"We need to take a moment to breathe." Jack had a hand on his knee and the other on his chest as he tried to calm his racing heart.
Wendy's mom looked back in the direction they had retreated from. "Ma'am what is your name?"
"Maia." She looked at Jack and only now noticed his sorry state as he pulled an inhaler out of his pocket. Taking a puff from his inhaler he stood up straight.
"I'm Jack…" He looked off in the direction that cars could be heard. "We need to get out of this rain and I will answer your questions and if you want we can call the cops."
"What good are the cops against a thing like that?" Maia pointed to the woods and then let her arm fall to her side. Her body felt like it weighed a ton and her heart was conflicted between anger, sadness, trust, and skepticism…
Two days later Maia sat in a coffee shop, waiting for Jack. It took her a while to process everything but now after researching and looking back at what happened she knew he would have more answers for her then she could find on her own. Jack had given her his phone number and after a few short texts he agreed to meet her here. The bell at the front of the door chimed as Jack stepped into the shop.
Jack spotted Maia sitting at a corner table. Her black hair was all a mess and she looked like she had not slept since he last saw her. She greeted him delicately as he sat down.
"Thank you for meeting me." She said while fiddling with her coffee cup on the table.
"It is no problem…" Jack said. The waitress came over and gave Jack a menu. He looked at it for a moment and ordered a coffee. Then they sat there awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Jack's coffee was placed in front of him. Realizing how long they had been sitting there in silence, he swallowed hard then looked at Maia shyly. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I am going insane." Her reply was devoid of emotion making Jack think back to when he lost his brother Rohn to the Endless. He became reclusive and depressed when no one would listen. When they did they dismissed him and as he got older he decided it was best to keep his mouth shut. He came to the understanding that unless people witnessed the supernatural they would just think you were crazy.
"I know how you feel, though it may be little comfort to hear that." Jack looked down at the table till he felt Maia's hand on his.
"It is worth something to have someone that doesnt think I am crazy." Her smile was reassuring as she sat back in her seat. They both sighed as the awkward silence was finally lifted. As they sat at the coffee shop Jack told Maia what he experienced when he lost his twin brother. He noticed that Maia was looking bothered by something so he stopped and asked.
"Is something wrong?"
"Well… I keep feeling like I am seeing that shadow in the corner of my eye but every time I try to look, it disappears. I still hear it begging me to stay every time I start to fall asleep."
Jack had a look on his face that went from concerned to something that gave Maia the impression he had an idea. "Can that thing be following me?"
"Umm." Jack hesitated. "You don't really need to worry about it but I have had the same thing happen to me for a few days after irritating the playground. It has never taken action against me when I am this far away."
"Taken action?" Maia didn't like the sound of that. "Are you saying it can touch us?"
"No it can't, that is why I had us run through it. The shadow is smart and will try to scare you away from your best escape route. It also acts like the eyes of the various things protecting the place. If you don't do anything to summon it, the playground is relatively safe."
"What can we do now? I can't just leave Wendy in the Endless."
"I have been doing research for years. If you want I live only two blocks away and I can show you what I have so far." Maia instantly got out of her chair.
"Let's go." She was so blunt it took Jack by surprise but he got up and for the first time in his life he had someone that was willing to help him. He couldn't contain his excitement as they walked down the sidewalk of the pretty little town Jack continued to explain what he could.
"How much do you know about the Greek Gods?" Jack's eyes were like that of a puppy that had found it's first friend.
"I know there are Greek Gods in mythology but to be honest, I have no clue who they are or what they do." Jack nodded understandably and started from the beginning as best as he could.
"Ok so Callisto, how was a loyal follower of the hunt but was banished from the Greek Goddess Artemis's, Goddess of the hunt, clan of virgin hunters when she became pregnant with Zeus'
"The Guy with the lightning bolts right?" Maia proudly interjected. Jack posed and nodded.
"Yes, so Lightning bolt guy, Zeus' son. In a fit of jealousy Zeus's wife Hera turned Callisto into a bear. It was many years later that Callisto was wandering through the woods and saw her son as a grown man out on a hunt. Overcome with happiness she went to greet her son but forgot she was in the form of a bear, so her son drew his bow not knowing that it was his mother. Just before he killed his own mother many believe Zeus took pity on them and turned them both into constellations." Jack paused and held up one finger. "Or did he? Keep that question in your mind."
Jack turned left off of the sidewalk and up the steps of an old brick townhouse. "This is my place." Jack had a nervous tone as he opened the door. "Please forgive the mess, I don't have people over often."
As Maia stepped in the house she instantly felt like she was walking into a bookstore. Bookcases and shelves were everywhere. The only furniture in sight that was not a bookcase was a coffee table and an old rocking chair situated with its back to a big window overlooking the street.
