The Fantastic adventures of prince Jeremie

I THE ORPHAN-2

“Chelsea ?”

“Jeremie ?”

“That’s me! Let me in!”

“What do you want ?”

“There’s something serious.”

Jeremie perceived few laughs.

“Come in! It’s open.”

She was sitting straight on her bed, in her night grown.

“Why aren’t you sleeping, you coward?”

The little boy became nervous. He didn’t like that a girl treat him a coward.

“I hear noises from the ceiling of my room. I want to see what’s on.”

Chelsea smiled out of malice.

“And you want me to go with you, don’t you?”

“Yes, right now.”

“OK.”

She jumped out of bed and put on her dressing gown.

“I heard those noises, too. I hope it will be worth it.”

She swiftly combed her long, silky and shiny hair. She looked really pretty and he enjoyed looking at her. They went up the wooden stairs. Jeremy went first despite his funk. He even succeeded in opening the antique oak door with its black iron hinges. It grated for a long while. He hesitated before entering and Chelsea pushed him in. Then she entered and frowned. It was cold because the electric heater was off at night.

“Well, there’s nothing going on, you toad.”

“True! I heard noises.”

“You’re completely stupid my dear cousin!”

“But you told me you heard them, too!”

A malicious spark lit her beautiful eyes.

“I lied! I’m here to investigate.”

She flew into his arms and kissed him on the mouth. Jeremie struggled himself free.

“Are you loosing your head?”

She was about to reply when hidden noises sounded from the rear. A cold fog invaded the room, something like frost. The two children’s teeth were chattering. Chelsea uttered a scream. The piano of the playing room was flying and floating all over the room. It swirled round and crashed on the carpet. Fragments flew everywhere. The piano was in pieces. It did not fall from high, though, not more than 2 meters high. Chelsea pushed Jeremie out of the room.

“Bravo for your magic trick!”

“I had nothing to do with it”, he protested. He slammed the heavy door. “I was scared, too. »

“You, dirty liar! I’ll tell my father. When he knows you’re a sorcerer, he’ll drive you out of here.”

“Do you think I’m Harry Potter?”

She resumed her room and sat down on her bed.

“Swear you’re not a sorcerer!”

“I swear.”

“You’ll go to hell if you lie.”

Jeremie didn’t like her now, but he couldn’t help to see how pretty she was…

“Mom offered me that piano. It’s a wreck now.”

“It made such a racket and no one woke up, though.”

Chelsea giggled.

“Don’t worry, old people are half deaf. But how can I tell Dad my piano is in pieces?” she complained.

Her eyes shone with a challenge look.

“I’ll say it was you; you broke the piano out of envy.”

“Damned liar!”

He threw himself to her. Both rolled on the bed. But his cousin was stronger. She leaned on the wall and sent him off with her legs. Then she burst out laughing. Jeremy felt every frustrated. He got up. A noise came from below: it was the very voice of the governess.

“Run for your life! Here comes the Passe-boules! Clear off!”

Jeremie hesitated, then ran out with regret.

“Aren’t you sleeping, you children?!”

“We are”, Chelsea replied while slipping into her duvet.

The governess was going up the stairs. She was wearing a pink dressing gown.

“I heard some noise from the playing room.”

“I heard nothing Mademoiselle”, Chelsea ventured. She succeeded in putting the light off in the last minute.

The governess entered Jeremie’s room. He seemed sleeping. Strange! She came back to Chelsea.

“Go to sleep Chelsea! It is very late.”

The governess stiffled a yawn and walked round the room.

“You’re hidding me something.”

“Oh, no! I’m not, Miss”, Chelsea replied with her head almost tucked into the duvet.

“Of course you are! You’ve been in the playing room and you dropped something heavy.”

Chelsea blinked her long eyelashes. How to answer? She did not know.

The governes went again and drew Jeremie out of bed.

“I know you’re not sleeping. You’ve broken something up there, haven’t you?”

Jeremie lied uponly. He rubbed his eyes and said:

“No we haven’t Miss. There’s nothing broken up there.”

The governess looked at him with suspiscion.

“Your nose is getting longer, like Pinocchio’s, young man!”

Then Chelsea stamped her feet.

“There is! He’s broken my piano! He’s broken it out of envy, by a magic truck. He’s a sorcerer. »

She broke into tears. Aaaah! She knew how to get round it. Jeremie became motionless. Then he replied.

“You dirty liar! She’s lying!”

The governess reacted:

“That’s enough. I’m going up to the attic! Any of you who has lied will be punished.”

She immediately climbed the oak wax stairs. They heard her open the heavy door and come into the playing room.

“The passe boules will find my new piano in pieces, Chelsea sniggered! My Dad will throw you out of here because you’re a sorcerer.”

Jeremie remained silent. The little pest might be right. Then, he would go far, very far. He would steal money and he would fly to Africa. Yes, he’d go to Africa. These thoughts redeemed his fear at once. The governess came down after long minutes. She looked gloomy. She looked angrily at Chelsea. Jeremie, who was standing in the corner, felt relieved. Bye, Africa!

