17 του μηνός σήμερα είναι τα γενέθλεια της πολυαγαπημένης μας τάρια τούρουνεν
και μια που ασχολούμε με καλλιτεχνικά είπα να της αφιερώσω ένα δώρο γενεθλίων μια νέα ιστορία
μου εμπνευσμένη απο το πολύ γνωστό βιβλίο του συγγραφέα πάουλο κοέλιο αλχιμιστης
στην ιστορία μου φυσικα πρωταγωνιστής η ίδια η τάρια τούρουνεν όπως και στις προηγούμενες ιστορίες μου
απολάυστε την
17 august today and is birthday of our beloved tarja turunen
and as i am artist i want to dedicate to her my new fifth story inspired by famous
book of paulo coelho alchemist
in the story hero is of course tarja turunen as in all my previous stories
enjoy it!!!
(η ιστορία προστατεύεται νομικά απο τον κύριo αθανασόπουλο δικηγόρο και συμβολαιογράφο και επίσης απο το deviant art site story protected legally from lawyer mr athanasopoulos and also deviant art site)
η φωτογραφία τραβίχτηκε από την πολύ καλή μου φίλη που πριν λίγες μέρες της έδωσε την πέμπτη ιστορία που έφτιαξα για αυτήν με το όνομα road of life εμπνευσμένη από το βιβλίο του paulo coelho ο αλχημιστής
ROAD OF LIFE
Story created and written by vasilis saroglou
and translated from greek to english language by anatoli lydia stoila
Inspired by paulo coelho book alchemist
SCENE 1: INTRO
What happens when the Universe calls for you to follow it? When today becomes yesterday and yesterday becomes tomorrow? When you need to deal with your internal fears and hesitations, and to unite with heaven’s infinity? Our protagonist Tarja Turunen, is now called to answer to these questions, on my fifth-in-line story that I have written for her, inspired by the famous book of the writer Paulo Coelho, “Alchemist”.
On the last story, Tarja was trapped in the imaginary world of fairytales, along with all known heroes, as Aladdin, Red-Hooded, Snowbell and many more.
Responsible for that situation, was a young mage that caused Tarja to get trapped there, asking her for a great favor. To bring him back his beloved one, Sarah, that was trapped too, cause of a mistaken ritual he had performed. Tarja travelled to the imaginary land of fairytales, she met heroes, she fought monsters, she was chased by the army of paranoid kings and, in the end, she excelled, saving Sarah and bringing her back to her lover.
Tarja was convinced that all of this trouble had finally ended for good, as she dealt with monsters, demons, imaginary creatures, great challenges, and she was alive and full of hope about the future. There was no way that this peace of her would be disturbed by anything and anyone… but for once more, she would content herself too early.
After a week of her last adventure (the fourth story), Sarah visited Tarja at her home, in Finland, where Tarja rested there and was getting prepared for the upcoming tour with her band. Sarah was upset. As Tarja was about to welcome her with a warm hug, Sarah gave her a fairytale book of the Red-Hooded. Tarja smiled and she said that she loved fairytales and there is no reason for Sarah to be concerned, until Sarah showed her one of the pages. It said: “Tarja, dressed as the Red-Hooded, was heading to Grandma’s hut, along with her friend, Sarah”.
Then, Tarja wondered how it is possible that the original fairytale refers to her and Sarah, instead of the original Red-Hooded, as we all know it. Then Sarah explained to her that there was a space-time mess between the fairytale dimensions and the reality, so from now on, she and her friend would be referred as the lead heroes of the fairytales, instead of the original ones. Sarah’s boyfriend (the one responsible for their last adventure), said that the original fairytale heroes were trapped in a Negative Zone, lost somewhere in time, and that Tarja and Sarah were the only ones who could travel to save them. As a result, they would bring the flow of time in order and everything would be normal again.
SCENE 2: LOST HEROES
Tarja: “Sarah, this can’t be happening! No, I can’t believe it!”
Sarah: “Still, my dear friend, it is true! That’s what Mark said… there was a great space-time mess between the world of the fairytales and the reality.”
Tarja: “I was right about that damn scooter, you should have picked me up with your car on that day in the studio… that vehicle is bad luck!!”
Sarah: (Smiles lightly to show her compassion towards Tarja) “But now we have to do something about it, right?”
Tarja: “Sarah, I need to rest in these days… the tour is going to begin soon and…” (slightly bows her head in sadness).
Sarah: “Right… I understand. I should go, it was a bad idea to tire you with all this… if you change your mind, I will be around, to the only hotel next to the studio. Tomorrow morning, I am going back to Mark.”
Tarja: “Sarah wait, don’t go.. I did not…”
Sarah was already gone, sad by Tarja’s decision not to accept to help her this time. Being upset, Tarja hits, with her hand, the coffee table near her, causing the glass of water to fall on the floor.
Tarja: “God, when is this all going to end?? I wonder what excuse I am gonna find this time to the group, starting the tour in 4 days… they are gonna get mad at me, for sure. However, I need to help Sarah fix the mess.”
She took her coat, wore her shoes and took the scooter’s keys. Suddenly, the weather changed oddly, half of the sky was getting dark clouds while on the other half (where it was sunny), started raining.
Tarja: “Strange thing..! It must be caused by the space-time confusion that Sarah said. If that mess goes on, I might end up teaching science on some university...”
She put the key in the starter and was about to start the engine. It worked right away and Tarja mumbled: “Good, seems like the whole scooter-bad luck thing is over… Maybe the whole situation gets right.” As soon as she attempted to low the scooter’s pole, the engine stopped working.
Tarja: “Pffff, shouldn’t have said a word…”
All the lights around her had faded out and the sky had gone dark. Following, the rain got more intense and with the electricity black out, the scooter’s started wouldn’t start either, so her only choice was the crank. She got off the scooter and tried to make it work, using the crank, but nothing would come out of it. She kept on trying for 5-6 minutes and eventually, she dropped it and began searching for a cab, to go to the hotel that Sarah stayed.
Before she went on the street, her purse fell down so she bent over to pick it up and then, she realized that her hand seemed like it was fading out slowly. Apparently upset, she said: “Oh my God, what is it now?? My hand! It fades out! What is happening to me?”
She tried to pull herself together, patting her cheeks with her hands, so she wouldn’t faint. After she gathered the stuff that rolled out of her purse, she got up quickly and, fortunately, a cab was passing by and she took it, heading to the hotel. She got there and got out of the cab, breathing fast, without paying. The taxi driver hurried on calling her and she apologized, paying him the amount. She called Sarah on her cell phone, so she got downstairs to pick Tarja.
Sarah: “Tarja, listen to me, you don’t need to do this… you are right not willing to do this again. Last time you risked your life for me, a person you barely knew…”
Tarja: “Sarah, I will say only this. I accept to help you once more.”
She took a moment to catch her breath. Sarah brought her a glass of water.
Sarah: “Are you ok? You look like you saw a ghost or were chased by someone…”
Tarja: “Sarah, just before I got to you, something really weird happened to me. A crazy thing!”
Sarah: (Upset) “Oh God… what is it??”
Tarja: “I was about to take my scooter and come to you but, as always, it did not work. I attempted some tries but then, I left it to get to you and my purse fell down and the moment picked it up… I saw my hand fading out, becoming unsubstantial! And after a minute, it went back to normal…”
Sarah: “Oh! It already begun, just as Mark told me…”
Tarja: “Wait… what begun??”
Sarah: “Mark told me, that was going to happen cause now we exist as the heroes of fairytales, so we would fade out of this world… so we don’t have much time!”
Tarja: “What should we do, then?”
Sarah: “Tomorrow, on Friday, it will be a full moon – according to Mark. We need to follow him to the mountain he usually goes for his meditations, dressed in black robes that he will give us, we will make a circle of salt around us, to be protected by any demonic energies and finally, open the gate and go save the fairytale heroes from the Negative Zone.”
Tarja: (Sarcastically) “Ahh, so it’s that simple…”
Sarah: “If we don’t do this tomorrow, we will disappear from this world and no one will be ever able to find us… plus, our world will be invaded by a dark negative energy.”
Tarja: “Someone must have trapped them there, but who?”
Sarah: “In a way of speaking, we did… but it isn’t entirely our fault. In this new journey of ours, we are gonna find a powerful and wise magician, who is gonna work on you more, it is the destiny of both of you to meet each other.”
Tarja: “Oh! Is it now good or bad?”
Sarah: “Mark told me he saw him in his sleep, he will tell you better… now try to rest here, in the next bed and I will try to sleep too and we will talk in the morning.”
Tarja: “Yes, you are right, we need to gain some energy.”
The two women laid to rest, so they would find Sarah’s boyfriend, Mark, in the next day.
SCENE 3: THE DREAM OF THE MAGICIAN
The next day, the two women got up, had a quick breakfast and got ready to go and meet Mark.
Tarja: “Sarah, wait a second, I need to call some people and let them know I will be gone for some days… I need to find an excuse.”
Sarah: “Of course, I understand.”
Tarja called her husband, Marcelo, and her partners from the band. She told them about her brother having a serious health issue and that she had to leave and be absent for a week. Her husband was worried, as he understood from the tone of her voice that something was not right, however she hung up the phone quickly, so she wouldn’t be more likely to get caught. Then she persuaded her band.
They got dressed and took a cab, heading to Mark’s house. Mark welcomed Tarja with a warm hug, as he was truly grateful to her. She had risked her life to save his girlfriend, Sarah, so he would never forget about it, he was in great debt. Tarja asked for more information about the mess of the two dimensions and was also very weird about Mark’s dream about the magician.
First, Mark talked about the full moon night and the ritual that would follow in the forest, so that they would open the gate.
Mark: “So today, Tarja, you and Sarah should be prepared and rested for the midnight, you will need it.”
Tarja: “Right… getting in other dimensions and dealing with strange creatures and tremendous monsters, is not something you do everyday…”
Mark got the sarcasm in Tarja’s speech but also understood that there was some agony in the way she talked. Meanwhile, Sarah was in the kitchen, preparing tea for all.
Mark: “I have already prepared the incantation we are going to read, and the robes we are going to wear.”
Tarja: “The robe thing… what about it?”
Mark: “We all need to wear black robes with hoods, their importance is crucial, according to my book’s rules.”
Tarja: “Ok… this is nothing, compared to other things that I’ve been through.” (She smiled lightly).
In all of a sudden, a loud scream sounded from the kitchen. It was Sarah’s voice, followed by the sound of breaking glasses and the disk. Mark and Tarja got scared and rushed to the kitchen. What happened to Tarja before she found Sarah, was happening to Sarah now. Her hand was slowly fading out.
Mark: “You see, Tarja, if we don’t this today, you and Sarah will disappear permanently from this world and a great negative veil will fall upon the whole world.”
Tarja: “Yes, of course, we need to do this right.”
Sarah: (To Mark) “Yes, my love, tonight it will be done.”
Tarja: “Mark, tell me, please, about that dream you had… it concerns me too.”
Mark: “Of course, Tarja.”
After they helped Sarah on picking up the disk and the pieces of the broken glasses, they sat on the couch to continue the conversation.
Mark: “I saw you, Tarja, in a solitary, but not threatening, place. It was very beautiful, with rocky mountains around, and full of green grass, flowers and bushes. You were standing under a precipitous rock and the place there, was full of blue, clear waters. Suddenly, you were approached by a man, he was tall and thin, wearing a black robe with a hood, so I could not see his face. The language he spoke was not Finnish, nor English, however you two were communicating very well. He said: ‘I finally found you and I see you in person. I created all these adventures of yours, I opened the way through all these situations you lived… I wrote these and I made them happen to you.’
And you asked him: ‘Who are you?’
Magician: ‘I am a… writer, full of eagerness and intensive interest to get to know you personally.’
Tarja: ‘You must be something like a mage, if you say that you made these things happen to me.’
Magician: ‘No, I am not a mage, I am just living my Personal Myth. I became one with the World, as it did with me, so that the Universe would conspire with me and let me see you.’
Tarja: ‘Who are you, why can’t I see your face?’
Magician: ‘It is not the time yet… it’s time for you to live your Personal Myth and find out. Where you are about to go, the Negative Zone, to save the fairytale heroes – an isolated but beautiful place – you will find a treasure that’s waiting for you.’
And then, right when you attempted to touch his shoulder and make him turn his face, I woke up.”
Tarja: “Personal Myth, beautiful places, a treasure… they all remind me a book.”
Mark: “Tarja, everybody’s life is alike to a big play with its start, its middle part and its end.”
Sarah: “I will agree to that.”
Mark: “Whatever it is, you are going to deal with it on your journey in the Negative Zone.
Tarja: (Takes a deep breath and answers with courage) “I am ready.”
Then Mark turned to his beloved Sarah.
Sarah: “I am ready too.”
Mark: “Good. Now let’s grab some bite, rest and in a few hours, we are leaving for the forest to perform the ritual that opens the gate to the Negative Zone.
SCENE 4: THE RITUAL
It was already 11:45 pm and the forest was ten minutes away, by Mark’s car. Tarja could barely hide her agony, while Sarah was trying to comfort her, telling her that everything was going to be ok. Then they arrived and Mark told them to wear their robes and to start the ritual, so they got ready.
Mark placed three white candles and a white sheet on a small table, then he opened his book to read the incantation. But before he did, he asked the two women if they were ready.
