2. The Cave

The next day they went out with their families. His brother, who lives with his grandmother, went to work. Her grandmother became very ill at night and stayed at home. Interestingly, the destination was Karazhar. When Rile heard this, he shouted for joy. He quickly got ready and was the first to get in the car. "It can't be a coincidence," he said.

At nine o'clock in the morning the car started moving. The car rumbles and fumes. The quality of gasoline was as low as usual.

Ryle is impatient to get to Karazhar. Noticing this, his father said:

- Now you see the essence of the fairy tale. We find out the truth and listen to it. Anyway, we have time until the evening. And Karazhar is a small place. In fact, we will make a "diagnosis" in half an hour, - he said with a wink.

Rile was silently angry, as if to say, "We'll see."

As soon as they arrived, Elijah and Rile shot out of the car and began to search the entire Karazhar ridge. They are looking for a magic cave that their grandmothers told them about. But they can't find any caves. He even asks a shepherd nearby. Unbeknownst to him, Rile went around the ridge three times. Still no results. He traveled far from the ridge, hoping to find them. The result remained unchanged. Exhausted, the two children had to return to their parents.

It looks like a green carpet. It looks like a red rose. Elijah and Rile were seen from the east. From a distance, they could see their heads drooping. Not only did he lose to his father, but he was very worried about his grandmother, and on the one hand, he was depressed.

"Half an hour's work took two hours," said his father, welcoming the two tired travelers. His mother was also worried:

"Come to the table, it's too late," he said. Riley stared at the horizon, not knowing what to say. The father approached:

"All right, Rile, forget it, don't worry." You're grown up, you're thirteen. If you have a grandmother, she is over seventy, what can she say? It is necessary to understand it, - he said, clapping his hands. Rile answered only in silence. It looks like a revolution in the universe inside. Cities in the fantasy world must be collapsing. Now you have to rebuild everything. Her grandmother was thinking, and her inner voice said, "Impossible, impossible ..." My grandmother was not confused. I learned a lot from him. I listened to his advice and went to high school ... "

At the beginning of the table were cooked meat, salads, potatoes and other dishes. Nobody is talking and eating. Only their fathers look at them from time to time. After eating, the two of them sat down. Rile still can't come to his senses. It seems that the fantasy world and Realism are still fighting. Elijah also struggled to find answers. He also knew that his grandmother would never lie. Even when someone asked her grandmother for a watch, she tried to give a clear answer. Grandmothers were a symbol of morality and honesty for them. And now their world is falling apart. Elijah is talking to himself, "What do we say to Grandma now, what does Grandma tell us?"

After a while, the father said to both of them:

"That's enough, guys, let's play a game," he said cheerfully. Elijah immediately said:

- What game, father? - he shuddered.

- Let's play hide and seek until your mother makes tea. It will be interesting, - said his father, taking off his shirt.

- I'm ready, let's go.

Elijah was the first:

"All right, Dad," he said, getting up. Holding his brother's hand:

"Come on, Rile, let's have some fun," he said. Without moving the rail:

"We're no longer children, we used to play hide and seek," he said.

"But you still seem to be listening to fairy tales," said his father, without laughing.

Without a sister:

- Come on, this is a traditional game of our family, come on, - he said.

The mother saw that her son did not move, but did not respond:

- Railzhan, let's go. I'll play too, - he said unexpectedly. Usually their mothers did not play, but this time it was a surprise.

"All right," Rile said slowly.

With the help of Su-li-fa, Elijah was the first to die. He covered his face in the car and began to count.

- One, two, three, four ... forty-five, ... seventy-seven ... ninety-nine, a hundred! - The blonde girl stopped counting and said:

Who hid - managed,

Shaved without hiding.

When I found it, it fell! -

he opened his eyes.

First, Elijah climbed to the top of the ridge and began to look around. It looked as if someone was standing behind a poplar tree in the south. He immediately ran to her.

"I found it, mother." It's you! He said, noticing her pleading skirt.

- You found it quickly, my dear. All right, I'll make tea, - said her mother, combing her hair.

"Now I'm looking for Rile and my father," Elijah said.

