Jester (part 2)

Welcome to Fairy Tale World! Below is the second part of this fairy tale, that was written a long time ago. But as all, what the fairy tale heroes tell us doesn’t have a time. Welcome to Fairy Tale World! Olga and the Fairy Tale Team 😊

JESTER

. . . . In the middle of the glade, a fire was burning, near which sat Old Man. Jester greeted and perched beside him without even asking permission. It did not seem bad to him: it was very good to watch the fire with Old Man.

Old Man was light: everything about him was light: linen clothes, long silver hair, beard, mustache . . . But most importantly—his face was light. Old Man was not surprised by the night guest. With big green eyes, he looked intently at Jester and asked, “Tired of going?” “No,” replied Jester, and only then did he feel the pain in his legs.

He looked at his wounded blood-stained soles and laughed, “The stones are just . . .” “On sharp stones, it’s easier to go barefoot with a smile,” said Old Man thoughtfully, plucked the plant next to him, rubbed it in his palms, and gave it to Jester, “Take it, it will be easier.” Then he pointed to the same one, “Remember her, she will help you on the road.”

“Do you live here?” asked Jester, feeling a pleasant warmth in his legs that took away the pain and fatigue.

“And here too . . .”

“For a long time?”

“As much as needed.”

“It’s very good to be with you . . . thank you!”

“You are good with yourself . . .” Old Man looked kindly at Jester and smiled. “You’re glad you’re on your Way . . .”

“I don’t know where it will lead . . . I have not gone on this road before.”

“Listen to your heart, it will never deceive.”

“Yes, I’m listening. That’s why I’m going. You know, I want to see strawberries grow. I have never seen them before: they were never served at the palace. I so need to know! What are they? I have seen the same dream many times, I even remember their scent. . . . But where do they grow? Maybe you know?”

“You will find them. It is your Way.”

“Are you on your own, too?”

“Of course.”

“And you are looking for answers to your Questions?”

“Yes.”

“And when will the Questions end?”

“I have them while I go.”

“And you’re not tired of this, all your life, go and look for answers? You’re completely white!”

“The road is life. How can I be tired? Each of us sees what we can see, takes what we are capable of carrying, and meets the ones we need to meet. Hot, cold, easy, hard—it all depends on us. What we are, such is our Way . . .”

“Did you always know that?”

“No, I did not notice my Way before.” “Probably me too . . .”

“That’s why you had a dream.”

“Did you have one?”

“No, I was called to the road by another.”

“Aren’t you sad to be alone all your life?”

“I’m not alone. Are you alone?”

“It is better for me.”

“It’s just you haven’t found what you need yet.”

“And you?”

“Lost it accidentally, now I’m looking again.”

“Are you coming back? Oh! I left my chic shoes on the boulder! If suddenly I need them again, huh?!” exclaimed Jester, and, as was his habit, wrinkled his face to be more ridiculous.

“If you need it, you will get new ones, the same. . . . On the Way that each goes, there is no going back. Can you bring back what was before?”

“No.” Jester was ashamed. Looking down, he said softly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“You didn’t offend me—more often we offend ourselves. You are kind-hearted and open. There is your Strength. Just remember this and all will be good.”

“It is difficult to be open and kind-hearted in the World, I’ve already felt it in myself,” said Jester sadly.

“It’s hard if you hide it and are ashamed of what you have. Life gave you a gift: you appeared—our World doesn’t have another like you.”

“Of course, there is no one like me! Even my mother doesn’t need me!”

Unexpectedly for himself, Jester had said something that had tormented him for so many years, giving him no peace. Now it had broken free. Big tears of peas rolled down his face, washing away the many wrongs he had hidden behind laughter for so many years.

Old Man was silent and, only when Jester calmed down, wiping his snub nose with his bag, said quietly, “Don’t take offense with you on the Way. With resentment, it’s hard to go. Why do you need it? Let it go . . . soon a new Day will come and give you its Joy.” “Is that why you’re so light?” “Maybe . . .”

