Thanks noble Joble. I appreciate ur observation.

Hmm...

Hope shook the baby out of sleep. The girl burped and gave out a loud yell, but the boy petted her with a clay toy. Though Standaloof was a year old already, she was still not able to sit up on her own. All she could do was to lie dozing all day. Hope smiled as he deemed it a great opportunity for him to redeem the pledge he had made to himself that he would help her be on a sitting posture someday. Being aware of time, Hope sat Standaloof down but she fell backward. She gave out a long yell. Quietly, Hope observed the rhythmic pattern of her cry; the first yell was long, followed by a long silence such that Hope thought she had stopped crying. Just then her voice came up again, with no significant break between the yells.
"Don't cry, baby don't cry," Hope pacified her. However, Hope did not back out, instead, he kept trying to make her sit up without any external support. Just when Hope would give up the hope of seeing her sit, he remembered the first stanza of Father Sage's common poem whose structure the pillars of the temple was fashioned after:
Step by step, such is life
But if you stop then you die

Dedicated to Joble, the first female to comment on this thread...

"Yes!" Hope screamed. "I'll make you sit up, teach you how to crawl, stand, walk, run and--fly." Hope yelled "Oops!" when he remembered that human don't fly.
After much trial Standaloof began to sit on her own. She was smiling as if she was enjoying her new posture. Hope soon left teaching her how to sit and proceeded to teach her how to crawl. Having made her to be on all fours, he left her arms but she fell and gashed her forehead against the floor. She raised her voice to voice out an ear-splitting yell of agony.
"Don't cry, baby don't cry," Hope rocked her into quietness again. However, he would not give up on her, wanting to make her crawl by all means. Unfortunately, both of them succumbed to the cold arms of sleep. Two hours later, Standaloof got over the absentminded brought over her by the presence of sleep. Then she slapped Hope's laps to wake him up also. On waking up, Hope yawned like a lazy pawn and it suddenly dawned on him that he'd slept for a period of two hours. He yelled "What!" and rose to his feet immediately. Standaloof raised her hands to Hope and he bore her up. Hope could feel her weight--too much for somebody of her age.
"My baby, you're awake," said Hope, not realizing she was the one who even woke him up. Hope nuzzled his sister and gave her a kiss on the left cheek, leaving behind a wide hickey, but she struggled in his grip as if she wanted to go down again. Hope was confused at first, but later realised what she wanted. She wanted to crawl.
"So--you want to crawl?" Hope said and let her down. She grinned, revealing her toothless gums. She tried to crawl but could not move her legs, yet she was on all fours. Hope wondered why she couldn't move her legs. A thought suiddenly occured to him. Putting the thought into action, he unloosed her pant and took off the old mucky nappy he found underneath, whose weight was as heavy as Standaloof herself. The nappy was the same one used by Limitation at childhood too, under the care of Hindrance her mother. The handmade Nappy of Limitation (for so it was called) had been knitted for the intent of retarding the mobility of newborn babies, and the unlucky baby would have to bear its weight for two years. Now she was half lighter. As Hope stooped to make her crawl again, he heard the stump of feet approaching. For fear that his parents had arrived, he rapidly wrapped Standaloof up in the Blanket of Restriction as she was before and then rushed out to see who was coming. Hope fell into the headlock made by Badwill who had been lurking in a corner for him.
"Let me alone!" yelled Hope but Badwill thumped his head hard with his fist such that he was concussed. Triumphantly, Badwill screamed, "Badwish! Mother Witch! Come over, I've captured Hope!" In a flash, Badwish rushed to the spot and spotted Hope in his brother's grip, unconscious.
"Wow! Badwill, what a good job you've done here!"Badwish commented gladly.
"Where is Mother Witch?" Badwill asked curiously, but Badwish replied at once, "She's remaining behind to hear more of the trumpets of Mr. and Mrs. Mediocrity and their son Vulne." Badwish paused and swallowed his spittle. "I wish Mother Witch is here to see this scene."
As a matter of fact, the Bad wouldn't have come to the Dilapidation dwellingplace if the Mediocres hadn't entered into the streets to blow their trumpets into every ear, not knowing which is which and which is witch and which is wishing them good or bad. With the Trumpet of Imagination in her mouth, Limitation had hollered, "All you people of Happy-Go-Lucky, listen carefully to what I shall now say! Father Sage has dreamt that my son Vulnerability scaled through the River of Achievement to the Island of Greatness and brought with him the long-awaited Mr. Goodluck."
Madam Pickoffence squinted her pale face while Mrs. Jealousy frowned at Limitation's news.
"Limitation isn't literate," Madam Pickoffence soliloquised. "Therefore the issue that her issue got to the Island of Greatness shouldn't crop up at all." Mrs. Jealousy also whispered to herself, "How could Limitation's son get to the sunny island before my own son Stubby? I must do everything in my ability to stop him from getting there."
Limitation asked her son to speak into his own trumpet also, for every ear's hearing, and he obeyed, shouting, "My mum has said the truth concerning my journey to the Island of Greatness! Old Father Sage in the Dotage cottage has told me that he could spell out the ability in me Vulnerability to get into the said island. Then I shall bring Mr. Goodluck down into this town."
"You've heard it all!" yelled Limitation into her trumpet. "My son shall get there and no one shall be able to stop him; not even anyone from the dreaded evil hut called the Hurt huts near here," she shouted, pointing towards the ugly old witch called Mother Witch who was sitting on a rock in front of her huts.

She was a hunchbacked crabby old woman whose flaky skins, wrinkles, tangled teeth and suntanned craggy face could scare life out of an average person (especially the kids of Average Street). They feared her face so much that they detested facing her directly whenever they had had the cause to come across her. She wore rings on her nose, on her wrinkled pinkies and on each toe of her pigeon-toed legs. The teeth left on her gums were just four, for dotage had plucked out the rest, yet she had made the four teeth golden with the aim of prettifying her ugly being. At Limitation’s maligning statement, Mother Witch thumped up from the rock, feeling mocked. Immediately, she unlocked the door of the Bads and informed them of the aspersion Limitation had cast at the Hurt. Being agitated, Badwill and Badwish pulled out their Daggers of Anger in readiness to attack Limitation, but Mother Witch advised them otherwise. “Keep your Daggers of Anger, my boys. Instead of an open confrontation, why not let us get out of here to kidnap the children they’ve left behind in Dilapidation dwelling place?” Gladly, the Bads, with the exception of Baddream, agreed to follow Mother Witch to Dilapidation dwelling place to capture Hope and Standaloof. Baddream could not join them because he was fast asleep then, dreaming.
Mother Witch soon reached the Dilapidation dwelling place and was pleased to see Hope in the Bads’ grips. “You’ve captured Hope? Good!” she exclaimed in excitement.
“Mother, it was such an easy task for me—the task of capturing Hope,” Badwill replied, smiling.
“Badwill, thanks. You’ve done a great good for us all in the Hurt huts.”
“Yes, Mr. Oppressor will be glad you did this.” Badwill was grinning.
“Mother, shall we leave now?” Badwill said, lifting the unconscious body of Hope to his shoulder to shoulder him, just like a soldier would shoulder a fellow soldier who’d been wounded by enemy soldiers in the battle front.
“Not yet,” Mother Witch replied at once. “There’s one more child to abduct—Standaloof. I knew her name when Mr. Nonsense was christening her last year. She’ll make an easy catch.” The three got into the inner room hastily and found the Blanket of Restriction at one corner of the room.
“She must be underneath,” Mother Witch smiled and bent eagerly to pull the blanket away from Standaloof’s body, but to their shock it was the floor they saw lying aloof beneath the blanket.
“What!” they interjected as if some injection needles had just pricked them. After much futile search for Standaloof, they made do with Hope who was still unconscious as a result of the large pangs he got from the gargantuan bangs on his head by the evil gang. As they were leaving with Hope alone, the rain began to pour. However, they trekked on. On the way to the Hurt, Hope’s eyes flicked open suddenly. Seeing himself lying on a strange shoulder, he was shocked. He was scared the more when he saw Badwill and Mother Witch coming behind.
“Hope, you’re awake?” said Mother Witch.
“Help! Help!” Hope screamed.
“No help for you Hope,” Mother Witch mocked him. “Your parents have incurred our wrath and we shall let them know that we’re capable of hindering Vulnerability from getting to the Island of Greatness.”
“I’ve done no offence, or have I? So, why capture me for nothing?” cried Hope while all laughed.
“We are not capturing you for nothing,” Mother Witch replied jokingly, “But for something—to make Vulnerability lose the ability in him to get to the Island.”
“I can’t understand,” Hope confessed, nonplussed.
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” the trio laughed. “Listen Hopefulness, if we take you away the ability in Vulnerability shall vanish. You are the ability in Vulnerability. And for Vulne, losing you means losing the hope of getting to the Island of Greatness, Hope.”
“It’s a lie!” Hope yelled at them. “How do you know all these?”
“Do you think it’s for fun people call me Mother Witch? Anyway...you’ll learn more about me when you get to the Hurt. Ha! Ha! Ha!”
“Let me alone!” Hope screamed and struggled in pain, in vain, in the rain to gain freedom, but the hurters mocked him. “We shall take you to Mister Oppressor to torture consciousness out of you.” As Hope heard their threats, his fear was kindled and his brain addled, yet he had a slight belief that he would not get into the Hurt with them to be hurt. He mustered all the strength in him to cry for help, but they ignored his yells and laughed him to scorn. All of a sudden, a large silhouette emerged from the Land of Despair where the Doubt’s School of Thought’s foundation was laid. It seemed as though the giant had heard Hope’s loud cry and had rushed to his safety.
“It’s Giant Faith!” whispered the hurters, trembling. Without thinking twice, the duo took to their heels after letting Hope fall from their grips (even Mother Witch hobbled sluggishly after the Bads for the reason of her age) fearing what Giant Faith would do. Giant Faith hopped to Hope and pulled him up.
“Hey, little Hope, I’m Giant Faith,” the giant said and Hope was shocked.
“I don’t know you. How come you know me?”
“I know your name when Father Sage was christening you fourteen years ago. Mr. Nonsense was about to christen you Hopelessness when Father Sage and I arrived your home. Mr. Nonsense quickly dropped you on your mother’s lap and fled for fear. Then Father Sage picked you up and christened you Hopefulness, confessing that he could see the fullness of the hope of getting to the Island of Greatness in you.” Little Hope smiled and replied, “Thanks a lot, Giant Faith. You’ve indeed raised my hope of making it through the River of Achievement.”
“No thanks,” replied the giant humbly.
“But...did my uncle send you to rescue me out of—?”
“You mean Doubt?” Giant Faith interrupted.
“Yeah,” Hope responded. “Because I saw you rushing out of his land when I made the cry.”
“You’re very observant, Hope, but it wasn’t Doubt who asked me to rescue you. I came out of there of my own accord when I heard your cry of agony.”
“But what were you doing there?” Hope asked further, wanting to be sure that his new friend (Giant Faith) wasn’t the friend of his old enemy (Doubt). The giant grinned and then responded, “I’ve only entered the Land of Despair to destroy the foundation of Doubt’s School of Thought founded on it.”
“So, have you destroyed it?”
“Oh yes!” Giant Faith replied. “In the presence of its founder, Doubt, your uncle, just exactly as I was sent by Father Sage.”
“Wonderful!” Hope put up a bright smile to reveal his abhorrence for his uncle.
Hope and Faith parted ways after bidding bye to each other. In loneliness, Hope trekked homeward, having the thought of Standaloof in mind.
Standaloof had crawled out of the Blanket of Restriction earlier, just a few moments before Mother Witch and the Bads got in to pull up the blanket: Standaloof, having sensed Hope’s capture, had mustered all the strength in her to crawl by herself, something she hadn’t done all her lives: thanks to the knowledge of how to crawl she’d received from her brother earlier, and for the Nappy of Limitation Hope had unstrapped from her buttock to make her nippy.
Standaloof seemed glad to see herself now crawling. She had crawled across a footpath and had entered a bushy area where she spotted a tortoise which seemed to her as if stagnant—not moving. Standaloof taught the tortoise how to crawl by pushing it along.
Little Hope rushed into the inner room and pulled up the blanket, but underneath it was no Standaloof. “What the hell!” he yelled. Then he saw a tortoise making its way into the house via a wide crack. Still bedazzled by the sight, Hope sighted a head raised behind the tortoise and the mouth in the head uttered, “Ta—ta—ta!”
“Standaloof!” Hope expressed exhilaration when he discovered it was his sister.
It was dark before Hope’s parents and brother returned. They had been soaked by the rain.
“Hoosh!” Limitation yawned as she cupped her hand over her mouth. “What a day!”
“Lim, today’s wonderful,” said Mediocre as the three began to hit the conical orifices of their trumpets against their palms to get rid of the much saliva they had blown into them.
Limitation spoke up, looking straight into Hope’s lacklustre face, “Son, you’ve missed a great sight today on the building site of Miss Endurance where we remained blowing our trumpets unhindered. That celibate old woman had to leave her site for us when we kept reciting our loud noise into the trumpets to disturb her Peace.” When Hope wouldn’t budge, she added, “Even the Hurt dwellers couldn’t touch us.”
“But they came here,” confessed Hope. “They captured me, but Standaloof crawled away secretly before they could lay their hands on her.”
“Keep quiet, liar!” screamed Limitation.
“It’s the truth!” Hope argued boldly but his speech did nothing more than eliciting hilarity from his parents’ mouths.
“It’s absurd! Standaloof crawled to safety but you couldn’t walk or run to safety yourself, or didn’t you say they captured you?” Mediocrity said amidst laughter.
“You lied that my baby crawled to safety? Standaloof can’t crawl, not when she’s having the weighty nappy beneath her hips!” Limitation added. “But I taught her—I taught her after taking off the nappy,” Hope replied immediately.
“Liar!” Mediocrity yelled at him, then Limitation said, “Little boy, can I now ask you how you managed to escape from the hands of your captors?”
“Giant Faith set me free,” Hope replied, but was shunned.
“Ssh! The giant you’ve mentioned isn’t capable of setting you free, because he’s too powerless to face the hurters,” Limitation concluded.

