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Once upon a time there was a boy, a boy who did so many amazing things. But I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Archibald Suchot, I am a treasure hunter, explorer, and engineer. I've spent ten years in Africa building every type of useful thing. By the way, it's in the heat of Africa that our story begins.
"Well not exactly our story actually begins in Connecticut on a hot summer day in 1960 in a small farm house." This was the house I grew up in unfortunately before I...well disapered. How and where you may ask?
"Well that's a story that my grandson would be more qualified to tell you. You'll see that he's quite a sweet kid, smart to like his grandfather and answers to the name of...Arthur!" op that's my wife daisy I suppose my grandsons gotten himself in trouble again. I suppose I'll let the story tell itself. Lets begin.
Daisy squinted out at the baren dusty road. "Arthur!" She sighed wiping the sweat from her forehead. Where's that boy! She thought. "I swear he's just like his grandfather always off daydreaming.
He'd always been so close to his grandfather and now that archie was...Well gone he'd been taking it really hard since he returned from school for the summer his parents having left him here for the summer while they looked for work in New York.
"Arthur?!" She sighed marching through the house to look for her grandson. "where's he gone to this time?" She looked around suddenly noticing someone else was missing as well. "And the dog's disappeared too!"
"Alfred!?" She sighed running her hands through her pale blonde hair frustrated. "Oh yes, you'll see, he be a great guard dog!" She said repeating her grandsons own words. Alfred! "I wonder what exactly it is he'll be guarding!"
She walked into the barn and smiled seeing her grandson lying asleep on the ground the dog lying next to him. She sighed. "If you could at least answer when I call!" She kneeled down removing the African tribal mask that covered his face.
She smiled down at her sleeping grandson. He wasn't like other kids his age. He'd been born different. He had a rare facial disfigurement and a protruding hump on his back that made it somewhat difficult for him to sleep at times.
Despite his unique differences he was quite an interesting kid. He was clever and imaginative like his grandpa, but he was a bit of a dreamer and had an over active imagination. He was turning sixteen today and as much as she enjoyed her grandsons creativeness one day he'd have to grow up.
Her grandson had led a sheltered life his parents had homeschooled him for most of his life for fear he'd get picked on by other children, however with there recent move from England to the states he'd been sent away to boarding school for a year before she agreed to take him in for the summer.
She ran her hand through his bright red hair the same color as his mothers. "Arthur...?" The teen did not respond. "Arthur?!" The teens eyes fluttered open. Gran? He yawned. "I'm sorry I didn't here you come in."
"Good book?" The teen looked at the open book that sat open next to him. Its amazing actually. I found it in a trunk, look! Its all the inventions Grandpa made for the isolated tribes in Africa.
Yes. He was more interested in African tribes than he was his own! Look! He dug a super deep well and invented a whole irrigation system out of bamboo poles. You know it wasn't Grandpa who invented that, it was the Romans. Really? Yeah, they called them viaducts. Now come on lets go back inside I made your favorite, blueberry pancakes.
"I-I'll be there in a minute." Don't wait to long or they'll get cold. Ok. He stared at the images in his grandpas journal. He sighed. He missed his grandfather. They'd always been so close when he was growing up, but now that he was gone he didn't know what to think. "Where are you Grandpa. Where'd you go?"
"Arthur!" He sighed looking down at his dog. "Come on Alfred lets go before grandma comes looking for us again." A few hours later they were getting into the car to go shopping they definitely need more food for the house among a few other things however little did Arthur realize his grandma had something special planned for him.
Arthur, um, here, here's the shopping list, and I'm, I'm just gonna run across the street for five minutes so I'll meet you at the checkout counter." She said handing the teen a list. Of course gran oh and can I buy some straws? She raised a confused eyebrow but didnt question it he was always building strange contraptions and inventions just like his grandfather.
Yeah, as many as you like. "Thanks Gran." She watched him run off as she ducked into the hardware store. "Did he follow you?" Asked the woman at the counter. "I don't think so Perfect! Perfect!"
She handed her a box tied with a green ribbon. "There! It's all there. Perfect, this is wonderful thank you so much What do I owe you?" The other woman chuckled. "Are you crazy, nothing! Nothing at all!"
"Now, get going before he catches you." I'm speechless, I don't know how thank you! "By letting me participate! Nothing could make me happier! Now, get going!" Thanks so much. Daisy said opening the store door behind her. "I'm counting on you to let me know how it went?!" I will, I'll call you tomorrow! "Talk to you tomorrow Bye then. "Bye.
A few hours latter Arthur rushed out of the car to help his grandmother. "Oh Arthur! Arthur, no no no it's fine. You go off and do what ever it is you do, and I'll call you when dinners ready. You sure gran? Yes its fine. He was about to run off when she called after him.
"Oh and Arthur, don't forget to work on that project, remember the one your supposed to do for school over the summer." Sure thing gran! Arthur ran off towards the barn slamming the door behind him. He sighed.
The project his gran had mentioned was he had to write a short fictional story but as creative as he was he hadn't been able to come up with anything. Every time he tried to come up with something he drew a blank.
"I wish gramps were here." He always had the best stories. He wished he knew what happened to him. He sighed looking down at Alfred. "Well buddy, better get to work." After a few hours of hard work he smiled at his finished product.
It was an irrigation duct made from a cardboard tube straws and really strong glue. "I guess I better test it out. He ran out to the garden he placed it next to the half he'd already made then turned on the water.
The water rushed town the cardboard tubes through the tubes and into the dirt. "Arthur! Telephone!" The red haired teen looked up. "Who'd be calling me?" The only calls I ever get are calls from my- He took off into a sprint as he ran through the front door.
