the Thief of Forbidden Manuscripts

part 18

The crying girl sniffled: "I have paid half my fortune to the greatest magicians for the curse of the Black Khat, and the other half to the greatest apothecaries and herbalists for the wart-causing flowers and roots of the Dryas plant, and yet I have not received a single commendation from the Committee of Ugliness, I have participated five consecutive times in the Ultimate Ugly Witch Competition, but without any significant result or any honorable mention, and I could not even guarantee my name in the list of the hundred ugliest witches in the world, and I was left to wash in the waters of the cursed pond."
"Sami wondered, "What? Do you want to win the ultimate ugliness contest?"
"When you looked at me the first time, I thought you were disgusted by my ugliness, which gave me hope, but now you're telling me I was wrong... "
"But you will destroy yourself and your future by pursuing the title of queen or maiden, ugliness and hideousness are for no one..."

She gives him a strange look and he immediately stops talking while she continues, "Listen to me carefully, obnoxious boy, I am a woman and very sensitive, and my ambition is to reach the utmost ugliness...
I want my pictures to be in the news... I want my name to become an international brand that the major cosmetics companies compete for... I won't rest until I become an icon in the world of magic and a star in the news, then the doors will automatically open for me to become the first model of the world of magic.
I will sign contracts with major high-end magic product companies to represent and advertise their products... I'll be doing adverts for crystal balls and flying vacuums, I'll be wearing the latest witch hat and proudly walking the red carpet in my black witch shoes, this is my dream and I will stop at nothing to make it happen."
"Well, good luck in your endeavour then, Miss. .... Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?"
"Actually yes, there is one small favour I would like you to do for me and that is to lend me some money, I'm currently broke, I don't even have a return ticket and I'm hungry..." she replied, lowering her voice and changing her manner. "
"Don't worry about it, miss, I'll lend you enough money in exchange for a photo of you being crowned Queen of Absolute Ugliness at the next competition," the boy interrupts her while trying to give her a small dose of hope.
Really?
Yes, he said as he took out his wand from inside his sleeve because both his hands are under the table, then put in front of her a vase full of gold and silver pieces, which made her quickly snatch it and hide it between her clothes with a big smile on her face that made her messy and yellow teeth catch the attention of the boy who was very disgusted by her disgusting look, while she was finally relieved because the boy's disgust for her teeth is clear this time.
Why haven't I met you before, gorgeous boy?
Why didn't you tell me about the cursed pond, what it is and what it does to your skin?
Don't you know what a cursed pond is? Who are you really, strange boy, and what is your story?
I'm Sami Amin, just a common kid who takes a random trip to the Tower of the Dead and shares a table with the future queen of ugliness.
What? A common child? ... But you can't cross over to our world, unlike us, so how did you manage it?

Because I have the license to jump between worlds.

Remind me your name again, kid.

I'm Sami Amin.
I'm the one ...
"Stop it, I'll remember by myself. My memory is still good despite everything that has happened."
She looks at him, focuses, and then says, "Ah... You're the one who tried to summon the spirit of one of your ancestors but in return you summoned an unknown entity from the world of darkness after mispronouncing the spell?"
"Sami nodded without speaking...
So you're the one who burned the family of the genie Shamloul with hot water when they were at a family meeting?
He again answers negatively.
So who are you?

At this moment, a woman who was sitting in the opposite seat gets up and asks the crying girl to watch her daughters as she will be gone for a moment.

The boy feels that this is his chance to get rid of the crying girl, so he takes advantage of it and says, "Well, I'll take care of them, madam." He stands up and the woman is very pleased and says, "Oh thank you, boy, and allow me to introduce my two daughters, Renad is in the fourth grade and Miral is in the third grade, take care of them and I won't be gone long, and on my return you will get a large prickly pear fruit as a reward.
No, Madam, don't bother, I'll do it for free.
She leaves, thankful, while Sami sits in the same place the woman had taken in front of the two girls, the younger of whom sits by the closed window.
She puts a small brown pot containing a carnivorous Venus plant in front of her and feeds it some worms and the plant responds to her like a pet, ...
Miral introduces her plant to Sami, "Look, boy, it's Venus, my first pet plant, she's one month old, and after another month she will grow in size and start eating lizards and mice."
The boy wonders, "Really?"
The eldest daughter wears glasses and has two long braids on her shoulders in an elegant dress and shows signs of intelligence and gumption. Noticing Sami's exaggerated surprise at her sister's plant, she asks him, "Why are you looking at Venus so strangely, boy? Haven't you ever seen a pet plant before?"
"Sami tried to answer in a clever way: "Yes it is, Renad, I live in a remote area and we don't get a lot of luxuries there."