CHAPTER FOUR
THE ADVICE OF MR. DOUBT

On the eve of Vulnerability’s journey to the Island of Greatness, Limitation sent for her elder brother, Doubt, to seek his counsel concerning her son’s departure. Limitation spotted Doubt through a crack in the wall and sent Hope to help bear his duffel bag. Doubt had scanty hairs on his head, being partially bald. The dark horn-rimmed spectacles set before his face seemed to be making his appearance spectacular, since the glasses had concealed the natural scary glares of his face. A wristwatch hung in the fob at the centre of his coat. Doubt would hardly take his face off the watch. Maybe he was doing so to call the attention of others to it. It was the Watch of Despair, which he got from his father aside the many scrolls he had kept in his study right inside the Flirts’ flats. The Watch of Despair was the only asset of Despair that had survived the destruction of the Den of Despair by Mr. Saint. The watch was not only indispensable to Doubt but was also the despair of those worshipping in Mr. Atheist’s synagogue called the Synagogue of Sinners. As he walked, his double chin lolloped beneath his jaw to give his head the shape of the caricature of a well-to-do personage. The orifices of his bulbous nostrils were as wide as the hole on the top of the long pipe in his mouth, whose stale smoke he had just puffed into his lungs. The smoke from the pipe of the moon-faced corpulent man almost choked Hope, who coughed and collected the load quickly. The man was about six feet and three inches tall, fat-faced, with a rotund physique.
“Dang! This load is too heavy!” grumbled Hope, and then he stumbled, dropping the heavy load immediately.
“Hope!” screamed Limitation. “Why did you drop your uncle’s load? Come on, pick it up right away!”
“I can’t!” rebuffed Hope sharply, exiting the room for another—the inner one. In annoyance, Limitation made to go after her rude boy, but Doubt restrained her.
“Lim, my little sister, blame not Hope,” said Mr. Doubt. “My loads are heavy indeed—too much for Hope to bear. I doubt if you’ll be able to bear it yourself.”
“But what d’you have in your bag that’s causing this heaviness?” Limitation wanted to know.
“Stones! Flat stones on which surfaces my quotes are inscribed,” replied Doubt. “So, Lim, why did you send for me?”
“Uh! Did Vulne not tell you?”
“Not at all. The message was delivered to my son because I wasn’t home when he came. My son only told me that you wanted to see me. I doubt if Vulne told him what it’s all about.”
“Okay,” Limitation whispered. “Excuse me for a second,” she added, raising a fat finger as she adjourned to the inner room to summon her household to the parlour. As expected, they soon came, all of them.
“So sister, why did you decide to send for me?”
“To seek your counsel concerning my son, Vulnerability.”
“On what?” he demanded curiously.
“On how he would make it to the Island of Greatness,” she replied.
“What!” Uncle Doubt yelled. “Limitation, I doubt if you’re in your right mind at all. Does it mean you now support your son’s journey to that bloody River of Achievement? So, you’ve been nursing such ambition without informing me.”
“But I sent little Hope to your flat in the Flirts’ flats to tell you about it last week,” Limitation hollered in amazement.
“I didn’t see Hope let alone his shadow under my roof,” uncle Doubt revealed to Limitation’s displeasure. She turned to Hope and held his head in her hands. Then she turned Hope’s face to face her own face and yelled, “Hope is it true?”
“Yes it is,” responded Hope curtly, having mustered much courage to utter the mutter.
“Why?” Mediocrity screamed at him, but Limitation was dumbfounded already, staring with open mouth. “Why didn’t you—?”
“Because I’m convinced that uncle Doubt will surely douse Vulne’s dream of getting to the Island,” replied Hope audaciously. “More so, Father Sage has warned that we shouldn’t allow the air to blow the news into his ears, else, Vulnerability’s ability and agility shall be deadened.”
“Shut up there!” Limitation vociferated. “I wonder who put those words into your mouth.” Mr. Doubt had frowned in dismay when little Hope mentioned the old priest’s name; the name he would not want to hear all his lives.
“Hope!” he yelled. “Don’t call the name of that gray-head in my presence anymore, because he’s such a cruel man, using force to achieve things.”
“How do you mean?” Limitation asked her brother.
“The old fool is full of himself. He sent one of his nephews to destroy the foundation of my school.”
“Sorry for the loss,” they commiserated.
“I doubt if the Sage is wise at all,” said Doubt. “I also doubt his love for this family; if he’s really in good term with this wonderful family, he wouldn’t have encouraged Vulne to make a move toward the Island of Greatness, since it was on this same journey Alacrity lost his life. Remember, Alacrity of then with is stout physique was by far stronger and more agile than the Vulne of now with his cadaverous look when he left for the Island, yet he died in the River of Achievement.”
“He didn’t die in the River of Achievement,” came up Hope’s voice. “But in the forbidden River of Haste,” he added.
“Keep shut!” Limitation yelled at him and then turned to face her brother. “Old brother, don’t get annoyed with us.”
“Why would I? Hope, listen to me, both the River of Achievement and the River of Haste are the same, since both are leading to your supposed Island. Listen to me, Hope, whether those rivers are existing or not, the truth is this—no one can get into the Island of Greatness through them.”
“But Badmanner scaled through the River of Haste to the Island of Greatness,” Hope responded but his uncle debunked, saying, “Wasn’t that a rumour spread by your friend Gooddream and his brothers? It’s a blatant lie that Badmanner got into the Island. Even if the story was true, I’m sure Mr. Goodluck wouldn’t smile at him for such act. Mr. Goodluck will definitely not agree with someone who got to the Island through the forbidden river.”
“But neither Vulne nor myself will go through that route, but through the River of Achievement,” Hope said. In silence, uncle Doubt stared at the cracked ceiling of the Dilapidation dwelling place, and through it he saw the position of the sun in the sky.
“I doubt if this argument would have been settled before the sun settles in the west to rest for the rest of the day. Lim, I blame it all on you.” Doubt faced his sister.
“Why?” she was shocked.
“If you hadn’t named him Hope, the hope that he could elope with Peace to cope with the slopes on the road to that abstract island wouldn’t have been within his scope.”
“But you shouldn’t blame me for this!” Limitation frowned. “You’d rather blame Mr. Nonsense; you know he was the person who left us and left Hope with us, thereby leaving us with no hope of naming our son the name we crave, allowing Father Sage to christen him Hopefulness instead of the Hopelessness we had in mind to name him.”
Uncle Doubt shook his head sideways to pity Hope. “Well—nothing spoils,” he said. “Let’s just have it at the back of our minds that whenever we call Hope, we’re only meaning it for Hopelessness our boy.” The house burst into a mocking laughter. Hope became extremely annoyed at their teases. He rushed out of the room to an inner one.
“Hopelessness, will you come back here right now?” Limitation was yelling, but her shout was not potent enough for Hope to change his mind.
“Let him alone,” Doubt spoke, hissing. “Just make sure you do everything in your capacity to prevent him from leaving the house, else you’ll have another child drowned in the river.”
“I’ll do just that, my brother,” she responded humbly. Surprisingly, Hope entered the room again, feeling awkward, and all eyes went gawking at his direction as if he was a hawk in search of a-day-old chick. They could not conjecture his gesture. The boy bent to carry Standaloof into the inner room so he could teach her how to stand, but Limitation screamed at him, detecting his intention.
“Hope, drop that poor girl right away!” she cried. “I know that you know that I know that you want to take her away to teach her how to move, isn’t it?”
“Yes of course!” Hope replied without a trace of fear. “Or is it crime to teach someone how to move?” Hope was expecting to hear his mother contradict him. However, this time it was Doubt who responded, “It’s big crime for that matter. It is good aim that Standaloof should remain maimed, lame and tamed here in accordance with her name instead of letting her walk out of Dilapidation to be dead in those evil rivers.”
“It’s not good,” Hope debunked rudely. “If it’s crime then Father Sage hadn’t composed the poem: step by step, such is life...if one do not take a step forward, then another person running forward will see the stagnant fellow as though he’s taking a backward step. That’s what the priest taught us last week,” Hope spoke earnestly.
“You’d better doubt the priest,” Hope’s uncle said. “In fact, you’d better doubt all who want you out of this house.”
“I can’t remain here! I can’t remain here!” Hope cried with all his soul. “How can I remain in a place like this where bed bugs and mosquitoes wouldn’t stop bugging my toes? They will not also cease to seize the blood in my sinews and suck the little red liquid in my buttocks because of these holey walls that would permit millions of them in at once. Also, rats and cockroach of reproach approach and encroach on my meals every day before I’d had the chance to feed on the meals myself. I’m tired of this dungeon whose beauty could only be compared with the ugliness of that hideous hideout called Dungalow bungalow.”
“Quiet!’ Limitation scolded. “There’s no room without mosquitoes. I’ve been to all houses in Average Street, and in them all, there are bed bugs and mosquitoes. I’ve been to the Dotage cottage, Dungalow bungalow, Flirts’ flats, Flatterers’ flats, Hurt huts, Duplicity duplex, Hostility hostel, Castration castle, Abandoned abode, Innocency inn, Unstable stable and more, yet none of them is free from mosquitoes. So what’re you saying? I’m sure that in your said Island of Greatness mosquitoes abound, biting the islanders’ toes.”
“Not just mosquitoes in the islanders’ rooms alone—” said Mediocrity, “But bees on bed too, as well as termites in garments and worms on roofs.”
“And I doubt if there aren’t centipedes and millipedes in there too,” said Doubt, laughing jokingly.
“It’s not true!” screamed Hope. “Father Sage said the island is free of all such impediments.”
“I’ll prove you wrong,” Doubt responded as he made haste to unloose his weighty bag. He unstrapped the bag and produced a big flat stone from it, on whose surface was inscribed a quote. “Lim, have this.”
“What for?” she demanded.
“Read the quote on it,” instructed Doubt, but his sister made a fleeting frown followed by an affected smile. “Brother, don’t mock me,” she said softly.
“Oh Limitation, how could I forget so soon that you’ve got a limitation, and your limitation is that you can’t read or write, right?” Doubt had just remembered his sister’s challenge. “Since you can’t read, why not deliver it to one of your sons to read it on your behalf? It’ll help Hope to keep shut.”
Limitation’s eyeballs roamed their sockets as she gave her mind to the thought of whom the stone should be given. Hope’s face beamed with audacity while Vulnerability’s own were left to beam out timidity, but Standaloof’s were of nonchalance. At last, Limitation got rid of the burden in her heart and the one on her hands too as she said “Vulne, have this” and handed the stone over to him. “Read it for the whole house.”
“I can’t!” Vulnerability said slowly. “I can’t read or—write.”
“What!” Limitation yelled. “What d’you mean?”
“Em, er, uh, we weren’t taught in my school of thought how to read or write, because our proprietor, Mr. Simpleton, believes that the idea of combining reading skills and writing skills with oral ability is extraneous. Therefore, we only do all our tests, exams and assignments orally.” Vulnerability returned the flat stone.
“Which school’s that?” demanded Doubt, doubting Vulnerability’s testimony, having stared long into those timid eyeballs he carried.
“The Simpleminded School of Thought,” Vulnerability answered.
“It’s outright nonsense!” Doubt remarked angrily. “In the school I shall have here I won’t adopt such nonsensical principle. Instead, I’ll teach my students to read and write. Then I shall have the credit to myself that Doubt’s School of Thought is the best. According to the latest ranking, the Do-nothing School of Thought is the best, and then the Fools’ School of Thought follows…Slander School of Thought, Simpleminded School of Thought and so on. Knowledge School of Thought was the worst in Happy-Go-Lucky since its inception until it was relegated.”
“But what’s it they teach in the Do-nothing School of Thought?” Mediocrity asked curiously.
“Nothing other than nothing,” Doubt replied at once. “Students get to classes and sit around round tables for eight hours without uttering a word. Many of them remain behind for extramural lessons, which would usually span two hours, speechless still, chins in hands, hands on laps. Funny enough, the school is the costliest in this town. The year I sent Idleness my only son there I almost could not afford two triangular meals daily.”
“Maybe that’s where Standaloof will attend too—later,” said Limitation elatedly. Doubt replied, laughing, “I doubt if you can afford the fee. Simpleminded simple fee you couldn’t afford let alone Do-nothing’s naughty fee. So—who’s reading this for us, because I shan’t read my quote myself?” he added.
“Hope can read quite well,” Vulnerability confessed. “I saw him reading a book secretly those days in the Simpleminded School of Thought before he was caught and sent out of class by his teacher then.”
“Hope, can you?” Doubt asked with an iota of doubt. Hope gave a nod in the affirmative and all eyes eyed his eyes with high expectations.
“But how come you could read and write?” Limitation asked curiously. Hope uttered, “Those days while I was attending SMSOT, I do sneak out of school to sneak into another school called KSOT to attend their classes.”
“What’s this SMSOT-KSOT stuff?” yelled Hope’s parents impatiently.
Hope smiled and said, “That was the technique we employ in KSOT to shorten long statements. SMSOT simply represents Simpleminded School of Thought while KSOT means—”
“Knowledge School of Thought, right?” Doubt interrupted eagerly. Hope replied, “Yes.”
“What!” Mediocrity cried. “Do you mean you sneaked into Mr. Knowledge’s School without his knowledge? You should be punished for this. Don’t you know that stolen knowledge is bad? You must return to Mr. Knowledge in the Valley of Ignorance where he’s now abiding to return to him all the knowledge you wrongly acquired in his school.”
Hope smiled and said, “But we were taught there that knowledge is indelible.”
“Enough of your talks, father and son. This stone is too heavy for me to bear a second more. Hope, have it and read into our ears now,” said Limitation, utilizing a tone of command, which was ignored by little Hope. To save time, Doubt collected the flat stone from his sister and read it himself:
Doubt all things except Doubt’s words
For if you doubt Doubt you’ll die quick
The Mediocres were overjoyed save Hope and the aloof Standaloof who had been forced to lie on her mother’s lap, which she slapped hard in fury for being hindered from crawling on the floor. Limitation had to hold her tight on those laps since she was nursing the bizarre fear that she would crawl long miles into the River of Achievement someday to sink in it.
“You’ve heard my quote, which is just a quarter of the iota of the quota I have contributed to the good of this good family this moment. Hang it on your walls gently, but don’t wait until the weight of my quote break down your walls before you act upon it. Only allow it to break down the walls of your heart and give you heartache whenever you quote it,” Doubt instructed meditatively. “In conclusion, let Vulne not risk his life at all, else he’ll die briskly. Instead, let him remain and quote my quote daily, because he has no agility to swim through a stream let alone the ability to make it through a river. Have my words.”
“Thank you, my wonderful brother,” said Limitation clasping her brother’s arms after clapping for him, but Mr. Doubt said quickly, wanting to buy time, “Bye-bye to see you by and by.” Mr. and Mrs. Mediocrity rose to accompany him. Standaloof was sitting on her father’s shoulder.
Vulnerability looked sad, fearing the slander he would get from past mates in whose ears he had sounded his trumpet few days back. He had visualized the return of his mother to turn to him and shout, Vulne, I guess you’ve heard what your uncle said—that you shouldn’t make a move to leave this town to the Island of Greatness.
I know already, mother, and I shall listen to my uncle, Doubt, Vulnerability had thought to respond. Limitation soon returned to the house with her husband and daughter, and as expected, she warned the children, quoting Doubt’s quote now hung on the wall, which she had committed to heart already.
“Vulne, take your uncle’s advice and remain all your lives in Dilapidation dwelling place where—”
“I’ve already made up my mind to stay here mum,” intruded Vulnerability. “No going back.”

