Call of the Mynah

By Cynthia W. N.

From the small village of Ruthola, a twelve-year old boy named Rikipot, who works in the stable of King Edwin, is awakened by the song of a Mynah one cold, winter night; a voice that leads him into the forest and to an unbelievable world in the sea, accompanied by a half-sea creature, half-human named Dripold right into the depths of Akiras world.
The beautiful Queen Akira asks Rikipot to solve a crisis that only he is destined to end. She introduces him to a treasure hunt that he must play to end the crisis. Unsure though about why he was chosen to play the treasure hunt, although reluctant, he takes on the magical treasure hunt like no other with his best friend Alda, who is willing to support him on his journey.
This book is a venture into a world of fairy tales that were yet untold; unknown to two best friends that they probably might be characters of a bigger fairy tale.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Feb 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781482815276

Book preview

PROLOGUE

T he story begins on that early winter morning. The sky was a clear dark grey, the air was cold as ice, and the water was freezing in the fading moonlight when Harvey felt the gentle pull of his fishing line. He paused for a few seconds, making sure that it was a fish and not just a tug of the wind. And then he felt the pull again and then again for a third time. This time, feeling positive that it was definitely a fish, he carefully shifted his position very slowly and sat down quietly on the other side of the boat in a more comfortable position and waited. He had all the patience in the world with him right now.

Harvey was a fisherman, the best in the village. He preferred to fish alone and went for his catch every morning. He was middle-aged, strong, and experienced with the sea. He had been fishing for forty years now and knew nothing but fishing his whole life. He had created a bond with the sea since the age of ten, when he had started accompanying his father.

With a feeling of intense excitement, he looked out towards the end of the line till it touched the water and waited patiently to pull out his catch. It was a big one! He could feel it. In a few minutes, he saw it—the majestic golden fins and tail of a brilliant-orange fish. And then the body of the fish rose out of the water, a radiant golden colour, so bright that it almost hurt his eye. But wait a minute. Was this a goldfish? And one this big? He had never seen a goldfish this big his entire life.

This is going to get me a fortune, he said to himself as he started pulling the line towards him, smiling more and more to himself, his greed growing steadily with every pull of the line.

The moment he pulled the fish up to the stern to take it off the hook, the fish looked at him with its huge black beady eyes and said, ‘Kind man, if you let me go, then you will get treasures and joys more than anything you have ever imagined. But if you kill me, let me warn you, your firstborn will face a misfortune so terrible like no other.’

For an instant, Harvey felt like he was dreaming but was astonished at the same time. He had never talked to any living animal before, let alone a fish. It took him a few seconds to believe what he had just heard, then he laughed out loudly and said, ‘Sure, I will. My dear fish, I have had a life full of struggle to find any truth in a silly fish such as you. I have searched and searched for the richest treasures. But alas! Neither have I found any treasure nor have I found any happiness. But it seems luck has finally decided to shine her face on me today. I have waited for a catch like you all my life, I’m afraid I cannot let you go.’

And with that, he killed the poor fish mercilessly with his harpoon until it breathed no more. At that precise moment, there was an ear-splitting thunder and a loud display of white light that dazzled the entire sky. It looked like a rain of shooting stars, as if the moon had broken into a million pieces and was falling down from the sky into the sea. And then there was a violent storm that came out of nowhere and shook him out of his place, rocking his boat ferociously.

After much effort, he lifted himself and held on to the boat tightly, holding on to his dear life, as the boat continued to rock wildly against the terrifying outburst of the sea. He held his breath and felt a shiver run down his spine. And then it stopped as suddenly as it had started, and everything was calm. Trying to calm down while catching his breath, he turned and looked down at the gentle fish that lay lifeless and yet so radiant on the floor of his boat. The scales of the majestic fish now shone a dark golden colour.

He turned his face from the fish and started heading back to shore, his heart thumping against his chest, his thoughts filled with awe and confusion. He tried to figure out the meaning of all this, and a feeling of deep remorse and unstoppable fear took over. His hands trembled as he held on to the oars of the tiny boat, and he felt tears streaming down his face, knowing that he had done the biggest mistake of his life—a mistake that was irreversible—and there was nothing he could do now to change it.

He felt so miserable as he walked back home dragging his fishing net along the sand. He looked at the dark-grey clouds above him and wished for nothing more than death.

*     *     *

She held his hand tightly as he was lying down on the straw bed, with only a few hours left in his bleeding body. He was gazing at her with tears in his eyes, and then for a moment, he looked away.

‘You’ll be fine, dear. Mr Thom said you’ll get better in a few—’

‘Shh, Elma. It’s all right now. You and I both know the truth,’ he said, struggling with each word he spoke, and gave her a weak smile.