Tarja: “Ready.”
Sarah: “Me too.”
Mark: “Good. Put your hoods on and while I will read the words to open the gate, keep your head down.”
As he was reading the incantation, a small breeze started blowing, till it grew to a strong wind that shook the branches, even the ones of the stronger trees. Leaves began falling on all over the place but they had to stay focused and not lift their heads till Mark finished the ritual.
Suddenly, just a bit after twelve o’clock, a smooth light started appearing, it grew more intense and became blinding, as Mark continued reading and the women kept their heads low. After a while, the light was gone.
Mark: “Are you both ok?”
Tarja: “Yeah… though a bit shocked..”
Sarah: “I am fine too, Mark.”
Mark: “Now it is the final stage that’s required to open the gate. Are you ready?”
Tarja and Sarah: “Yeah!”
He finished the ritual and, suddenly, Tarja found herself in a place that looked like the Finnish villages. A hand over her reached for her, moving slowly.
Tony: “Tarja?”
Tarja: “Yes… Sarah? Mark, where are we…?”
Tony: “Sarah? Mark? What are you talking about, dear…? You were asleep on the bench.”
Tarja: “Who…? Who are you? Where am I?”
Tony: “Tarja, it’s me Tony… your boss at the pottery house. I guess you had a nightmare…”
Tarja: (Stops and explores the place) “Pottery… house?”
Tony: “Yes, my dear, you had a long day… why don’t you go home now and take the day off, tomorrow, eh?”
Tarja felt warm and nice by the kindness of Tony, even if she didn’t know him.
Tony: “Lock up before you go” (he left the keys).
Tarja: “I am certain that something happened with Mark’s ritual, Sarah must be around… Let’s lock up and get out of here.”
SCENE 5: THE ROAD OF LIFE
Outside, Tarja saw a rickety bike and one of its tires was almost pierced.
Tarja: (Laughing out loud) “No way, this is definitely not mine!!”
However, she noticed that her name was written on it with black marker letters.
Tarja: “Aw… I prefer a thousand times more my scooter than this, even if it’s slow at first!! This is getting worse and worse. What is it gonna be on the next dimension, roller-blades? This fossil is going to make it hard but well… that’s my only choice.”
She got on and took a spin in the small and beautiful village that she was. Suddenly, while she was enjoying the beauty of the place, the tire found a hole in the ground and Tarja fell off of the bike. An old man approached her, he helped her get up, he looked at her with a serious and easy-going face and told her:
Old man: “Ah, my dear lady, be careful next time. In life, you will fall many times, but you’ve got to remember to get up always. This will happen to you a lot, till you reach your Personal Myth.”
Personal Myth! Tarja remembered Mark’s words about the dream of her and the magician, and before she attempted to ask the old man about where he had heard it, he was already gone. She looked around but nothing.
She raised her bike up and continued her ride, as she was also looking for Sarah. Tarja was certain that she was somewhere near. On her way, she noticed that the place was full of pictures of a great music school that was at the center of Finland, and she stopped for a while to stare at them.
Tarja was tired, as she was riding for hours in that place and she took some rest on a small seat outdoors in the village, she left the bike and she bought a small bottle of cold water, as she was very thirsty. When she got back at the seat, there was the same old man that helped her get up when she fell, sitting right next to her.
Tarja: “…you?”
Old man: “Yes, you seem amazing, Tarja.”
Tarja: (With a curious expression) “I don’t remember mentioning my name to you…”
Old man: “It wouldn’t be necessary, I already know it.”
Tarja: “Do you happen to know where I can find my friend, Sarah? I have lost her.”
Old man: “She will find you herself when the time is right, do not worry. I believe this would be of your concern.”
He gets off his brown leather bag, a big poster of a really beautiful place of high mountains, the sea, bushes and it looked so familiar to Tarja.
Tarja: “Aw! What place is this? I like it a lot and I feel… wait, I know this place, Mark described it from his dream of me and the magician.”
Old man: (He looked her in the eyes and smiled) “Yes, correct!”
Tarja: (She felt peace when she looked at him) “Do you know him? Mark?”
Old man: “Of course, how wouldn’t I… that place awaits you, there is the treasure you’re looking for.”
Tarja: “Where is this place?”
Old man: “In Greece.”
She heard in her school so many things about that ancient and bright culture of democracy, honor, virtues and beauty. She had also heard of the brave warriors that this land born, Alexander the Great, Leonidas and his 300 men, and now she knew that she had to go there and find her treasure.
Old man: “So, work hard in this time and collect money to go there.”
Tarja knew that in this dimension things were not the same as in the real world, where she had available money. Now she had to work on a totally different and new thing, pottery making, and obviously, she wouldn’t make much money. Tarja attempted to ask the old man some more questions but he had already left. Where he was sitting, was a peace of paper that said clearly “The road of life”. Tarja picked it up, looked at it well and put it in her pocket, as she felt that it would be useful later.
She took the bike, took a quick look around in case she saw the old man again, but there was no sign of him, so she left.
SCENE 6: PAST
As she was riding, she passed a place near the road that was full of posters, advertising an evening event that would take place at the school in Kuusankoski, where she grew up. Something inside her, a voice, told her that she had to be there on the next day, Friday, 8:00 pm. And this voice sounded like the old man’s voice, so she would do it without second thoughts.
The only hard part was that in this small village out of Kuuasankoski, she had no idea of where her house was. As she had the pottery house’s keys, she went to sleep there, planning to find a way to go to the school event in the next evening, in the place she had studied in the real world.
She parked her bike and was about to unlock the door, she was thinking of using the few money she found in her pockets, to buy a ticket and use it for the journey there. Just before she managed to unlock, she noticed a shadow behind her, getting terrified on the thought of any strange creature from her previous adventures, she turned quickly and she slipped and fell down. To her bad luck, the few money she would use for her journey, were ripped off. She got up. How would she go to the school now? She had to think about it in the next day. Now she had to rest.
It had already dawned and Tarja got up and got out of the pottery house. Making the journey was going to be hard without the bus. She sighed sadly.
Tarja: “Pfff this is impossible! How am I gonna go without money?”
There was no clear solution, everything became hard without money and vehicle but she had to reach her Personal Myth, in the beautiful place called Greece, and an important part of the quest, was getting to her school.
She decided to go on foot, crazy so, but there was no other option. Maybe if she got lucky, she would be picked by another car. She had got off her heels and, bare-foot, she waked on places with dry grass and thorns.
An hour later, she had crossed only three kilometers out of the eleven in total. She had eight more ahead. She sat down on the edge of the road to take some breaths. Before she mumbled for her bad luck, a red car stopped by her and a woman opened the door and asked:
Woman: “Have you run out of gas or are you working out?”
Tarja: (Relieved and smiling) “Hm, something in between, I lost my money.”
Woman: “It’s alright, I can help you. Come in!”
As Tarja was getting in, she looked at the woman curiously, there was something very familiar about her but to make sure, the woman would have to take off her sunglasses, they covered much of her face.
Tarja: “Nice sunglasses!” (Hoping that the woman would take them off, so she would see her face).
Woman: (Smiling) “Do you like them? You know, they are very expensive, I had to collect a lot of money to get them. What do you do…? What’s your name?”
Tarja: “It’s Tarja.”
Woman: “Wow!!”
Tarja: (Smiling) “You seem surprised, is my name that cute?”
They both laugh.
Woman: “No, it’s just… you have the same name with my daughter.”
Tarja was extremely surprised and a little dazzled too and she was staring at the woman for some seconds.
Woman: “Are you ok, Tarja? You seem rather pale.”
Tarja: “No, I’m ok, it was just a small discomfort.”
Woman: “I suppose you head to Helsinki. I can drop you off to Kuusankoski, where I make a stop and you can take the bus from there.”
Tarja: “If I might ask, where exactly are you going in Kuusankoski?”
Woman: “At my daughter’s school. For today, they have planned a special event and the teachers will talk to us about the student’s progress.”
This time, Tarja froze completely and being in shock, she screamed:
Tarja: “Oh, my God!!”
The woman that was driving the car, lost control of the steering wheel and the car moved dangerously amongst the other cars, on the right and the left side of the road, passing them too closely.
Woman: “What happened to you, dear? Would you like to stop and take some fresh air?”
Tarja had her head low and her hands were tangled in her hair, as she breathed fast from the shock and tried to hold together. The woman kept looking at her with concern. At that moment, as the woman lost attention, a big truck was coming right on them. She stepped on the breaks fiercely and in result, the car was driven off road and ended up in a distant dirt road. They both got out of the car and took some breaths.
Woman: “Tarja, are you sure you are ok? Why did you scream in the car? You caused me to lose control and we almost got ourselves killed.”
Tarja: “Phiou… thank you for your interest!”
Woman: (Smiling) “You know, Tarja… you look like my daughter very much, I believe when she grows up, she will look like you, she has your characteristics.”
Tarja: (Smiling brightly) “I know… don’t ask how, I just know.”
SCENE 7: ASSASSIN
The two women were back on the road, heading to the school, which was half an hour away now. They had talked about many subjects, during the journey, as Tarja kept on surprising the woman and she kept telling Tarja how much she reminded her, her daughter.
Tarja : (Mumbling to herself) “I can’t believe I am sitting here with my mother, who goes to see me at school while I am almost twenty years old!! I am in my past, back to my school years… who knows what else is expecting me!”
As they were getting to the school, Tarja was afraid of being suspected by her mother, so she asked her to drop her off a short distance before school. So did the woman. She dropped her off outside a store of modern, rock and metal clothes, where she had gone with her mother and bought her first leather jeans, when she began her career along with Nightwish band. Tarja stopped and stared for a while, bringing back old and nice memories to her mind. That was until the sound of a car horn, distracted her and brought her back. She sensed the old man’s voice telling her that she had to go to the school event. She was exhausted, hungry and thirsty, but she had to hold on searching for her treasure, her Personal Myth in beautiful Greece. She took a deep breath and headed towards the school, not sure about what she was supposed to do but the old man’s voice would guide her.
Getting in, careful this time so that she didn’t run on her mother, she saw a lot of people, children, youngsters, old ones, people of all ages. Modern music was on, some people were dancing, others were looking at the school photographs. Suddenly, she got an intense dazzling, she nearly kneeled and she had a vision of something that happened in the very same place. When she was young, a paranoid student tried to stab her cause she envied Tarja very much, because of her talent and her beauty alike.
Now she knew what she had to do! She had to stop the paranoid assassin, before she managed to kill her younger self. The scene would take place in the women’s restroom on 8:45 pm and it was already half past 8.
She speeded up her steps to the restroom and as she was running, she accidentally hit fiercely a young man.
Young man: “Hey girl, watch out next time…”
Both the young man and Tarja froze, staring at each other for many seconds.
Tarja: (Hesitating and surprised) “I… I am sorry, Tuomas.”
Tuomas: “You know my name…? How? You look like a girl that I know, a lot! Tarja! Wow, you must be her sister or something.”
Tarja: “Yeah! Her older sister.”
She was looking at her watch, being nervous cause time was passing and she needed to save her younger self in the restroom.
Tuomas: “I gotta say, your sister has a great talent! Though I don’t think that the project I’m preparing, is gonna go well… I haven’t even figured the name of the band.”
Tarja: “Make a night wish, maybe you get some inspiration. Excuse me now, I really need to go…”
Tuomas: “Hey, yeah, that’s what I’m talking about! I am gonna name the band Nightwish!! What a perfect name, thank you very much!”
Tarja: (As she was running, she mumbled) “God, did I just make the inspiration for the band’s name?”
She had reached the restroom and hid behind a wall so that her younger self wouldn’t see her and there would be any mess. As she was hidden, she heard her self talking with a friend and saying:
Young Tarja: “Ah, do you picture it, Lisa? Me singing on the stage alongside with Scorpions, I like them so much!! This sounds crazy but so awesome!”
Lisa: “Yes, be positive and stick in your dream! You never know…”
Tarja: (Smiling and low) “Listen to your friend, my dear self, she knows.”
At that moment, the psycho came in and discreetly asked Lisa to leave them alone for a minute, cause she wanted to tell Tarja something personal. Lisa, even though a little surprised, left the restroom. Then the psycho said:
Psycho: “Tarja, it is time for you to see how it feels not to be famous and not having this pretty talent of yours!”
Young Tarja: “Mairy, take it easy, what are you talking about?? You need help!”
Psycho: “Yes, I’ve cut off the medicine for some time, to be able to reach this point and kill you!”
She unsheathed her big knife from her back and attempted to stab her, while at the same time, Tarja jumped out and grabbed her hand fiercely and hit it on the wall three times, until the knife fell down. She also punched the psycho in the face and dropped her unconscious on the floor.
Young Tarja: “Wow!! Thank you so much for saving me, I owe you my life!!!”
Tarja: (Smiling and excited that she met her younger self in person) “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, that’s all.”
Young Tarja: “Your name?”
Tarja: “Tarja.”
Younger Tarja: “Wow! We have the same name!”
Tarja: “Yeah, what a coincidence, see?”
The police was already informed to arrest psychotic Mairy and Tarja was already outside the school. As she was about to leave, she saw her younger self with her best friend, Lisa, getting ready to ride Tarja’s scooter.