I recognise your presence...
Therefore I'm dedicating this update you...
Who? Dyoungstar

CHAPTER FIVE
THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF HOPE
Hope could not hold up his head straight in the streets anymore because the streets’ children where strictly making life unbearable for him. They were not relenting in poking fun at him all the time. Slander jnr. even beat him up without a reason, Mr. Slander his father, being the proprietor of the Slander School of Thought. The boy was the only son of his father, therefore they had pampered him overly.
“Hope, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Liar,” Slander jnr. slandered Hope when he was walking down the street. “Your father and mother and brother bothered us that he’ll get into the Island of Greatness yesterday, but till today the River of Achievement is still as empty as it used to be. And I’m sure that forever it shall remain that way.” Slander jnr. laughed heartily but Hope nipped his laughter in the bud when he replied, “It shall not remain empty forever because I’ll surely enter in someday.”
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” laughed Slander. “Someday? Maybe your rotten skeleton will be dumped in there after your funeral. Ha! Ha! Ha!” Amidst the laughter, Slander walked hurriedly to Hope and twisted his arms mercilessly. He threw him at the floor eventually.
“I’ll show you how my dad and mum and aunts and uncles welcome new students into the hostel called Hostility in my father’s school.” At that instance, the boy kicked Hope severely with his hard Sandal of Scandal and allowed him to wallow in the sand until he had swallowed some of it.
Vulnerability did not escape torture as well, for he was accosted by Badmouth and Loudmouth when he was walking towards the Flirts’ flats where uncle Doubt dwelled. Since Vulnerability must need to pass before the Slander School of Thought before he could get there, he knew that trouble was imminent. Unfortunately, the school had just closed for the day and the day students were returning home when Vulnerability reached the school vicinity.
“Vulne, come here!” cried Badmouth and the boy obeyed immediately, jittering like the plucked strings of a guitar.
“I—I’m h—here,” Vulnerability confessed cowardly.
“Are we blind not to know that you’re here?” Loudmouth screamed at him, then Badmouth said, “Vulne, one day your brother will bother your father to go farther to murder your mother.” Instantly, Vulnerability began to weep as though the bad speech from Badmouth’s lips was a whip that was whipping his hips. To prevent being made a laughingstock, Vulnerability quickly began to rub out his tears. But another sentence from Loudmouth sentenced his action to death.
“Vulne, far from you lies the ability to get to the Island of Greatness!” Loudmouth jibed aloud. “Your effort in blowing the Trumpet of Imagination with agility few days ago is in futility today and shall remain in futility till infinity.”
“And dilapidated walls shall remain to fence your abode forever,” Badmouth barged in, someone who had been successively emerging the best student overall in the Slander School of Thought for years. “Loudmouth, let’s begin to torture the future out of this vulture,” added Badmouth and immediately they began to thump Vulnerability’s body.
Hope was shocked beyond measure when he saw Vulnerability shedding tears in the little shed behind the house.
“What are these tears for?” Hope asked inquisitively.
“They b—beat m—me up,” Vulnerability sniffed and stiffened like a baby as he tried to stifle the tears.
“Who?” demanded Hope. He was clearing his brother’s unwept tears off his face. The tears were unusually cold. “Tell me who beat you,” Hope asked again, looking into his cold palm.
“Badmouth and Loudmouth attending the Slander School of Thought. They made fun of me and…it pained me the most. They said they’ll torture the future out of me.”
“They can’t torture the future out of you,” Hope assured. “Slander jnr. also beat me up today too, but I had to bear it,” added Hope, helping to wipe the tears off his brother’s moist face. Just when Vulnerability’s teary face was getting dry, he let them get wet again as his eyes gave way for the release of the lachrymal gland beneath. Hope was shocked.
“Vulne, what again? Haven’t I pacified you enough?”
“You’ve t—tried my brother, b-but—but…”
“But what?”
“Badmouth said you’ll bother my father to go farther to murder my mother,” confessed Vulnerability with deep concern, but was surprised at Hope’s indifference. “Hope, are you not saying anything?”
“Well—I guess Badmouth was only trying to do his homework,” Hope replied thoughtfully. “What d’you mean?”
“You see, in the Slander School of Thought, the more you slander people, the more your score gets greater. I’m sure what Badmouth said was a product of the lessons he was taught today in his School of Thought. It’s a kind of homework, I guess.”
“Hmm!” Vulnerability said. He was now grinning. “Hope, let’s go inside to continue our talks so mum wouldn’t come close to hear us.” Without further ado, the two got into the house through a wide crack. They had not entered in for long when Hope said, “Vulne, you’ve disappointed me. And ultimately, you’ve disappointed Father Sage who had predicted seeing you in the Island of Greatness.”
“I was scared,” Vulnerability said remorsefully. His greasy face was creased with sorrow. “I couldn’t stand with mum to withstand her commanding tone, her tons of stony words, her blistering glance of lance and the pains of the rains of the abuses I would get if I disregarded her instructions.”
“You don’t need to be limited by mum,” said Hope. “If you’d performed everything the Sage wanted you do, I’m sure by now Mr. Goodluck had been here constructing the Bridge of Influence that will link here to there.”
“Is that so?” Vulnerability said with a beaming face and Hope gestured in the affirmative. “If that’s true, Hope, then I shall never give up on the island,” Vulnerability vowed with enormous strength of character, but his audacity bowed out for cowardice when they suddenly caught a glimpse of Limitation in the room.
“Vulne!” screamed Limitation. “What have I just heard you say?”
“I—em—er—uh, I—I—”Vulnerability stuttered uneasily.
“Don’t you know that our walls are special ones?” Limitation said critically. “They have ears and mouths—dilapidated walls—they tell me everything you’ve both discussed.”
“Walls don’t have ears!” Hope faulted. “You definitely heard our voices through the cracks on the walls.”
“Shut up!” Limitation yelled as she loosely whacked the jug before her and reached for Hope’s jugular. Then she turned to Vulnerability and said, “Vulne, it’s best to give up on the Island of Greatness today to avoid borrowing the Arrow of Sorrow tomorrow. Be content with the content of the dilapidated garden eggs in this dilapidated garden and forfeit the feat you are not fit for—the feat of getting to the island.”
“Yes! Yes! I’ve given up on the island already before Hope raised my hope just now. Mum—I shall now permanently forget about getting to that island,” Vulnerability promised passionately.
“That’s a very good decision my son.” Limitation hugged him. She soon left Vulnerability and came to Hope to speak soft words into his head. “Hopeless,” she addressed as she caressed his nape as though she cared for him. “There’s no place like home. Your home is Dilapidation and it will be best for you to remain in it. As you know, there are enough rooms here which your future wife can indwell with you. Stay alive here with your mother, brother, sister, together with your father, rather than taking the risk of travelling to a never-existing island where those aspiring to get to have ceased to exist now. Therefore, my son, it’s safe for you to dwell among the Mediocre family in Dilapidation dwelling place in Average Street in Happy-Go-Lucky town forever. Have you heard?” she concluded with a soft tone, expectantly.
“I have heard,” Hope replied sombrely and his mother smiled mildly. “But I’ve not accepted,” he added, sending to flight the light smiles on her cheeks. In a flash, Limitation’s white eyes had turned red and her grinning face green as she held Hope by the neck again, shoved him terribly and threw him at the floor. Then she went low, pinning him down with her heavy arms. Hope howled incessantly and struggled like a camel overburdened with loads as he tried to free himself from Limitation’s trammel. The more he struggled the less his strength was becoming. Her attention was soon diverted when Mediocrity rushed in with Standaloof, both of them wearing happy faces.
“Why are your dimples so deep into your cheeks this way?” she asked irately.
“It’s good news, Lim!” Mediocrity replied. “Standaloof can now stand on her own! She just did that now!” Without further ado, Mediocrity set her down and she stood on her feet unaided, to the shock of Hope and Vulnerability. Seeing his sister now standing, Hope rushed to her, crouched before her and pulled out a hand to beckon on her to come closer, but Limitation did not reckon with his idea, therefore she yelled in annoyance, “Stop! Stop! Stop!”
“But why?” asked Hope dauntlessly.
“It’s enough for Standaloof to stand only. As such, she’ll be living to fulfil the meaning of her name—Standaloof, not Walkaloof. Don’t try to turn my daughter into a toddler. I mean don’t teach her how to walk.”
“Hmm!” Mediocrity sighed. “What a wonderful wife I’ve got here! You have foresight!” He was staring at his wife with admiration.
“You’re right, Med. I foresaw the danger in allowing Standaloof know how to walk, so I shall forestall it. She’ll walk aloof aloft the pink river and then sink suddenly, drinking a whole lot of the messy water to death before getting to the brink.” Mediocrity nodded to her statement. However, Hope’s face remained stony. In anger, Limitation said, “Hope is the black horse in this house. He’s trying, each second, to influence Vulne’s personal interest. But I shall now put a demarcation between them.”
“But how’s that possible?” asked Mediocrity with interest. “Remember, their rooms are linked to each other by the numberless cracks on their wall. So, they’ll always communicate through them.” Limitation smiled and replied, “Sweet Med, trust me. I’m Limitation, therefore trust me to set a limit.”

Before sunset, Limitation had set a demarcation. She had tied some elongated ropes across the cracks in the wall separating her sons’ rooms.
“Don’t cross these ropes to the other side,” Limitation commanded. Little Hope could hardly wait for his mother’s exit before poking his head into his brother’s room.
“Vulne,” Hope called silently. He soon discovered that his brother was fast asleep, yet not covered with the blanket. “Vulne,” Hope called again, but with a louder tone.
“Yes,” whispered Vulnerability, yawning out of sleep.
“I’m coming over.” Hope got into a wide gash beneath the Ropes of Limitation to enter his brother’s room.
“Hope, what’s it you’re doing? Crossing your limit?”
“Ssh!” sounded Hope. Vulnerability kept silent. “Vulne, what are you going to do about it now?”
“About what?” asked Vulnerability with a sense of innocency.
“Will you remain in Dilapidation forever? Will you now allow Father Sage’s dream pass away without fulfilment? Don’t you know what the multiplication of the implication of your staying behind in this place would result into? Will you stay here until these four tall walls fall on you, or until the mosquitoes here suck you dry? Won’t you—?” Hope ceased speaking when he discovered that Vulnerability had burst into tears. “Brother!” exclaimed Hope, clinching to his brother and shaking him.
“Hope,” his brother replied, sniffing. “It’s no wish of mine to remain here dishing out my blood to mosquitoes and bedbugs. But I’m scared of mum and uncle.” As Vulnerability made an end to his speech, he burst into tears again, but Hope nipped it in the bud when he said, “C’mon Vulne, clear your tears and fears and wear you dear smiles once more, because the way to the Island of Greatness is quite easy.” Eagerly, Vulnerability sat up to listen to Hope, but then Hope coughed.
“Come on, tell me what you mean by that.”
“Those days, when I do sneak into Knowledge School of Thought, I was taught that the River of Achievement is the easiest of all rivers to scale through.”
“But why’s it that none has passed through it from here?”
“Fear!” replied Hope at once. “Every Happy-Go-Lucker refuses to make a move towards this river because of Fear. The few who had tried crossing it had ended up giving up to oppositions from foes’ kicking toes and warring hoes.” Hope’s parable was incomprehensible to Vulnerability, who dimmed his eyes and frowned to gesture that he wasn’t getting Hope’s expatiation.
“It seems you are not getting my speech,” Hope perceived.
“Yes. Is there anyone who have tried getting to the island but was kicked and killed with toes and hoes?”
“Not really,” replied Hope, smiling. “In Knowledge School of Thought, kicking toes is the term we use for describing whoever is against crossing of the River of Achievement and warring hoes for the dwellers of the Hurt huts.”
“Hmm!” sounded Vulnerability with delight. “Tell me more about the Knowledge School of Thought. Can’t wait to hear more!”
“There’s too much to say about KSOT,” Hope said as he cleared his throat. “Well—I’ll begin from the teachers over there. Mr. Experience was the best teacher in the Knowledge School of Thought. I’ve often heard this fact confirmed by Father Sage, and by Mr. Principle the principal of KSOT also whenever we were queuing up on a line called the Line of Reasoning on the assembly ground. Back then, Mr. Experience was teaching in the Level of Attainment and the Level of Tolerance in the Thinking Faculty in the Knowledge School of Thought.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes—so serious,” Hope replied frankly. “Father Sage would always say, Experience is the best teacher—not only the best in Knowledge School of Thought, but the best in the whole of Happy-Go-Lucky.”
“But during the last Happy-Go-Lucky Teachers’ Award Day, Mr. Inexperience in the Do-nothing School of Thought was the one awarded the best teacher, not your said Mr. Experience. Can you please explain this? In fact, Mr. Experience’s name did not appear in the long list.”
“Yeah, you’re right, Vulne,” Hope admitted. “I believe you know the abhorrence harboured towards the Knowledge School of Thought by the Panel of Partial Judges. So you can’t expect a teacher from there to be recognized.”
“That’s true!” exclaimed Vulnerability, pushing his left index finger down the dimple on his right puffy cheek to index his acceptance of Hope’s assertion. In ten seconds, four cheeks were set into conspicuous smiles, but Vulnerability’s own two were soon filled up with questions to pour out. Without hesitating, Vulnerability asked, “Why is Mr. Experience regarded the best in that school of yours? What are his teachings like?”
“He’s got pragmatic approach towards things, believing that critical practical and nothing more, is the key to becoming a good student. Mr. Experience would always tell us stories about his own past, asking us to pick up and kick away.” Hope paused to clap, having noticed a huge flying mosquito whose transparent potbelly was appearing blood red.
“Pick up what?” asked Vulnerability in confusion. Hope replied, “His past good deeds we pick up, wrong ones we kick away.”
“Pick or kick? Wonderful!” laughed Vulnerability delightfully. “So tell me now—what are his past deeds?”
“It’s a long story,” Hope grimaced as though not pleased with the idea of sharing the story. “Took a whole school term for him to share—but I’ll summarize it up.”
“Mr. Experience was born to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Evil who were residing in the Hurt huts. He was born just a day after Mr. Evil his father died. Immediately after his birth, his mother and uncle threw him out of the Hurt huts through the Widow’s window for no known reason. Father Sage found him hurt beside the Hurt and shedding tears. He picked him up and took him away to cater for him in the Dotage Cottage where he was christened Experience.”
Experience dwelt with Father Sage until he was six when Mr. Torment his uncle and Mrs. Evil his mother came forcefully to claim him again. Father Sage readily released the poor boy to them to avoid strife.
Experience experienced a great deal of torment from Torment his uncle who did always ensure to clothe him with the Garment of Torment lined with thorns in the inside as a punitive measure for the young boy’s several attempts of escaping the Hurt huts to live in the Island of Greatness. Experience became a scapegoat, for he was not able to escape being tied down with ropes like a goat.
For years Experience kept on receiving tortures from all in the Hurt huts. Luckily, he escaped their evil treats eventually and spent most of his lifetime sleeping and hanging around in the Abandoned Abode where it was believed that he was influenced negatively by the lifestyle of two brothers—Fugitive and Vagabond. However, Experience didn’t stay long in the Abandoned Abode, strengthening himself eventually to race to the River of Achievement in order to get to the Island of Greatness. Though Experience saw the River of Achievement with his eyes, he didn’t get into it...
“Why didn’t Mr. Experience get into the River of Achievement?” Vulnerability demanded hastily, being engulfed in the story.
“Because Despair the son of Discouragement, Uncle Doubt and mum’s father discouraged him from leaping into it and led him to the Den of Despair instead,” Hope declared sorrowfully.
“Gush!” screamed Vulnerability annoyingly. “He shouldn’t have listened to our granny—he shouldn’t have—”
“Our granny’s words were too heavy for Mr. Experience—that’s why,” Hope responded. “As you can see in mum’s character, our lineage from mum’s angle seems to be possessing great strength of character—I mean there’s a gene of evil genius passed from generation to generation—from Discouragement to Despair...and from Despair to Doubt.”
“Gene? Evil genius? I’m confused here!” hollered Vulnerability, nonplussed.
“You’d be confused because you’ve never stepped on the first step of the Knowledge School of Thought where terms like gene, genius and lot more were being used. All I’m trying to say is, there’s an evil ability in mum’s lineage which you can’t perceive visually, since it’s lying deep inside the blood. Father Discouragement passed it on to Despair his son at birth and Father Despair passed it to Uncle Doubt and Mum—at birth too.”
“What’s this gene?” Vulnerability wanted to know.
“Negativity.” Hope replied. “Always wanting to act in the opposite towards good things—advising people in the contrary,” he expatiated and silence descended on them. Vulnerability’s voice pervaded the silence as he asked, “I’ve never seen you acting negative towards good things—the Island of Greatness. Are you not from mum’s lineage too? Then you’d be having that Gene of Negativity as well.”
“Well...maybe because I was christened by Father Sage,” Hope replied. “Perhaps the Hopefulness I was named has lamed and tamed that famed evil gene in me.”
“How did you get all these knowledge?”
“By paying attention in Knowledge School of Thought.”
“But why am I always scared—scared of everything, yet you said mum’s lineage possesses strong strength of character,” Vulnerability asked with heaviness of heart.
“Well—I think you’ve got more of dad’s gene in you,” explained Hope without premeditating. “Dad’s lineage feels inferior to others due to its poor background—Mr. Poverty dad’s grandfather and Mr. Austerity dad’s father were the two most cowed people in the history of Happy-Go-Lucky, choosing to leave houses behind to live with horses—an unstable life in a stable—feeding with Mr. Evil’s black horses in the Danger manger. This gene of fear was passed from Poverty to Austerity and from Austerity to Mediocrity our dad.”
Vulnerability got bored of the discussion.
“Hey, Hope, let’s talk about Mr. Experience. Did you say Mr. Experience told you this story of himself by himself?”
“Yes of course!”
“Then he must have learnt his lesson. Why can’t he now venture into this adventure again and get into the Island of Greatness by crossing the River Achievement?”
“He discovered this too late,” Hope replied sorrowfully. “Mr. Experience said that River Achievement can best be crossed by agile youths—not fragile adults—in whose bodies lie the vigour to swim through a wide river. So he thought it best to teach young ones how to make it through the river at their early stage of life instead of whiling it away while they are still tender and agile.”
“Hmm!” Vulnerability heaved. “With what I’ve heard you say, Hope, Experience is indeed the best teacher.”
“You get it!” Hope corroborated and then kept silent for silence to speak. Vulnerability interrupted it with a howl.
“Hope, let’s get going immediately!” Vulnerability was tugging at Hope’s right wrist.
“To where?” asked Hope, not having a clue.
“River Achievement of course!” replied Vulnerability boldly as he forcefully pushed up the Ropes of Limitation. Without further ado the two set out. They found Standaloof outside the house, dancing on a spot.
“Ta, ta!” she sounded playfully when she sighted her brothers.
“Ah!” screamed Vulnerability. “I’m doomed! Mum asked me to carry her inside when she was leaving for market this morning.” Hurriedly, Vulnerability bore her into her room and returned to Hope in a matter of seconds. Then the journey began.

