Jens Hoffmann - Simon Knox and the Prophecy of Asragur

After they found the tent and put it in the garden to air out, Simon got to work on a rusty bicycle that was in the shed behind the house. Not much could be done to the old bicycle. He patched up the front tyre, pumped plenty of air into both wheels, freed the frame of dirt and dust and adjusted the seat. After all, he was planning to tour the Exmoor with Richie.

He spent part of the afternoon with Aunt Abygale in the rose beds and helped her pull weeds. While she prepared dinner, he used the time to walk along the beach and collect shells and stones, which he really loved doing. He ended up throwing most of the stones back into the water, and the shells he took back with him to the house were few.

***

"Wednesday is here at last", Simon said with joy the next day. Richie and his father were sure to be on their way to Ilfracombe, he thought excitedly. He could finally tell his friend all about his mysterious find of two days before. Maybe Richie would have an explanation for the scale-like thing that cast its spell on him the more he thought about it. It didn't seem as radiant though as it had two days ago. He had a feeling it was changing.

He quickly packed the compass, binoculars, some money and his mysterious finding into his backpack and raced down the stairs into the kitchen to Aunt Abygale. She was just making Simon a couple of sandwiches for his trip when he came storming in.

"Wouldn't it be better if I drove you there, lad?", she asked a bit worriedly. "I was already planning to drive to Ilfracombe later on and could drop you off at Mr. Twiggle's Ice Cream Parlour."

"No, no, Aunt Aby", Simon said and thanked her. "Richie will also have his bicycle with him. We might want to ride onto Exmoor", he added happily.

"OK, whatever you think", she sighed. "But whatever you do, be careful and don't ride near the cliffs. Terrible accidents happen every year because people here on holiday just don't pay attention", she cautioned him, wrapping the sandwiches and handing him an apple.

"There you go, take off now! And don't forget that we will be eating at seven o'clock. Oh, and you wanted to set up the tent with Richard, otherwise you won't be having a safari camp today. And if you should happen to see Professor Dawson, please give him my best regards. Richard is more than welcome. It's no trouble at all. I still don't understand, how a person thinks that a boy can have fun by crawling through the moor with his father looking for some kind of fungus", she mused.

"Lichen!", Simon corrected her.

"What?", inquired Aunt Aby blankly.

"He is looking for a certain type of lichen or moss, according to Richie."

"Whatever", Abygale gestured dismissively. "Whether fungus, or moss, or whatever. It's all nonsense! Children should be able to enjoy their summer holidays. Life gets serious early enough", ending her short lecture and sending Simon off, who in no time buckled his backpack on his back, hopped on his bicycle and left. She watched him leave with a smile on her face and decided to take a nap in the shade of the old oak tree before tea time.

Simon peddled just as fast as he could. No way could he be late and raced along the coastal road at breakneck speed. He passed Pier Hotel at the harbour and turned left onto Quayfield Road. He made a beeline to the next crossing, crossed over Victoria Street and then made a sharp turn to the right into Highfield Road. A bit out of breath, he made to Mr. Twiggle's Ice Cream Parlour on time, which was located in Highfield Road at the corner of Castle Hill.

Richie was already there, sitting on the steps in front of Mr. Twiggle's Ice Cream and Sweet Shop. He had leaned his bicycle against the wall of the small redbrick house with the large shop window. With his backpack on his knees, he saw Simon coming from far off around the corner, while his nose was taking in the smell of freshly-baked chocolate cookies, various flavors of ice cream and a variety of other treats.

Simon braked hard and came to a stop right at Richie's feet. He was panting.

"Hey Richie! Whew, what a ride! Where are your things, or is a backpack all you've got?", he asked out of breath.

"Nah", replied Richie and stood up from the steps to put Simon's bicycle next to his. "They are probably already on the way to your aunt's", Richie said happily. "She invited my father for tea and asked him to bring along my things. After all, children should enjoy their holidays and not have to crawl around in the moor. That's just not right for a boy in my age...", Richie grinned.

"Ha, ha, your poor father", Simon chuckled. "I can just imagine what her lecture sounded like. She told me the same thing today. And believe me. Abygale Greenwood can be quite persuasive. Even a Professor Dawson doesn't stand a chance to contradict", Simon laughed and could picture the poor professor putting up with a lecture about how to raise children.

"I knew that Aunt Aby was up to something", Simon said and looked forward to a few carefree days with his buddy.

"Yes, thank goodness! I was already seeing myself crawling through the bushes of Exmoor day in and day out. Your aunt has real class", Richie laughed and they entered Mr. Twiggle's.

Mr. Twiggle’s Ice Cream Parlour was the ultimate paradise for everyone with a sweet tooth, whether they lived in town or in the surrounding area or were here on holiday. Simon loved the shop. Whenever he was visiting Aunt Abygale, he had to pay a visit to this wonderland at least once. Richard who had the sweet sticky pleasure for the first time stepped into the shop after Simon and his amazement found no end. With wide-opened eyes, he remained standing in the middle of the shop and just didn't know where to look first. Although the two-storey house was inconspicuous on the outside, inside it was a dream for every sweet tooth, big or small.

As usual there was a lot going on. On the right side, next to the door, was a large display window where wide white shelves were embedded. The shelves held big lidded jars with all sorts of cookies, biscuits, waffles and macaroons, the fragrance of which filled the entire shop. Connected to the shop window was the heart of Mr. Twiggle’s business, the ice cream counter.

There were over thirty flavours of ice cream to choose from and every year a new creation was added.

„Wow! It's so incredible here", Richie exclaimed. The sweet surroundings finally got him on the move and he made his way over to Simon. Richie passed by faces as amazed as his own, people who had the same problem of choosing fruit drops, jelly beans or maybe some gingerbread cookies and ice cream.

"Simon, this is so cool", Richie enthused.

"Happy you like it here", Simon laughed and waited to be served at the ice cream counter.

"We sure don't have such a cool shop in Portsmouth", his friend said enviously, who still couldn't believe the wide variety of cookies and ice cream he saw. After standing in line long enough, Simon decided on a monster scoop of rhubarb-marzipan ice cream. He also treated himself to a large bag of mixed cookies while Richie chose to sweeten up his afternoon with a scoop of strawberry ice cream and a bar of peppermint chocolate. They left the shop and sat down on an old bench on the other side of the street in the shade of an old tree.

"As I recall, you wanted to tell me something extremely important", Richie reminded his friend while enjoying his tasty ice cream.

"Right, hold this a second", Simon told Richie and handed him his cone with the two scoops tilting dangerously to the side. Richie took the ice cream cone from him and Simon started rummaging through his backpack. After he found the platelet, he took back his ice cream and placed that magical shining thing expectantly in Richie's hand. He went about examining it at once.

"That's a big fish scale. Did you find it here on the beach?", he asked Simon, blinking at him over the rim of his glasses.