Once upon a time there was a boy named Miles who was absolutely positively 100.
Sure that going grocery shopping was the most boring thing in the entire world.
"'Can we please just go home?' he said, dragging his feet down the cereal aisle.
His sister, Eleora, skipped ahead.
"'Stop complaining, Miles,' she said.
"'Mom said we can get ice cream if we're nice.'
His mom smiled and dropped a box of oatmeal into the cart.
Stay close, you two.
Miles tried.
He really did.
But somewhere between the peanut butter and the pasta he got distracted by a display of bouncy balls near the end of the aisle.
He picked one up and bounced it once.
And then he bounced it twice.
And then three times.
And when he looked up, his mom was gone.
Eleora was gone.
And the cart was gone.
Miles spun around.
Mom, he called.
No answer.
He ran to the end of the aisle and looked both ways.
Nothing.
Just a lady with a baby stroller and a man looking at salad dressing.
He ran to the next aisle.
He saw the soups and sauces, but no mom and no Eliora.
He ran to the next one.
Still nothing.
Miles' heart started pounding really fast.
His hands felt sweaty.
He ran to another aisle, and another, and another.
And with every turn, the store seemed to get bigger and bigger.
And his mom and sister seemed farther and farther away.
What if I never find them, he thought.
What if I'm stuck here forever?
What if they drive home without me?
He knew that was silly, but when you're lost, silly thoughts can feel very real.
His eyes were starting to sting.
He blinked hard.
He was not going to cry in the middle of the grocery store.
He took a deep breath and looked around.
He had somehow wandered all the way to the back of the store in the toy section, and he still couldn't find them.
Big, bright boxes of games and puzzles and action figures lined the shelves on both sides.
And normally, this would have been Miles' favorite place in the whole store.
But right now, he barely even noticed.
He slumped down against the shelf, hugging his knees.
And that's when he felt it.
A little tug.
Not on his sleeve or his shirt.
More like a tug somewhere inside his chest. like something was telling him to look downward.
He looked down at the very bottom shelf, the one right near the floor, and he saw that it was completely empty.
No toys, no boxes, nothing.
Just a bare shelf with a little gap at the back where the wall should have been.
Miles leaned in closer.
It wasn't a gap.
It was a hole.
A round, dark tunnel, just big enough to crawl through.
So Miles looked to his left and he looked to his right, and the aisle was completely empty.
Huh, I probably shouldn't, he thought.
Then he got down on his hands and knees and crawled in anyway.
The tunnel was short, just a few feet of darkness, and then Miles tumbled out into a long, dimly lit tunnel hallway.
It looked like the back room where workers would unload boxes with concrete floors and tall metal shelves stacked with supplies in a faint smell of cardboard and dust.
But there was nobody there no workers, no machinery, no carts.
Miles stood up and brushed off his knees, he started walking And the hallway went on for a while, turning here and turning there.
And eventually he got to this new section of the hallway where there were doors on both sides, but all the doors were closed.
And then he heard something.
Way down at the end of the hall there was a light glowing under a door and coming from behind that door was a clattering and shuffling and muttering sound like someone banging around and talking to themselves all at once.
Miles crept slowly toward the door, and he pressed his ear against it.
No, no, that's too much of the cinnamon.
Or was it too little?
Miles slowly pushed the door open.
The room on the other side was like nothing he had ever seen before.
It was cluttered from the floor to the ceiling with shelves full of jars and bottles and little tin cans.
Every jar had a label written in tiny, careful handwriting.
There were mixing bowls and measuring spoons and a small bubbling pot on a little burner in the corner.
And standing in the middle of it all was an old man with a very long white beard.
And he had a deep blue robe and a tall pointed hat covered in tiny silver stars.
Um, said Miles.
Hello?
The old man spun around so fast he nearly knocked over a whole shelf of jars.
"'Goodness!' he cried, grabbing his hat before it fell off.
"'You scared me half to Tuesday.
Who are you?
And how on earth did you find my workshop?'
Miles explained everything—the shopping trip, getting lost, the empty shelf, the tunnel—
The old man listened carefully as he stroked his long beard.
Ah, yes, he said, nodding slowly.
It is quite easy to lose your parents in this store.
I've seen it happen many times.
And then his eyes lit up.
But my goodness, in all of my years back here, no one has ever found this workshop.
That is, not until today.
He reached out a wrinkled hand and shook Miles' hand firmly.
My name is Merlin and I have been working in this workshop for as long as this store has been open.
I chose this spot very carefully, you see, because it is the absolute last place anyone would ever think to look for a wizard.
Miles blinked.
A wizard?
Well...
A retired one, mostly, said Merlin, waving his hand.
These days I mostly just work on my potions.
He turned back to the bubbling pot and peered into it with great interest.
And this is very good timing.
I have just finished what may be my greatest potion yet.
He looked back at Miles with a twinkle in his eye.
And actually, I could use a brave young helper to test it.
Miles looked at the glowing pot and then back at Merlin.
Well, what does it do?
Merlin clasped his hands together.
Anyone who drinks this potion, he said, will, for a very short amount of time, know everything.
Miles stared at him.
Everything?
Everything?
Every last thing there is to know in the entire universe, said Merlin proudly.
I do amaze even myself sometimes.
Huh.
Well, why can't you just test it yourself, Miles asked.
And Merlin looked slightly embarrassed.
Well, he said, clearing his throat, you see...
I already do know everything.