Tarja: “Aww, there’s my eternal nightmare… my scooter.”
She laughed as she watched her younger self struggling to start it on, using the crank, and she told her:
Tarja: “Just put more strength and more speed on the crank.”
So did her younger self and the scooter began working.
Young Tarja: “Wow, Tarja, you surprise me once more! Are you an engineer??”
Tarja: “No, I just happen to know some stuff… goodbye Tarja, take care of yourself.”
Young Tarja: “You too, thank you again for saving my life!”
And so, she and her friend, Lisa, rode the scooter.
SCENE 8: ACTION
After Tarja left that place, not knowing what she was supposed to do next, she returned by another car that picked her up, to the pottery house that she worked in that dimension. There, the old man was waiting for her at the same seat that he had talked to her on the last time.
Tarja: (Surprised and happy) “You… I am glad to see you again.”
Old man: “But Tarja, dear, deep inside you knew you were going to meet me again.”
Tarja silently nodded to the old man.
Old man: “You succeeded in this test of yours. Now, are you ready for the next one?”
Tarja: “Yes, I think so.”
Old man: “Tarja, when it comes to seeking your Personal Myth and live your dream, there is no ‘think so’ but ‘know so’”.
Tarja: “Yes!!”
Old man: “Ok that’s what I wanted to hear. I will see you in the next dimension.”
Tarja: “Hey… wait!”
She looked around. She was in her regular life and in the dimension of 2012. She felt greatly relieved and happy, you could see it on her face. But then she wondered. “Now what am I supposed to do? What is the next test about?” the internal voice told her that she had to pick money from the bank for the journey to Greece, which she had to do in the next three days.
She was now three days away from her Personal Myth, to reach Greece, that beautiful place of sea and high mountains, and to finally meet the magician. She picked the money and booked the ticket online for Wednesday, 9 o’clock in the morning. She went home and laid to rest. Her next test would happen during her sleep, getting her to the future, summer of 2013. That would be at the takes of a movie, called “Die Alive” and would be about her.
She found herself outside an old, abandoned house, in a dark place with cloudy sky, and there were fields around. There was also a cinematic workshop and stuff, full of the necessary equipment, such as cameras, microphones and actors. A person appeared on the center of the scene and said:
Person: “Three… two… one… Action!!”
Tarja: “Aw, Die Alive! And this girl reminds me of me! I am pretty sure this movie is about me… but what am I supposed to do here?”
The old man’s voice told her that she had to save the lead actress that had the role of Tarja, from the assault of her friend Lisa who was demonized. It seems to be a movie but in this test, if the demon attacks her, the actress will die for real.
Tarja had to find a way to sneak in the scene dock, where the demon would attack the lead actress, but the place was crowded by actors, directors, scriptwriters and producers, and they would see her. Right at the time, she heard the make-up girl saying that she is done with her part and she would go home and the second make-up girl would be there any moment. After a while, Tarja saw that the second make-up girl had not come yet, so she took the chance to take over for a while.
So, Tarja took a T-shirt with “Die Alive” stamp on it, and a small card, where she wrote that she was the make-up artist.
Tarja: (Loudly) “Stooop!!!”
Director: “Hey!! What are you doing, lady?? Are you mad? Don’t you see we are in the middle of something here??”
Tarja: “I see but I believe that something is wrong with the girl’s make-up.”
Director: “What? Didn’t the make-up artist go home earlier?”
Tarja: “Well… I was supposed to, but I postponed it instead and thought I should help a little more here.”
The director stared at Tarja for some seconds, like she reminded him of someone, as Tarja kept her head down in discreet, so they wouldn’t get who she really is. She got in, she approached the actress the actress that had the role of her best friend, and spoke to her discreetly:
Tarja: “Listen to me, you have to get out of here immediately, you are in danger.”
Actress: “Haha, you do have humor… you should play a role, especially Tarja’s part, you look like her a lot.”
Tarja: “Listen to me, you might thing I am crazy, but you have to get out of here! A demon is going to attack you!”
She didn’t get to finish well her sentence and a massive force threw her on the floor. The actress freaked out and run to inform the director that the make-up artist fainted, as she didn’t see the demon there. Fortunately, Tarja regained her consciousness quickly, but before she managed to get up, the demon grabbed her from the neck and stuck her on the wall. As she had a hard time to breath, she was looking for a way to hit him. She noticed, in the corner, a huge light projector that was there for the needs of the movie. As the demon was a creature of darkness, Tarja assumed that the light would hurt him, so she pretended that she fainted, so he would be distracted.
Demon: (With loud and deep voice) “Did you think, Tarja Turunen, that one hit of your high heel on my eye - at our last fight - would get me out of the way for good?? Me? A creature of Hell? Hahaha hilarious!!!”
At that moment, Tarja took off her one heel again.
Tarja: “Do you know what they told me at the store, where I bought these heels?? That they are killing heels!!!”
And so, she nailed him on the eye with force and then she turned the light projector right on his face. The demon, shouting in pain, fell down and disappeared like dust in the air. Then, the director came in, running.
Director: “Hey, lady, are you ok?”
Tarja: “Aw, yeah, thank you… I was just practicing, I always wanted to play at the cinema.”
She smiled and got away from the studio, stood near a corner and waited for the old man’s voice and her directions to the next test.
SCENE 9: NEGATIVE ZONE
There were only two days left before her journey to Greece, where her Personal Myth was and the meeting with the magician awaited. Though, Tarja was worried and wondering where Sarah was, after all these tests she had been through. She did not find her yet! “Maybe that’s part of the tests”, she thought. Then, the voice of the old man talked to her.
Old man: “Don’t worry about Sarah, you will see her when the time is right. It is all a part of the tests, as you correctly guessed. Now, prepare to live in the Negative Zone, where all the heroes that you must save, are trapped there. Also, all the worries and fears of the people are gathered in an utter dark and negative world, where you will see how things would be if you didn’t decide to become a singer.”
Tarja: “Oh..!! I don’t like that… and what am I supposed to do there?”
Though, the voice was already gone. “Good, I guess I will get my answer on the process…” she thought, however she felt scared inside and she didn’t believe it with confidence.
Suddenly, the lamp that was hanging over her, began to flicker and Tarja looked up. The light went off completely for three seconds and then it turned back, as Tarja headed home. On the way, she saw a beggar on the side of the street and stood there, looking at him in sadness.
Tarja: “God, poor people…”
Beggar: “Hey, lady… come on, help me please. Give me whatever you feel like…”
Tarja approached him.
Beggar: “Hey… hey, you, Tarja!”
Tarja was completely surprised and shocked, as the beggar was her favorite friend and partner in the band of Nightwish, Emppu Vuorinen. She was staring at him for a while, covering her mouth with her hand so she wouldn’t scream.
Emppu: “Why are you shocked? Don’t you tell me, you didn’t know I was in this condition?”
Tarja: “I… but how, Emppu? I don’t understand, you guys were doing fine, with the other singer and the band, what happened?”
Emppu: “Anette? Doing fine?.. Tarja, I may be the one who drinks, but it seems that alcohol has messed you up instead.”
Tarja: “I don’t understand, is this some kind of a joke?”
Emppu: “Tarja, the only band we had, was a school jazz project and you were a part of it too, for a while.”
Tarja: “What is happening, where is everybody else? What do they do in their lives?”
Emppu: “It seems to me dumb that you ask, while you know… anyway, I will tell you. Tuomas had been put in a psychiatric clinic for five years or so, then he was released but he is still under supervision, medicine and visiting a doctor once per month. Jukka decided to move to the village and to work on a fish house as a redcap, as he was disappointed by yours and Tuomas’ withdrawal from that beautiful band we were to create.”
Tarja: “Marcelo? My husband?”
Emppu: (Laughed out loud) “Marcelo, your husband?? What are you talking about, Tarja, you are not married!!”
Tarja knelt down and, being slightly dazzled by the whole anxiety, she touched her head and raked her hair with her fingers uneasily, as she wheezed.
Emppu: “Tarja, are you ok?”
Tarja: (Looking at her friend) “No, it seems that I am not ok.”
She did not know where to go or what she would deal with.
Tarja: “I need to fix all this, somehow…”
Emppu: “What do you mean, by creating the band now? Haha, isn’t it a little too late?
Tarja: “No, I have to make it, to reach my treasure in Greece, as the old man said. I am gonna find Tuomas, where is he?”
Emppu: “Where he always lives, of course, in his parent’s house.”
Tarja: “I will be back, my friend, Emppu, stay here.”
Emppu: “Don’t worry, I am not gonna move a thing…”
Tarja was on her way to Tuomas’ house, since it was close. She knocked on the door. A woman opened, she was kind but also, psychologically a sad woman, it was on her face expression.
Woman: “Good to see you, Tarja! Are you here to see my son? He is upstairs, he just took his medicine and is about to sleep now, as the doctor suggests.”
Tarja: (Trying not to show her awkwardness, she smiled and pretended) “Yes, I know… I won’t stay for long.”
She went upstairs and knocked on Tuomas’ room door.
Tuomas: “Who is it?”
Tarja: “It’s me, Tarja.”
He opened the door. Tarja saw a completely different person than the Tuomas she knew, not by appearance, but by the misery and the devastated mood that was in his eyes. He invited her in and told her:
Tuomas: “You seem a lot better, I am glad to see you though. However, I’m afraid that we cannot talk much cause I feel like sleeping in a while.”
Tarja thought that the kind friend she knew, would never say such a thing. She got in the room and said:
Tarja: “Tuomas, what were you sent at the psychiatric clinic for?”
Tuomas: “Tarja, you act as if you came from another planet.”
Tarja: “No… but…” (she gave it some thought for a while, then she pretended that she knew).
Tuomas: “I guess you like listening to my story. Anyway, let me say it again.”
Tarja: “Of course.”
Tuomas: “I am always after some dangerous, masked men that try to kill Innocence, that little girl with the blond hair.”
Tarja remembered some lyrics from Tuomas’ songs that she sung many times in the past.
Tarja: “Where does this happen?”
Tuomas: “Just a few blocks away, in these thin and dark streets of the neighborhood.”
Tarja: “And? Do you manage to save the little girl, Innocence?”
Tuomas: “No, just before I do it, they always attack me, throw me to the ground, take her and disappear.”
Tarja: “Can we go there, now?”
Tuomas: “Ehh… Tarja, I don’t think this is a good idea. Anyway, you may never see anything and everybody thinks I am getting more crazy.”
Tarja: “I believe you and I trust you, let’s go! Don’t worry!”
Tuomas looked Tarja in the eyes, smiled and nodded.
SCENE 10: INNOCENCE
Tuomas and Tarja were walking for five or six minutes, till Tarja heard screams coming out of an alleyway.
Tuomas: “There, there!! Can you listen??”
Tarja didn’t get it at first and she assumed that her friend was crazy indeed. But before she finished her thought, she started hearing this too.
Tuomas: “Let’s go, Tarja, we have to rescue Innocence and prove that I am not crazy!”
They run over there and they found themselves in a dark and thin road, with dump and humidity all over the place, and sprayed walls. Tarja, scared, noticed a little girl that was crying soberly and three huge men, dressed in ripped leather jackets with hoods covering their dark faces, as they were trying to kill the little girl.
Tuomas: “Tarja, I am gonna keep them busy! You take Innocence by your side and run away as fast as you can!”
Tarja: “…and you??”
Tuomas: “Don’t worry, Tarja, if you save Innocence, it will be like you’re saving me too!”
Tarja smiled at him and nodded. She threw herself in the fight but she slipped and fell down, cause of the wet ground. As in result, her ankle was wricked. Until she would regain her strength, she dragged a little and she reached out her arm to the girl, calling her to come along. Innocence was crying but when she saw Tarja’s look, she calmed down and she gained courage, as Tuomas was trading strikes with the others. The girl eluded and headed towards Tarja, then Tarja took her in her arms.
Tuomas: “Run, Tarja! Go away and don’t look back!”
Tarja: “But… I can’t leave you here!”
Tuomas: “Go, you saved Innocence, you have already saved me!”
As Tarja was going away from that place, all of the three guys got on Tuomas and begun striking him more and more fiercely. Tarja was already in a safe distance and then, she realized that the little girl had disappeared from her arms. This test had finally succeeded.
SCENE 11: THE RESCUE
As she was looking at her empty arms, the moment she raised her eyes to the environment around her, she found herself in a place that looked alike the previous one, in Finland. She was in a woods area, one of the many that are in this place, only there was just something very negative there. A strange black energy, surrounded by a purple aura, was wandering in the sky and Tarja could see it clearly. That energy was raising everything in the air, making them dance in the whirl of a huge tornado, also carrying away dirt from the ground and some boards, while deep into the forest, there was a sound like the funnel of a ship.
The internal voice of the old man that helped her for so long, told her to move ahead, find and rescue the fairytale heroes, who are trapped in a big cage. Also, her friend, Sarah, was trapped there too.
Tarja: (Sighing in excitement) “There’s Sarah, thank God!”
Though, on her way, the internal voice told her that it wouldn’t be so easy. There, she would have to face the negative man of this dimension who was also the guard of the cage. He was a huge warrior, wearing the plates of a knight and had silver long hair. Tarja shrank a little and also got scared to this idea. However, she knew that in order to get to her Personal Myth, to faraway and beautiful Greece, she had to get through a lot of trouble. So, she regained courage and continued her way through the dark and negative forest with the strange black and purple energy that wandered in the air.