Elijah climbed the ridge again and looked around. But he could not see anyone. The girl began to descend. There are trees in front of it. No one is visible. As Elijah continued to search, he heard something clicking behind him. He then turned and blinked again. No one was seen. Looking up, Rile climbed to the top of the tree.

- Rail champion, I saw it! Cried her sister.

"All right," said his brother slowly.

- What about my father and mother? Did you find them?

- I found my mother, now we need to find our father.

- I will look for you and help you. Otherwise, you know how our father hides.

- Yes, I remember last year. He had gone into the sheepfold. We searched for an hour and couldn't find it, ha-ha-ha ...

"Ha-ha-ha!"

They go around the ridge in search of their father. It was as if someone were moving behind a large rock in the distance. Rail immediately:

- Like behind that rock, let's go slowly. Let's threaten, - he said.

"She's known for her red dress," said Elijah.

The two gradually get closer. Then his father rushes to the hole behind the stone.

"Oh! - the voice says. The children were about to reach the rock. There will be voices again.

"Father!" We found you! Elijah approached confidently. But if they look behind the stone, no one is there. Rile looks around. It is impossible to escape. You can see nothing but thin grass. From the hollow came the sound of a falling rock again.

"Ah-ah-ah!" - their fathers shouted.

- Dad! - They ran to the grassy valley. They searched with their hands. At one point, Rile felt the empty space behind the grass. When he opened the grass, he saw a small cave, dark inside. They have no doubt that something bad happened to their father. For a moment, the children do not know what to do. Their hearts are pounding. She didn't even remember what her grandmother had told her. They leaned forward:

- Daddy! - he said.

No reply. Elijah took out his cell phone and turned on the light. The cave is about four meters inside, but the father is not visible.

"No one," Rile said.

- Probably there is a pit behind it. Did my father fall somewhere? Said Elijah anxiously.

- Let's go, fast.

- Well, let's see.

The two bend down and go in together.

"Looks right here, stone or grass, Elijah," said his brother.

At one point, when he reached the end of the cave, the ground beneath his feet collapsed:

"Ah-ah-ah!"

"Ah-ah-ah!" - They both fell down.

A-a-a-a-a-a! - They are rolling down from the darkness. There is no hair, only grass on the ground. They rolled like barrels for about a minute and finally fired into space. He rolled a little further and stopped at the foot of the ridge. They got up and looked around. There was a ridge full of trees. The sun is shining.

- Dad! Cried Elijah.

No one is visible. Just behind a tree about a hundred meters away, two children are watching.

"Let's go and ask," Rile said.

"All right, let's go," her sister muttered.

The two shook hands and approached the new babies. Thoughts began to come to Riley. The children are also waiting behind the tree. They look like children. As they approached, Elijah noticed a difference in their appearance. But he can't say exactly what the difference is. About ten meters away, their faces were clearly visible, and their noses were long.

Elijah and Rile's eyes widened. In front of them are real shocks. One is yellow, the other is black. The clothes are similar to the Middle Ages: shirts, pants. I immediately remembered what her grandmother had said. The two shocks took a step forward:

"Hello," he said.

The shocks get closer and closer:

"Hello," he said.

Silence ... Riley was the first to answer:

- Hello ... are you shocked? Where is this place?

- Yes, we are shocked. This is the world of Shoko. How do you know? - said the extension.

"Grandma told me," Rile said.

Elijah couldn't stand it.

"Yeah!" Grandma was right! Massagan! - He jumped up and couldn't come to his senses. "I had to listen to my grandmother. It would have been much better then. "

"I told you so," said his brother happily. - Now our father sees ...

- By the way, where is my father? - said her sister, changing her appearance. Rail turned to two shocks:

- Have you seen our father? - he said.

- And who are you? Said the second shock.

- We are students. Oh, we are human, - said Elijah. The younger brother looked at his sister:

- It sounds the same, "our man", - he said with a smile.

- In the past we heard about one person. That should be your father. He was taken away by the salt miners, - said the yellow shock.

- How? Who are the pickles? Rile frowned.

- You need to hide quickly. There may be salt marshes nearby. We will explain everything later, - said the black shock. - We need to get out of here as soon as possible.

They all ran north together. While running:

- What are your names? Said Elijah.

- I am Shokaim.

- And my name is Arts.

