Fantamasia

Mathrojica

The first thing I knew was the throbbing pain in my head and the softness of a pillow in a nice soothing atmosphere. I tried to get up and look for Professor Mufti and Feathers but I didn’t have the energy to even move a finger. I prayed that Feathers wasn’t hurt. If anything ever happened to him then I would be the one to blame and I would NEVER forgive myself for losing my best friend. I even secretly hoped that Professor Mufti was alright because if it wasn’t for him then I wouldn’t have known about the things that I knew, besides I would blame myself if he wouldn’t be able to get back to his home.

 A nurse came my way and gave me some pills for my throbbing head and fixed my pillows. She was about to leave when I asked her if the people who dropped me here were fine and had not been injured. She was mute so she told me that they were fine in sign language. Professor Mufti soon came into my ward to see how I was doing and made me feel much better. He told me that we were in Mathrojica and wouldn’t be leaving before I fully recovered. I asked him if Feathers was alright, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice. I didn’t even hear the exact sentence except the words ‘sleepy but worried about you’. As long as he was safe I would allow myself to breathe. The doctor told me that I would be able to go outside for a little while but should make sure not to exert myself too much.

The next several days went quite smoothly. Sometimes we would have picnics on nearby benches eating the delicious left overs of Candy Lands delicacies or just sitting beneath the shade of an Oak tree and joking around with Feathers or reading a book that the Professor had given me. I finally felt relaxed. It didn’t seem as though I had too much on my shoulders, or that everyone was depending on me to find my father. I was finally at ease and tried to enjoy the little things in front of me as well as the people who were with me in this task.

On the day that I was declared fully recovered, a big fair was being put up in Mathrojica.  There were rides, food stalls and Math contests which bogotten a trophy especially in math! She was tall and slender, with hair as straight as a pencil but as black as coal, a charming smile, caring eyes and a good taste in clothes. We were just about to leave the tent when she congratulated us on winning third place. I tried my best not to boast but told her that I had always been good in math. She nodded in reply and said ‘Do you know, as a child I always loved math. In fact it was and still is my favourite subject’. She then invited us to have tea with her in the park which all three of us accepted eagerly.

 We had macaroons and croissants with green tea (of course Feathers only had the macaroons and croissants).Before I knew it the topic at the table had suddenly changed into politics which made me stay quiet but then Jolene asked me about my family. That awkward question had always been tough for me to answer; I swallowed my fear and told her about my father in Fantamasia and how I was going to get him back, and also added the part about Candy Land and the part about the Smokies as well as how Professor Mufti helped me out and how we had turned up in Mathrojica. But I left the part about my mother. Somehow she saw the stuff going on in my head and the look in my eyes, gave me a look that said ‘I understand’ and then started a conversation about taxes with Professor Mufti. She also told me a little about herself; I got to know that she taught school mathematics and that she had been chosen by the village folk to be the head judge for the fair.  We got up, thanked her for the lovely tea and went off.