She was tired, hungry, thirsty and needed sleep to rest her mind, to regain her power but she shouldn’t abandon her goal now, she was so close. She had to get to the end, to the magician in Santorini Island, to free the heroes and bring back the innocence to the fairytales that we all loved.
She finally made it to the place where the cage was. It was a sterile part of the forest with a circle of dirt in the ground, and above it, there was hanging the big cage, full of the fairytale heroes. They were all there, Aladdin, Red-Hooded, Snow-White and the others.
She hid behind a big rock to check the place for any possible enemies around. There were torches around the cage but for some reason, they were not lighted. The guard, a creature of the dark and negativity, would have a good reason that kept them this way.
If they were lighted, Tarja would see that under the cage was a big hole, covered with grass and full of many huge metallic thorns in order to kill the heroes when the cage would fall. The guard set up the trap in this way, so when Tarja would light the torches to have a better line of sight, automatically the ropes would be burned, causing the cage with the heroes to fall in the hole of thorns and die. Therefore, Tarja had to figure this out somehow, before it was too late.
Tarja: “It is too dark here, though I am sure that this is the right place with the cage and the trapped heroes. Hm, yeah, my cell phone’s screen is large enough to provide a satisfying lighting.”
She turned on the screen light and saw the fairytale heroes in the cage, looking at her happy, as their rescuer finally arrived. Tarja thought to light a fire for the torches by rubbing stones together, just like in the camps, and then rubbing two thin wooden straws to make it more intense. She was trying so, for a lot of minutes, until she lighted a fire. She was about to light one torch and then the others, until she heard a voice.
Sarah: “No! Don’t do it!”
Tarja: “Sarah! God, you are here, alive! I am so happy!”
Sarah: “Yes, I managed to get released from the mouth gag just in time! If you light these torches, the whole cage will fall in the thorn trap, with us inside!!”
Tarja: “Thank God you told me! I am gonna find another way to release you.”
Guard: “I don’t think that would be very appropriate, mrs. Turunen.”
Tarja: “Who…? Who’s there?”
Guard: “The guard of the Negative Zone, and the one who’s going to end your journey here, now.”
Tarja was dominated by shivering all over her back, and also by terror. She felt she could do nothing, she had got frozen.
Sarah: “Tarja, concentrate, you can! Think of what we’ve been through, and you made it here with your own will!”
Tarja: (Humorously) “Sure, you can say that since you’re all locked in your cage and I’m the one out! But yeah, you are right, I have to make it!”
Before Tarja turned to the direction of the guard’s heavy voice, his big and muscled arm grabbed her from the neck and raised her up.
Guard: “You are braver than I thought! You came all the way here just to rescue these small, innocent fablers, why??”
Tarja: (Choking) “I… can’t… brea……th…”
Guard: “Aw, I’m sorry!? Where are my manners??”
He threw her on the ground, causing her to get her elbow scratched, bleeding on her blouse. Sarah was watching the scene with holding breath and here eyes locked at her friend, Tarja. Tarja was faking being unconscious in order to gain some time and figure out what to do next. However, Sarah found her hairpin that had fallen in the cage, after she managed to release her hands from the rope, and now she was trying to violate the cage’s lock.
The guard, who had the form of a sturdy dark warrior that came out of the fantasy of old times, and with his silver hair waving by the wind, approached Tarja, caught her from the hair and raised her up. Tarja let out a loud cry of pain, he looked at her with his murky, red eyes and as he was squeezing her head, he said:
Guard: “What can you do to me, human? You’re just an little woman, weak and mortal!”
He threw her on the ground again, more fiercely this time, he stood over her and pushed her on her waist with his metallic boot. Sarah finally opened the cage door and the heroes began getting out, one by one. She closed the door and threw a lighter to Tarja. The guard didn’t realize their escape, as he was too busy attempting to kill Tarja.
Sarah: “Tarja, now! Light the torches!”
Guard: “How is she going to do that, you foolish redhead??”
Fairytale heroes: “With our help, you idiot!!”
All the heroes charged him, threw him on the ground, just beneath the cage and dragged wounded Tarja away.
Sarah: “Light the torches now, no need to think about it!”
She lighted the torches one by one, then the ground beneath opened, revealing the huge metallic thorns. The cage fell in there, carrying the dark guard with it, making him to reel in pain as he felt the thorns getting through him.
This difficult test was finally over for Tarja. Sarah held her in her arms and let some water flow from the water bag to her face, so Tarja would get together. Every single one of the heroes thanked Tarja warmly for rescuing them and then, they disappeared in an intense line of light.
Sarah and Tarja eventually fell asleep on the ground, now being in a pure Finnish forest, cleared out of negative energy and having the company of the rising sun.
SCENE 12: DESTINATION POINT
Sarah: “Tarja, wake up! Today is the day for the journey to Greece!”
Tarja: “Right! It is the day for me to meet my Personal Myth, to meet the magician that is the source of all this.”
Sarah: “Yes, get up, shake off the dirt, take a deep breath, this is your day. Let’s go get your ticket, we’re leaving for the airport. And, Tarja, I want to apologize for me and Mark… we feel somehow responsible for all this.”
Tarja: “Leave the apologies for later, we’ve got a magician to catch now.”
Sarah: (Smiling) “Right.)
After three hours of walking, they got to the downtown and got the bus to Tarja’s house. To Tarja’s sad surprise, they saw that some burglars had broken into her house and stole some stuff and in this whole mess, she couldn’t find her ticket. After a while, Sarah found it but it was torn apart.”
Tarja: “No!!! God, this is not possible, why??? We had got so close!!”
Sarah: “Ok, this is not good…”
Tarja was taken over by the feeling of disappointment, she lowed her look and held her hair in despair, sighing. Then, she heard the internal voice.
Old man: “Don’t be frightened, a warrior of the light never gives up. Tarja, you are definitely going to make it to your Personal Myth, take Sarah and go to the airport, don’t ask, you will see. You have got to be in Greece before the sunrise, so that this great effort of yours won’t be wasted.”
Tarja: “Come on, let’s go.”
Sarah: “But… you don’t have a ticket and there is no time to get a new one, what are we gonna do?”
Tarja: “Just follow me, don’t ask!”
Sarah: “Ok boss, let’s go! Just be prepared, we may need to act a bit illegally…”
Tarja: “What do you mean?”
Sarah: “Do you see that motorcycle over there?”
Tarja saw a fine Chopper motorcycle in black color, all clean, with an eagle design on the side of it.
Tarja: (Excited) “Hell, yeah!!”
Without a second thought, Tarja got on the motorcycle and sat on the back of the seat.
Sarah: (Laughing) “Not that motorcycle, Tarja… right thought, wrong vehicle! I was talking about the one next to it!”
Tarja: “God, not a scooter again…! Have some mercy, Sarah, I can’t stand these wrecks!”
Sarah: “Yes, but that one has the keys on, and apart from that, we only have my ticket and no money for a cab. What else can we do?”
Tarja: “Ok, right… nothing must distract me from my goal. Let’s go!”
Sarah: “Please, mrs. Turunen, you are the expert on that stuff.” (They both laugh).
Tarja: (Taking a deep breath) “Ok! Just keep your eyes open for the owner in the store!”
She tries using the crank, nothing happens. She tries for a second time, still nothing.
Sarah: “Tarja, make it fast, I think I see the owner going to the door!”
She tries for a third time. A deafening burst, coming from the scooter’s exhaust, stated that the engine started working and all the people around thought it was a shot, so they immediately fell down.
Tarja: “The perfect distraction, don’t you think?”
Sarah: “Let’s go, step on it!”
The owner run, yelling at them, but he didn’t catch up with them. They had already turned to the way to the airport. They got there about an hour later, they abandoned the scooter on a corner and they headed to the main gate of the airport.
Tarja: “Let me do the talking.”
They went to a manager of the place and Tarja explained to her that her home was broken into and her ticket was torn apart, she even showed her one piece of it. The manager told her that there was nothing she could do and Tarja would have to buy a new ticket for the next two days. At that moment, another manager of the airport heard the conversation and talked to her.
Manager: “You are mrs. Tarja Turunen, the famous singer of our city!! There is no problem, my dear, I will make sure to get you in a flight to Santorini, Greece. You just might be a little uncomfortable down there.
Tarja agreed with him and thanked the manager, then she hugged warmly and said bye to her friend, Sarah. The travel begun and after three and a half hours, she made it to Santorini.
FINAL ACT
Despite of being tired, she had walked through the beautiful streets of Santorini and it was almost 12 o’clock, but she didn’t care much as she was too close to her Personal Myth. Though, bad luck would catch her again. She slipped on wet ground and fell down, her pants were all wet and she had to change immediately. The internal voice told her: “The red color will be the sign for the magician to see you”.
She had no choice and she did not feel proud either, but she had to steal a red dress. She left a note with her personal data and her address, saying that she would pay for it.
Tarja: “Now? Where do I go, where is the magician?”
As she was watching the view from a high place, looking at the Mediterranean Sea, its beautiful waves, the lights of the small houses that gave a sense of a fairytale place, she saw a distant place with rocks, where the moonlight extended. Her instinct told her to go there. And yes, her instinct was the voice of that old man that helped her through the journey.
She was there and she hid behind a big rock. On the other side, there were seven people, dressed in black hooded robes and they looked like they were chanting prayers to an ancient Greek goddess. She had to get down there, she was certain that the magician was near. However, the rock was precipitous and she was afraid to get down with bare hands. She had to find something to grab on, like a branch, but there was nothing there.
Tarja: “Think, Tarja! You have been through so much trouble!”
Ten minutes passed and still, there was nothing. Finally, she got an idea, maybe not so good but the only one. She needed something stretching and long, like a rope, in order to catch the branch on the other side and get down safely. She took off her panty hose, she formed it like a lasso and was trying to catch the branch.
Tarja: “Let’s see, dear panty hose, are you as stretchy as the commercial says, or am I gonna crush and burn?”
On the third try, she did it. She brought the branch to her and grabbed it. Her landing was somehow rough but, fortunately, she only got a small scratch on her leg… and an expensive ripped panty hose.
Tarja: “Ok, this panty hose was worth its money!”
She got up, she shook the dirt off of her, she took a deep breath and continued heading to the black-robed people. She had gotten off her shoes as they got her tired.
Tarja: “Where is he…? The magician? There are seven people in black robes and they all chant in some incomprehensive language, it must be ancient Greek.
They finished the ceremony, they thanked the 12 gods, they blew off their candles and stayed still for some minutes, like they were making silence in respect to the gods. Suddenly, a shadow approached her from behind.
Tarja: “Oh my God! Who are you??”
She saw a young Greek, 29 years old, tall, light brown-haired with blue eyes, in casual dressing style, black T-shirt, jeans and athletic shoes. Tarja, impressed, stared at him for some seconds. She had finally found the magician!
Magician: “Hello, my name is Vasilis, Tarja.”
Tarja: “You…?”
Vasilis: “Yes, Tarja, you know what they say? When someone wants something very much…”
Both: “…the whole universe works to offer it to them.”
Vasilis: “I started writing stories about you from 2009 and as it seems, whatever I have written, have come in your life. I am responsible for what happened, without meaning that I wanted it so.”
Tarja was listening carefully to him, without responding.
Vasilis: “Cause of my deep wish to meet you in person, I enabled all your adventures and tests. In result, whatever I wrote, happened in real life too. Therefore, I am truly happy and grateful that I finally get to meet you in person, that I achieved my Personal Myth. However, I owe you an apology for every trouble you had!”
There was silence for a while. Tarja was thinking over all this and she turned to him, saying:
Tarja: “Normally, I would hate you for all this. But… I also have to say thanks, Vasilis! Cause you reminded me that I had been tested a lot, I have been through a lot to become the famous Tarja Turunen and you reminded me that through your stories that I lived for real, like a hero. And all this adventure, all these tests made me think that you, in order to achieve your goal, had to write these stories about me, to get to know me through these. It feels like you already know me for a long time, meeting me here today.”
Vasilis: “Yes, Tarja, correct! I am grateful for your understanding!”
Tarja: (Laughing) “But in your stories, why do you always give me a hard time with the scooters that can’t start??”
Vasilis: (Laughing) “All the action and terror films include cars that cannot start… I thought of making the difference!”
They both laughed. They were standing on a high place and behind them, there was the view of the whole island, beautiful Santorini, and the moon. It had already begun to dawn, and the place from Mark’s dream, with the sunset, the sea and the green bushes, was flourishing in front of Tarja.
Tarja: “Vasilis… do you know of any nice place where we can eat? I am starving to death and I am sure we have a lot to discuss about your stories and for you too.”
Vasilis: “Of course. We can always rent a scooter to get there faster, if you will.”
Tarja: (Laughing hard) “No!! Forget it, I prefer walking!”
Vasilis: (Smiling) “Ok, let’s go.”
So, the two figures that stood, having the beautiful island on their background, had finally achieved their dreams, their Personal Myths. Tarja was a famous singer and Vasilis met Tarja in person. Of course, that required some sacrifice from the both of them. And, as my favorite writer, Paulo Coelho, says in the end: “The journey is what matters, not the destination”.
The end!!
