The Cyclops met D’Arbignal by the creek, as promised. She walked carefully though the woods, holding up a lamp in one hand, and waving a stick before her with the other. Since she lost her eye, her depth perception had suffered and she always felt nervous walking among trees with their pointy branches. It was too easy to misjudge how close they were, and if she ran into one with her good eye…!
D’Arbignal was waiting for her when she arrived. His white shirt had a small brown stain on the breast, and D’Arbignal grimaced when he moved.
“Yes,” he acknowledged, “Alfredo has been getting a little overzealous of late.”
“Are you hurt badly?” she said.
He waved away her concern.
“I’ve heard puns that hurt more than this,” he said. “Now would you like to see your surprise?”
She hesitated only a few moments, and then nodded.
D’Arbignal grinned and reached into his magical bag. If she had been given a year to guess what the gift was, she still wouldn’t have guessed the item he withdrew.
“Oh no,” she said, shaking her head. “I couldn’t!”
D’Arbignal’s grin was enormous. His eyes lit up like a naughty child’s.
“Sure you could,” he said.
YOU ARE READING
A Lesson for the Cyclops
RomanceDare to Hope? Maria leads a lonely existence of silent misery. Horribly disfigured, she earns a meager living as a sideshow freak. Her very existence is one of mockery, contempt, and ridicule. She has no hope, no dreams. No future. But when a dashin...
