Winter Travels

Little piece of my first chapter

Sun kissed the horizon in the west and green plains turned red when Lulu loosened himself off his pony in front of the gates of garden. Ride was long from his village, milliton to the holy garden- rest-house of dead. Lulu tied the pony next to the wall from where he could see the largest tree in garden, larger than he had ever seen in 17 years of his life. It canopy appeared red in setting sun from behind.
Lulu headed for the tall metal gates, tried to push them open but they were stuck hard, and how wouldn’t they, gates were rusted from top to bottom, barely any paint remained on them, who knew how old were they. Lulu cleared his throat, “hello!” He called out as loud as he could in his gloomy voice but no one returned his call. He tried once again with more strength of his shoulder and metal gates slightly shifted inwards. He managed to push his way through the narrow gap, skinny body of his came in handy somewhere.
Lulu could not see anyone but the flower beds on both sides of gravel pathway that stretched from his foot to all way across the garden, to the large tree. As he walked walked down the gravel path he noticed odd plants in garden beyond the flower beds- one of had no leaves but thick claw like thorns, another plant had bright yellow inverted bell like flowers which glowed bright under yellow light of lanterns hung along the gravel. Lulu could not help noticing some pair of plants which were entangled in pairs like newly wed couples, another strange plant was the one Lulu thought moved when it saw him coming, it was purplish looking with big bulb at the bottom which resembled someone’s face and his purple hair like leaves were well groomed. Their must be someone who maintains this garden or everything happens itself here? Lulu knew, things don’t happen own their own, normally but Lulu’s grandfather(mother’s side), Roza who was nibblin too, just like Lulu’s mother, told him how powerful spells lied on this place. Lulu grew up with his grandfather in village of common men but he never missed on the tales of nibblins from his grandfather. How his grandfather was once stuck in a mud giant’s nostril or how Lulu’s mother almost fell from her flying crib when she was a child. Lulu often asked his grandfather to move to eryndore among their own kind but he always refused to leave milliton and spent 15 years of his retirement in an unfamiliar place among strange humans. But he always told Lulu, they would go together to eryndore once he completes his school, now when school was finished his grandfather left him own his own.
Lulu was remembering all this and soon found himself standing next to the tree, he climbed the stairs on the circled platform laid around the tree. Among many lit candles on the platform, lulu placed his candles too.
He got onto his feet it was very quite, he could listen the burning of candles and even his own long breaths. In midst of this silence he heard a fluttering sound from behind, he turned around and got transfigured into a stone statue out of fear. A giant bird looking beast was staring him all this time from behind, lulu’s eyes remained wide opened. Oakling was what nibblins called it, he had seen a few before but from a very very safe distance. Although they don’t live on oaks but myths told they were once oak owls and for the protection of Nibblins heavens turned them bigger and stronger. It’s beak was size of a sword, just one peck it would take to tear Lulu into half and then mince him like mutton.
“Feed him” a slow but clear voice crawled Lulu’s Ears. He turned his stony head to the left and found an old nibblin in a shaggy black robe and white head turban. He wore half circle glasses over his blobbed nose ,straightened thin silver beard danced over his chest when he talked. His head on the other hand barely had a few strands of hair.
He calmly repeated his words “feed him. They are always hungry”
Lulu nervously put his hand in his bag, tied to his belt and pulled out a some wrapped beef. Lulu with his shaking hands tossed the beef in air and oakling snatched it at the very instant. Seeing it eating, another oakling jumped flapping down his wings from the tree. Lulu now knew out it felt to be a chick or next to two fighting owls.
“Hooosh” barked the old nibblin swinging his cane over his head “haaa!! Go away!!up you go, up you go!!” And to Lulu’s surprise the Oaklings did obeyed the old nibblin who was even shorter than him.
“Don’t mind them, we are lacking on good meat these days” said the the old nibblin lowering his cane.
“Are they your- uh- pets” asked Lulu dimly.
“Ahh nay nay, Our ancestors might have tamed them but I prefer not to. We have summoned them as guardians. You know what foulness is stirring in south these days since goddess of south died. Not long ago some of those beasts tried attacking the garden in midnight. I summoned the guardians, very next morning. Don’t know how long they can protect us. May the heavens have mercy upon this realm of mortals” he said and sighed in despair.
“Ohh! How forgetful of me. Good evening, Myself Valdeus Voldo, I am gardener and the priest of this garden” he continued.
“Good evening” Lulu said formally returning to life once more. “Lulu Winters, I come from Milliton to see my family cabinet” he told Mr. Voldo, just the way he was told to do by his far cousin, Kanta on his grandfather’s funeral.
Mr. Voldo nodded softly in response and headed towards an old cottage in the corner of garden. Lulu followed.
Cottage opened with cloud of dust inside, it’s windows were cracked, in a corner lied a cluster of old rusty garden hoes, mended iron buckets, some broken shovels accompanied with other gardening tools, all bathed in dust and cobwebs.
“Here” said Mr. Voldo as he stood on a clean white marble square in the corner of cottage.
“Where did you come from,master nibblin, i almost forgot”, asked Mr. Voldo, very formally.
“Milliton, sir. But my grandfather was from eryndore and so was my mother” lulu replied as he stood next to him on the platform.
“Eryndore it is then” Mr. Voldo replied calmly, “ hold tight” he added but didnt tell hold on what, next thing Lulu remember, mr. Voldo pulled a rope next to him which oddly resembled a tail.