Story created and written by vasilis saroglou
Inspired by paulo coelho book alchemist
και μια που ασχολούμε με καλλιτεχνικά είπα να της αφιερώσω ένα δώρο γενεθλίων μια νέα ιστορία
μου εμπνευσμένη απο το πολύ γνωστό βιβλίο του συγγραφέα πάουλο κοέλιο αλχιμιστης
στην ιστορία μου φυσικα πρωταγωνιστής η ίδια η τάρια τούρουνεν όπως και στις προηγούμενες ιστορίες μου
απολάυστε την
17 august today and is birthday of our beloved tarja turunen
and as i am artist i want to dedicate to her my new fifth story inspired by famous
book of paulo coelho alchemist
in the story hero is of course tarja turunen as in all my previous stories
enjoy it!!!
(η ιστορία προστατεύεται νομικά απο τον κύριo αθανασόπουλο δικηγόρο και συμβολαιογράφο και επίσης απο το deviant art site story protected legally from lawyer mr athanasopoulos and also deviant art site)
η φωτογραφία τραβίχτηκε από την πολύ καλή μου φίλη που πριν λίγες μέρες της έδωσε την πέμπτη ιστορία που έφτιαξα για αυτήν με το όνομα road of life εμπνευσμένη από το βιβλίο του paulo coelho ο αλχημιστής
ROAD OF LIFE
Story created and written by vasilis saroglou
and translated from greek to english language by anatoli lydia stoila
Inspired by paulo coelho book alchemist
SCENE 1: INTRO
What happens when the Universe calls for you to follow it? When today becomes yesterday and yesterday becomes tomorrow? When you need to deal with your internal fears and hesitations, and to unite with heaven’s infinity? Our protagonist Tarja Turunen, is now called to answer to these questions, on my fifth-in-line story that I have written for her, inspired by the famous book of the writer Paulo Coelho, “Alchemist”.
On the last story, Tarja was trapped in the imaginary world of fairytales, along with all known heroes, as Aladdin, Red-Hooded, Snowbell and many more.
Responsible for that situation, was a young mage that caused Tarja to get trapped there, asking her for a great favor. To bring him back his beloved one, Sarah, that was trapped too, cause of a mistaken ritual he had performed. Tarja travelled to the imaginary land of fairytales, she met heroes, she fought monsters, she was chased by the army of paranoid kings and, in the end, she excelled, saving Sarah and bringing her back to her lover.
Tarja was convinced that all of this trouble had finally ended for good, as she dealt with monsters, demons, imaginary creatures, great challenges, and she was alive and full of hope about the future. There was no way that this peace of her would be disturbed by anything and anyone… but for once more, she would content herself too early.
After a week of her last adventure (the fourth story), Sarah visited Tarja at her home, in Finland, where Tarja rested there and was getting prepared for the upcoming tour with her band. Sarah was upset. As Tarja was about to welcome her with a warm hug, Sarah gave her a fairytale book of the Red-Hooded. Tarja smiled and she said that she loved fairytales and there is no reason for Sarah to be concerned, until Sarah showed her one of the pages. It said: “Tarja, dressed as the Red-Hooded, was heading to Grandma’s hut, along with her friend, Sarah”.
Then, Tarja wondered how it is possible that the original fairytale refers to her and Sarah, instead of the original Red-Hooded, as we all know it. Then Sarah explained to her that there was a space-time mess between the fairytale dimensions and the reality, so from now on, she and her friend would be referred as the lead heroes of the fairytales, instead of the original ones. Sarah’s boyfriend (the one responsible for their last adventure), said that the original fairytale heroes were trapped in a Negative Zone, lost somewhere in time, and that Tarja and Sarah were the only ones who could travel to save them. As a result, they would bring the flow of time in order and everything would be normal again.
SCENE 2: LOST HEROES
Tarja: “Sarah, this can’t be happening! No, I can’t believe it!”
Sarah: “Still, my dear friend, it is true! That’s what Mark said… there was a great space-time mess between the world of the fairytales and the reality.”
Tarja: “I was right about that damn scooter, you should have picked me up with your car on that day in the studio… that vehicle is bad luck!!”
Sarah: (Smiles lightly to show her compassion towards Tarja) “But now we have to do something about it, right?”
Tarja: “Sarah, I need to rest in these days… the tour is going to begin soon and…” (slightly bows her head in sadness).
Sarah: “Right… I understand. I should go, it was a bad idea to tire you with all this… if you change your mind, I will be around, to the only hotel next to the studio. Tomorrow morning, I am going back to Mark.”
Tarja: “Sarah wait, don’t go.. I did not…”
Sarah was already gone, sad by Tarja’s decision not to accept to help her this time. Being upset, Tarja hits, with her hand, the coffee table near her, causing the glass of water to fall on the floor.
Tarja: “God, when is this all going to end?? I wonder what excuse I am gonna find this time to the group, starting the tour in 4 days… they are gonna get mad at me, for sure. However, I need to help Sarah fix the mess.”
She took her coat, wore her shoes and took the scooter’s keys. Suddenly, the weather changed oddly, half of the sky was getting dark clouds while on the other half (where it was sunny), started raining.
Tarja: “Strange thing..! It must be caused by the space-time confusion that Sarah said. If that mess goes on, I might end up teaching science on some university...”
She put the key in the starter and was about to start the engine. It worked right away and Tarja mumbled: “Good, seems like the whole scooter-bad luck thing is over… Maybe the whole situation gets right.” As soon as she attempted to low the scooter’s pole, the engine stopped working.
Tarja: “Pffff, shouldn’t have said a word…”
All the lights around her had faded out and the sky had gone dark. Following, the rain got more intense and with the electricity black out, the scooter’s started wouldn’t start either, so her only choice was the crank. She got off the scooter and tried to make it work, using the crank, but nothing would come out of it. She kept on trying for 5-6 minutes and eventually, she dropped it and began searching for a cab, to go to the hotel that Sarah stayed.
Before she went on the street, her purse fell down so she bent over to pick it up and then, she realized that her hand seemed like it was fading out slowly. Apparently upset, she said: “Oh my God, what is it now?? My hand! It fades out! What is happening to me?”
She tried to pull herself together, patting her cheeks with her hands, so she wouldn’t faint. After she gathered the stuff that rolled out of her purse, she got up quickly and, fortunately, a cab was passing by and she took it, heading to the hotel. She got there and got out of the cab, breathing fast, without paying. The taxi driver hurried on calling her and she apologized, paying him the amount. She called Sarah on her cell phone, so she got downstairs to pick Tarja.
Sarah: “Tarja, listen to me, you don’t need to do this… you are right not willing to do this again. Last time you risked your life for me, a person you barely knew…”
Tarja: “Sarah, I will say only this. I accept to help you once more.”
She took a moment to catch her breath. Sarah brought her a glass of water.
Sarah: “Are you ok? You look like you saw a ghost or were chased by someone…”
Tarja: “Sarah, just before I got to you, something really weird happened to me. A crazy thing!”
Sarah: (Upset) “Oh God… what is it??”
Tarja: “I was about to take my scooter and come to you but, as always, it did not work. I attempted some tries but then, I left it to get to you and my purse fell down and the moment picked it up… I saw my hand fading out, becoming unsubstantial! And after a minute, it went back to normal…”
Sarah: “Oh! It already begun, just as Mark told me…”
Tarja: “Wait… what begun??”
Sarah: “Mark told me, that was going to happen cause now we exist as the heroes of fairytales, so we would fade out of this world… so we don’t have much time!”
Tarja: “What should we do, then?”
Sarah: “Tomorrow, on Friday, it will be a full moon – according to Mark. We need to follow him to the mountain he usually goes for his meditations, dressed in black robes that he will give us, we will make a circle of salt around us, to be protected by any demonic energies and finally, open the gate and go save the fairytale heroes from the Negative Zone.”
Tarja: (Sarcastically) “Ahh, so it’s that simple…”
Sarah: “If we don’t do this tomorrow, we will disappear from this world and no one will be ever able to find us… plus, our world will be invaded by a dark negative energy.”
Tarja: “Someone must have trapped them there, but who?”
Sarah: “In a way of speaking, we did… but it isn’t entirely our fault. In this new journey of ours, we are gonna find a powerful and wise magician, who is gonna work on you more, it is the destiny of both of you to meet each other.”
Tarja: “Oh! Is it now good or bad?”
Sarah: “Mark told me he saw him in his sleep, he will tell you better… now try to rest here, in the next bed and I will try to sleep too and we will talk in the morning.”
Tarja: “Yes, you are right, we need to gain some energy.”
The two women laid to rest, so they would find Sarah’s boyfriend, Mark, in the next day.
SCENE 3: THE DREAM OF THE MAGICIAN
The next day, the two women got up, had a quick breakfast and got ready to go and meet Mark.
Tarja: “Sarah, wait a second, I need to call some people and let them know I will be gone for some days… I need to find an excuse.”
Sarah: “Of course, I understand.”
Tarja called her husband, Marcelo, and her partners from the band. She told them about her brother having a serious health issue and that she had to leave and be absent for a week. Her husband was worried, as he understood from the tone of her voice that something was not right, however she hung up the phone quickly, so she wouldn’t be more likely to get caught. Then she persuaded her band.
They got dressed and took a cab, heading to Mark’s house. Mark welcomed Tarja with a warm hug, as he was truly grateful to her. She had risked her life to save his girlfriend, Sarah, so he would never forget about it, he was in great debt. Tarja asked for more information about the mess of the two dimensions and was also very weird about Mark’s dream about the magician.
First, Mark talked about the full moon night and the ritual that would follow in the forest, so that they would open the gate.
Mark: “So today, Tarja, you and Sarah should be prepared and rested for the midnight, you will need it.”
Tarja: “Right… getting in other dimensions and dealing with strange creatures and tremendous monsters, is not something you do everyday…”
Mark got the sarcasm in Tarja’s speech but also understood that there was some agony in the way she talked. Meanwhile, Sarah was in the kitchen, preparing tea for all.
Mark: “I have already prepared the incantation we are going to read, and the robes we are going to wear.”
Tarja: “The robe thing… what about it?”
Mark: “We all need to wear black robes with hoods, their importance is crucial, according to my book’s rules.”
Tarja: “Ok… this is nothing, compared to other things that I’ve been through.” (She smiled lightly).
In all of a sudden, a loud scream sounded from the kitchen. It was Sarah’s voice, followed by the sound of breaking glasses and the disk. Mark and Tarja got scared and rushed to the kitchen. What happened to Tarja before she found Sarah, was happening to Sarah now. Her hand was slowly fading out.
Mark: “You see, Tarja, if we don’t this today, you and Sarah will disappear permanently from this world and a great negative veil will fall upon the whole world.”
Tarja: “Yes, of course, we need to do this right.”
Sarah: (To Mark) “Yes, my love, tonight it will be done.”
Tarja: “Mark, tell me, please, about that dream you had… it concerns me too.”
Mark: “Of course, Tarja.”
After they helped Sarah on picking up the disk and the pieces of the broken glasses, they sat on the couch to continue the conversation.
Mark: “I saw you, Tarja, in a solitary, but not threatening, place. It was very beautiful, with rocky mountains around, and full of green grass, flowers and bushes. You were standing under a precipitous rock and the place there, was full of blue, clear waters. Suddenly, you were approached by a man, he was tall and thin, wearing a black robe with a hood, so I could not see his face. The language he spoke was not Finnish, nor English, however you two were communicating very well. He said: ‘I finally found you and I see you in person. I created all these adventures of yours, I opened the way through all these situations you lived… I wrote these and I made them happen to you.’
And you asked him: ‘Who are you?’
Magician: ‘I am a… writer, full of eagerness and intensive interest to get to know you personally.’
Tarja: ‘You must be something like a mage, if you say that you made these things happen to me.’
Magician: ‘No, I am not a mage, I am just living my Personal Myth. I became one with the World, as it did with me, so that the Universe would conspire with me and let me see you.’
Tarja: ‘Who are you, why can’t I see your face?’
Magician: ‘It is not the time yet… it’s time for you to live your Personal Myth and find out. Where you are about to go, the Negative Zone, to save the fairytale heroes – an isolated but beautiful place – you will find a treasure that’s waiting for you.’
And then, right when you attempted to touch his shoulder and make him turn his face, I woke up.”
Tarja: “Personal Myth, beautiful places, a treasure… they all remind me a book.”
Mark: “Tarja, everybody’s life is alike to a big play with its start, its middle part and its end.”
Sarah: “I will agree to that.”
Mark: “Whatever it is, you are going to deal with it on your journey in the Negative Zone.
Tarja: (Takes a deep breath and answers with courage) “I am ready.”
Then Mark turned to his beloved Sarah.
Sarah: “I am ready too.”
Mark: “Good. Now let’s grab some bite, rest and in a few hours, we are leaving for the forest to perform the ritual that opens the gate to the Negative Zone.
SCENE 4: THE RITUAL
It was already 11:45 pm and the forest was ten minutes away, by Mark’s car. Tarja could barely hide her agony, while Sarah was trying to comfort her, telling her that everything was going to be ok. Then they arrived and Mark told them to wear their robes and to start the ritual, so they got ready.
Mark placed three white candles and a white sheet on a small table, then he opened his book to read the incantation. But before he did, he asked the two women if they were ready.
