Journey 2

Chapter 19: Journey 2

Houssem screamed in shock, as he hadn't expected to encounter a talking animal so quickly, especially since his journey had just begun.

"Hello!" Houssem said warmly.

"Hello, civilized human!" the gazelle replied sarcastically.

Houssem laughed, trying to ease the tension and said, "Hahaha, sorry, madam, if I disturbed you. I didn't expect you to understand me."

The gazelle looked at him with disdain and said, "You humans don't have a shred of honesty. Deceivers, as usual!"

Houssem felt nervous but tried to stay calm, "Hahaha, sorry if I upset you, but I think you're exaggerating. I haven't done anything to you other than approach quietly."

The gazelle raised her head with contempt and said, "I don't care whether you approached quietly or not, but the way you looked at me was malicious, and that's a huge deal!"

Houssem stopped speaking, trying to suppress his anger. What the gazelle didn't know was that the one standing in front of her wasn't a calm person, but someone with a short temper and unpredictable moods. If she had treated him kindly, he would have considered her his dearest friend, but if she provoked or insulted him, he wouldn't hesitate to crush her pride.

Inhale... Exhale...

Inhale... Exhale...

Inhale... Exhale...

He whispered to himself, trying to calm his nerves:

"Calm down, me. Don't lose your temper over a small insult. You're not on Earth anymore, the creatures here don't follow human laws."

Houssem stood tall and looked at the gazelle calmly, saying:

"Madam, I'm sorry if I disturbed your journey with you and your young one, but I just need one thing from you."

The gazelle raised an eyebrow and said with curiosity:

"And what do you want?"

Houssem answered nervously:

"It's not a big thing... I just want some milk from you."

The gazelle glared at him angrily and said:

"You want milk? Do you think I'm a cow?!"

Houssem quickly tried to fix the situation and said:

"Yes! Oh... I mean no! How could a creature like you be compared to a stupid cow?!"

The gazelle raised her head proudly and said:

"Of course, I'm not like those stupid creatures!" Then she added sharply: "Get away from here! I won't give you anything, and if I see you again, I'll kick your backside away!"

Houssem raised his hands in surrender and said:

"Alright, alright, sorry for the disturbance." He turned away muttering angrily, "Stupid gazelle! I'll find something else. Damn you and your son!"

And so, Houssem and the black cat continued their journey, distancing themselves from the gazelle and her young, searching for another source of milk.

After walking for a long distance...

Houssem found himself in front of a herd of cows grazing in a vast meadow in the middle of the forest, covering an area of 2000 meters, which restored his hope of finding what he was looking for.

He looked around in amazement and muttered:

"Strange! How is there such a vast meadow in the middle of a forest full of trees?! The air here is pure and wonderful!"

He remembered how the forest had looked from the outside, where he could only see dense trees stretching endlessly. But he shook his head in resignation and said:

"Humph, what do I care?! I'm not Detective Conan. Let these questions go to hell!"

He glanced at the herd and saw it consisted of thirty cows, mostly females, with only one male lying on the ground, surrounded by the cows on all sides as if he were a king surrounded by his harem.

Houssem felt a lump in his throat and said bitterly:

"Damn this lucky bull! He hasn't done anything and yet he has 29 girlfriends, while I, for 15 years, haven't even spoken to a girl! Even my friends and family have started questioning my orientation!"

Houssem looked at the lazy bull in the middle of the herd with eyes filled with envy, then sighed, placing his hand on his chest as if he were a lost poet drowning in sorrow:

"Ah, love… Is this my fate?! To remain lost in eternal loneliness while this lazy bull gets the dream life?! Is this the justice of the universe?!"

But suddenly, he realized that this wasn't the right time for a love drama and despair. He didn't come here to envy a bull for his luxurious life, he came for the milk!

He looked at the herd again, then approached one of the cows, trying to act diplomatically. He respectfully walked up to her and said:

"Good evening, Madam Cow! How are you on this beautiful day?!"

The cow raised her head and looked at him with empty eyes, then returned to grazing as if nothing was happening.

Houssem felt extremely embarrassed and thought to himself, "Great... even the cows are ignoring me. Am I that transparent?!"

But he didn't give up. He knelt before the cow, trying to win her sympathy:

"Madam, I just need some milk, it's a matter of life and death, please!"

But the cow didn't respond, as if she hadn't heard a word he said.

Houssem cleared his throat and added, "I promise I won't take long! Just a small glass! Well, maybe a medium-sized cup... or just one liter! You know? I'd be happy even with half a liter!"

But the cow didn't care, continuing to chew the grass in boredom.

