Magic on a Dime

Cid was going crazy. At least, he thought he was going crazy, although if you are really crazy you really wouldn’t know much about it. Just the same he was sure that if he told anyone else, they would be convinced that he was crazy. After all, this couldn’t really be happening. He really just couldn’t be seeing what he was really seeing and that was the problem; it didn’t make any sense. “It didn’t”, he kept telling himself. But he couldn’t explain why his face was stuck to the glass and he was staring through the window at something unreal. To convince himself that he was not seeing what he was in fact seeing he tried various things that he believed would get rid of it. First, he stood outside his front door and stared at what he was seeing. Then he went back to bed and undressed and got under the sheets. Then he got up, dressed and looked out the window again. It was still there. He checked for drugs in his medicine cabinet, nothing. He searched the recyclable bag and read and reread the label on the Rhone wine he drank the night before. He looked for mold on his cheese. Nothing changed the picture, what he saw was still there. He then looked out his kitchen window twice and poured himself another cup of coffee. What he saw was still there. “Why me?” he thought. I mean I’m nuts but I’m not nuts like this. “I am eccentric”, he yelled. The problem would just not go away. He wasn’t on drugs; he was confidant of that. So, what was the answer here? He looked out the window at his little boat tethered to the dock. The Little Bluenose was his pride and joy. Only thing was he didn’t know how to sail it. He didn’t even know why he bought it and cleaned it up. It was a little one mast fishing boat that in Cid’s mind became the Bluenose, The most famous sailing schooner in seafaring history. But he didn’t know how to sail it. So, it was docked, it had become a fit symbol of Cid’s life and dreams. Only thing now there was a problem that even overshadowed that dilemma. Cid had to face this present dilemma and could not procrastinate any longer. He turned from the window put his coffee cup carefully down by the sink. He steeled himself and with heart in mouth and churning stomach he lurched out his front door and started walking towards the Little Bluenose. “Look calm”. He said to himself and held his head high and shoulders back. He decided that he would just march right up to his boat look up and face it. That was what he thought he was doing. Until he got to his boat and was looking down at the beach unable to raise his head. Someone cleared their throat. Cid realized that it wasn’t him. He looked up and there it was in full daylight. There was a goblin on his boat. Goblins, as everyone who has read anything on goblins knows; are green. Trouble is no one has ever really seen a goblin before. Apparently, they have rather large ears, a huge wolfish grin and large feet. That is what the expected version of what a goblin is and of course they are green. Trouble for Cid was that this goblin fit all the requirements except the colored one. It was gray. It also carried a big stick. It was a big stick that looked like a staff or a spear handle or something large to bonk someone with. Cid stared at the goblin. The goblin smiled down at him. The goblin stood around four foot and a bit. The gray skin was puzzling and that staff looked dangerous. At that point Cid wished that he smoked or had some kind of reassuring habit that he could fortify himself with. All he had was a mouth that fell open and eyes that seemed to forget how to blink. “You’re a ….” “Goblin”, the goblin spoke and smiled a wolfish grin. “My name’s Scar” “You talk”, Cid was stunned. “So do you, you have any coffee up there?” Scar pointed towards Cid’s little Sandstone house. Cid fainted. You could suppose that fainting is not a very smart thing to do given the circumstances. Then again no one else has ever met a goblin before, so Cid at this point could be forgiven. Fainting could happen to anybody. Cid doesn’t have a history of fainting. He sees stars sometimes if he gets up too fast but not fainting and it’s true, he does get woozy at the sight of blood but he is no coward. Aside from a ridiculous fear of heights he could be said to be quite tough as far as that goes. He also doesn’t like Ferris wheels or driving too fast. He’s no coward however and even if fainting wasn’t a good idea, it did him no harm this time. Luckily, he didn’t hit his head on a rock and only landed in the sand. The sand cushioned him. When he woke up, he was in his house with a blanket covering him and a smiling Scar was handing him a warm cup of coffee. “You fainted” “Yah, I did. Uh”, words were a bit confusing for Cid at this point. “I had to carry you up here. I thought the couch would be the best spot to put you. I found the blanket in your bedroom.” Cid found that he could only stare at Scar. The grayness of Scar stood out against the living rooms green walls. Scar sat down on the reclining chair next to the couch Cid was collapsed on. “Look, I get it. You’ve never met a goblin before and you don’t know what to think. You can’t figure out if I’m real and you are wondering if you’ve gone crazy; Right.” Cid nodded and then took a sip of the coffee. “Good coffee, isn’t it?” Scar asked. Cid nodded. “Good now we need to talk”. And so, they began talking, mostly about Cid and his life and his unfulfilled dreams. Scar seemed to relish the part about studying Commedia Del Arte in California and attending acting school in New York and was puzzled by Cid’s sputtering career. “I’ve come close”, Cid remarked, “But I’ve never reached my goals”. “Hmmmm, too bad.” Scar sipped his coffee shaking his head. “This is weird” Cid announced, he put his coffee down. “Just weird” “What, talking with a goblin? Imagine how I feel, everyone thinks I’m imaginary. It could be worse though you could be here talking to Santa Clause.” Cid smiled but didn’t tell Scar about the suit in his bedroom closet. “So, Cid, what about that boat?” The question caught Cid off guard. It made him uncomfortable; it was a subject that he didn’t like to discuss. It was a dream that he had wanted to fulfill. He just thought that he couldn’t do it however and had come to the conclusion that he had to face reality and get on with his life. “It was an impulse just an idea. I thought…then I bought it and cleaned it up and I just have all these ideas but I just…” “Have you ever sailed it?” “No!” “Have you ever sailed ever?” Scar was sitting on Cid’s reclining chair his big goblin feet resting on the footrest. It was a bit odd to see a goblin sitting on Cid’s favorite spot. “Once I went out on a sailboat on Lake St Clair” “And?” “I loved it I mean I got a bit sea sick and then I kind of got over it.” “So, you went out on a sailboat once but you have never sailed a boat yourself or even had someone show you how to sail.” “Yes” “Hmmmm” “What?” “Let’s go sailing” “When?” “Now, let’s go out on your boat and I’ll teach you a few tricks of sailing” With that Scar jumped to his feet and headed out the door.” Cid sat for a moment in a bit of shocked disbelief and then something occurred to him and he ran out the door after Scar. It took Scar a short time to get the boat launched and he barked out good natured orders to Cid. Scar taught him aft and stern and starboard and leeside and as many nautical terms that made the task easier. He was easy about it and showed great patience repeating himself so that Cid could grasp what was being instructed.