Tarja: “Ready.”
Sarah: “Me too.”
Mark: “Good. Put your hoods on and while I will read the words to open the gate, keep your head down.”
As he was reading the incantation, a small breeze started blowing, till it grew to a strong wind that shook the branches, even the ones of the stronger trees. Leaves began falling on all over the place but they had to stay focused and not lift their heads till Mark finished the ritual.
Suddenly, just a bit after twelve o’clock, a smooth light started appearing, it grew more intense and became blinding, as Mark continued reading and the women kept their heads low. After a while, the light was gone.
Mark: “Are you both ok?”
Tarja: “Yeah… though a bit shocked..”
Sarah: “I am fine too, Mark.”
Mark: “Now it is the final stage that’s required to open the gate. Are you ready?”
Tarja and Sarah: “Yeah!”
He finished the ritual and, suddenly, Tarja found herself in a place that looked like the Finnish villages. A hand over her reached for her, moving slowly.
Tony: “Tarja?”
Tarja: “Yes… Sarah? Mark, where are we…?”
Tony: “Sarah? Mark? What are you talking about, dear…? You were asleep on the bench.”
Tarja: “Who…? Who are you? Where am I?”
Tony: “Tarja, it’s me Tony… your boss at the pottery house. I guess you had a nightmare…”
Tarja: (Stops and explores the place) “Pottery… house?”
Tony: “Yes, my dear, you had a long day… why don’t you go home now and take the day off, tomorrow, eh?”
Tarja felt warm and nice by the kindness of Tony, even if she didn’t know him.
Tony: “Lock up before you go” (he left the keys).
Tarja: “I am certain that something happened with Mark’s ritual, Sarah must be around… Let’s lock up and get out of here.”
SCENE 5: THE ROAD OF LIFE
Outside, Tarja saw a rickety bike and one of its tires was almost pierced.
Tarja: (Laughing out loud) “No way, this is definitely not mine!!”
However, she noticed that her name was written on it with black marker letters.
Tarja: “Aw… I prefer a thousand times more my scooter than this, even if it’s slow at first!! This is getting worse and worse. What is it gonna be on the next dimension, roller-blades? This fossil is going to make it hard but well… that’s my only choice.”
She got on and took a spin in the small and beautiful village that she was. Suddenly, while she was enjoying the beauty of the place, the tire found a hole in the ground and Tarja fell off of the bike. An old man approached her, he helped her get up, he looked at her with a serious and easy-going face and told her:
Old man: “Ah, my dear lady, be careful next time. In life, you will fall many times, but you’ve got to remember to get up always. This will happen to you a lot, till you reach your Personal Myth.”
Personal Myth! Tarja remembered Mark’s words about the dream of her and the magician, and before she attempted to ask the old man about where he had heard it, he was already gone. She looked around but nothing.
She raised her bike up and continued her ride, as she was also looking for Sarah. Tarja was certain that she was somewhere near. On her way, she noticed that the place was full of pictures of a great music school that was at the center of Finland, and she stopped for a while to stare at them.
Tarja was tired, as she was riding for hours in that place and she took some rest on a small seat outdoors in the village, she left the bike and she bought a small bottle of cold water, as she was very thirsty. When she got back at the seat, there was the same old man that helped her get up when she fell, sitting right next to her.
Tarja: “…you?”
Old man: “Yes, you seem amazing, Tarja.”
Tarja: (With a curious expression) “I don’t remember mentioning my name to you…”
Old man: “It wouldn’t be necessary, I already know it.”
Tarja: “Do you happen to know where I can find my friend, Sarah? I have lost her.”
Old man: “She will find you herself when the time is right, do not worry. I believe this would be of your concern.”
He gets off his brown leather bag, a big poster of a really beautiful place of high mountains, the sea, bushes and it looked so familiar to Tarja.
Tarja: “Aw! What place is this? I like it a lot and I feel… wait, I know this place, Mark described it from his dream of me and the magician.”
Old man: (He looked her in the eyes and smiled) “Yes, correct!”
Tarja: (She felt peace when she looked at him) “Do you know him? Mark?”
Old man: “Of course, how wouldn’t I… that place awaits you, there is the treasure you’re looking for.”
Tarja: “Where is this place?”
Old man: “In Greece.”
She heard in her school so many things about that ancient and bright culture of democracy, honor, virtues and beauty. She had also heard of the brave warriors that this land born, Alexander the Great, Leonidas and his 300 men, and now she knew that she had to go there and find her treasure.
Old man: “So, work hard in this time and collect money to go there.”
Tarja knew that in this dimension things were not the same as in the real world, where she had available money. Now she had to work on a totally different and new thing, pottery making, and obviously, she wouldn’t make much money. Tarja attempted to ask the old man some more questions but he had already left. Where he was sitting, was a peace of paper that said clearly “The road of life”. Tarja picked it up, looked at it well and put it in her pocket, as she felt that it would be useful later.
She took the bike, took a quick look around in case she saw the old man again, but there was no sign of him, so she left.
SCENE 6: PAST
As she was riding, she passed a place near the road that was full of posters, advertising an evening event that would take place at the school in Kuusankoski, where she grew up. Something inside her, a voice, told her that she had to be there on the next day, Friday, 8:00 pm. And this voice sounded like the old man’s voice, so she would do it without second thoughts.
The only hard part was that in this small village out of Kuuasankoski, she had no idea of where her house was. As she had the pottery house’s keys, she went to sleep there, planning to find a way to go to the school event in the next evening, in the place she had studied in the real world.
She parked her bike and was about to unlock the door, she was thinking of using the few money she found in her pockets, to buy a ticket and use it for the journey there. Just before she managed to unlock, she noticed a shadow behind her, getting terrified on the thought of any strange creature from her previous adventures, she turned quickly and she slipped and fell down. To her bad luck, the few money she would use for her journey, were ripped off. She got up. How would she go to the school now? She had to think about it in the next day. Now she had to rest.
It had already dawned and Tarja got up and got out of the pottery house. Making the journey was going to be hard without the bus. She sighed sadly.
Tarja: “Pfff this is impossible! How am I gonna go without money?”
There was no clear solution, everything became hard without money and vehicle but she had to reach her Personal Myth, in the beautiful place called Greece, and an important part of the quest, was getting to her school.
She decided to go on foot, crazy so, but there was no other option. Maybe if she got lucky, she would be picked by another car. She had got off her heels and, bare-foot, she waked on places with dry grass and thorns.
An hour later, she had crossed only three kilometers out of the eleven in total. She had eight more ahead. She sat down on the edge of the road to take some breaths. Before she mumbled for her bad luck, a red car stopped by her and a woman opened the door and asked:
Woman: “Have you run out of gas or are you working out?”
Tarja: (Relieved and smiling) “Hm, something in between, I lost my money.”
Woman: “It’s alright, I can help you. Come in!”
As Tarja was getting in, she looked at the woman curiously, there was something very familiar about her but to make sure, the woman would have to take off her sunglasses, they covered much of her face.
Tarja: “Nice sunglasses!” (Hoping that the woman would take them off, so she would see her face).
Woman: (Smiling) “Do you like them? You know, they are very expensive, I had to collect a lot of money to get them. What do you do…? What’s your name?”
Tarja: “It’s Tarja.”
Woman: “Wow!!”
Tarja: (Smiling) “You seem surprised, is my name that cute?”
They both laugh.
Woman: “No, it’s just… you have the same name with my daughter.”
Tarja was extremely surprised and a little dazzled too and she was staring at the woman for some seconds.
Woman: “Are you ok, Tarja? You seem rather pale.”
Tarja: “No, I’m ok, it was just a small discomfort.”
Woman: “I suppose you head to Helsinki. I can drop you off to Kuusankoski, where I make a stop and you can take the bus from there.”
Tarja: “If I might ask, where exactly are you going in Kuusankoski?”
Woman: “At my daughter’s school. For today, they have planned a special event and the teachers will talk to us about the student’s progress.”
This time, Tarja froze completely and being in shock, she screamed:
Tarja: “Oh, my God!!”
The woman that was driving the car, lost control of the steering wheel and the car moved dangerously amongst the other cars, on the right and the left side of the road, passing them too closely.
Woman: “What happened to you, dear? Would you like to stop and take some fresh air?”
Tarja had her head low and her hands were tangled in her hair, as she breathed fast from the shock and tried to hold together. The woman kept looking at her with concern. At that moment, as the woman lost attention, a big truck was coming right on them. She stepped on the breaks fiercely and in result, the car was driven off road and ended up in a distant dirt road. They both got out of the car and took some breaths.
Woman: “Tarja, are you sure you are ok? Why did you scream in the car? You caused me to lose control and we almost got ourselves killed.”
Tarja: “Phiou… thank you for your interest!”
Woman: (Smiling) “You know, Tarja… you look like my daughter very much, I believe when she grows up, she will look like you, she has your characteristics.”
Tarja: (Smiling brightly) “I know… don’t ask how, I just know.”
SCENE 7: ASSASSIN
The two women were back on the road, heading to the school, which was half an hour away now. They had talked about many subjects, during the journey, as Tarja kept on surprising the woman and she kept telling Tarja how much she reminded her, her daughter.
Tarja : (Mumbling to herself) “I can’t believe I am sitting here with my mother, who goes to see me at school while I am almost twenty years old!! I am in my past, back to my school years… who knows what else is expecting me!”
As they were getting to the school, Tarja was afraid of being suspected by her mother, so she asked her to drop her off a short distance before school. So did the woman. She dropped her off outside a store of modern, rock and metal clothes, where she had gone with her mother and bought her first leather jeans, when she began her career along with Nightwish band. Tarja stopped and stared for a while, bringing back old and nice memories to her mind. That was until the sound of a car horn, distracted her and brought her back. She sensed the old man’s voice telling her that she had to go to the school event. She was exhausted, hungry and thirsty, but she had to hold on searching for her treasure, her Personal Myth in beautiful Greece. She took a deep breath and headed towards the school, not sure about what she was supposed to do but the old man’s voice would guide her.
Getting in, careful this time so that she didn’t run on her mother, she saw a lot of people, children, youngsters, old ones, people of all ages. Modern music was on, some people were dancing, others were looking at the school photographs. Suddenly, she got an intense dazzling, she nearly kneeled and she had a vision of something that happened in the very same place. When she was young, a paranoid student tried to stab her cause she envied Tarja very much, because of her talent and her beauty alike.
Now she knew what she had to do! She had to stop the paranoid assassin, before she managed to kill her younger self. The scene would take place in the women’s restroom on 8:45 pm and it was already half past 8.
She speeded up her steps to the restroom and as she was running, she accidentally hit fiercely a young man.
Young man: “Hey girl, watch out next time…”
Both the young man and Tarja froze, staring at each other for many seconds.
Tarja: (Hesitating and surprised) “I… I am sorry, Tuomas.”
Tuomas: “You know my name…? How? You look like a girl that I know, a lot! Tarja! Wow, you must be her sister or something.”
Tarja: “Yeah! Her older sister.”
She was looking at her watch, being nervous cause time was passing and she needed to save her younger self in the restroom.
Tuomas: “I gotta say, your sister has a great talent! Though I don’t think that the project I’m preparing, is gonna go well… I haven’t even figured the name of the band.”
Tarja: “Make a night wish, maybe you get some inspiration. Excuse me now, I really need to go…”
Tuomas: “Hey, yeah, that’s what I’m talking about! I am gonna name the band Nightwish!! What a perfect name, thank you very much!”
Tarja: (As she was running, she mumbled) “God, did I just make the inspiration for the band’s name?”
She had reached the restroom and hid behind a wall so that her younger self wouldn’t see her and there would be any mess. As she was hidden, she heard her self talking with a friend and saying:
Young Tarja: “Ah, do you picture it, Lisa? Me singing on the stage alongside with Scorpions, I like them so much!! This sounds crazy but so awesome!”
Lisa: “Yes, be positive and stick in your dream! You never know…”
Tarja: (Smiling and low) “Listen to your friend, my dear self, she knows.”
At that moment, the psycho came in and discreetly asked Lisa to leave them alone for a minute, cause she wanted to tell Tarja something personal. Lisa, even though a little surprised, left the restroom. Then the psycho said:
Psycho: “Tarja, it is time for you to see how it feels not to be famous and not having this pretty talent of yours!”
Young Tarja: “Mairy, take it easy, what are you talking about?? You need help!”
Psycho: “Yes, I’ve cut off the medicine for some time, to be able to reach this point and kill you!”
She unsheathed her big knife from her back and attempted to stab her, while at the same time, Tarja jumped out and grabbed her hand fiercely and hit it on the wall three times, until the knife fell down. She also punched the psycho in the face and dropped her unconscious on the floor.
Young Tarja: “Wow!! Thank you so much for saving me, I owe you my life!!!”
Tarja: (Smiling and excited that she met her younger self in person) “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, that’s all.”
Young Tarja: “Your name?”
Tarja: “Tarja.”
Younger Tarja: “Wow! We have the same name!”
Tarja: “Yeah, what a coincidence, see?”
The police was already informed to arrest psychotic Mairy and Tarja was already outside the school. As she was about to leave, she saw her younger self with her best friend, Lisa, getting ready to ride Tarja’s scooter.
Tarja: “Aww, there’s my eternal nightmare… my scooter.”