Houssem sighed and stood up, then decided to try another approach. If the gazelle could understand and speak, then surely all the creatures of the forest had this ability, but he didn't know why this cow was ignoring him like this. He turned towards the bull, still reclining as if on a beach vacation, and said:

"Mr. Bull, you are definitely the great leader of this herd, aren't you?! Surely your wisdom and sound judgment surpass everyone here! So please, command one of the cows to give me some milk!"

Finally, the bull opened his eyes and stared at Houssem for two seconds, then let out a deep sound, almost like a roar, as if to say, "Get away from me!" Then he went back to lying down as if nothing had happened.

Houssem stood frozen, then placed his hands on his head, yelling:

"Impossible! Even cows have a corrupt bureaucracy?! Why does everything have to be so hard in life?!"

But before he completely lost hope, he felt something gently tugging at his pants. He turned slowly to find a small calf looking at him curiously.

Houssem and the calf exchanged glances for a moment before the calf smiled and made a small sound... wait a second, do cows make mooing sounds?!

Houssem became confused and said, "Wait, are you sure you're a cow?!"

Calf: "Moo...?"

Houssem: "Alright, I'll take that as a yes."

But suddenly, a large cow appeared, probably the calf's mother, and gave Houssem a warning look that made the blood freeze in his veins.

"Oh no, no, no! This is not what you think, madam! I was just discussing purely philosophical matters with your son, there's nothing suspicious here!"

But the cow didn't believe him. She started stomping her hooves on the ground in anger, as if preparing to attack.

"Alright, I think it's time for a strategic withdrawal!"

Houssem quickly turned around and began running with all his might, while the angry cow chased after him, running like a racehorse that had just decided to switch professions to chasing humans.

Behind him, the whole herd watched the scene coldly, while the bull closed his eyes again as if saying, "This is what happens to those who disturb the royal peace."

As for Houssem, he realized a bitter truth while running for his life:

"It seems my fate in this journey isn't the journey itself, but escaping from angry creatures!"

Houssem kept running as fast as he could, feeling his legs move at a speed he didn't know he had, as if his whole life had been one big training session for this crucial moment. Meanwhile, the angry cow was getting closer and closer, her hooves pounding the ground with such force that it felt like a mini earthquake was chasing only him!

"My God! Why is she so fast?! Isn't she just a cow?!"

He quickly turned to the black cat running beside him, calmly as if she didn't feel any danger.

"Do you have any genius plan?!" he asked, gasping, hoping for an answer.

"Yes, run faster!" the cat answered coldly.

"Brilliant! What an amazing tip! Why didn't I think of that?! Thanks, philosopher of this age!"

But suddenly, Houssem spotted a huge tree trunk lying in the middle of the path. He used his speed to jump over it with ease, but when he turned around to see what happened to the cow… the surprise came!

The cow didn't stop… she jumped over the trunk with the skill of a professional high jumper!

Houssem's eyes widened as he screamed: "Impossible! Since when did cows become athletes?! Have I been living in a lie my whole life?! Is there a secret cow Olympics I don't know about?!"

But there was no time for existential questions. The cow was still chasing him, and she looked like she had become faster and more enthusiastic after the jump, as if she had taken an extra shot of adrenaline!

"Oh my God! Is this a cow or a racehorse in disguise?! What did you eat today, madam?!"

Houssem looked around desperately, but suddenly he spotted a giant tree with low branches. Without thinking twice, he jumped, grabbing one of the branches, pulling himself up with all his strength until he found himself sitting on one of the branches, panting heavily.

As for the cow… she stopped under the tree and looked up at him defiantly, then made an angry sound while waving her tail as if saying, "Don't think you've won, human!"

Houssem let out a sigh of relief, then turned to the black cat, who had easily climbed the tree from the beginning, looking at him like he was a fool.

"Why didn't you do this from the start?" the cat asked coldly.

"Sorry, I didn't expect I'd need parkour skills just to talk to a cow!"

Houssem glanced down, where the cow was still glaring at him angrily, then exhaled forcefully and said:

"Well, getting milk is harder than I thought… What's next? Am I going to have to strike a business deal with the cows? Or get into a battle with the cow mafia?!"

Suddenly, he heard another sound from afar, the heavy footsteps... He quickly turned, and saw a group of people wearing tattered clothes, approaching the herd. Their faces were dirty and they looked exhausted, but what caught Houssem's attention the most was that they were carrying wooden buckets!

His eyes widened, and he smiled, saying: "Finally! Normal people!"

But the cat gave him a sarcastic look and said, "Oh, are you sure they're normal?"

Before he could ask her what she meant, he noticed something strange... One of the men approached a cow, but instead of milking it as he expected, he started talking to it in a strange language, as if they were negotiating a business deal.

