Page 75 of Tiger's Trek
Dear One,
Herein is contained that which you desire above all else.
It is more precious than diamonds, gold, glory, fame, or even love.
I hope you can use it to start anew and find happiness.
Know that I will always watch over you,
Mama
The gift is...
Nick turned the paper over to see what was written on the back.
Forgiveness
Flipping it over again and again, Nikolai read and reread the letter until his vision blurred with tears. It was as if it had come from his very own mama. Could it be that this mama had somehow given Nik the thing he wanted most in the world instead of Yuri? He collapsed to his knees, sobbing. “Oh, Mama,” he cried. “Mama,” he said, over and over again. “I’m so sorry. I love you.”
“What is this?” the ghost said. “Why are you crying? You want Mama’s forgiveness? You think this is a gift?” Yuri shouted. “I don’t care if you forgive me or not, old woman! I don’t forgive you! You have trapped me here for decades. You think you have suffered? I have suffered twelve times over! I had to see our dead children, not you. I had to stay behind and care for them when you left. You should be asking me for forgiveness, eh?”
While Yuri kept yelling, Nik got up, found a bag with all his things packed at the bottom of the house steps, stuffed the tin and the nesting dolls with the key inside, and said dosvidanya to Mama.
He’d only just exited the town and entered the woods when he heard a familiar voice.
“Hey, kid.”
“Pasha?”
“That’s right.”
“Whew! I thought you were going to try to shrink that thing. You haven’t been gone for more than a week or so. I know I’m a little late, but I thought the time without your power would do you some good. What could you possibly have found in there to make a sorrow grow like that?” Pasha climbed up on a stump and began probing Nik’s back and shoulders.
He tried to push the one-eyed man off. “So you’re responsible for this? It figures. I thought you were coming for me! What happened?”
“I got caught up in a gig. Couldn’t help it. Anyway, you’re a big boy, aren’t you? Don’t need a nanny.”
“No, I don’t. So clear out, would you? Just leave me alone,” he demanded.
“I’d like to, but first off, it’s hard to look away from that thing on your back. That sorrow looks like a tick that’s been dining on a blood blister. It’s like a giant slug waiting to explode.” When the little man slid down, Nikolai noticed a strange look on his face.
Trying to ignore him, Nik started walking, and the man followed, saying, “Reminds me of this one time I found a pustule growing on me backside. Raw and red, it was. Festered something fierce. Very difficult to excrete. Couldn’t quite reach it, you see?”
Spinning, Nik said, “That’s quite enough explanation. Thank you, though, for the very vivid imagery.”
“You’re welcome. Now, seeing as how you failed your task, I believe you owe me a debt as well as my cards back. I’ll be taking those now, thank you very much.”
“Er, your cards?”
“Don’t tell me you lost them. Not my lucky deck.”
“Uh, no. Let me just check my bag.”
Rummaging through the bag, Nik began to panic when he didn’t find them. Then he had a thought, opened the nesting dolls, and took out the key. When he inserted it in the little tin box, he found the same paper with the note as before as well as the lucky deck. “Whew! Here they are,” he said, handing them over.
“They’d better all be here,” Pasha said, riffling through them. Picking up a card and sniffing it, he winced. “Killed a few people with these, I see.”
“Not my fault,” Nik said. “The ghost did it. And only one was during the card game.”
