The magical smile

A Unique Skill

Menker and Mekuanint left with a powerful sorcerer to revive Queen Sheba from the dead.

After Menker and the others had left, I began developing unusual abilities. I could hear sounds from far away. I could float in the air. I could pass through closed doors. I did not know how it was happening, but somehow my mind had come to believe that I could do these things.

Tonight, I was standing in the palace garden. A cold night breeze was blowing through the garden. I thought I heard voices coming from near one of the palace windows, so I focused my ears.

> “How did your journey to capture Henok go?” I heard Oksi ask.

> “We didn't go there to capture Henok,” Tanzan replied.

> “Then why did you go?” she asked.

> “We went in search of Kosen's flute,” Tanzan answered.

> “And did you find it?” she asked.

I heard Tanzan take a deep breath.

> “We didn't find it,” he told her.

> “Then what were you doing all that time?” she asked.

> “We were fighting with Emu and the Ganel who was with her,” he replied.

> “And did you defeat them?” Oksi asked.

> “They escaped, but I lost many of my soldiers in the battle. And when we were returning to the palace, most of the soldiers deserted me along the way,” he said.

I could hear despair in his voice.

After that, I heard nothing more. The light in the room from which their voices had been coming also went out.

I could feel the cold night wind penetrating my body. Little by little, the cold began spreading toward my heart. I wanted to remain where I was and wait until dawn.

The cold gradually grew stronger, as though it were about to cover my heart with ice. But I refused to give in. I could feel the warmth inside me struggling against the cold air outside.

I closed my eyes.

In my imagination, I pictured a fire burning inside my heart. The flames began melting the ice that had covered my heart.

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Queen Sheba

When I opened my eyes, I realized that dawn had arrived. I rose upward, floating through the air, and began surveying the area from beside the window of Tanzan’s bedroom. Oksi was asleep, facing the window. Tanzan must have already gotten up, because I couldn't see him.

I passed through the closed glass window like sunlight passing through it. Once inside, I went over to Oksi, lay down beside her, and began watching her. For the first time, I noticed how beautiful she was.

Oksi suddenly turned over and woke up. I thought she would be startled when she saw me. But instead, she smiled and kissed me.

I placed my hands over her eyes and made her close them. At that very moment, I left the room.

I rose higher and floated above the garden. From a distance, I noticed Menker and the others approaching. I left the palace and met them on the road.

I also saw the queen named Sheba. She was incredibly beautiful—exceedingly elegant.

> “Did you find the queen’s donkey’s leg?” I asked them.

> “What will surprise you is that the donkey’s leg was also buried in Ethiopia—right beside the queen’s tomb,” Menker replied.

> “If the donkey’s leg has been found, then let’s go straight to Tatey now,” I told Menker.

> “Good. You two take Sheba to the palace. Tell Tanzan that she is my friend and ask him to give her a room to stay in,” Menker said, looking at Mekuanint and the sorcerer.

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Tatey

Menker and I went to where Tatey was. Even when we reached her, she stood there without showing any reaction, as though she hadn't seen us.

> “Mother!” Menker said, longing evident in his voice.

> “Which one of you is dead?” Tatey asked casually, as though it were nothing unusual.

> “Mother! I've missed you,” Menker said.

> “Listen, child. Do you know why I've lived this way? For a very long time, whenever someone from the Secret World died, the soul passing through my body caused me tremendous pain. So I trained myself to become numb to it, simply so I could endure the suffering. Therefore, this mother-and-son sentiment of yours doesn't affect me,” she told him bluntly.

When Menker realized that she was not going to change her mind, he took out the donkey's leg and handed it to me.

I took the donkey's leg and, using my imagination, created fire around it. As the donkey's leg began to burn, the smoke it produced entered Tatey's nostrils and made her sneeze violently.

> “I want you to give me Almiris's amulet,” Menker asked her.

> “Why do you want it?” she asked.

> “I'm going to bring Almiris out of the world of the dead,” he replied.

> “If you do that, Tanzan's power will be put in danger,” she warned him.

> “What do I care about Tanzan's power?” he said.

He took the amulet and passed straight through her body. Tatey, however, did not appear to feel any pain at all.

> “Are you the one they call Henok?” she asked me, approaching where I stood.

> “Yes, I am,” I replied.

> “You are extremely handsome,” she said, and her gaze changed into one of affection.

