It was no longer snowing this morning; the subtle changes in the environment hinted towards the new season approaching, spring was coming, and with that, a new semester and more tests to study for. I sighed at the thought. 

 

I was the youngest child in my family of four with an older brother, a father, and a mother. I rarely ever got to meet my brother because he was always busy with the family business. My parents always had high hopes for me to break out of the lower middle class because even as a child, I was deemed more intelligent than all my other peers. They always dreamed about me becoming a doctor and moving to the capital to earn money for our family, so they enrolled me into a specialist school that cost a fortune. I was decently happy with this decision because I would be able to live a comfortable life with a decent sized fortune. 

 

As time went by, I realised the once bright sun was starting to set, and it slowly grew darker and darker. I wasn’t as productive as I wish I was today. I have been having a hard time concentrating on anything lately. My study felt smaller than usual even though I spent most of my childhood here, and my eyes kept wandering towards the small window next to my bookshelf. 

 

The view outside was more picturesque than I remember, but perhaps it was because I never paid any mind to what was out there. I stared out into the small riverbank that had fragments of ice in its still waters, the birds resting on the many leafless trees around it. My attention then goes to the luminous moon reflected against the almost still waters on the river.

 

"It's so beautiful." 

 

It has been a while since we had a sky clear of any clouds hence why I was entranced by the way it shined so abnormally bright. 

 

As time passed, my eyelids were starting to feel heavy when I saw a bright, colourful light whizzing up towards the now pitched black sky. My hands flew to my chest when a loud boom pierced through my ears. The birds that were resting all flew away at the noise. I had never seen anything as shimmering like that before.

 

In an instant, I leaned closer towards the window to find the source of whatever was happening outside. There was a youthful-looking man wearing attire I’d never seen in my life. His cape had what looked like a variety of stars on them, a very unique suit, and, to top it all off, a pointy hat. 

 

"What is the point of wearing such a pointy hat? To ward off birds from resting on your head?"

 

I began to ponder on what was his reason for coming to a place this isolated and why he had created such a big noise from before. I continued to watch this man from afar because of my intense curiosity. He started to walk towards the bright moon reflected on the river, not caring about ice-cold waters or anything of the sort. 

 

He sat down on the shallow waters and removed his pointy hat, putting it beside him in the water. His hair was now visible from the angle of the window. It reminded me of blooming wisteria depicted in a picture book I read a long time ago, a beautiful shade of purple that was styled into a bob cut.

 

I was deeply entranced. 

 

Before long, the man picked up his head and turned towards me. I shut the curtains in a haste, worried about him noticing that I've been staring, with almost too much force that I thought curtain hooks would break. 

 

"Why am I acting like this?"

 

I would like to believe that I am not one to stare at someone so intensely...but perhaps it was my curiosity getting the better of me. 

 

The night passed, and the day was just like any other. I had gone to check to see if that man was still sitting in the cold outside in the morning, but there was nothing. Only the small chirping from birds in the slightly cold breeze, perhaps from sparrows, as I've seen them flapping their wings in this quaint area. It was going to be a peaceful day with some studying and a lot more resting.

 

Putting myself together, I went back to sit by my study desk, which was stacked to the brim with textbooks almost as if a gust of wind could topple it at any moment, but I needed all of these to go back, and revise what I had forgotten. I sat on the grand oak chair that was made for me by my father and started to daydream. I had sat down intending to study, but I couldn’t keep my head from wondering about the many questions left in my head from yesterday.

 

As knees ache from sitting down for a period that was way too long. I came to the realisation that I had not gone out in months. Perhaps it was because I was too preoccupied with my studies or maybe it was because I had nobody to invite me out with my brother away on business. Anyways, I had concluded that I wanted to go outside and do something, anything other than the mundane activities I conduct at home.

 

Unexpectedly, my ears picked up the light sound of footsteps on the bed of grass from the outside. It was gradually approaching me. 

