"Oswald? Oswald!" Ms. Minchin is shouting at the top of her voice. Again, she is getting angry of Oswald Mac Gregor, her husband's son with his first wife.
"Yes, miss." Oswald came up with his head bowed. Hearing his stepmother shout like this, he knows that he is in trouble.
"How many times do I have to tell you that when I call you, you should respond as fast as you can?" Ms. Minchin raised her left hand to her waist. In her right hand is a stick. "I should teach you a lesson, otherwise you will never learn." Then she raised the stick and whip Oswald on the butt. Crack! Crack!
Oswald bit his lower lip. He can feel the whip land on his butt. It's so painful, yet he cannot complain. He knows that the moment he shouts because of pain, that whip will be raised higher and hit heavier. He just have to endure. Anyway, the pain will not last for so long.
Crack! Crack! Oswald's tears are threathening to fall, but he did his best to put them back in. Mrs. Minchin hates to see him crying.
Crack! Crack!
In his effort to forget the pain brought by the whip, Oswald tried to remember his mother's face. Ah, that pretty face that of a goddess, one that smiles when she sees him happy and one that cries when she sees him sad. His mother is the best. How he wished that she is still with him this time. If only she lived longer.
After the long repeated beatings, Oswald's butt became numb. He then limped to his room in the attic and sat on a corner. He cannot remember how long he sat there but his tears kept falling down his cheeks.
Slowly, he crept to the box that contains his mother's memories. Digging through his mother's stuff and gifts, he held the pouch that she gave him moments just before she disappeared. He pitied himself. "No one loves me. No one loves me," he kept muttering to himself. "How I wish mom is here. How I wish I would see her again one last time."
Swishhhh! Suddenly, a carpet fell down right infront of him.
Ha? Oswald was surprised.
Curiously, he touched the carpet. Fwip! The carpet flew out of his reach.
Aw! The carpet seems to play with him.
"Hahaha!" Oswald laughed loudly. He reached the carpet once again but it dodged.
"Aha!" Oswald exclaimed and chased it around the room. However, it was too fast for him to catch. In Oswald's desire to catch the flying carpet, he did not notice that the pain in his butt brought by the long, repeated beatings was gone. He also forgot his sorrows and painful heart.
When he got tired, the carpet motioned him to ride on top. Oswald obediently rode.
Whooshhhh! The carpet flew outside the attic's window. Then it rose higher and higher up to the clouds. Oswald can see their house getting smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely. Oswald cannot believe what is happening to him. It was so fast that he thought that he is dreaming. He blinked twice. However, the house is not really within his eyesight.
"Dad...Minnie..." He whispered. At times like this, the first people that he remembers are those who are dear to him, his dad and his younger sister. Normally, his stepmother, Mrs. Minchin does not concern him too much. She has always been so cruel and hard on him for reasons that are unknown. His dad never told him any reason for his second wife's behavior. He felt sadness creep into his heart. Will I see my father and my little sister again?
Looking around, Oswald began to realize that he is indeed not dreaming. He is flying high up in the sky. All he can see now are clouds all around. Where is this carpet bringing him? He is unsure yet. He held his purse tightly. He cannot understand everything that is happening yet. All he can remember is that he wished to see his mother again. He misses her so much. However, this magic carpet appeared in an instant and flew him up in the sky.
"Where are we going?" he asked the magic carpet.
No answer. They just kept on flying.
He looked around for the second time. He is still surrounded by clouds. Everything around him is white.
Ahhhhh! He yawned. He feels sleepy now. He closed his eyes and slid to sleep.
An hour later…
Oswald opened his eyes and realized that he is inside a room. He looked around. This room is grand. Unlike his room in the attic, this room is filled with everything that a person, no not a normal person, needs. This seems to be the room of a rich kid. Wait, not just a rich kid. Perhaps, a prince. The floor is heavily carpeted.
He is lying on the bed in the middle of the big room. He sat down on the bed and crouched on one side while figuring out what is happening to him right now. He looked around. The bed that he is sitting on is akin to what he sees in movies. It is huge and rectangle in shape. He looked at the headboard and was surprised at the style. This bed has a very high headboard that reaches up to the ceiling. The headboard design is very intricate. The main frame is gold-plated but the three big round shapes on it are colored blue, matching the bedsheet draped on the bed. He felt the foam where he is sitting on. It is very soft.
His eyes traveled from the bed to the small round table on the side which has similar color with the color of the main frame of the bed. It is also gold-plated. The table is as high as the bed itself. On top of it is a rustic lamp producing an illumination for the whole room. The oval lamp is beautifully crafted. Its frame is also gold-plated and the other parts of its body are made of glass. Staring at it, he saw that there are inscriptions on the frame. Curious, he crawled towards it and drew closer.
Monstranus cardi lobus tomus. To my dear Oswald…
That's the inscription. He frowned. What kind of language is this? Where am I? Who possesses the same name as me? Who is this Oswald whose name is inscripted on the lamp?