“I can’t make out which bad trick you’re aiming at when you accused your brother of such a bad thing. But I don’t like it…”

Jeremie felt anxious!

“How is the piano ?” Chelsea stammered.

“It is intact. Yes, you’ve lied to me. You don’t watch TV for fifteen days!”

The little girl went pale. Her sweet little face became distorted. She shivered nervously. She hid herself under her two duvets. She was red with confusion. As for Jeremie, he was shared between giggling and intense fear. He resumed his bed. He felt overwhelmed...

All this matter exhausted him. Jeremie used to spend whole hours in his room when he did not go to school. Chelsea was deprived of T.V. and computer for eight days (her father decided to reduce the punishment) and sadly resumed her girlish music. She would play it very loud, just to annoy Jeremy. The latter was bored to death, but he’d rather die than knock at Chelsea’s door. How lonely he felt…

But something very big disturbed him very much. Chelsea and he saw, they saw the piano fly and smash into pieces!… Now “passe boules” made it clear that the piano was intact. How mysterious! He had been thinking it over and over for 8 days. This mystery should be cleared up, at all costs! Was that a dream? Was that an hallucination? He left his desk and look through the window. The weather was bad. The rain was lashing down and the trees of the park birches, weeping willows, were yielding under the gusts of wind. The swing had turned round the portico. It was a blasted storm. None of his friend would come.

It was getting dark. He didn’t go down for the snack. Passe boules would soon call for their bath, the pyjama and dinner. He recalled his parents. They died in a shipureck. He inherited his light blue eyes from his mother Clemence. He dreamed for a long time. He understood the signification of the word Orphan now. His uncle certainly loved him but he was not his father. M.Hollbrook, “Master Hollbrook” as his students called him, liked only one thing, his job. He won the Rome Prize for painting, and had a Master’s degree at the Harvard University. He taught art history at the University and in schools and colleges.

Jeremy thought again about this story of piano. If only he could return in the playroom, but the governess closed the attic with double keys. Curiously, the noises had stopped. He tiptoed to his cousin’s bedroom and listened attentively behind the door. There was no music tonight. He sighed: “Why does she hate me?! It is not my fault if she’s been punished…”

Jeremie didn’t sleep, he was lying in his bed. The dinner had been burdensome. His uncle was the only one who talked. He was excited because he had new ideas for new paintings. He kept talking so as to impress his audience. The piano’s story was still haunting him. He would have paid the highest price to go to the attic to see the piano intact.

Jeremie felt his eyes closing and his body got heavy. He lyed cozily under the duvet, and forgot the bad weather outside. It was a few days before Halloween and the elements were unleashed. He finally fell asleep and even snored. He really snored. It was funny, he had never snored. He woke up suddenly. His heart got excited. He became extremely nervous. A cold shiver ran through him, the same feeling he perceived in the attic a few days before. He felt as if someone was sleeping aside him… He perceived, not without fear, his slow breathing. He couldn’t see anything in the darkness. Who was sleeping beside him? Was he really asleep? He remained paralyzed.

Time passed and he tried to grope the creature. Nothing. He couldn’t stand it any longer and turned his head and tried to catch something. There was nothing of course. The breathing stopped. Ouf! But what if the thing were hidden in the bedroom? Will it kill him? He didn’t dare to turn on the light, nor move or callfor someone. He was full of fear. And it was only one o’clock in the morning! It was awful. Despite all that, the sleep came. An abnormal sleep.

Jeremie was seeing a long dark tunnel open before him, and then lit up in its center. He clearly distinguished angels spinning around… They were beautiful. Dozens of shiny suns and multicoloured rainbows entailed the angels in a spectacular round. They were laughing as they clapped their hands. A majestic golden-coloured throne adorned jasper, rubies, diamonds, emeralds and topaz came near him. An elderly man was sitting on it. His wrinkled face seemed calm, confident. His hair compaired the snow on mountain-tops, his beard looked like an ice-fall and his eyes resembled hot flames. He held out a hand to all shaking and sweating Jeremy. The voice of the elder roared like billows on the rocks of icy mountainsides.

“Come on little man, you are the anointed one.”

Jeremie cried out of bed.

For days, Jeremie took his routinely life at school. The story of the flying piano seemed far away from him. The punishment had come to an end and the piano which he saw crush in front of him was really intact. It was such a mystery!

Meanwhile, he soon made new friends. His best friend’s name was Etienne. He was 12 years old like him. Etienne was resourceful, inventive and lively. He was exactly the friend he needed. His chestnut hair was never styled and his clothes looked dubious but it didn’t matter to Jeremy. They became inseparable. It was different with Alex. He overtly showed that he was Chelsea’s friend and Jeremy was suspicious of it. He seemed a little bit “foolish”, he only talked about foot and cake. He found him a lousy guy.

Jeremie had never talked to Etienne about his nightmares although he was always thinking about it. Who was this insane old man? What did he mean when he said “you are the anointed”? Was he on the way to become insane himself?

