The old man was still singing in a low voice when the boat reached St. Alaince in the evening. The horn of a turning boat pierced the silence of the woods beyond the river.
Uncle Ben and Jack were waiting for us on the jetty.
It was a foggy evening. It seemed to me that the river Torin stood still in that silence. There were not many people coming down there.
Jack and Uncle waved hands at us as we stepped off the boat.
I felt like I could hear the buzz of a blissful vacation all around me. The mind also woke up along with the eyes.
The old man who was singing on the duck also went down there with us. A Caribbean straw hat was on his head. A rare fragrance wafted from the bag slung over his shoulder. I stood on the ramp for a moment trying to identify what the scent was.
Jane had already reached her uncle's hand.
Jack ran to my side with a smile. "Welcome to the battlefield dear warrior."
"Battlefield?" My suspicious look amused him.
"Yes, isn't this world a battlefield, of the people fighting to live? All of us are warriors who are full of energy. We must stir this holiday season with a fierce struggle."
I was stunned to hear that..! Again I heard a storm of turmoil roaring around me. My expression of fear and doubt made him laugh.
"Don't fear warrior, this life is for fighting. It is not for dreaming and living lazily. If we want life to be positive, we have to fight. "
"Where to fight?"
"A great mission to gain supernatural knowledge and supernatural achievements, that is the struggle we have during this holiday season."
"Jack.., do I go back for the next boat?"
"Don't get angry my friend, When you know about it, you will be thrilled. Yeah, I am sure."
"What is it..?"
"It will be explained in detail. This holiday season of ours is a highly complex operation."
"What is this mission for, what is the goal, also tell me."
"A journey in search of the secrets of the universe..!" he said like a commander. "You will love and be fascinated."
"My God! I have come here seeking peace. Don't make a fuss about it, please."
"One cannot find peace if one dreams and indulges in them lazily, one has to take action with those dreams and make them come true. Only then will there be peace. Can we make our dreams come true and find peace?"
"What is your plan?" I asked a bit scared.
"This time our plan is hunting Satan."
"Hunting Satan? Then it will be a fun mission..! Will you have all the weapons to hunt down the illusory Satan?"
"Yes, a very powerful weapon, not a gun or a knife." He whispered the rest in a low voice. "Some secret rituals, which means, witchcraft..!"
"Oh my God...!" I glared at him as if I saw a Satan in front of me.
He laughed at my surprise.
"Yes, that's how we deal with Satan and ghosts. Jack the Magician is ready for it. Satan can't escape from me."
"Better let me go back now."
"You can go after we enslave Satan and become his masters through witchcraft and perform some miracles like Jesus."
I looked at him. He must have seen the doubt and fear on my face and laughed out loud. And a sigh of uneasiness rose from me.
Meanwhile, I remembered that old man. He was not hiding from the eye. I showed him to Jack.
"Jack, look, a rare scent came from the bag of that departed man. A very strange enchanted fragrance..!"
"When he passed by, I felt it too. It is the fragrance of the fluid emitting from the rock of the White Mountains of San Martin. It is used to hypnotize demons. He might be a sorcerer. Sometimes he has many Satan as servants." Jack said in a low voice, pausing for a moment. "Maybe he will be useful to us..?"
"How can he help us ?" I looked at him suspiciously.
Uncle was waiting for us impatiently on the other side.
"Shall we follow him ?" Jack watched him go. "He may be going to some netherworld or some Satan's castle. His slaves await him in that dark world. We can get a lot of information from that man for our Satan hunt."
I sensed that Jack's imagination was starting to wake up, or was he just kidding me? He is like this..! He doesn't need much time to turn night into day..! He can create things in an instant that I can't even imagine.
"Come on. let's go. Sometimes he is also a herbalist. He looks like a Caribbean man. It could be the scent of tropical herbs."
I ran to my uncle. And with that, he left the Caribbean man.
"Hey Mickey Dobbins, how's your baseball game going?" Uncle's voice rose. "How many home runs have you made by hitting balls?"
"When he hit, it's not the ball that flies, it's the bat." Jane's reply made Uncle laugh.
"He's a Yankee of tomorrow who will thunder on the field," said Jack.