"I have been researching this for years with no concrete connections until I realized the similarities in different bits of lore." said Jack as he hurried across the room picking up various pieces of trash and grabbing a big dusty book before disappearing behind a bookcase. As Maia sat in the old rocking chair she could see books being tossed on the ground in a pile as Jack continued.
"There are many myths, many religions, many fairy tales all with similarities and similar time lines of origin. Take the story's of Baba Yaga a deformed being that hunts people in the woods. Or a beautiful woman sometimes young, sometimes old, that lurks in the dark woods. She sings sweetly and offers treats luring children away from their homes. Some say she eats her victim's other story's say she turns children into dolls because the world doesn't deserve them and to keep them safe. Even stories like Peter Pan, where a being from the stars comes and takes children away to a land they never grow old in. Like the witch from Hansel and Gretel who lured the children to her candy house to catch them and eat them, however that's just a fairy tale of course, I hope… From what I know no kids have been eaten in the endless."
Jack's excited explanations confused Maia, making her mind dizzy. Leaning forward in the chair she could see all of the dust spring through the air. "I don't understand what this tells us about the playground." She said this and felt a chill that made her feel like she was being watched. Turning quickly to look out the window she could only see pedestrians walking by. Jack popped his head out from around the bookcase and wagged his pointer finger at her before dashing to another bookcase.
"Trust me I'm getting to the point. After reading every child disappearing myth old and new this is what I have come to the conclusion of. Callisto, Baba Yaga, and many others are the same person. Callisto being the beginning of it all. She was ,with the Goddess of the hunt, known as the protector of Innocence, often a virtue embodied by children and virgin women. Aromas, Zeus, Apollo, and even Persephone the goddess of nature, spring, and renewal all cared for Callisto. I believe she was deformed by Hera and later saved by the combined effort of those that were sympathetic to her.
She then went around the world with the same mission she had when she followed Artemis, protecting the innocents of the world. Some stories say that children do return from these places after they disappear for days or even years. Trading could be an option for example. One story with Baba yaga, there is a woman that hears about children disappearing and that a witch is believed to be the culprit responsible. She devises a plan to trick the witch. With the knowledge of how the witch likes to trade. Especially for pretty things or sugar to make candy for children… The witch has absolute rules when it comes to trade, when you accept something you must offer something of equal value in return.
The young woman finds a Water Buffalo and paints it all the colors of the rainbow. The beast looked magical and Baba Yaga wanted it. The girl said I will give you this magical beast if you trade me all of your wooden dolls. In the end Baba Yaga accepts the beast thinking that she'll be able to keep more children happy with the magic beasts company. Baba yaga gave the woman all of the wooden dolls and as soon as they left the forest the dolls turned back into children. Later in the story however it rains and Baba Yaga learns that she was tricked when the paint washes off the beast."
Turning around with books stacked up to his chin Jack waddled back over to the coffee table dropping the stack of books. He sat on his knees and looked at Maia. His glasses were fogged and he was out of breath making Maia want to laugh but she held it back behind a small smile.
"This goddess has to be real, or at least a person that's capable of magic actually exists. The playground was created with a goal to take away children. Then keeping them young and happy forever."
"Do you really believe that magic is real?" asked Maia.
"Can you honestly say you don't believe in such things after what happened to you?"
Jack said, giving a questioning look whilst leaning his elbow on the coffee table, resting his head on his hand.
"Honestly I keep trying to tell myself I am crazy and that will somehow make getting Wendy back simpler. I… I know what I saw. I just don't know if I'll ever feel like that night was real."
"Well I have something to help you believe." Jack pulled a notebook out of the pile and opened it on the table. The pages were full of drawings of various patterns and notes. Something Maia thought was funny about the drawings was how they had lines but they were made of little dots.
Jack explained that the book was his notes taken from the symbols the kids explained to him that were hidden all over the world of the Endless. So far he could do bearer, communication, and summoning spells. Maia looked at Jack like he was talking nonsense.
"Look you don't need to take my word for it. Just take this." He opened a sliding drawer in the coffee table and handed her a small glass bottle. It had a strange bright green liquid in it. He then handed her a fountain pen and paper. "Just draw that one and sit it in the sun outside."
"What will it do?" Maia had a raised eyebrow as she inspected the things she was handed Jack got up.
"It is a small summoning spell. It is completely harmless."
"Ok…" Maia was unsure but she knew Jack would not mean any harm so went out on the stairs with him. Drawing the symbols in solid lines she finished and handed the paper to Jack. He gave it a glance and smiled as he placed it on the step in front of them. They sat still and quiet as they waited for something to happen. A single monarch butterfly fluttered down and landed at the edge of the pattern. Then three more, then more kept coming till the paper was covered in butterflies surrounding the pattern. Maia was mesmerized as Jack leaned forward and smeared a line of the pattern. As soon as he did the butterflies flew away free of the trance.
