The Republic of Miracles

Chapter 5, where Philibert learns that he can hunt other things besides rabbits

Philibert Tremblay arrived at the camp out of breath and headed towards the biggest yurt in the center of the village. He greeted his mother from afar, who was busy splitting wood, but he was eager to share his find with Aliénor, his grandmother and the head of the clan.

As he approached, he saw who was guarding the entrance to the tent. His cousin Clothaire, who was twice his age and whom he didn't really like because he spent his time making fun of him.

"Let me pass, Clothaire!"

But the latter stretched out an arm, blocking his path.

"Wow! Let's calm down! The Ancestor is taking a nap and has ordered that she not be disturbed under any circumstances. And from what I see, your hunt yielded nothing today. So, get the hell out, Knot Head! You'll come back when you have something to offer."

"If only he knew what I have to offer..." thought Philibert. But from inside the yurt came a series of muffled noises, accompanied by curses, and at the end the angry and still sleepy voice of Aliénor growled, "What is going on here!"

"It's nothing, Grandmother," Clothaire replied. "It's Philibert, the rotten rabbit hunter, who wants to disturb you. I told him to come back at Christmas."

"My rabbits are not rotten and, in any case, it is not about hunting that I should talk to you, ."

Philibert had deliberately called his grandmother by her first name, Aliénor, because he was one of the privileged few who could address her that way. Clothaire had now reached adulthood. He had to call her "Grandmother" or "Ancestor", and be respectful. Philibert was well aware that it enraged the other to see that he, the miserable rabbit hunter, was one of his favorite grandsons. After a few rustling noises, the canvas which closed the entrance to the yurt opened a little and Aliénor appeared, finishing putting her outfit in order.

"So Philibert, what do you have so urgent to announce that you can't wait for an old woman to finish her nap?"

"I made a very important discovery Aliénor and you must be aware of it, I swear to you, you will not regret having listened to me."

He made his way into the tent, elbowing Clothaire as he went. The latter followed him and stood near the entrance, legs apart and arms crossed, his bulging eyes riveted on his young cousin who had just challenged his authority.

"He doesn't have to hear what I'm going to tell you; it must remain a secret," said Philibert, pointing to the other with his chin.

Aliénor turned to her guardian and ordered him, "In that case, Clothaire, continue to watch the entrance and make sure that no one disturbs us." Angry, he left the tent. Aliénor took her grandson by the arm and led him to the back of the yurt where there was a coffee table and two armchairs. She sank into the larger of the two with a sigh, adjusted her glasses on her nose, tucked a strand of gray hair behind her ear, then announced, "You have two minutes. Speak!"

"You know by the lake, where there are still many old houses, everyone says there's a bunker that no one has explored yet..." started Philibert.

"We've found several, small underground shelters. They've all been emptied for a long time," said Aliénor.

"This one, it's certain that it's never even been visited. It's in the big house, the one with two chimneys. A man and a woman went in, I watched them from afar, and I saw that they had opened a door in a wall, an opening that wasn't there before. I approached and behind it, on the other side, I found a staircase that went down very deep into the ground, and..."

"... you followed them, and what did they do?"

"When they disappeared inside, I didn't dare to approach, I was too afraid they would discover me. I ran here thinking that you would know what to do."

Philibert noticed, satisfied, that Aliénor seemed annoyed at the idea of Urbans snooping around the area. She didn't appreciate this intrusion into a territory she considered her personal domain. She tapped the arm of her chair with her fingertips. After a minute, she stood up and pushed her grandson toward the exit, saying, "I need to finish getting dressed." Then she shouted to her bodyguard, "Clothaire, gather about ten of your cousins and arm them. We're going to go reclaim what's rightfully ours!"

Not wanting to be excluded from the expedition, Philibert asked, "Can I go too, Aliénor?"

She leaned toward him and smiled. "Of course, of course! You're almost eleven years old. It's time for you to learn to hunt something other than rabbits."

*** All the illustrations that accompany this novel were created using Artificial Intelligence on the NightCafe Studio website.