TALMAN TALES - NEW WORLD ORDER

  Chapter 2 – A Truly Magical Girl

  One day, I set out on a journey to the neighboring village. I had no idea how long this adventure would last, nor did I really know how to even get there. I had heard that there was a martial arts school in the settlement of K?nigsgraben, and my goal was to go there and become even stronger.

  Without any real plan, I simply followed the road leading out of my home. As many of you can probably guess, I got lost. But as it would later turn out, this little detour worked out pretty well for me. It was a hot summer’s day with temperatures over thirty-five degrees Celsius, but that didn’t make me any less determined to set out on my journey. However, without water and provisions, this was far more dangerous than my eleven-year-old mind could grasp, and so the inevitable happened: after three hours of walking, I collapsed from exhaustion for the first time. I felt like a turtle lying on its back in the desert, slowly drying out.

  But I couldn’t just throw my life away. As far as I knew, I was meant for something greater, so I pulled myself together, even though the sun was burning down on me and every step made my exhaustion worse. I had to become stronger, no matter the cost. After all, I still had scores to settle. My dream wasn’t going to fail because of some pathetic sun, so I kept going, even though every part of me wanted to stay on the ground. Like I said, I wasn’t allowed to die before the men responsible for my suffering had been brought to justice.

  After all the setbacks I had gone through over the course of just half a year, the heat couldn’t really do much more to me. I had already endured worse. But even with everything I had gone through, I would have done anything for a single bottle of water. Still, that was only a minor detail. My mind was driven by hatred and the desire for strength. Those were the only things I had left. Step by step, I continued my adventure.

  Eventually, the inevitable happened again, and I collapsed under my own weight a second time. My strength was at its limit. No matter how strong my will was, my body refused to follow.

  After what felt like half an hour of crawling forward on the ground like a snake, I lost the last of my strength and stayed down for good. My fate was sealed.

  But my luck didn’t abandon me. I woke up at the side of the road, lying in the shade. A passing merchant had found me and carried me to safety. I hadn’t experienced kindness like that since my parents had died. It strengthened my belief in the reason why I was enduring all these hardships, and I found new courage. The merchant handed me two bottles of fresh spring water and an apple. I thanked him, of course, but I refused, because I couldn’t pay for what he was giving me. The man immediately grew angry and shouted at me:

  “BOY, ARE YOU STUPID? I DON’T WANT YOUR MONEY, I WANT TO HELP YOU, YOU IDIOT. SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE AND TAKE WHAT I’M GIVING YOU. I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH, BUT THERE ARE STILL PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD WHO CAN’T JUST LOOK AWAY AND LEAVE A CHILD LYING ON THE STREET IN THIS HEAT!”

  Shocked that there were still good people left in this society of hatred, I burst into tears and threw myself into the merchant’s arms. With pure bliss, I opened one of the bottles of water and devoured the apple. I can’t put into words how heavenly that felt. Before the merchant continued on his way, he told me his name. His name was Bastian Le Favre.

  After regaining my strength, I resumed my path toward K?nigsgraben, still without any real idea where exactly I had to go. After another hour and a half, I finally saw a sign that read: “K?nigsgraben 30 km.” Only thirty kilometers left to my destination. But as the day went on, the sun burned even more relentlessly on my head, and before long, the second bottle of water was empty. There were still about twenty kilometers to go, and I clung to every single drop of water I could find. Bastian Le Favre’s gift couldn’t be for nothing—I had to make my dreams come true and do everything I could to become stronger.

  And so I fought my way forward until only about two kilometers remained. Step by step, I pushed on. But in the end, I succumbed to the sun a third time. I collapsed again, lost consciousness, and lay there.

  This time, I was sure it was over for me. No water, no food, my strength completely spent—I finally gave up. I closed my eyes and sizzled away like one of Herr Rosenberg’s schnitzels. My willpower might still have been strong, but my body had long since given up.

  In the realm of the dead, my parents were waiting for me. They looked much younger than I remembered, and their eyes were full of pride. I ran toward them and started to cry, because I had failed my mission and fallen miserably short. We barely managed to exchange a few words before my father said:

  “I think our time together here is over. It seems you’re still needed. I believe in you. You can achieve anything, because you’re my son. Your willpower does you honor, my boy. So go and fulfill your dreams. You are truly meant for something greater.”

  And with that, I woke up with a jolt on the farm of an old man who had resuscitated me. Completely confused by what had just happened, I asked him if I was already dead. He answered proudly:

  “No, thanks to this girl here. She found you on her daily walk and brought you to me. I’ve been resuscitating you for over an hour and a half now, thankfully with success. I couldn’t have borne letting a boy like you die. You were incredibly lucky, kid. My name is Do-Mi Bi-Shi-Zu, by the way, and that girl over there calls herself Aurelia.”

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  I was overjoyed and devastated at the same time. On the one hand, I had once again felt my father’s protective hand and my mother’s comforting warmth. On the other hand, I was alive again thanks to a helpful man, and I could continue to chase my goals and dreams—to avenge my parents and protect other families. This journey had restored my faith in the good that still existed in humanity.

  But this journey was far from over. In fact, it was only just beginning when Do-Mi offered to let me stay with them. I gratefully declined his offer and explained that I needed to grow stronger and was looking for the martial arts school in the village of K?nigsgraben. At that, Do-Mi broke into tears.

  I had no idea why. He left the room, and I didn’t see him again for the rest of the day. I wondered why he had suddenly had such an emotional outburst and wanted to apologize.