If you are following this thread, please I need your comments. Thank you all.

CHAPTER SIX
TEMPTERS BEHIND, ATTEMPTERS AHEAD

Hope and Vulnerability had not trekked long miles when they came across Goodwill, Goodwish and Gooddream who agreed to accompany them to the River or Achievement.
Mother Witch peeped through her window and noticed five silhouettes striding towards the rough path believed to be leading to the River of Achievement.
“What!” she exclaimed as she noticed the persons of the moving figures.
“Hope, Vulne and the Goods!” she cried. “I must stop them,” she said, smiling sinisterly as she rushed out of the room to get the Bads aware. Mother Witch thumped the door of the Bads so hard that she nearly ruined it. For fear, the three brothers rushed out to see who was at the door. They heaved sighs of relief when they saw Mother Witch.
“Mother, what’s it again?” asked Badwill, panting.
“Come and see,” she replied. “I’ve got a task for you.”
“I wish it’s not a task too hard.” Badwill said uneasily. “Because I’m afraid of Revenge who could be sent after us after we’ve accomplished your said task.”
“Forget it,” Mother Witch responded. “It’s a very easy task, and I’m sure Revenge won’t get himself involved in this. Little Hope is heading down the hill, towards the rough path leading to the River of Achievement. I want you to go bring him here right away.”
“What a good news!” the Bads exclaimed simultaneously, and in a jiff they were all out of the Hurt to capture them.
Mother Witch tarried behind the Widow’s window, smiling to herself in self-conceit. Her smeared widow’s weeds hung loosely down the window, for she had put them there for a blind. To the left of the window was an old cupboard whose interior was reeking terribly. It seemed like the old woman wasn’t perceiving the nauseating smell, perhaps dotage had ripped her off her olfactory organs. The tall wooden cupboard had been named the Fume Cupboard, for inside it was where Mother Witch did poke her head whenever she was fuming at any of her tenants to avoid scaring them to death with her horrifying face made worse with angry mood. On the cupboard sat a calabash containing a giant rafflesia flower oozing out its usual concentrated rotten meat smell to attract houseflies, whose tastes she relished for dinner. Brooms of various sizes hung down loosely from her dusty ceiling with cobwebs entwined around them. Geckos scuttled from one place to the other to contend for food with Mother Witch who would feel cheated at the sight of them feeding on her favourite meal— roasted houseflies.
Mother Witch perambulated the stuffy room antsy as she anticipated the return of the Bads with Hope in their grips.
“I shall now capture Hope and end this adventure,” she grinned wickedly. Just then, her door wrenched open forcefully.
“Who’s there?” she cried out suspiciously.
“It’s me!” replied a feminine voice, and then Mrs. Jealousy entered. She looked dowdy, perhaps because of the outworn attire on her. The look on her frog-eyed face conspicuously suggested that she must have been here for something very crucial.
“Hey, it’s you Jealo!” Mother Witch heaved. “How dare you barge in just like that?”
“I’m sorry my lord,” she apologized. “I spotted the Bads hurrying out of the Hurt just now, and I’m sure they’re up to something bad.”
“So?” Mother Witch frowned.
“I asked them where they’re heading, but they refused to tell me,” Mrs. Jealousy said angrily. Mother Witch smiled as she bit the corner of her lips a bit. “Tell me, mother, did you send them on an errand?”
“Of course yes!” said Mother Witch. “Anything?”
“What errand mother? What errand?” Mrs. Jealousy asked with great concern. Mother Witch gazed into her bold face and sensed in them a measure of trepidation.
“Why are you scared, Jealo?”
“Mother, each time the Bads are out there they incur the wrath of Revenge who comes here with Waste and Drunkward from the Dungalow bungalow to tear the little pieces of peace we’ve got here into pieces the more.”
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” laughed Mother Witch. “This time the case is different. This kind of errand hadn’t wrought the wrath of anyone. Come over and let me tell you what it’s all about.” Eagerly, Mrs. Jealousy bent her head towards Mother Witch and the whisper done into her left ear made her right cheek to bulge in smiles.
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” she laughed loudly. “Ha! Ha! Ha!”
“Come over and let’s see through my window what has become of Hope and his friends,” Mother Witch said. Immediately the two began to peep through the Widow’s window after pushing aside the widow’s weeds improvised for blind.
Hope and Vulnerability were seen hurrying down still, towards the River of Achievement. They weren’t wary of the Bads who were skulking after them. Suddenly, Mrs. Jealousy’s face wrinkled in displeasure after pondering on a thought. Mother Witch detected and said, “Jealo, it seems you’re getting annoyed with somebody. You’d better go and keep your face in my fume cupboard for some time to avoid—”
“Mother, it’s wicked of you to be doing away with my child, my only son, in this great errand. I’m sure that if you have included my child in the company of the Bads, kidnapping Hope would become easier.”
“Oh, Jealo, why think in this manner?” Mother Witch replied. “I’m not bearing any grudge against your son, Stubbornness. All I have in mind was that this task is too easy for three to perform. Why then should I send four to achieve the feat three could perform so well? Listen, Jealo, if you think including Stubby will do to make you glad, then it isn’t too late to send him.”
Mrs. Jealousy’s joy knew no bound over the news. Hastily, she rushed out of the room. In few minutes she was back again at the Widow’s window with Mother Witch.
“I can see Stubbornness rushing towards the Bads,” said Mother Witch in a low tone. “Well, I wish he’ll bring good luck this time.”
In silence, the twosome remained at the window, but a sneeze from Mrs. Jealousy beckoned on the attention of Mother Witch.
“Huh! Jealo, what’s this sneeze about?”
“Oh! It’s nothing,” said Mrs. Jealousy quickly, but the former wasn’t ready to give in to her reply.
“Your sneeze is composed of envy, isn’t it, Jealo? And you must tell me what you’re envious of.”
“Mother, you’re right that I’m jealous over something,” said Mrs. Jealousy. “I’m jealous over these Bads.”
“How?” howled Mother Witch like an adult owl.
“Father Creator has been so unfair towards my only child and me. See, Stubbornness has no brother or sister to share the sweetness of life with him. He’s living in isolation in the Hurt here without a brother—or at least a sister.”
“You’re funny,” laughed Mother Witch. “But he’s got you around him, isn’t it?”
“You’re right Mother, but the vacuum of brotherhood remains unfilled in the life of Stubby. He’s got only me—no brother, no father. As if that’s not enough, I’m a widow too. Mother, tell me why life’s been so unfair to me.” She broke into tears but Mother Witch tore her tears apart when she yelled, “It’s you who are unfair to life, Jealo. If you are calling yourself a widow just because you’ve lost Envy your husband, what is then left for me to call myself? Barren? Widow? Bereaved? Well, each one would do to fit me, whose husband and children all died one after the other. Listen Jealo, I had ten children in the past, all died and my husband wasn’t spared too, yet everyone pointed Fingers of Accusation at me, calling me the murderer of them all. But it was my horrible look that fumigated them when I was fuming at them. Thereafter, I made the Fume Cupboard so that I could do my fumes into them.”
“Oh, Mother—”
“Your son is luckier than these triplets, Baddream, Badwill and Badwish. How? Stubby has parental care but the Bads haven’t had one. Their mother died on her birth bed after giving birth to the triplets.”
“And who was their lucky father?” she demanded, yet she knew him so well.
“You mean the father of the Bads?” Mother Witch requested and replied almost immediately, “Mr. Wickedness is the Bad’s father, but he died few months before Mrs. Wickedness was delivered of her triplets.”
“How did he die?”
“He died in the brutal hands of Giant Faith, the son of Mrs. Wisdom who was exiled few years back.”
“Tell me more.”
“According to what I heard, Father Sage sent Giant Faith to destroy Wickedness School of Thought, the very first school to be established by someone from this Hurt. While Giant Faith was destroying the school of Wickedness, the owner confronted him boldly, bringing Go-Lucky soldiers along, who were armed with the Arrows of Sorrow, but Giant Faith dealt them all with mortal blows, leaving Mr. Wickedness severely battered. The wounded man passed away after two weeks, after becoming too weak to live.”
“Dang!” Mrs. Jealousy yelled in rage. “This Faith is wicked for murdering Mr. Wickedness. Mother, was he not the same person who rescued Hope from your grips last week?”
“Exactly! If not for this Faith and his family who keep things balanced, by now Happy-Go-Lucky would have been destroyed utterly by Mr. Wickedness’ School of Thought, where it was taught that being wicked, and nothing more, is the only solution to every situation. I shall not rest my hoary head in the grave until I’ve dashed Hope and gotten rid of the lives in the Faiths,” Mother Witch revealed belligerently.
“And how shall you achieve these?” asked Mrs. Jealousy. Mother Witch grinned wickedly as she replied, “I don’t know yet. C’mon let’s keep eyes on our children.”
The five had trekked long miles along the hilly paths, yet they hadn’t spotted the River of Achievement. Vulnerability seemed to be the most bored of the journey, demanding rest every moment.
“Vulne, it’s no time to rest yet,” Goodwill had said. “It was rest we were having last year when Badmanner caught up with us and misled us to the River of Haste where the octopus caught up with Alacrity and cut off his life.”
“Listen Vulne, if you rest on your way to the Island of Greatness, you may not reach the River of Achievement,” said Goodwish. “How I wish Alacrity had heeded Gooddream’s advice then, who told him to beware of resting. He sought rest and found it, and then rested in pieces in the belly of the Octopus of Trouble after wrestling with it.” Hope became irritated by the discussion, so he craved to change it. That he did successfully when he said, “Let’s forget the past and continue this journey. Recalling past failure can lure into future failure,” Hope added, quoting Father Sage’s quote.
The journey persisted but not without Vulnerability insisting on resting.
“I’m tired brother! I’m tired! Rest is what I need, nothing more.” He wept like a baby.
“Brother let’s keep moving,” psyched Hope in exasperation. “I’m now tired myself but I can’t give room for rest this early.”
“I need rest!” screamed Vulnerability insistently, breathing hard. “Let me rest while the rest of you can keep moving,” he demanded further but Goodwish yelled “No!” at him as he pulled him along.
The Bads had lost sight of Hope and his colleagues and they were now weary and worried.
“Badwish, Baddream, what shall we do now?’ Badwill asked.
“Let’s do my hobby,” Baddream said as he hobbled after them gnashing his teeth, having gashed his leg against an outcropping stone few moments back while he was sleepwalking.
“Your hobby? Sleep?” replied his brothers funnily.
“Of course yes! I’m tired of this task!” he hollered fumingly
“Tired of this task…tired of this task…” they chorused as they yawned along, but a voice behind them sent their chorus into extinction:
“I AM NOT TIRED!”
It was the voice of Stubbornness.

To be continued...

