What about the magic, you ask? The sundial? The night soldiers? The buildings that sometimes seemed to change their shapes? They took it for granted. If you find that strange, imagine a time traveler from 1910 being transported to 2010 and finding a world where people flew through the sky in giant metal birds and rode in cars capable of going ninety miles an hour. A world where everyone went bopping around with powerful computers in their pockets. Or imagine a guy who’s only seen a few silent black-and-white film plunked down in the front row of an IMAX theater and watching Avatar in 3-D.
From the book “Fairy Tale” by Stephen King
You get used to the amazing, that’s all. Mermaids and IMAX, giants and cell phones. If it’s in your world, you go with it. It’s wonderful, right? Only look at it another way, and it’s sort of awful. Think Gogmagog is scary? Our world is sitting on a potentially world-ending supply of nuclear weapns, and if that’s not black magic, I don’t know what is.
Speak to most creatives these days, and they will tell you they are exhausted. Speak to most empaths, and they will tell you how drained they are. War, daily natural disasters, social media, human conflict, scarcity, crime, recession, the constant news cycle of sad and bad, are echoing through the corners of our brains.
There seems to be a lot of black magic and we have come to take the amazing for granted.
In June 2020, while quarantined, I happened upon this sunset. I was so lucky to be living in the high desert, with open space to roam and chickens that made me laugh. I would stand out every night and watch the sun set. (When the world started to return to normal and I found myself in a situation where I couldn’t see the sun setting for the first time, I felt real grief.)
This sunset was a reminder of the magic of our existence. I haven’t seen one quite like this in the years that have passed, but it imprinted itself upon my heart. It sang to me and made me feel like I was a part of something larger. I’m grateful I had the time to stop and listen.
I hope you find a bit of magic today, whether it be in a flower or in the sky, or in someone you love. Pick up a book. Go for a walk. Take a nap. Do a bit of art. (That’s what I plan to go do.)
…My mind had been filled with my own thoughts… just as the minds of many who passed Elsa didn’t hear her songs because they were too busy to listen. That much is true about songs (and many stories) even in my own world. They speak mind to mind, but only if you listen.
“Fairy Tale” by Stephen King
Links
Entertainment Weekly Review – Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Amazon – Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Goodreads Reviews – Fairy Tale by Stephen King
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Thank you for sharing this ~
Once upon a time, I would sit out back every night to watch the sunset ~ sometimes with a glass of wine or a spiked mocha. I appreciate this reminder to watch the sunsets again.
What a beautiful and sort of sad post. That’s a stunning sunset and I’ve experienced that grief you feel when something so beautiful has ended. It happens a lot as a parent, grieving the child who has left bits of magic behind. Every day lately feels like it’s filled with magic and letting go. My tired heart simply aches from it all.
I’m still in the early pages of the new King book, but these quotes and your post have me aching to get back to it.