If Looks Could Kill

If Looks Could Kill

They call me The Wishmaster.

Pilgrims of the world seek me far and wide. They scour the mountains and the forests and the glades. On a whisper they sail across the sea to foreign lands and lonely beaches. Rich men and Lords have lost their fortunes in pursuit of my talents. I have seen men devote their entire lives on the rumors of my location.

Though many try their luck at finding me, I only reveal myself to a certain few. How do I decide who is allowed to approach me? That is not for you to know. I have entertained kings and peasants, merchants and slaves. It is as much I who seek the worthy as the worthy who seek me.

But we are not here to discuss me. Today I bring you a story of three such worthy pilgrims. I will not tell you why I found them worthy to approach me. Just know that together they made a very fine argument in my mind. I became aware of them in the usual way— they burnt the secret incense and called my name. I watched their journey from there and decided over the course of three days that these would be my next beneficiaries.

So on the third day I pitched my camp where I knew they would land at sundown and waited. I readied a welcoming fire and warm food. I was excited to finally meet the trio face to face and hear their stories. When I could hear them approach the tent I emerged to greet them. They did not know who I was but each was glad for a warm place to spend the night which I offered. I held the tent door aside for them and smiled as they entered and I noted each of their faces. A young and handsome man who looked wan and very tired. His eyes had the sallow and sunken look of a lingering malaise. The second was a woman who carried herself like a young person, but who almost hid her face when I gazed upon her so that at first I mistook her for a crone. She had never been a beautiful person I could see. The third was a large man. Very large with burly shoulders and a thick neck who reeked of sweat.

I invited them to set their pack bags on the ground and take a seat with me. If you have ever been to my tent, then you know I like to lavish it with pillows and soft blankets and quilts that I have gathered from around the world. None of the travelers questioned the three pallets that were prepared for them. They sat their bags down and found their seats. I smiled and then prepared the wine.

“Thank you for inviting us, master—-?” The young man asked.

“You are most welcome,” I said. “Please call me Mentor.” I handed him a cup of wine.

He took it gratefully. “Thank you. And my name is Aaron. My companions here are Martha and Belek.”

“Belek son of Belek.” Rumbled the large man. I handed him a freshly poured cup.

“Thank you master Mentor. We have been traveling for several days now.”

“I can see that,” I said. “Would the lady like some wine?”

“I would.” She kept her face downturned. I thought that she kept the light from reaching her face somehow. When I handed her the cup she lifted her eyes and in them I saw an unusual depth. I have met many people in my very long life. I know the faces of insanity and depression, arrogance and pride. But what I saw in Martha’s was none of these. Hers was a face of brilliance despite its coarseness. Genius is difficult to hide as I had no doubt that she been hiding her entire life.

“So what brings the three of you this ways?” I asked, settling onto my pallet. I watched them glance to one another.

Aaron spoke first. “We are looking for the Wishmaster.”

I nearly choked on my wine. To hear it said that bluntly was very unusual to me. Nearly all of the people I have entertained had to be coaxed and well wined before they admitted their quest to me. I shall remember the way he said it to my dying days. I pulled myself together before I responded.

“All three of you are seeking the Wishmaster?”

Belek said “Yes.” Martha nodded.

“I had no idea people were still throwing their lives away looking for him.”

Aaron shrugged. “We believe that he exists.”

“And what wish is it that you want to be granted?”

The young man blinked and for the first time looked unsure of himself. I held my breath of course. I am not omniscient as some have theorized. I do not know what the wish will be until I finally hear it. I could feel my pulse pound to a crescendo in my ears.

“I cannot speak for Belek or Martha,” said Aaron. “But since you have invited us into your tent, I feel obliged to share with you my wish.”

Aaron sat up straight. I noticed that his frame was a very delicate one. This was not a physically strong man. I recognized in his speech a clearness of expression and good diction. Someone had educated him during his life.

“I wish for strength.”

“Ah,” I said. “Strength like Hercules?”

“No. Just strength to defend my people.”

“You don’t want to be able to rip an oak out of the ground? Hurl a boulder in the sky? Wrestle giants and the like?”

“No,” he said. Then he coughed very harshly and took another sip of his wine. “As you can see I am a sick man. I was born this way. I only want the strength to end this cursed sickness and be a man like my father and brothers.”

