Mariel's Magic Pt. 01

Adriana had been sitting, motionless, sensing that a great battle was being waged but not knowing what it was. Recently, many doubts had crept into her mind about Jonathan, encouraged by his lack of affection. But as Trista was nearing defeat, she rejected these doubts and held onto the image of the man she knew and loved. When Trista's power was broken, the seeds of doubt that she had sown in Adriana's heart withered in the face of Mariel's magic.

She looked at her husband, sobbing, "What is it, my love? What's so terrible?" Adriana asked.

"I went to Trista and slept with her. I don't know why. She called me, and I had to come. I'm so sorry. I never wanted her, but when she called, I had to go. Can you forgive me? I never stopped loving you, but when I looked for you, all I could see was her."

Adriana saw what he did clearly in her mind. When Trista's power was broken, everything Jonathan had wanted to confess was there before her.

"I know," she said, "I can see it. I know you love me. I believe that Mariel will be back soon with Hana, and she'll tell us everything. Sit with me here, my love. Hold my hand and sit with me now."

Trista, who had once walked confidently, weaving her dark spells with the expectation of easy victories, sat looking at Mariel and Hana, defeated. Stripped of her power, she found herself looking at the little girl whom she had sought to turn to the dark. She had glimpsed the power of white magic, and her dark intentions evaporated like mist under the morning sun.

"You can walk away," said Mariel, kindly now, "and seek to use your magic to serve the darkness, and I will not stop you. But now you have witnessed the light, for perhaps the first time. You have power, and power will be needed in the coming battles. You may stay with us and learn more. Come, Trista, come with me. Come and look on the world with eyes that see the beauty, and not the greed, hate, and fear."

She reached out and took the woman's hand. Trista wept bitterly and followed them downstairs, with her head hanging low. It seemed to her that the only joy, the only thing worthwhile in the entire world, was the feeling of the little girl's hand in hers.

Chapter 9. Mariel's Friends

Mendocino County, occupying nearly four thousand square miles of California's northern coast, became the new home of Mariel, her parents, Hana, Trista, and Jennifer. Surrounded by hundreds of acres of forest and meadows, they lived in a sprawling ranch house located east of Fort Bragg. The majority of Mendocino County was sparsely populated forest, and this sylvan paradise became the new sanctuary in which to raise Mariel, who was now seven.

As they arrived at their new home for the first time, the air was thick with the scent of wildflowers, tall trees, and powerful earth magic. It was Hana who advised them to move there. Lacking a monastery or spiritual retreat to nurture the child's native magic, she chose this as a place where Mariel could run and walk through the meadows and along the forest paths, giving free rein to her powers without drawing too much attention.

The large house, surrounded by five acres, included a barn, outbuildings, fenced corrals, and pastures. All of this was provided as a gift to them from Dave Sawathi, a wealthy CEO of a technology company. He was one of the few who knew of the magic that Mariel, Trista, and Hana practiced.

Sawathi came to know of their magic when his young son was gravely ill and unlikely to survive for more than a few weeks. The boy had an apparently incurable illness and had been brought home from the hospital to die peacefully with his family. Jonathan learned of this and confided in Sawathi that his daughter, who was about to turn seven, and her teacher had certain healing powers. Desperate, the man agreed to meet with Mariel and Hana. He was immediately convinced of their power and allowed them to visit his home.

They prepared the boy's room so that it was dark, except for two small candles, one on either side of the boy's bed. As Sawathi and his wife watched, Mariel and Hana wove a coverlet of white magic that floated gently down onto the boy, who was sleeping fitfully. Immediately, he relaxed under the glow of the sparkling coverlet. Hana instructed Mariel to take his right hand as she took his left. Both closed their eyes and began to sing a tonal song that filled the room with deep vibrations, much deeper than would be expected from the child and the old woman. Sawathi and his wife could feel the sound moving through them. As they watched, the glow of the coverlet intensified, and it was so bright they had to close their eyes. Even with their eyes closed, they could see the pure light.

The light blazed for twenty minutes as Mariel and Hana continued singing. Then the light faded, and the song became a nearly inaudible murmur. Finally, they let go of the boy's hands.

