Welcome to the Advent Calendar Story Train, hosted by Ari Meghlen where you can read through 24 stories under the theme Surprise.

My story…. is inspired by this little gal Chalkie.

Little Chalkie often comes to the tai chi class that I attend in Portugal whilst I am there. Here she is looking up at us. She’s quite an inspiration…

WHAT CHALKIE SAW!

A leaf landed at my feet, crunching it underfoot. It made me smile. It was as if the trees had joined in, dropping their colour at my feet.

Tai chi in the sun. No expectations, just join in and be present. If you’re late, it isn’t a problem. If you forget a move, it doesn’t matter. There’s nothing rigid about tai chi. It flows like a river.

The class is human, but there are dogs too, the littlest of which is a beige coloured gal named Chalkie. She’s a rascal, jumping up the legs of participants, hoping for a pat. Sometimes, she disappears to Le Santo cafe! Sniffing the flowers and meandering about until she comes back.

Sometimes she snorts at us, indignant at our time wasting. If she could speak, I’m sure she’d say stupid humans, what are you doing?

She’s her own enemy, incapable of experiencing the calming effect of tai chi!

Instead, she anticipates the coming moment. Expectation reaches a climax at the end of the warmup when we all roar, pretending to be tigers. That sets her off. Every time! Barking, she banishes a multitude of tiger demons.  

I’ve always wondered why… Why does this tiger caper set Chalkie off? When we pound our chests, or rub our knees, or blow bubbles why doesn’t she react?

Today, I forgo coffee to investigate further.  I say goodbye to my fellow tai chi folk. Now, alone, I pick a spot beside a broad tree which has several individual branches. One of which points ahead, one right and one left, just like the instructors whispered instructions to turn right, à direita, left, à esquerda or ahead, à frente.

I pause. What a pretty tree. A tree I’ve never noticed before. Its pink blossoms are stunning, but it’s the tree trunk below which captures my attention. It looks like a carving of a reclining figure.  How have I never seen this before?

It surprises me with an unexpected movement. How odd. Did I imagine it? Trees don’t move. Or do they?

Perhaps the energy from the tai chi has transformed the nature that lives here.

I must discover what little Chalkie sees…

During the next class, I make an excuse to watch, pretending that I’ve injured my knee. I wait with bated breath. The leaves on the trees rustle, the roar is loud, but Chalkie’s frenzied barking is even louder. She races the full breadth of the park. And I see it. A momentary sighting. The tree trunk stirs, becoming a young girl, her long dark brown hair flowing with curves. And then she’s gone!

Later that evening, I walk to the park alone, going past Le Salto restaurant I make a silent plea to the tree: please reveal your astounding secrets.

Instead of my usual position, I stand within a short distance of the tree. As I begin the warmups, I notice the moon is full and high in the sky. I root my feet into the earth and roar with all my might to summon the young girl again. The moon trembles, as if it might fall into my hands, leaves shake, the flowers open their petals. The base of the tree trunk stirs, a wooden hand appears, and then a foot.

With a loud popping sound, the maiden of the tree is standing before me.

 “You released me!”

 Astounded by her presence for a moment, I don’t respond.

A tear falls from her eyes and then another and another. “I am free,” she exclaims. “Please, help me. You are the first person to discover my presence. Chalkie has tried to alert you to my entrapment, to no avail.”

 Entrapment! I move to get a closer look at her. She’s no illusion. But she is crafted of wood.

 “Please hurry! Knock on my bark to release me from the spell!”

 For a moment, I wonder if I’m hallucinating. Or whether I’m dreaming. But even though the experience is surreal, I believe her.

 “Knock where?”

 “Here,” she says, pointing at her wooden chest. “My heart.”

 I tap it lightly.

 “Harder, with purpose. Please.  Now!”

 I pound on her chest.

Her cheeks become rosy, and her eyes bright. She gently pushes me away and continues pounding her chest, with her wooden fists. She is roaring now.

As I wait, I observe her miraculous transformation from a woman of wood to a living human.

Now aware of her nakedness, she blushes. Gathering fallen leaves and flowers; she adorns herself with a floral dress.

She hugs me. “Thank you, thank you, so much.”

As she steps back, her tears water the ground. A flower grows. She steps down and picks it up, handing the orchid, my favourite flower, to me.

 “A magic flower for you,” she says, with a heart-warming smile.

 I return her smile. “Where will you go now?”

 “I will return to the hills where I once lived. No one will remember me, so much time has passed. I will live a life of freedom amongst nature and for that I will be grateful.”

“I promise we’ll find the wicked person who did this to you!”

Her lip trembles… but her eyes tell me she doesn’t know who did this to her.

“You mustn’t find out, or you’ll be in danger.  Trust me! Faraway, in the hills, amongst the tree folk I will be safe from harm.”

I nod, hearing the wisdom in her words. “I’m reluctant to leave such wickedness unpunished, but… I will respect your wish. I’m sad to see you go, but glad you’ll be free.”

Chalkie never forgot the girl of wood. She continued to bark at the tiger’s roar.  Perhaps she was raging at the evil so and so who had trapped the maiden in the tree. I’ll never know for sure. But every day thereafter, she sniffed the tree’s bark as if checking that the trapped girl was really gone. Satisfied, she’d wag her tail before following her master on her next grand adventure.

end…

Thank you for reading today’s story. The next one will be available to read on December 4th, titled “Nightingale Knitting Group Ladies Club“. This link will be active tomorrow when the post goes live.

If you missed yesterday’s you can go and read it here.