“You wish for strength enough to defend the ones you love.”

“Yes, master Mentor.”

I knew then that Aaron was worthy of a wish. I could see in his eyes, much as I saw in Martha’s eyes, a depth. But his was not one of great intellect but of dedication and fortitude. I wondered whose blood was in his veins that gave him such innate conviction. Allow me to mention again that he, despite his infirmity, was a very handsome man. No doubt some talented sculptor would find strong inspiration at his strong jaw, Roman nose, and blond locks.

“Well,” I finally said. “My wish is that you have great luck in finding this wish master and that he gives you what you seek. If he truly exists, that is.”

Belek shifted. “He does exist.”

“Oh?” I tilted my head at the big man. His shaggy mane nearly brushed the ceiling of my tent. Belek’s hands were so large that the wine cup was nearly lost from view. His breathing filled the tent like a smiths bellows. Under his brow I could make out two specks of light where his eyes gleamed.

My soul shrank. Here was a man who had known struggle. I saw within him a man who knew hard choices and a life of pain. But more than his eyes what told me all I needed to know were his scars and the calluses on his knuckles. His face and hands were crisscrossed with lines carved in battles or street brawls. I had known many Belek’s before I met him that night, and so have you. The petty criminal, the drunkard. The insolent swineherd who spends all his money on beer and wine. The gang member who never knew a good father and only raged for the world to see. But I also saw a penitent man. A man whose greatest wish (and one that is not within my power to grant) was most likely forgiveness for the wrongs he had done.

“Yes,” said Belek and drained his wine cup.

I refilled it for him. “And what is your wish, Belek son of Belek?”

The tent became very still. From the corner of my eye I saw Martha and Aaron glance at one another. I wondered if they knew what his wish was themselves.

“My wish,” said Belek. He stared into his cup. “My wish is to be a smarter man.”

“You do not think that you are intelligent?”

He shrugged. “Where I come from every body lies and steals from every body else. I was born of thieves and liars and I have been a thief and a liar. If I could be smarter then maybe I could change myself and maybe change the place I am from and make it better.”

Belek then placed his wine cup on the ground before him and extended both his hands toward me. His brow furled and the light in his eyes seemed to flare.

“These hands have done great harm to others, and so have done me great harm as well. I cannot change my past, but if all the strength that is in my hands and my arms could be in my mind…then maybe I could change my ways and make this world better. That is my wish.”

“Fascinating, Belek son of Belek.” I raised my cup to him and took a long sip. Penitent he was indeed—that is what I saw and that is what he said! Do not forget that, dear reader. I can see much in a mans eyes, but not nearly so much as he can willfully tell me himself. In this regard I am quite an average man. When Belek reached out his palms to me and displayed his scars any doubts I had were erased. I made peace with my decision in that moment.

All this to say, even I make mistakes.

“Do you want to know my wish, master Mentor?” Martha’s gaze was fixated upon me from the shadows. I met her stare and again was struck by the shear intelligence in that face.

“I would,” I said quite simply.

She dropped her gaze. “I am afraid that my wish will be the most selfish of the three of us. Both Aaron and Belek have very good hearts and they have spoken truly.”

I noticed then through the shadows a tightness form around her eyes. Her breathing became heavier and her pupils dilated. In that moment I thought perhaps that she had seen through my disguise and realized that I was indeed the Wishmaster. I have no way of proving it, and I never asked of course, but hear then what she said to me. Was this an answer to my question or a confession?

“I was never like the other girls. Friendship came so easily to them. You may think that in a poor village little girls have no reason to be cruel to one another, but towards me they treated me like I was an outcast. They didn’t like me not because I stole from them, but because I was different.”

Martha lifted her face into the light and I knew her wish then without her having to say another word. Her nose was bent perhaps from an accident of birth. Her cheeks sunken and spotted with moles. Her teeth crooked and gaped. The good lord had done her no favors in blessing her with such intelligence only to rob her of what should be every woman’s.

“Of course it wasn’t just my features that they feared,” she continued, drawing back into the shadows. “But irregardless my whole life has been spent in want of the love of others. Is it too much to wish that I be beautiful?”

“No,” I said. “Of course not.”

“I would give anything to change the way I look.”

My heart sank. “Anything?”

“Yes.”

