3 Gadara

But was I really sleeping? Of course not@ After I had sent the last message, I went out the toilet and I came back to the bedroom with my phone. Eve had finished chatting. She was lying down the bes and she listened to music. Her black hair was chignoned and her dee-brown eyes stared at me with an inquiring expression. She perceived my sadness and took off her headphones and asked:

- "Had you a quarrel with Rosalind again?"

- "No. She does not want to speak with me anyway." I replied.

- "So what is your problem? You look like a painful soul." She was always staring at me. With a hesitation, I answer:

- "A guy." Her face lighted up with a delighted expression. She sat down.

- "A guy? I want all the details." She said in an excited voice.

Then I related my date to my younger sister and I showed jer the messages I had sent. After laughing a lot, she advised me not to worry about. At her 14, she had had already four boyfriends. It was not surprising since she was 7 at her first date.

- "You know the boys better than me. You are all the time with boys. So don't think like a girl now!" She said.

- "What do you try to say?" I asked a bit confused.

- "Suppose that you are a good-looking and rich boy and you want to seduce a poor and ugly girl. She loves you but she is also shy. What will you do?"

- "POOR AND UGLY?!" I exclaimed.

- "Sorry. Not rich and beautiful" She mended. "What will you do?"

- "Ah... I will try to make her confident." I replied.

- "And if it does not work? If she ridicules you as you did? Don't forget that you are a proud boy." She retorted.

- "I will show us that she is not indispensable. In this way she will come to me by herself." I answered after a short reflection.

- "Your guy is not different of all the guys." She said, satisfied. " I guess he will send you a message later saying that he was busy or his battery was low."

- "Yeah! You are right. Anyway I am always sad. And if he really does not want me now?"

- "It will mean that he does not deserve you." She replied. She lean her hands on my shoulders and added "Al you are the kindest and the more honest girl. But if he replied tonight please, fake you are sleeping."

At this moment, Boris first message arrived. I read it in a loud voice.

- "Sorry. My battery was low. I could not find my charger." We glanced at each other and laugh loudly.

- "I told you. He is like any guy. Don't respond." Eve said.

- "Oh another message from him!" I said and I read it "Don't worry! The fault is mine."

- "He does not believe any word he is writting. Don't reply." She daid.

- "Alana?" I read in a low voice the last message. I felt a bit guilty and Eve could see it.

- "Listen" She said "You are not doing bad. You will reply tomorrow. Ok?

- "Ok!" I answered and I adeed with a fake smile "thanks Eve!

I need to rest now. Good night!"

I lay down, took the bedsheet and managed to sleep one hour later. That night I had another strange dream. I was in the dark forest. The small house where was the man who had tried to drown me was back to me. But the dogs and the panther appeared again and chased me. Exhausted, I climbed a tree. The dogs waited down but the panther climbed too. "Help! Please somebody to save me!" I cried. I was desperate when a man appeared. I could not see his face but I was sure he was man. He came to the tree, killed the dogs, climbed the tree, took the panther by its queue and violently threw it in the ground. The panther ran away.

- "Take my hand." He said kindly.

- "Who are you?"I took his hand and I said. I always could not see his face.

We get down the tree. He helped me to go out the dark forest. When I was at the edge of the forest I could see light, butterflies, birds, flowers in a meadow. Then I asked again: "Who are you?"

- "My name is Argan." He replied. But before I could see his face I woke up.

I looked at the clock. 6: 02. Too soon to send a message to Boris. I went to take a shower, got downstairs to have my breakfast. My mother was alone in the kitchen. I greeted her. The sky was full ofcumulonimbus. She advised to take an umbrella. I followed this advice. She was right. Barely had I gone out, rain began to fall. In the schoolyard, I saw Rosalind having fun with her friends. I was jealous but I thought that maybe Rosalind was not so happy to be my friend. It was all my fault. She glanced at me, I turned my face, a bit ashamed. I went to the classroom and gazed at my phone. 'Good morning. How are you?' No to serious. I erased this sentences from my phone. 'Hi'... Then ring sounded 7: 30. "Shit! I have sent no message." I pushed on 'send'. I had not noticed that, sat near me, was looking at what I was doing.

- "Your boyfriend?" She asked and she smiled.

- "Ah..." I said, astonished.

Then mathematics' teacher enter the classroom. At the break Rosalind told her friends to go ahead since she knew that I preferred stay in class.

- "Alana. I am sorry for everything I told you. I want us to get along again." She said all a sudden. I replied nothing just looked at her in an inquiring way.

- "Are you angry again? Say something Alana!"She added.

- "I was not angry. Are you serious? You forgave!" I said and my voice went crescendo. I just realized we were reconciling.

