Week 7 Story: Sonder and Mollyman

This is one of the many tales of the trickster spirit Sonder. Sonder is originally from the land of Dazarlor and is invisible to the eyes of men but today he wanders all over the world. It is said that Sonder is the comedic sarcasm of man incarnate and will bother anyone to give himself a laugh. He takes the wishes of any individual he follows and grants them but when they arrive in the reality of the new world they've created from their wish, it is not at all what they expected. Without very specific directions, Sonder will bend the words of the wisher to create something he finds entertaining. Without further ado, here is the tale of Mollyman and his unfortunate meeting with Sonder.

It wasn't long ago that Mollyman had lost some of his passion for his work. He was a professor of history at a small community college nearby, and had been for several years. He had taken up the position at a smaller college so he would have the ability to spend plenty of time traveling to all the places he taught about. But lately money had been tight and the trips had become numbered as the years went by. The money he made from teaching in today's world simply wasn't enough to sustain his adventurous impulses and so his enthusiasm, passion, and the twinkle in his eyes had faded for now he often thought about what it would be like if he had chosen some other profession, something that would provide him with all the things he desired.

But today was a new day. Mollyman was a mythology buff and it was the opening day of the new exhibit at the museum which was titled "A History of Japanese Myths and Fairy Tales". He hadn't been to the museum in a long time and had greatly anticipated this showing. He arrived shortly after lunch and began walking through the maze of old scrolls, paintings, and sculptures. As he walked through he would stop and read the placards of information and ponder what it would be like enjoy the riches of a fortunate farmer or experience a night in a lavish palace.

Knowing he would find mischief at this kind of event, Sonder sauntered through the exhibit taking special care to hover near individuals trying to catch some of the wishes they mutter under their breath. Finally his eyes rested upon Mollyman, he had found his target.

Mollyman had just come across the first story that really captured him. As he read the story of the Stonecutter and how the craftsman was able to experience the luxuries of a palace after toiling all his life working with rock he said, "Man, what I wouldn't give to experience life in a palace like that!". No sooner did the utterance leave his lips than he found himself inside a magnificent palace! But something was amiss. He couldn't move his legs, he couldn't turn his head, and now that he thought about it all he could do was stare up at the ceiling. Out of the corner of his eye he spied a large ornate mirror and in it he discovered the truth of his new existence. In the mirror he saw his new form. He now realized that he had gotten what he wished for, except he was to experience the palace from the point of view of a decorative area rug!

"How horrible is this?!", Mollyman thought to himself. On the bright side he was a highly sought rug made of the skin of a polar bear, so that was a plus. After hours of trying to develop an understanding of his current situation he knew he would have to figure out some way to return to his old life.

Just as he was about to give up hope, Sonder made himself visible to the poor man.

"My my, what a fine rug this is!" Sonder exclaimed with a grin as he looked into the eyes of the polar bear.

To Be Continued...

Classy polar bear rug. Found on wikimedia.

Author's Note:
This story received most of its influence from two Japanese fairy tales: The Stonecutter and Uraschimataro and the Turtle. In The Stonecutter, a man wishes to he could be different professions or people to try to satisfy his hunger to have fancier things or a more interesting life style. There is a mountain spirit that grants him his wishes and turns him into anything he desired so that he could experience life as that entity. In the original story the Stonecutter is always turned into what he had in mind and enjoys the transformation for a period of time until he gets bored of it. In this version I try to make sure the main character has his wish twisted. The idea of being in a palace in a different time period comes from the story of Urashimataro and the Turtle.

Bibliography
Urashimataro and the Turtle
The Stonecutter