That was that. I made sure they all had full cups and then excused myself. The night air was crisp and cool on my skin and I remember staring at the stars and asking myself the same question I ask every time after meeting the next recipient.

What will be the outcome?

“Master Mentor?”

I turned around to face Aaron. “Yes?”

“We are very tired and would like to try and sleep. Thank you so much for this hospitality—and the wine!”

The boy grinned.

“Aaron,” I said before he could leave. “You do you know the full story of the Wishmaster, I hope?”

He blinked. By the light of the stars his hair had a metallic sheen and his eyes glowed at the whites.

“I…think I do. One burns the secret incense and seeks him out and asks their wish.”

“His name is not actually Wishmaster, Aaron. A wish implies a gift that your heart yearns for. What the Wishmaster actually does is exchanges with you. He exchanges something that you have for something that you want. He will take away something that you didn’t even know you had, or know you wanted until after it is done. Then it is too late. There is no going back. Only death with separate you from your wish in the end.”

“I only want the strength to help those I love. The Wishmaster can take away anything from me and I would not care.”

I studied his handsome features one last time and then clapped him on the shoulder.

“Very well! I just had to make sure. Tomorrow will be more traveling for you so why don’t the three of your get some rest? I will stay out her only a moment longer.”

Aaron smiled. “Again, thank you for your hospitality.”

I watched him duck back inside before returning my gaze to the heavens. I could already hear the snores of what sounded like Belek. I had heard master lumberjacks make less noise sawing oaks. As soon as they were were all asleep my work was going to begin. They would awaken with their wishes fulfilled whether they liked it or not.

They were about to get what they wished for.

The morning came just as the one before: damp and slightly chill but with the sun breaking through the overcast sky to beam upon my little camp. I was stoking the flames of my fire with a stick and waiting for my kettle to boil. I glanced at the tent flap where the still sleeping pilgrims lay.

Every time is the same, I will be honest with you. Though no mans reaction I fear, there is a trepidation at what the receiver of my power will think. Will they be grateful or will they hate me? Just as I had told Aaron the night before I will tell you again. I do not give wishes though that is what they have called me. I merely trade sometimes with myself and oftentimes between others. One of the reasons I had decided to take up with these three was because they had seemed to complement one another so well.

I heard a stirring within.

“Come on out,” I gently called. “I have some tea for you.”

A shaggy head emerged from my tent and gazed out at me. What had been a large and ruddy face the night before….was still large and ruddy, but had now taken on a shocking hollow look which looked emaciated. The man ducked under the tent flap and sat beside me on a log. He was breathing heavily despite his recent rest.

Belek stared at his hands. “I feel so strange.”

“There is no wonder why,” I responded.

Belek son of Belek was now a changed man physically. I taken away his great strength and replaced it with Martha’s intelligence—only magnified. I watched him as he felt his new sickly body. He was no longer big and burly but instead long and gangly. His old clothes hung on his shoulders and he looked like a man who had not eaten or rested in some time. There was a haggardness in his frame which Aaron had born only a few hours before.

“You are the wishmaster,” he said. It was not a question.

“I am.”

He blinked. His eyes now held all the brilliance of a sage. I could see the wheels turning in his head.

“But that name is a misnomer. I am guessing that you merely exchanged attributes between me and my companions.”

“Um…yes. Not sure where the name came from but it is as you say.”

But the man was no longer listening. He was gazing into the fire and watching my kettle boil, lost in thought. I hastily grabbed the kettle and poured some tea for the both of us. I hoped I would have a couple more minutes with him before the other two woke up to their new lives.

“Belek,” I said. “You’re body is now different.”

“I know. I am now very, very, weak physically. It seems you have not only given me Aarons ailment but enhanced it.” He accepted the tea and stared at me over his cup as he sipped. “Why do such a thing?”

I had to suppress a shiver. This was the first moment where I thought I might have made a mistake. His eyes no longer had the cruel look which I had encountered the night before. Now he was cold, and calculating. I felt there was nothing I could say that would bother him. He was taking in data far faster than Martha ever had and examining each and every word that I said.

“It is how my magic works. There is no such thing as a free wish.”

“I understand,” he said finally after a pause. “But I wonder if she will.”