He said “Floor 17!!” Out loud, before lulu could blink or think, marble platform fell into the ground all of a sudden. Lulu could not comprehend, what just happened. With a sharp steam whistle- next moment lulu stood seventeen floors under the cottage. His eyes were wide open in shock, tongue rolled in his mouth stopped his screams to escape his throat.
“That would be your stop, master nibblin” replied mr. Voldo, off loaded Lulu in front of an entrance and took the platform up again, leaving a void behind. Lulu leaned forward and found a dark hole going further down and down, who knows how deep.
He pulled himself back before the tunnel would swallow him whole. He turned around to see where he was, it were two big dark wooden doors and torches burning beside them. ‘FLOOR 17, Incharge- Dian Homper’ engraved on a brass plate on the tall wooden doors. Lulu stepped forward and pushed the doors, unlike the metal gates in garden they open smoothly with sound of a small tinkling bell. Lulu entered a wide dim lighted hall, all he could see were dim lamps and under them were wooden shelves, more than lulu could tell, arranged in rows, going from few steps ahead to who knows how far. End of the hall was not visible anyways.
It was far colder here than the garden and his long cotton robes were not helpful. Lulu gulped, moistened his dry throat and called out loud “hello!”, without any due he was answered.
“Shhhhhh!!” another old nibblin shushed him who sat right next to the door on a desk made on a tall wooden platform. This one looked somewhat younger than Mr. Voldo and wore a bright blue robe patched with shiny silver stars all over it.
“You mustn’t shout near the resters, boy” he snapped at lulu and climbed down the wooden stairs from his desk.
“I- thought- I- M’ sorry, sir”
“Dian homper” older nibblin told him.
“Pardon me, Mr.- Homper”
“How may I assist you” asked Mr. Homper removing his thick glasses
Lulu mentioned his reason for visit and Mr. Homper once again climbed the stairs To get to his desk, Lulu accompanied him. Lulu begun to mention his mother’s name- mala, his grandfather’s name- Roza , their family name(mother’s side)- winters, and everything else that mr. Homper asked him.
“And father’s name?” Asked mr. Homper as he wrote every detail in a thick ledger next to him. Lulu’s face turned pink when mr. Homper asked of his father. He cleared his throat “ I- I don’t know that” he said very awkwardly, Lulu presumed mr. Homper would make some comment or inquire further, after all how many people you meet everyday who does not know their father’s name. All his assumptions were dismantled, Mr. Homper did not bother to inquire anything else, just added a long cut with his quill on the ledger. Lulu was relieved.
Mr. Homper dipped his quill in a strange looking ink-well shaped like a piglet and continued to marathon of questions. Where was your great grandfather from, and great grandmother, did your grandfather had any other marriages, did he have more siblings, most of the answers were “no” or “i am not sure about that”. Finally the bombarding of questions stopped, Mr. Homper put his quill down, closed the ledger and stacked it over the tower of similar ledgers. Now out of Lulu’s disappointment he pulled out another, even thicker register and smashed it on desk. A puff of dust danced around and mr. Homper started to turn the pages of register. He flipped faster than wind “Milliton Milliton Milliton Milliton” he muttered to himself as pages fluttered.
He poked his finger somewhere between the pages and started to mumble “Mala Mala Mala Mala” as he ran his finger tip over a densely written page. Lulu could barely see those tiny words that Mr homper was murmuring. After few seconds of struggle Mr. Homper found what he was looking for “ Here!! Mala Winters, daughter of Roza Winters, son of Sohreaal Winters” he said, “shelf no. 716, isle no. Seven” he added. Lulu stood with his lips sewed together, nodding and pretending as he knew everything what Mr. Homper just told him. Mr. Homper pulled himself up, picked a dim lighted lantern from side of his desk and gave it a wild shock, “Wake up!” He snapped at it and surprisingly the lamp started to glow brighter. Even though it was just a lantern but Lulu suddenly felt warmer somehow.
“Always sleeping, always, they have no respect for their duty, no wonder trapped as a lantern down here” he cursed the lantern and headed towards the wooden shelves. Lulu followed his heel, nodding whenever Mr. Homper looked at him.
Isle seven was also dimmed lighted just like all others, perhaps these lanterns were sleeping too, lulu thought.
‘705- Jonta Winters, 707- Sumiyo Winters, 711- Mindy Winters’ so many shelves from floor to ceiling, ‘715- Soril Winters’ this one lulu knew, Soril was his grandfather’s cousin, he died very young in war of ____. ________________________________
“716, mala winters” said mr. Homper and stood before the locker, lulu opened it and placed his grandfathers remains in a small black and golden vase. He was not alone here behind him were other vases, all black and different golden patterns on them, for the first time Lulu saw her mother’s vase, Mala Winters written over it with a golden rose imprinted. It was an unusual feeling lulu felt in his stomach which was certainly nor sorrow neither he felt uneasy, but some sort of nervousness, tickling he felt in his heart as he found something new strange yet familiar. He gave a look inside the locker, his grandfather’s brother, sisters, all were their but no hint of lulu’s father. Lulu often preferred to imagine his father must be dead or he would surely come looking for him, not much but that would give him some satisfaction that he was not abandoned. Even if he was dead he would be in some other locker that lulu was unfamiliar of and might never find it. After seeing his family for last few minutes Lulu finally closed the locker. Brass plate that before was Entitled with ‘Mala Winters’ now said ‘Roza Winters’.