> “Perhaps,” I said, avoiding her eyes.

> “You are very attractive to me when I look at you,” she said, lifting my chin and gazing hungrily at my lips.

> “To tell you the truth, you have a very attractive figure. But I don't start romantic relationships with women whom I know I'll never be able to see again,” I told her, trying to make her give up on me.

> “But it's only one day. What's wrong with one day?” she asked me.

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Almiris

As soon as Tatey finished getting dressed, Almiris and the others arrived.

> “From this moment onward, all the powers you possess will disappear,” Tatey said.

Menker and Almiris didn't seem concerned. They walked toward me.

> “Meet him. He stayed with me until the very end during our efforts to bring you back from the world of the dead. He is my best friend of all time,” Menker said.

> “My name is Almiris,” Almiris said, extending his hand to greet me.

> “Henok,” I replied, shaking his outstretched hand.

> “I hope we will become great friends,” Almiris said with a smile.

******************************************

Ganel

When we arrived at the palace, Emu and a demon named Ganel were presenting Tanzan with a proposal for negotiations.

“As you have confirmed yourself by trying it, you and your brothers have lost your special abilities. The number of your soldiers has also been greatly reduced. Therefore, we advise you to voluntarily give up your power before another unnecessary war breaks out,” Ganel said.

“That can never happen,” Almiris said angrily.

“Oh, I don’t mind at all. To be honest, I had grown tired of the life of a king,” Tanzan said.

“Are you serious?” Almiris asked him.

“Yes. It may seem crazy to others, but I’ve had enough. Even my personality changed after I became king. Every day, I had to be angry so that the creatures would fear me. I had to speak harshly so that they would respect me. Even my relationship with my wife became strained after that because I couldn’t give her enough time. I lost many people I loved, including Yotor, because of this power.

“Menkir and Henok, gather the people. Let there be a feast. Today, I will gladly hand over my power to Emu and her partner.”

Immediately, Menkir issued a proclamation calling the people to gather. A grand feast was held inside the palace.

For the first time, Tanzan came to me without wearing his crown on his head.

“You know, I felt relieved when the crown was taken off my head. From now on, people won’t be afraid of me. They’ll approach me as a friend instead,” he said, and then went over to Oksi.

Oksi stood alone, sipping wine and watching men and women embracing and dancing.

“How do you feel about me being removed from power?” I heard him ask her. Didn’t I tell you that my ears can hear from a distance?

“Nothing. In fact, I’m happy, because from now on, no one can force me to be your wife,” she replied.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I mean that someone else is entering my heart. Don’t judge me, because I knew you as someone who would die for love, not someone who would fight for power. It was that Tanzan—the one who would die for love—that I fell in love with.”

“Even now, we can fix everything,” he said in a voice struggling not to lose hope.

“It’s too late. The place you had in my heart has now been replaced by someone else,” she told him.

“Is that person Henok?” he asked.

I didn’t hear what she answered after that, because when Saba, the Ethiopian woman, walked past me, her perfume tickled my nose.

What kind of perfume is she wearing that makes the whole air smell like this?

While I was thinking about Saba, Oksi came over and kissed me on the cheek.

“I was looking for you,” she said.

“My heart was looking for you too,” I replied.

She smiled happily. But my attention was still on Saba.

Saba walked over and sat beside Tanzan.

“At least tonight, there won’t be any soldiers around to disturb us while we make love,” she said.

Saba and Tanzan began having an intimate conversation. From time to time, Saba would rest her hands on his thighs and laugh. Tanzan, however, looked as though he was upset. I tried to listen to their conversation.

“You’re upset. Will you come back?” she asked him.

“Yes. Today they took both my wife and my power away from me. Fine, they can take my power—but why did they have to take away the wife who could comfort me and give me strength?” he said.

“Oh, poor thing!” Saba said, touched by his words.

“Shall we?”

I couldn’t tell whether it was Saba or Tanzan who asked that question.

Oksi pulled me along and took me to the bedroom.

“Tanzan, don’t blame me for everything that happened. Blame fate instead. Fate took you away from me and gave you to me,” I said to myself.

***""*""**$$**$$*****

When I woke up in the morning, I hurriedly put on my trousers. As I was trying to fasten my belt, I bent down and kissed Oksi on the forehead.

She smiled—that magical smile of hers.