The Tower 10

I got as comfortable as I could on a medium sized rock next to the fire and ate the bread thinking as loudly as my mind could shout, “If I turn into a frog, this is your fault.”

I listened carefully to the silence around me hoping to hear the voice again, but not too disappointed when no one answered my thoughts.  The bread was deliciously soft and warm.  It tasted like whole wheat, but the grain was meatier and more satisfying than any wheat bread I had ever eaten. 

After I finished the bread I found a canteen in the tent next to a cot.  I took a long drink realizing I was much thirstier than I had originally thought.  When I finished the whole canteen I pulled the blankets back from the cot to check for bugs or spiders or anything magical that could bite me. 

Finding nothing I climbed under the blankets and fell asleep.  I totally expected to wake up in my hotel room and go through another day of flying, but to my surprise I woke up the next morning in the tent.  Sunlight was trickling through the rock hard leaves of the trees and through the opening.

I stretched and yawned and crawled out from under the blankets.  I had slept soundly and surprisingly warm and comfortable.  I put my shoes back on my feet and reached for the canteen.  As I lifted it I remembered that I had drained it the night before, but I found it was still full.

I shook my head gratefully reminding my brain that I was in some sort of a fairy tale and that things like this were going to happen, a lot.  I took a smaller sip this time not sure how long the magic canteen would last today.

When I left the tent I saw the fire still burning cheerfully and another loaf of bread on the metal plate.  Hungrily I reached out and picked it up.  Offering a prayer of thanks I took a bite expecting the meaty, delicious meal from the previous evening.

This time, however, the bread tasted like the most delicious orange roll I had ever eaten.  It wasn’t too sweet, but it felt like I was actually biting into an orange.  I chewed slowly reveling in the sensations that delighted my tongue.  I spent at least ten minutes devouring the bread and when I had finished the last crumb I was sad and annoyed with myself that I hadn’t saved some for my day’s journey.

I put the thought out into the expanse that another might be provided for my journey, but nothing appeared magically for me to take.  With a sigh and a mental reproof I grabbed the canteen and slung it across my body.  I couldn’t complain, I had water which was more than I had the day before.

            I started toward the road and stopped glancing down at the ground where the tiny white flowers had been the night before.  The flowers were gone, but in their place was a thin line of fine, white sand.  I rather liked this form of magic.  I wasn’t a big fan of things that appeared or disappeared at random (except food and water of course).

Seeing the sand replacing the flowers was comforting.  Though the magic of the flowers was probably gone a residual feeling remained with the sand, like a reminder of something good.  I stepped over the line of white sand and made my way back to the road.

to be continued...