Brain Bash

THE SECRET BIRTHDAY KEY-2

“ Your bag will surely be at the Headmaster’s office,” Saied had assured her, leading his mates to the Headmaster’s office at once. “You went with it when Sir Patrick Park called you his office after break.”

It was a big surprise that Saied’s move brought happiness to his mates that hot time.

Truly speaking, they found the bag at Sir Park’s office.

An hour later, without wasting any time, the three friends finally left their school premises and went to Pauline’s house. As the three classmates approached Pauline’s house, Saied picked up a long, dry stick from the ground, broke it into a sizeable key level of about ten centimetres and smiled. All his classmates gazed at him as he addressed them and hoped to see a miracle occur live.

“ I promise I can change this dry stick into a metallic key,” he pledged, openly beating his chest with his right hand.

“ You amaze me,” said Francisca. “Can you change wood into metal, Saied?”

“ Are you a magician, Saied?” asked Joyce.

Francisca could do nothing but laugh till they entered Pauline’s compound.

“ No, I am not,” Saied had answered. “Have you forgotten I made a brand new pair of glasses for Mrs Ella Woods some months back?”

“ I believe you stole those glasses, Saied,” teased Francisca.

When they entered Sir Harry Tramp’s compound, they met Pauline right before her father’s house. Pauline never thought her mates could ever visit her that evening. She was so excited to see her mates finally arrive at her father’s house at long last.

“ I am happy we are finally in Pauline’s house,” said Joyce, calm.

Pauline was lonely sitting on the edge of the terrace. She had been wondering if Saied was ever going to surprise her or not with the gift he had promised her when he finally arrived. She looked into the sky and looked down back. As her mates appeared into the compound, Pauline rushed to them in joy. Her mates were surprised when they saw her. In fact, Pauline looked very worried the way she was mournfully sitting on the terrace when her mates entered her house.

“ Why did you delay, my dear mates?” she asked and cleaned her face with her newly bought face-towel from town. “What prevented you from coming to my house on time? I strongly believe that you had gone to Francisca’s house to enjoy some left over fried snails over there, hadn’t you?”

Saied looked into the sky and looked down back again. I believe he had something on his mind to tell them.

He was planning what to do.

“ Sorry about that, Pauline,” he apologized. “We were actually chatting on our way coming to your house. Moreover, it also took us a couple of hours searching for Francisca’s missing school bag.”

The other mates greeted Pauline and hugged her warmly.

“ How are you, Pauline, by the way?” asked Francisca, shaking her head. “Why are you so quiet, and mournful?”

“ I am not fine today, Francisca,” she responded.

“ Why, Pauline?” asked Joyce, gazing at her. “Did your father scold at you for returning late from school?”

Pauline shook her head in a reply. She looked hopelessly sad.

“ I have since been waiting for Saied to come and offer me the birthday gift he has promised me. I thought you were not coming to my father’s house at all. Can’t you see how worried I am?” she said.

Joyce first ignored the question.

“ Have you brought Pauline her special birthday gift?” Joyce turned to Saied on her immediate right.

“ That is what I am about to do,” answered Saied, sharp.

“ How are you going to do that, Saied, my only male mate?”

“ I am going to do that by changing this stick into a metallic birthday key that is all.” Saied had openly answered.

“ And I am sure and confident of what I am about to do for Pauline, my dear Francisca. You do not trust me, do you?” Saied had laughed.

Francisca shook her head in amazement while Joyce openly sneezed twice terribly before her mates.

“ You are kidding me, my dear Saied,” she said, openly amused before her host that sunny evening.

She still could not believe Saied.

She really doubted her mate Saied and was ready to challenge him at all costs.

“ I am not kidding. I can turn this old stick into a brand new key, which I am going to offer Pauline as her birthday gift to open the front door of your father’s house.” Saied looked up and down the third time. His face had turned red.

“ That will be wonderful, won’t that be, Francisca? And how did you know Pauline needed just a birthday key to open the front the front door of her father’s house, Saied?” Joyce shook her head.

“ Frankly speaking, my Mom just left the house for a blacksmith’s shop.” Pauline was amazed Saied spoke of a birthday key.

There was silence. Saied laughed and saw how surprised his other mates were. Then Joyce held Pauline’s right hand in surprise and said, “What for, Pauline?”

“ She has misplaced the main door key, so she went to ask the blacksmith to quickly manufacture another key for her before my dad returns from the forest this evening.” Pauline coughed just once,

Saied nodded.

“ Is Mrs Sandra Tramp not in trouble misplacing that front door key, my dear Pauline?” Joyce glanced at Pauline’s face and smiled before her best classmates.

She shook her head in sympathy with her mate Pauline. Francisca glanced at Pauline for a while.

“ Yes, she is. I believe all of you present over here know my father very well, don’t you?” She coughed terribly twice and went on. “I cannot wait to see this miracle happen live today.”

Joyce shook her head in surprise. She nodded and smiled again. She was more or less impatient. She wanted to see a miracle.

