Wilderness: Chapter 6
The Enchantment: In which we search for lost spells to find our way
This is the sixth chapter in Wilderness: In Search of Belonging. This is my story, about my search for belonging and seeking solace in nature. You can read the earlier chapters here.
I sit on a wide stone windowsill, shivering, and look out across the snow-gripped landscape. We’ve fled Nigeria and are now in mid-Wales in a house a friend of my step-father’s has lent us for a few weeks. The sky is pigeon-grey and there’s a row of leafless trees silhouetted on the horizon. No other houses are visible.
I see a young boy, around ten, laboriously wading through the snow towards us. His footsteps make a dark dotted diagonal across the pristine white field. He’s a local farmer’s son and he’s brought us a gift. Mum calls me downstairs.
She places a thin black box on the dining room table. It gleams, like the varnished surface it’s resting upon. On the lid, it says