Old Man stirred the fire with his small stave. The night breeze blew on the fire and carried into the Sky, which was already beginning to shine, a scattering of sparks. They went up and took with them all that had gripped his heart for so long. Breathing became free! Like after the rain. Jester sighed lightly and, curled up in a ball by the fire, fell asleep.

He slept so beautifully! Folding his palms under his cheeks, pressing his knees, he smiled sweetly in his sleep, occasionally sucking on his lips. His little face no longer seemed as wrinkled as before, not even his nose looked so big. Jester slept and saw his dream again. . . . The night gave way to a new day, that brought with him the morning, waking up the forest with light. One, two, another . . . drops of dew dripped on Jester, reluctantly falling from the branches. Jester woke up.

The first rays of the Sun could be seen in the glade through a thin handkerchief of fog. Enchanting with their grace, they circled in a dance known only to them. The fire was extinguished, but the embers were still slightly smoky, reminding of last night. Old Man was not around. Jester rubbed his eyes and sat down. “Was he there at all? Maybe this is another dream and you need to come back? Go back. . . . Where? Where did he come from?”

Jester looked thoughtfully from the gray fire to the grass . . . and suddenly his heart was filled with an unusual, never felt so strongly, joy! He saw strawberries grow. . . . He didn’t know why, but he knew for sure that it was them!

Among the triple leaves with carved edges were Sun glistened berries! Small and slightly elongated, they hung on slender stalks, slightly rough from seed. A bright red color—the color of Life—gave them a unique beauty, standing out on the green background. It is his strawberry glade! Jester carefully, barely moving his fingers, plucked one berry, another. . . .

No overseas sweets can ever compare to what grows in the places where you were born and raised. Everything around you, and living with you, initially exists in memory, becoming inexplicable, creating a burning desire to hold in your hands what once gave strength to your ancestors. The aroma, the taste, so vividly defined in his dream, came, filling the whole World! There appears to be no limit to happiness. It filled Jester’s frail body. After all, was his size bigger than his heart?

Jester laughed! What a happy laugh it was! Clean-clean, ringing like a bell . . . laughing easily, like the child who always lives close. . . . The forest picked up this miracle and carried its transparent echo, as a most precious treasure, sharing joy with every living thing. . . . Jester laughed and began to realize that the jester was no more—there was someone who was him . . . once. He rose from his knees, gently and carefully cradling the little red berries in his palms.

He did not yet know what to call him, but he knew there was a Woman in the World who a long time ago, along with the light of Life, gave him his Name.

He will go there . . . and there will also be happy strawberries. His strawberries. . . . And he also knew that the Way he goes is his, and only his Way, where you always make your own choice. Long or short . . . who knows?

He was about to leave when he saw Old Man’s stave by the fire. “The light Old Man . . . No dream it was! Thank you!” smiling, he remembered Old Man’s words: “We meet the ones we need to meet.” He placed his bag next to it . . . took only bread—why does he need the rest—and went on the road. . . . The Sun, from the height of the Sky, watched how with light steps, goes on a Man. . . .

P.S. This call was unexpected, because the person who called had been silent for almost a year. “Thank you!” he said. “You are welcome!” I responded and added, “May I ask: For what?” “For Jester. I read and understood what I could not understand before. It helped me to save myself.” “Happy to hear that. And me too!” I said. We talked about something, and it was warm. This happens when even previously unknown people meet, having felt their light in each other. I don’t know where this person is now, but I believe that if he has found this light, it helps him to go his own way.

We go on our way in Life, sometimes trying on caps or tight shoes, but each of us has something that has always been, is, and always will be an amazing place, the path to which everyone finds for themselves. And the beauty of this amazing place is like the meadow where Strawberries grow. . . .

And from a new fairy tale 😊

“Mom, why doesn’t my flashlight shine as brightly as yours?” asked the little Firefly, looking sadly at his flashlight.

“You just take a rag and wipe it!” answered Mom-Firefly.

“And will you help?” asked the Firefly, looking at Mom- Firefly’s flashlight.

“You can do it yourself!” smiled Mom-Firefly and added: “And you will see how handsome and bright your light is!”

Welcome to Fairy Tale World!