I love your story. Enjoying it so much. I wish you would continue it here.

Reading your story, I was awed by your mastery of the creative usage of almost all the literary devices. Take a look at 'he fixed his gaze on his face'. More ink to your pen.

chairman plz i wld relli appreciate it if u wld kindly contine d stori here...plz~abeg

Karev_wite: chairman plz i wld relli appreciate it if u wld kindly contine d stori here...plz~abeg

Thanks so much. I appreciate. Just that recently I`ve been too busy. I will continue as you have said. HAPPY READING.

Dedicated to Gameboy727, Oryina and Karev_wite whom God used to sustain this thread...

Story CONTINUATION...


“I AM NOT TIRED!”
It was the voice of Stubbornness.
“Stubby, you’d better bury your obstinacy and let’s have some rest here together,” they advised. “Or aren’t you exhausted too?”
“Exhausted my foot!” Stubbornness screamed at them. “Remain if you wish, but I’m going right away to seek them before they get into the River of Achievement,” Stubbornness reacted angrily, rushing away from the sight of the Bads.
“It’s good for him to leave,” Baddream whispered and ejected a nauseating draught from his mouth. “Remember, Stubby isn’t going to co-operate with us as we all know, so let’s not worry over him.”
“Yeah, you’re right, brother,” agreed Badwill as he lay on the ground beside his two brothers.
The ups and downs on the way to the River of Achievement seemed to be the secret behind everyone’s lacklustre stance on getting to the Island of Greatness. There were numerous hills and rocks on the way to climb, some bare and some overgrown with crabgrass to make them slippery. The footpaths had many unpleasant twists, thereby making the journey an irksome one. In no time, a great mass of dust had fastened to their clothes and had bedecked them with the grungy appearance of a vagrant. A sprightly stinking hog jumped out of the mire near a bale of hays and ran haywire ahead of them, yet Vulnerability trembled at its sight even when it was not coming for them. On the paths they traversed stood shrubs and trees having thick barks drooling saps. Some of them, the deciduous ones, now stood stark naked and withering, for they had shed all their leaves and were now deprived of the colourful weaver birds which had left for some greener pastures. The dogwoods waved their flowery hands as though to the seekers of the River of Achievement, yet their action had only been propelled by the gust pushing forcibly at them from every side. The sight of the aged foliage plants close to the aged foliated rocks on the path they trod captured the attention of Vulnerability and the triplets such that they halted for a long time to stare at them. Hope was shocked when he suddenly found himself few metres ahead of them. He had to rush back to them.
“What are you staying back here doing?” Hope asked, miffed.
“We felt like staying behind an hour to play with these roses,” they chorused, having plucked a handful to nuzzle, but Hope, being puzzled, said sharply, “Life is not a bed of roses, says Father Sage. Did you plant those roses there? So why should you reap them when you haven’t planted them?” They sulked. As they turned their backs against the roses, they found steep hills ahead of them, which they must need to climb. Each time, Vulnerability would hiss uneasily under his breath, thanks to little Hope and Goodwill who supported him all the time while climbing the rocks and hills.
“Why am I doing this?” Vulnerability would ask in tears. “Tell me, why? I never attended the Tough-minded School of Thought, if at all there’s such one in Happy-Go-Lucky, yet I’m being forced to perform this hilarious uphill task of hill-climbing.”
“Vulne, stop complaining and start complying. We’ll surely get there,” Hope motivated.
“Get there? Did you say get there?” Vulnerability reacted aggressively. “No! In fact, I no more believe Father Sage’s words that there’s an Island called Greatness. I doubt his dream as well.”
In annoyance, Hope cried, “And what’s the basis of your doubt?”
“Uncle Doubt’s words, Doubt all things except—”
“Hold it!” screamed Hope to keep him shut, and instantly Vulnerability began to jitter.
“Let him complete his speech, Hope,” Goodwish requested and Goodwill added, “Perhaps it could be of help to us in this journey.”
“No, brothers, it’ll proffer no help,” said Hope. “Let’s forget it and keep moving.”
As they moved, the Goods’ curiosity grew. They wanted to know what Doubt’s quote was all about. Hope paced faster, not realizing how far from the Goods and Vulnerability he had gone. In ten minutes Hope was far out of the eyeshot of the Goods and Vulnerability.
“Here’s an opportunity to satisfy our curiosity,” said Goodwill, smiling. “Now, brother, tell us your uncle’s quote.”
“Nay my brothers,” Vulnerability replied wanly. “Remember, Hope warned me not to do that, and I trust Hope for his advice,” added Vulnerability. His declaration sent six knees bowing before him, getting him into confusion.
“We adjure you to tell us,” said Gooddream. “Right from the time you gave the half-quote few minutes ago, I’ve been weighed down by the Weight of Curiosity.”
“Myself too…and Goodwill: that was exactly why we couldn’t keep pace with Hope any longer,” Goodwish divulged.
“Now tell us,” they said unanimously and Vulnerability began to whimper and whisper.
“What? Why weeping like a baby?” questioned Goodwill.
“You’d better say like a lady,” argued Gooddream.
“Hey boys, why talk about his tears? Let’s wipe it for him,” Goodwish said passionately. In a jiffy, thirty fingers were on Vulnerability’s cheeks, not to slap them but to rub out the tears on them.
“Thanks brother,” Vulnerability whispered with his hoarse voice as he sniffed and smiled.
“So?” asked the Goods…
Stubbornness had fallen over a boulder several times but he wouldn’t give up.
“I shall receive the favour of Mother Witch if I could kidnap Hope all alone,” said Stubbornness who had been tracing the pugs left behind by the seekers of River Achievement. “Ha! Ha! Ha!” he laughed as he trudged along.
“Doubt all things except Doubt’s word, for if you doubt Doubt, you die quick,” said Vulnerability and all four went a-yawning.
“Ouph! I think we have to rest now,” Gooddream said, sitting on the sand.
“Rest? Oh, rest is indeed the best choice now,” said Goodwish as Goodwill sang, “Rest is sweet! Rest is sweet!” Undoubtedly, Doubt’s quotation being uttered by Vulnerability had altered the functionally of their body systems, perhaps enervating the cells and tissues in them and making them go drowsy. Vulnerability laughed satisfactorily to himself as he joined the Goods in ‘bed’, and in a short while, they were all dozing off, their mouths producing snores.
Little Hope sighted a cave and his interest was caught by it. Ecstatically, he exclaimed, “Hey my good friends, did you get here with Alacrity before Badmanner lured you away?” Hope, being astonished at the silence responding to his question, turned around hastily and discovered he was alone.”
“What!” he yelled in shock.
Baddream thumped up from sleep suddenly and then screamed, “I have a dream!” His noise got his two brothers up too.
“What’s it Baddream?” they asked.
“I have a good dream,” Baddream whispered wanly.
“What’s it?” Badwish demanded hastily as Badwill said, “Tell us quick!”
“I saw Stubbornness catching up with Hope and his fellows.”
“What a good dream, Baddream!” Badwill yelled excitedly, glancing into Baddream’s sleepy face. “We must hurry to catch up with them—now.” Badwill led the way.

tnx 4 d update man...really luvin ds stori

Karev_wite: tnx 4 d update man...really luvin ds stori

you're highly welcome

Dedicated to Michaellegend who won two consecutive Q&A contest on this thread...

CHAPTER SEVEN
THE CAPTIVITY OF THE ACTIVIST

“Leave me alone! Leave me alone!” Vulnerability screamed as he tried to get Stubbornness’ stiff hands off his neck. He had found the hands on his neck since he woke from sleep.
“Hey, leave that little boy alone!” the Goods intervened, yelling at Vulnerability’s captor.
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” Stubbornness laughed. “If you have known my name before now, you wouldn’t try to persuade me to let him go.”
“So, what d’you want from us?” demanded the Goods.
“I need little Hope,” said Stubbornness boldly.
“You can’t get him,” replied the Goods. “He’s gone far from here.”
“Then I’ll go with this head,” Stubbornness replied harshly as he swiftly grabbed Vulnerability by the neck and placed the Dagger of Anger on it.
“Please. Please, don’t take my life!” Vulnerability pleaded frightfully as he breathed heavily, weeping profusely, but Stubbornness screamed “Nooooooo!” as he mustered great strength so he could strike the poor boy’s neck with the dagger. He suspended his motive when he heard from behind, “Let him live!”
It was the voice of Hope.
“Have me instead,” said Hope as he came close to Stubbornness.
“Hope?” yelled Stubbornness in shock as he made to grab him at once, but the Goods quickly gave him a push such that he lost balance and rolled down the hill.
Vulnerability heaved and sniffed as he came close to Hope.
“Thanks brother for saving my life.” He embraced Hope.
“Don’t thank me, but thank the Goods rather,” said Hope with a face seeming rather steely. “Let’s get away.”
Vulnerability and the three Goods suddenly began to weep as they fell on their knees before Hope. “Forgive us brother, please forgive us,” they pleaded passionately for mercy.
“You’ve done me no wrong,” said Hope as though having no inkling regarding their pleas. “We slipped into sleep behind your back,” confessed Gooddream penitently and the others said “Yes” to corroborate his speech.
“They coaxed me to tell them uncle Doubt’s quote and that I did. I’m sorry,” Vulnerability pleaded and Hope responded “Accepted” as he joined in shedding tears. “Let’s get going,” he added as he led the way. They hadn’t moved an inch when Gooddream said, “My heart is disturbed, brothers.”
“Why?” they asked with great concerns.
“A while ago while we were resting, I have a bad dream," said Gooddream.
“And what’s the dream?” demanded the rest of the boys.
“Hope was captured and we couldn’t get to the Island of Greatness.” Gooddream was weeping.
“And your dreams do come to pass,” said Goodwill as he joined in the weeping. Amidst tears, Goodwish began to mutter, “How I wish Gooddream’s bad dream doesn’t come true this time.” Barely had Goodwish bared up his soul when Stubbornness reappeared on the hilly path in the company of the Bads this time around.
“What!” hollered the five boys. Stubbornness laughed, “Ha! Ha! Ha! I’m back!” With rolling eyeballs, Hope screamed, “To your heels everyone!” Then the chase began.
Vulnerability hadn’t run ten metres when he was caught.
“Help! Help! Help!” he screamed in the hands of Baddream. His screams affected Hope and his colleagues, who turned back at once to get him back.
A big fight ensued!
Goodwill wrestled with Badwill, Goodwish faced Badwish while Gooddream slugged it out with Baddream. Stubbornness singlehandedly contended with Hope and Vulnerability, but the synergic effect of the combination of the efforts of the two brothers yielded no good result. In few minutes the Bads had overcome the Goods, beating them all to unconsciousness. Then Hope was captured.
“Baddream, your good dream has come to pass again,” Badwill said.
“Yeah, you’re right,” concurred Badwish as they led Hope away. Vulnerability wept after them, being left alone.
“Get away Vulne!” screamed Badwill. “We don’t need you in the Hurt at all.”
“I won’t leave,” Vulnerability wept, not wanting to part with Hope.
“Mother!” Mrs. Jealousy screamed excitedly as she looked through the Widow’s window.
“What’s that?” answered Mother Witch, rushing to join her.
“Mother, look!” she said, pointing out of the window.
“Wonderful!” Mother Witch screamed, brightening her face as she saw Hope in the boys’ grip.
“But Mother, who’s that poor thing walking by them?” Mrs. Jealousy expressed her confusion, gazing, nonplussed. Mother Witch strained her eyes and said eventually, “Seems to be Vulnerability.”
“D’you mean Hope’s immediate elder brother?” she asked further.
“Of course yes!” replied Mother Witch. “I—”
“But he’s walking freely, why?” demanded Mrs. Jealousy as she waited for a reply, but all she got was a grin from Mother Witch’s crinkled face, which had been smeared with grimes and sweat. Mrs. Jealousy didn’t tarry long before visibly expressing her curiosity. This time, Mother Witch replied, “We don’t need Vulne here. I asked the Bads to do away with him and I guess that’s exactly what they’re doing. You should know quite well that Vulne would be too frail for Mr. Oppressor’s torture.”
“But—”
“Listen Jealo, in times like this we don’t want to shed blood. If Vulne gets here, Mr. Oppressor will surely torture him with the Hammer of Harm and the Garment of Torment, which would lead to the poor boy’s death.”
“Wow! You’re right, mother,” said Mrs. Jealousy convincingly. “You’re very—” Mrs. Jealousy suspended her speech at the sight she was beholding with her longsighted eyeballs—the sight of Stubbornness and the Bads engaging in a serious brawl with one another, one against three.
“What!” the two women’s lips went asunder for shock as they saw their wards bickering over something under the scorching sun…
“You can’t take Vulne along!” the Bads yelled at Stubbornness fiercely.
“No! I’m taking him along!” Stubbornness screamed with all his strength, holding tight Vulnerability in his grips.
“Stubby, let Vulne get away. He might die in the Hurt!” Baddream shouted with great displeasure.
“I don’t care!” Stubbornness said firmly. “Leaving him alone might cost us someone getting to the Island of Greatness.”
“No! Stubby, without the Goods and Hope I’m sure Vulnerability will get nowhere,” said Badwill. “Besides, Mother Witch has instructed us to do away with him.”
“In fact, I’m sure Vulnerability won’t know the route let alone get to the Island,” added Badwish. Then Badwill concluded, saying, “So—leave the poor thing alone.”
Stubbornness smirked and raised his stiffened neck as he replied, “You know I won’t—”
“Then you’d be calling for a fight,” Badwill barged in, being uptight at the dragging issue. He jerked forward to get hold of Stubbornness. “Let’s begin,” Stubbornness concurred to Badwill’s threat as he fixed his cruel gaze on the Bads. The foreheads of the four heads of the four heady ones got wrinkled in fierce anger, and then the wrestling began.
It was enormous shock for Hope to see that they had now left him alone, but Vulnerability was busy staring at the fighters, awed.
“Vulne, quick! Let’s get away!” whispered Hope into his brother’s ear but the latter showed no trace of concern, having had his attention held captive by the captivating sight. Hope shook him out of his absentmindedness but all he could do was to remain on the spot and jitter, even after Hope had muttered his plan to him. But Hope quickly held to his wrist and pulled him away until they had gone out of sight, yet the fighters took no notice
Though Stubbornness had no supporter, the Bads couldn’t subdue him. The strife went on without the fighters realizing how far from them Hope and Vulnerability had been. Just when the two boys reached the broad road leading to Average Street, two rough hands gripped their napes as if to rip their necks off the rest of the body.
“You can’t get away!” sounded the extremely deep voice of the anonymous masculine figure.
“Who are you?” questioned Hope in fret.
“Mr. Oppressor,” replied the bulky man as he dragged them close to his bedraggled body. “I’m taking you to the Hurt.”
“But what have we done?” asked Hope, being scared out of life on hearing the name ‘Oppressor’.
“You shall know that when you get to the Hurt” the man replied curtly, releasing Vulnerability. “You can leave now, Vulne. Mother Witch won’t need you in the Hurt.”
“Can’t leave without Hope!” Vulnerability cried but the man ignored him as he led Hope away. Vulnerability remained on the spot, weeping.

