Chapter 2 – Marvin’s Past : Fantasy fiction story I Anand Krishnan, Bangalore

Chapter 2 – Marvin’s Past : Fantasy fiction story

In the bedroom, stars glistened through a crack in the curtains. Anita sat by the

window gazing at the stars with a smile when she overheard Marvin speaking aloud continuously in his sleep, “I’ve lost my friends. Glad I’ve got someone.” 

This fascinated Anita and she moved closer to listen. She knew that Marvin would never tell her, so she tiptoed to the library to climb the ladder.

Anita knew what she was looking for. She went to the left of the line of books and pushed on a leather covered book, creating a domino effect so the end book fell flat onto the floor. Anita jumped down with her arms out landing on her feet. She walked to the book, ‘Potions with friends’ lying on the floor, with its heavy cover closed tight. 

She opened the cover with great interest, and saw a photograph of a young Marvin and a group of friends with their arms over each other’s shoulders.

They looked happy. She felt blessed and turned the page to see another photo of Marvin standing with a man with jet black hair, and glasses perched on a big purple nose. In the background stood another man who was holding a rabbit by the ears with his right hand and a wand in his left.

Anita kept turning the pages to see more photos of his friends. She reached the end and found a piece of paper with an address written on it in pen. Suddenly, the lights came on. Anita jumped. She turned around to see Marvin. “Anita, what are you doing?”

Anita jumped on the book and pretended that she was fast asleep, covering theaddress with her shirt. Marvin picked her up by the collar of her shirt and put her in his pocket thinking, “What could she possibly be doing at my library at this hour?” Anita held onto the address tightly as he lifted her off the floor. 

The next morning, Anita to her surprise, found herself back in the bird box. Marvin was cooking

breakfast. She could smell toast and her stomach grumbled.

“Marvin, what sort of delicious breakfast are you making? I’m starving.”

“First of all you were caught sneaking into the library last night without asking for my permission… and I am making toast… like usual… with butter. I can serve it in your birdbox,” Marvin sneered sarcastically.

Anita begged him, “Ok Marvin, you’re the boss. I’ll do as you say. But please can I

come out of this bird box?” Marvin opened the roof and she jumped onto his hand, setting her down on the counter.

“Anita, why did you go to my library again? What is there in that library that interests you so much?”

“I like to read books. You have such a big library that I just couldn’t resist.”

Marvin smiled, “My dear silly Anita, if that is the case then I feel it would be better if

you ask me and I’ll gladly get you one book to read every day. I’m the owner so it wouldn’t

be a problem to find the books you want to read.” 

Anita was relieved that he didn’t find the address she had been hiding. She decided that until she worked out a plan to find a way to help her best friend, she wasn’t going to rest.

It was night again; Marvin was fast asleep. Anita squinted in the dark trying to see the address on the paper. The paper looked old and worn, with faded letters. She wondered who lived there and why Marvin was so secretive.

The next morning, Marvin woke up Anita very early and carried her outside the hut.

“Marvin, where are we going?” she whispered. “I hope it’s one of your magical tricks again?”

Marvin replied in a hush tone, smiling, “If you stay silent then the suspense won’t be ruined.” Anita was hyperactive and suspicious, noticing a theme park up ahead. A big sign read, ‘Marvin’s Theme Park.”  Anita whispered in his ear, “Marvin, this was a wonderful surprise for me. I’ve never been to a theme park before. Thank you so much. Do they have slides like the ones they have at swimming pools?” 

Marvin smiled and stayed silent. Anita was placed on the ground. She ran towards a rollercoaster, she immediately became frightened at how big it was. 

“Marvin, if it’s ok with you, can we please skip

this ride? And try another one first? I’m sure they are much better than this one?” Marvin rubbed her on the head, “Don’t worry, I’m sure that you’re going to enjoy the rollercoaster and if you do get scared, you’ve always got me to hold onto. Just close your eyes. Come on.”

Anita smiled nervously. Marvin sat her in his pocket and then sat in the front row. The rollercoaster slowly moved up, stopping suddenly at an edge.

Anita held onto Marvin tightly, “Is it over? Can we get out now please?” Marvin, seeing her frightened, chuckled, which made Anita curious. “What’s so funny? Knock it off, I’m scared enough as it is and your laughing isn’t going to help me.”

Marvin tried to hold it inside, “Whatever you say Madam,” the rollercoaster swooshed down making her scream. Marvin shushed her, “I understand you are scared, it’s your first experience on a rollercoaster but there is no need to be

scared. I’m here.”

Anita replied, “I can’t.. help!” she screamed as the rollercoaster shot back in the air. As the roller coaster came to a standstill, the bars came up and Anita and Marvin stepped out. Marvin saw Anita wobbling; he walked her over to Marvin’s water shop and got her a drink. Anita thanked Marvin and smiled to see him happy for the first time. “Marvin?” Anita looked up at him and saw his shining white teeth, “What happened?”

Marvin gave a puzzled look, “What do you mean?”

Anita replied, “Look how happy you were on the rollercoaster with me. What happened between you and your friends?”

Marvin dropped silent with his teeth fading away into a very serious expression. Anita knew that he would never talk about this topic but thought that the only way to help him was to talk to him, “I’m your best friend so there’s no harm talking to me.” 

Marvin felt uncomfortable starting to fidget.

“Why spoil the day? How about you help me feed the dolphins?” Anita apologised, took his hand and walked towards the sea. Marvin carried a bucket with raw fish and threw them one by one into the water. The dolphin came towards Marvin, and peeped out with his nose, opening his mouth to greet them. Anita jumped off Marvin’s arm and the address fell out of her pocket.

Marvin, focused on feeding the dolphins, did not see Anita pick up the paper and run towards the seashore. She found a large green leaf from a palm tree lying on the sand. She dragged the leaf towards the sea, grabbing a stick breaking in two, and launched herself onto the leaf into the water. Using the sticks as oars, she began to paddle towards the island in the distance.

Anita kept paddling until she couldn’t see Marvin. She continued to paddle until she came close to the sand underneath the surface knowing she was very close to her destination. 

Unfortunately for her, as she approached the island, a wave washed her away. Anita screamed at the top of her voice until a couple of hands reached out to her and pulled her out of the sea.

—-End of chapter 2. To be continued 

Want to catch up with what happened previously? 

Read the first chapter here : https://bookosmia.com/anita-and-marvin-story-by-anand-bangalore/

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