Belinda was increasingly captivated by magic and what it ignited within her soul. These were days particularly dense with esoteric meaning. Every step she took toward this new awareness moved her away from the material things of life, the very things she had attached so much importance to until recently. She no longer had a true bond with her old self, but she felt the need to connect with the elements, to reconnect with her beloved and bitter land, that land so beautiful and powerful, to be loved deeply and, at the same time, hated profoundly.
She thought of the Earth, wanting so much to escape even in the middle of the night, a distant land that made her miss the people in her life, the same land that covered her mother's grave, the same that carried a piece of her heart, her brother, far away in rainy London. She thought of the Air, like the force of a cyclone entering her lungs, almost making her chest explode, the same fierce wind that blew strongly in Messina every day of the year, the one that slammed doors, uprooted trees, and churned the waves of the sea. And then the Water, which sometimes flowed slowly and motionless, a fundamental element for life that exists and will only exist thanks to its presence on the planet. The water that was often scarce in Palermo, which in the scorching summer sun had to be collected in the fountains of the fiery, smog-filled squares.
But the first element Belinda wanted to know better was the Fire. Perhaps because she feared it a little more than the others. Alone in the house, sifting through the texts she had bought at the bookstore, she found a meditation intended to visualize fire. Since it was cold in January, it was the ideal time to put herself to the test.
So, she went out onto the balcony to gather some firewood that Elia had stacked under the shed, placed it in a wicker basket, and brought it inside to light the fireplace. The wood smelled of olive, dry oak, walnut, and lemon. Belinda's hands got a little blackened; after the "firewood operation," her hands resembled those of a chimney sweep. She took a match and, after creating a pyramid of wood with a space in the center for the air to escape, she lit the fire. She helped it along with some dry leaves that immediately caught fire and began to crackle.
It was a pleasure to watch the fire and its evolutions. It started crackling and slow, in an ever-increasing crescendo, like a dance. Belinda warmed her hands and face and thought to herself that, even if she could follow the book's instructions, it wouldn't hurt to follow the path of folk wisdom and the teachings of Mamma Caterina. When her mother prepared a cake and put it in the oven, she would say: "Santa Rusulia beddu russu comu a tia." (Saint Rosalia, beautiful and red like you).
She thought, therefore, that she could apply that formula also to evoke the element of fire, which should manifest itself to her in some form, according to the book's instructions. She sat down to watch with a serene and relaxed gaze, dreamy and vigilant at the same time. She could not say how long it took for the magic to happen, but it did happen!
She saw a face of fire emerge from the flames, a beautiful Elfo infuocato (Fire Elf) who looked her straight in the eye. She felt no fear; on the contrary, she was pleasantly surprised, and so she decided to ask more of the magic. She decided that her first spell would not be for wealth or for love, but for inner protection.
She opened the Grimorie to the Rede page. She softly recited the code, remembering her oath to do no harm, and wrote a specific intention:
I do not suffer even if the world sleepsI do not suffer even if the wind is freezingI do not suffer even if the snow falls.The time of light advancesThe fire lives again.Come to me, fire, so warm and bright, I beg you to illuminate my path, to help me live and to love, to elevate myself to defend the truth, when the test calls me! May I always help others and transform my life, because the key to what I shall be, you hold. The threads of my life you will weave, and the pattern with your blessings you will intertwine!
May my house be veil and shield. May its inhabitants have peace in their hearts.
It was a charm on three levels: protection, peace, and clarity.
The house did not become brighter or calmer. In the dining room, an odor concentrated that she couldn't identify: it was sharp, almost like dry leaves, but not unpleasant.