#3- Two Plans
Seeing the terrible-looking robbers crying, Mani felt quite superior and he told them, “don’t worry I have a plan given to me by the great O Wan Ho himself.”
“O Wan Ho, is back!” Cried the chief in joy, “what joy, he is the only one who can undo this. Take us to him.”
“No no..I can’t take you now,” said Mani thinking fast because if he took them to O Wan Ho he knew what would happen to him. His mother had told him many tales of O Wan Ho’s powers and his anger at being disobeyed. So Mani quickly said the first thing that came to him, “I learned a few things when I became his apprentice. I can help you. First, we need to get some money.”
“Why money?” Asked the chief
“Yes,” Jabal growled in agreement, “why money?”
“Because money will help us pay the magicians,” said Mani scoffingly. “Do you think magicians work for free? The better the magician the higher the price. So if you want O Wan Ho to help you you will need to get money. Now no more useless talking, let me tell you my plan to get you money fast so that you can quickly become what you want.”
As Mani tells the gullible thieves his sneaky plan, let’s see what happened to Vani.
When Mani gave Vani’s ring to the tinkerman she was plucked from the spot where she slept and moved through wind and cyclone to a strange place. Her memory left her and she became as small a grown woman’s thumb.
Waking up, Vani had no recollection of what she was before, not even her name. It was like a transparent yet strong veil hung around her.
“Where am I,” she called out and her voice echoed back to her. Looking down at herself she saw her skin reflecting a strange greenish-blue tint.
“What is this light?” She asked again, and then after a few moments she asked out loud, “who am I and where am I?”
By now she despaired of ever getting any answers and tried to get up and see where she was. But as soon as she took a step she slipped on the slippery glass-like surface.
“Hehehe,” she heard a loud chuckle, “its so funny when you new slaves try to walk at first and keep slipping. Hahaha. It never gets old.”
Vani turned towards the voice. It seemed to be coming from somewhere above her.
She looked up and saw a scary big eye looking down at her.
“Hello,” she called. “Who are you?”
“I am your master. That’s all you need to know,” boomed the tinkermans voice.
“Master! I have a master?” said Vani, glad to find at least one thing about herself.
“Yes, I am your master and from now on you will do exactly as I say. You will join my other slaves in the work they do. Everyone has to work,” said the tinkerman.
“Yes master,” said Vani
“Now go to sleep,” he commanded, and as soon as he said those words, Vani felt her eyes drooping and she slipped on the hard glass floor. The sea-green bottle was now her home.
“Haha,” chortled the tinkerman, “I have got you here and will keep you till your ring wears away or till you can wear it hahaha and that slave means Never!” Saying that he put the greenish-blue glass bottle on a rack of a long row of identical bottles each with a small human inside.
Now everyday Vani got up in the morning with the other slaves and a spell from the tinkerman got them out of their glass bottles. The slaves then set to work cleaning the house, cooking the food, cutting the grass, and the many works needed to keep the tinkermans house moving.
All the days seemed the same and Vani barely remembered one from the other, till one day something strange happened.
Vani’s job that day was to clean a chest of drawers in the tinkerman’s bedroom. As she set to work, carefully pulling out each drawer, and dusting the interior of the drawer and its contents it felt like she had spent her whole life doing it. As she started cleaning another drawer that had a small box, she heard a voice whisper, “Vani is that you.”
The minute she heard that voice, Vani knew who she had been. All her memory came flooding back and when she saw how small she had become, she burst out crying.
“Oh no, what happened to me...how did I forget myself,” she cried.
“Don’t worry my dear I will help and guide you,” said her mother’s voice.
“Mother,” cried Vani, “where are you mother? I can hear your voice but where are you?”
“I’m in a ring inside this box. You are too weak now, go back to the place this wicked magician has kept you and I will find a way to get you out in five days. Till then you find a way to work in the garden so that the sunlight will strengthen your bones and brighten your eyes.”
Sidelight
Writing demands a slowing down. I felt this as I wrote this chapter.
In the first version, I just picked up Vani from where she was sleeping, landed her in the glass bottle and then tried to continue the story. I dints how her confusion on waking up in a strange place with no memory and her happiness at chairing a voice, even if that was a cruel voice.
Maybe next time I will save the draft versions so that I can illustrate the change better.
But yes, we need to breathe as we write or our reader will continuously be running with us from one scene too another, without soaking in the implications of each scene.