The flute in bamboo patch

Every day on my way home from work
I would pass the big bamboo patch on the corner of the street
And as I reach near it. I would hear sound of a flute 
Playing with the sweetest of melody
And it sounds like if the wind and the trees would join in creating a sound of a symphony

And I would sometimes sit on the dirt bank across street from the bamboo patch 
Just listening and thinking what is it that’s making that sound

The bamboo patch has been there for as long as I can remember
And it was very dense and wide and no one knew how it got there. Because there was no other bamboo patch in the entire village of ste madeleine
And the strange thing about this flute hear that I hear every time I pass there
Is that only me alone can hear the music

Because I ask others in ste madeleine
if they ever heard a flute playing inside of the bamboo patch
and they would laugh at me sometimes and make fun, saying that I'm hearing things in my mind

It was very strange and it had me worried thinking, that maybe something is wrong with me 
And the flute and the wind blowing through the trees in harmony was all in my head and it wasn't real and didn’t really exist

So I stop asking people if they heard the flute playing in the bamboo patch and kept it to myself
My grandmother use to tell us a lot of stories of Trinidad folklores from long ago 
Stories of superstitions and folklore characters in Trinidad and Tobago
Dwens and La Diablesse and Soucouyants and etc

and the Jackalantan who is said to be a mysterious light that appears and attracts people, misleading them into desolate areas far away from their intended destinations and then they vanished

so if anyone can help me to explain why I am hearing the beautiful and enchanting flute music coming from the bamboo patch,
It would have to be my grandmother because it seems like if she was born with a gift of extraordinary knowledge of everything's about Trinidad folklores and paranormal activities

At first, she was very surprised that I heard the music coming from the bamboo patch
And she started to recite a silent prayer for a few minutes, then she stops and went into her room and came back with a beaded chain and told me to put it around my neck. I was very surprised that she did this

And then she started to tell me of the legend a fairytale princess from a land far away
Who use to play the flute and sang so beautifully that people from all across the land use to come just to hear her sing and play.
And legend has it " that when you hear her sing it was like magic and all your problems and worries in the world would just disappear

And there was a wicked witch
Who use to torment the villagers across the kingdom.
And she was very jealous of the princess and was very angry that her powers could not affect the people again after they have heard the princes' magical voice and flute

So she plotted to kidnap the princess
And one day as the princess was out in the flower garden in the castle, 
The wicked witch appears as a lost little girl crying 
and as the princess tries to console her, she cast a sleeping spell on the princess that she would sleep for 100 years and took away her voice 

And her voice would only return to her from a true loves kiss, then she kidnaps the princess and whisk her away to a very very far away unknown land, and she hid her inside of a very dense bamboo patch and where no one can find her to unbreak her spell

And as my grandmother was telling me the story of the fairy tale princess
I was thinking to myself that " no way could this be the fairy tale princess that my grandmother was talking about
Not here in little island like Trinidad in the village of ste madeleine 

My grandmother continues to tell me the story
Saying how the king and queen send out word of the princes' disappearance all across the kingdom
.and royal magicians with the help of the villagers found the wicked witch who kidnaps the princes

But she won't tell them what she did with the princess, 
They then tied her to a cross with a rope that was soaked in holy water so she couldn't escape and the king told her that this her last chance to say where the princess is and he would set her free
.but the witch laughs and said that they would never find her again and then as they light the fire and the witch started to burn

she cast a spell on the entire kingdom so that they all will sleep and only awakes again
when they hear the princes' flutes play again to break the spell
Then they all fell asleep right where they were stood as the cries of the witch fills the air as her ashes flew with a gust of wind into the air
And all over the kingdom silence was the only sound that you could hear.

Wow, what a story. I said to my grandmother.
My grandmother was the greatest storyteller that I have ever known 
She would tell her stories with such vivid discretion and imagery. And listening to her tales I can feel like I am actually there in the story

So I ask her " what did she think of the flute music coming from the bamboo patch,
And at first, she was silent then she said to me
it was just like a day like today, that the legends to be has happened and we may think that those tales are unbelievable. But in our time, right before our eyes, we can become a part of the legends if our paths are to be cross.