“ Is that the reason why you have decided to offer Pauline a key as her birthday gift, Saied?” Francisca too was nodding.

“ Yes. That is exactly why I am going to offer her a secret key that can open her father’s front door only as her birthday gift, Francisca. Her mother can secretly use it as a substitute to the missing one should she ever come across it again.” Saied was once more laughing.

His other mates were gazing at him.

Francisca dropped her bag on the ground in total disbelief.

“ We shall put your capability to test, Saied, if you insist,” she dared him, asking the rest of her classmates to sit on the edge of the terrace.

Once again, Saied laughed, dropped his red bag on the ground, made a few steps forward and gazed at them again.

“ Before your mother returns from town this evening with the blacksmith, Pauline, you have got a brand new key,” he persisted and dug a hole into the ground with his newly bought penknife.

The diameter of the hole could be about twenty-five centimetres and its depth about twenty.

“ What are you doing, Saied?” asked Joyce, looking extremely amazed.

“ Bring me half lit candle and an aluminium lid, Pauline,” said Saied, ignoring the question.

Pauline rushed to the back of the house and brought the requested items to him without wasting any time. Saied placed the stick horizontally in the hole and fixed the lit candle vertically on it. Saied was extremely confident of what he was doing.

So he pulled his smoking pipe out of his mouth and smiled again.

Then he covered all the items with the lid, leaving about two centimetres at one end to enable air to enter.

“ Are sure you are going to make a brand new key with that short stick and that lit candle, Saied?” asked Pauline, admiring him with rapt attention. “Do you want me to believe you, don’t you?”

“ Yes, I am. This is a kind of game I always play when I am happy. You doubt me, don’t you?” Saied placed his smoking pipe in his mouth.

“ Have you ever performed this before, Saied?” asked Joyce, wondering?”

“ Yes, I have. And this is absolutely not the first time.” Saied laughed.

“ Where did that take place, Saied?” asked Francisca, gazing at him.

“ In Egypt.”

Pauline could still not believe what Saied said he could do for her.

“ Can you tell us the people who witnessed your performance that day, Saied?” Joyce tapped Pauline on her right shoulder.

“ My Mom and some others witnesses,” answered Saied, focusing his attention on the lid. “If you still doubt, you can go and find out from her. What I am saying is that everybody should exercise patience until a brand new key is made!”

Again there was silence.

Joyce sneezed just once while Pauline too tapped on Francisca’s right shoulder gently.

Then Joyce spoke out.

“ Let us do as he says,” she advised and Joyce and Francisca all focused their attention on the lid.

So all of them complied and watched Saied perform what he had promised to do.

They all surrendered the hole and observed the procedure as it was taking place live before them.

Everybody was very quiet again.

About an hour later, Saied addressed Francisca.

“ Take the lid off the hole and do not look into it, Francisca,” he had ordered, quite sure of what he was performing.

“ I will do as I you say, Saied,” Francisca had complied and did as she was told. “But be patient with me, my dear mate.”

“ You can now bring out whatever you see in this hole, Pauline.” Saied faced Pauline and touched her right shoulder.

Joyce sneezed.

Without wasting any time, and with a gentle movement, Pauline miraculously pulled a brand new metallic key from the hole and agitated it into the air amid jubilation before the rest of her classmates.

“ How did you do that, Saied?” asked Pauline, taking her time in admiring the brand new metallic key, with great excitement.

Pauline finally brought the key down and passed it onto her mates Francisca and Joyce to also admire.

“ It is beautiful!” exclaimed Joyce, surprised.

She could not believe her eyes.

“ It is shiny too!” cried Francisca, totally overwhelmed. “You are wonderful, Saied. I have never seen a friend like you before. I hope you will show me how to perform this kind of miracles, my dear, won’t you?”

As her friends were admiring the brand new key, Mrs Sandra Tramp returned from town and saw them in that festive mood. She was accompanied by a blacksmith. The blacksmith was walking closely behind her. Mrs Sandra Tramp glared at the kids.

Quickly, Pauline snatched the new key from the hands of her friends and presented it to her mother. She was so excited and thought her mother was going to welcome the presence of the secret birthday key in good humour. But she would be shocked.

Her mother glared at her a second time. But Pauline was able to address her, though.

“ We have got a brand new key, Mom!” she informed her. “And it looks exactly like the missing one! My mate Saied just made it for me as my birthday gift! He is such a wonderful friend, isn’t he?”

The blacksmith coughed terribly once while Mrs Tramp sneezed.

“ Oh, yes, he may be one,” she had mocked her. “Anyway, thank you, though, Pauline, and you, too, Saied. But I am afraid I will never need such an ugly key in opening my door.” And pointing at Sir Charles Cohen, she went on with her pride and arrogance and said, “You see, I have a key made by this professional blacksmith. I will not need that stolen key of yours in opening my door. You better throw that key away immediately before our neighbours make mockery of your unfortunate act. I am not interested in it. I hope you have heard me right, haven’t you?”