The tree was just the beginning of the craziness.
When I stepped on the other side, I found myself in front of a village.
It was impossible.
How did I get from the tree to there?
How could it be hidden inside the woods?
I didn't understand, and didn't want to ask either.
'Welcome to the Kingdom of Crescendo,' Russell said with a huge smile on his face.
The village was full of people, walking from one place to the other. Some selling, others buying, and some just enjoying a walk. Everyone smiled and some even sang.
What is this place?
The houses were all connected, all made of brick, painted in different colors. The plants were intertwined with the constructions and became part of their decoration. The streets mixed stones and grass. The air was filled with the scent of flowers.
This was a hidden paradise.
'Are you all right?' Russell asked me.
'I don't understand how this is possible, it's so... beautiful.' How could all of this be hidden at plain sight?
'It's magic.'
'Yes, it feels like magic.'
'No Milaia, it is real magic.'
'What do you mean? Magic is not real.' Was he joking? Did he think I was stupid enough to believe that sort of explanation?
'Yes, it is. The tree is the entrance, it opens the way to the Kingdom. When we want to go out, we do the same, we touch this tree again. We are under a kind of giant balloon, we are invisible to the eyes of others. It is real magic.'
I couldn't respond to that.
The shock was drawn all over my face. Was there any truth in what I had learned? Or had it all been a lie? How could they forget to mention that magic was real?
What else had been kept from the people of Bieno, and more importantly, why?
Russell took my hand once more and showed me the way home. His hand felt strong, like I could feel the hard work on it.
All those people who were singing and enjoying their lives stopped maybe for a second or two to study me and try to find out where I had come from.
Come to think of it, I would have been surprised myself if I saw someone walking the streets in obviously too big hunting clothes.
My savior noticed the stares and quickly covered me with his cloak. This gesture wasn't flirtatious, I don't think so. I guess it was to send a message, explaining that I was not a bad person, that I was a friend. And that, I dare say, I was under his protection.
I soon realised how different Crescendo was from what I was accustomed to see every day. No one was suffering.
It was as if that whole Kingdom was one big family. A family that overcame battles and war and moved on in the best way possible. Nothing that was said of that place resembled reality.
The road led us to a very peculiar house. It was built of yellow stones that shone with the sun. As I watched Russell stop, I figured that this was his home.
The house had an inexplicable charm, it looked like a beautiful house inside and out.
We approached the door and he carefully knocked three times. He looked at me and smiled nerviously. He was definitely charming without trying.
At first, I suspected that no one was home, until the sound of movement was heard, coming from inside.
A woman opened the door. When she saw me, her distrust immediately aroused, but the second she noticed Russell's presence, she threw herself over him to embrace him with intensity.
'Where have you been?' she said, squeezing him harder. 'It took you more than two days to go hunting. I was so worried,' I assumed she was his mother because after the embrace, she punched him slightly on the shoulder. 'Don't you ever do that to me again, alright?'
I remembered my mother for a minute and how happy she was to see me every day too, it was the best feeling, knowing that someone cared so much about you.
'Ouch. I'm sorry, okay? Something came up,' he said, looking at me with complicity. 'Someone.'
'Yes... it was my fault entirely. I'm so very sorry, my name is Milaia. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss,' I told her, offering my hand which she quickly shook. I studied her for a few seconds.
Her big wavy hair was not something common, she had a feline look to her. She was practically identical to Russell, the same grey eyes. Small and curvy, this woman proved to be the best contradiction to all the legends I had heard and which I had left behind definitively, as if it was a prejudice that several circumstances had managed to overcome.
'A pleasure to meet you Milaia, my name is Cara, and if you are a friend of my Russell you are a friend of mine. Welcome to my house,' taking my hand, she invited me in.
A high ceiling and a floor covered with beautiful stones were what first attracted my attention. It was circular in shape, which allowed all the rooms to be connected to the main room where there was a large table. I counted about six doors that suggested rooms behind them. Everything seemed beautiful to me, from the floor to the flowers that decorated the main table. Not only were there colors and decorations, but there was a homey warmth I hadn't witnessed in a long time.
'It's so beautiful,' I said, still surprised. Cara looked at me sweetly and nodded her head in agreement.
'It's not quite done yet. Two of the rooms need repairs, but his brothers are working on it,' she said, guiding me to a chair while Russell, after leaving the deer outside, ran into a room.
Cara sat down next to me and, still holding my hands, began to tell me a little about her life.
'You know Milaia, after the war came, many of us had to leave our home. Our First Commander ordered us all to escape to this place. The King had left it ready in case we were ever discovered. It was hard for us to leave everything behind, but we knew it was for our own good. Coming here, it was as if our life had begun again. When the King died many died with him, not only physically but also in spirit. But this place, this place was our new beginning. This Kingdom is a new beginning for everyone,' she paused for a second and remembered that I was still a stranger beyond the trust her son had shown in me. 'So where do you know Russell from? Did you meet him in the woods?'
'I... well...'
'Mother, I think you've talked to her enough for one month,' Russell interrupted, saving me once again. 'Why don't you let her rest for a few minutes? At least until dinner.'
'Son, dinner is ready,' she said, pointing to some pots in the kitchen, which was right next to the big table.
I hadn't noticed it before, but the spoons were moving by themselves.
The soup was cooking itself.
It would take me some time to get used to magic.
It was not something that could be easily accepted.
Magic was real.
Crazy.
'I don't think so,' he smiled, pointing to the main entrance. 'A deer is waiting outside, courtesy of our Lady Milaia'.
Cara looked at me in surprise. I thought she was going to say what I had heard my whole life, "That is not how a lady should behave".
I waited for it, but incredibly, it didn't come.
'Oh Milaia!' She exclaimed, hugging me. 'Do you know how long it's been since my son hunted something? I'm so grateful that you helped him. I mean, he is a charm of a lad, but he is so bad at hunting,' and rising quickly, she moved a finger and a kitchen knife accompanied her to the entrance.
I had never seen anything like it.
Crescendo kept surprising me.
Russell waved me over, even though I wanted to keep looking at the levitating dishes.
He guided me into one of the rooms.
As I entered, he closed the door and whispered angrily.
'What my mother said... please, I...' without listening to him I started to laugh. After a few seconds he started laughing too. 'Hunting is not my thing,okay? Not my thing at all, and the fact my mother says it makes it even worst,' he said with laughter.
'How lucky you are that you found me then! It was about time you were no longer a joke,' I said, laughing, until I stopped when I saw his face change. 'Oh Russell, I'm sorry I said that, I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so sorry.'
'No, it's just that, you're right, I am a joke,' he said as he sat up on the bed.
'No, you're not,' I denied, sitting next to him.
'Milaia, I have three older brothers who do everything for this family, even my younger sisters contribute more than I do with their magic tricks.'
'Maybe you feel that way because you haven't found your gift yet,' I took his hand and wished that he could find it. 'You must not lose hope, and do not think you are less than others just because you are walking a different path.'
There was a silence in the middle of our conversation. It was a strange moment. We were holding hands, but there was something else.
I felt a connection, something that I had never experience before. It had never happened to me before with anyone.
I convinced myself that it was only because he saved me.
But deep inside, I knew that it was something different.
He was different.