Strange Magic

2023

Rebecca Murphy is very content with how her life is going. After living in London and graduating med school a few years early, Rebecca is now back in her hometown of Oxford. She was headed back to start  officially working in the ER. Rebecca had some troubles in life. When she was fourteen, her dad died of cancer. But, she learned to grow and she got even closer with her mum and sister Miranda, younger by five years. After her dad died, she went to therapy and that's where she picked up journaling. She writes everyday, even if nothing happened she will write how she felt. Everything went into her journal and she took it everywhere. She had a big purse that had everything in it. She had her journal, her father's old pocket knife, multiple pens, bandaids, hand sanitizer, makeup, you name it she probably had it.  Her friends nicknamed her Mary Poppins because of it. Every month she would place new flowers on her father's grave and read some parts of her journal. When she does her monthly visit in July, 2023, Rebecca Murphy's life is going to change forever. 

I get out of my Uber, with bag and suit case in hand and see my mum already walking out the door to greet me. I see her grey roots coming in and it makes me smile; she used to color them in all the time before. "Hi, Becca! How was the ride?"

"Wasn't too bad. Mostly just dull. There was a fight between two bicycle riders."

I walk into my childhood home and tell Mum that I'm just going to put my suitcase up in my old room. A room that my sister has partially turned into an art studio. It's her last year in secondary school and I will be moving out soon so I will let it slide. All along the hall there are photos of my childhood and my sisters. Playing on swings, first day of school photos, Mum and Dad's wedding, and Mum's second wedding to my step dad Paul. He was a good man and respected Dad's memory. 

"Mum! When is Randi going to be home?" I yell as I walk downstairs back to the kitchen. 

"Your sister should be home in an hour, Paul is picking her up from her dentist appointment. I'm going to Mass on Sunday, I hope you will go. Are you going to visit Dad tomorrow?"

"Yea I think I'll go to mass. I was going to visit Dad today." Mum was an Irish Catholic and raised us that way, however, as I had gotten older I started to become more spiritual than religious. I always wore the cross necklace that she got me for my seventh birthday and would kiss when stressed. 

After having some tea with mum, I grab my "Mary Poppins" bag, borrow Mum's car, and leave to visit Dad. I went to this flower shop that I had gone to for every visit. There would be a bouquet of poppies, lilies, and lilacs. An odd combo I know, but the florist knew my Dad back in school and I told him what his favorites. 

Walking into the cemetery was the most peaceful part. Putting the flowers down; emotional but it got easier. But speaking and reading parts of my journal was always the toughest. I stopped crying when I was fifteen, but my throat would close up a little and my nose would get a little runny. But hey! That could've just been the flowers right? I place the flowers down as I sit and get out my journal. There were parts of my journal that I would highlight that were usually just for Dad, that's what my therapist suggested. 

"Hey Dad, I just finished med school and living back with Mum. Randi and Mum are doing great. Paul has been good for them. I've dating Kyle  for six months which is crazy. He's applying for interviews in Oxford right now. He's going to be a band teacher. I have some new journal entries for you Dad. Sometimes, I have these moments where I am contemplating if I am going down the right path. Should I have gone to med school, should I be with Kyle. I don't know why but lately there has been a nagging in my head about how I should leave it all and just take a risk. I guess I have been so scared of making a mistake and end up missing out on a great opportunity for a career or life partner or anything, and then feel like I am missing out on opportunities that I don't even know I miss, because I have been so focused on everything else that I can't see the little things. I don't know what to do Dad. Since I was fourteen I feel lost but don't know what to do about it. I don't know. I'm going to leave Dad. I miss you.

I stand back up and place my hand on the gravestone and start to walk back to the car. While I feel better after talking to Dad, I still have this weird feeling in my body. I don't know why. I am completely content with how my life is going. I just can't understand this feeling. 

As I am driving away I have an odd feeling go over my body. I turn on the radio and listen to music to shake off the feeling. "I'm just emotional after the visit, that is all," I say to myself. I try humming to myself as the music plays and I see a small road that branches off into the woods behind the church as I leave the cemetery. This road was not here last month. Something in my stomach screams at me and makes turn right onto the road. "It's just a little adventure, taking a small risk." I keep driving down the road and the radio glitches and then continues to play normally; I ignore it. The road comes to stop and at the edge is a well. That feeling in my stomach comes back and makes get out of my car and walk towards it. I look down the well and it looks like it has never been used in years. The stones are covered in moss and vines are growing around where the water bucket hangs. Why am I so intrigued by this? It's a fucking well, its no big deal, but something in my body is not letting me get back in my car. I look down it and I see more vines and moss on the inside and I am able to see the dirt bottom. "It's not very deep, no wonder they couldn't get any water out of it." I hear the trees above move loudly as wind starts to pick up and dark clouds start to cover the sky. I want to get back in the car; I don't want to get stuck in some storm on my way back home. But my feet are planted and my body is not listening to my brain. The feeling in my stomach grows tighter and I have an urge to jump into the well. "No." The well may be not practical, but is still deep enough for me to have trouble getting out of it and possibly breaking an ankle jumping in. The wind gets even heavier and little droplets start to fall. I can't move. The only thing I can do is stare at the bottom of the well. JUMP! My breathing is heavier and there's a lump in my throat. JUMP! Suddenly, the ground starts to shake around me. I lose my balance and it almost feels like someone pushed  me into the well even though no one was there. I expect to land on my back in less than a second, but I keep falling and falling, like the well is finally deep enough to go to the center of the earth. I try to scream but nothing comes out. What good would it have done anyway. After what felt like hours of falling, I plunge into water. I sink and I stop seeing any light. It goes completely black and it felt like true loneliness. Is this what death feels like. I sink and sink and I pass out. 

I hear birds chirping, a light breeze going through the trees, and an occasional bug fly by. I smell grass and flowers all around me. I feel sun on my face and wonder if that whole thing was just a dream. That after I visited Dad, I went home and fell asleep while reading outside. I feel my bag still on my body over my arm. Why is this still on? I should have hung that up in my room. I finally open my realize that I am not in my Mum's backyard. I don't know where I am. I jump up and feel that some of my clothes and bag are still damp as if I actually had fallen into the wall. I start to panic. I have no idea where I am, I don't know if someone took, I don't know if any of this is real. I pinch my arm and I'm in the same spot. I slap myself across the face. WAKE UP! WAKE UP! I see a small dirt road and decide to follow it. It has to lead me somewhere. I walk for about ten minutes and I come across this odd place. It looks like some medieval village. It can't be. I see a man in grey robes walk towards me. "Put a dress on girl, do not wear pants! Conserve yourself and protect yourself from heathens and Danes! Worship Christ and you shall be saved!" he walks away and I am starting to panic even more. I repeatedly spin around looking for someone to jump out and say it's a prank and none of this is real. I feel tears run down my cheeks. I haven't cried since I was twenty. A blonde woman starts walking towards me in similar robes as the man wearing a big cross. "Come with me dear. Let me and the church help you through God." I comply what else can I do. I start leaning on her and she grabs my arms to keep me from falling, I can't stop crying. Where am I? Why am I hear? Everything starts going blurry and I pass out.

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first chapter! wow! this was so long but I hope y'all liked it. reminder, this isn't going to follow the show exactly but will capture major plots in the show. I don't own any of the last kingdom just think character and her story

thank you