"Please turn the lights on," said Hana.

They did so and saw that the two were on their knees, on either side of the bed, looking exhausted. They looked at the bed and saw that their boy was awake and smiling at them. They went to him and hugged him.

"Hi," he said weakly.

"Hello, how are you feeling?" his mother asked.

"OK, I guess. I'm not so tired. I feel kind of hungry."

Sawathi and his wife looked at the other two, stunned. "He's better? He's healed?" asked Sawathi.

"The healing has begun," said Hana. "He will need to stay in bed and eat well for two or three weeks. It will take the body that long to heal itself. So, make him stay in bed, even if he thinks he can get up. After two or three weeks, he will be fine."

"What did you do? Is this magic? Is this a miracle?" asked the wife.

"It is what we call white magic," Hana replied. "Now, be warned: You will remember everything that happened, and you will know the truth, but if you try to speak or write about it to anyone outside this room, you will not be able to. Our magic must be kept secret, and so we have sealed your lips."

"But if he is all of a sudden better, what do I tell people?"

"Many who are healed in this way say that they prayed, and God answered. Some doctors call this spontaneous healing, which is rare but accepted as a possibility."

"We are so grateful to you," said the wife.

"You are welcome. If you want to repay us, you can do so by being loving, kind, and compassionate to other people. These actions are the true sources of our magic," said Hana.

Sawathi understood and repaid them by giving them the Mendocino property with the wish that they use the property to spread their message. When they arrived, Jonathan looked at their land and said, "At last, a sanctuary where we can all live in peace. I think we'll call it the Ranch."

Mariel turned to Hana. "There's magic here, Hana. I feel it in the animals, the trees, and the hills. They all speak in ways I've never heard before. The magic here is so powerful that it makes me afraid."

Hana, placing a gentle hand on Mariel's shoulder, replied, "No need to be afraid, child. It is the Earth's own magic. In Woodacre, you felt a bit of it, but there it was weak because it was mixed up with people, houses, cars, and such. Here, it is pure. Close your eyes and listen."

Mariel closed her eyes and stood listening for several minutes. "I hear the land speaking. It wonders who I am. I think it's afraid of me."

"The Earth has much to fear from people, but not from us. This land will come to know you soon. Right now, we need to join your parents."

As they settled in, Mariel got to know everything about the land surrounding the Ranch. She went on walks in the area around the Ranch with the grown-ups and quickly learned the speech of not only the land but the animals as well.

"Look, Mother," Mariel said, gesturing toward a large hare gazing at her with huge eyes, "He's telling me of his family, which lives in a burrow near us. I told him I'll bring a treat of carrots. Can I do that?"

"Of course, dear. Go to the refrigerator and bring what we have, and later I'll go to the store and buy more."

Soon, the Ranch became a magnet for wildlife and for domesticated animals who were either hurt or had strayed from their homes or farms. Each animal was drawn to the ranch as if guided by an unseen hand. Each morning the Ranch awoke to a symphony of life. Mariel would often stand in a meadow, surrounded by wild things, with a basket of treats, looking like a small shepherdess of the wild.

So it began, and the regular supplies of fruits, vegetables, grain, oats, and pet food attracted hundreds of creatures from the surrounding forest. One day an old horse wandered onto the property, and a few days later a pair of llamas appeared.

Trista, still shadowed by her past, found healing in caring for the animals that came to them. Their hearts were pure, and she listened to them, eager to learn. "Who would have thought," she said, looking at Hana, "that I would ever be here doing this?"

The six individuals living on the Ranch called themselves the Family. Although only three were related by blood, they were all related by magic. Mariel's was the most powerful, but even Adriana and Jonathan possessed some magic. Long association with those who had magic allowed the power within Adriana and Jonathan to grow and flourish, so that even Jonathan could cause small objects to float in the air.

From infancy, Mariel knew that her purpose in this lifetime was to fight in the long battle between dark and white magic. Practitioners of dark magic encouraged people to hate and fear each other. Left unchallenged, this magic would end in the destruction of all. Mariel practiced white magic, which nurtured feelings of love, kindness, and compassion. She and her friends were peacekeepers in a sometimes mad world.

