Rekindling Trust

The sun started to shine on the valley, illuminating the river that pierced through the middle of it. Out of a house walked an old man with a calm expression on his face. His eyes had bags underneath them and his hair and beard were a fine grey. He stretched a little as he basked in the morning sun, feeling his back click as he did so.

The mans face wore a grey beard reminiscent of a modern-day Santa. His eyebrows and beard were thick, and his moustache twirled a bit at its ends. If anyone saw this man, they would instantly feel as though he was good person and a kind soul, that was the feeling he gave off at first glance.

The man spoke to himself in another language after clicking his back a bit too hard, his voice was coarse. "Merlins Bart, ich bin wirklich nicht mehr jung…" ("Merlin's beard, I'm really not young anymore…")

Looking at the shed next to his home he smiled, walking over to the shed he pulled out his wand and swished, making the messy shed organise itself so he could begin work again. Walking in he took a long glance at some blueprints he had been working on for a while now.

The man was absorbed in his work, his eyes never leaving his workstations. The minutes passed by. During this time, he didn't notice that a boy was stood outside his workshop. The boy seemed to stand there for a while, as if he was determining whether or not to call out to the man who was so focused on his work. After some time, contemplating, he spoke, awakening the man from his stupor.

"Excuse me… can I... get some… help-…"

The boy who spoke up first collapsed soon after. The man whose gaze finally left his work looked in shock as he saw the boy fall. Under his breath he spoke in a foreign language before walking over and checking on the boy.

To the boy's side he initially placed his gaze on the stick the boy seemed to be carrying. Bring a broomstick maker, his curiosity heightened looking at the stick but he realised he had more important matters to attend to.

His initial worry worsened and grew into a mixture of fear and shock as his eyes scanned the boy. The boy's body was in a terrible state. It was covered in wounds all over, painted with scars and bruises some of which weren't healing properly at all. The boy also seemed extremely malnourished as well, as if he hadn't eaten any proper meals for a long time.

As the man looked down at the boy even more, he also noticed the stripes of greyish white hair on his head, contrasting the rest of the boy's dark black hair. He felt an immense sense of pity for the boy seeing him in this state and wondered how this had happened to him.

Picking the boy up, he remarked inwardly on how light he was and brought him into his house.

.

After escaping the forest, I was elated but soon after as all the pressure and worry fell from me I realised just how bad a state I was really in.

Akin to running on adrenaline after a bad injury, I kept pushing myself when I first appeared 2 years ago, then I was tortured for 2 years and then continued to push myself again to escape. As the relief set in so did the exhaustion. 

Seeing the man inside the workshop, I spent a while debating whether to speak to him. I had lost a lot of trust after the events of the Black Forest however seeing the mans gaze as he worked reminded me of my father. I debated for a long while before I spoke and as I did, I felt the energy decay rapidly from my body, as each word drained my last bit of strength. 

As I collapsed, I briefly saw the man hurry over with worried eyes and speak, from what I could tell, German before my vision faded. 

It had been a while since I had seen such concern for my wellbeing and I felt myself fall into a long sleep, as my body screamed for rest.

I slept for a really long time as my body tried to compensate for its exhausted state. When I woke up it was already dark outside and the moon was high in the sky. The moonlight glistened into the window illuminating my surroundings.

A whole day had passed and the man had left me here to sleep. Looking down at my body, I noticed I now had bandages covering me. Next to my bed I saw a small bottle and a note written in fancy handwriting. Despite what I had heard the man say before I passed out fully, the note was actually written in English;

'Drink when you wake up'.

Grabbing the bottle, I looked at it for a long while. Holding it in my hands I felt a wave of memories clash into my mind. Memories of Jason force-feeding me potions with a cold grin. Even though I escaped Jason physically, it would take a long time to escape him mentally. Even something as simple as drinking a potion was giving me shivers.

As these thoughts clouded my mind, the door of the room I was in opened. Looking up from the bottle, I saw the man who rushed over to me this morning walk in. His head was covered in sweat and his hands were covered in different wooden splinters. His eyes looked at me with pity and concern. Seeing his gaze I felt more at ease.

As he walked in, he spoke to me in English yet his German accent was distinct;

"You're finally up boy, what happened to you for you to be so injured?"

Hearing the man's direct words, I remained silent. I didn't know how much I should tell him. Should I mention the black forest? Should I mention the Blighthearts and Blackfangs? The man seemed to notice my internal struggle over the subject and spoke again.

"Don't worry if you don't want to tell me… My names Randolph. Randolph Spudmore to be precise. What's your name?".

My eyes widened slightly as I heard the man's name. Randolph Spudmore, I recognised it. As I searched my memories my eyes drifted to the window outside and just by the river that flowed near the house there was a fence stopping anyone from accidently falling in. Along the fence were numerous broomsticks, all securely held against the fence itself like a wizard's version of a bike rack.

Seeing the numerous broomsticks, recalling the shed Randolph working in earlier and seeing the wooden splinters all over his hands I decided to speak.

"My names Axel… are you Randolph Spudmore from Ellerby and Spudmores Brooms?"

The mans face showed a hint of pride as he smiled down at me.

