The Concrete Circle

The map was perfectly clear; this was where he would find it. He just hadn’t expected that he would have to get wet. Reluctantly, he swam out to the giant concrete circle. He looked deep down into it but couldn’t see the bottom. Even with that, he climbed up on the concrete, sighed, took a deep breath, and dove in without thinking. However, the moment that his body went underwater all the air expelled from his lungs. His instinct was to breathe in. Much to his surprise, his lungs were filled with the purest, most crisp air he’d ever breathed. As his feet touched the plushy sand, he was met with the most colorful landscape his eyes had ever seen. Colors he had truly never seen before. He seemed to be on a beach somehow. Perplexed, he wondered how he had gotten there. As he looked to the sky he could see that concrete circle, hanging in the sky like an eclipsed moon. He then remembered what had brought him here, his quest to find it, the one and only reason he’d risk his life, magic. He bravely took on the landscape, walking from the beach deep into the jungle that lay out before him. This was unlike any jungle he’d ever seen or heard of; with trees and plants of all colors. Leaves shined bright pinks and purples, tree trunks colored blues and yellows, fruits of every color you could imagine, plus all the colors you couldn't. It was as if he’d stepped into an entirely different world. A world filled with so much beauty it had to be magical. 

As he continued his journey deep into the jungle, he began thinking of why he had begun this quest in the first place and the events that had led him to this point. Had his life not fallen apart, would he have ever discovered this within himself? Would he have ever uncovered his family’s secret? He realized then that his life had not really fallen apart. He had simply rid himself of the things holding him back from his destiny. Had he told his wife about his family’s secret, would she have believed him? Or would she have had him committed for fear he had gone mad? He knew whatever would have happened it wouldn’t have ended well. This was better. The freedom to discover and explore himself and his heritage on his own. 

As he reached an opening in the trees, he saw it. Just beyond the clearing sat the well he’d been promised. He ran. He ran as fast as he could, so excited to finally find the thing he’d been searching for all these months. He ran to the well and looked inside. What looked back is what surprised him. It was man. A man that looked exactly like him sitting at the bottom of the well, looking up as if he’d expected someone to be looking down at that very moment. “Joseph” the man in the well said with a voice so raspy it sounded as though he hadn’t had a drink in years, “I’ve been waiting for you”. Joseph, shocked in disbelief, stumbled back. “Come back” the man in the well exclaimed, “I have what you’ve been searching for”. To that, Joseph returned. He looked back down the well at the man at the bottom and asked what exactly that was, and with a sly smirk the man looked up at Joseph and said, “Magic”. Then Joseph blinked and suddenly the man that looked just like him was standing directly in front of him, dressed in a solid black tuxedo and completely cleaned up as if he hadn’t just been sitting in a dried up, dirty well. Joseph stepped back and stuttered, “Wh-wh-who are you?”. “I’m the magician you seek, here to grant you the blessings you rightfully deserve”, replied the man from the well. “H-how will you do that?”, asked Joseph. “Like this”, said the magician. Then with the snap of his fingers, Joseph was back at home, sitting on his bed, looking at the same map he’d found all those months ago. He blinked in disbelief knowing what he’d just seen and been through, knowing that there was no way he should be in his bed right now. Then as he looked down at the map, he saw it, the magician’s face winking down at the bottom, right as all the ink on the page vanished. He picked the map up and flipped it over and over, knowing that couldn’t have just happened. He didn’t know what to do, or what to think, all he knew was that he needed a drink. He thought about exactly what he wanted, an ice cold glass of lemon water. As he thought intently about what he wanted, he blinked his eyes and opened them to see an ice cold glass of lemon water sitting on the nightstand next to him. He knew it hadn’t been there just seconds ago. There was no way that could have been. Had he made the glass appear? Had he willed it to be? He decided to try something else. He closed his eyes and thought about a nice steak dinner, cooked exactly as he liked it, with broccoli and macaroni on the side. He focused his thoughts and opened his eyes to see exactly what he had wanted. He realized, he had done it. He had found the magic. He finished his quest and got exactly what he had been looking for, what he rightfully deserved. He was the magician now. He would finish the prophecy laid before him. He didn't know when or how, but he knew it would happen. Once again he'd wind up on that enchanted island. Once again, he'd take the dive that just weeks ago he would never have imagined he'd be doing. It was crazy to think that he'd be doing it again. It was even crazier to think he was looking forward to it.