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Once I Believed...
When I was a small child, I was the type of kid that believed wholeheartedly in magic. I would often take refuge from the stress of the ‘real world’ up in my room or outside brandishing a wand (a twig), sporting a wizard’s robe (blanket), and carrying one of the fabulous Harry Potter books. With these combined with my eager imagination, I could delve deeply into the depths of the wizarding world and explore my fantasies to the heart’s content.
Sad though it may seem, I really did believe in magic. I wasn’t ashamed of it though, for I was confident that I would soon receive my envelope admitting me into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I would be whisked away, with the scent of adventure filling my nose, from all of my petty problems and cruel peers to a wonderful world where my wildest dreams would take the place of harsh reality.
So I waited. I waited, sometimes planning what I would do with my life once I was unveiled to be a wizard. I waited, barely daring to imagine the bliss I would feel when the owl would swoop in with a letter of parchment tied to its leg. And I waited, starting to worry that maybe I wasn’t a wizard after all. And I waited, with the looming possibility that there was no magic peering around my wishes and imaginations.
As you’re probably predicting, the inevitable happened. The year came and went when I was supposed to receive the invitation. With the disappearance of that letter came the disappearance of all of my hope. Filled with a bit of fresh apathy, I continued my life leaving behind that dead dream that had lifted me up and then dropped me.
And soon, the dream was forgotten.
But as I grew up in a world with no spells or quidditch, as I was raised without wand or flying broomstick, as I became accustomed to there being no dragons or unicorns, I realized something. Magic did exist. Maybe it didn’t appear in the form that I had pictured while reading the Harry Potter series, but it was definitely there.
It sometimes showed itself when I was listening to a symphony of beautiful music. It surprised me every time I looked outside at night and saw the great moon and myriad of stars. It comforted me in the form of loyal friends or caring family. It said hello as I witnessed moments of extreme kindness or affection and twinkled in my tears as I dwelled on them. It resided in places of remotest nature and utmost sacredness. Magic was joy. Magic was love. Magic was music. Magic was hope. Magic was God.
So I became content once again. True, I did not live as I had imagined since I was so very young and wistful for a world that I would never reach. But I had found the world as it truly is, and found it to be a hundred times more fulfilling. For magic is real, and magic is here.
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JOIN THE DISCUSSION
This article has 42 comments.
Well, J.K Rowling is an athetist(interview on Oprah).
But who cares? It's a great story about the forces of good and evil and with magic...etc
Well, at the time I was into it, I went to Islamic School and I would never bring it in because I knew someone would take the book from me and yell at me saying it's witchcraft..etc. Actually, my friend brought it in one day and she got yelled at for 20 minutes so whenever she brought it, she would use a book cover to make it look like a textbook. It worked. :)
And the carpooler said the book is a work of satan.
My family didn't care though. :) I would always talk to my mom about it.
I LOVE HARRY POTTER TOO!
I first started reaidng it when I was nine/ten. I love it, I feel like it's a part of my childhood. I still an't believed it ended. I haven't seen it yet.
When I read the last book the day after it came out(yes, I went to a midnight party) after I finished it I bauled like a baby. I cried for an hour.
And I think I'm going to cry after the last part ends too!
But I never believed that magic existed. Sometimes I would play it but never believed it.
I actually see J.K Rowling with my own eyes. I saw her speak at a Harvard graduation(I live near Harvard). Someone was nice neough to give me tickets. I went with a good freind of mine. And I also got a letter from her, an automated letter but still.
This is so beautiful, and I can really relate to your experience. I too waited for my Hogwarts letter to arrive when I turned the magical age of eleven. And, I too, was crushed when it never arrived.
You are right about the everyday magic that people are sometimes blinded to by fantasy books or stories, but you forgot one more magic; that is magic of creation.
Thanks for writing this :)
Finally! Someone who loves Harry Potter too. I'm not alone!
Thanks for commenting...
