Sid

Sid was a mysterious man who seemed to be part of the staff of the Strange and Wonderful House and once guided the Master of the House on an eye-opening tour of the Gardens.

Description

Physical appearance

He appeared as a “thick, solidly-built Asian man”. He wore a round, pointy hat with a wide brim and a simple brown robe, and first appeared to the visitor holding a large broom, although he quickly set it down. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Into the Gardens (Part 1))

Powers & abilities

The guide had the ability to appear and disappear at will. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Into the Gardens (Part 1)) He had a good understanding of the House's temporal fluctuations, having once displayed knowledge of a room with his visitor, despite being a noteworthy resident of the House proper, didn't know about yet. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Into the Gardens (Part 2))

Biography

Sid described himself as simply being the incarnation of “the will of [his] Creator”. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Will of the Creator)

At some point, Sid spent a week in the Bodhi Tree's shade, deep in thought. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: A Return to Innocence)

In a bad mood after an argument, the Master of the House (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Will of the Creator) once stomped out of the House proper through the Sun Room. Ignoring the signs pointing to the Tree House and the Southern Veranda, he made his way to the Gardens, where a sign warning visitors to be careful of the Werepanda only needled him further. After entering, he was confronted by a strange man (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Into the Gardens (Part 1)) who, appearing out of thin air, offered to take him on a tour of the Gardens, enticing him to accept with the possibility of “tea in the shade of the Bodhi Tree” at the end of the tour. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Into the Gardens (Part 2))

He walked quickly, chattering happily to his charge about what they saw on the way and what else they might see yet, from the orchards and vegetable garden to the Topiary Veranda and we I. T. Haze's hedge maze. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 1)) When Sid showed his charge “the training ground of accursed springs”, the latter expressed surprise at such a seemingly malevolent thing being part of House. Sid tutted at his “mistaken impression that the House is essentially good” before adding that “even worse, like many new writers, you think you’re in control of every part of the story”; when the visitor replied that “we” did in fact “make” the House, Sid cryptically implied that this was a limited perspective. They continued walking and found themselves in a landscape which the visitor believed to be “in China, or Japan”, to which Sid replied that “all three are correct, depending on your perspective”. The visitor suddenly felt calmer and realised that in the distance, he could now glimpse the towering form of the Bodhi Tree. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Secrets of Our Gardens (Part 2: Acccursed Springs))

Sid left him to take the last few steps alone. Though briefly suspicious, he was won over by the aura of peace that surrounded the Tree, and agreed, kicking off his shoes to finish the journey alone. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: A Return to Innocence) As he approached the Tree, he was overcome with a surge of emotion and cried out all his buried feelings of “unworthiness, self-hate and guilt”. When had no further tears to shed, feeling a new man, he asked if it was “always like that”, but found Sid out of earshot. He felt at peace and increasingly certain that he feels not just good, but great — “fully rested, at peace, and ready for anything”: ready to “change the world”. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Pain of Rebirth) He paused at last to consider the huge, beautiful Tree itself, and reached out to brush a hand against its barks; as he did so, he felt the Tree's ageless mind briefly touching his own, getting a glimpse of the Tree's timeless perspective on the universe. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Bodhi Tree)

Finding Sid again, he was given the choice of whether to stay by the Bodhi Tree's side indefinitely, or to return to his normal life, at the cost of the humdrum complications of everyday life slowly chipping away at his enlightenment until he'd all but forget what he had really found here. He found the choice unfair, (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: Wake to Dream Again) and, an incalculably amounts of times over, returned to the Tree before seeking Sid out again, being offered the choice again without remembering it was not for the first time, and again returning to the Tree. At last, he realised how many times he had repeated the pattern, and, complimenting Sid's patience, said he was ready to return. Sid reminded him of his true identity by telling him that “the Manor await[ed] its Lord”, and his memories and lust for life came crashing back into his mind like a storm. Grinning, he headed home from his “vacation”, once again on “the infinity kick”. He playfully remarked that the end of his vacation was only the beginning of the, by now, very tired Sid's. (PROSE: Our Strange and Wonderful House: The Will of the Creator)

Behind the scenes

Sid displays abilities consistent with being a shifter. In the comments of Accursed Springs, Jeanne Morningstar jokingly speculated that “perhaps ‘he’ might be a crossdressing Jenny Everywhere”, which would help to make him less of a stereotypical “Asian master” figure.