Enzo's Discovery

Short Story by me:

Enzo’s discovery:

Enzo is walking through the wizardry market of Bolivia. It is a bazaar cum carnival of wizardry, owlery, withes, necromancers, sorcerers, healers, wiccans, crystal tells, face readers and so on. He is walking alone to be charmed at every nook and corner. It seems like a big canopy of wilderness and spellbound. The whole area is embellished beautifully to enchant the visitors. Brown-haired hippie women with shimmering hair accessories begging for face reading, crystal telling, young juggler boy selling masks, rattles, cloak clad old man selling semi-precious stones, black pearls, bone-flutes, claws, feathers, some teen girls whining to buy body piercing jewels and studs and Enzo observes as if there is no tomorrow. Some gypsy herb healers engrossed themselves in flutes and other air instruments to attract people. Even snake charmers and parrot astrologers are here from India to seduce people. All the traders over here, assure you one common thing, supernatural activity of their product, either to keep aloof from spirits or to woo them. He feels his heart beating fast on watching such a tumultuous canvas of life.

Enzo wants to soak himself in this gala mood. He is happy to be alone here. He needs to discover himself through the eyes of this weird marketplace. So, after much ado about nothing he’s made his mind to go inside the tent of a star teller.

“Hey boy, want to check your luck??” a woman in her forties asked him seductively. He looked at her; she’s wearing molten long skirt and a top. Her hair is neatly braided with colorful ribbons, feathers, clips and flowers. She looks sexy by overdone mascara.

Enzo smilingly nodded to her appeal. His keen eyes noticed the other women giving envious looks to this woman. Enzo slowly followed her steps inside the tiny tent.

“Sit here, son,” she chuckled, “From where?”

“Some place of Latin America.” Enzo spat, as he didn’t like the insipid question.

“Wow! You’re quite secretive,” the lady exclaimed.

“Yes, I am. I am Enzo Rodriguez by the way.”

“Wow! Rodriguez family,” saying this, she started to concentrate on the glass pot, kept on the table. Enzo sat peacefully never distracting eyes from the round pot, filled with cold water. ‘So, you’re going to check my life over a pot of water,’ Enzo is amused.

“What is your favorite color?” The lady seemed quite thoughtful.

“Blue, purple and lavender,” Enzo smiled.

“What color you love to wear?”

“Umm… indigo and sky blue.” Enzo replied never removing eyes from her.

“Oh, you are calm and quiet. I think you’re a bit too silent than people of your age.” She looked at the water again, “You tend to be happy in joy and sad in misery. You can’t live with random people. Being secretive, you are an ultimate loner.”

“What if I choose orange now?” Enzo blurted out disliking her color decoding.

She chuckled, etching out some wrinkles on face, “Life is not a dress rehearsal, son.” 

Enzo couldn’t say anything after this. Actually, his mind couldn’t accept himself as ‘ultimate loner.’

“Do you love air? Or water? Which one is better?” The lady asked again.

“Air.”

“Oh...why? Can you explain?”

Enzo feels off guard, “We live inside the sea of air. Water is life but, I won’t die as soon as water is eliminated; but sudden elimination of air means sudden death.”

“Hmm, you’re quite intelligent, boy,” She gave the same chuckle, which shines the tent, “Choose between fire and ice.”

“Fire…but fire and ice can coexist,” Enzo gave a crooked grin.

She smirked at him and Enzo feel tensed; it’s so queer to be charmed by a lady, same age of his mom, he thought.

“You’re self destructive. Even if water and fire coexist, fire and air can never. There is a destroyer inside you,” the lady sighed. Enzo is upset again with her answer.

“If I want to gift you a bead, which one will you choose among lucky amulet, evil eye bead, worry releasing bead, suffering bead for enemy, skull bead to keep away ghosts and smiley beads of happiness?” Asked the lady, fixing eyes on the water bowl.

