This is the continuing story of my adventures in the tale: Save me a Story. If you wish to read the introduction to understand what is happening, click this link:
https://www.hdhstory.net/Storyblog/?p=3431
Otherwise, I’ve tried to summarize what happened at the beginning of most of the sections of this story.
Friend
One of my closest friends is Ronald. Ronald has been my friend since elementary school in the Bronx. He was always coming up with ideas of things to do, and I trusted his judgment despite the opinions of others, mainly my family. Suffice it to say, Ronald and I had made a few decisions that didn’t turn out how I expected they would, but somehow we managed to survive, usually no thanks to him.
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Ronald found himself staring at the storefront before him. The sign over the doorway read, “Ask your questions here. Limited supply.” Ronald did not know what to do.
The last thing he remembered was that this woman stopped him on the street leading to my apartment. He could only recall that she had short blond hair and entrancing, vivid green eyes. He couldn’t look away. She had informed him that the bearer of tales was on a quest. This quest was crucial to the survival of his world and others. She said that Ronald was needed to assist in this quest as the friend of the bearer of tales.
Ronald asked the woman, “What quest? Where is my friend? Why me?”
Her response was simple. “The Bearer of Tales is searching to find and return all the lost stories. He is in the kingdom of Selat. And as I said, as his friend, it has been foretold that you will be involved in this quest.”
Before Ronald could ask any more questions or even say whether he was willing to do what was asked, the woman disappeared. He found himself alone in an uninhabited village which he assumed was in the kingdom of Selat.
Ronald rarely thought about consequences when it came to making decisions, which was one of the reasons we frequently got in trouble. With no one around to advise him, he chose to enter the store and see what he could discover.
As he approached the door, it opened by itself. There was no one inside. He slowly walked up to the counter and saw a bell on it. He tapped the bell. Its sound rang pure and echoed throughout the room.
A voice called out, “Ask your question.”
The disembodied voice threw Ronald back. “Who said that?”
The response was, “That was your first. You have two more.”
“But you didn’t answer my first question,” Ronald called out.
The only reply that came was, “You have two more.”
Not willing to waste another question, Ronald asked, “How am I supposed to help my friend?”
The reply was, “Not a bad question. You have one more.”
This was getting rather frustrating for Ronald, who was used to getting immediate feedback when he asked a question. When he finally spoke up, this is what he asked, “Where am I to go to find my friend?”
There was a pause before the voice spoke again.
“Your answers are – I am the caretaker of Selat. You need to find those that will help complete the quest. You are to go to an island in the North. That ends this transaction. You must now leave something as payment.”
Ronald was not fond of riddles. He was sure this was some sort of game being played on him. “You’ll get whatever you deserve should I complete this assignment.”
“That is not how this works on Selat,” was the response from the less-than-pleased caretaker, “Failure to pay might alter the path you take.”
“We’ll see about that,” Ronald called out. As he turned to leave, he muttered to himself, “I can find Harvey without his help. What could possibly go wrong?”
The caretaker’s voice faded in the distance as Ronald started walking down the nearest path, “Till we meet again,” was the caretaker’s call.
Even accepting what the caretaker had told him, Ronald needed a better sense of direction. The path that he took led west.
Continued in…Granny’s House
Oh that Ronald! What a story this is becoming!…