The only legend of old that mentions a magical flute with such sweet and perfect harmony is the tale of the princess

And although you may think that in today's world, in reality, that we would never encounter something like this .but the legend was true and somewhere hidden was the princess, who can't speak and if she is awakened today then all she would have is the music of her flute 

So I listen to my grandmother and she made it all so clearly that we all share the same moon and stars and night and day just as the legends and we could be a part of a puzzle from even centuries ago

So I ask my brother Azad about what he thinks of this legend my grandmother has told me and he said that he believes in ancient legends too, and there Is only one way to know if it’s true, is to cut down the bamboo patch and see where the flute music is coming from

So we came the next morning and we bring the tools we need to cut it down.
and we started to cut our way through a path straight to the middle and as we cut into the bamboo patch, the longer it would seem to be getting.
It looks like just a bamboo patch from the street but once inside of it, it seems to go on for miles 

We started to think to go back and not continue. But my brother Azad said " man I always wanted to meet a fairy tale princess and what if this legend is real. then she needs us ...so I said ok and we keep on going.

Then all of a sudden, we could hear the flute started playing again and it was getting louder as we keep cutting our way forward.
then we couldn't believe our eyes high above was a hanging cage and it was the most beautiful princess that you would ever see.

She was sad and very cute at the same times 
and she looked at us with her bewilderment in her eyes.
Surprise to see anyone after hundreds of years being caged in the middle of this bamboo patch.

And we couldn't believe that this was the same princess
that my grandmother has told me about 
. was actually real and was held captive in Trinidad by the wicked witch

She couldn't speak with her mouth, but her eyes were saying help me please help me
So we climb up on the big willow tree
that the cage was hanging from and we unloose the rope and slowly let her down

And we bow and said " your highness you are safe now"
She was the most beautiful girl that either of us has ever seen 
And we both were lost for words 
as we give the princess a drink of water we brought in a red Marlboro canteen that I got when I use to smoke and collect miles.

And as she drinks the cool water, my bother Azad whispers to me." man I am in love at first sight and I would do anything to be with a woman like that. but she would never like someone like me" he said so, I said to Azad " she is a fairy tales princes' man and you are just a guy doing woodwork in San Fernando.so no way man. she won't like you

But then as I said that the princess' legs were not strong enough from being in the cage for hundreds of years, so, she stumbled to her knees and then Azad went to her first and as he lifts her up 
And they look into each other's eyes for a moment that seems to last forever, then they kiss and just like magic the bamboo patch disappears and princess started to glow and her voice came back to her 

And in the kingdom, the people that were asleep for so long suddenly came back to life and the sun shines over the kingdom once again.Birds were in the blue skies and flowers sprung up in gardens and fruits now ripen on all of the trees throughout the kingdom

The princes' magic was once again bestowed over the castle and king and queen knew that the princess was alive and well and she would come home soon

She then said to my brother Azad and me 
thank you for rescuing me and lifting the spell of the wicked witch
I then said to her my grandmother told me the story about you and that is how we came to be here to rescue you,
we didn't know that the legend was actually true ..but we just had to try and rescue you if it was true

Then my brother Azad said to the princess" 
I love you from the moment at saw you " 

I look at him and thinking to myself " what is wrong with this boy, cant he see that she is a princess and she won't like him 

But then she smiles and the princess said to him
Only a true heart with true love for me could have broken the witches spell
And you shall come back to my kingdom with me and we shall marry and you will become " prince Azad "

So I was in disbelieve this whole thing had been such an unreal experience
And now Azad is going to marry the princess and become prince Azad 
Wow “ and I was the one who heard the flute playing and asks my grandmother and came to rescue her and now Azad gets the princess

Now I know you might be thinking that I was mad or even jealous as hell
But quite to the contrary, I was happy for him.
he was going to be a Prince and marry the lovely princess 

But it didn't bother me at all, in fact, I was very happy for him
Because I know that I was the luckiest guy in the world.
Because later when I go down by the Usine by the train line 

I will be in the arms of my angel a very cute and pretty douglar girl
And when she holds me in her arms 
I feel like I'm king of the whole wide world

The princess and Azad holds hands
And Azad told me to tell my parents
what happens and so don't worry about him 
Then the princess said " don’t worry your parents would join us at the castle very soon
And she held his hands and they vanish into a glow of light