THE SPELLS WE CAST

Have you ever read a book? If you have, you will probably be able to relate to what I’m going to be talking about here.

There are books that lure you into them and refuse to let go. They drag you into their world, show you the wonders that are there, the characters that you begin to love, the adventures taking place and the villains that threaten to destroy everything. They cling on to you, trap you, and keep you in their world, until suddenly, they don’t. The books end, and that world ends with them.

When we talk of spells, we often consider them a figment of fiction. We fail to see them all around us. These books that bring tears to our eyes, the ones that elicit laughter, the ones that motivate us, and the ones that excite. How could a bunch of sheets with markings on them wield so much control over our emotions? How could events that have not happened, characters that have not lived, become so dear to us? Certainly, there could be no greater spell than one which creates a world.

“Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.” Albus Dumbledore

Writing a story is, to me, a sacred act. It involves creating your own world, where everything is under your control, and you direct the events taking place. You decide the flavors of romance, adventure, mystery, that are to be added. You mix the tragedy and the comedy in the cauldron, then pour a little depth to the characters- show their past, speak their thoughts, reveal their regrets. And then, after eons of arduous churning and meticulous care, you create a story.

The worst thing someone can say when you’re reeling from the loss of a loved character is “It’s not real.”

And the reason this attempt at consolation is so infuriating is because it’s false. The world created by the writer is just as real as ours is, and the characters were people that we knew personally. The story is not merely scribbles on a paper, but something greater, something more permanent. It is the creation of a universe as imagined by someone, trapped in the confines of the words the writer has penned. There is life in those pages, a portal that you flip through to glance into that peculiar world.

Many people think that books are an escape from reality. I do not agree. A story is not of leaving the current reality as much as it is exploration of new ones. You’re not merely a reader, my friend; you’re an explorer of worlds.