Chapter 2: The little Druid and the Marigold flower

© Enya created by Emilien Dumoulin Chaparu

Riwal tosses and turns in his bed (if you can call it a bed...)

Late in the evening after the party, he found his way back to his hut and the bed that was in a corner.

He had been too tired to care whether the mattress was comfortable and whether the bed had sheets or not. But as uncomfortable as he lay, he vowed to remedy this the next morning. The bed had to be made into something more comfortable. Eventually he did fall asleep and had a restless dream.

He finds himself in the forest again, this time without the squirrel, and panic seizes him as it is suddenly dark and threatening.

He can't find the stinging nettles either.

He is constantly at a crossroads and, as on the previous day, has the uneasy feeling that he is walking in circles.

In his thoughts, he tries to remember the sayings his grandmother taught him for such cases.

His grandmother had also been a druid and she was the first to realise that he could talk to animals.

Without her, he would never have known that there could be anything outside of his everyday life at home.

But now that he finds himself in this nightmare with no way out, he longs to return to Grandma's kitchen with the labelled glasses and the grizzled owl Flynn.

Grandma always knew what to do and always had an emergency tea on the cooker.

The nightmare brings him back to the dark path and he finally remembers the saying :

‘If you want to heal, you have to be prepared to walk difficult paths. With a pure heart, I am now ready for you to show me the way.

I am in inner peace and vibrate at a high frequency. I have connected with myself and ask you, Enya, that your light guides me safely along all paths. Please show yourself Enya ’

Suddenly, patches of yellow and orange blossom all along the roadside. The forest brightens up and a carpet of flowers forms at the crossroads, pointing him in the right direction.

He follows the flowers and on closer inspection realises that they are marigolds.

Riwal feels someone next to him or around him, it's hard to tell. And then he sees her. She looks like a queen of the sun, wearing a falcon's robe of iridescent feathers, with red-gold hair and a piercing blue-green gaze. Around her neck she wears a necklace of gold-forged branches, decorated with amber stone and dried flowers.

‘Who is calling for Enya?’ she asks in a deep melodic voice

He answers meekly : ‘ It is me, Riwal, grandson of Soazic, third of the druid family ’

‘ Hail to you Riwal. If you are from the Soazic family, how does it come that you are asking me for directions ? ’

‘ I grew up in the normal world and have not had much opportunity to make use of the family knowledge ’

‘ Well, then I'll help you out this time with the marigold flower.

It stands for light and protection. It heals wounds and brightens the mind.

Its smoke increases clairvoyance and sharpens your senses. You can always rely on it.

Call it what you like: marigold, calendar flower, golden flower or student flower, but don't forget: loyalty and justice are its guiding principles. It loves its freedom and is only beautiful in the meadow. In a vase it fades quickly. You must not confine it.

Her tea helps with internal and external ulcers and purifies the blood. It is always a good friend to your liver and tired legs.

Follow the sea of flowers and you will find peaceful sleep again. Tomorrow you will remember everything and we will meet again soon.’

‘Marigold, calendar flower, golden flower... ‘ he repeats, sinking deeper and deeper into the carpet of flowers. The scent lulls him to sleep and he finally finds his well-deserved slumber.

Boom, boom, boom, it rattles and bangs against the front door.

He wakes up and bangs his head against the bedpost.

‘ My head really won't be spared during this training, ‘ Riwal grumbles angrily

‘ Yes, who's there ? ’

‘ It's Juna the squirrel ‘ and she is already standing in front of his bed.

‘ I told you we have a lot of work today ! What's happened to your head ? You've got a huge scratch!’

‘ I've just hit my head, if you hadn't banged on the door and woken me from a deep sleep, everything would be fine ’

‘ Tsk, tsk, tsk deep sleep...as many nettle biscuits as you ate yesterday, I can't believe you made it to your bed! ’

‘ Of course I slept soundly, I was dead tired yesterday and I was even dreaming ! ’

The squirrel looks worried at Riwal:

‘ Dreamt ?! On the very first evening? And I wanted to prepare you before you faced your first teacher...’

‘ Teacher ? But that was just a dream, who was talking about lessons ?’

‘Of course it's a lesson! As a druid, you must be prepared to learn however the subject matter presents itself. And gods only show themselves in dreams. ’

Riwal shifts uncomfortably in his bed and would have loved to hide under the duvet.

‘ Does that mean I really talked to Enya? ’

‘ Holy Melin, tell me you're not serious, you called Enya ?!

The mother goddess, goddess of falcons and fairies, couldn't you have started with a little messenger of the gods ?’

The squirrel is only talking to itself, it is so beside itself.

Riwal gets up and paces around the hut.

Surely the medicine chest must be here somewhere ? Everything is a mess, he bumps into boxes and crates. Dust flies up and, coughing, he decides to really clean up the hut .

But first he has to dress the wound on his head.

Finally, he comes across a chest with many drawers. Each drawer contains either vials, loose herbs or jars of ointment. Sometimes just ashes or dust, he is not sure.

One of the drawers lights up almost by itself and when he pulls it open, he finds a jar of ointment labelled ‘the ouch ointment’ and what a surprise: A marigold is painted on the lid.

‘ As Enya said, it heals wounds internally and externally. This will do my head good ’

He finds a small bottle of high-proof alcohol and cleans the scratch on his head. Then he carefully spreads some of the ointment on it. Then he finds ‘ comfrey plasters ’ in a drawer. They are fluffy leaves and he sticks one on the wound with some ointment.

‘ So ‘ says Riwal to the squirrel, ’ now I'm ready for class ’

Smiling, the squirrel replies ‘ I think you've already mastered the marigold lesson... ’

-----To be Continued-----

© Illustrated by Emilien Dumoulin Chaparu