Happy new months to you all! wishing you a great new month. I wish you the following in this `EMBER` month: Success Excellence Prevalence Triumph Excellence Miracles Blessings Enliftment & Relief...
WATCH OUT FOR THE TIME-TABLE or table of content OF `HOPE AND THE ISLAND OF GREATNESS` for the month of SEPTEMBER: TO BE POSTED SEPTEMBER 2...

For this month we shall see Hope`s ordeal in the Hurt huts and how he was able to cope with the trials-the GARMENT OF TORMENT, ATTIRE OF SATIRE, HAMMER OF HARM, LAMP OF LAMPOON, PIT OF PIT VIPERS AND SO ON.

At the end of each week, some kind of questions and answer based on the post so far shall be entertained to really get to know how many people are really carried along. I will kickstart the Question when the time comes.
Anybody can post questions and anybody can answer the questions (including myself: don`t ask me why. lol).
My word for you today is that you should not forfeit the feat you are fit for and you should not forgo what you should go for...
You have talents in you, DEVELOP THEM AND MAKE USE OF THEM.
THANK YOU ALL

Dedicated to Damex33 who fought relentlessly to get me back to the thread while I was surprisingly exiled for 24hrs by antispambot for a post

CHAPTER EIGHT
THE HURT IN THE HURT HUTS

Since he had no one to console him, he began to make his way back to the Dilapidation dwelling place, walking like a cob, but not without sobs as though he’d just had it as a job.
“I’ve lost Hope! I’ve lost Hope!! Hope is captured!!!” he sobbed homeward.
Mr. Oppressor soon got to the Hurt huts with Hope, setting the cheeks of the two cruel women vibrating with laughter.
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” laughed Mother Witch. “At last you’re here.” Hope yelled as the women nipped his skin with all their strength.
“Get ready to spend the rest of your life with Mr. Oppressor,” announced Mrs. Jealousy, laughing whimsically.
“Please let me go! Please!!” hollered Hope, but Mr. Oppressor kept his mouth shut with a deafening slap on his cheek. Hope screamed.
“Oppy, why not let’s keep his mouth shut with the black Knout of Blackout?” suggested Mrs. Jealousy. She was looking at Mother Witch’s eyes for endorsement.”
“Yes, Jealo is right,” concurred Mother Witch at last. Frightfully, Hope yelled, “Please don’t keep me shut with—” A whack on Hope’s back with the black Knout of Blackout ensured the incompleteness of his speech, for he had fallen to the ground unconsciously.
“Take him in now,” Mother Witch commanded and the huge man obeyed promptly. The Bads soon arrived the Hurt, wearing sad faces, and then Stubbornness arrived too, leering at them angrily.
“Hey my children, you’re back,” Mother Witch said, feigning enthusiasm. “Where is Hope?” she demanded, but no response was forthcoming.
“I say where is Hope?” she screamed. “Don’t tell me that the four of you were defeated by that little thing.” Hastily, Badwill responded, “We got him but Stubbornness let him get away scot-free.”
“Stubby, why?” Mother Witch queried.
“It’s a lie!” retorted Stubbornness. “It was the Bads’ fault, not mine. I wanted to bring Vulnerability with me but they tried to prevent me. Then we began to fight one another, and then—Hope was gone.”
“Stubby, it’s all your fault,” Mother Witch blamed. “Why would you want to bring Vulne here? You know he’ll be too frail for Mr. Oppressor’s torture. Mere knouting him with the Knout of Blackout will surely kill him, because I’m sure he’ll never get out of the resulting blackout, let alone clothing him with the Garment of Torment or the Coat of Harm or the Attire of Satire.”
“Stubbornness is an idiot!” Baddream yelled angrily.
“It’s true!” his brothers supported, getting Stubbornness annoyed. Immediately, he had started a fight again, right in the presence of the two elderly women. To nip the fight in the bud, Mrs. Jealousy quickly confessed, “Hope is with Mr. Oppressor already. There’s no need to fight each other now.”
“What did you just say?” they demanded with one voice, but the expression on her face seemed to be telling the story. “But—but who brought him here?” they asked further.
“We saw you boys while you were fighting, then we hurriedly sent Mr. Oppressor after them,” said Mother Witch. Without delaying, the boys suspended the strife and fluttered away to meet Mr. Oppressor in his room. They were dumbfounded when they saw Hope lying unconscious at one corner of the room.
Madam Pickoffence was only a few distances away from the entrance of the Hurt huts when Mrs. Jealousy rushed to meet her.
“We’ve got Hope,” Mrs. Jealousy announced eagerly.
“Wonderful!” replied the newcomer. “Where is he?” she demanded.
“He’s with your—I can’t say.” Mrs. Jealousy paused deliberately and hurried away from Madam Pickoffence in sadness.
“Mtchew!” Madam Pickoffence hissed angrily, knowing clearly the reason for Mrs. Jealousy’s half-baked speech. “Jealous woman; can’t say husband all because she has none.” At that instance, the newcomer doubled her pace. She was eager to meet her husband who’s having Hope with him.
Madam Pickoffence got offended when she saw Stubbornness and the Bads in her husband’s room. She was about to scream “What!” when Mr. Oppressor approached her with arms wide open to hug her as he said, “Darling, you’re back.” Madam Pickoffence pushed her husband’s arms away irritably and screamed, “Hold it! Will you now hug me in the presence of these poor brats?”
“Oh I’m so—so sorry,” he apologized. “I’ll send them away immediately.” Mr. Oppressor didn’t hesitate to ask them to leave the room. Sadly, the Bads walked out but Stubbornness remained.
“Didn’t you hear the instruction of my hubby, Stubby?” Madam Pickoffence yelled. “Vamoose!”
“I won’t leave!” Stubbornness replied confidently. “I’ve got to wait and see how Mr. Oppressor will clothe Hope with the Garment of Torment.”
“Grrrrrrrrrr—Gerrout now!” Mr. Oppressor screamed. “We want to have a hug—now!” Despite the deepness of Mr. Oppressor’s voice, Stubbornness stood his ground and said, “I won’t hinder your hug, I promise. Just let me remain here to see Hope in the Garment of Torment.”
In anger, Madam Pickoffence cried, “Oppy, why should we keep delaying to use force on this poor brat?” Not waiting for her husband’s response, Madam Pickoffence stooped and picked the black Knout of Blackout lying on the floor. She swung it at the stubborn boy before her. The knout lashed the boy on the neck but to the couple’s shock Stubbornness didn’t faint, instead, he laughed and snatched the knout from Madam Pickoffence’s grip. In fret, Madam Pickoffence rushed behind her husband to prevent the knout from touching her, knowing quite well that Stubbornness was surely going to revenge.
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” Stubbornness laughed. “I never knew you could be this frightened.” Stubbornness hadn’t said anything more when he got a surprise attack from Mr. Oppressor who had snaffled the knout from him and lifted him off the ground.
“Let me alone! Let me alone!!” screamed Stubbornness as he wriggled in the hands of Mr. Oppressor who was giggling. The man opened the door and threw Stubbornness out. He shut the door after him. Angrily, the boy began to give the door a couple of bangs but the couple inside gave no heed.
Mrs. Jealousy soon left her corner (the Scorners’ corner) and was bedazzled by the sight before her face—the weird sight of Stubbornness thumping at Mr. Oppressor’s door.
“Stubby, stop, stop it!” Mrs. Jealousy yelled as she rushed to meet her son. “What’s the matter?” she asked.
“Mr. Oppressor threw me out because he wanted to have a hug with Madam Pickoffence.” Stubbornness sniffed.
“Stubby, is that why you’ll break their door?”
“Yes,” Stubbornness said. “I won’t give up until I’ve destroyed it.”
“Don’t do that, Stubby.” Mrs. Jealousy was pulling her son. When he remained willful as he was wont doing, she turned to the other hurters and said, “Mother Witch, Baddream, Badwish, won’t you help me talk to Stubby?”
“You know Stubby as much as we do,” said Mother Witch. “He won’t listen as he is wont doing.”
“But at least you should—” Mrs. Jealousy paused, looking worried. She turned to her son again and said lowly, “Stubby, please listen to me just this once. Please, listen to me.” Mrs. Jealousy wept, gazing into her son’s eyeballs. Surprisingly, Stubbornness retreated and left the scene. His action made all mouths go wide, and then cold tears of joy displaced the hot tears of sorrow on Mrs. Jealousy’s face.
Mrs. Jealousy adjourned to Mother Witch’s seat, which was beside a rock, with the intent of pouring her mind to her. She hadn’t settled down when Mother Witch said, “Jealo, your face seemed unsettled with envy.”
“You’re right, mother.”
“What’s bothering you?”
“Mr. Oppressor and his wife; just because they wanted to embrace each other, Stubby was thrown out.” She began to sob. “Mother, I know why they’re treating him that way.”
“Why?”
“Because he doesn’t have a father. Since Envy’s death, it has become impossible for me to pronounce the word husband. My heartthrob died while fighting on my behalf in these huts.”
“Jealo, I’m aware of that before now, so forget the past. Must you need to tell me how he died? Or wasn’t it because of the bad fight of fate he had with Mr. Wickedness on your behalf? Jealo, in fact you are the cause of your husband’s death.”
“How?” she was stunned.
“If you hadn’t allowed your jealousy to lead you into stealing Mrs. Wickedness’ gorgeous dress that day, then Mr. Wickedness would not have beaten you to pulp. Then Mr. Envy your husband would not have faced him to avenge you of your humiliation, the deed which had led to his death.”
As the old woman ended her speech, Mrs. Jealousy began to mourn her husband afresh as she sobbed, “But Mr. Wickedness is inhuman for beating me up that way without having regard for the conspicuous pregnancy in me. If Stubbornness wasn’t possessing a tough umbilical cord those days, I’m sure he’d be dead in the womb for the great torture from that wicked man.” The two women stared into each other’s face, and then Mrs. Jealousy continued, “If my husband is alive till today, I’m sure this wicked couple wouldn’t treat my son this way and get away with it. As I said earlier, mother, life has treated me badly—no husband, only one son.”
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” Mother Witch laughed. “So...these are the things you’ve been grumbling about all the while in the Scorners’ corner. Come on Jealo, stop being bitter because you’re better off in this Hurt.”
“How? Mother, tell me, how?” she wept even more.
“These Madam Pickoffence and Mr. Oppressor you’re talking about have been married for the past twenty years, only to be blessed with a single bouncing baby girl.” On hearing Mother Witch’s testimony, Mrs. Jealousy was confused.
“Mother, stop kidding me,” she said. “They don’t have a kid.”
“They do have,” Mother Witch insisted. “They’re blessed with barrenness,” she confessed hilariously. “So tell me, Jealo, what’s the essence of a married life without an issue?”
Mrs. Jealousy’s face brightened with scorn.
“Mother, thank you,” she said, smiling as she raised her shoulders high.
“Hey, don’t say anything anymore Jealo,” instructed Mother Witch. “Hurry to Scorners’ corner right away.”
“Yeah!” Mrs. Jealousy responded, smirking. “I shall be back.”
Mrs. Jealousy prided herself on at the Scorners’ corner located at the hinder part of the Hurt huts.
“Eh—er…I’m glad Stubby’s better off than all kids in this Hurt,” she whispered to herself. “And I, Jealo, am the best of all married ones in here, being the only mother of a living child. The Bads’ mother is nowhere to be found.” She swallowed her spittle and returned to her scorn:
“Yeah! Madam Pickoffence hasn’t even put to bed all her lives. I shall now raise my shoulders high before Madam Picky and tell her to her face that she’s nothing better than a male horse. Ha! Ha! Ha!” She paused again suddenly.
“And that Mother Witch, I’ll let her know how terrible her life is one day. Ha! Ha! Ha!” Mrs. Jealousy was jolted out of her scornful soliloquy by a terrible bang she had just heard:
“What!” Mr. Oppressor and Madam Pickoffence screamed as their door went down inside, with Stubbornness leering at them from behind.
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” laughed Stubbornness. “Vandalized your silly door with a single blow of this rock,” he confessed, raising a big stone over his head. In fury, Mr. Oppressor rushed out of the room and mustered enormous strength as he head-butted Stubbornness. The boy fell flat and lay unconscious.
Mrs. Jealousy, by a stroke of luck, had managed to glimpse the unpleasant sight of her son’s torture by Mr. Oppressor. In shock, she bent over him and lamented, but the man ignored her and entered his doorless room again, smiling.
“Now I’m glad you’ve dealt with the fool,” said Madam Pickoffence amusingly.
“Undoubtedly you’ll hug me now, won’t you?” Mr. Oppressor cut in excitedly with wide spread arms, but his wife cut his words short when she replied, “No! No hug yet! How can I have a hug in a doorless room? I recommend that you get the broken door mended, after then I’ll commend your effort and get our broken relationship mended. Not until then can we have the hug.”
“Ur—eh,” the man sounded. “I’ll get it done soon.”
Mr. Oppressor bent over a dark corner of the room and immediately ransacked a sack. In few minutes, he had with him the Hammer of Harm with which he had thumped many heads in the past. In a flash, he was bending before the door, mending it. Mrs. Jealousy was standing over him.
“Wicked man!” yelled Mrs. Jealousy. “I’m glad that the creator wouldn’t lend you a single child to tend and fend for—even if it would be a baby baboon—ur!” In annoyance, Madam Pickoffence rushed out of the room whose door was now mended to challenge Mrs. Jealousy.
“What did you just utter, Jealo?” cried the barren lady angrily.
“I say you’re nothing better than a male horse,” revealed Mrs. Jealousy audaciously, provoking Madam Pickoffence into picking offences in her rash speech.
“Jealo, are you out of your mind?”
“It’s you who’s out of your mind!” screamed Mrs. Jealousy back at her. “How on earth should your hus—husb——?” she paused abruptly and then resumed few seconds later. “How on earth should your horsebrand Mr. Oppressor deal in such manner with my only son? Anyway, I’m not surprised, since there is no way you could have perceived the pain I underwent during labour in my neighbour’s room while giving birth to him, because you’ve got no child of yours.”
Madam Pickoffence’s wrath got ignited by Mrs. Jealousy’s outpour of slander. She lurched forward to pay her back in her own coins but her husband held her back and pulled her in immediately, shutting the door.
“Let’s ignore that bitch for the hug,” the man said as he made a rough cough, but Madam Pickoffence’s face remained tough though.
“Do you think I’ll have a hug with you so soon?”
“It’s been ages we had one,” confessed her husband. “So—”
“We can’t have the hug!” she screamed suddenly. “Not when someone is in here with us,” she added with a lower tone. “You mean Hope?” Mr. Oppressor heaved.
“Of course yes!” she replied. “But he isn’t conscious now,” responded Mr. Oppressor and the two stood, gazing at each other. The man had begun to suspect that his wife was only trying to give flimsy excuses, which she would use to avoid a hug, but he kept silent still. Suddenly, the couple began to hear some couple of bangs on their door again, and then came up the voice of Mrs. Jealousy ailing offensive words at them. Madam Pickoffence, being greatly offended, suspended the talk and upended Mrs. Jealousy by conking her head with the Hammer of Harm she had just picked on the floor. The battered woman fell into coma.
Madam Pickoffence traipsed in unscrupulously, smiling as though she had achieved a great feat. “Now there’s no excuse for you to avoid my embrace,” Mr. Oppressor braced up to speak.
“There is an excuse,” replied his wife at once.
“Wh—what’s it?” the man demanded.
“Don’t you remember how you humiliated me last week? You beat me mercilessly for the little offence I committed.”
“But it was your fault!” the man replied sharply.
“Either it’s my fault or not, you’re not permitted by the law to deal brutally with your housewife in such manner. I ran into the Abandoned Abode, thinking you will abandon the chase, but you ran after me, oppressing me, thanks to Mr. Peacemaker, Virtue’s father, who rescued me from your tortures when I ran into his house, the Innocency Inn. Now you’re urging me to hug you?”
“Stop bringing me back to the past, Picky,” said the man in a rather soft tone of voice. “Didn’t I promise never to torture you any longer, right in the presence of the old father Mr. Peacemaker?”
“Well—you said that, b—but—” the woman paused and looked around. “Everyone calls me barren woman, yet it’s all your fault Oppy. I would have become the mother of many nations by now, but your cruelty wouldn’t permit. You’ve tortured all my pregnancies into abortions these twenty times within twenty years but no one realises this. They only see me as Mrs. Barrenness, yet, that’s no name of mine.” She began to sob.
“It’s alright Picky, whenever you get pregnant again, I’ll not touch you at all. Shall we now do the hug?” Mr. Oppressor said, lurching forward, but Madam Pickoffence pushed his arms away.
“Not yet!” she replied. “Wait a minute! Don’t you think Revenge will come here to foment trouble?”
“Why?” asked Mr. Oppressor. “For kidnapping Hope,” she replied
“He won’t know that Hope is with us. And—besides, Revenge wouldn’t strike unless being paid for it, and I’m sure those in Dilapidation dwelling place aren’t rich enough to afford Revenge’s charges.”
“What if someone helped them to pay?” retorted the woman cantankerously.
“Well... as I said before, Limitation and Mediocrity can’t know that their son is here. They can’t know.”
“Keep shut, Oppy!” Madam Pickoffence screamed in anger. “Was there no one with Hope when he was captured?” As Mr. Oppressor heard his wife’s speech, he bit the corner of his lips in regret as he rushed out of the room, his wife following him. He made straight for Mother Witch’s room.
“Have you begun the torture?” asked Mother Witch immediately.
“No, I haven’t. Mother, why did you instruct me earlier to only kidnap Hope and leave the rest alone?”
“Just to prevent you from torturing Vulne to death—you know the boy will be too frail to be tortured. He might die in a jiffy in this Hurt.”
“But mother, you haven’t considered the risk in letting him get away free,” said Madam Pickoffence thoughtfully with a distorted face.
“How?”
“Vulne will definitely tell his parents about it all and they might in turn hire the service of Revenge, Waste and Drunkward in the Dungalow bungalow. Mother, you know what that means, don’t you?”
“Eh—I know, Madam Picky,” said Mother Witch fondly. “But you don’t need to be scared of them. They can’t do anything to get Hope away from us. I trust Stubbornness to keep them all away from getting here.”
“You’re right Mother,” corroborated Mr. Oppressor. “I know how to handle Revenge,” the man said and then turned around to his wife. “Let’s leave,” he ordered, but she was reluctant...
to be continued... next post>>>WEDNESDAY 04/09/2013...just keep your fingers crossed...THANKS

