The House of Glass

Daddy was distracted.

She went inside.

The House of Glass looked a lot like a temple of thousand doors, but it was for sure the toughest of her challenges. For starters, she was not allowed to bring the Magic Sword along. The Knight in shiny armor was holding on to it outside the House for the rest of the day, and the sun was setting already. Before the day was over, she was urged to complete this task, the last on a short list of dues that would earn her long craved Courage.

First fork in the path, go right.

She checked her list mentally again, to lift her spirit in this moment of distress. The first foe she defeated today was the Harlequin. She had goose bumps every time she recalled his face. He pretended to pass as unintentionally humorous, singing and dancing his horrible tune while she intended to focus on the task at hand. She needed to throw a ball through a hole in the wall. The Knight in the shiny armor, always by her side, would not give her a hand. He was merely protecting was he cared the most, and letting her achieve success or failure on her own. She made it with the last ball, and the Harlequin was forced to surrender the prize he didn´t want to let go: the Magic Sword.

Fear of clowns: checked!

She kept walking inside the maze of mirrors that decorated the House of Glass. Her steps were short and slow, as if some kind of monster would suddenly come out from the floor and grab her. She was certain no one would hear her scream in that place, especially considering that by now the Carnival would be already closing. She was all alone, except for her loyal squire and companion, Sir Clover the Great. The reflections on the mirrors revealed that Sir Clover was in total control of his emotions. He was calm, and that serenity helped her move on.

She closed her eyes for a second, remembering her second burden of the day: the Tunnel. The thoughts of abnormal-sized spiders or any other kind of creature was good enough to make her abandon the Quest, but the Knight in the shiny armor had confidence in her. He was waiting on the other side. He had to be. Like the other knights before her, she jumped into a horse that moved perpetually up and down as they both disappeared, swollen by the darkness of the Tunnel. The screams of the knights ahead of her was the only audible sound and she trembled in terror, but she refused to shut her eyes. From the sides of the ride, the creatures started to pop next to her: giant roaches, disgusting snakes, even weird grasshoppers and yes, spiders the size of an ox.

“They can´t harm you. Remember that.”–The Knight in the shiny armor had told her.

She did remember. They won´t dare to touch her. The horse kept balancing up and down and she stopped screaming. Behind her, more brave knights ventured inside the cave as well, and they yelled just the same. The path lasted longer than she was anticipating. The monsters never stop popping out from everywhere, some of them so close she could almost smell their stench, and she even considered some spider webs got pasted on her hair, but she remained robust. Finally, the horse saw the light of the afternoon, and she was out of there, spotting the Knight in the shiny armor with both arms crossed, awaiting devotedly her arrival. She smiled and stepped off, as another Harlequin awarded her the company of Sir Clover the Great.

Fear of creepy creatures: checked!

Sara looked behind her. The path looked unfamiliar. There were just mirrors everywhere, nothing familiar she could use for orientation. After a little while she faced with a truth she knew she would eventually face: she was lost.

Her breathing accelerated. She held on Sir Clover, finding strength in her silent squire.

“Thank God you are here, Sir Clover.”

Another fork on the path, and she took the left this time, venturing even deeper inside the crystal labyrinth. For as tough and resilient she was, the mirrors kept reminding her that she was a 7 year old girl and she allowed those dark forces cloud her mind for a second. She looked back, hoping that perhaps another knight would pass and help her, but nobody came to rescue. Sir Clover suggested she needed to find strength within herself, but it was hard, and she was alone and desperate, so she did what a frightened seven-year-old would do in a situation like that: she crouched and closed her eyes. She thought about the Knight in the shiny armor and her heart wrinkled. He will be disappointed.

“One step at a time”, he had told her about an hour ago, just before she faced her third foe: The Dragon.

That task was not just difficult, it was impossible. The Dragon was not meant to be defeated in duel, it was meant to be ridden and tame while flying through the air, which was significantly worst. Once again, the Knight in shiny armor held her sword and remained in the ground along with Sir Clover, as she waited for the Dragon to finish off the other knights. A skeletal helper strapped her on the mount the same way he assisted the other knights and suddenly the chairs started flying in circles, going higher and faster at every second. Sara held tight to the restrains and screamed loud, but the Dragon flew even higher and faster than before. She open one eye a little bit and saw all the kids spinning around the chairs just like her, some of them shouting out in joy with their arms in the air. How was that even possible? She overcame the force that kept her frozen to the chair and opened both eyes. The world was rotating constantly, but that was it.

