Tell Me A Story

Chapter 26: The Streak of Blood

The boy glanced innocently at the towering man before him, his young mind trying to grasp what he had just heard. But he could neither make head nor tail out of it.

"Is it a story?" he asked enthusiastically. A good old story never tired his ears.

"No," Aranchis shook his head, "This isn't a story. It's reality and above all, it's about you."

George crinkled at the word reality.
"I ... don't understand!"

"Here," said Aranchis, "Come out of there now!" He extended a hand to the child, who curled his fingers in his.

He stepped carefully out of the herb garden, ensuring none was damaged. Once he was out, he cast a look on Dada, a look that dwelled somewhere in between that of curiosity and utter confusion.

Aranchis beamed at the child. "How about we go for a walk?"

George smiled mischievously. He loved to go anywhere but home. Aranchis began moving forward, taking small steps so that George could keep up with him.

"Where are we going?" he asked, unable to contain his delight inside.

"To a palace."

George gasped.

"A palace? Like the ones in your stories?" He was way too excited at the prospect of getting to see a palace for real. It was something he'd only heard about in stories. Dada had told him it was much bigger than the house they lived in. Yet he had been unable to imagine how big a palace could be.

"Yes, a palace. And a very big one too."

"So what's the story about this palace?"

"It's a long story. Do you want to know what it is?"

"Yes!" he screamed in joy and Aranchis quickly warned him to be silent. They were now passing through the path next to the church.

"Is this the palace?" asked the boy, his voice full of joy.

"No. It isn't. But we will soon be around it."

George's face fell for a moment but it immediately lit up. Aranchis walked past the church to enter the forest, with young George close on his heels.

A dark shadow flickered over George's face as they dwelled deeper into the silent woods. He'd never seen so many trees at once and it was stirring up something inside him.

Darkness was falling around. The last rays of sun were lingering in the sky, waiting to be consumed. Stars began popping up in the sky, blinking as if they were eyes of the sky. George was so engrossed in the transition above that he failed to notice that they'd halted.

With a slight jerk, he shot his glance downward and gasped almost immediately. The both of them were standing before a gigantic and flamboyant wonder of a building.

"A palace," uttered George, amazed.

Aranchis smiled at him. "It's yours!"

"Huh?" a cry of surprise escaped George's mouth.

"There's a man inside it. He's the King of this Palace. He sent me out of the Palace in order to possess the crown. In short, this Palace actually belongs to you."

"Why would he do that?" asked George.

In that instant, Aranchis knew that he'd succeeded in manipulating the boy's mind.

"It's because he was greedy. He is greedy."

The boy still hadn't taken his eyes off the grandeur of the structure before him. But he twitched his face at the word greedy.