As we know from the previous story, the four children had been locked up in pearls for many years. But what I didn't tell you was how their mini lives went on ever since. Today we'll tackle that subject.
As you recall, Tahir loved nature. So inside his pearl there was a huge forest, with infinite plants and animals. Everywhere you looked at there was life. Rain would pour abundantly, hydrating the thick green carpet that covered Tahir's land. You see, he was the Prince of Tahirland. With his mini power, he'd rule the mountains and the valleys, sending telepathic messages to the winds. He was a natural leader. Everything worked perfectly. There wasn't a single animal or plant that didn't love him or praised him. In the face of conflict and struggle, mini Tahir would go through it with a light heart, blessing the way with his sunshine.
And it went on like this for a while, until all hell broke loose. His bird vizier came flying desperately, saying that people were carrying the cube towards a huge crowd.
"And so what?" Prince Tahir asked nonchalantly. "Let them admire us, it's no biggie."
"But sire," insisted the vizier. "They've come to abuse us. I was told that your mother, the Queen, will let the people range about us and wash their sins off, using our blessed glow. Your highness, what shall we do?"
The Prince chuckled. "You worry too much, buddy. Look here," and the Prince pointed to his sunny horizon. "We have love and goodness and health and light for everyone."
"Sire, regardless of your generosity, these are limited resources--"
"Buddy! Chill out. Come have a snack, I'm starving for mangoes."
Meanwhile, the people outside were touching and kissing Tahir's cube. The women were hopeful that they'd get pregnant, that their chicken would put more eggs, that the crops would grow faster, that the dogs would live longer, that the whole world would remain colorful and healthy for the rest of its life. And for each wish upon the cube, Tahir's land would dim, losing bits of life and beauty. Less rain was pouring, the plants looked thinner, animals were hungry, and meanwhile on the other side, people's wishes were coming true. The vizier was right. "They're taking our life away," whispered Prince Tahir. The vizier nodded. "Tis the death of us, your highness."
In less than ten years, Tahir's land was no more. All the green beauty had vanished. His mini palace lay amid a thick desert. As if it wasn't enough, his vizier grew old and left him too. Alone and with no food or water, mini Tahir ambled groggily across the desert. And make no mistake. Even the sun had left. It was a grey desert, being Tahir the only radioactive pea. He'd drag his feet with his head hung low, incapable of shedding tears. That's when his forehead twinged sharply. Rubbing the spot, he frowned and looked up. He had stumbled on a cactus. A cactus of his mini size. Intrigued, Tahir walked around it, checking all its weird angles and spikes. When he had finished that micro analysis, out of a sudden the cactus wriggled. Tahir jumped back and fell on the sand, butt faced. The cactus twisted and turned, and as if that performance wasn't enough, it opened a random mouth and started laughing. "Your highness! Look at you!" it said, cracking up.
Tahir stood up, dusting off his legs. "Who are you??"
"Duh, a cactus?"
"Well, okay, but, wow..."
The cactus, let's say, rolled up its eyes. And they became friends, to sum it up. But life was cruel. As we all know, a cactus is stiff and with a hard skin in order to not dehydrate from the rascal sun. It stores quite a lot of water. And fellas, our mini Tahir was thirsty. And so he said, "I'm thirsty, man."
The cactus remained in silence.
"Like, really thirsty, guess Imma die." Our mini Tahir wasn't the brightest. Or maybe because the dehydration was impairing his brain. Or maybe because he was a good boy. He closed his eyes and flopped onto the sand.