Martha stood before us, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

I caught my breath. Though I had cast the spell the dark of the tent had not allowed me to fully see my work until that moment. As her hand fell away from her face I beheld the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes upon. Her hair was no longer the color of straw but of gold, her face was the kind which made poets weep and married men burn. Her uglyness was gone and in its place was a new Aphrodite. A new Helen. One who (the irony is not lost on me) could start a war with but a glance at the wrong man, such was her beauty.

Martha sat across from Belek and I gave her a cup of tea.

“Good morning…” She looked at me. “I cannot remember your name…Mat?”

“Mentor,” I said. Despite my work I felt a bit of shame when I saw her eyes.

Though a beautiful shade of sylvan green, no longer was there that fantastic spark of intelligence. Her eyes were now dull, almost uninterested. She sipped her tea.

“You are looking weary, Belek.” She said. “Though I must admit that so am I. Have you always been that thin?”

Belek tried to respond with his usual rumble but instead wheezed and had a coughing fit. We waited for it to subside and then he continued.

“Praise God, Martha,” he said with a trace of sarcasm that was no doubt lost on her. “Our wishes have been granted.”

“How so?”

I was prepared. I produced a mirror from my cloak and handed it over to her.

For a moment all she did was stare at her reflection. I felt like I was waiting for my kettle to boil again. Finally she gasped.

“Is that me? But of course it is!” She stood up and swept her hair back, never taking her eyes off her reflection. It was as though Belek and I were not there. She would laugh one moment and then cry the next. She was speechless. Finally she sat back down and returned the mirror to me.

“Thank you,” she said. And I could feel real gratitude from her which I had noticed was absent from Belek. “But why do I feel so…so…”

“Slow?” Belek beat me to it. “Apparently we did not have any wishes granted so much as unknowingly made an exchange with one another. I now have your intelligence, and you seemingly have Aaron’s good looks. Presumably while the wishmaster was hosting us last night he sized us up and decided which attributes of ours would be the most amusing for him to swap around.”

“Is this true?” Asked Martha.

“Only partly.” I sighed. This is a common conversation I have with my pilgrims. “I did not choose the three of you out of amusement as Belek believes. I did not even choose which attributes of yours to swap. Your hearts did all the work.”

“Be that as it way, master mentor,” said Belek with a measured amount of scorn in his voice. “A warning might have been…kind.”

That was almost too much. I handed the mirror back to Martha which I knew would distract her as I stood. Being told about kindness from that brute rankled me to my core! What I had seen in his eyes only the night before would have disturbed even the weariest veteran. I made to find more wood for the fire.

The three of us sat in silence for some time. I had built the fire more and was watching the flames dance. Martha was gazing at herself in the mirror, and I could feels Belek’s eyes darting everywhere. At me, at Martha, to the tent where Aaron still was, to the sky, and all around us. I could only imagine what he was feeling. Out of the three of them I imagined his had been the most dramatic change. His mind was now exploring depths that he could never have guessed existed. What had once been a simple cottage of a brain was now a towering palace filled with untold chambers and hallways.

I started to prepare more tea as I heard Aaron begin to emerge from the tent, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Martha shrieked.

“I think there was something in that wine we had. I feel—“

The poor boy was unrecognizable. He started at Martha’s cry and even Belek let out a breath. Aaron’s face seemed like it had been twisted. His eyes peered at us where they belonged, but his mouth appeared to have been half melted as did the rest of his face and his skin was a reddish orange now as though burned.

“What is it?” he asked. Then he noticed Martha. “Good Lord, Martha. Is that you?”

“Yes it is,” she said. Her voice trembled slightly. “Mentor was the Wishmaster. He has given us what we asked for.”

“Really?” Aaron’s eyes shone with joy and he stood up straighter. “Actually I do feel stronger.”

“Why don’t you try out your new body, Aaron?” I suggested before Belek could speak. I knew the man wanted to bring him down immediately.

“How?” asked Aaron.

“Do you see that boulder over there?” I pointed at the far side of the clearing. There was a large rock covered in moss. It was larger than the four of us put together. “Pick it up.”

“That?” Aaron looked confused. What might have been a charming look the night before was now a hideous grimace. “I don’t see how—“

“Just try.” Belek surprised me when he spoke. He seemed to be very curious.

Aaron shrugged and walked over to the rock. At first he didn’t seem to know what to do. Then he bent down. Placed his hands near the bottom of the rock, and pushed.