al-rice

Dedicated to Joseff14 an avid reader on this thread. He inspires me secretly to write more...

Just when the hug would happen, Mother Witch rushed into Mr. Oppressor’s room and said, “Hey, Oppy, Picky, I smell trouble.”
“What’s it again?” said Mr. Oppressor frustratingly.
“A thought came to my mind.”
“And what’s it?” the couple demanded as they waited eagerly for Mother Witch’s response.
“One of the Faiths could come after us,” said the elderly woman with all seriousness.
“It’s not possible mother. How will the Faiths get to know that Hope is here?” Mr. Oppressor demanded. “Remember, Faith only comes by hearing—the last time he rescued Hope from your grips, it was because he heard Hope’s screams.”
“He’ll know for sure,” maintained Mother Witch. “Vulne will tell his mother Limitation and she will in turn tell Father Sage about it. Then Father Sage will tell any of the Faiths—remember once again, faith comes by hearing, especially hearing that Hope has been captured by us.”
“But mother, is it too late to go capture Vulne and the Goods again?” Mr. Oppressor asked. Mother Witch smiled and said, “You may be right Oppy. The Bads told me that the Goods are all unconscious now.”
“And Vulne is still remaining on the spot where I kidnapped Hope,” said Mr. Oppressor. “If things remain the same, then we shall get the four of them into these huts soon.”
“And in such manner we shall prevent the Faiths from hearing,” Mother Witch said as she walked away. Without premeditating, the Bads were sent to seek the Goods while Mr. Oppressor went after Vulnerability.
Vulnerability wept into the Dilapidation dwelling place and met the probing eyes of his parents, whose faces seemed creased with tiredness, having searched everywhere for their children.
“Vulne, what happened to you? Where’s Hope?” they demanded concurrently.
“Hope is lost,” Vulnerability announced. “Lost? How?” Limitation demanded, pulling at Vulnerability’s garment.
“He was kidnapped by the hurters.” As they heard the news, Limitation developed goose pimples.
“How come? Did you go down the street?” Limitation asked curiously.
“Not just down the street,” he responded in sobs. “Actually, we went all the way to the rough pathway leading to the River of Achievement.”
“What!” his father and mother yelled at once. “Haven’t we warned you both that you should remain indoor like Standaloof? Didn’t you take a cue from how your eldest brother died in the River of Achievement?”
“M—mother...it’s Hope who convinced me t—that we can get into t—the Island of Greatness. Then I—I believed him.”
“Shut up!” snarled Limitation. “Didn’t you remember your uncle’s quote? If you have doubted Hope and undoubtedly embraced Doubt’s quote, then you wouldn’t have got into this mess, let alone getting us into it as well,” Limitation belled vindictively.
“I’m sorry mother,” Vulne wept. “I promise I shall not get along with Hope any longer, but I—I shall remain forever within these four walls.”
Limitation hugged her son at his resolution and they both wept on each other’s nape.
“Do keep your promise, Vulne,” Limitation said.
“I will,” replied the boy, still sobbing.
“You can get into your room now,” she ordered softly.
Limitation and Mediocrity appeared to be having turbulent storms in their brains as they brainstormed, not having a clue as regards how they would go about rescuing Hope.
“Don’t just sit there Med. Tell me what we shall do,” Limitation spoke.
“You’re a better thinker than me, Lim, so I’ll be waiting for your opinion,” Mediocrity replied in sincerity.
“You’re right Med, but this time, no idea’s coming to my head.”
“Keep thinking Lim, perhaps you’ll come across one.” The couple was silent for few minutes, and then Limitation broke the silence.
‘How about sending somebody from the Dungalow bungalow to besiege the Hurt?”
“From the Hoodlum’s family, right?”
“Of course! Waste and Drunkward would do.”
“Yes, let’s give it a trial,” concurred Mediocrity. Then Vulnerability entered.
“What is it Vulne?” demanded Limitation.
“Why don’t we just seek Father Sage’s advice?”
“Father Sage’s advice?” reiterated husband and wife. “Yes,” Vulnerability said apprehensively, glancing at his parents. They were still.
“Alright, let’s go ahead,” agreed Limitation. “Vulne, carry Standaloof with you. We shall be heading for the temple right away.”
Mr. Oppressor and the Bads returned to the Hurt huts disappointed, for their inability to capture Vulnerability and the Goods.
“Mother, they’re nowhere to be found,” announced Mr. Oppressor to Mother Witch’s displeasure.
“Gush!” she exclaimed in exasperation. “What shall we do now?”
“Hmm!” heaved Madam Pickoffence, smirking, then Mother Witch asked, “I guess you’ve got a suggestion, Picky. What’s it about?”
“Mother, why can’t we storm Dilapidation dwelling place to kidnap Hope’s entire household? By doing this, no one would get the news of Hope’s kidnap into the ears of the Faiths.”
“Oh! That sounds good!” said Mother Witch. “But such action shall arouse the suspicion of Father Sage if he eventually discovered that the Dilapidation dwelling place is empty.”
“You’re right Mother,” said Madam Pickoffence. She added, “Father Sage has no right to come over here to search them out, since he wouldn’t have an evidence.”
“It’s the truth Picky,” Mother Witch said. “But you should bear it in mind that Father Sage takes laws into his hands these days. Wasn’t he the one who sent Giant Faith to destroy the foundation of Doubt’s School of Thought?”
“In fact, he has been trespassing for years, destroying Wickedness School of Thought,” added Mr. Oppressor.
“You get it right Oppy,” said Mother Witch. “I’m afraid the poor old priest could send the Faiths to search out this place for the Mediocrity’s family if we kidnap them.”
Madam Pickoffence’s forehead developed wrinkles as she heard Mother Witch’s declaration. She remained, wondering and pondering upon a solution. She came up with one eventually. “Let them come searching, mother. What if they search forever without discovering where the Mediocres are kept?”
“Are you suggesting that we kill them and push their corpses into the bush?” asked Mother Witch, wrinkling her already wrinkled face as her lips gave way to reveal the overbite concealed beneath.
“Not at all mother,” responded Madam Pickoffence, smiling. “I’ll rather suggest we keep them in the Pit of Pit Vipers.”
“Pit of Pit Vipers!” Mother Witch exclaimed. “What a great idea Picky? I wonder why I haven’t thought of that before now,” added Mother Witch as she hugged Madam Pickoffence. “Picky, you’re such a wonderful thinker,” she concluded as they disentangled.
“My beautiful wife has raised a beautiful suggestion,” Mr. Oppressor flattered as he lurched forward to have her hug him. She shoved his arms away and screamed, “No hug yet—not until you have brought the Mediocre family down into the Pit of Pit Vipers!”
“Oush!” exclaimed Mr. Oppressor in frustration as he got ready to visit the Dilapidation dwelling place with Mother Witch. Just when Mr. Oppressor would leave for the Dilapidation dwelling place, Madam Pickoffence ululated, “Badwill! Badwish! Baddream! Get prepared to bring the Goods brothers here!” but the reply she received was, “But Baddream is asleep now and he loathes being disturbed while asleep.”
“Shut up there and get him awake right away!” screamed Madam Pickoffence in annoyance. Her voice almost brought down the roof of the Hurt huts. Immediately, the Bads rushed out with Baddream who was yawning tiredly.
“Madam Picky,” Baddream whispered as he approached Madam Pickoffence.
“Yes, what?” she hollered.
“I have a bad dream.”
“What’s it?” demanded Madam Pickoffence, peering into his eyes inquisitively.
“I dreamt that we didn’t meet the Goods in their home.”
“Is that true?” asked Mother Witch intriguingly. Baddream replied, “Yes mother.”
“What about the Mediocre family? Did we bring them here in your dream?” Madam Pikcoffence asked with a look of hostility.
“Em—er...Mother Witch and Mr. Oppressor didn’t get to the Dilapidation dwelling place,” whispered Baddream.
“What happened?” they all demanded enthusiastically.
“Madam Pickoffence’s loud voice woke me up from sleep—and—the dream was terminated.”
“Grrrrr!” grunted Madam Pickoffence in rage as she faced Baddream and yelled, “Baddream, are you now pointing Finger of Accusation at me?”
“Not really,” Baddream replied uneasily. “I’m only pointing it at your loud voice.”
“My loud voice is me!” Madam Pickoffence lowed as she lowered her glowering face toward Baddream. The eyes in the face were now red like a glowing splinter.
“Keep your voice low Picky,” intervened Mother Witch immediately. “Baddream is only saying the fact,” she concluded, pulling her lightly to herself.
“Fact or no fact, this fat lazy bone must now go with his brothers to get the Goods here. I’m sure that by now the Goods would have returned to their home.”
Mother Witch and Mr. Oppressor left for Hope’s home while the Bads departed for the home of the Goods to have them captured. Only Madam Pickoffence and the unconscious Mrs. Jealousy and her son were left in the Hurt. Madam Pickoffence’s stomach began to make noises for the fact that she couldn’t stomach the sight of Stubbornness and his mother who were still lying down on their stomachs in front of her door. In annoyance she pulled the two away from her door and spat on them spitefully.
“Foolish ones!” she commented as she opened the door to get inside.

rite on track

Next post-tomorrow BGG.
Watch out for poems composed by me. Enjoy yourself.

continuation-HOPE AND THE ISLAND OF GREATNESS

CHAPTER NINE
THE RAGE OF FATHER SAGE

“Hey Gooddream! Look, here’s the cave you said you saw in your dream!” Goodwill said excitedly. “You must be right Goodwill!” agreed Goodwish.
“How do you know that Goodwill is right?” Gooddream asked. “I’m the one who saw the cave in my dream, not either of you two.”
“So—tell us, is this the cave you said you saw?” they demanded auspiciously. Gooddream smiled and then replied, “You both are right—the Cave of Aves.” As Gooddream affirmed the news, the other two Goods were delighted as they smiled conspicuously and asked further, “Does it now mean that we’re close to the River of Achievement already?”
‘Maybe,” responded Gooddream. “According to what Mr. Experience taught, we’ll need to get into the cave and follow the leading of the Aves in there, for the cave is a Cave of Solution, so named for its potential ability to proffer solutions to pilgrims’ problems on their way to the Island of Greatness.”
Two pillars stood at the middle of the vaulted cave to hold it from caving in. The alabaster white gigantic pillars seemed to them as some highly embellished pilasters, having gotten their beauty from the congealed stalactites and stalagmites that had put them in place by the cohesive harmony existing between them. Fungi of all sorts protruded from the coarse walls of the cave to mar its beauty.
“Let’s get in there—right away,” Goodwish advised and they entered in…

