«Chapter 2»
⟨⟨Wanning Crescent⟩⟩611Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WatezuuZ8
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We had moved into the town of Waverly, hoping for a fresh start in the developing market for required labor. It had been so for us ever since my two little brothers had been born, killing my mother in the process.
Setting up a stall in the market hadn't been the hardest thing. Everyone wanted fruits. And from my late mother's recipe for fertilizers, our garden grew the best fruits there were.
So, the stall was crowded as ever. Father had put me on duty to mind the stall and had went away himself to take care of food for the twins and myself. It turned out to be my lucky day since Etaine the magician whom I had heard so much of since the first day in the town had decided to perform today.
To be honest, I had seen better. Looking carefully, it was really obvious what trick of hand was taking place. The only thing which enraptured the gathered audience seemed to be his charm and his charm only. There could be no doubt about that. Maybe it was also the mysteriousness which lingered behind the mask.
With passive interest, I watched him from the back. Seeing as no attention was being directed to the Fruit Stall, I decided to better utilize my time educating myself.
The book told of barbarous creatures living in deep in the jungles. The last few pages were dedicated to a huge monster of a kind with an elegance of a deer and antlers like an elephant's tusks and canines like a jaguar's. That was when I decided that I had chosen some fantastic waste of time to read for the day. I did not understand why the book seller had praised the book so much. It was after hearing that voice when I learnt why.
"I see you have taken a liking to my book," Etaine said, bringing me out of my solemn thoughts directed solely at the hatred of the book which I felt at the moment. "Now, would you mind giving this poor soul a ripe bunch of bananas to satisfy his greedy stomach for the night?"
"That poor soul could just as easily have sneaked into his cloak that bunch of bananas as he did those tomatoes, if I may say so." I could not believe for the world that the guy had honestly thought I would not have noticed the very apparent bulge in his cloak which had obviously not been there when he had been performing.
"I would have left you with a large enough tip to cover for the cost of the tomatoes and you would have been grateful."
"I would have been grateful for you making a fair purchase from my humble shop."
"People seldom are grateful when they get paid for what they deem to be the rightful price of their services."
"True. But what would a man like you, or anyone for that matter, want from the gratefulness of but a fruit-seller such as I? Except, of course, to gain a favor and cash it in when he needs it."
"It has been quite a long time since I have seen the wit you possess, if I may say so."
"If you had eyes, you would see a lot more in other people. Here are your bananas and it will be five more pennies for those three tomatoes."
"How do you know that there were three and no more?"
"I have eyes."
"Everyone has eyes."
"True. But they do not use them, do they?"
"And you do?"
"With due respect, my Lord, your tricks would have surely impressed me if I didn't."
"I should feel offended."
"You don't."
"No."
"What do you feel?"
"Curiosity. Tell me..."
"Clio."
"Yes, Clio, would you answer a few of my questions to satisfy this thirsty mind?"
"It depends, really."
"On what?"
"Whether you would be willing to satisfy my curiosity or not."
He smirked. "You want to see the face behind the mask."
"As I said, I have eyes. I do not wish to see anything one would rather prefer hiding from the world. And from what my eyes tell me, it is rather an ugly secret you would take to your grave."
For once, the smug look had vanished from his eyes. He cleared his throat. "What do you wish to know, then?"
"Everything."
"Everything? No one in the six Hells could know everything."
"You know there are six Hells. Then you must know a lot, surely?"
"How can you be so certain?"
"There is something in your eyes which I see. You have traveled, much as I have all my life and maybe more. And you too, you SEE. You are not blind. But something also tells me that you would rather be blind. But you would rather learn as well. And to learn, you have to see. Quite a paradox you have caught yourself in, isn't it?" I laughed.
"Indeed." I far away look clouded his smug eyes. He was thinking, contemplating whether to agree or not. I could tell. "Well, then. I have to say, you have caught me off my gaurd, Clio."
"I'm sure I have."
"Then, I have no choice but to deny. No matter the level of curiosity that I have towards your vivid nature which you hold against me, I need to suppress it to my best. If it is any consolation, I do have a reason for my choice."
"And what would that be? For all it is worth, I am sure I could find a hundred more reasons to make you accept my offer. But you would not listen. I am sure of that too."
"This surety of you knowing something which you have merely guessed is one of the reason which intrigues me into not consenting to your offer. I believe that I would not be able to sway your opinion on anything once you have made up your mind on it unless I could prove it to you."
"I would not believe in you, is what you are trying to say?"
"If you put it bluntly, then yes. That is what was implied in the subtext."
"What is the other reason?"
"The other reason is that it would simply not be fair for you to get a shortcut into knowing everything which life has to offer to you. With brains like yours, I bet you would very well be able to get a head start in getting to know the little twists and turns of the way of life."
"Very well. I assume you to be a wise man, and who would dare defy the word of such? A fool, surely. However, may I dare ask one more question?"
"One would be alright, I guess."
"Well, here it is... A magician, such as yourself, performs tricks. I dictates to the slight of hand. A fruit-seller, such as myself, could not possibly do so. When you walked over to here, you had on a hat, a flashy cloak, a mask. When you reached here, you asked to buy fruits after stealing exactly three tomatoes, five apples and a whole bunch of grapes. My question to you is, why did I not stop you?"
For the second time, I saw surprise in his expression. "You knew?"
"I have eyes. I can see."
He cleared his throat. "Alright. Well, the answer is easy. You were busy reading my book."
"If I was, how did I know that you did steal those?"
"Well, I - "
"Cloi!" came my father's shout, then. "What are you doing? The sun is setting! The market is closed. Pack the fruits and bring them home now! Oh, I'm sorry, sir, I did not see you there. Pardon my behavior. What would you like to purchase, sir?"
"He has already paid his sum, father," I decided to intervene. "I would be closing the shop now. Thank you for the change, mister Etaine."
"Very well, then. Good night to you, sir!"
The magician bowed to the old man in respect as his quizzical gaze was fixated on me.
With one last smile at him, I dropped the shutter to the stall. It was a few moments before we heard receding footsteps.
"What a queer fellow that one was!" said my father. Looking at his expression, it was clear that he had indeed found the man... queer.
Finally, I gave myself time to laugh at the conundrum I had caught the magician inside of.
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