Belek and Martha gasped as the boulder lifted smoothly into the air. Aaron grunted slightly and then let it drop to the ground where the sound of the smack reverberated under our seats and caused birds to fly squawking from the nearby trees.

“Incredible,” said Belek.

“Marvelous,” said Martha.

Aaron kept his back to us and stared at his hands. When he finally turned around he had tears in his eyes.

“Thank you, Mentor.”

“Do not thank him yet,” said Belek with a sound of triumph in his voice. “He has-“ but Belek had another coughing fit and could not continue. He looked as if he were about to faint and for the first time that morning I looked at the three of them and wondered whether I made the spell too strong.

“Remember last night I told you about the exchange, Aaron?” I said.

He walked over and looked me in the eyes.

“I am sure that what ever you took from me was worth the price.”

“Really?” I asked. In that moment I believed him utterly. Of the three of them I knew that his heart was the truest. He had wanted this wish granted only so that he could help his family. With him, out of the three of them, I have had the least amount of regret.

Despite his coughing Belek managed to point at the mirror in Martha’s hands. I nodded to her and she nervously handed it over to the boy. I held my breath as he brought it to his face.

Aaron gazed at himself for a full twenty heartbeats, and then handed the mirror back to Martha.

“A fair price, I think.” He sat beside Martha and warmed his hands on the fire. Despite his courage he seemed to sense that she was still staring at him in horror and so he drew his hood up and slightly over his face. It reminded me of when I had first met Martha the night before.

“Well,” I said, examining their faces. “Now that you have had your wishes granted perhaps you are imagining what life will be like for you now.”

Belek stared at me with a cold and raptor like gaze. Aaron’s now hooded visage peered at me with eyes still very trusting as he listened. And poor beautiful Martha, her lovely green eyes seemed to be watching me speak yet I was unsure whether she was following my meaning.

“I chose the three of you because I thought you deserved a chance. After speaking with you last night I was convinced that if anyone deserved to have a wish granted then it was the three of you. Perhaps you awoke this morning and were shocked by what you had become. I understand if that is so, and so before you leave, I want to you know that you can all return home just as you came if you so wish.”

“You mean you can change us back?” Said Aaron. “But last night you told me this was permanent.”

I nodded. “And even so you said you wanted your wish granted. But I did not tell this to either Martha or Belek. To be perfectly honest though, I always give my pilgrims a chance to change their minds the morning after.”

A very serious look crossed Belek’s face and he glanced at the other two. “What if only one of us want to change?”

“Well, that’s the snag. I can only revert all three of you, or none at all. As I explained to Aaron last night, I have not granted anything so much as exchanged and—“

“And enhanced, yes,” Belek finished for me. His face was looking sicklier by the minute but I could tell that his mind was doing somersaults as his thoughts raced. “And what if we would like this changed in the future? Could the three of us find you again?”

“I have never done that before,” I said. “I am giving you the opportunity right now. Who knows when I will be on this side of the world? Do you think I only grant wishes to this little country? There is a prince in Syria who I was thinking of paying a visit and also across the sea there is a tribe of people who…well, never mind about that just now.”

“But you could?” Asked Aaron. His hood slid down his head some as he spoke to me revealing his grotesqueness. I tried not to shudder. “You could you mean you just don’t normally do it?”

“Well, of course. I can do a great many things. If the three of you found me, and all three of you wanted to exchange your wishes back then perhaps I could see a way to allowing such a thing. But I have to say that it is highly unusually for anyone to suggest such a thing.”

“Mentor,” said Belek. This was the first time he had used my name. “What if one of us dies? Does our wish revert? Or are we unable to exchange them back in the future?”

There was something in his tone that shook me. His precise posture, the way he held his head in expectation of my reply, it were as though he were trying to convince me that he was a weak man and in no way a threat. What was he trying to convince me of? I am sure that the real intentions of his question went past Aaron and Martha who merely nodded their heads and looked at me expectantly.

“If one of you are dead,” I said slowly, careful to enunciate each word carefully. “Then there can be no later exchange with me—not that I have said that I would do it anyway. Death will only take the ability away from everyone’s grasp.”