"I have found that these symbols and patterns are like a language. I have made a few of my own that work and have discovered that the color you make them changes them as well." Jack was talking but Maia was only half listening as she was flipping through Jack's notebook. The excitement she felt made her heart race. This was real. It happened right in front of her by her own hands. Jack then spent the rest of the day showing her how things worked. Then they met everyday after for three days as they made a plan to break open the Endless.
It was a bright and sunny day as Maia stood next to the golden talking horn chatting with Wendy. Jack was busy spilling white sand in a pattern in the middle of the playground. "Maia I am ready." He called out. Maia was reluctant to stop talking to Wendy but she came over and stepped into the pattern. Jack finished the last line and the ground shook for a moment then stopped. The birds stopped singing and not even a whisper of the wind disturbed the leaves.
"Did it work?" asked Maia as she held a small sketchbook and pen. Jack took out a small stack of papers and a pen as well. Then suddenly a shriek sounded out making them both jump. To the left of Maia something traveled under the ground but it was in a hurry to get away. Several other bumps showed up from different directions. "I think it is." said Jack as the things under the ground rushed towards them. Each one let out a cry of pain and retreated when they touched the edge of the pattern. "Ha ha ha! That's right, run." Jack called out. Maia was laughing nervously as she couldn't believe that they were succeeding.
"Ok next." Maia had a big smile as she drew a pattern and turned the book away from her. Everywhere she pointed it looked like a black a white picture. Searching like you would with a flashlight in the dark she walked around the pattern looking at the playground. Both of them gasped when she pointed it towards where Jack was standing. The shadow woman was standing at the edge of the pattern. Jack backed up not wanting to take the chance that it could reach out and mess with his mind. Who knows what it could do when they provoked it enough. Jack drew a pattern and ripped the page out. Crumbling it up, he threw it at the shadow. It quickly evaded to somewhere back in the woods.
"Keep looking for her while I do the next step." Jack was drawing as he walked to the center of the safe space they had made. Maia's arms felt cold suddenly then she could see her breath. Jack could feel it too but he was busy trying to concentrate.
"Stay, stay, stay.." came a woman's haunting voice. Maia was familiar with this so it didn't scare her until it changed. Instead of the woman's voice there was a howl. Something made the bushes move off to the right, as Maia pointed her book at it revealing a black wolf that was so big its shoulders were taller than her.
"Jack.." Maia was so scared her voice was only a small whisper. Jack ripped out the page he was working on and left it on the ground.
"Maia come here."Jack took her hand as they stood in the middle of the pattern looking at the wolf. It walked around the perimeter a few times then sat at the edge of the protective pattern. The eyes were so intense and the expression on its face made Maia feel like it was smiling. "It is starting to work." Jacks excitement was enough to make Maia look away from the wolf. Above the page Jack drew was a hazy fog that grew thicker as it spread around the playground. Little bright silhouettes of the kids appeared one by one. They were all gathered around the talking horn listening and cheering for them. Jack squeezed Maia's hand. "Shall we?" he asked with a smile.
"Let's hurry." She said as she looked back to make sure the wolf had not moved. It was still sitting there still as stone. They both took their pens and drew on their hands. As they finished drawing a rumbling sound came from the ground. Then the fog rushed away from them creating a bubble around the entire playground. The sun was blocked out and in the dim light they could see the wolf and the woman standing together but they were inside the pattern now. "Aahhhh!" screamed Maia as the woman closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye. The woman grabbed Maia by the shoulders and pushed her to the ground. As this was happening Jack backed up till his back was against a support beam of the tower. The wolf stood only a few inches from him but it didn't bite him. Not yet at least… As his heart raced wildly Jack decided to try one last thing.
"Callisto, Persephone, please hear me!" Jack cried out as the wolf's lips curled up preparing to attack. Maia was in tears as she tried to wiggle free from the shadow. Their plan was a gamble combination of magic to reveal what was hidden, and mark themselves with the life of the traveler that allowed them to walk through walls and their theory was even realms. The wolf snapped at Jaks face violently but it stayed only inches from him as if it was threatening him before it turned away and walked over to a small figure standing a little ways off from the commotion. It sat down and stopped growling. Jack's eyes adjusted and he could now see the small figure was a little girl with messy blond hair clinging to a teddy bear. She reaches up and pet the wolf's shoulder as if they were old friends.