One night, while he was sleeping soundly, something suddenly awakened him, and he started up. Weariness was beginning to impair him, he felt ticked off! He had to get up however. Deep inside of him, he felt the need to go to the playroom. An impulse within pushed him in this direction. Now it was midnight and at that time, the attic was locked up. He put on his dressing gown and took his flashlight. You wouldn’t play Indiana Jones or Harry Potter with candles, would you? Chelsea was really asleep, he could hear her breathe calmly. How lucky she was, she hadn’t heard anything.

The old wooden stairway creaked despite Jeremie’s light weight. Gee, the door was open. He lighted the inside of the room. Cartons filled with comics were piled up in a corner. It was the usual mess. There were the old world map, the monoculars, the cards and pirate books. The piano was at the same place, near the baby-foot. A chest drew Jeremie’s attention. He did not remember having seen it before. He opened it. What a surprise! There was a massive opaque crystal ball in night blue colour on a gold-embroidered red soft pad. It looked fabulous. His eyes widened open like saucers. The crystal ball seemed to come to life. It shone like sunshine. Jeremy was dazzled. He gasped and fell on his back. Then a flashlight dashed out of it…

“Oh no! The child lamented, not him! The bearded man!”

It was the elder man with a white beard! He began spinning around the boy, laughing and winking.

“Ah ah ah! I knew I’d find you again, boy!”

“Go away, Jeremie shouted. You do not frighten me!”

“Ah! You’re not afraid of me?! Beware boy, from now on, we’ll never part again.”

Jeremy turned his flashlight off.

“What do you expect from me?”

“I would like to tackle you.”

The spectrum of the man whirled around the boy, skimming him, passing between his legs, passing through his dressing gown, surrounding him like a belt… Jeremy thumped in vain with his fists. The ghost went on laughing, laughing all the time!

“Are you mocking me, you, old gizmo!?”

“Insolence and courage go great together. Know this: I am not a spectre but a cherub…”

“I don’t care! Go away!”

“How dare you be familiar with me? Great… We’ll do great things together!”

The cherub lifted up Jeremy and made him swirl, hop, ride the piano, lie on his belly and with legs apart… He lost his dressing gown and found himself in pyjamas. He clang to the piano keyboard which made… loop- the-loop! The child rolled and found himself thrown on the carpet. He fell on a pile of old cardboard filled of textiles, books, dishes and other Barbie dolls. He stood up immediately. He was covered with dust but his heart was filled with a strong desire. He stood on his feet, launched an ultimate challenge:

“Well! Let’s go and fight! Let’s go fight Cherub! Come on, let’s fight!”

“O wonderful child, sweet and honey little boy, I knew that I could rely on you.”

A terrible shock catapulted on his back. He felt a bit groggy. He got up and shouted:

“You won that round but you won’t win them all!”

He took a billard cue and he struck the angel each time it materialized near him. Most of the time, he would strike the air. It was an uneven fight. The boy would surely loose the match, but the angel evaluated the little boy’s determination. The latter shooted some strong blows. The angel realised that he had in front of him a determined rival.The fight had become merciless.

“Then remember this, the angel warned him, you will need to win… 42+42+42 how much?”

“126, old fool!”

The cherub ignored the offense as he knew insolence was innate in children. He repeated another numbers :

“1x2x6?”

“12!” Jeremy shouted while fighting, his mental math capacities surprised him.

“12x3?” The angel went on.

“36! the child answered. I don’t care about your numbers, I don’t understand anything!”

“You’ll understand sooner”, the angel replied.

At the same time, he knocked Jeremie out. He collapsed onto the carpet. When he woke up, he rubbed his skull and took his stick again and made swinging motions over his head.

“You knocked me down, you old junk, but you may have a surprise!”

“I’ve never knonw such a valiant boy in my entire life… 3x3 ?”

“9 !”

“x3 ?”

“27, old rubbish !”

“27, 27, 27! the angel swore. 27, 27, 27! the number that every human should never forget…”

“I don’t care”, Jeremie shouted. He pushed back each assault from the cherub.

Jeremie fought the whole night. He showed an exceptional courage. The daybreak coloured the dormer’s stiles in a nice salmon pink colour, Jeremie collapsed out of tiredness. He leant his back and his head against a wall, put his billiard cue on his lap and closed his eyes. He had been wiped out but not defeated yet. The angel was deeply moved. He knelt down in front of the sleeping child. He had never had the opportunity to admire him. His physique was as pure as his soul. And his face was so perfect, so gracious, almost like divine grace…

“Oh marvellous child! You fought against the cherub all night long! Sleep now and may you not lack it. Remember, 27, 27, 27; 42; 42; 42… Great will be your commission. From now on, “Hogmanay” will be your name; Hogmanay, which means “the part of the one you can rely on”. Never tell about what you experienced last night.”

He disappeared and the very second, Jeremy found himself in his bed again, sleeping peacefully. His alarm clock showed midnight.