Lunja, the Atlas witch

Chapter 4 : The crow and the two brothers

By the end of the day, when they arrived at the cave, Ammar put the turban at the entry, he gave it an awkward look and heaved a sigh of relief.

Lunja grabbed a loaf of bread, hand it to her father, " I am tired, I will go to sleep..." she said to him, Ayyach nodded his head to her.

Ammar gazed at her for a moment, he blinked his eyes when he heard her father clearing his throat, Ayyach glared at him, Ammar felt embarrassed so he tried to change the subject and said " how did...she got her powers?", Ayyach was stunned by the question " why do you want to know?" he asked, Ammar raised his eyebrows and answered " After what happened today, i guess i deserve an explanation".

Ayyach nodded his head, stood up and went to add some woods to the fire, he then poured two cups of tea, handed one to Ammar and then sat next to him.

" When her mother died, my daughter was overwelmed with grief, she used to visit her mother's grave everyday" Ayyach took a sip of tea, Ammar was listening carefully to him, Ayyach then proceeds " One day, she didn't come back, i waited for her, but she didn't show up, so i thought something happened, i went to cemetery, where her mother was buried, but i didn't find her, i spent the whole night looking for her, then...", "then what...?" Ammar asked, Ayyach looked at him and smiled " the next morning she woke up here, at the same spot she is sleeping in now", " And what happened after that? Did she tell you what really happened? " Ammar insisted, Ayyach shaked his head, " I didn't ask her...".

Ayyach stood up and intended to go to sleep, " She was alright...that was all that matters to me at that moment" he said, he covered himself and closed his eyes. Ammar was not satisfied, he didn't get his answer, yet he didn't insist on Ayyach, they really had enough during that day.

The next morning, Ammar woke up, Lunja was not there. Ammar looked for her, then for the turban, but he didn't find it, so he went out to look for Lunja, thinking she had it.

When Ayyach woke up, he noticed that both of them were messing, so he immediately went looking for them.

Down in the foothill, Ammar found Lunja, she was digging a grave for the skeleton they found, his eyes popped out, he screamed "What are you doing ?", Lunja didn't blink an eye, she continued digging. Ammar got furious, he went straight towards her and grabbed her by her elbow, their eyes met again and he couldn't utter a word, he got lost in her alluring black eyes.

Lunja looked at him then at his big hand on her arm. She immediately snatched her arm from his hand, "What is wrong with you ?" she yelled at him. Ammar woke up from his daydreaming, he pulled himself together

" I am... I am sorry...I...I can't let you do this..." he said, she looked at him then at the skeleton, " why can't you let the women have a proper burial ?" she asked, Ammar heaved a sigh of regret " I need to take the skeleton back with me as evidence, otherwise...", "Otherwise what ?" Lunja insisted, " the curse won't vanish and my brother will die..." Ammar yelled at her.

Ayyach arrived to the coast where Lunja and Ammar were standing, as soon as he got closer to them, he was shocked by his daughter's words,

" I will heal your brother, just let this poor woman rest", Ayyach's eyes popped out, he quickly got closer and faced his daughter, "Are you crazy ? You will not meddle with this matter". He grabs his daughter's hand and tends to leave.

Ammar was still standing in his place, amazed by her words, " why didn't I think about it before...she healed me, she can also heal my brother... wait..." he said, he followed Ayyach and Lunja and stops them,

" Wait..." he insisted, and he looked at them for a moment. He then gets on his knees, takes a deep breath and goes " I am begging you, please help me..." he looks at Ayyach, who does not utter a word...