I need someone who doesn't know everything yet, and I think you might be just the right person.
See, watch, I'll even show you.
As Merlin picked up the potion and he drank it right there in front of Miles.
And after a few seconds, he said, You see?
Nothing happens to me.
That is precisely why I need a brave subject to help me prove that it works.
Now, please do not feel any pressure, young man.
I realize this is rather unusual.
You're welcome to go on your way.
But what will you say?
Miles thought about it for exactly three seconds.
Okay, he said.
So Merlin carefully poured a small amount of the shimmering golden liquid into a tiny glass and it swirled like liquid sunshine.
Miles took it, looked at it once, and he drank it.
And for a moment, nothing happened.
And then, flash!
It was like every light in the world turned on all at once inside his brain.
Miles gasped.
Answers to questions he had never even thought of before came rushing into his head all at once.
He knew why the sky was blue and why black holes pulled everything in and what dinosaurs really sounded like.
And what was at the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean?
Merlin leaned forward excitedly.
Now then, tell me, what is the exact temperature at the center of the sun?
And why does it fluctuate near the outer edge of its gravitational 27 million degrees Fahrenheit, said Miles before Merlin even finished.
And it fluctuates because of variations in the plasma pressure near the surface...
Merlin's mouth fell open.
Miles barely even knew what those words meant.
But somehow, right now, he knew exactly what they meant, and a thousand other things.
And then, as clearly as if he were looking at a map, he could see in his mind exactly where his mom and sister were.
They were in the dairy section, near the eggs and the milk, and they were rushing up and down the aisles looking for him.
It works, Merlin cried, clapping his hands.
Oh, it works!
But even as they both laughed, Miles felt the knowledge beginning to fade like a dream, slipping away the moment you wake up.
And one by one, the answers grew fuzzy and then quiet again. and then gone.
A minute later, his brain was completely back to normal.
He looked up at Merlin.
Wow, was all he could say.
And Merlin smiled warmly.
You were a very good helper, young Miles.
And because of your kindness, I'd like to give you something.
He shuffled over to a cabinet and then came back with a tiny glass vial no bigger than Miles' thumb.
And it was filled with the same golden liquid.
Then he carefully folded up a small piece of paper covered in handwritten notes and tucked it into the vial's little carrying pouch.
This is the recipe and a small amount of the potion.
Just enough for one more use.
He looked at Miles seriously and promised me you won't share it with anyone.
I promise, said Miles.
He slipped the vial safely into his back pocket and then he thanked Merlin.
He ducked back through the hallway and crawled back through the little tunnel and out through the empty shelf into the toy aisle.
And after he crawled through the tunnel and back into the aisle, he stood up, straightened his shirt and turned around.
Hey!
Miles nearly jumped out of his shoes.
There was a large security guard in a blue uniform pointing right at him, with his face red and his eyes wide.
What are you doing here, kid?
Get out of there!
What are you trying to steal?
I wasn't stealing anything, i was just.
Don't say another word, you're coming with me.
Miles started to panic.
He didn't know what to do, so he ran.
He sprinted down the toy aisle and cut left into the sporting goods.
He could hear the guards, heavy boots, pounding on the floor behind him.
Hey, where do you think they're going?
Get back here?
Miles looked over his shoulder.
The guard was getting closer.
Miles dodged around a cart, cut through the bread aisle and nearly slipped on a wet floor sign.
But the guard was still right behind him.
He couldn't outrun him.
Not for much longer.
Miles reached into his back pocket, pulled out the tiny vial, pulled out the stopper and drank the last few drops.
Flash!
The knowledge rushed back in.
And in that single brilliant moment, Miles knew everything there was to know about the guard who was now chasing him, including one very important thing.
This guard was deathly afraid of snakes.
So Miles spun around and he said, look out, there's a snake on you.
The security guard froze and his face went from red to white in half a second.
What?
Where?
Where is it?
He started jumping up and down, slapping at his own arms and legs and spinning in circles.
Get it off!
Get it off me!
Is it on my back?
Quick, someone check my back!
Miles pressed his lips together very, very hard to keep from laughing.
He didn't have time to laugh.
He had somewhere to be.
So he turned and ran straight for the dairy section.
And there they were, right next to the eggs and milk, exactly where he had seen them in his mind.
Miles!
Eliora sprinted toward him and nearly knocked him over with a hug.
Where were you?
We looked everywhere.
His mom rushed over and wrapped both arms around him tight.
Oh, Miles, she said, squeezing him.
You scared me so much.
Are you okay?
Are you hurt?
I'm okay, he said, hugging her back.
I'm really okay.
And he meant it.
So they all went through the checkout lane and they paid for the groceries and walked out to the car and started driving home.
And on the way home, with the groceries loaded in the trunk and the windows cracked open to let in the cool air, Eliora turned to her brother and said Okay Miles seriously, where did you disappear to?
We looked in every single aisle for you.
Miles leaned back in his seat and smiled.
Oh, you are not going to believe what I found, he said.
He could feel the tiny vial, now empty, still tucked safely in his back pocket.
And in the little pouch beside it, the folded piece of paper with Merlin's careful handwriting.
The recipe.
Well, said Eliora, and Miles just smiled a little wider.
But that's a story for another day.
Hey there, Storyland fans.
If you've been enjoying the podcast, I've got some great news.
Right now, you can find the Storyland Collection Volume 2, Enchanted Journeys and Hidden Treasures.
That's right.
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