The clearing was quiet then as each of my pilgrims contemplated our conversation. Martha seemed to be having trouble thinking through what I had said, while Aaron appeared as resolved as when he had looked in the mirror. Belek stared into the fire and through the smoke I thought I saw a twitch of a smile ghost across his face.

“I for one,” said Aaron, breaking the silence after some time. “Want to keep this wish. I now have all the strength I need to protect my family—and then some.”

“So your new features have no baring on how you see your future life?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Some,” he admitted. “But if the price to be able to protect my family is only this disfigurement,” he smiled and despite his hideous visage a light jumped into his face, “then this is a fair price. More than fair.”

“Me too,” added Martha. She still avoided Aaron but agreed with him. “This is what I have always wanted. More, actually…” she trailed off as she gazed at the trees. Suddenly the thought came back to her. “I know that I am not as quick as I once was, but if that is the price then I, too, accept it.”

“I see,” I said. I turned my gaze toward Belek. “And you, sir?”

Belek looked at each of us in turn before he spoke. He appeared to be getting some final information from each of us before assembling his thoughts. I thought that his gaze lingered on Martha’s features a shadow longer than either me or Aaron.

“I can feel my mind expanded in ways that I never thought possible before. Right now as I talk to you I am also looking back on my life as a criminal. I can see, hundreds—no—thousands of events that I might have changed had I just a fraction of the intelligence that I do now. Maybe I cannot change the past, but I think with this brain I can finally do as I want and change the world.”

“And what about your new body, Belek?” I asked. Again I felt I had misjudged the man. Right then he seemed so genuine, in fact I think that he meant every word he said! Do not judge me too harshly.

“Yes I am weak now,” Belek stared at his hands, no longer full and hard but grey with long slender fingers. “But that will be a small cost of the wonders I think I can perform now.”

And that was that. The four of us finished our tea and I prepared some breakfast for my pilgrims before their journeys back home. Each of them were lost in their own thoughts but when I handed out the porridge we talked some more. I asked them where they would go now and Martha was the only one who was undecided.

“I am not sure, Mentor,” she said staring at her bowl of untouched porridge. “I cannot really go home now, no one would recognize me.”

Aaron laughed. “Don’t worry, Martha. Your family will always recognize you no matter what happens.”

Martha looked concerned over his words. “Do you really think so?”

Aaron shrugged and ate a big mouthful of porridge as he responded with a full mouth. “Of course. Just tell them something that only you would know. It may take them a while to get used to the new you but I would not worry. Wouldn’t worry one bit,” he repeated.

“You have no worries about how your family will react when they see you?” Asked Belek.

“It will be a shock for sure,” responded Aaron. He looked up and met Belek’s eyes. “But they are my family and they will understand.”

“And where is your home, Aaron? You do not sound as though you are from near here.”

The boy now had the same concerned look which Martha had just a moment ago. Belek seemed to be trying to hide his interest in Aaron’s background but I could see that he was taking in information again. To what end, at the time, I really didn’t know.

“I am not from here, you are correct, Belek. I am from across the sea.”

“Ah, so you are Mertainian.”

“Yes.”

“You hide your accent well.”

“Thank you. It was a long trip here and I happened to pick it up from the sailors, I think.”

Belek left it there but once again I could see the gears moving in his head. Aaron clearly did not wish to discuss his homeland too much. I tried steering the conversation in other directions but the meal was almost done and the three pilgrims seemed eager to be on their way. They had few possessions besides their packs and so they were quickly ready to depart. Each thanked me well, I remember.

Belek hunched over me and shook my hand. “Thank you, sir. I hope to repay your kindness many times over to the rest of the world. I hope to make myself worthy of this gift.”

Aaron, his hood once more obscuring his face in shadow, nearly broke my hand in his mighty grip and had to apologize before speaking his gratitude. I smiled politely as I massaged my hand.

“Thank you so much, Wishmaster-I mean, Mentor! This new body means everything to me. I promise to only use it in the service of others.”

And lovely Martha, gently took my hand and kissed it. There were tears in her eyes as she softly spoke to me. “I really do not know where I will go now, but thank you for everything. I feel as though my life can truly begin now.”

I watched them leave my little glade in single file. Aaron now headed up the front with Martha close behind and Belek lagging slightly. I waited until they were out of sight to begin packing up my tent. As I worked my thoughts never left my pilgrims. I wondered about how they would find their ways back home, and what they would make of their new found lives. I knew that we would never meet again. For them, my use was at an end. But little do any of my pilgrims know that I will do a check up on them after some time has passed.

