- nicolasakmakjian
4: A Journey to See Elves - Part Fifteen
Bren, who up till now had been quietly steering the ship, began to sing softly to himself. At first he merely hummed a few simple tunes, snippets of this and that snatched from his memory. But then he announced a song, one called Malkíra, and he began to sing.
When Malkíra was a mere young lad,
He went away to sea.
To search for the land of Akira
And for the fabled tree.
Malkíra searched both high and low
Even the whole land round,
He went as far as the cove of doves
And heard their plaintive sounds.
Down dales, through streams, in forests old
And over hills he fought,
Yet never closer to the goal
That all the wise men sought.
Finally on a summer’s eve
He came across a man
White and wizened with his age.
Before him he would stand.
“Tell me, old man,” Malkíra asked
“For it truly now seems
I cannot find the fabled tree,
The tree that gives men dreams.”
The old man stared and shook his head
And seemed to shed a tear
And when he spoke, all that he said
Confirmed Malkíra’s fear.
“The tree is for those who seek it not,
who never search for dreams.
It comes to them when they need it most,
Though never what it seems.”
Malkíra sighed and turned away
And traveled to his home.
Though all his life he wished for dreams
For the tree he would not roam.
When Bren finished, Felanar asked, “Was that true? Was Malkíra a real person?”
Bren smiled and said, “It depends on your dreams, doesn’t it?”
Felanar felt confused by that answer but all Bren would add is that Felanar should ask an elf.