Before the ride was over, she was laughing like the rest of the children, enjoying the strong wind in her brown loose hair and watching the world far away down under her feet.

Fear of heights: checked!

However, this was a complete different story. There was no help in this place, just endless rows of the same. The mirrors had trapped her in a place where the way out was as unseen from her as the door she crossed to wander inside.

Unexpectedly, she heard footsteps. Someone was coming.

Finally! The most desired assistance was underway and it probably—

Sara´s mental monologue was interrupted when she spotted a boy just passing by. He stopped and stared at her and then he disappeared again from sight. Sara wanted to say something, she wanted to ask him to help her, she wanted to say stop, but not a word came out of her mouth. She could only hope that the boy didn´t notice the tear coming down her cheek as she remained crouched like a tiny dot on the floor.

“Step up, Sara.”

She thought the voice came from someone else: the Knight in the shiny armor, who finally had giving up waiting for her to achieve the last hurdle in her Quest for Courage; or perhaps Sir Clover, showing support as loyally squire, even the boy-knight or another Harlequin, but no. The voice, she would found out later, came straight from her heart and soul. It was the end of the Quest and she had succeeded, and this was her reward: Courage had finally come to show her the way.

She stepped off the floor, and move towards the way the boy had gone.

“One step at a time”. The voice continued. This was actually the voice of the Knight in the shiny armor.

“You can do it! I believe in you.” –Said Sir Clover.

Sara smiled and her steps grew in confidence. She could now hear the music coming from the outside. The exit was near. More steps, more choices, right, left, and another right. When she found a dead end, she would walk back and take a different path. No big deal. The music was getting louder and louder.

“Sara!”

This time, it was actually the Knight in the shiny armor who screamed from outside. She heard the voice, but she didn´t answer. She had to go through the whole thing by herself.

A ray of artificial light illuminated one of the mirrors and Sara knew she was almost out; she made the final turn and found the exit door of the House of Glass. Outside, the Knight in the shiny armor ran to her and she surrendered to his arms.

“Daddy!”

Her father hugged her tight, and she heard some of the people around, including a few Harlequins, sighing in relief. They started to walk by their business, leaving her with her father, melted in one never ending embrace.  

“Sara, what happened? I lost you…you must never walk away from me again like this.”

Her chin lowered down in shame, but her dad just hugged her one more time.

“I´m sorry daddy…but I needed to go through the maze. It was my last task. I needed to find my last reward.”

Their eyes met again, the sweet expression in her face changed back to joy.

“And what reward was that?” –He asked her.

“Courage.”

Her dad smiled at her. The boy who crossed through the House of Glass in less than a minute saw the two of them and he shrugged, unable to understand what the big deal was. He got bored and ran away to his mother, imagining it was just a father-daughter thing that had no importance at all. Then, a loud metallic voice sounded on the speaker.

“Dear folks, the Carnival is now closing. Please address the next exit and join us tomorrow for another day of fun. Thank you for coming and we hope you had a great time!”

As they started to walk to the parking lot, Sara talked endlessly about her achievements, the game with the ball at the fair, the Cave of horror, the Flying Chairs and finally, the House of Glass, remarking how fearful she was of being lost and alone, and how she overcame her fears through patience and persistence.

“Well, I guess since you have found courage, you ready to sleep with the lights off then, are you not?” –Her dad inquired.  

Sara froze just for one second, and then she continued walking.

“Dad, one step at a time. Remember?” –She said, making his father smile yet one more time.

“That´s right sweetheart. One step at a time.”

She walked along with her dad, her Knight in the shiny armor, whose eyes looked at hers from above, overflowing with love, admiration and pride. She was now happier, bigger and wiser. On her left hand, she carried the plastic sword, won against the Harlequin. Around her right arm, she held Sir Clover the Great, her new stuffed bunny and inseparable friend from now on.

Fear of darkness: ummmm. To be checked soon!