The silver lining – a short story

Even with his secret (from the non-magical people) rescue missions (for the non-magical people), Uncle Albert had a lot of time on his hands. Aunt Rosie suggested he take up a project to combat his boredom. She had recommended completing the project without resorting to the slightest bit of magic. The project she had in mind was clearing the overgrown weeds around their cottage.

Uncle Albert being, well, the wizard he was, didn’t particularly relish doing that with his bare hands when he could get it done with a mere flick of his wand. As the overgrown wild bushes vanished at his spell, Uncle Albert noticed a large log of wood. That was when the idea struck him like lightning – his new project could be woodcarving.

Several days later, Uncle Albert beamed with pride as he looked at his completed artwork. With great difficulty, he had managed to pull it off without the slightest bit of magic, just like Aunt Rosie had suggested. He couldn’t wait to show his handiwork to her. He sought out Aunt Rosie and led her to his masterpiece with much fanfare.
“Ta-da! See for yourself, Rosie. I managed to pull it off without the slightest bit of magic. Just like you wanted.”
Aunt Rosie seemed to be at a loss for words but she recovered in time.
“Emmm…what exactly is it supposed to be, Albie?”
“What do you mean, Rosie? It’s my first attempt at wood carving. It’s a human.”
“Oh, you think humans look like this, Albie? Tell me, is this what you see when you look in a mirror?”
“Um, well, it didn’t exactly turn out as I had expected. I had to improvise and make the best out of the situation! The least you can do is at least appreciate my efforts, Rosie.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, Albie. I was a little too harsh on you. But anyway, this proves one thing for sure, and for that, I’m immensely proud of you!”
“What’s that, Rosie?”
“This artwork, though it’s far from pleasing on the eyes is proof that you didn’t use any magic at all to create it. Even you can’t fake something as disastrous as this! And for that, I am very proud of you, my dear husband.”
Though he was a little put out by Aunt Rosie’s blunt comments, he couldn’t stop the smile that crept onto his face. Trust his wife to always find a silver lining even when it seemed highly impossible!

Author’s Note:

In an earlier version of this post, a part of another blog post was also there along with this story. I screwed up while editing it. So sorry for the mix-up.

Uncle Albert and Aunt Rosie had previously appeared in the many short stories previously published on my blog. Although each story is a standalone, you might enjoy the series. 🙂

The previously published short stories featuring our in-house magical couple are A Cup of Love, An Unexpected Invite, The Enchanted Forest and The castle in the woods. Do check them out.

This story was written in response to KL Caley’s weekly #writephoto prompt. The challenge is to use the given photo prompt as an inspiration to create a post on your own blog… poetry, prose, humour… light or dark, whatever you choose, as long as it is fairly family-friendly. Thank you, KL for hosting this challenge. Click on the link to know more about this challenge and to read the entries by my fellow bloggers.

For visually challenged writers, the image is that of a tree that has been partly carved to represent a man or an ape.

Image courtesy: Willowdot21

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