- My name is Elijah, and this is my brother Rile.

"I'm glad," Rile said.

After running for a while and over a cliff, he stopped and took a break.

"Uff, we're here," said Shokai. - There are no salt mines here. We live in a house behind a visible ridge. As he approached the village at the edge of the forest, Rile stopped and said:

- Are your houses made of chocolate? He asked. She must have remembered what her grandmother said. Arts was amazed:

- Of course, what else but chocolate? - he said without understanding.

- Massagan! Said Rile.

"What about you?"

"We have stone and brick," Elijah replied.

"Yeah, a stone?" We use it only as a stone ornament. Only for kings. This is a very rare and valuable thing. That's amazing! - Chokai's eyes widened.

- Shoko In the world, all buildings are made of chocolate, and sometimes chewing gum is used, - said Arts calmly. - Now you see, you think, you taste.

They approach a village made of chocolate. From real chocolate ... At the door I was greeted by a shocked sister who came with a long nose. Shokai approached:

- Sister, people have come! - he said.

Her sisters looked at them as if they had seen two main people. Elijah whispered to his brother:

"When people come, you feel different," he said.

"Yes, we are human," Rile said.

They looked around the chocolate house. Rile even tasted the house. He licked without telling anyone. Incredibly, the house is made of real chocolate. And the roof of the house was green. The houses next door were just as sweet and delicious. The taste of the house is much lighter than ground chocolate, and the taste is tongue-in-cheek.

Elijah still couldn't believe it.

- This is real chocolate! Impossible ... it's real chocolate, - he said.

"Yes, I even tasted it," Rile said, still surprised.

They entered the house and sat down at the table. The two guests looked at the walls of the house again and again.

"Wait, I'll bring it now," said a voice. Her sisters began to bring a variety of chocolates. They even brought red chocolate hidden in a box.

- It is better if guests come. You will eat something, - said Arts.

"Yeah, do you?" Rile said with a smile.

"Hee-hee-hee," Elijah laughed. Because no one but his sister understood.

One day, Shoki apa came into the room and said:

- Now you eat sticks! - he said.

Two shocks:

- Hooray! Hooray! We will eat sticks, - they were happy.

Elijah and Rile look at each other in confusion. Elijah was embarrassed:

- For what? - he said.

She left the room again and brought a large plate full of sticks. The two guests now understand the joys of shock. Because it was a chocolate bar. This stick was made of unusual green chocolate. The people at the table start eating sticks. Children can eat sticks until they are full. The taste of chocolate is light and does not break the heart. Unfortunately, all the children on earth eat only such sticks ...

- How to find our father? Rile asked.

- The land of salt marshes is far away and very dangerous, - said the sister.

- Who are the pickles? Tell me, - said Elijah.

- They are our enemies. Sauces love bitterness, and we love sweets. They are very dangerous. He doesn't feel sorry for anyone, he can even freeze them with salt, - said the sister in a frightened voice.

"Mmm, that's interesting," said Elijah.

- Only Shokohan can help you.

- Who is Shokohan? Said Rile.

- Don't you know Shokohan? Said the sister in astonishment.

"I'm sorry, we don't know," Elijah said uneasily.

- He is the king of the Shoko world. Our great support. He is a good man, we all love him, - said Shokai.

Looking at Sister Arts:

- After you have eaten, go to Shokokent. Tell the people in the palace about these people. '

"I'm going out now, I'm going to have a meal on the way," said Artsz, getting up. He rode on a horse tied in front of the house. The sister turned to two people:

- You will have to wait a few days. You will stay in our house until the answer comes from Shokohan, - he said.

- Thank you, sister, can we go back and see? Said Elijah.

- Of course, but don't go to the other side of the ridge. It is salty and dangerous. OK? Said the sister.

- Well, that's clear, - said the guys.

After dinner, the two guests begin to explore the world of Shoko. They go to a nearby town and start exploring. Of course, Shokai was with him.

The two guests and Chokai first went to the city center. The shocks they met along the way were as if they had never been seen before. Indeed, most had not seen anyone. Some approach and greet.

- Welcome, people! - He was lying.

The central streets of the city are very clean. The roads are made of candy. After a while, the central market began. The shocks were boiling here like ants. Some were selling expensive herbs, others were selling utensils.