She laughed as she watched her younger self struggling to start it on, using the crank, and she told her:
Tarja: “Just put more strength and more speed on the crank.”
So did her younger self and the scooter began working.
Young Tarja: “Wow, Tarja, you surprise me once more! Are you an engineer??”
Tarja: “No, I just happen to know some stuff… goodbye Tarja, take care of yourself.”
Young Tarja: “You too, thank you again for saving my life!”
And so, she and her friend, Lisa, rode the scooter.
SCENE 8: ACTION
After Tarja left that place, not knowing what she was supposed to do next, she returned by another car that picked her up, to the pottery house that she worked in that dimension. There, the old man was waiting for her at the same seat that he had talked to her on the last time.
Tarja: (Surprised and happy) “You… I am glad to see you again.”
Old man: “But Tarja, dear, deep inside you knew you were going to meet me again.”
Tarja silently nodded to the old man.
Old man: “You succeeded in this test of yours. Now, are you ready for the next one?”
Tarja: “Yes, I think so.”
Old man: “Tarja, when it comes to seeking your Personal Myth and live your dream, there is no ‘think so’ but ‘know so’”.
Tarja: “Yes!!”
Old man: “Ok that’s what I wanted to hear. I will see you in the next dimension.”
Tarja: “Hey… wait!”
She looked around. She was in her regular life and in the dimension of 2012. She felt greatly relieved and happy, you could see it on her face. But then she wondered. “Now what am I supposed to do? What is the next test about?” the internal voice told her that she had to pick money from the bank for the journey to Greece, which she had to do in the next three days.
She was now three days away from her Personal Myth, to reach Greece, that beautiful place of sea and high mountains, and to finally meet the magician. She picked the money and booked the ticket online for Wednesday, 9 o’clock in the morning. She went home and laid to rest. Her next test would happen during her sleep, getting her to the future, summer of 2013. That would be at the takes of a movie, called “Die Alive” and would be about her.
She found herself outside an old, abandoned house, in a dark place with cloudy sky, and there were fields around. There was also a cinematic workshop and stuff, full of the necessary equipment, such as cameras, microphones and actors. A person appeared on the center of the scene and said:
Person: “Three… two… one… Action!!”
Tarja: “Aw, Die Alive! And this girl reminds me of me! I am pretty sure this movie is about me… but what am I supposed to do here?”
The old man’s voice told her that she had to save the lead actress that had the role of Tarja, from the assault of her friend Lisa who was demonized. It seems to be a movie but in this test, if the demon attacks her, the actress will die for real.
Tarja had to find a way to sneak in the scene dock, where the demon would attack the lead actress, but the place was crowded by actors, directors, scriptwriters and producers, and they would see her. Right at the time, she heard the make-up girl saying that she is done with her part and she would go home and the second make-up girl would be there any moment. After a while, Tarja saw that the second make-up girl had not come yet, so she took the chance to take over for a while.
So, Tarja took a T-shirt with “Die Alive” stamp on it, and a small card, where she wrote that she was the make-up artist.
Tarja: (Loudly) “Stooop!!!”
Director: “Hey!! What are you doing, lady?? Are you mad? Don’t you see we are in the middle of something here??”
Tarja: “I see but I believe that something is wrong with the girl’s make-up.”
Director: “What? Didn’t the make-up artist go home earlier?”
Tarja: “Well… I was supposed to, but I postponed it instead and thought I should help a little more here.”
The director stared at Tarja for some seconds, like she reminded him of someone, as Tarja kept her head down in discreet, so they wouldn’t get who she really is. She got in, she approached the actress the actress that had the role of her best friend, and spoke to her discreetly:
Tarja: “Listen to me, you have to get out of here immediately, you are in danger.”
Actress: “Haha, you do have humor… you should play a role, especially Tarja’s part, you look like her a lot.”
Tarja: “Listen to me, you might thing I am crazy, but you have to get out of here! A demon is going to attack you!”
She didn’t get to finish well her sentence and a massive force threw her on the floor. The actress freaked out and run to inform the director that the make-up artist fainted, as she didn’t see the demon there. Fortunately, Tarja regained her consciousness quickly, but before she managed to get up, the demon grabbed her from the neck and stuck her on the wall. As she had a hard time to breath, she was looking for a way to hit him. She noticed, in the corner, a huge light projector that was there for the needs of the movie. As the demon was a creature of darkness, Tarja assumed that the light would hurt him, so she pretended that she fainted, so he would be distracted.
Demon: (With loud and deep voice) “Did you think, Tarja Turunen, that one hit of your high heel on my eye - at our last fight - would get me out of the way for good?? Me? A creature of Hell? Hahaha hilarious!!!”
At that moment, Tarja took off her one heel again.
Tarja: “Do you know what they told me at the store, where I bought these heels?? That they are killing heels!!!”
And so, she nailed him on the eye with force and then she turned the light projector right on his face. The demon, shouting in pain, fell down and disappeared like dust in the air. Then, the director came in, running.
Director: “Hey, lady, are you ok?”
Tarja: “Aw, yeah, thank you… I was just practicing, I always wanted to play at the cinema.”
She smiled and got away from the studio, stood near a corner and waited for the old man’s voice and her directions to the next test.
SCENE 9: NEGATIVE ZONE
There were only two days left before her journey to Greece, where her Personal Myth was and the meeting with the magician awaited. Though, Tarja was worried and wondering where Sarah was, after all these tests she had been through. She did not find her yet! “Maybe that’s part of the tests”, she thought. Then, the voice of the old man talked to her.
Old man: “Don’t worry about Sarah, you will see her when the time is right. It is all a part of the tests, as you correctly guessed. Now, prepare to live in the Negative Zone, where all the heroes that you must save, are trapped there. Also, all the worries and fears of the people are gathered in an utter dark and negative world, where you will see how things would be if you didn’t decide to become a singer.”
Tarja: “Oh..!! I don’t like that… and what am I supposed to do there?”
Though, the voice was already gone. “Good, I guess I will get my answer on the process…” she thought, however she felt scared inside and she didn’t believe it with confidence.
Suddenly, the lamp that was hanging over her, began to flicker and Tarja looked up. The light went off completely for three seconds and then it turned back, as Tarja headed home. On the way, she saw a beggar on the side of the street and stood there, looking at him in sadness.
Tarja: “God, poor people…”
Beggar: “Hey, lady… come on, help me please. Give me whatever you feel like…”
Tarja approached him.
Beggar: “Hey… hey, you, Tarja!”
Tarja was completely surprised and shocked, as the beggar was her favorite friend and partner in the band of Nightwish, Emppu Vuorinen. She was staring at him for a while, covering her mouth with her hand so she wouldn’t scream.
Emppu: “Why are you shocked? Don’t you tell me, you didn’t know I was in this condition?”
Tarja: “I… but how, Emppu? I don’t understand, you guys were doing fine, with the other singer and the band, what happened?”
Emppu: “Anette? Doing fine?.. Tarja, I may be the one who drinks, but it seems that alcohol has messed you up instead.”
Tarja: “I don’t understand, is this some kind of a joke?”
Emppu: “Tarja, the only band we had, was a school jazz project and you were a part of it too, for a while.”
Tarja: “What is happening, where is everybody else? What do they do in their lives?”
Emppu: “It seems to me dumb that you ask, while you know… anyway, I will tell you. Tuomas had been put in a psychiatric clinic for five years or so, then he was released but he is still under supervision, medicine and visiting a doctor once per month. Jukka decided to move to the village and to work on a fish house as a redcap, as he was disappointed by yours and Tuomas’ withdrawal from that beautiful band we were to create.”
Tarja: “Marcelo? My husband?”
Emppu: (Laughed out loud) “Marcelo, your husband?? What are you talking about, Tarja, you are not married!!”
Tarja knelt down and, being slightly dazzled by the whole anxiety, she touched her head and raked her hair with her fingers uneasily, as she wheezed.
Emppu: “Tarja, are you ok?”
Tarja: (Looking at her friend) “No, it seems that I am not ok.”
She did not know where to go or what she would deal with.
Tarja: “I need to fix all this, somehow…”
Emppu: “What do you mean, by creating the band now? Haha, isn’t it a little too late?
Tarja: “No, I have to make it, to reach my treasure in Greece, as the old man said. I am gonna find Tuomas, where is he?”
Emppu: “Where he always lives, of course, in his parent’s house.”
Tarja: “I will be back, my friend, Emppu, stay here.”
Emppu: “Don’t worry, I am not gonna move a thing…”
Tarja was on her way to Tuomas’ house, since it was close. She knocked on the door. A woman opened, she was kind but also, psychologically a sad woman, it was on her face expression.
Woman: “Good to see you, Tarja! Are you here to see my son? He is upstairs, he just took his medicine and is about to sleep now, as the doctor suggests.”
Tarja: (Trying not to show her awkwardness, she smiled and pretended) “Yes, I know… I won’t stay for long.”
She went upstairs and knocked on Tuomas’ room door.
Tuomas: “Who is it?”
Tarja: “It’s me, Tarja.”
He opened the door. Tarja saw a completely different person than the Tuomas she knew, not by appearance, but by the misery and the devastated mood that was in his eyes. He invited her in and told her:
Tuomas: “You seem a lot better, I am glad to see you though. However, I’m afraid that we cannot talk much cause I feel like sleeping in a while.”
Tarja thought that the kind friend she knew, would never say such a thing. She got in the room and said:
Tarja: “Tuomas, what were you sent at the psychiatric clinic for?”
Tuomas: “Tarja, you act as if you came from another planet.”
Tarja: “No… but…” (she gave it some thought for a while, then she pretended that she knew).
Tuomas: “I guess you like listening to my story. Anyway, let me say it again.”
Tarja: “Of course.”
Tuomas: “I am always after some dangerous, masked men that try to kill Innocence, that little girl with the blond hair.”
Tarja remembered some lyrics from Tuomas’ songs that she sung many times in the past.
Tarja: “Where does this happen?”
Tuomas: “Just a few blocks away, in these thin and dark streets of the neighborhood.”
Tarja: “And? Do you manage to save the little girl, Innocence?”
Tuomas: “No, just before I do it, they always attack me, throw me to the ground, take her and disappear.”
Tarja: “Can we go there, now?”
Tuomas: “Ehh… Tarja, I don’t think this is a good idea. Anyway, you may never see anything and everybody thinks I am getting more crazy.”
Tarja: “I believe you and I trust you, let’s go! Don’t worry!”
Tuomas looked Tarja in the eyes, smiled and nodded.
SCENE 10: INNOCENCE
Tuomas and Tarja were walking for five or six minutes, till Tarja heard screams coming out of an alleyway.
Tuomas: “There, there!! Can you listen??”
Tarja didn’t get it at first and she assumed that her friend was crazy indeed. But before she finished her thought, she started hearing this too.
Tuomas: “Let’s go, Tarja, we have to rescue Innocence and prove that I am not crazy!”
They run over there and they found themselves in a dark and thin road, with dump and humidity all over the place, and sprayed walls. Tarja, scared, noticed a little girl that was crying soberly and three huge men, dressed in ripped leather jackets with hoods covering their dark faces, as they were trying to kill the little girl.
Tuomas: “Tarja, I am gonna keep them busy! You take Innocence by your side and run away as fast as you can!”
Tarja: “…and you??”
Tuomas: “Don’t worry, Tarja, if you save Innocence, it will be like you’re saving me too!”
Tarja smiled at him and nodded. She threw herself in the fight but she slipped and fell down, cause of the wet ground. As in result, her ankle was wricked. Until she would regain her strength, she dragged a little and she reached out her arm to the girl, calling her to come along. Innocence was crying but when she saw Tarja’s look, she calmed down and she gained courage, as Tuomas was trading strikes with the others. The girl eluded and headed towards Tarja, then Tarja took her in her arms.
Tuomas: “Run, Tarja! Go away and don’t look back!”
Tarja: “But… I can’t leave you here!”
Tuomas: “Go, you saved Innocence, you have already saved me!”
As Tarja was going away from that place, all of the three guys got on Tuomas and begun striking him more and more fiercely. Tarja was already in a safe distance and then, she realized that the little girl had disappeared from her arms. This test had finally succeeded.
SCENE 11: THE RESCUE
As she was looking at her empty arms, the moment she raised her eyes to the environment around her, she found herself in a place that looked alike the previous one, in Finland. She was in a woods area, one of the many that are in this place, only there was just something very negative there. A strange black energy, surrounded by a purple aura, was wandering in the sky and Tarja could see it clearly. That energy was raising everything in the air, making them dance in the whirl of a huge tornado, also carrying away dirt from the ground and some boards, while deep into the forest, there was a sound like the funnel of a ship.
The internal voice of the old man that helped her for so long, told her to move ahead, find and rescue the fairytale heroes, who are trapped in a big cage. Also, her friend, Sarah, was trapped there too.
Tarja: (Sighing in excitement) “There’s Sarah, thank God!”
Though, on her way, the internal voice told her that it wouldn’t be so easy. There, she would have to face the negative man of this dimension who was also the guard of the cage. He was a huge warrior, wearing the plates of a knight and had silver long hair. Tarja shrank a little and also got scared to this idea. However, she knew that in order to get to her Personal Myth, to faraway and beautiful Greece, she had to get through a lot of trouble. So, she regained courage and continued her way through the dark and negative forest with the strange black and purple energy that wandered in the air.
