Inspirational English, Issue 39, July/Aug 2017 Inspirational English, Issue 39 July Aug 2017 | Page 17

Continued from previous page
“Go to your den, mum’s boy. Go! Runaway.” yelled the tall boy, “Failure.”
“What’s happened to your pal?” asked the hunchback.
“He’s not my friend. He’s just an acquaintance.” Protested the boy faintly and added, “He must have some
business.”
The man was aware that the boy was lying but he pretended not to have noticed it and instead, he
asked: “What’s that name of yours, by the way?”
“Dinkykindy.” replied the boy.
The man smiled. He found it strange as a name.
The boy shrugged: “They called me saw.”
Everyone could notice that the sign he had made was not that of indifference and lack of concern. In
fact, he cared a lot. He got embarrassed whenever he mentioned his name.
Dinkykindy and the hunchback let frustration, doubt and irony carried away by the din of the party.
“What’s your…….,” the boy started but the man pushed
him through the folks. The boys’ words trailed behind
unfinished. He tried to make him forget all about his
friend and the names. Then he squeezed his
shoulders. They stopped in the middle of the people.
They faced each other. Music was loud and the noise
was unbearable. The man grabbed the boy’s arm and
dragged him a bit farther.
“What is that you want?” shouted he.
“Flying away.” replied the boy self-confidently.
The hunchback made as though he hadn’t heard
what the boy had said. However, he hummed the
tune of a song he had once heard: fly, fly, fly away.
He murmured without letting a word escape from his
lips. He raised his head up to the sky. It was a late
afternoon. He looked as if he were counting the
clouds or communicating with the streaks of lights
left by the fireworks that exploded from time to time.
The man grabbed the boy by the shoulder. It hurt
the boy but he didn’t complain.
–
thought the boy.
The man pushed him forward. They moved farther from people and stood still.
The hunchback’s look was still fixing the air. Finally, he whispered: “Turbulences!”Then he fixed the boy
and asked: “Boy, do you know the way to my place, the Housh?”
“Sure I do!” responded the boy hastily. He wanted to escape from this hive and this beast as his friend
had already done.
“There’s a cottage minutes farther. I want you to go, look in the place and fetch me the crystal ball.
Watch out!No noise! No light! For fear they catch you.” warned the hunchback.
"Grasshopperboy" By Ezzeddine Cherni
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