Krisha Bang, Class 7, Hill Spring International School, Mumbai

Path of Doom

“Oh, my! What do I do now?” exclaimed Zella Zeroni in despair, as she gazed at the broken crystal ball. Zella Zeroni was a curious young girl, fascinated by the art of fortune-telling and crystal balls. She and Mr Habrow, the fortune teller, had always been on friendly notes, but Zella, like all others was forbidden from touching his crystal ball. However, that afternoon, she couldn’t resist the temptation to touch it. She had picked it up to study it, but had jumped in fright at the sound of footsteps. The crystal ball flew into the air and fell hard on the ground with a crash, breaking into pieces, scattering all around.

Zella Zeroni knew that she had a guilty conscience and went and truthfully admitted her blunder. “You touched my crystal ball and broke it! Inobedience!” Habrow bellowed furiously. He sent Zella off onto the Path of Doom to make a new crystal ball for him. She headed up the mountain, stopping by the river in which the water ran uphill. She took out a glass vial from her bag filled it to the brim. She smiled in satisfaction at completing the first part of her journey safely, by getting a vial of water from the River of Petosa. On the other side of the mountain, she saw a vast grassy field. She walked ahead, mesmerised by its beauty.

In the distance, she could see a wounded unicorn. She proceeded towards it slowly to show that she was a friend. She was relieved to see that it was a minor gash which she knew how to heal. A drop of honey and an Echinacea leaf had always done the trick. After aiding the injured unicorn, she was granted one wish which she used to get a unicorn’s horn, the second ingredient needed to make a crystal ball. She now needed a drop of dragon’s blood to have all three ingredients.

The only dragon that existed was Medona, the guardian of the Temple of Megrasa, where she needed to conduct a special ritual in order for the crystal ball to be complete. As soon as she reached the temple, she began playing her harp in the hope of calming down the mighty beast. The melodious tune reached the dragon’s ears and he was reminded of the happy times. He curled up into a ball and slept soundly as he ventured into the past.

She quickly made a small cut at the tip of the dragon’s tail and saved the blood in a container. The temple was an assortment of 4 pillars standing together. She placed the ingredients side by side. She chanted the words engraved on the pillars, with power and confidence. Before her eyes, the ingredients merged and formed a perfect crystal ball.

Back home in Latvia, she presented it to Habrow. He was proud of her and said, “You have proved to have all the qualities needed in a good and successful fortune teller.” She blushed at this but let him continue. “I am an old man and so I declare you to be my replacement once I leave this world. I name you Zella Zeroni, the future fortune teller of Latvia. May you be blessed.”