Elijah once said:

- I think we can eat more here than in our world, - he said.

"Yes, yes, sometimes when it's snowing you don't know how to eat," murmured Shokai. Then everyone laughed together.

"Sha-ha-ha-ha ..."

Simultaneously, the chain of stores began. First of all, the guests entered the bakery. When I entered the store, I could smell the chocolate bread. Chocolate bread was sold here. Shokai approached the seller:

"Give me four loaves of bread and three baursaks," he said.

"Thirty-two," said the fat saleswoman.

"Here, take it," said Chokai, taking a brown square of money out of his pocket. The saleswoman gave the bread separately and the baursak separately. This is because buyers usually eat baursak hot. Chokai puts the bread in a bag and bites the baursak.

"Taste it," he said politely to the guests.

Elijah ate without waiting.

- Mmm, how delicious. It looks like our baursak. But there is a taste of chocolate.

- Three children left the store and went to the opposite cafe called Shoko-Shok. Stunned. The three of them sat down at an empty table by the window. The waitress came immediately.

- What is the order? - Said a girl in a brown dress, preparing a pen. Noticing that the guests did not know what to say:

- There are many types of chocolate. The sweetest chocolates in town are here. There is liquid chocolate, hard, dense, hot, cold, ice, and even green chocolate, - he tried to help. "I need air chocolate," he said.

Elijah thought for a moment.

"I have hot chocolate," he said.

"And bitter chocolate for me," Rile said loudly. At that moment, the shockers, who were looking at them again and again, glanced at the guests. The waitress stared:

- No !! - he said.

Shokai immediately stepped on Rail's feet:

"Shh, don't say that here," he whispered.

- The word bitter? Said Rile, not understanding.

- We have such chocolate. You should be here too.

The waitress doesn't know what to say. This is the first time that this word has been spoken here for three hundred years. The last thing he said was a mad paralyzed man.

Trying to rectify the situation:

- He wanted to say "Assssa". That's a cook, - he tried to laugh. "Sho-ho-ho-ho ..."

Inevitably from the waiter:

"Shi-hi-hi ..." came the sounds.

"Then I have ice chocolate," Rile said, realizing the situation. "Ho-ho-ho."

The order will arrive in ten minutes. All three start eating.

"Great! Elijah shook his head.

Rile was licking chocolate ice cream. After five or ten minutes, Chokai had nothing left. There were empty plates in front of the two guests. Surprised:

"What's that?" You have to eat until the end, - he pointed to the plates.

Elijah did not understand:

"And the dishes?" He said with a sigh.

- Of course, these plates are also made of very tasty chocolate. It's a shame to leave the plates. Try to eat, - Shokai tried to persuade them.

Elijah felt uncomfortable:

"I've washed many dishes in my life, but I haven't eaten," he said.

Elijah looked around and put the plate in his mouth. Nobody was watching. He licked first. His eyes widened. Then he was bitten.

- How wonderful! Neighboring Rail.

"I've heard of flying saucers, but they're delicious ... it's really interesting," Rile said, looking at Chokai, still not sure what to do. - I thought you were joking when it came to eating dishes.

"We don't lie, even if it's a joke," said Shokai, raising his chest. - But it was not a joke.

Rile looked to the right and to the left and bit the yellow plate.

- This ice is more than chocolate! - He could not hide his surprise.

- Sho-ho-ho, some shokis come here just to eat. The dishes here are also special.

Elijah could not control himself:

- What a pleasure! Do not wash dishes. I wish we had the same, - he said.

Rile was still eating.

"Eat a dish here, and then you'll be beaten by my mother, wondering if she's possessed," he said.

Surprised:

- It is strong. Mother's canes are very valuable here. They often make it with their own hands, it is very sweet, - he said.

- Yes, especially the loads are very special.

When everyone had eaten, they went outside. A four-year-old boy is crying in front of the cafe. He grabbed his mother's skirt:

- Shokoaru ate the wheel of my toy car, take another one !! He cried in a loud voice. Behind him is his sister, who is licking her lips.

Shokai waved his hand:

- Come on, we often have such negative things. Basically, toys need to be salted, because they are not made to the standard, - he said.