Then... the cow raised its hoof as if to shake hands!!!

Houssem, who was starting to doubt his mental stability, muttered: "Well... this place is getting crazier by the second."

Houssem wasn't sure what he was seeing anymore... Was this just a hallucination from hunger? Or was this journey starting to enter absurd levels that his mind couldn't comprehend?

He looked again... no, he wasn't imagining it! The cow and the man were really shaking hands! In fact, the cow pulled out a small notebook from nowhere and started writing in it with a pen... A pen!!!

"I'm officially in a nightmare! How does the cow hold the pen?! Where does it hide the notebook?!"

But before he could dive into a panic attack, he decided to silently watch, as it was clear that there was some kind of secret milk trade happening before him, and he wasn't going to miss this opportunity!

One of the men approached the proudly sitting bull, and knelt before it reverently as if addressing a great emperor, then said in a majestic voice:

"Great master... We have come to pay the annual tax for the sacred milk."

Houssem almost fell from the tree as he screamed internally: "Annual tax?! Sacred milk?! Since when do cows rule this place?! Is the bull a king or a mafia boss?!"

The bull looked at the man with disdain, then let out a deep bellow that seemed to carry its own language, and the humans understood it immediately.

One of the men took out a bag of fine grass and placed it respectfully in front of the bull, while the rest of the men began filling the buckets with milk from the cows, as if they were in a sacred temple!

"This is officially the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life."

But suddenly, Houssem felt a chill in his spine... yes, that familiar feeling when you realize you're being watched. He slowly turned to find that all the cows had stopped milking, the humans had frozen in place, and even the bull had finally lifted its head... and everyone was staring at him!!!

"Oh no... I thought they forgot about me!"

Before he could even process the situation, the bull let out a terrifying bellow that made the birds fly out of the trees, and suddenly, the entire herd started moving towards him!

"Oh my God! Is this a public trial?! Am I going to be executed for seeing the secret cow rituals?!"

Houssem jumped from the tree, trying to escape, but he felt something gripping his clothes! He looked back to find one of the men had seized him by his clothes with an iron grip, his face stern and his eyes filled with suspicion.

"Who are you? How dare you intrude on the sacred milk grounds?!"

Houssem, still trying to grasp the idea that cows had "sacred lands," attempted to remain calm, but couldn't stop himself from shouting:

"Me?! I'm just a tourist! Yes, a curious tourist who got lost! I swear I have no intention of stealing your cow secrets!"

But the man didn't seem convinced; he raised an eyebrow and said:

"A tourist? In the middle of an endless forest? Alone?"

At this point, Houssem realized his excuse was weaker than an internet connection in a desert, so he swallowed and said:

"Alright, alright, I'll be honest... I was just looking for some milk, nothing more! I don't care about your economic system or your cow government!"

"Cow government?!" the man yelled in anger, then quickly glanced at the bull, which was still staring at Houssem with an intense and mysterious gaze.

Suddenly, the bull started walking towards him slowly, and every cow in the herd cleared the way for it with deep respect. Even the men seemed uneasy, as though they were in the presence of a sacred being.

The bull stopped right in front of Houssem and stared directly at him... that kind of stare that makes a person feel like they've become an open book, being read line by line.

Then... the bull let out a short bellow.

One of the men turned to Houssem and said with a stiff face:

"The Great Leader requests that you explain why you are spying on the sacred rituals."

Houssem, who no longer knew whether he was living an epic adventure or just having a long dream after eating bad food, raised his hands and said:

"Great Bull, I swear I didn't mean to spy! It's just that my cat is hungry, and I wanted some milk… that's it!"

A silence lingered for a moment, then the bull released another bellow.

This time, one of the men translated it in a formal tone: "The Great Leader has decided to give you one chance to prove your true intentions..."

Houssem, who was starting to feel like he was in a secret ninja clan initiation test, cautiously asked:

"What do I need to do?"

The man cleared his throat and said:

"You must defeat our greatest warrior... in an honorable duel!"

Houssem's eyes widened, then he asked nervously:

"Wait, a duel? With who?!"

But before he could get an answer, he heard the sound of heavy hooves behind him… He slowly turned around, only to find a massive cow, its muscles bulging as if ready to burst from under its skin, its eyes filled with fury, and it was flipping in the air as if it had been practicing Kung Fu for decades!

Houssem stared at the cow in shock, then screamed:

"What the hell is this?! A fighting cow?! Am I in a martial arts movie?!"

But there was no time for questions; the moment of truth had arrived… and Houssem realized that he was about to engage in the strangest fight of his life!

To be continued...