At the Forest’s Edge
Once upon a time in the middle of the fall, as the rain pattered down on the top of the old black shingled roof, a young boy named Jaakko was getting ready for bed as he pulled his Buzz Lightyear covers over his head. Years ago, Jaakko lost both of his parents in a car accident, so he was taken care of by his grandma. They have grown very close over the years and have become inseparable. Every night before Jaakko falls asleep, Dobrilla, Jaakko’s grandmother, comes upstairs and reads him his favorite bedtime story, “little straw bull,” tucks him in and kisses him on the forehead like a thousand soft feathers. Dobrilla always knew something was special about young Jaakko and knew that his purpose in life was far greater than any one person. Years went by, and Jaakko began to grow up. He is close to sixteen years old now, and Dobrilla knows that it is close to time.
Today is Jaakko’s sixteenth birthday; it is a warm spring day. Jaakko woke up like he normally does and headed downstairs to grab some breakfast. He walked into the kitchen where his grandmother was sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee. She looked at Jaakko and told him that today they were to go on a trip deep into the forest. She continued and said, “Oh, happy birthday too.” But first, breakfast. Jaakko ate a bowl of cereal, and once they cleaned up, they set off into the forest. Dobrilla was leading them deep into the woods with her carved walking stick that Jaakko notes she has had for as long as he could remember. They hike for hours over rough and rocky terrain deeper and deeper into the forest. After 3 hours, they finally came upon this massive tree trunk that was once a tree that seemly stuck up to the highest of clouds. The middle was hollow. Dobrilla turned and looked at Jaakko; she said,
“Jaakko, our family is very special, we come from a world that is not known to the average person. Your parents were once King and Queen of Izborsk but were killed by rebels which forced you and me to flee.”
Jaakko, looking dumbfounded, stood in silence. Dobrilla continued,
“it is said on your sixteenth birthday; the prince must return to free the people of Izborsk from the torment of the rebels. Today is the day young Jaakko; you must return.”
Just then, Dobrilla motions for the tree trunk with her walking staff, holds it in the air and whispers some words that were inaudible for Jaakko. The tip of the stick began to illuminate such a radiant and innocent white light, the trunk of the tree opened up in a great yellow hue. She took Jaakko’s hand and together, they walked through the trunk. With a powerful flash of light, everything went black for Jaakko.
Jaakko woke up laying on the floor of a forest with his grandmother leaning over him. He had trouble remembering what had just transpired but he knew he wasn’t in his small village anymore. Dobrilla exclaimed,
“come along Jaakko; we mustn’t take too long,”
they set off heading south towards the outskirts of Izborsk. Finally, they arrived at a hut at the very edge of the forest. This hut was the most modest hut Jaakko had ever seen. He noted that it looked old and decrepit, green moss blanketed the window pains and trim. They approached the front door and walked right in. Suddenly from behind the corner, a woman yelled, “Dobrilla!” With great excitement Dobrilla and the strange woman gave each other a warm hug. Dobrilla looked over at Jaakko and saw the skepticism that was across his face,
“Jaakko, this is my sister Nastya and together we will train you to develop your powers to defeat the rebels.”
All of this was a lot for Jaakko to take in, he never knew he had any special powers nor did he know his family was not mortal.
Jaakko’s training started at once, he began to learn the art of wizardry and studied for one year to perfect his magic. On his seventeenth birthday, his grandmother told Jaakko that in order to complete his training, he had to go through the wizard ritual which included a prayer and a saying of specific spells being placed on him around an open fire. That night Dobrilla and Nastya set up the open fire and began the ceremony. The process continued for several hours as both Dobrilla and Nastya said spell after spell. Just then, Dobrilla pulled out Jaakko’s very own staff and handed it to him,
“you are ready my child, we have prepared you with all of the tools you need to defeat the rebels, go now.”
Jaakko set off running through the forest towards Izborsk to fight the rebels. His grandmother informed him that all of the people in the city had been rendered powerless because the rebel group had taken all of their powers hostage; making them unable to leave. Jaakko approached the front gates of the city and promptly said his invisibility spell. He wondered through the streets without anyone giving notice. He saw people being treated like slaves, everyone wearing tattered grey clothing, covered in dirt with not a smile on a single person. He saw a little boy dragging a doll through the mud holding his mother’s hand looking as if he were in absolute despair. This is not what he envisioned of the city, especially after his grandma told him of all the beauty the city had.
Jaakko continued walking through the town when he eyes caught on a group of men walking down the dirt road wear all black clothing. They were causing terror on the people working as they were heading down the path. Jaakko knew that these were the men he had to defeat. He went into a nearby store and began to plot how he was going to reclaim the castle. Night fell, and Jaakko decided to sneak into the castle at night and slit the throat of all the men. He set off and worked his way through the streets of Izborsk like a thief in the night and used his invisibility spell to pass by the gate guard. Jaakko wound his way up the spiral staircase to the main bedroom floor of the castle and used his x-ray vision spell to see through the walls of the rooms. He was able to locate the men, and one by one slit their throats in their sleep. He continued to the top room in the castle where all of the powers of the citizens in the city was kept. He placed his staff on the capsule holding the powers of the citizens and him, being the rightful heir to the kingdom was able to lift the spell placed on the residents. Everyone rejoiced and Jaakko was perceived as a hero. Promptly, he was asked by the peoples of Izborsk to stay and be the king, but the condition with this offer was, he had to give up his life in the mortal world to stay. Jaakko respectfully declined and went back to the mortal world with his grandma. They went back through the tree trunk; Jaakko woke up in his bed and ran downstairs, there his grandmother sat drinking a cup of coffee, she looked at him and said, “Happy birthday Jaakko.”