He plopped down on the couch taking the phone from his grandmother. Mom? Dad? Hi honey how are you. We miss you. "I miss you to." where are you now? There was silence on the other end.
"Um... well, we're still in the city, Arthur."
Oh...Ok, well... I guess you'll see it tomorrow morning then?
"Um, No we're not going to able to make it Arthur but even though we can't be there, we wanted to tell you that we're thinking of you Because... today is... your birthday!" Arthur sighed. He'd almost forgotten...he was turning sixteen today.
"Happy Birthday son!" Arthur's father replied on the other end. T-Thanks dad. "Thought we'd forgot, didn't you!" But sixteen years old is a big deal. "We'll see you real soon and uh remember you have yourself a Happy birthday!" The phone hung up.
He sighed. This would be the one time his parents would not be around for his birthday. His parents had always been really overprotective keeping him inside most of the time afraid he'd get hurt; However he was anything but fragile, A little scrawny yes, but not fragile. Arthur saw his grandma standing in the doorway with a large chocolate cake.
"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Arthur! Happy birthday to you!" He smiled at his grandmother as she set the cake down. At least someone cared. "You know what? You're the best Grandma in the world!"
"And you're the best grandson!" She said ruffling his hair. "Go on, blow them out!" Presents first? He asked. Oh, right. She set to small packages in front of him. "This is from Alfred." She pointing at the smallest one.
He opened it to reveal a small white ball. He wasn't much of a sports fan but he scratched his dog behind the ears. "I never had a new one before! Thank you Alfred!" He made to throw it for his dog, but his grandmother stopped him.
"No, ah! If you could wait till you're outside to throw it I'd consider that a favor" Oh, yeah, you're right. She relaxed pushing the last package towards him. "And this is from me." He opened it to reveal a small red wind-up Ferrari.
It's beautiful, but gran I haven't collected model cars since I was ten uh n-no offence. Well now you can add one more to your collection. Thanks Gran. He said giving her a hug as he turned to look at the cake. "How did you manage to bake a cake though? I thought the oven was broken."
"Mrs. Kerman from the hardware store actually made it! Still like it?" Of course! "It's fantastic. Just...T-Too big for three. He said stuttering. He only stutter when he was either sad or scared which was rare.
"Don't be too hard on them Arthur! They try their best." The boy nodded. "I-I know its jus...I spend my whole year in boarding school in England, and when I come back for vacation they're not even here!" He said upset.
"They wanted to be here sweetheart they really did." I-I know. He was about to blow out his candles when she stopped him. "Wait! Make a wish." He thought for a moment. "I wish that, for my next birthday Grandpa will be here to share it." Daisy gave her grandson a sad look.
G-Gran? Are you alright. She nodded. "Well go on! Better blow them out quick you don't wanna eat a wax cake!" The night they spent the night looking through one of his grandfathers old journals.
"Every night this magnificent sunset was all ours. It's precisely into this landscape that your mother came into the world. While I was having the baby your grandfather was painting this." She said pointing at a picture of a sunset. Next to it was picture of his gramps when he was younger, his hair the same shade of red as his.
"Who are they?" He said pointing to a drawing on the opposite page of tall dark-skinned warriors holding sharpened spears. "The Bogo-Matassalai. Your grandfather helped build an irrigation ditch for them and in return they gave him a big bag of rubies."
The teens eyes widened in disbelief. "Rubies?! Really?" Really. "Oh, I could tell you stories all night long ...Great! Tell me." The teen said eagerly. "No, not tonight, Arthur, maybe tomorrow." Come on!
"No, I haven't even cleaned the kitchen." Please, Gram. Just a little! It's my birthday! He pleaded. "Alright, just one minute." Besides aren't you a little old for bedtime stories? I guess , but I've forgotten most of the stories gramps told me.
"Alright then, now where was I?" The Bogo-Matassalai! Right. "Now the Bogo-Matassalai ere very, very tall. They say that nature always balances itself with its opposite and for centuries they searched for them, in order to find perfect harmony."
"Did they find them?" Yes. It was another tribe living right next to them and they had this particular trait: they were small as a tooth...The boys eyes widened in amazement as she turned the page. They called them the Minimoys! He saw drawings of elf like creatures of all shapes and sizes.
Wow. He said in awe. "Did they get along?" Oh, wonderfully! Soon they were inseparable! The one side very incredibly tall, the other incredibly small. And only together could they have a complete vision of the world.
However he became distracted by a drawing of a girl who looked to be about his age. "Who's this?" This is the Princess Selenia. Daughter of the king of the Minimoys. "She's beautiful!" He said memorized by the red haired green eyed elven princess. "I mean, this is incredible!"
"Yes and the king himself gave your grandfather the secret of how to find him anytime he wanted! That's what your grandfather said, every time he was a little drunk." He ignored his grandmothers comment.
People may have thought that his grandfather was crazy, but he knew better, his grandpa was a dreamer just like him. If only he could create a story just as incredible as the one his gran had told him.
"I'd like to meet the Minimoys just like grandpa. She sighed. "Now, go to sleep!" Sweet dreams. The teen closed his eyes dreams of finding his grandfather and meeting the Minimoys wafted through his head.
Meanwhile his grandmother stared at a photo on the wall of her husband. Arthur had been so close to his grandfather, and it had broke his heart when he found him missing after returning home from school. He spent almost all day in his grandfathers old workshop either creating strange contraptions or drawing or painting. She sighed "We miss you Archibald. We really do."