Anika and The Sorceress

By Marlene C. Aquino

Anika and The Sorceress is a story of a little girl named Anika endowed with amazing powers destined to conquer and defeat the Queen Sorceress
Meruja. A child with a pure heart, the only one capable of beating the wicked Kingdom of Ninirov.
The book has exciting adventures entwined with values, humor, drama, love and the triumph of g

• Language: English
• Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
• Release date: Jan 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781647530440

Book preview

1

Prophesy of the Elves

Virginia watched fondly as her daughter, Anika Smith, played with the other children at Obyan Beach. Her smart little seven-year-old, with big blue eyes and golden curly brown hair framing her adorable face, ran and laughed with the other children as they played tag—not at all out of place. Anika looked like any ordinary child. Ordinary . That word seemed to mock Virginia as she wished her little Anika to just be an ordinary little girl as her appearance suggested her to be. However, Virginia knew it was just wishful thinking. Anika was different.

Unbidden memories resurfaced as she thought of her daughter. While Anika was still in her womb, strange things happened, so strange that she could only tell about them to her husband for she knew that others would not believe her.

That one summer night, she woke up thirsty in their room that was filled with hot and humid air. William, her husband, was sound asleep and was lightly snoring beside her. She tiptoed out of the bedroom as a heavily pregnant woman could tiptoe and stay quiet.

She reached the kitchen without any problems despite not switching the lights on. The house was a neat little place that made moving in the dark easy.

The cool water felt heavenly on her parched throat. She sat on one of the chairs in the kitchen, smiling while absentmindedly rubbing her belly. A baby! Finally, their little family will be complete, and this house will be filled with the laughter and energy of a new life. She happily sipped the remaining cool water in the glass before going back to bed.

A stunning image met her as she entered their bedroom. There were little shining creatures the size of a pen, dancing, jumping, and running on the arms and legs of her husband, who remained sound asleep. They were dressed in colorful and shining attire, and they were looking and smiling at her.

She was paralyzed with shock. She could not believe what she was seeing. It was too surreal. And yet no matter how much she told herself that those little creatures were not in their bedroom, dancing on her surprisingly still unconscious husband, they would not go away.

A sharp pain jostled her from her shocked state. The baby in her womb had just kicked. The pain was real, and yet the strange little creatures were still there, merrily jumping and making strange squeaky sounds. She could only look at them with confused and questioning eyes.

Suddenly, one of the little creatures—the one with a bald head, long beard, pointed ears, and Pinocchio-like nose—smiled at Virginia and noticed the baby’s movement in her womb. In his surprisingly nonsqueaky and grandfatherly voice, he said, Your baby is not even afraid of us. Eyes crinkling, he continued, We won’t harm you. Your baby is special to us. He emphasized by spreading his arms wide, palms up. Your little child will have a special mission in our world. At age seven, she will come to our world to fulfill that mission, to fulfill her destiny.

The thought of anyone taking her baby away from her jolted her to action. Suddenly, she found her voice, which had previously failed her, and screamed. When her body was no longer frozen in shock, she ran toward the bed, arms wildly flailing and trying to grab the strange little creatures to no avail. They just flew in the air and effortlessly passed through the slit opening of the window, leaving Virginia sobbing and fearful of her child’s future.

They had always wanted a child of their own, and after more than four years of marriage and still childless, they went to different doctors, gynecologists, and obstetricians to consult their problem. However, the doctors found nothing wrong with them, and in vitro fertilization was far from Virginia’s mind.

Desperate, they even went to Bulacan, Philippines, and attended the Obando Fertility Rites, where they danced and sang to the patron saint Santa Clara, together with other couples who also have the same wish as them.

Sta. Clarang pinung-pino,

( Oh Pure St. Clare)

The song now played despite her distressed state of mind or in her distressed mind—the foreign words they had painstakingly learned to sing now playing clearly in her mind.

ang hiling ko po ay tuparin niyo,

( please grant my request)

She continued to sob, remembering that hot summer day, dancing the fandango in the street, dressed in traditional Filipino clothes…

pagdating ko po sa Obando,

(When I reach the place Obando)

…smiling and dancing, full of hope that their most precious wish would come true.

magsasayaw ako.

( I will dance for you)

And their wish did come true. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Her sobbing reduced to silent weeping, hiccuping a bit.

She remembered encountering an old woman after the dance. She had touched Virginia’s abdomen and smiled. Speaking in English laced with the accent of her native tongue, she told Virginia that soon she will bear a child. An extraordinary one. At that time, Virginia only smiled at the strange old woman, too happy to hear such wonderful omen.

She felt the bed shift a bit, and soon arms encircled her. The warmth it brought made her suddenly realize how cold she actually was. She felt, rather than heard, William yawn before he sleepily asked, Is there something wrong, honey? Why are you crying?

Still confused, not sure if the little creatures were indeed real, she could only say in a daze, Nothing. As if to convince herself more and not her husband, she added, I think I just had a bad dream.

William laughed and said, Then it must be real. Startled, Virginia could only turn her head to the side and stare at her husband. She didn’t know exactly what she looked like, but William visibly sobered and tried consoling her. I’m just kidding. William lightly kissed her head and hugged her tighter. It’s just a dream. Let’s go back to sleep, okay?

