playing in the garden while attending to the plants. Her little footsteps around the house, were music to my ears. No one sang the way she sang, no one danced the way she danced. In the evenings, we would sit by the fireplace. Some days she would read to me. Some days she would tell me the stories of her travels. Some days, she would insist that I tell her a story. She was so full of life that there was never a dull moment with her around.

I wanted this time to never end, but Enya was not here to stay. She also had a story, one which I must tell you -
One day, many years ago, the cold north wind was blowing. Enya was just a toddler then. She went up to the attic of this house. This is an old house with a lot of secrets. One of the secrets was hidden away in an old wooden trunk. No one knows how or what led her to open the trunk that fateful day and she stumbled upon an old book and a pendant. The old book was a map of the mystical places of the world, of the narrow seas, wide rivers, green forests and varied people. Places we only believe to exist, but have never seen. The pendant was Tiger eye, a stone - a talisman of protection, but this pendant also made the bearer destined to be a traveler. Enya found it and now Enya, just like her mother, was destined for a quest of exploring new lands, yielding to the call of the Wind. An urge unstoppable, like a force of nature.

I knew a day will come when my little Enya will leave, again. The Winter grew stronger that year. Yet, every morning I would see her by the garden, watering the plants, counting the buds that were to flower. And every evening she would sit with me by the fireplace, spreading her warmth and magic all over the house. Then one morning, the sly wind was blowing again. Spreading chills wherever it went. The land was covered in grey snow. There was a quietness looming in the air. I looked around the house, searching for the dainty footsteps of Enya. But all of a sudden I realized, she was long gone.

The storm was over, the flowers bloomed. But Enya was not there to witness this. Many seasons passed, many flowers bloomed and I wish she was here to see."

"When is she coming back?" asked the wide eyed kid, who was noticeably engrossed in the story. He had a ring on his finger with a stone engrooved - the stone was yellow, with a dark stripe.

"I don't know, dear. But I believe that she will, one day. That could be any day, even today!" said the old man, his old green eyes brightening up. "Now excuse me, I have to light up the fireplace. We don't want to be cold when she comes, do we?"

The clock struck six and the ladies came to take their children home.
Once the children left, all was quiet. The bells at the gate chimed softly. The old man gazed out at the emptiness, and sighed. The cold North Wind blew again...


Want to read more? 
Part2: The Tiger Eye
Part 3: Mystical Butterfly
Part 4: A New Beginning