Two tales without a head
By Radoslav B. Chugaly
Copyright 2016 Radoslav B. Chugaly
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Dragon’s great-grandson, first tale
- Have a seat son, eat your breakfast. Strength comes through the mouth, and a young man needs his strength by the bulk.
- I’ll just take some coffee granny, there’s no hunger in me this morning…
- Come on, come on, priganica’s are just about done, and there’s gonna be a few fried eggs. They come well with some cheese and bacon, to make some ground for the coffee…
She spent half a century in Central Serbia and still hadn’t learned the dialect. All in vain, the strong old lady left one foot in the old country for all of her life. Even more, during those fifty years, she collected all the possible expressions from the other settlers and none of the native people. Therefore, those priganica’s as if the pancakes are not good enough. Sternly built, she held the entire house on her back all her life, without even a grunt. Had to, she lost her husband early, and most of her children were lost during the war. To complete the misfortune, both her son and daughter-in-law died in an accident leaving her all alone to bring her grandson up. Single candle to burn for her.
- I can’t granny, I’m not hungry even a bit. This morning welcomed me even more tired thatn the last night.
That’s from the last night’s party. You could’ve drunk a bit less, just like your granddad! Come on, have just a bite…
- I didn’t drink much, granny, on my eyes, I swear, just a couple of brandies, from the pitcher my granddad left for my coming to age. One for me and one for him, since he didn’t live to drink with me…
- Right you are… he waited for that coming to age since way before you were even born, there’s no telling you… let’s have one with the coffee and tell me why you’re so tired then, There’ll be time for breakfast later…
She poured a traditional flask to each of them, from the bottle holding a cross made of mulberry wood, full of amber liquid as thick as oil. Granddad’s brandy made of plum from Banija mountain, he went for it to the old estate just to make that brandy. Picked the plums from deep grass, brought them on his arms down to the village and made the brandy. Just for the grandson his daughter-in-law is going to give birth to during next year. The whole village laughed at him when he said it, his daughter-in-law brought only handmade quilt and gave it to him with a bitter smile of a woman that knows she is not going to give birth ever. He just made the brandy, poured it into glass pitchers and labeled each one with a future date, took a shaveand a bath, and fell to sleep. When people marked half a year since his death, his daughter-in-law felt a life moving inside her, went to the doctor and got a confirmation. There, an old man new about him somehow even before he was conceived.
- Bottoms up, this one’ll do you no harm…
- To your health granny.
- Tell me now, what bothered you last night? Is there a girl in the village? You know there’s no girl who’ll say no to you…
- I know granny, it’s not love, I have yet to see the one I like. All night I had this strange dream. A drem of me flying up from my bed, through the roof, and over the black locust treetops and fly high, high into the sky. At first, it was interesting, but later I’ve noticed some dark dots in the distance approaching me. I waited for them, and they were all some kind of large birds, large as eagles and black ac crows. Their beaks covered in blood and feathers all ruffled up, came upon me all until the morning. I defended myself, hit them repeatedly, all until the Sun came up and I returned to my bed. I must’ve moved my arms a lot, my muscles are all beaten up by the bed posts…
- Last night only? And never before?
- Never…
- Who knows what it can be if it happens again you just imagine burned wood stumps in your hands and hit the birds with them. And tell me about it the next morning.
----
- Godmother! Godmother!
- What’s the noise so much? I’m not deaf, I’m old!
- Trouble, godmother, my grandson awoke.
- Did he? Is he of that age already?
- He is… what am I to do?
- Nothing… take it upon you to teach him some lore. Don’t let him perish here, he’s not on his turf, doesn’t have the full power…
- What should I teach him? I can only tell him all and see what happens…
- Tell him. Tell him all. Bring this package with you, his grandfather left it with me to give you when you come with this news…
- Oh, God help me…
- Help or not, you knew what you were doing when you accepted the proposal from Radosh.
----
- Good morning granny.
- Good morning son. How did you sleep?
- Much better, the advice about tree stumps was a good one.
- You've had the same dream?
- The same. But this time I defended immediately, remembered the stumps in my dream and laughed, loudly, and those birds stopped for a second. I guess my laughter surprised them, and when I remembered the stumps they apeared in my hands. When I hit a bird she just stumbles down to the ground, in a minute there were non around me, and the clouds disappeared. I flew above the village all night and laughed, and it seemed that the entire village laughs with me…
- Have a seat, I need to tell you something, it is your time to know…
And she told him.
----
Radosh was the village pride, the only son of the richest landlord, anything was within his grasp. The strongest man around, well fed and clothed, he could cut the log as thick as his leg with a single stroke of the ax. Fiery, restless, he would roam the woods wntire night and scare the animals. They said even the wolves listened to him, and he wrestled bears ond the forest clearings. Maybe it wasn’t all the thruth, only in his village no one lost a sheep to a wolf, and children went freely to the woods to pick mushrooms. The only thing that worried his parents was the fact that he never looked twice at a girl and refused to marry.
And they searched all the villages, even the towns near and far, many wanted and accepted, but all in vain. He greeted each of them, heard both her and his parents and, with just a knife on his belt, went to the forest to look for the wrestling companions. And so it went until one night when he suddenly returned home, woke his parents and called his family. He told them to prepare the wedding for the noon of the next day, the party shall come with the bride, two bulls must be roasted and one male goat, and all the poor from surrounding villages must be invited to be well clothed, fed and offered drinks. He called his mother to the side, gave her a wrapping and told her to hide it and never show to anyone. Poor mother did so, and never spoke about it until the day she died and returned the parcel back to his son. At noon, his father peaked to the road, seeing no one as far he culd look, and went back inside thinking his son lost his mind somewhere in his nightly roaming. At that point there was shouts and music in the yard, the drums started to beat. Both he and his wife rushed out to see the yard full of people. Radosh also came out and pointed them towards the bride in pearly clothes telling them it’s their daughter-in-law. The party lasted for five days, and nobody slept for the entire time. Nobody also saw those people before or after the wedding. They
just went away the sixth morning, and the bride remained alone with Radosh.
Years passed, giving Radosh and his wife only one son. As remarkable as his father was, his on was more fierce and strong than him, but quiet and peaceful man. He would walk the village as a giant, two heads taller than anyone, and people would see him standing alone on the meddow, talking to somebody invisible, someone only he can perceive. They said he was just like his father, that his wife would also come from the Devil, that he was not born for a mortal woman. They didn’t know how close to the truth they were. Close, because Radosh's wife was truly a Dragons daughter, and Radosh won her by wrestling the Dragon on a bet – his head on one side, and all the treasures of a Dragon on the other. After three hours of battle, Radosh threw him to the side, beating him, and he stood up asking:
- What will you have Radosh? All the riches of this world are mine to give!
- I want your daughter for a wife. You have nothing else of value to me.
- I have anything Radosh, but you don’t know what you ask for! She’s my only child, my only offspring, if you take her from me you’ll have the same faith – nevermore shall there be more than one offspring with you among the living souls for as long as my treasure is not returned!
- So be it, honorable father-in-law, I’ll be waiting tomorrow at noon for the feast…
- My party is hungry, you’ll need a lot of food.
- Don’t you worry,