She was tired, hungry, thirsty and needed sleep to rest her mind, to regain her power but she shouldn’t abandon her goal now, she was so close. She had to get to the end, to the magician in Santorini Island, to free the heroes and bring back the innocence to the fairytales that we all loved.
She finally made it to the place where the cage was. It was a sterile part of the forest with a circle of dirt in the ground, and above it, there was hanging the big cage, full of the fairytale heroes. They were all there, Aladdin, Red-Hooded, Snow-White and the others.
She hid behind a big rock to check the place for any possible enemies around. There were torches around the cage but for some reason, they were not lighted. The guard, a creature of the dark and negativity, would have a good reason that kept them this way.
If they were lighted, Tarja would see that under the cage was a big hole, covered with grass and full of many huge metallic thorns in order to kill the heroes when the cage would fall. The guard set up the trap in this way, so when Tarja would light the torches to have a better line of sight, automatically the ropes would be burned, causing the cage with the heroes to fall in the hole of thorns and die. Therefore, Tarja had to figure this out somehow, before it was too late.
Tarja: “It is too dark here, though I am sure that this is the right place with the cage and the trapped heroes. Hm, yeah, my cell phone’s screen is large enough to provide a satisfying lighting.”
She turned on the screen light and saw the fairytale heroes in the cage, looking at her happy, as their rescuer finally arrived. Tarja thought to light a fire for the torches by rubbing stones together, just like in the camps, and then rubbing two thin wooden straws to make it more intense. She was trying so, for a lot of minutes, until she lighted a fire. She was about to light one torch and then the others, until she heard a voice.
Sarah: “No! Don’t do it!”
Tarja: “Sarah! God, you are here, alive! I am so happy!”
Sarah: “Yes, I managed to get released from the mouth gag just in time! If you light these torches, the whole cage will fall in the thorn trap, with us inside!!”
Tarja: “Thank God you told me! I am gonna find another way to release you.”
Guard: “I don’t think that would be very appropriate, mrs. Turunen.”
Tarja: “Who…? Who’s there?”
Guard: “The guard of the Negative Zone, and the one who’s going to end your journey here, now.”
Tarja was dominated by shivering all over her back, and also by terror. She felt she could do nothing, she had got frozen.
Sarah: “Tarja, concentrate, you can! Think of what we’ve been through, and you made it here with your own will!”
Tarja: (Humorously) “Sure, you can say that since you’re all locked in your cage and I’m the one out! But yeah, you are right, I have to make it!”
Before Tarja turned to the direction of the guard’s heavy voice, his big and muscled arm grabbed her from the neck and raised her up.
Guard: “You are braver than I thought! You came all the way here just to rescue these small, innocent fablers, why??”
Tarja: (Choking) “I… can’t… brea……th…”
Guard: “Aw, I’m sorry!? Where are my manners??”
He threw her on the ground, causing her to get her elbow scratched, bleeding on her blouse. Sarah was watching the scene with holding breath and here eyes locked at her friend, Tarja. Tarja was faking being unconscious in order to gain some time and figure out what to do next. However, Sarah found her hairpin that had fallen in the cage, after she managed to release her hands from the rope, and now she was trying to violate the cage’s lock.
The guard, who had the form of a sturdy dark warrior that came out of the fantasy of old times, and with his silver hair waving by the wind, approached Tarja, caught her from the hair and raised her up. Tarja let out a loud cry of pain, he looked at her with his murky, red eyes and as he was squeezing her head, he said:
Guard: “What can you do to me, human? You’re just an little woman, weak and mortal!”
He threw her on the ground again, more fiercely this time, he stood over her and pushed her on her waist with his metallic boot. Sarah finally opened the cage door and the heroes began getting out, one by one. She closed the door and threw a lighter to Tarja. The guard didn’t realize their escape, as he was too busy attempting to kill Tarja.
Sarah: “Tarja, now! Light the torches!”
Guard: “How is she going to do that, you foolish redhead??”
Fairytale heroes: “With our help, you idiot!!”
All the heroes charged him, threw him on the ground, just beneath the cage and dragged wounded Tarja away.
Sarah: “Light the torches now, no need to think about it!”
She lighted the torches one by one, then the ground beneath opened, revealing the huge metallic thorns. The cage fell in there, carrying the dark guard with it, making him to reel in pain as he felt the thorns getting through him.
This difficult test was finally over for Tarja. Sarah held her in her arms and let some water flow from the water bag to her face, so Tarja would get together. Every single one of the heroes thanked Tarja warmly for rescuing them and then, they disappeared in an intense line of light.
Sarah and Tarja eventually fell asleep on the ground, now being in a pure Finnish forest, cleared out of negative energy and having the company of the rising sun.
SCENE 12: DESTINATION POINT
Sarah: “Tarja, wake up! Today is the day for the journey to Greece!”
Tarja: “Right! It is the day for me to meet my Personal Myth, to meet the magician that is the source of all this.”
Sarah: “Yes, get up, shake off the dirt, take a deep breath, this is your day. Let’s go get your ticket, we’re leaving for the airport. And, Tarja, I want to apologize for me and Mark… we feel somehow responsible for all this.”
Tarja: “Leave the apologies for later, we’ve got a magician to catch now.”
Sarah: (Smiling) “Right.)
After three hours of walking, they got to the downtown and got the bus to Tarja’s house. To Tarja’s sad surprise, they saw that some burglars had broken into her house and stole some stuff and in this whole mess, she couldn’t find her ticket. After a while, Sarah found it but it was torn apart.”
Tarja: “No!!! God, this is not possible, why??? We had got so close!!”
Sarah: “Ok, this is not good…”
Tarja was taken over by the feeling of disappointment, she lowed her look and held her hair in despair, sighing. Then, she heard the internal voice.
Old man: “Don’t be frightened, a warrior of the light never gives up. Tarja, you are definitely going to make it to your Personal Myth, take Sarah and go to the airport, don’t ask, you will see. You have got to be in Greece before the sunrise, so that this great effort of yours won’t be wasted.”
Tarja: “Come on, let’s go.”
Sarah: “But… you don’t have a ticket and there is no time to get a new one, what are we gonna do?”
Tarja: “Just follow me, don’t ask!”
Sarah: “Ok boss, let’s go! Just be prepared, we may need to act a bit illegally…”
Tarja: “What do you mean?”
Sarah: “Do you see that motorcycle over there?”
Tarja saw a fine Chopper motorcycle in black color, all clean, with an eagle design on the side of it.
Tarja: (Excited) “Hell, yeah!!”
Without a second thought, Tarja got on the motorcycle and sat on the back of the seat.
Sarah: (Laughing) “Not that motorcycle, Tarja… right thought, wrong vehicle! I was talking about the one next to it!”
Tarja: “God, not a scooter again…! Have some mercy, Sarah, I can’t stand these wrecks!”
Sarah: “Yes, but that one has the keys on, and apart from that, we only have my ticket and no money for a cab. What else can we do?”
Tarja: “Ok, right… nothing must distract me from my goal. Let’s go!”
Sarah: “Please, mrs. Turunen, you are the expert on that stuff.” (They both laugh).
Tarja: (Taking a deep breath) “Ok! Just keep your eyes open for the owner in the store!”
She tries using the crank, nothing happens. She tries for a second time, still nothing.
Sarah: “Tarja, make it fast, I think I see the owner going to the door!”
She tries for a third time. A deafening burst, coming from the scooter’s exhaust, stated that the engine started working and all the people around thought it was a shot, so they immediately fell down.
Tarja: “The perfect distraction, don’t you think?”
Sarah: “Let’s go, step on it!”
The owner run, yelling at them, but he didn’t catch up with them. They had already turned to the way to the airport. They got there about an hour later, they abandoned the scooter on a corner and they headed to the main gate of the airport.
Tarja: “Let me do the talking.”
They went to a manager of the place and Tarja explained to her that her home was broken into and her ticket was torn apart, she even showed her one piece of it. The manager told her that there was nothing she could do and Tarja would have to buy a new ticket for the next two days. At that moment, another manager of the airport heard the conversation and talked to her.
Manager: “You are mrs. Tarja Turunen, the famous singer of our city!! There is no problem, my dear, I will make sure to get you in a flight to Santorini, Greece. You just might be a little uncomfortable down there.
Tarja agreed with him and thanked the manager, then she hugged warmly and said bye to her friend, Sarah. The travel begun and after three and a half hours, she made it to Santorini.
FINAL ACT
Despite of being tired, she had walked through the beautiful streets of Santorini and it was almost 12 o’clock, but she didn’t care much as she was too close to her Personal Myth. Though, bad luck would catch her again. She slipped on wet ground and fell down, her pants were all wet and she had to change immediately. The internal voice told her: “The red color will be the sign for the magician to see you”.
She had no choice and she did not feel proud either, but she had to steal a red dress. She left a note with her personal data and her address, saying that she would pay for it.
Tarja: “Now? Where do I go, where is the magician?”
As she was watching the view from a high place, looking at the Mediterranean Sea, its beautiful waves, the lights of the small houses that gave a sense of a fairytale place, she saw a distant place with rocks, where the moonlight extended. Her instinct told her to go there. And yes, her instinct was the voice of that old man that helped her through the journey.
She was there and she hid behind a big rock. On the other side, there were seven people, dressed in black hooded robes and they looked like they were chanting prayers to an ancient Greek goddess. She had to get down there, she was certain that the magician was near. However, the rock was precipitous and she was afraid to get down with bare hands. She had to find something to grab on, like a branch, but there was nothing there.
Tarja: “Think, Tarja! You have been through so much trouble!”
Ten minutes passed and still, there was nothing. Finally, she got an idea, maybe not so good but the only one. She needed something stretching and long, like a rope, in order to catch the branch on the other side and get down safely. She took off her panty hose, she formed it like a lasso and was trying to catch the branch.
Tarja: “Let’s see, dear panty hose, are you as stretchy as the commercial says, or am I gonna crush and burn?”
On the third try, she did it. She brought the branch to her and grabbed it. Her landing was somehow rough but, fortunately, she only got a small scratch on her leg… and an expensive ripped panty hose.
Tarja: “Ok, this panty hose was worth its money!”
She got up, she shook the dirt off of her, she took a deep breath and continued heading to the black-robed people. She had gotten off her shoes as they got her tired.
Tarja: “Where is he…? The magician? There are seven people in black robes and they all chant in some incomprehensive language, it must be ancient Greek.
They finished the ceremony, they thanked the 12 gods, they blew off their candles and stayed still for some minutes, like they were making silence in respect to the gods. Suddenly, a shadow approached her from behind.
Tarja: “Oh my God! Who are you??”
She saw a young Greek, 29 years old, tall, light brown-haired with blue eyes, in casual dressing style, black T-shirt, jeans and athletic shoes. Tarja, impressed, stared at him for some seconds. She had finally found the magician!
Magician: “Hello, my name is Vasilis, Tarja.”
Tarja: “You…?”
Vasilis: “Yes, Tarja, you know what they say? When someone wants something very much…”
Both: “…the whole universe works to offer it to them.”
Vasilis: “I started writing stories about you from 2009 and as it seems, whatever I have written, have come in your life. I am responsible for what happened, without meaning that I wanted it so.”
Tarja was listening carefully to him, without responding.
Vasilis: “Cause of my deep wish to meet you in person, I enabled all your adventures and tests. In result, whatever I wrote, happened in real life too. Therefore, I am truly happy and grateful that I finally get to meet you in person, that I achieved my Personal Myth. However, I owe you an apology for every trouble you had!”
There was silence for a while. Tarja was thinking over all this and she turned to him, saying:
Tarja: “Normally, I would hate you for all this. But… I also have to say thanks, Vasilis! Cause you reminded me that I had been tested a lot, I have been through a lot to become the famous Tarja Turunen and you reminded me that through your stories that I lived for real, like a hero. And all this adventure, all these tests made me think that you, in order to achieve your goal, had to write these stories about me, to get to know me through these. It feels like you already know me for a long time, meeting me here today.”
Vasilis: “Yes, Tarja, correct! I am grateful for your understanding!”
Tarja: (Laughing) “But in your stories, why do you always give me a hard time with the scooters that can’t start??”
Vasilis: (Laughing) “All the action and terror films include cars that cannot start… I thought of making the difference!”
They both laughed. They were standing on a high place and behind them, there was the view of the whole island, beautiful Santorini, and the moon. It had already begun to dawn, and the place from Mark’s dream, with the sunset, the sea and the green bushes, was flourishing in front of Tarja.
Tarja: “Vasilis… do you know of any nice place where we can eat? I am starving to death and I am sure we have a lot to discuss about your stories and for you too.”
Vasilis: “Of course. We can always rent a scooter to get there faster, if you will.”
Tarja: (Laughing hard) “No!! Forget it, I prefer walking!”
Vasilis: (Smiling) “Ok, let’s go.”
So, the two figures that stood, having the beautiful island on their background, had finally achieved their dreams, their Personal Myths. Tarja was a famous singer and Vasilis met Tarja in person. Of course, that required some sacrifice from the both of them. And, as my favorite writer, Paulo Coelho, says in the end: “The journey is what matters, not the destination”.
The end!!
Story created and written by vasilis saroglou
Inspired by paulo coelho book alchemist