- "Of course. As you use to say this quarrel was so 'childish'" We laughed at this sentence of Rosalind.

She wanted to know what I did the last months and asked me who was Boris. So I related to her what happened the day before. She admitted that actually she knew Boris well. He wast he brother of his boyfriend Idriss. And this night they saw us in front of my place by the window of her home. What I understood was that actually she was to be my friend just because of Boris and because to have a boyfriend looked more normal for her. Then I was disappointed.

- "Do you want to be my friend again just because of Boris and Idriss?" I asked. She opened eyes wide and stayed a few seconds speechless.

- "No. I wanted to be reconciled with you before this. This was just a pretext. You are always the same Alana." She retorted on reproachful tone. She seemed sincere so I apologised.

- "Forgive me!" I simply said.

- "Don't worry. I know your distrust better than anyone. It missed me too. I missed you."

- "I missed you too." I said and took my phone from my bag. Maybe Boris replied. Yes! Two messages. She came closer to read with me.

Hello!

From: Boris 7: 35

How are you?

From: Boris 7: 36

I am GREAT; thank you.

From: Alana 9: 40

And you?

From: Alana 9: 40

- "He is calling!" yelled Rosalind on an excited voice.

- "What would I do?" I asked, frightened.

- "Pick up! Pick up!" She repeated. "Let's go!"

I picked up and said :

- "Hello Boris!" I tried to act normally.

- "Hi Alana!" He said so naturally.

- "Say something!" Murmured Rosalind. But before I found something to say he asked:

- "What time you finished today?"

- "1 pm.. Why?" I replied.

- "We can spend the afternoon together and go the arts school after. Are you agree?" He wanted a date.

- "Say yes! Yes!" Rosalind murmured when she saw that I was speechless.

- "It's a great idea. I agree." I answered. Rosalind exulted like a little girl.

- "Fantastic! I'll be at your school by 1: 30. Ok?"

- "Ok. See you soon!" I concluded.

- "See you later! Please greet Rosalind for me. I can hear her near you. Bye." He hung up.

Boris was in the salon with his brother. Idriss had a broken arm.

- "I told you not to attack her alone. You would wait for me! Look at the results. You lost all your servants are dead." Boris reproached to his brother.

- "Don't worry. They were just my classmates. They wanted to know what is the true power. I gave it to them. They did not know that they will die today. Are you sad for these humans." Replied Idriss.

- "You don't understand. She could kill you." Continued Boris.

- "NO. That's not true if this man did not appear, I would have caught her what you can't manage to do since one year." Idriss retorted.

- "I don't agree with you, my dear son. If you had been too close to her she would have killed you. Never underestimate a guardian especially... this guardian." Said a voice from nowhere. The red witch appeared in a red cloud.

- "Mum!" They said with fear.

- "Can I see this arm?" She asked to Idriss.

- "Of course. mum." He answered. She took his arm and a red light went out from her hands and let the arm.

- "You can take off this ridiculous plaster." She said and she added "Talk about the last night, Idriss."

- "Last night I heard you and Boris talking about his failure with Alana. So I decided to do this work with my servants." Began Idriss.

- "You decided. Interesting! Since when you take the decisions? When I am not here you have to obey to your elder brother." She yelled and said in a sweet voice "Continue please."

- "we were about to catch her. She climbed a tree and I followed her. Then she cried and asked for help..."

- "Continue" said the witch.

- "And then a strange man appeared and killed all my servants. He threw me down too. And I fled." He dared not look up.

- "That's all?" She asked.

- "Yes mum. I could not see his face. He was masked like Boris uses to be" Idriss replied.

- "A watchman. Is she always in the forest?"

- "I have searched for her in all the forest with my servants. I did not find her. She has escaped." Replied Boris.

- "And Rosalind?" She asked again.

- "She always under the influence of Idriss but this one has diminued. Today she reconciled with Alana." Said Boris.

The witch's eyes turned dark. She looked at Idriss and the latter began to writhe in pain such as he fell on the ground.

- "Your incompetence can lead us to our ruin. I wanted our brother for this work but you insisted to help us. And you help us like this? I have been waiting for three housand years." She said with a pityless look.

- "Mother! Ah! Mother! Please stop. Please forgive me!" Implored Idriss on the ground.

- "I beg you mother. Forgive him. We will take the ascendant again." Said Boris. The witch stopped and her eyes became blue like before.

- "You are lucky to bring my blood. If you were my servant you will be dead." And talking to Boris she said "I hope you will disappoint me today. In this case I'll be do the work myself and Attack her family too."

- "I promised to succeed this time. Mother." Replied Boris.

- "I swear, I, Gadara, guardian of the magic of the fire to take my revenge on the guardians.