Tale Of The Half-Blood Wizard

Kerberos took me fly away from the caravan to Barones church by taking different route. After Mickey realized the baby the woman held in her arms was actually a mummy or corpse, he advised us to leave them. I still did not fully comprehend the reason to stay away from the merchants because he had not given us any explanation.

The three-head mythology creature took me in silence. The desert below us spreading as wide as we could see. Nothing you could see but the golden sand and rocky with drying bushes. That was my first experience of flying without a plane. I could feel my feet floating in the air and the wind blew all over my body

Kerberos took me glided in the air as if we did not obey the gravity but to free us from it, 'is it how freedom like?'

I did not have enough courage to satisfy my curiosity to Kerberos, but I really needed to know why someone would carry mummy and I had to stay away from her. To my concern, it was not too much disgusting. The corpse had been preserved with some kind of preservative that did not spread bad odor at all. I even had not realized that the wife of the caravan owner held a dead body.

"Is it that disgusting?" I could not stop myself anymore. My curiosity was too big to hold inside me.

"What do you mean, Miss?" Kerberos did not understand my question.

"The baby," I explained. I raised my voice as to make it audible due to the fast blowing wind, "Do you think it is disgusting," I repeated my question.

Kerberos was silent again. I got bored waiting for that dog to reply me.

"Come on! Tell me why do we have to go? It was not that bad anyway?" I remembered well that woman took the baby in her arms, held him in her arms, as if he was still alive, and fed him as if he ate. "Honestly, I am more curious than afraid. It does not happen in in my world. It was my first time I saw such things. Is it kind of mental disorders or other disorders?" I talked to myself out of irritated because Kerberos was still mute.

I flew my memories back in the past, putting myself in it, my mother and I as that woman and me respectively. " I were like that, would my mother treat me the way that lady treated that corpse or would she remain the same? Leaving me or sacrifice everything for father? Even more than that?" I was still talking during the journey although Kerberos did not reply me a bit. But, I knew he understood me. "From the deep of my heart, I don't think a bit that the woman is insane. I would tell her I admired her and I envied that corpse," he was still quiet, "Come on, tell me why?" I was a bit upset. I was trying to break the ice as one way to kill the boredom, instead of staying mute for so long.

I did not know what time it was, but the weather felt fresher and the sun was down. Mickey was had been there with the caravan owner. For certain reason that I myself couldn't guess, Kerberos asked me to hide until they left.

Indeed, I and Kerberos had taken different but farther route so that they had come earlier. I saw them from a distant and of course that woman was holding the baby in her arms. There was something chilled my heart and touched me deeply looking at that scene. But I did not quite sure what it was.

…

Barones church was not the real name of that place,. The building was first discovered by a merchant named Barones and his group so that people were more familiar with that name, Barones church.

The church was located on the side of a deep ravine, some parts of the building were eroded and collapsed into the ravine and 3/4 remaining was still fine. The wall was made of white marble, and so as the floor. The glasses with motif and colors set firmly on the towering windows. The dome was white, as white as snow seen from the outside. There were painting portrayed the spiritual journey were painted very finely although many of them were ruined.

Silently I went inside the church through the partly opened door while Mickey and Kerberos were talking with the caravan owner. The red color of the carpet that turned to brown with grasses grew here and there, was still spread and directed to altar. And some parts of the altar were gone into the ravine.

Inside part of the church had changed into lily garden. Various kinds of lilies grew well on the floor of white marbles, and only some areas were remained empty. They were blooming and proclaiming very enticing fragrance. The place played as an oasis in the wide barren dry and rocky desert. Despite the dullness of the desert, the church offered green garden.

I could not stop admiring the beauty lay out in front of me at that moment. Aku tidak henti-hentinya mengagumi apa yang aku lihat sekarang. Suasana disini seperti mampu the atmosphere took me into the fairy tales of Cinderella or the Snow White. What missing was the prince on the horse back, an extraordinarily beautiful ball gown, and a romance. "Crap!" I cursed myself when came back to my sense, I am single and a student with loads of unfinished final assignment.

Some flowers attracted my attention. It was brighter than the other flowers I saw. The motif was like a tongue of flame, the color was red, and the base color was pale yellow. I walked into the church to see it more clearly. When my footsteps moved deeper and farther, I saw other plants with similar motif. But they were the fewest compared to the other plants similar types.

That afternoon, the church was still very quiet. There were a few people, including me, walking around. Secretly, I picked that flower, put it into my bag, and then left.

I went to the door where I went in, peeped a while to make sure no one saw me. When I saw the caravan left, Mickey called me from a distant. I met him. I wanted to know why we had to separate and why I had to stay away from those merchants.

"Have they left?" Mickey nodded. "Why did we have to separate this morning?"

"There must be someone to sacrifice," Mickey's answer made me confused. "They are looking for Manji. Do you know that Manjis cannot do it alone?" The cat with sapphire eyes glanced at Kerberos.

My confusion became more intense, "Sorry?" I asked him out of curiosity.

"JThe number of spirits coming to the spirit realm must be equal with the total number of dead people. The spirit cannot be fewer unless the one reincarnated. When you ask Manji one life, they will take away the spirit from the spirit realm by deceiving that person," He glance at Kerberos by stressing 'this person'. "They replace the spirit they take with another spirit so that the number is always the same," He explained.

"So?" I stared at Kerberos. Finally I understood the reason why that white dog avoiding my question. I knew his weakness. He could count the number of spirits but he could not memorize each of them so that when someone took 1 spirit and replace it with another, he would not know."

The manjis are big enemies," Mickey added. His tone criticized.

…