 

I gripped the laced tablecloth when I heard a soft tapping come from the glass window. I kept silent, my mouth going dry the longer it carried on. In my mind, this would make whoever it is out there think I wasn't in but it all went out the window when I heard, "I know you're in there. It is not polite to make a guest wait." The silvery voice sounded like it belonged to a young man. It was undisputedly not one I recognised.  

 

“Well, normally guests knock on the front door,” I stood up and walked towards the window to push open the beige curtains. 

 

The bright reddish-orange sunset gleamed warmly as I slid the curtains open to reveal a certain man. The same man from last night, standing tall behind the glass in front of me—his lips pulled into a smug smile as his aquamarine eyes greet me with intent I couldn’t make out. 

 

“Hello…Why are you here?” I asked carefully.

 

“Nice to meet you too. I'm here to greet my new neighbour.” He turned his head playfully to the side. “Who just so happened to be you.”

 

“Neighbor? But I thought—”

 

“Do you see that tower over there?” He swung his body around and pointed his index finger towards a tower covered in shrubbery and vines. 

 

“Yes...you moved in there?” I asked, my brow raised.

 

“Bingo!” He exclaimed.

 

“I thought that place was abandoned for a long time now?” I furrowed my brows as I asked. 

 

“Well, I didn’t see anybody so I invited myself to stay there.”

 

My mouth was slightly agape because of how casually he had said it as I proceeded to question him even further, “Right...Why did you move out here? I mean nothing is interesting.”

 

“No choice, I was, after all, chucked all the way here.” 

 

“Chucked?” I grilled even more. 

 

I was truly curious about the topic of this strange man that appeared seemingly from nowhere but in return, I got an answer that annoyed me slightly, “My my you like asking lots of questions don't you. I'm intrigued by that part of you. Now if you want more information I say you get out of that cramped room of yours and come out here to enjoy some of this fresh air. The moon is coming out soon and I would like to enjoy her brilliance.” 

​

This was the first time in a long time someone has asked me to have a long conversation after I had kept myself isolated. I felt butterflies in my stomach when this eccentric man invited me to converse with him. It didn’t help that I was extremely intrigued by whatever his backstory is and why he had come to this place. 

 

“Wait, I’ll get out through the front door.”

 

“Well, about that...I might have broken your doorknob.” He said as he smiled sweetly.

 

His words completely baffled me through and through. My doorknob was made from solid metal and could not have been broken by a lean person such as him. 

 

“Excuse me? You did what?”

 

“You heard me the first time. I think it’s best if you just crawled out of the window.” He said as he brushed his white-gloved fingers on the window seal almost as if he was trying to gesture to me that it was safe and that he wasn’t going to pull any tricks on me. 

 

I was naive to think that.

 

“When I get out of here I better get an explanation,” I said before sliding the curtains as wide as it may let me before slowly one by one positioning my feet to touch the soft grass outside. The man was standing back watching me from a distance with a smile on his face. That smile irritated me. 

 

“He broke my damn door,” I thought to myself not before smiling back at him and sliding the rest of my body out of the window frame to the outside.

 

Without warning, I lost my balance with such speed I couldn’t grip the window frame quickly enough to balance myself. My right foot slid from the melting ice on the grass and just like a hard rock thrown into the sea I sank, my bottom hitting the ground.

 

The man laughed at my collapse with no remorse, not even stopping to ask if I was alright. 

 

“How graceful,” He said as his laugh slowly turned into a big smile on his face, almost as if he liked the sight of my suffering. 

 

“You didn’t exactly help me either!” I cried before standing up and patting down the dirt from my clothing. Luckily, nothing was torn nor were there any spots of dirt too hard to clean.  

 

“If I were to help, I would miss out on the entertainment of watching you fall.” The man said matter-of-factly.

 

“What a weird fellow…” I thought to myself while staring directly into his mesmerizing eyes. It felt as if I was getting pulled in just for staring into them for a prolonged time. 

