Welcome Hiccup

Chapter 1
Kindly town




Usually in Kindly Town there were peace and quiet. The sunrise comes early: at four in the morning, but the Sun hides at eight in the evening. It was considered a habitual routine for the residents: for everyone, no exceptions. Kindly Town was pleased any weather, be it rainy, sunny or foggy. However, insignificant drops of water, flying down from the sky under falling rays of the sun on the land, - especially caused much happiness in citizens’ hearts. People came out of their houses with stretched mugs in the hope to fill them at least to the middle. Here one believed in omens: it was believed that this “radiant water” – the sign of nature and its way to interact with people. The one whose mug is filled to the brim, will become the happiest man on the Earth. Though in Kindly Town no one understood how you can be ever happier, therefore for fifty years no one’s mug has been filled yet. And, partly, because of the very weak radiant rain.
Illogical and tautological, but “peace and quiet” didn’t personify the town as peaceful and quiet. On the contrary, Kindly Town can be called the most carefree and fun town without exaggeration, where residents know each other, walk down the street with smiles, and in the evenings of Friday they gathered in the center of the town to celebrate a feast which was called “Friday Festival”. There was Goodlake – the lake of huge extends, crystal-clear, which served as a place for swimming, holding the boats. Goodlake was considered the pride of the town. Think of it! Fifty years ago there was nothing here. Many remembered what had happened at the time, but in Kindly Town it’s agreed not to talk about bad stuff. Only mayor Gnup allowed himself to remind Kindly Town of the tragedy, having been occurred in this fabulously (from now on) place; the tragedy, having been sought into the salvation.
Mayor Gnup is fifty-five. He personally witnessed a revolution of the town as a grown boy. Now he’s medium height, with a strongly forward facing belly and with an impossibly kind smile. Mayor Gnup has always been able to inspire confidence: it is impossible to imagine a person who wouldn't like him.
Gentle and moderately persistent in his decisions mayor Gnup suddenly jumped on his chair, when the phone trill ranged. It turns out that he managed to snooze for a minute, being on the post, and sharp sounds have often brought him in a horror. Mayor Gnup reached out to a handset, removed it from the phone and leaned against the little ear, making muffled breaths.
“Yes, yes”, he said abruptly, concentrating his view on something particular. 
 “Mayor Gnup, we’ve got bad news”, he was informed on the phone.
The man gulped nervously, being afraid of bringing his nervous system to such a condition which soon would require specific measures – but more of that later.
“What?” he wondered uneasily.
The mayor forgot he scraped through an excitement. Cause of it the man paled, urging himself to calm down, thus, merely pumping his own thoughts by confusion.
“The boy will come to your city at any time”.
“At any time?!”, repeated mayor Gnup feverishly, rubbing his forehead with a napkin.
“Be afraid of changes and accept them”, said they in a reply, breaking off the service.
He heard some busy tone from the tube, which forced the mayor to think much more global than regularly. There’s the town at stake, so what way one needs to take – life or survival – only Gnup knew.
“Miss Frisson! Oy, madam Frissan!” he screamed, leaning back so that the seat slid to the window on its small wheels.
Behind of a wall he heard the tapping of heels – the door was opened by tall black-haired Madam Frissan – eighty-year-old French secretary, skinny like a match. She “wore” an image of a black widow - slender, proud, rock, incredibly smart, and, despite her age, the old woman felt fine.
“What happened?”, she asked, saving equanimity and watching her eyes as blue as the sky.
When madam Frissan spoke, everybody listened to her. Nobody knows why this woman came to the town and, the most interesting, nobody remembers how. Many citizens wonder why she works as a secretary at city hall, if, given her intelligence, she could safely go to the mayors. But madam Frissan once answered this question, saying: “I’m too old for management”.
“Pale, statuesque Frissan, always dressed in black and requiring not to call her miss, but madam”, a dozen years ago Gnup muttered, becoming a mayor. “I wonder why can’t she stay at home?”.
“Oh, madam Frissan!” he sighed again, seeing the last drop of salvation in the woman. “The boy! The boy may come at any time!”
Madame Frisson raised her eyebrows, while trying not to show surprise. She was slowly heading back to her place, while the mayor Gnup was puffing like a chimney, and brought him a glass of water. The man intercepted it so sharply that Madame Frisson made a pout.
“What can we do?” she asked, frowning.
Finishing with his water, he put it on the desk and sighed with heavy weights.
«To be on guard, madam Frissan”
“I’m so scattered today”, he was thinking, searching the key in his pants pocket.
All day long madam Frissan and he have puzzled over preventing of boy’s coming to Kindly Town, they have even drawn a diagram of bypass options on a piece of paper. Their ideas have failed: as a result, the sheets were crumpled and thrown in the trash madam Frissan devastated before leaving.
Actually, mayor Gnup completely trusted his secretary. Perhaps, except madam Frissan, Gnup had neither friends nor colleagues nor other members of city hall. Why do they need? Truly, why, if for the past fifty years the town has been living in peace? Residents are happy with their lives, and there is an unusable thing for now to keep an order in it. Hence, the question is in the uselessness of the mayor. But who said Gnup solved domestic issues? This is not so: his aim was to prevent the stranger’s arrival to Kindly Town, and otherwise the consequences might be irreversible. However, the boy’s case was the special case. There was an arrangement Gnup has been regretting about not the first year.
The key having been finally found, Gnup came in his big house, where he lived alone, and dragged himself to bed. His head ached badly after a nervous day so the mayor has fallen asleep immediately.
Any day may be that one.