Now, Enzo is spoiled with options. What should he choose? The lucky amulet or a bead of happiness? Or a tension releasing bead? It is quite tough choice. He will never choose skull bead to avoid ghosts, he loves spirits; he doesn’t need suffering bead to cause suffer to his enemies; no one should suffer. If he’s true from inside, none can curse him, so evil eye protection isn’t needed. He just needs to be happy.

“Bead of happiness,” He looked straight into the eyes of star teller.

She exclaimed in joy, “Good gracias!! You’ve understood the real assignment of life. The purpose of life is being happy and you choose to be happy. You’re the first customer choosing happiness bead.”

Enzo loved it. He already knows the struggles of being happy; at the end of day nothing matters but being happy. Enzo wants to be happy more than anything. Still, he doesn’t want to be a “happy prince.” He has to know the world.

“You are absentminded, boy,” the lady clapped. And absentminded Enzo came back to senses.

“Ohh, did you ask something?”

She cleared her throat, “Do pains sadden you?” she looked at him, “Physical or mental?”

He thought a bit, “Pains sadden everybody.”

“You get sad eyeing pains of other people?”

“Of course, ma’am!” He sighed, “Malicious people sadden me, envious people sadden me…I shed tears on others sorrow.”

“You are a jewel, my son.”

“Don’t flatter me,” Enzo is off guard, “I saw some of my friends taking physical pains willingly to combat mental pains. There is a little difference between love and pain. Pains stir us…”

The lady listened calmly his words; she’s never seen an adolescent, saying word with deep meanings. The boy must have seen a lot. Her heart craved for chatting a bit more, but she has to wear a shell of profession.

“Son, you hide pain behind your eyes; did anyone hurt you in past?”

“This world hurts me every day but I don’t want to say…I want to rediscover myself; that’s why I’m here.” He looked away to hide the forming tear beads. 

Her motherly instinct wanted to pat him like own son, but she can’t. She can’t be a mother. She can’t be weak like this.

“Here is a conclusion,” she sighed, “listen carefully and then cry as much as you wish or whatever.”

Enzo utterly dislike her tone; is she willing to say sadistic story of sarcasm about him? No, it can’t be.

“I’m listening, ma’am.”

The lady carefully watched the water bowl and then checked own nail arts. She looked away for a while to watch the street from the gap of the tent. Then she started, “You’re clairsentient; you want to sense every emotion, that’s quite impossible. A good ghost Tristan is always after you and you’re protected under his supervision…”

He cut her off, “Oh my god! A ghost guide….”

“Yes son. You have a natural tendency to go after paranormal things. I hope this penchant leads you here. One day you may befriend a necromancer,” she sighed, “But your eye color says something different.”

“Different??”

She chuckled musically, “Black eyed people tend to hate spirits while you love it. People with black eyeballs, are quite coward at heart, what you’re not. Black eyeballs watch reality more, superficiality less and you’re quite opposite. You are an oddball; you are summation of many things which don’t belong together…”

Her words seemed to be a pleasant surprise to him; he likes to be different.

“Don’t be so glad; there is one thing common…my black eyed boy!” she caressed her cloth, “Your eyes are dark for lust as always. You will develop sexual fantasies quite often.”

His face got reddened; at the core of heart, he knows she can’t be more correct. Enzo is fascinated with sex; still he didn’t respond to her words.

“Oppss!! Don’t blush like this,” she poked, “You chose blue and purple. So, I can tell more things…You are bisexual. You get attracted to male and female both.”

 Enzo just listened without any reply. On seeing him silent she talked again, “Have you even seen the double moon symbol? Two crescent moons in opposite direction?”

“Is there anything more?” He asked at last.

She nodded positively, “Enzo Rodriguez, you’d love to get hurt.”

“What does that mean?”

She got up from the chair, “Let there be darkness, son. It is a mystery.” The loud noise of laughter filled the room.

Enzo paid the lady and came out of her tent. It is like a life changing experience. He is charmed, enchanted, enthralled and ravished. A mere face reader has told the darkest truths about him. These ladies are extraordinary. It is surreal experience. He started to walk again with a surprising gaze and fulfilled wanderlust. He understood, the greatest discovery is the world is to know own self. Self discovery is something that really matters.