"A good guess young friend, it's been a while since I've entertained a visitor here but seeing the state you were in, I felt I had to help in some manner… Why not drink the potion I got for you? It will help you heal faster".

Randolph pointed towards the potion bottle beside me. I hesitated again looking at the potion. My severe distrust was shadowing my judge of character. Randolph seemed nice enough, but after 2 years of being in Jasons 'room' I felt as though I couldn't trust anything at face value in my life anymore. 

Randolph noticed my reluctance and his brow furrowed. He picked up the bottle and opened it himself. He looked at me knowingly, as if seeing through my reluctance, and took a swig of the potion. He then placed the potion in front of me again and spoke;

"It's safe as you can see, trust me it will help you".

Seeing Randolph's sincerity, I felt some respect grow for the man. I had doubted him due to my own skewed judge of character and he didn't get angry or get annoyed but instead compromised right away drinking the potion as a sign of mutual assurance. He showed me in one movement that the potion was safe in the most effective way rather than trying to convince me for ages. 

I grabbed the bottle and slowly started to drink the potion carefully. The feeling was warm as it entered my body and made me feel fuzzy and comfortable. I felt my fatigue and pain start to slowly ebb away as the potion took effect. Randolph watched me with a slight smile.

"Honestly boy you must have been through some rough stuff to be so damn defensive… I won't ask you what happened unless you do want to tell me don't worry…".

Looking over at Randolph I spoke.

"…Thank you uh… Mr. Randolph. When I'm healed ill head off as soon as possible, I don't want to take advantage of your hospitality…".

Randolph seemed dumbfounded hearing my words. The words that came from me probably sounded for too polite and level-headed for a 10-year-old boy. He scratched his greying beard slightly and spoke again.

"Where will you be heading? Do you want me to contact your parents or someone?"

I looked down at the duvet on me. I had spent so long wanting to escape the forest I hadn't actually planned my next steps after. The only thing I knew I didn't want to do was go to England for a while… until I at least had the strength to protect myself more thoroughly. Randolph took my silence as an answer speaking.

"You are welcome to stay here with me for a while… that is only if you work for your 'rent'. Be my assistant and help me with a few things here and there and I'll keep you fed and get you all healed up. Doesn't that sound like a fine little deal?".

I stared at Randolph for a moment before speaking calmly. "…Thank you, Mr. Randolph,".

He came over and patted me on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it boy, also stop calling me Mr. Randolph, just Randolph is fine".

I nodded at Randolph, seeing this he smiled for a moment before changing his tone.

"By the way… where did you find that piece of wood?"

Randolph pointed to the corner of the room at the branch I had picked up in the black forest. The wood emitted a very subtle soft blue glow. I stared at the branch for a while before turning back to Randolph.

"I... found it whilst I escaped from a certain place… It caught my eye so I couldn't help but grab it".

Randolph's eyes glinted with curiosity. "You aren't a criminal or something are you?".

I shook my head. He sighed and the stared again at the branch in the corner of the room.

"That thing is certainly special I can feel it. As someone who makes brooms for a living you gain this sort of sensitivity towards materials and I can just instinctually feel that somethings different about that black branch…"

He walked over towards the branch and knelt down, inspecting it closer for a while longer with a deep gaze.

"I've handled many different materials in my time and that branch just seems… mystical in some way. It has an attracting feeling to it, like it wants to reel you in yet I also feel as though its true nature is dark underneath the allure… like a siren that tricks a man at sea".

Hearing Randolph's words made me realise that Broomstick makers and wand makers weren't too different in practice. He had the same senses towards things as a wand maker did which was fascinating.

"Keep that thing safe Axel if you have plans for it… If you don't though, I don't mind buying it from you".

Looking at the branch and then back to Randolph I shook my head. Randolph let out a disappointed voice.

"Figures…".

I worried for a moment Randolph was going to become Jason 2.0, instead of being obsessed over me though he'd be obsessed over the branch I found. Luckily, someone like Jason was naturally quite rare as Randolph's intrigue disappeared as I expressed my unwillingness to part with the branch.

We spoke a little bit longer and the air within the room seemed to become more comfortable as we talked. He finished off the conversation mentioning some of the work I would be doing. What confused me was that it sounded like it was just him here which didn't seem right considering this was supposed to be a big 'broomstick company'.

I decided not to ask any questions for the moment though, finishing off our talks Randolph started to close the conversation.

"I'm not going to put you to work straight away… don't worry about that. Get some rest for a few weeks until you start looking like an actual 10-year-old again and then we'll talk".

After speaking, he went to leave the room. As he was about to close the door I decided to speak.

"Randolph… Why? why help me?"

Randolph's expression went solemn for a moment but return quickly to his warm smile. 

"Is there any reason for me not to help a young lad whose been through such horrors? I think there are plenty of others who would have helped you readily…"

As he finished that sentence the door closed. Now greeted with a calming silence I heaved a sigh that drained my stress thoroughly. Laying back in my bed I stared at the ceiling and started to think deeply about what I should be doing next.

Numerous thoughts and ideas swam in my mind, eventually lulling me back into a calm sleep.