  But his wife, Li-Sa, got to me first. She sat down at the table with Aurelia and me and started a deep conversation with us by telling us about Do-Mi’s past. The things she told us about his life were harsh, and they moved me to tears. I felt horrible, because with a single sentence I had dragged all that pain back to the surface for this man who had taken care of me as if I were his own son, even though he had only known me for half a day.

  I listened closely to what Li-Sa said, and that’s why I don’t want to keep this story from you:

  “You have to understand, Do-Mi had a close connection to that martial arts school. When we first came to this land twenty years ago, he already dreamed of becoming a recognized sensei there. He worked on himself every single day, and when he finally passed the exam to become a sensei, he was overjoyed. That was about fifteen years ago, and for many years after that, everything was perfect. His life’s dream had come true. He could finally pass his knowledge on to the next generation. He quickly became a respected sensei in the region, and his hard work paid off. His students were almost always among the strongest.

  But that joy, too, came to an end. One day, his strongest student at the time, Artemis, decided to give in completely to his hatred. It was a normal day for Do-Mi—or at least almost normal, because that day he arrived late to the school for once, as I had asked him to help me with something. Those twenty minutes were all Artemis needed to lose control over himself and his strength and to brutally slaughter the entire school along with the other senseis. You should know that this boy suffered from extreme anxiety. On top of that, because of his insomnia, he barely got any sleep, and his mind was badly affected by it. Do-Mi was the only one who could help him get through those episodes. But by then, it was already too late.

  When Do-Mi arrived, Artemis was in the middle of eating one of his colleagues’ arms. He immediately tried to stop him, but Artemis knew his strengths well and bolted the moment he saw Do-Mi. And so my husband, thanks to me, was left standing in a hall full of blood, surrounded by all his students and colleagues he had grown to love with all his heart over the years. They were lying dead on the floor. They weren’t just dead—they had been mutilated. Every man was missing his left hand and exactly three toes, and every woman was missing her right leg, all of her teeth, and her ears. Do-Mi had never seen anything like it, and he fell into a deep depression.”

  This story was horrifying to me—and yet so familiar. It was exactly like what had happened to my parents. My father had been missing his left hand and exactly three toes; my mother, her right leg, her teeth, and her ears. There was no way that was a coincidence.

  The night passed, but I couldn’t find any sleep, because I heard Do-Mi crying terribly the whole time. My conscience tormented me, knowing that I had dragged these memories back up. Aurelia had the same problem. Even though none of this was her fault, she, too, was worried about Mr. Bi-Shi-Zu. And so the two of us grew closer, spending those sleepless hours learning more about each other.

  I told her the whole story of my suffering, the burden I carried with me every single day. And I also learned a lot about her. She possessed magical powers. According to my father, every human can potentially awaken magical abilities, but you have to be born with the gift for magic. The chances of that are about one in a billion. Because of these powers, she was cast out of her village. Her parents were executed in public, and she was forced to watch the entire spectacle. In front of the whole village, she was denounced and humiliated. Even though she had only ever wanted to use her magic to help, she was punished and crushed into the ground.

  No one accepted her. Contempt and disgust were part of Aurelia’s daily life. No one wanted to have anything to do with her, no matter how hard she tried to use her magic for good. Every time, people tore her down and rejected her. Everyone except one man—someone who accepted her just as she was: Do-Mi. Three months ago, he took her in with open arms and, after her parents, was the first person who didn’t despise her.

  Our conversation lasted the whole night, and even Mr. Bi-Shi-Zu’s sadness faded a little into the background. Eventually, morning came. Do-Mi, who had calmed down somewhat by then, sat at the breakfast table with Li-Sa, Aurelia, and me. The mood was strange. Do-Mi broke the silence and said:

  “Zeki, please don’t feel bad. Your words made me drift into my memories. I can tell you’re torturing yourself over me, that your mind is spiraling because of my story. According to my wife, you already know what happened to me, so it’s only polite that I ask about your story as well. The same goes for you, Aurelia. I want to hear yours, too. Both of you are special people, certainly with special backgrounds. And I can see in both of you an especially strong kindness. That’s why I want to offer you my help. I ask you—let me train you. Dark times are coming, and when that happens, we will need strong warriors who can stand against them. Your strength can surpass Artemis’s and climb far beyond, because unlike him, you already possess the most important requirement: your eyes are fixed on the future, and in that gaze I can see hope shining.”

  Aurelia and I looked each other deep in the eyes and both agreed to his offer. Mr. Bi-Shi-Zu seemed genuinely happy about that. But now it was time to share our pain with our new sensei and tell him about our goals and dreams.

  Aurelia’s goals were just as ambitious as mine. She dreamed of peace for all of humanity and of bringing joy to people with her magic. She wanted to unite humanity and finally eradicate hatred so that no one would ever have to endure the same fate she had. I, too, told him about my suffering and that Artemis had already mutilated my parents in the same way. I explained my dreams to Sensei, starting with my childhood wish of becoming a police officer. But my true goals were similar to Aurelia’s. Becoming stronger was the foundation I needed to protect humanity from such cruel acts, to put an end to the hatred in this world, to bring peace, to honor my parents, and to heal the wound buried deep in my heart. I hoped I could achieve all this with Sensei Bi-Shi-Zu’s help.

  Mr. Bi-Shi-Zu seemed deeply moved by our goals. And so the training began. He immediately started preparing everything, and after about two hours, he called us over.

  

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