Excerpts from Bortor's Diary


***

Today Griklay and I are going to the Forest of Inventions. Recently we've had a lot of interesting finds and we hope to get lucky today as well.

***

04.09.x201 (night)

I've just arrived home. There's noise coming out of Gred's room. I need to go check.

The kid was crying. Sadly I wasn't able to console him. Something must have happened while I was out. I suspect the twins. They're always trying to scare him with Hypen. I'm getting sick and tired of it. If this goes on any longer, there might be permanent marks on my little brother's mind. I'll do something about it tomorrow. Right now I'm too tired. It's been a long day.

05.09.x201 (morning)

It seems like I was right. Gredeon's been avoiding the two since the morning. But try as he might, they caught him in the end. What was I supposed to do? The only thing that occurred to me was to spill dad's coffee on them. Oh, it was such a delight. Why haven't I thought of it before? I should write this idea down for future reference.

(evening)

The twins left the kitchen in a bad mood, muttering under their breath. I sat down next to Gred. (If Ceola was there, she would have been the one sitting next to him, but today she's somewhere with Alan.) I didn't know what to say to Gred, so I just patted his shoulder. He asked me if I knew of any amulets against ghosts. Without hesitation I replied that I had one and that I'd give it to him on that evening. It was so stupid of me. Soon I realised that the hope I had given him was only short-lived. Fortunately I remembered that uncle Bobuslaw had a book on amulets and as soon as I could I went over to his house.

It was a waste of time, really. The book contained no amulets or instructions how to create them. Luckily the beginning was illustrated, so I became curious and read the introduction. Apparently anything can become an amulet, as long as the person who wears it believes in its power. There was a long footnote after that statement, but time was short and I had to return home, so I didn't read it.

I quickly found an object that Gred had never seen (he'd be sad if he thought that I'd lied to him). Thank Quater for scrap banks (or as Griklay says “travel treasuries”). It was a strange wooden spoon with a smile painted on it. It fitted Gred so much that I was convinced that it would be the perfect gift.

And what do you know, it worked out. Just before dinner I summoned Gred for a moment. I told him some fantastic stories about the spoon and he was delighted. I also taught him a few of the deterring spells which I had read in Bobuslaw's book. When I gave him the spoon, the kid hugged me. I was really happy that I was able to help him. But the strangest thing of all was that the spoon really worked.

A while later I saw the twins whispering to Gred - something about Hypen for sure. But this time the kid was almost smiling, like he didn't care about it at all. The moment they stopped talking, Gred pulled the spoon out and said: “Hypen can't do anything to me anymore. I'll prove it to you.” The twins burst out laughing and I felt like running away. I didn't think the kid would actually pull something like this. I didn't want to see his sad face. But suddenly Gred began to chant the spells I had told him and the spoon began to shine. I didn't see what was happening because I was blinded by the light. Maybe it was what we call “the power of hope”. At any rate, the twins stopped their attack and retreated. I've got a feeling that they're up to something. They've searched my shelves for something. They've also asked me about my diary. But I'll leave that to tomorrow. I'm going to sleep now.


06.09.x201 (on a new sheet of paper)

No more diaries. They've read it! They've read the whole thing! I hate them so much! I honestly hate them. Such humiliation... I'm giving up hopes that dad will ever like me. No one respects me anymore. It's too much, just way too much. I just hope that the potion of dreams come true, which I came across in Bobuslaw's works, really works. Because if it doesn't...

JUST REMEMBER TO BURN THIS PAGE.


     

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