This time was different. This time I immediately followed each of them to see where their feet would take them. Do not ask me how I did this, but they were unaware of me the entire time.

Aaron, Martha, and Belek travelled together for three days following our encounter. That was long enough for them to leave the mountains and find civilization again. Here, at a crossroads they said their goodbyes and thanked one another for the company.

Martha began traveling west and a little south. I do not think that she really knew where she was going and, truth be told, I was slightly worried. But, the most miraculous thing of all happened to her.

She met a prince.

That is a story for another time, though. She probably thought that it was my magic that summoned him to meet her but alas it was merely good fortune. Some people really do get all the luck!

She had only walked a few hours after departing Aaron and Belek when a man on a horse trotted by her. The man began to say hello when his eyes found her face. He stopped dead in his tracks, pulling his stead to a stop.

“Can I help you, sir?” Asked Martha. She shielded her eyes from the sun and smiled up at him.

“Yes I…I mean no….” the man sputtered. He couldn’t seem to get his words together. “I’m sorry to bother you, my lady. I do not usually stop women on the road.”

“Oh I see,” she said. “Well, what do you want?”

“My lady,” the man actually blushed. He did not appear to be a person who was bashful, but I suppose my spell had been very strong indeed. “What are you doing here? “

“I am walking.”

“I can see that I—I mean the road is not safe for a woman such as…such as…”

Martha looked confused. “I don’t really know what you are trying to say, sir. A woman such as what?”

“The road is not safe,” he said slowly, clenching his jaw. “Especially not for the most beautiful woman in the world.”

The poor girl seemed confused for a moment and, if memory serves me well, I believe that she actually looked around her as if he was talking of someone else. It was adorable when she finally realized that he meant her.

“Oh, well, thank you, sir. Yes I suppose the road is rather dangerous.”

“May I ask where you are heading?”

“I don’t really know.” Martha sighed. “I thought about going home but I don’t think I can now. So I decided just to walk until I found somewhere that wants me.”

“Well why don’t you allow me to take you to the next village? On my honor I would not sleep well tonight knowing that I left you to walk all the way to town. Truly, the next town is still a distance aways.”

“Well…Alright.”

And so she accepted the princes hand and he hoisted her easily upon his steed to sit in front of him. Together the sped off down the road.

I followed Aaron to the sea. The journey took him another week from the crossroads where he bid his companions goodbye. He kept his hood up the entire time and didn’t speak to anyone except rarely. Once a day he would stop on his travels to test his strength somewhere in the woods. I could hear giant trees being ripped from their bases and flung to the ground. Each time he did this I reminded myself that he was quite a deal stronger than any I had granted similar wishes to before him.

As a rule I do not travel too much in towns or let alone famous cities. So once he reached his destination I silently bid him goodbye. I assumed that he would find a ship to bring him back home though I knew covering his face the entire time would be difficult.

As for Belek, well, I wished he could have shared some of Martha’s luck.

Less than a day after he waved goodbye to his companions the worst thing imaginable happened to him. He had been making progress to his destination-I assume the village he had told me about- very slowly. The mans body could not walk all day and so he had to make frequent stops. After several days he was nearing his village when he encountered two men on the road. He hailed them but they did not recognize him. He tried to explain that he was Belek and from their village.

I am sure that Belek remembered them, but the two men were at a loss and thought that he was insane. As Belek was trying to explain to them why he looked the way he did, one of the men struck him in the face. He dropped to the ground and the pair attacked him together. Belek cried out at first but under the blows he was quickly silenced. After some time the duo ceased the assault and checked his pockets for money. I knew that he had nothing and after making that same discovery the pair hefted Belek between them and tossed him in a ditch near the road. They covered his body with some earth and dry leaves and then left him there.

As you know, Belek lived. Eventually he crawled out of that ditch and made his way to another village where he received some care. I can’t help but wonder sometimes whether that attack is what precipitated all his actions afterword. Was that the impetus for all the evil he achieved later? Or perhaps that criminal mind had been made long before I exchanged his strength for Martha’s intelligence.

Whatever the case, that is my story. I will leave you there. Do not judge my actions too harshly, for you too will one day be judged.