One night, Mariel had a dream. She stood in the middle of the road leading to the Ranch, greeting a long line of people who wanted to visit. They all looked sad, and darkness clung to many, but she let them come into the ranch, where they saw the animals, and the darkness and sadness lifted from them. Afterward, they left the Ranch, happy and smiling. There were soldiers, even, who threw away their weapons and walked away holding hands with those who had been their enemies. The next morning, she talked about her dream. Surprised, Hana and Trista both said they had similar dreams.

Mariel said with conviction, "These dreams are telling us that this Ranch is going to be a powerful weapon in our battle against the dark." They all looked at her soberly. She was small, but they all knew there were many years inside her childish body.

Hana said, "You are right, child. The Ranch has magic. We all feel it. But how would we get all those people to come here?"

"I don't know," replied Mariel, "but the dreams are telling us that, somehow, they will experience the magic here. Mom, Dad?"

Her father was thoughtful and then looked at Adriana.

"It could happen through social media," Adriana suggested.

"What? Pictures or videos of the Ranch?" asked Trista.

"Maybe," replied Adriana, "or videos with Mariel and the animals. You've all seen her. She's wonderful with them. She's teaching them tricks. Mariel, would they do things for you, if you asked?"

"I think so," she replied. "They like me, and, well, I asked a rabbit if she would do a somersault for me, and she did. Then I gave her a piece of carrot, and another one did a somersault, too."

"People would watch that," Adriana said. "Animal tricks are very popular on social media. And, Mariel is so cute."

"Well, let's do a video this afternoon and see how it goes," suggested Jennifer.

Using just a phone, they did a short video of two rabbits doing backflips as Mariel gave them instructions. Then she told them to roll over in unison, which they did; then three more backflips. Mariel then thanked them and gave each a nice piece of carrot; and the video ended with closeups of the pair eating.

Adriana, who was familiar with social media, opened an account titled Mariel's Friends. Before posting the video, Mariel, Trista, and Hana each imbued it with white magic that was intended to give each viewer a sense of the love and kindness that they all felt towards the animals. The video was an immediate success. Within a day it had half a million views, and within a week, ten million. There were hundreds of comments asking for more videos, and it was clear from the tone of the comments that the magic had gotten through.

After the success of their first video, they all had a meeting with Sawathi. They could see that social media, featuring Mariel and the animals, and whatever else the Ranch had to offer, could be a powerful tool in spreading white magic.

"Dave," said Jonathan, "you know that my daughter and others here have magic. What you don't know is we are all bound up in a war of sorts, a battle, between our kind of magic, which benefits people, and another kind of magic, which hurts people."

"Okay..." said Sawathi, slowly.

"Right, I know this sounds like fantasy or something, and before Mariel was born, that would have been my reaction. But it is true. Mariel has fought this battle in previous lifetimes. She can remember them. She's like a thousand-year-old person living in a child's body, and she's here to continue that battle."

"I'm trying to understand you, Jonathan, but, you know, this is kind of out there."

"Yeah, I know. But your son, how is he doing?" asked Jonathan.

"Perfect," replied Sawathi. "Perfectly healthy."

Jonathan said nothing and let the image of the son sink in. Then Sawathi said, "Okay, I don't understand any of this. I don't understand how they healed my son either, but I believe you. What do you need from me?"

"Dave, the way to conquer dark magic," said Jonathan, "is through white magic. We plan to spread our magic throughout the world, using social media. Here, watch this video, and look at how many views it received." Then he shared their first video with Sawathi.

"This is great!" said Dave. "And fifteen million views! But how does this spread your magic?"

"Honestly, Dave, I don't know, but Mariel knows. She says their magic is getting through to the viewers. Right, Mariel?"

Mariel replied, "That's right, Daddy. Mr. Sawathi, we put our magic into the videos. So, everything they see has a kind of magic glow. Only magical people can see it, but non-magical people can feel it. We can tell that the people who watched the videos were affected by the magic."

"So," said Jonathan, "we need money to hire someone to make professional videos and get the videos out there on as many platforms as possible."

