He’d told Kai that because he didn’t want to admit the truth, but perhaps that really had been his motivation all along.
Enough! I don’t wanna think about this anymore… He forced himself to change his clothes and lie down. Almost instantly, he was asleep. He woke up several times, but never felt like getting out of bed, and eventually drifted into a deep slumber.
While he slept, Kyleid felt someone enter the room. He kept his eyes firmly shut until he heard the curtain flung back, and the morning light struck his eyelids.
Ow…
He slowly opened his eyes and found Elda standing by his bedside.
“How do you feel?” she asked.
Kyleid sat up.
Hmm? I fell asleep in the afternoon…yet it’s still light out?
He felt like he’d been asleep a lot longer though. Elda saw the confusion on his face and shrugged.
“I didn’t think you’d sleep straight through till morning,” she said.
“What? What time is it?”
“Seven. I was getting worried, but you look okay. You must be starving. Come down to the kitchen.”
I slept that long?
He was surprised, but his head felt much clearer. He was in a far better mood than the day before. Still, months of hard work had gone down the drain, and he was a little mad at himself for being able to sleep so soundly. Everything felt so suddenly meaningless that he almost wanted to laugh out loud.
He changed and went downstairs to find breakfast waiting for him. He had no appetite, but Elda stared so shrewdly that he began forcing it into his mouth.
“Oh, what happened with the ring?” he asked.
“I guess Claire couldn’t stand waiting. She showed up here shortly after you went to bed. I gave her the ring, so I’m sure she’s relieved. She burst into tears the moment she saw it. Surprised the hell out of me.”
“I’m sure those were tears of joy. Good thing you took the job.”
“Yeah. You were right about that,” Elda said.
He finished eating. Elda had clearly been anticipating this and brought him out into the backyard.
“What do you think of this garden?” she asked.
Kyleid was confused.
“I guess…it’s well looked after?”
“I didn’t mean that…” Elda said, annoyed. “What do you feel when you look at the flowers here?”
“I don’t really know much about plants, so… I mean, you’re growing herbs and stuff here? They must come in handy. You’re incredibly organized.”
“Agh, you intellectuals. Always thinking with your head first.”
Elda let out a deep sigh and pulled a brown medicine bottle from her pocket.
“This is an oil made of rosemary, Saint John’s wort, and two or three other herbs.”
She poured a small amount of the oil into her palm and then rubbed her hands together. When the oil was evenly coated, she held her hands out to Kyleid.
“Close your eyes and smell this,” she said.
Kyleid did as he was told, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply through his nose. He smelled something faintly bitter with a crispness quite different from mint. He took a few more sniffs, and his breathing improved considerably.
Elda may be using magic here, but it felt so good he didn’t have the urge to check.
At last, the smell faded, and she spoke again.
“Now open your eyes and look at the garden.”
It appeared the same as it had before.
Elda pointed at the plants growing closest to them, chanting their names like the words of a spell.
“The herbs here are mint, rosemary, and yarrow. The one with the reddish-purple flowers is common sage. Rue is the one with the green center and yellow petals. These are less common, but I also have some hyssop, with the pink flowers, and some chamomile.”
She moved through the garden, repeating this process.
“The ones shaped like torches, all fiery red, are strawberry candles. The white ones are lace flowers, and the pale purple ones are Canterbury bells. The light blue ones with gauzy petals are blue poppy.”
As Elda called each name and pointed out its corresponding flower, Kyleid slowly began registering all the colors and shapes.
Yesterday he’d thought the elderberry’s blooms were white, but today he could tell they were softer, more of a cream.
Then he looked past the flowers and realized the leaves were all different as well. He hadn’t registered them as anything but green before, but there were so many different shades of green, some bright, some dark. Now that he’d noticed it, he could no longer see the plants as all the same.
“I had no idea there were so many colors here.”
“Not just here. The world is filled with all sorts of gorgeous colors.”
Elda’s words led him to look up at the sky. How long had it been since he’d really noticed that blue? He remembered how much it had once meant to him. His heart skipped a beat, and he felt ready to cry.
The trees and flowers that swayed in the breeze were so full of life. Life flourished all around him, its power dazzling. This was why each color seemed so fresh and clear, so filled with beauty.
“How did I not see how vibrant all this was?” he asked.
This newfound sight made it seem like his old world had been black and white, all dull shades of gray. Just being in a place this beautiful, this resplendent with color, filled his heart with joy.
“You just forgot,” Elda replied.
“Is this magic?”
“In a sense. That oil did sharpen your senses a little. And by drawing your attention to each in turn, the plants here led you to perceive all the colors around you again. That was all it took to remind you of nature’s beauty. This magic isn’t mine, it’s from the flowers themselves. Truth is, before I even met you, Kai’s words had bothered me.”
“He said something about me?”
“Yes. He said he wanted you to look not at the numerical representation of the magic you were using but directly at the phenomenon occurring before your very eyes. But he felt this would be difficult for you to do after so much time locked up in a workshop, cut off from nature. Just now, you felt the beauty of the world, and it touched your heart. Don’t forget that feeling. Even if you complete your device, don’t ever look at magic as being by the numbers. That’s my wish as well.”
“I understand.” Kyleid was surprised by how deeply Elda’s words affected him. He felt light, like a burden had fallen from his shoulders.
Elda took a long look at his face, then smiled.
“You look much better. When I first saw you, I was instantly worried. You were so pale and gloomy!” she said.
“I was?”
“You didn’t know? Do you think Kai sent you here because he couldn’t be bothered?”
“No… Well…”
Kyleid wasn’t sure of the answer.