 

Before I realised it, a gloved hand was put out in front of me. I took it with hesitation, not before asking for his name first. He took one more look at me and smiled before saying, “My name is Murr. Most people would know me for being a great philosopher but I just see myself as someone who seeks the truth of this world.”

 

“Wait, you mean to tell me YOU’RE the great philosopher and inventor of magical technology that society has been telling me about?” 

 

“That is correct.” 

 

“Doesn’t that make you a wizard? Which means you could have just as well fixed my doorknob or done some kinda magic to prevent me from falling.”

 

“But that wouldn’t be fun now would it?”

 

“Let us leave that in our past. I want us to bask in my beloved darling.” Murr said before abruptly dragging me towards the riverbank, leaving me unable to question any longer. Perhaps this was for the best because I felt a sense of freedom when I looked up towards the starry night and the luminous moon. It almost seemed like they were welcoming us. 

 

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Murr broke my train of thought.

 

I nodded. 

 

“I’ve seen a better view of this when I was doing my research on a new invention I had in plan. I don’t remember what happened after that though.” He added while looking up to look at the moon.

 

“It must be fun to travel wherever you want like that.” I mused. 

 

He removed his pointy hat and star-filled cloak and tossed it to the side with slight force, revealing the suit he was wearing underneath. It felt like time was moving so slowly when I gazed at the items of clothing he had tossed to the side. 

 

Murr pointed at me with his index finger before commenting, “I don’t see why you can’t do the same.” 

 

That was true. Nothing was stopping me from running away from this quiet place and truly experiencing this magical world as it is meant to be instead of using picture books or listening to descriptions by words. I would like to see everything with my very own eyes. But then I thought of my family and how disappointed they would be if I were to leave what I already have.

 

With that in mind, I responded, “Perhaps, yeah. But my family…. they need me.” 

 

“Are they really family if they’re not here for you?” He questioned. 

 

“How would you know that? You barely even talked to me.” I laughed in dismay.

 

Murr turned to look at me again this time staring into my eyes before chuckling at my face. 

 

“What’s so funny?” I snapped.

 

He continued to laugh his loud juvenile laughter while even gripping his stomach with both his hands. I was getting irritated by this man, so I balled my hands into a fist to calm myself down—my nails digging into the skin of my palm. He finally finished his fit of laughter and opened his mouth to say, “Haa….It’s just that I find it funny that you’re trying to lie to yourself.”

 

I dropped my gaze to the ground—the grass was slightly wet, and there were no sweet-smelling flowers, only beds of insignificant green grass. What Murr had said was true. I had never seen any members of my family for about 6 years now when my brother decided to move out to another city where there was better business. My parents followed after him, leaving me here alone because they didn’t want to pay the fees for schooling in the new area because they were significantly more expensive. I was left with an allowance given that I had to claim at the bank. I made myself a fantasy of parents who wished the best for me and an older brother who would come to visit me to cope with the loneliness.

 

Wet tears rolled down my cheeks, and my breath got shallow as I felt an overwhelming amount of sadness and loneliness. I had never once cried before when they first left. Murr didn’t pay any attention to me and only kept staring at the bright yellow moon in the dark sky. I used my sleeve to wipe off the tears and tried pulling myself together with the little strength I had left. Thinking about this made me feel more tired than anything else. 

 

“Murr—” I paused before taking a deep breath and saying, “I want to leave from here.” 

 

“Then why don't you leave? Would life be worth living if you only say what you want to do instead of just doing it? I find that boring.” 

 

His words sat in my head for days, slowly building up my confidence to set off to another country and to start anew—perhaps to the Western country that Murr was from. I was curious about how the outside world looked like or even how the air smelled and tasted because I’ve read many books left from my study that described it in vivid detail in the past. 