"Stay Cerberus." She said assertively. Her adorable little voice felt so out of place in this situation it actually calmed Maia. Jack on the other hand felt like he could pass out at any moment as his legs felt weak at the thought racing through his head. He never called out the name of the suspected culprit out of fear that it might trigger something he couldn't handle. Having his plan that was years in the making fail even with help, he had little to lose on taking a final gamble. Now he knew he was up against Callisto in the flesh. Beyond even that she called the wolf Cerberus! The hound of legend that guarded the god of death and contracts. The little girl walked up to Jack and crossed her arms with a pouty face.
"My name is Little Bear not Callisto." Jack's eyes went wide as so many pieces to the puzzle now came together for him.
"I'm sorry Little Bear. I have only really old book that told me of your old name." Jack went down on one knee so he was on her level and to show respect. Little Bear's face went bright with a smile.
"That's ok. I forgive you. Momma Persephone told me it is good to be forgiving." She said this while swinging her arms back and forth without a worry in the world.
"Momma Persephone was a good teacher. Could You forgive Maia as well?" Jack looked to Maia who was still being held down. Little Bear gestured like she was inviting the shadow over to her.
"Momma, can you come here?" Little Bear asked. The shadow let go of Maia and walked over to Little Bear stopping at her side. Maia got up and calmly walked over to Jack, sitting on her knees beside him.
"Thank you." Maia said softly. Little Bear smiled and walked up to her. She reached out a hand, picking up a piece of Maias long black hair.
"I like your hair." she said as she ran her little fingers through it.
"Little Bear… May I ask you something big?" Maia's voice gave away how nervous she was but Little Bear ignored that and just nodded.
"Will you please give us back our family?" Little Bear stopped playing with Maia's hare and crossed her arms.
"No! We are a family. We are a happy family…" Little Bear Looked down frustrated. What she said gave Jack an idea.
"Are they really happy?" Little Bear looked up with tears in her eyes.
"Momma's shadow gives us everything we want, but…" Unable to hold back her tears anymore she started to cry. "They want other mom's and dad's! My momma tries." Maia could not help it anymore and opened her arms up for a hug. Little Bear eagerly embraced her as she sobed.
"It's ok. I am sure everyone loves your momma. You do need to remember they have loved ones before coming here and missing them is natural. Love is like that, you miss the people you love when they are not with you." As Jack said this Maia rubbed Little Bears back to comfort her. Little Bear thought back to the last few days. Wendy was a new member of the family but she cried all the time and never asked for anything but her Mom. Little Bear looked at Jack. He had a complicated expression that she could not decipher but from what she could tell he was sad. She had heard so much over the years about Jack from his brother Rohn. She always wanted to meet him but he would never say the words and instead always tried to take away Rohn.
"I can't let the world take them and hurt them." Little Bear let go of Maia. She felt embarrassed and didn't know what to do. She wanted everyone to be happy and safe. She liked Maia and Jack as well but they were no longer kids. "I need to ask Momma something." Little Bear wiped her face as she walked up to the shadow woman. It bent really low and let Little Bear whisper to her. The shadow looked to whisper back then Little Bear turned back to them.
"Momma Persephone says that her and mister contracts made me little and protected me so I could have a family. She thinks it would be good to have a new momma and dad to make a family." Maia was not expecting this but it meant she could be with Wendy. Jack could see that Maia was not going to say no but he had questions first.
"Before we agree to go, can I ask some things first?" Little Bear looked at Momma shadow and it nodded.
"Ok." Little Bear fidgeted with her teddy bear as she waited for Jack's questions.
"Will we not be allowed to leave?"
"You will have to stay so we can all be safe." Jack and Maia were not surprised by this answer.
"Will we be allowed to request things like everyone else?"
"Yep, it is only fair." Little Bare had a look like all of his questions were silly.
"Will we stop aging as well?"
"Yes, that is what the god of contracts promised. No one in Persephone's garden will age or know death." Little Bear sighted the answer like it was something she learned like a nursery rhyme. Maia locked eyes with Jack and took his hand.
"This is how we can make a change and all be together." Jack nodded as he thought about how this was also probably the only way they would both be getting out of this alive. Glancing at the wolf for only a moment and thinking what it would be like to finally hug his brother.
"I agree to come with you and be part of the family."
"I do as well." Said Maia.
Little Bear Hopped around clapping her hands in joy. The shadow of Persephone disappeared and the fog along with her. The sound of cheers grew louder and the sun shined brightly. Jack could see a little treehouse city sparkling with little lights. Strong little arms wrapped around his legs as he heard Rohn call his name. Maia was hugging Wendy and spinning her around as all of the children of the Endless celebrated. Jack hugged his brother tight and as he did he thought that now, just maybe they could have happiness. Here he may also be able to find a way out and save those that don't want to be here in the Endless Garden of Persephone.
– The End –
– Or is it? –