THE SECRET OF MAGIC STONES
PART-1
- Sophia, are you ten years old already?
Our friend turned towards the window where her friend Chachou had just landed. She has known this owl since she was three years old. He once taught him to use his precious, rare gift of talking to animals, well, four legs, two legs and snakes. She can also understand them.
- Why are you asking me that? Can you count now? You surprise me...
- If you are ten years old, I can finally tell you my secret...
- I have just celebrated my tenth birthday, replied our friend.
- You must have forgotten. At that time, aged three, you often accompanied your dad in the woods. A little girl, radiant, lively, a little mischievous. Oh, you never strayed far from your father. Just a few steps. You watched him work.
"One day, you saw an old woman approaching. You took her for a witch. It must be said that dressed in black and all wrinkled, she reminded you of this kind of person. You got up and approached her. a little. Already at that time, your curiosity exceeded your fear. She didn't see you.
"She stopped at the foot of a tree. Mine. She began to dig the ground with great blows of a shovel. She woke me up. I was sleeping in my nest. She put a box in the hole and then closed it all up.
"She saw you as you were leaving, turning around. She approached you, motionless, sitting on a fallen tree trunk.
- Little girl, she tells you in a slightly squeaky voice, you will not touch this box until you reach the age of ten. Otherwise, you will put yourself in great danger.
“You ran to take refuge near your dad. I went back to bed.
"But the years go by. You know my secret now.
- Where is this tree? Sophia asked.
- I recognize you there, answered the owl. Not far from the crossroads of the three roads. You will see a very large tree along the trail that strays to the right. I no longer live there.
- I know, said our friend smiling. Remember. I came to treat you one day far away in the woods. (Discover or reread episode n°15: The Owl.)
The next day, our friend left early in the morning after eating. She was carrying a shovel. Mystery and adventure fascinate her.
She hesitated for a long moment before spotting the tree described by her owl. Many oaks and beeches stood here. She dug here and there, and finally found what she was looking for.
She took out of the ground a wooden box, not very big, with a domed lid.
Sliding the blade of her penknife into the slot, she managed to open it without too much difficulty. She discovered three interesting things. A rolled papyrus, a very beautiful rock crystal stone, and an address, written on the back of the cover: 13, rue du Chant du Coq.
Sometimes I go to rue du Chant du Coq when I go to the village, thought Sophia.
Then she unrolled the papyrus, but did not understand the text written in large black letters, separated from each other:
F H D T X R L M H S H Q V H D U U L Y H
Our friend returned home, bringing the box attached to the luggage rack of her bike.
The following Thursday, Sophia went to the village, armed with a small shopping list for her parents to do at the store. She stopped in the rue du Chant du Coq.
Number 13 no longer existed! There remained a field overgrown with nettles and brambles, with here and there a few bricks blackened with smoke.
Seeing a lady tending the roses in her garden, she approached and questioned her.
- A woman used to live there, she said. A rather bizarre old lady, perhaps a little demented. She looked like a witch and called herself a magician. It is said that she set fire to her house, unless it was the devil himself, because he visited her at night it seems.
Sophia did not insist and thanked.
Curious as always, she slipped through the nettles and the brambles that were trying to tear the bottom of her overalls.
She discovered a brick staircase, escaped the flames, but invaded by green moss and dead leaves. It led to an old cellar closed by a worm-eaten door.
Our friend manages to crack it open. She entered the dark room and smelled a slightly unpleasant pungent odor.
The ground was paved. She took a few steps there. One of the cobblestones near the back wall shifted under his feet. It could be hiding something.
Getting on all fours, she managed to lift it and saw a tightly closed wooden chest. He was bathing in stagnant water.
Sophia grabbed it and left the cellar. She sat down next to her bike and tried to open it. She succeeded in the operation using the long blade of her penknife. The trunk contained a handwritten letter.
Dear cousin,
I entrust you with my magic formula. I'm coming home after hiding it at the foot of a very large tree, the one I told you about the other day, located near the crossroads of the three roads in the Grands Ormes forest. You will probably succeed in understanding the letters that conceal the formula. Remember that it only works if you read it aloud, and hold the crystal in your hand, illuminated by good light. Be careful...
I kiss you,
Abigaïl
It seems, thought Sophia, that the cousin never came to this cellar or to the foot of the big tree. Good. I do the shopping requested by my parents, then I return home and I will try to understand these mysterious letters which hide a magic formula.
TO BE CONTINUED - IN PART 2
