Chapter 9: An unexpected trap, or not?

Chapter 9: An unexpected trap, or not?

The following morning we decided, what to wear, so we did not look to be so obvious ‘a stranger’ in Otherland.
The trousers were the best options with a bit torn apart t-shirt, some shawls, we had found in the mill and taken with us, were used as colorful decoration.
We laughed a bit, but the shawls did hide the booklets and mirror-boxes too, although also hidden under our swimming-suit for security.

It was Summer here too so that swimming suit could be handy, who would know?.
After a quick breakfast of the last normal eating things we had, we decided to leave the most heavy winter clothes in the chest in the mill, so we should not stand out in the crowd.

Therefore we did an extra hop back and than Cindy asked: “Can we go now?”

“Are you sure, we can leave all here?” I asked Cindy.

“Of course, this is the house of a friend. And who does look in an old chest in the farthest corner of the attic?” she said.

“I would, but I am curious,” I laughed.

“To be sure, I did do one thing, I not told you till now. That was while I did not know anything about Homeland or the Otherlanders.
And in the beginning not about you, too” I told honestly, but blushing. Cindy looked surprised.

In the underside of my back-pack was a zip, I did not show her before.
I opened it, and out came two old fashioned chains, with a pendant on them. Clasped in that pendant, that could be opened, was on one side a miniature of my bedroom, and on the other side a miniature mirror, I had taken of a carnival costume.
“Look what I did as a surprise.” I showed her what I had.

Cindy wás surprised: “When did you do that?”

“You were looking for the iodine I could not find. These were in my box of Grandma’s treasures too. Besides, you do not know, my computer can miniaturize a drawing too.
The small mirrors where on a costume, and I took them off to put in here. But if the Otherlanders want all that they see, we better can put it on, but on a very unsuspected place.”

“Oh, how nice. What a splendid surprise. We could braid it in the plaits in our hair, with the pendants under our hair behind the ears,” Cindy said.

“Now we are safe to go back to your home twice. But never, ever tell anybody of this, for it would give away the other drawing’s purpose.
I did not tell you that most of the Otherlanders can not read, while they do not like school.
So if they ask something about it, it is a book to tell stories, we do tell to get our meals. That is a normal way to pay for them in Otherland.”

I asked: “Are you sure, there are no more surprises or forgotten stories to tell? No? Than lets go and see, what will come of it.”

Much lighter we traveled, only the linen bag under our swimming suit, and the pendant under our plaits, that was the safest place.
The gate-way was smooth and we found the Docks silent in the hot sun.

“When it gets darker, we are more sure to find my friend. She does dance at the place where the most eating-houses are. Between so much people will two girls not been seen,” Cindy supposed.

Alas was the opposite the truth: every Otherlander male did point to us, yelling: “look, we finally have new dancers. In which eating-house you will dance?”

Cindy pointed, forced by this not expected circumstance, to the nicest looking one, hoping it was the one, where we could find her friend.
We could have known: in a land, where everybody grabs what he likes, the one that looked the nicest, housed the nastiest persons.
But thát we found out later that day, after we danced.

The Otherlanders did not know dances from our world, and Cindy and I have had lots of fun trying them out together at home one evening.
But the onlookers never had known, what we were dancing, even if we only had danced the monkey dance. The most female kept their silence, aware that was the best strategy.
The most male were drunk, for they wanted much to drink and behaved as if they never had learned: enough is enough.

At the end of the evening, when they fling coins at us, it often was painful, as was it a sport to hit us that hard, while they paid for the fun we brought.

The owner of the eating house had two very strong man ready to keep us inside, and they put us in a room without a window, only a small piece of candle and a few match sticks.
Then the door became double-locked.

We were trapped in… they thought.
Only, we could out, with the coins, but without the friend we were looking for. What to do now?

“I do think, this is one of those circumstances, my father would not agree with, let’s escape as long as we can” I said.

“You are right, Lea,” Cindy answered.
“Where to? The docks again?”

I quickly thought, we had not many choices, not knowing much Otherlanders.
“Over here we do not know much people, that is our only way to go.
Let’s do it, before worse happens”

As quick as possible we used the mirrors and the books, just when we stepped through the mirrors, we did hear the keys turning in the lock. Just in time…

Back in that dark spot we relieved a sigh, but the situation was not much better than before. Only difference: we had some money now, but were still hungry.

“Pssssst.” I heard.

Again: “Psssssst.” I tapped Cindy on her shoulder and pointed.

We looked the same side and heard the: “Psssst” again but also did see a woman winking. Well, a woman might be less dangerous, but we looked each other careful in the eyes, before we went that way.
Hidden behind a very thick pole that up health the decks above us, we walked carefully through the wet sands.

“Cindy, is it me your looking for?” a soft voice asked.
Swiftly Cindy went to the girl: “Amany, is it you?”
“Come quick, you both, I do not know how long the other women can keep the secret door open, the man are not allowed to find”

So as quick as we could we followed through a dark door, behind which a few more women stood. All were dressed in colorful but shabby clothes.

One hopeful face looked at Cindy and later to me: “You came back, can it be thru?”

I had a wrinkle between my eyes, had to think about the difference between the way the man did act in this strange country and how the women did.
I only could find out by asking so I did introduce myself: “Hello, I am Lea, a friend from Cindy and new here. What in heavens name is going on in this place?"

“Come, we have to be quick,” one of the women told, taking me by the hand, while she started a kind of half-run, quick, but not tiring.
In the maze of small, dark streets, half covered by overhanging roofs, we hurried on.
Finally we came to something that looked very shabby from the outside, but inside was reasonable cool, clean and full of only women and girls.

And all stood still and looked at us, the moment Cindy and me came in, as if this was the most important thing ever could happen.
All I could do was waiting, fully confused what this could predict.
Was it good or bad? Time would tell….

© Nan van Daalen, all rights reserved