Dark feeling

The fragile creature also suddenly detached itself from him and left.

Alarmed, Miron forgot all about the competition, and left the podium without hesitation to follow the butterfly.

But he didn't have the chance to do so for long, as the ephemeral creature vanished into the twilight lights. Then the young magician returned to the balcony of his beast, and as he had foreseen, found only Kadul's mother there.

The mother, totally unaware of the young magician's anxiety and fear, ran up to him and took him in her fleshy arms, hugging him and listening to him against her generous chest.

“Oh Miron, darling, I'm glad one of you won the title of best costume. And my Kadul who was so...”

But not giving a damn about anything that wasn't Clarine, Miron abruptly pulled away from her neighbor's affectionate but suffocating embrace and asked her imperiously.

“Mrs. Dreris, I'm sorry to cut you off, but do you know where Clarine is?”