Chapter 3: The squirrel's Achilles heel

© Picture created by Emilien Dubois Chaparu

Riwal turns round comfortably in bed. He is nice and warm under his fluffy blanket and since he repaired the windows, the wind has stopped blowing through the hut.

He fills the wood-burning stove regularly and it is nice and warm, even in the morning.

A lot has changed here since he moved in.

Juna the squirrel has been coming round every day to help him tidy up his hut.

They filled all the holes with wood wool and put the windows back on their hinges.

But the hardest part was the tidying up.

There were boxes everywhere, piles of books and all kinds of bottles, jars of ointment and clay pots.

Dried plants were hanging from the ceiling, some of which were so dusty that they ended up in the compost.

‘ I wonder what we're doing today? ‘ he asks himself

Slowly, he realises that he feels unusually refreshed and doesn't open his eyes just out of pleasure.

Even with his eyelids closed, it is unusually bright in his hut

Now he does open his eyes

Suddenly he realizes: the squirrel always wakes him up, the fact that Juna didn't do it today is unusual.

‘ Oh no, I hope this isn't another new kind of lesson... ’

He quickly slips into his clothes and looks at his watch

‘ 10 o'clock ?! It's that late already ? ’

Now he is really worried about the squirrel. He takes his coat from the door and runs down the now safe stairs.

It's a beautiful but cold November morning. If he remembers Juna's explanations correctly, it will soon be new moon. That means the weather will change soon afterwards.

He pauses briefly (as the squirrel has taught him) to thank the gods for his life and a new day, as he does every morning.

Then he storms off again to the other side of the clearing, where the squirrel's tree house stands.

‘ Juna, Juna ! Where are you? Is everything all right? Heeelllooo ! ’

No answer

Riwal is getting more and more restless

Where is Juna, she's always so lively that he can hardly imagine she's just sleeping in.

As he gets closer, he sees smoke coming out of the chimney

‘ Then she's at home! What's going on ? ’

The tree house is made for squirrels, not apprentice druids.

With some effort, he climbs up the narrow ladder.

Once at the top, he can only look through the windows. The front door is just as big as the light in front of his own hut.

He knocks cautiously on the door with one finger

‘ Juna, are you there? I'm worried about you. ’

Now that he is closer, he hears something. As if someone is moaning or complaining.

‘ Juna, say something! ’

Finally an answer, though not the one he was expecting :

‘ Go away Riwal ! ‘ and the moaning again

Now he opens the door, he can't stand it any longer.

‘ Do you hear badly ? I told you to go away, don't open the door! ’

‘ I'm sorry Juna, I can't just leave without making sure you're okay ’

‘ Of course I'm fine ‘ says the squirrel ironically

‘ Without my tummy, everything would be fine. ’

And then he sees her. She is curled up in bed, her face contorted in pain. There are several blankets over her and, despite a steaming hot water bottle, she is shivering as if she has a fever.

From time to time she rolls from side to side and rolls her eyes as if she is about to faint.

‘What's wrong with your stomach that you're in such a state? Have you eaten something wrong ? ’

‘ Now I've been trying to teach him things for a month and that's all he can think of ?! ‘ says the squirrel, almost to himself

Then Riwal realizes: Juna is a squirrel but she is above all a girl!

And like a flash of inspiration, he thought of his sister. She was also in bed once a month and he had always been jealous because she didn't have to go to school then.

‘Are you on your period? ‘ he asks timidly

‘The candidate has 100 points!’ Juna exclaims like in a TV show

And immediately afterwards she writhes in pain again

‘ Please really go now ‘ she says seriously ’ I can't teach you anything today and I need rest ’

He feels the words like a whip lash

Sadly, he turns round. He would have thought she would trust him and ask for his help.

But this way he felt helpless, why didn't she tell him what would do her good?

He drags himself back to his hut. He paces up and down restlessly. There must be something he can do.

Even if he is not yet a real druid, someone must be able to teach him how to behave in such a case.

He almost calls for the mother goddess Enya again, but then he remembers how upset the squirrel was last time and lets it go.

Then he thinks of his sister Eileen again. She also had period pains, but he had never seen her like Juna.

And it certainly wasn't because Flynn the owl was making fun of her:

‘ She looks like a flannel, pale, soft and wet with sweat, needs a wash! ’

No, now he remembers: Grandma cooked her some witch's brew that she served her in steaming cups all day long.

Perplexed, he ponders

‘ I wonder what was in it ? Snake skin, dragon claws and a feather from the Phoenix mixed with toad slime? ’

It shakes him, no, Grandma would never have done that, quite apart from the fact that she wouldn't have found something like that at the weekly market.

No, it had to be something else. Suddenly he thought of the tied bundle she had left him.

He ran feverishly to his rucksack. It was written on the bundle that he needed it for his training as a druid. So he had taken it with him, he was sure of it.

He rummaged through everything and a booklet fell into his hands

‘Alba's recipes’ was written on it

He opened it and in front of him was the heading

‘ Women's herbal potion - every woman should have it at home and drink it at least once a month

Main ingredient : Yarrow

Minor ingredients : raspberry leaves, grapevine, lemon verbena, lemon balm ’

‘ That's exactly it ! ‘ he exclaims triumphantly.

He remembers that there were lots of dried herbs in the drawers of the chest.

He had stuck nice labels on them and quickly found everything he needed.

There is a whole chapter about yarrow in his grandmother's recipe booklet and he decides to read it in more detail later.

He only sees keywords: antispasmodic, haemostatic, hormone regulating, digestive, bitter substances, anti-inflammatory

‘ I'm not a doctor, but this certainly won't do Juna any harm... ’

And so he stirs everything into the hot cauldron with water and waits until small bubbles form on the surface.

He quickly pours the mixture into a thermos flask and takes a pipette with him.

He is already on his way back to Juna's tree house

Riwal balances on the small ladder with the thermos flask and pipette in one hand and clings to the rungs with the other.

‘ Juna, I've brought you something ’

‘ Riwal, I'm not hungry, can't you finally leave me alone ? ’

‘ No, Juna, now you listen to me! I've made grandma's lady tea and I'm sure it will help you.’

And he has already filled the pipette and hands it to Juna

The squirrel gives up. She slowly drinks the concoction from the pipette, drop by drop. Sometimes she grimaces, but the drink seems to agree with her.

When the pipette is empty, she asks for another one. Then she lies down again.

She looks calmer.

‘ Thanks Riwal, I'll lie down again now. I think I'm all right now ’

As soon as she says that, she falls asleep.

This time he proudly climbs back down the ladder.

He leaves the thermos flask and the pipette behind.

He has added a note ‘ Please finish your drink today ’

Without further confirmation, he knows he has done the right thing.

Back in his hut, he reads through his grandmother's recipe again and remembers how Flynt used to crow ‘ Yarrow in the womb is good for any woman ! ’

---- To be continued in the next chapter ----

P.S. If you suffer like the squirrel, make an appointment with me, it's also possible online at https://www.danielaherbaliste.com/book-online

© Picture by Emilien Dumoulin Chaparu