“Father, don’t you hear what we’ve said?” Limitation requested exasperatedly but the grey-haired man ignored her, looking away from her as though he had found her offensive. As she pestered the old man he spoke at last, saying, “So—what do you want me to do?” His speech showed his lack of interest. “Eh, father!” Limitation yelled, wondering.
“Don’t call me father,” the man refused blatantly. “If I were your father you would surely have invited me to the naming ceremony of your last child whom you allowed Mr. Nonsense to christen Standaloof due to your negligence.”
“Oh! Father Sage, I didn’t even have the inkling that this is the reason for your cold attitude towards us all the while. Okay, we admit our wrongs. Father, Med and I have done a great wrong. Do forgive us.”
Father Sage smiled and replied “Accepted,” but his smile was short-lived as his face got creased up once more to the wonderment of the couple.
“What again?” they asked with great concern and the old man replied, “You have allowed my name to be dragged in the abstract mud of disgrace.” The old man’s revelation sent away the elation earlier expressed by the family. Impetuously, they asked, “We’ve never heard of a mud so called by that name, Father. So why accuse us for what we know nothing about?”
For a reply, the man sneezed and said, “People from far and wide now come to me to ask if I was the person who confessed that Vulnerability would get into the Island of Greatness. A yes from me now results into people slandering me. They call me false priest for telling false information. Mr. Slander even came to my temple with his students to cast stones of aspersion at me...and now many of the worshippers have left my temple to seek Mr. Atheist whose synagogue is a skyscraper in the town next to here.”
“On your knees everyone,” commanded Limitation as she shed tears together with her husband and son—only Standaloof remained standing, laughing, perhaps at the sight of her parents and brother’s sudden change of postures to the one different from hers.
“Standaloof! Get down on your knees!” commanded Limitation harshly, but the girl remained standing.
“Don’t scream at the poor girl,” Father Sage intervened. “You christened her Standaloof yet you expect her to be on her knees? It’s not done. Get up every one of you. I don’t have any grudge against you, but—”
“Thank you father,” replied the Mediocres with the exception of Standaloof who was screaming “Ta! ta! ta!” For the third time, the Sage’s jowls fell as he scowled and howled shockingly as though he’d seen a fowl and an owl with a foul smell.
“What again?” hollered Limitation exasperatedly as she gawped at the gaping man in apprehension.
“What baffled me the most is the manner with which you went about blowing your Trumpets of Imagination,” the Sage revealed eventually. “I put the blame on Vulne whom I entrusted with the charge of keeping the trumpets away. But he failed me by blowing it with you. I could hear the voices of your noises through the trumpets that evening. In fact, the noises robbed me of sleep by rubbing sleep off me that night. Even Miss Endurance had to leave her site to stay with me here with her Peace.” At the man’s rebuke, Vulnerability fell to the floor and wept sore.
“Father, it was my m-mother who-who asked m-me to come with t-them to b-blow it. I-I’m v-very sorry.”
Vulne told us that you dreamt of sighting him get into the Island successfully. Therefore I thought your dream must surely come to pass since they have never failed in the past. I deemed it fit to announce the dream to all so that when it has come to pass all toes will come to pass the time of the day in your temple to praise you.”
“I need no trace of praise from your race to raise the face of my defaced ego,” Father Sage spoke. “Listen to me, Limitation. I didn’t make the dream, so why should I take the praises?”
“We are sorry father,” Mediocrity pleaded.
“Let me tell you this; there are dream-makers, there are dream-dreamers and there are dream-killers.”
“Dream-killers?” exclaimed the Mediocritys.
“Yes!” replied the man. “Your so-called brother, Doubt, is a dream-killer. The Hurt dwellers are dream-killers too. You’d better not let the news of your imagined or expected success get into their ears; else, they’ll do everything at their disposal to terminate the dream.”
The family sobbed remorsefully after hearing Father Sage’s declaration. Their sobs got the Sage affrighted for he had read meaning into them.

“Where’s Hope? Where’s Hope?” the old man asked expectantly.
“Hope is lost and that is why we have come to seek your counsel,” Limitation responded.
“Stop it!” the Sage reacted lugubriously. “Don’t say Hope is lost!”
“But Hope is lost indeed,” Vulnerability intruded but the Sage cried, “Shut up! If Hope is lost I’d better be lost too. What should I be remaining alive doing without hope? Now tell me, where is Hope?” the Sage asked once more and Vulnerability replied, “On our way to the River of Achievement Hope was kidnapped.”
“And that’s why we said Hope is lost,” Limitation intruded.
“Limit your speech Limitation: say Hope is not lost,” instructed the man.
“Father, why do you want me to lie now? Didn’t you speak against lying in your sermons?”
“It’s no lie to say Hope is not lost when it seems as though he’s lost,” the Sage declared. “If you have life in you then you have Hope, because hope can never be lost for a living soul. Now, tell me, who kidnapped him?”
“Mr. Oppressor from the Hurt huts,” Vulnerability replied.
“Mr. Oppressor? Do you mean that hairy man whose hands are covered in veins in vain?” Father Sage asked, glowering.
“Ah! Father, the man’s veins are not vain veins. In fact, his veins are the reflection of his strength. He can tear anyone apart with his muscular arms,” confessed Limitation.
“Lim is right Father,” supported Mediocrity, but his words did nothing more than to invoke Father Sage’s laughter, which in turn infused the confusion of the couple.
“Father, it’s not a laughing matter,” Limitation poured out her mind, gazing at the man’s face. And then she added in annoyance, “In fact we’ve already come out with the conclusion that sending Waste and Drunkward from the Hoodlum family to the Hurt huts is the only way to achieve the feat of rescuing Hope. Were it not for Vulne who asked us to come seek your counsel, I’m sure that by this time Waste and Drunkward would have defeated Mr. Oppressor and come back with Hope.”
Father Sage guffawed once more and spoke at last:
“Waste and Drunkward’s feet are not worthy for the feat of defeating Mr. Oppressor. In fact, you might lose Hope forever by sending them,” announced the grey-haired wrinkle-faced aged Sage who seemed to have rattled the cage of the couple with his incessant laughter.
“B-but but who shall we now send to perform this feat?” Limitation asked with agitation. She received immediate response from the Sage who said, “You can only perform the feat of defeat with the feet that are fit for the feat. The feet in Dungalow bungalow are not fit for the feat, so they cannot defeat Mr. Oppressor. Tarry here to marry patience while I go to meet the right feet.” Father Sage began to get out of the temple slowly to trek the few distances to the Dotage cottage.
After the Mediocres had tarried for hours, Limitation the termagant agitatedly commanded her household to get prepared to return to the Dilapidation dwelling place, since Father Sage had refused to surface.

In the meanwhile, Mother Witch and Mr. Oppressor had reached Dilapidation dwelling place only to discover that no one was in there. However, Mother Witch made his guess known to Mr. Oppressor that the family had left to inform Father Sage of their kid’s kidnap.
“Hurry, let’s get back to the Hurt huts and keep Hope in the Pit of Pit Vipers,” uttered Mother Witch, rather screaming.
“But Giant Faith will come searching everywhere,” Mr. Oppressor voiced out in horror.
“Don’t you worry,” calmed the elderly woman with thirty-two ‘save twenty-eight’ tattered tangled teeth and a scraggy neck. Cruelly, she blinked and shut her bloodshot eyes and moved her lips to say, “I know how to handle the situation; Giant Faith might come searching for Hopefulness with all his might till nightfall, but he will never discover the Pit of Pit Viper—not while I’m in my chamber—the Chamber of charms.”
The seekers arrived at the Hurt huts around the same time, having common news to share—the absences of their targets. Back in Mr. Oppressor’s chamber called the Chamber of harms, he asked for the hug again and she denied him as usual.
“You can’t do the hug—” replied Madam Pickoffence, picking her mucus-infiltrated hirsute nose with the tip of her broad thumb, “Because you have failed to bring the Mediocres here.”
“Hey, I’ll force the hug on you right away!” Mr. Oppressor gushed as he rushed to crush her, but she hushed him as she blushed and yelled, “Wait! Clothe Hope with the Garment of Torment first. Then take him down to the Pit of Pit Viper. After then can you have the hug.”
“Alright,” said the man as he retreated and then reiterated “Alright” as he bent over a box to pick up a garment whose inner was lined with thorns, briers and thistles.

Father Sage was shocked as he met the Mediocres at the entrance of the temple. The old man came with his three nephews, Giant Faith, Moderate Faith and Dwarf Faith whose facial expressions were of imperviousness.
“Limitation, what’s this you’re doing with your household?” asked the Sage shockingly. She responded, “As you can see, we’re leaving of course! We’ve waited too long here without Hope.”
“And we’ve decided to sacrifice our meagre sum of money to get Hope back since you’ve decided to stay away for too long,” added Mediocrity.
“Sacrifice? How?” the Sage asked in wonderment.
“I’ve decided to meet with Waste and Drunkward to do the rescue job for us,” she responded. “And I don’t care how much money would be sacrificed for this task, because I’m sure the duo would request too much.”
“Hold it Limitation,” the old man spoke in disappointment. “Didn’t I ask you to tarry here and be patient till my return?”
“You said so, but it was taking you too long, therefore—”
“Keep quiet Limitation!” the man bawled. “Do you think that sacrificing all your cash will do to bring Hopefulness back? Why can’t you just obey my instruction for once?”
“But father—we were scared of what Mr. Oppressor would do to Hope if we don’t intervene quickly,” Mediocrity responded regretfully but Vulnerability was already shedding tears. However, Limitation remained impenitent while Standaloof maintained her composure, poking six fingers into her mouth at once and drooling irritably as she produced a loud unpleasant sound.
“Don’t you realise that to obey is better than sacrifice and rebellion is like the offence of being a subject of Mother Witch? Obeying the words of a Sage will save you of sacrificing your meagre wage,” Father Sage pronounced and everyone kept quiet for a space of one minute.
“Here are the Faiths, my nephews, the sons of Wisdom my sister who was exiled,” Father Sage said at last as he presented the trio before the Mediocres. The Mediocres glowered as they lowered their faces to view the face of the dwarf, but he looked away shyly.
“Have you met any one of them before now?” asked the Sage and Mediocrity was the first to answer, “Yes, the giant, during Hope’s naming ceremony.”
“Yes, Med is right!” Limitation replied with enthusiasm. “He came with you, isn’t it?” Limitation asked. Father Sage answered with a nod in approval and then declared, “Here are the feet fit for the feat of defeating the feet of Mr. Oppressor.” The aged man smiled satisfactorily. Mediocrity and Limitation revealed their disbelief as they goggled with mouth wide agape.
“No doubt, Mr. Oppressor will surely get rid of these three in a second!” Limitation confessed, doubting the ability of the Faiths but Father Sage debunked, saying, “As a matter of fact, a single Faith is enough to destroy the Hurt huts. Med, Lim, just step forward and decide which of the Faiths you want for this feat—pick just one of them.” At Father Sage’s words, Limitation stepped forward and pulled at Giant Faith’s wrist, which was far above her head. Her right hand had only barely gotten to his wrist after she had tiptoed.
“Father, this giant seemed to me as one of those eunuchs living in the Castration castle,” Limitation said, but the Sage replied, “Stop that joke, Limitation. Giant Faith is not a eunuch. In fact, he’s potent enough to become a father of many generations. Only that he hasn’t met a compatible spinster yet. All single ladies in Happy-Go-Lucky has not appealed to him except Virtue, the daughter of Mr. Peacemaker, who was raped to death while in courtship with him. Virtue was raped to death in the Innocency Inn, her father’s residence, when she was home alone. Since then, Giant Faith has refused to bring home another fiancée.”
“Why can’t he court Seekbeauty, that sylph in the Flirts’ flats?” Limitation suggested, aggravating the giant’s condition, who hollered “Never in my life will I admire that flirt called Seekbeauty.” Limitation was scared out of life at the harsh voice of the giant before her. “Aargh!” screamed Limitation, stepping back abruptly. “I—I’m sorry,” she stuttered her apology, but Father Sage’s laughter stole away her attention eventually.
“I never believe you could be intimidated to this extent Limitation,” Father Sage spoke amidst laughter. “Virtue’s loss has remained a fresh indelible wound in Giant Faith’s heart. He hasn’t loved anyone like Virtue in his life. It’s quite unfortunate that one of the idle minds out there thought it good to force her into that mess. Now she’s dead!”
“Aren’t there enough virtuous daughters in this town aside Virtue?” asked Mediocrity.
“Many daughters have done virtuously, but she excelled them all,” the Sage responded.
“How about Favour, who came from the Valley of Valour with sweet-smelling savour last year?” said Limitation.
“And what about Seekbeauty whose beauty is an epitome in this town?” added Mediocrity.
“Favour is deceitful and Seekbeauty is vain,” said the Sage.
“How is Favour deceitful?” Limitation was shocked.
“She was not actually named Favour, but Havoc. Deceit brought her here for gain. He changed her name to Favour and sought a man to marry her. Father Adultery, whose wife had just divorced, asked for her hand in marriage. After just one week in matrimony, Havoc filed a lawsuit for divorcement, being the agreement she had made with Deceit. The case went in her favour and she parted with half of Father Adultery’s belongings. These she shared with Deceit and left for her town the City of Atrocity again.”
When Giant Faith pondered on the thought of Virtue’s death again, his face turned red, allowing heavy tears to flow freely out of them, which were plopping down on Dwarf Faith’s head.
“Father, is your roof leaking?” the dwarf demanded puzzlingly as two drops of tears dropped on his head. “Why do you ask?” Father Sage asked, yet he had the idea.
“Rain is dropping on my head,” the Dwarf declared to everyone’s amusement.
“It’s no rain...but Giant Faith’s tears,” the Sage confessed and the dwarf moved away immediately to avoid more of the salty liquid. “So, husband and wife, which of the Faiths do you wish to send?”
“The heftiest of course,” Limitation responded immediately.
“Yes, Giant Faith will do,” Mediocrity concurred.
“You don’t need Giant Faith to move the mountains shielding the Hurt hurts—all you need is Dwarf Faith,” the Sage said, presenting Dwarf Faith to them.
“Dwarf Faith?” the couple muttered.
“Yeah, with little Faith, nothing is impossible,” Father Sage praised the dwarf. “Trust little Faith to move all the mountains for you and to destroy Mother Witch’s Chamber of charms, Mr. Oppressor’s Chamber of harms and the Bads and Mrs. Jealousy’s Chambers of Arms. Lim, Med, I stand to assure you that the two short feet of this short Faith, who’s two feet short of five feet in height, are too fit for the feat. The old man turned his face from facing Limitation’s face to now face Dwarf Faith’s face. Then he fondled his hair and poked his nose and spoke into his ears.
“Go, little Faith, go with the Mediocres.” With mouths wide agape in disbelief, Mr. and Mrs. Mediocrity received the diminutive Faith without their arms spread wide.
“Well...Father, at your words we shall test him,” Limitation said as she made ready to leave.
The visitors had only taken few steps when Father Sage suddenly stepped out of the temple with Standaloof in his arms. “Wait! Wait!!” he screamed, to call the attention of the departing visitors. “You’ve forgotten your baby here!”
“What!” Limitation was shocked. “Vulne, don’t you know it’s your duty to carry Standaloof about?”
“I—I...” stammered Vulnerability but his mother interrupted with a scream. “Go and get her right now!”