 

When I woke up today, I had felt especially spontaneous because I had spent the whole night just fantasizing before falling asleep abruptly as my eyelids felt too heavy to keep up and even when I went to sleep, I had dreamt of places; places Murr had once talked about in our conversations. Without any plans, I decided to pack my knapsack with important possessions and all the money I had into a small sack before grabbing everything and heading out. It was now or never for me because it felt like I would have never mustered the courage to do this in another time. I had no specific destination but I at least had an old map that was probably my father’s. I pray that it was at least accurate on destinations I could rest at.

 

I was now outside, my feet brought me to the front door tower Murr was residing in, and unlike him, I rang the doorbell placed next to the front door and waited for an answer. 

 

Silence. 

 

Maybe he couldn’t hear the ring. So I decided why not use my voice. I shouted with all my strength to make sure he could hear me, even if he was on the highest floor. 

 

“MURR, ARE YOU IN THERE? I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!”

 

And before I knew it, Murr appeared from thin air right behind me. “You called?” He crossed his arm. His face still held the normal smug grin that seemed to never be wiped off his face. It annoyed me at first, but I slowly got used to it. 

 

This man’s words have made a very big impact on my life, and I would like to at least tell him that even though I knew he’d pay no deal to it. 

 

“Yes, I just wanted to say. I’m going to leave for a while.” I said,

 

“You called me down for this?” He shook his head. 

 

“Well, I thought I should tell you because you’re the only friend I got here, so who else am I supposed to tell.” 

 

“Ah, I guess I could actually give you something for best travels actually as payment for keeping me company for the whole two weeks I’ve been here.” He said while rummaging through his left pocket before taking out a simple silver ring and placing it in my right hand. I stared at the silver band, it was simple, and it had no markings on its body.

 

“When you reach the Western country, just show that to somebody. I’m sure they’ll show you around.” He pointed towards the ring.

 

“Alright, but may I know who this somebody is?” I questioned.

 

“I don’t remember.” 

 

I just accepted that reply as I knew if I tried prying that I wouldn’t get anything else. Something is better than nothing, I guess. 

 

“Well, I’m going now. Goodbye.” 

 

“Farewell!” 

 

It had been six months since I had started my travels to explore this magical world. Today, I was blessed enough to be able to visit my hometown as it was close to the area where a festival that I was interested in was being held. Hence, I decided to visit Murr. Many thoughts were going through and out of my head. I was excited to tell him about my many discoveries that he probably thought was common knowledge. 

 

The sound of muffled jingles of my little trinkets that I have been given to by many generous people along my fruitful journey could be heard coming from my knapsack as I walked on the newly built stone pavement on the way towards my old house. 

 

My head turned on its own when I walked past it, there were pieces of freshly hung clothing and bed sheets on a dry rack outside of the house. Clearly, someone has moved back in there after my disappearance. Perhaps it was a family member of mine or just someone new to this area. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia even if I was only gone for six months. The time I spent in that small house was content even while being alone. 

 

After my brief walk, I finally reached my destination. I stood in front of Murr’s abode; the tower was as always after Murr had moved in, kept in a decent condition but never too perfect and his telescope was still pointed outside the highest window. Everything was oh-so normal until I saw what looked to be Murr exiting from the building with a partner next to him—a man of tall stature with long black hair tied back into a neat bun with ruby coloured eyes. 

 

“Murr?” I called out.

 

Murr studied me with a puzzled expression, his brows furrowed as he titled his head to the right whilst his hand stroked his chin before saying, “Do I know ya from somewhere?”

 

There was something in his expression and his tone that gave off a feeling that he wasn’t Murr, or at least the Murr I knew. He reminded me almost of a cat. Everything about him seemed slightly off, like the fact that his grin felt a bit too playful, and he talked in a higher pitch than usual. Nonetheless, I still tried to converse with this person to find out what was going on.

 

“Who are you?” I asked.

 

“You just called my name. I’m one of the sage’s wizards from the Western country, Murr!”