Á Íslandi - Aamu - 37

Just continuing with the story. I did not succeed in using any of the left over Words.
My standing thus is still:

1. entice
2. excuse
3. blackbird
4. swaying
5. better
6. mechanical
7. disorder
         and/or:
1. peeling
2. clouds
3. scrambled
4. solid
5. curio
6. float
7. fountain

My rose, her coppery hair almost aglow in the morning sun: "Dear friends, This will be a big day. It is a day I and I think all of us have been waiting for. I want to warn you, though. Today will also be a day of much waiting, so be sure to bring your knitting, books, drawing materials, in short all you can imagine making a wait pleasant. Jan, Heidi, Tage and Lis will take turns manning the kitchen, so those are the ones to go to when you get hungry, as for once lunch won't be an organized affair. I would like everybody to get up now, carry their used cutlery and so on to the small table and then follow me, Susan and Rósa to the meadows."
Susan rose and together she and My went to the door leading to the meadows. There they stood and waited. Rósa came running down the stairs clutching a piece of paper in her hand. When she saw My and Susan she augmented her speed and waved the paper with a big smile: "Here is Anna's letter. I was sure I had it somewhere. She is coming today, now, half past nine. She'll use the portal ..."
"Easy does it," Susan said smiling. "But this is good news indeed. Would you care to be our reception committee? Then we'll organize people in the meadows until you return"?
"Great," Rósa said, still out of breath, and almost ran to the portals room.

Everybody stood waiting. Lis and Tage each held a pair of fidgeting grandchildren and Heidi carried a soundly sleeping Tobias.
"Now," My said, "now we go out into the meadows. There I'll tell you where to stay and wait your turn. Please stay together in families, the idea is having the old apprentices watching over and helping their "clan" if I may call them so, to get accustomed to the magic."
She and Susan each grabbed a big sac and went ahead.
"What about us?" Hans said, and Susan and My both stopped up and listened.  "Our clan-leader, Hilde has gone off with Rasmus. And Dad, I mean Eyvind, can't help."
"Eyvind sure can help keeping you together and entertaining impatient small ones," My said. "He is a good granddad and I was going to wait with your clan to the very end, giving Hilde and Rasmus a chance of returning."
"Fine with me," Hans said. "The weather is right for staying out of doors anyway."
"Can we make some woodcraft and maybe have a fire out there?" Eyvind asked, encouraged by My's  friendly words.
"Of course you can." Susan said. "In fact this is  a splendid idea. I think I saw a humongous bag of marshmallows somewhere. Only please do not cut living wood, It can be dangerous, especially today. But the wood piles and all fallen branches are yours to use."
 "I'll keep the clan toeing your line," Eyvind said saluting Susan who shouldered her sac again and walked out into the sunshine followed by a long, unorderly line of people.
Finally everybody was in the meadows. Susan and My put down their sacs and lined up all the old apprentices with their clans gathered behind them. My entrusted Magnus with temporary clan leadership.

"Unfair as it might seem, we're going to begin with my clan," My said.  "Magnus, please step forward and present the children to me and Susan."
"Yes mom," he said. "I'm Magnus, the oldest child of My, I'm married to Estrid, and we have two children, Nora and Markus." He turned a bit and stood facing his sister. "Next is Mona her husband Joakim and their two children, Sara and Emilie." He turned a bit more, facing his smaller brother. "And youngest son, Martin, his wife Stine, and their three children, Thea, Marte, and Henrik."

My thanked him. "When we were at the Unicorn Farm, we were split into five teams by our professors." My began. "It had to do with what kind of magic came easiest to you, today you're arbitrarily assigned your parent's colour, and as I am blue, I'll ask all of my clan to put on a blue T-shirt."
Susan opened her sac and pulled out 13 blue T-shirts.  "First little taste of magic," she said. "Don't mind the size, it's really one size fits all here," Susan smiled, then laughed out loud as Joakim struggled into a T-shirt, only to see it expand to fit his well trained chest and six-pack. "Truly amazing," he said, and helped Emilie put on a big T-shirt, that shrunk to fit her slight frame.
"Magnus, Estrid, Nora and Markus, Come here," My called. They walked over to her, "Magnus, you already have a wand?" He nodded, "And Estrid, you are not a witch, as I understand it?"
"Unfortunately not," she answered, "What I have experienced since we arrived yesterday has been ...it is ..." she shook her head. "It simply defies description, and it saddens me to experience ti on second hand only!"
My gently patted her DiLs shoulder.
 