"Yes, tomorrow's Babe Ruth." Jane smiled at me.
Uncle's car was speeding down the darkened street.
While Jane sat in the front with her uncle talking about family matters, we in the back discussed many things that had happened.
"How's your guitar practice? I asked. One of the main things he often talked about on the phone was his guitar lessons.
"Haven't I become a master? Will soon be playing in a symphony orchestra."
"In a symphony orchestra?" I was not surprised.
"Yes, with more than fifty artists. It will be composed by any famous composer. Sometimes a symphony by Beethoven or Mozart."
" Did you grow up so fast?"
"Art is creation. If it can be created, it can be easily conquered," he said casually.
'Did he reach such a great level? And that too in a few months?' I asked myself. Sometimes it seemed that this could also be a pastime of his. So I kept quiet, thinking I could ask more after watching his guitar performance.
Meanwhile, the car stopped in front of a store in the suburbs. Uncle had some groceries to buy. Jane also joined.
We both bought popcorn and sat outside.
"This said Satan hunting and witchcraft is not just a joke, we are going to do it. That's what our holidays are for." Jack said solemnly.
"Have you become a wizard?" I laughed. "So you can do many miracles?"
"This is done to gain the ability to perform miracles. Once we bind Satan, then we get the service of Satan. That means he will give us whatever we want..!"
"Sounds like a fairy tale?"
"Yes, it sounds like that, but it is a reality. There are those among us who work miracles in the service of Satan. But they won't reveal it, so we just don't know it."
"Do you know how to cast a spell to catch Satan?"
"I know, everything is learned. Now just put it into practice. It needs your help." He looked at me and smiled. "Our holiday with this funny task will be unforgettable. "
"Where did you learn this from?"
"I will tell you all that in detail, after going home."
"Is this spell performed at home? "
"No, it will be in a deserted area. On a moonlit night."
"In the moonlit midnight, in a deserted area...? " I looked at him. "Well, you will go alone in this game. Don't expect me."
"There is nothing to fear, we will carry out this mission with all security." he laughed.
"Where? In what desolation? In Dracula's castle?"
"Three weeks still on vacation? We can find a suitable place for it."
"Jack, we have to return home the next week itself."
He turned to me suspiciously. "Going back home next week? Then why did you come all the way here? I thought you would arrive last month. Anyway, I don't intend to leave you next week."
"But Jack?"
"No. Don't talk about it anymore. The next three weeks are devoted to our new mission of fun Satan hunting."
It happened exactly as I expected.
This time too I realized that Jack was leading me into some trouble. Into the mysterious darkness of Satan or the white nights of ghosts?
"I'm not into anything scary. I'm afraid of ghosts and demons."
"They are scary only in stories. It is because those who write it do not know about it. But actually, Satan is a good servant. He will do anything for his master. So we must be masters of Satan and take advantage of his miracles. That's what this spell is for."
It all seemed to me to be a waste of time. His imagination is higher than the sky. Nothing is impossible before Him. He is very interested in many supernatural things such as time travel, supernatural mysteries, ghosts, and spirits. So it did not appear to me to be a new thing that the idea of a devil hunt arose in his grandiose imagination..!
As he continued talking, Jane came running in, nibbling on a lollipop. Uncle also came behind.
The car moved.
He was saying many things about Satan in a soft voice.
Uncle and Jane in front were absorbed in the conversation and did not pay attention to what we said. They were engrossed in their subjects. Jane has a topic to talk for two weeks about the stories of Pap's full of funny mistakes that happened while fishing and wild duck hunting. The uncle who is a joker will spare food and sleep on such matters.
The car was moved roaring along the darkened village street.
The carriage was buzzing and galloping along the darkened village street. The scented dusk of the floral fragrance was dissolving in the darkness. In the silence, I could hear the swans howling, as well as the chirping of the birds. It seemed to me that a good time had come out of its curtain. Peace, tranquility, and happiness blossom there as multicolored flowers. I've already entered the garden. All the seasons bring peace around me there. Jane's cheerful voice, uncle's laughter, the beautiful magic world of Jack's illusionistic imagination, all the soul-stirring seasons. At that moment, I was at peace, leaving behind the last of the fears and worries that remained in my heart.