In the middle of the crowd, a little dark-haired girl laid face down in the dirt, not even twitching a single muscle. Crouched next to her was a man who was shaking her body as he muttered words that got drowned by the noise made from the crowd around him.
"Watch the cart, Zekes." Rafik commanded right before rushing through the crowd towards the little girl.
"Wait, what?" Zekes tried to protest, but Rafik was already gone before he could say a single word.
As Rafik finally made it past the people gathering around the place. He could start making out what the man was saying.
"Come on, stupid brat." He said as he continued shaking the girl. "If you don't wake up, I will have to spend my time filling out a lot of paperwork. It is not my fault you decided to pass out after stealing from me."
"Make way!" Rafik shouted at the man as he pushed him away.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" The man shouted back angrily.
"Tell me, why is she still face down on the ground?" Rafik asked the man in a strict tone as he turned her onto her back.
"I …" The man muttered haltingly.
As he quickly inspected her and he noticed that some foam had formed around her mouth and that her eyes didn't respond to movement when he opened them.
He felt her pulse on her wrist, but she wasn't breathing.
Zekes pushed through the people towering around him. As he finally makes it to the front of the crowd, he sees Rafik sitting on his knees in front of a girl with his palms paired against each other, and his eyes closed.
In a flash, he consecutively started striking the girl's head with his fingertips and then her neck, and finally her chest.
The crowd went silent from shock as they saw wave-like formations travel throughout her body.
"So this is what uncle Rafik's Beucara looks like." Zekes thought to himself as he watched in amazement.
And then all of a sudden, the girl started coughing.
Rafik let out a sigh of relief. Then turned to the man with a very serious expression on his face.
"Are you this girl's guardian?" He asked the man.
"Huh?" The man answered looking surprised. "Of course not! Look at her clothes. It is all torn up and filthy. She is clearly a beggar if not a thief."
"So what happened to her?" Rafik asked the man.
"How would I know?" He answered back sounding annoyed. "She stole some peaches from my stand. And as I started chasing her, she suddenly stopped in her place and then collapsed when I grabbed her shoulder."
Rafik stared at the man with an expression full of doubt.
Then the voice of a woman called out from the crowd.
"It is true. I saw it. She put her hands on her ears, right before collapsing onto the ground."
Rafik sighed once again.
"Is any of you this girl's guardian?" He shouted at the crowd, while still kneeling next to the girl.
But no one answered, only quiet whisperings could be heard.
"Would you mind taking this girl to the knight's command post, in case someone might be looking for her?" Rafik asked the man.
"No no no no, absolutely not!" The man answered as he waved his hands in front of him. "She has already caused me enough trouble. I couldn't care any less about some beggar. She has already cost me more time and worry than it is worth two stupid peaches."
With that, the man walked into the crowd and disappeared.
Rafik looked at the girl lying on the ground and said to himself.
"I guess I have no other choice."
He stood up, carrying the girl in his arms. He looked around at the crowd who were still watching him in silence.
"What are you all still gathered here for?" He shouted at those around him. "Go your own way!"
With that, the crowd slowly dispersed and the bazaar returned to its old noisy atmosphere.
As Rafik searched for his cart, he noticed Zekes.
"Didn't I ask you to watch the cart?" Rafik asked Zekes.
"Yea, I kinda forgot about that. But what were those wavy things you made when you hit the girl with your fingers tips?"
"It is my Beucara, it will help her heal for now. If you would like I will tell you more about it later on. But for now, start pulling the cart until we make it to the inn."
"Wait, that's not fair!"
"Not fair? Do I have to remind you that you left the cart unattended? Anyone could have easily stolen something from it. This is your punishment until we arrive at the inn to check if anything was taken. So till then behave and pull the cart."
Zekes wanted to argue back but only ended up letting out a quiet frustrated rumble instead as he grabbed the cart's shafts.