"Nora, what do you say, do you want to learn how to become a witch?"
Nora wrinkled her dainty nose and looked at My. "You're one, granny, but how can small girls be witches?"
Susan began laughing. "I think I am going to answer that one  before I have to leave. That was exactly what I asked many, many years ago, when I was told I was a witch. Gilvi, he was my teacher, answered: Do you think witches are born old, maybe?"
"They can't be," Nora said. "And this is a school for witches?" She looked up at Susan who nodded. "I like that."
"Fine, stay here with me while My asks your brother the same question."  
"Markus," My said, looking down at the freckled, determined boy facing her. He looks just like Dennis the Menace, My thought, then asked him: "How would you like to do magic?"
"Very much! Grammy!" He said, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Fine, go over to Susan, I'll be there in a second." She looked at Susan. "It's time for you to get going, Susan,"
"Yes," Susan said, "I must say I would like to stay. I'll hurry all I can and get back with Aamu."

Halfway to the house she met Rósa returning with Anna and a man Susan did not know in tow. "Oh, you made it here!" Susan said. "I hope it was not too unpleasant going through the portal." She looked at the man, He was blond and tall as Anna, and he smiled warmly at Susan
"I survived," Anna said, "And what more is, I brought my cousin, Helge with me!"
"Oh, Gosh, Helge, is that really you?" Susan said. "I'm so happy to see you. I've been thinking so much about you. We have to talk later."
Helge looked shy, grateful that Susan remembered him. "Yes we have much talking to do," he said. "Hurry back home!"

Susan closed the door to the portals room behind her and leaned against it. She was not looking forward to going through the portals to Schiltach and back again. She re-opened the door and grasped a handful of cookies and a pear from one of the small tables. All of it went into a small bag and then into her faithful backpack. Then she reluctantly crossed the room and went through the faintly blue portal to Iceland.
It was true, the dizziness got better. Not by much, but you had to count your blessings. Susan shook her head and slowly left the tiny cubicle, turned down the stone hewn corridor and stopped outside the room with Shiltach clearly written over the door. She opened the door, it felt heavy, almost as if it did not want to open. The portal in the room were also faintly blue, sparkling and twisting. Susan walked over to the portal, the few steps needed to take her there, seemed to last forever. Portals are smart, she chided herself. They spare you for hours upon hours in a train or in a car. Get going already, my girl, then you'll be home in the sunshine at Birch Manor, singing wands for your grandkids in next to no time.
Susan closed her eyes and jumped.
When she opened her eyes again the sun once again shone upon her, a hotter sun, a bit higher in the sky too. And Aamu stood in the clearing with two men. One of them Susan's age, he looked like Susan always had imagined a German businessman, suit, tie and black shoes even in the warm sun. The young man had the same eyes as his mother; and Mr Weber's hair had surely had that very same nutbrown hue before it turned grey. But Susan was sure that he had never worn it that long. He and his mother were comfortably dressed in what Susan's mother jokingly called camping habits.
"Hello" Aamu said. "We were afraid you would not come after all."
"Pleased to meet you," Susan said. "And of course I would. Only a lot happened. Good mostly. Could we please go back now?"
"Can you bring us all three?" Aamu asked.
"I don't need to bring you," Susan protested. "And if you take Mr Weber's hand I'll offer my support to the young master."
"I'm Daniel," he said. "And I would gladly be led through the portal by you."
Susan looked at the portal, then back at Daniel and Mr Weber. "Can you see the portal?" she asked.
"No," Mr Weber answered. "It looks like a normal stretch of wood to me."
"Maybe," Daniel said, "If I squint, and do not look straight at it, I think I see something, something blue, flickery, maybe."
"That sounds just right. This is actually quite easy. You just hold my hand and go trough. You will maybe feel something like being turned upside down, maybe you won't feel a thing, more like going through a door into a dark room. Aamu, would you and your husband please go first?"

... to be continued