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It was almost midday when he woke up. He had spent dawn flying from a corner to a corner into the room trying to control the magic stool with the powder horn. He patted his head and his whole body trying to feel the hurts and wounds of the previous hours. When he felt ease, he stood up and took the stool. He dismantled it and put it carefully in a bag that he found in the attic of the cottage. He, then, inserted the horn under his belt, tightly to his waist. At that time he tried to recall something:“ The hunchback sent me to fetch a crystal ball. Where is it?” He leapt and looked here and there. He searched for it everywhere. He found it in a wooden casket among moldy clothes. He fixed it. The glass looked soft and fragile but he thought it might hurt since it was the hunchback’ s. However, he had to handle it. He took it out carefully; re-wrapped and joined it to the stool. The clock struck midday. It tickled and wriggled inside him. He shook and grumbled. He shivered, sweated and fell down. He moaned, wallowed and yelled. Minutes elapsed before he restored his spirits. He was lying on the floor all wet. He got on his feet and ran his fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and made his way toward the mirror. He walked and kicked. It was the table. He stretched his hand forth and patted the mirror.“ Mirror! Mirror! Show me the best of me.” said he in a muffled voice. When he opened his eyes, he leapt and cheered:“ This is me back! Dinkykindy.” He lay on the sofa fixing the ceiling, trying to find out the way he had been through that dawn. He yawned and stretched his legs. His eyelids were about to flex when he got up with a start.“ I’ m going out!” said he firmly. He stepped out of the cottage and stood his back to the door. Noon sun stood still. It was warm. He turned round the cottage looking for the Housh. Was it on the right or on the left? There or over there? There was no sign at all. He followed the path he believed he had the night before looking for the stream and the oak and the owl nest but found nothing as if he had been dreaming. He told himself:“ Everything was a fake. A hallucination!” However, he could hear sounds, not similar to the owls of the night before but he could hear them. He peeped through the branches and loathed the scene. There were two masked men. One of them was bending over a girl and smiting her. He raised his hand and slapped her so violently that Dinkykindy could imagine her teeth colliding. She staggered, fell to the ground and lost conscious.“ Water, man!” yelled the tormentor at his mate.“ Go easy with her, Boss.” roared the accomplice,“ You’ re going to kill her.”“ The treasure is here. The ground rumbled when she stepped here. It is hers so she must speak.” explained the boss. The other man nodded and handled him water.“ We’ ve been through an exhausting walk till we get to it.” added the boss.“ We’ re tired, Boss. Let’ s have some rest until late in the night. She will speak. She fears dark.” The man managed and convinced his boss to stop torturing and leave her alone,“ It’ s high time,” whispered Dinkykindy from behind the branches.“ I have to intervene.”
To be continued
" Grasshopperboy " By Ezzeddine Cherni