"You have my support, and money," said Sawathi. "If you say that these videos will get rid of some of the darkness out there, I'm all in."

"Thanks, Dave. I'm guessing a million to start, and we'll see what happens from there."

They used Jonathan's and Adriana's contacts in the tech world and found a man named Avery Chew to work as the videographer and producer of their content. He lived in Santa Rosa and was happy to move up to Mendocino to work. They built a new building near the house that contained computers, cameras, and broadcast equipment, as well as a sound stage with professional lighting and sound.

Mariel found that she could train all of the animals merely by telling them what she wanted them to do. Her ability to speak with them was nearly perfect, and if she asked them to do something, they usually did. She asked their old horse to trot around in circles while a small stray dog stood on its back and did somersaults on its hind legs. They made a video of a baby goat that walked a tightrope across a small creek. Mariel even got six field mice to form a line and hop up and down on their hind legs, in what appeared to be a dance.

All of the videos showed Mariel leading the animals through their tricks. At the end of each, she gave the animals treats, and while they ate, Mariel's small voice talked about them. She often said things like, "We teach our animals with love and kindness. If you open your heart to them, they will hear you."

Mariel's Friends was soon on six different social media channels, and it was an immediate sensation. The shows would have been popular just because of the videos, but what made them really popular was the magic with which Mariel, Hana, and Trista imbued them. The small amount of magic that got through to each viewer gave the videos the extra boost that made the programs go viral.

As the weeks passed, it was clear that the videos were having the effect of lightening the mood of the country. Mariel asked her mother, "Do you think this is what battling dark magic is? I was kind of afraid I'd have to go fight someone with a magic sword or something."

"I don't know, sweetheart. But I think we're changing people. The news is not as grim as it has been lately."

Hana, who was listening, said, "The battle is being fought in the hearts and minds of people. Dark magic is powerful only when people respond to it by becoming more fearful, hateful, and greedy. If people who watch Mariel and Trista respond to white magic, then the dark magic just disappears."

As Mariel's Friends spread its magic, shadows watched from the dark corners. There were beings of malice who sought to smother the light of hope with the chill of fear. It was a cabal of dark magic practitioners. The ruler of the group was a powerful dark sorcerer named the High Master.

This being spoke to his followers from high atop an office building. His concern lately had been the presidential campaign in the United States. He had been watching with satisfaction as darkness and fear gripped the hearts of followers of a presidential candidate who promised to rain down punishment on the people his supporters hated. His followers worshipped him as the only one who could save them. This new phenomenon, a child spreading white magic, was making people turn away from this man.

"Who is this child?" bellowed the High Master to his hand-picked acolytes. "You will get her off social media. I don't care how you do it; just get rid of her! People who start listening to her will not listen to us. Remember, we sell fear, hate, and greed. She sells love. We don't want the idiots to love each other. We want them to hate each other and worship us!"

"We have to destroy this girl, but quietly. We can't raise a martyr. We have to ruin her, make her look like just another fake. People have to believe that she made fools of them for listening to her. The public is always willing to believe the worst of people, and we will make them believe she is just another liar and grifter."

The room echoed with murmurs of assent. "Instruct our social media people to hack into her channels, post fake messages from her, and make it look like she is telling lies." Then the High Master hissed at his followers, "This is only the beginning. Her light must be turned to darkness. Her followers must hear our message. We must wrap her in a shadow so dark that even her magic cannot pierce through."

As the cabal dispersed, the dark intentions of the High Master spread through the ethereal plane of magic, so that all beings with magic were aware of them, even the Family. In a dream, Mariel sat on a high hill, looking out at the world and seeing her light spread and feeling the air warming with love. In the distance, however, she saw dark horses running in her direction, with fire and smoke coming from their nostrils. Their Ranch, a sanctuary in an increasingly divided world, was surrounded by protective walls of magic, but she felt these walls shake. She saw tiny pinpricks in the walls where darkness was streaming through. The animals were becoming restless, and the little rabbits were quivering with fear. The tree limbs shook, and leaves fell. She saw dark shadows and fog beginning to gather in the hollows of the forest floor. She saw the Family beginning to lose hope as the world teetered on the brink of despair.