She tried to fight back tears as she sat down beside him helplessly, watching her husband fighting for death and barely able to speak.

‘Listen to me very carefully, El. I have very little time. That is something neither of us can change. But what I am going to tell you is very important. It is a secret that I have held on to for some time now. I tried telling it to you many times but couldn’t muster up the courage. But today, I have no choice but to tell you.

‘The accident I had was no accident. It was something that was bound to happen, something I’ve been anticipating for a few months now. I hope you will understand and forgive me. I never wanted this for us… for our son. I… I…’

She listened patiently to her husband, tears streaming down her face, as he made his final confession to his wife. He coughed violently as he was unable to speak. She tried to help him sit up, but he cried in pain from the deep slash across his chest.

‘When the time is right, El,’ said Harvey sadly before he took his final breath, closing his eyes just as the goldfish had.

1. HAS ANYONE SEEN RIKIPOT?

T hat night, the wind from the south blew gently over the little land of Frutasia with no intention but another peaceful night to the folks of the land. The events that would unfold were buried deep into the night, especially those happening to young Rikipot Dwinkle, who slept soundlessly in the cold winter night. He was a twelve-year-old who worked in the castle of King Edwin; he was a boy whose face was shaped like a pentagon, with large blue eyes, and looked very young for his age. He didn’t look like he was twelve. He lived with his kind mother at the edge of the forest Ruthola in the land of Frutasia.

The land of Frutasia was the most fascinating land that ever existed. Now, the high king, Edwin, was very fond of fruits. In fact, he had an obsession for fruits. All his meals comprised of at least one fruit. His fondness for fruits was so great that he created a law in the whole land that every person’s meal should also comprise of a fruit. The land of Frutasia was such that it was naturally blessed with all the fruit trees ever known. There were varieties of apples, oranges, watermelons, musk melons, bananas, plums, peaches, custard apples, and every other sort of fruit that had been growing in plenty for centuries, even before King Edwin had ruled the land.

This may all seem a bit funny, but a long time ago, he had taken it as a sign that he should respect the gift that nature had bestowed upon his kingdom and had remained committed to all the fruits of the land. Obsessed though he was with fruits, he was a very kind man. King Edwin had been generously kind to Rikipot and his mother ever since he had lost his father ten years ago. Rikipot was a year old when his father died in a sea storm. His poor mother had worked hard in the palace to bring up her only son, and both had taken refuge and sought solace under the kindness of the king and queen.

Where there is good, there is always evil. That is one of the laws of nature that is known to all mankind. And so unknown to anyone but to Rikipot’s mother in the peaceful land of Frutasia, there was a secret that had dwelled in the Dwinkle household for as long as twelve years. She had held on to the secret since the death of her husband. She had pondered over and over about it for years now. She was thinking about it with tears in her eyes as she was looking at him sleeping calmly beside her. He was twelve years old now. It was time to tell him about it. She had to. There was no other choice.

*     *     *

Swimming in a sky-blue ocean that was clear and deep, he witnessed brilliantly red starfish resting on pearly-white corals of sorts, blue sea cucumbers that placed themselves in crevices as though in a painting, purple seahorses and sea urchins, and hundreds of other brilliant creatures of the deep that swam all around him along dense green foliage that seemed to grow rapidly with each stroke of his body. It was a different world altogether, like from a dream or from a book, unreal and yet so spectacular. He was swimming deeper and deeper into the ocean, unable to find what he was looking for, and yet he knew he couldn’t cease his quest till he found it. He thought he saw a dazzling light somewhere in the distance but realized it was only a giant pink jellyfish floating subconsciously in its solitude. His arms now ached with each breaststroke he was taking against the cool water, slow and yet steady. He knew he had to come back the next day. He had been swimming for hours. It was time he headed back to shore.

The moment he touched the shore, he saw a sparkling white light shining faintly in the distance. Inquisitiveness taking over, he started following the light. He was wet from the sea and shivered slightly in the cold as the white light moved further and further away from him. Before he realized it, he was running behind the light in a field full of white daisies, opening doors to a quest that was the source of that bright light. He was surrounded by young green trees and vast mountains in the distance. He noticed a majestic white mynah sitting on the top of a palm tree, tall and proud, gazing at him sternly and following him intently as he was running. A feeling of indescribable joy filled his heart when his eyes met those of the sparkling white mynah. He had never seen anything as beautiful! The sight of the mynah was so remarkable that it almost brought tears to his eyes.

Rushing past more daisies, he was joined by rabbits as white as snow and deer that were as gentle as the morning breeze. They ran along with him and then past him into the dense mist beyond. Brilliantly coloured butterflies flew above him, with wings so delicate and yet so