Suddenly feeling tired, Virginia lay beside William, but still sleep eluded her. The images and words of the little creature repeating over and over like a broken TV playing a video on a loop. Like reciting a mantra, she silently told herself that it was just a dream, merely an imagination concocted by her tiredness.

She was met by a clear day. Realizing that she had slept in jolted her awake, and she immediately fixed their bed before quickly shuffling to the kitchen. But before she could reach the kitchen, William poked his head out of the kitchen door and happily announced that breakfast was ready. Relief flooded Virginia, delighted that her sweet husband had already prepared breakfast.

William went to work immediately after breakfast, leaving Virginia with the light housework. Because she was too preoccupied with work and the goal to make the house as clean and orderly as possible in her pregnant state so that she and William could relax later on after a hard day’s work, the strange event last night was almost forgotten.

2

The Birth of Anika

The cool shade made by the mango tree in their backyard felt refreshing against the scorching heat made by the summer sun. She was resting after having finished the household chores, which was not much, only washing some of the dirty dishes and sweeping the floor. Apparently, William already did the laundry before preparing breakfast. The smell of freshly laundered clothes hanged to dry, mingling with the salty air and fresh smell of the trees and grass, relaxed Virginia as she sat on the garden chair while a fairy tale book lay open on the matching table.

Lately, her literary tastes leaned more on fantasy, fairy tales, and folklores, to be more precise. At the moment, she was simply staring after having just finished the Grimm’s fairy tale. She felt at peace.

On her peripheral vision, some fallen mango leaves on the small pond where they kept two koi fishes caught her attention. Humming random tunes, she got up and idly picked up the fallen leaves.

Suddenly, as she lifted the last leaf, the pond glowed brightly. Dread gripped her heart as the light quickly became blindingly bright. She instinctively closed her eyes and lifted her arms to shield them from the golden light.

Again, the baby in her womb kicked. The pain confirmed to her that she wasn’t dreaming at all, and the memory of last night’s dream slammed to her mind like a boulder. She was pained by the realization that it was not a dream after all.

She heard a voice, feminine and soft but strange as it felt like whoever was talking was behind a wall of water, and yet it was clear. It called her by her name, startling Virginia even more.

The strange voice speaking with authority introduced herself, I am Queen Memei, the queen of the kingdom of Durvesq.

Still nervous and scared, Virginia tried to open her eyes and see this strange queen. She has never heard of a kingdom named Durvesq. The best she could do was squint her eyes, but all she saw was a silhouette of a woman enveloped by the golden light.

Your daughter is the chosen one. She will have a mark on her right palm as a sign, Virginia, Queen Memei continued.

Virginia’s heart felt like it leaped to her throat. My baby! Something will happen to my baby! she wildly thought. However, before she could utter a word of protest, a cool breeze of air whipped passed her, and as sudden as the light had appeared, it had disappeared just as sudden.

Virginia was left in the garden, kneeling before the koi pond, feeling hopeless and outraged. How dare they! She was breathing harshly, staring with unshed tears at the pond. How could they decide on their own what her baby should do in the future? Why would they take her away at such a young age? What will they make her do? Her mind was full of questions but could produce no answers. As she mourned, she finally let the tears fall and sobbed.

She had calmed down a bit when William arrived that night. She was sitting curled up in the sofa, sipping a mug of chamomile tea. She had wiped the tears away, and the only sign that she had been crying were her red puffy eyes.

William immediately went to her side to console her. With a shaky voice, she related to her husband everything that had happened.

William just gave her a bewildered smile and half-jokingly told her that perhaps she had overexerted herself. But Virginia vehemently shook her head and, with a slightly raised voice, said, But that queen knew that we will have a daughter and that she will be born with a mark on her right palm.

William sighed, no doubt still not convinced. Okay, but right now, all you have to do is to take care of yourself and our baby.

Virginia kept quiet, sulking, knowing full well that William did not believe her and only said those words to placate her.

A few uneventful months after, Virginia gave birth to a normal, healthy, bouncy, and beautiful baby girl in a hospital. When the nurse handed the baby to them, immediately the couple inspected the hands of their little child. They were both relieved to see unblemished palms of the baby. There was no mark; not even a tiny mole marred the baby’s tiny hand.

Unbeknownst to them, there was indeed a mark on the infant’s right palm but only visible to the eyes of enchanted creatures. With their human eyes, the baby’s parents could not see the mark she was prophesied to bear.

Upon seeing the infant’s palms, Virginia felt as if a heavy burden was lifted off her shoulders. Perhaps everything was indeed just a product of her imagination, or maybe she was merely having pregnancy blues.

Happiness flooded Virginia’s heart. She smiled and cooed her little bundle of joy. The little one opened her eyes, revealing blue eyes, and recognized her mother’s voice. Virginia’s heart swelled even more and thought how pretty her baby girl is.

She looked at her baby, with big bright blue eyes and thin golden-brown hair. Virginia was all smiles, looking at her newborn. She was the prettiest baby she had ever seen in her life. She named her Anika. It sounded like the perfect name for her baby girl.

Meanwhile, in a world unknown to Virginia and William, in the kingdom of Durvesq, a grand celebration was happening. The great news of the birth of the savior of their king, Yuzuf, has spread throughout the whole kingdom. The queen of Durvesq, Queen Memei, was looking at a mirror where she can watch Virginia, William, and the newborn baby. The kingdom was