Needless to say Esta stayed with the ragtag for many days. During the nights as htey
slept in the alleys, Esta told the story of the Holy One’s Son, Glory. The group listened
quiet as Esta painted the picture of those many years ago, when God became flesh,
living amongst the Shavronites. At times they did not believe her, but Esta said that it
was all true.
Esta’s two weeks in the city had given her a new education concerning surviving. Most
adults never paid her any mind, but she found that if she wanted to eat she would offer
to help with any small jobs. By the grace of God she was fed for her services and never
went hungry. In fact, sometimes she was given money to buy food. Pogisa and the rest
of the rag-tags couldn’t explain it, and the young elephant jealous was reaching a
pinnacle. Esta’s wit and good character was affecting the rag-tags for the better; and
Pogisa leadership role was threatened. The young elephant finally made up her mind to
get rid of her.
One day, the group was walking through the streets of Chetz, when Pogisa stopped
them abruptly.
“Ok. This is the place.”
“The place for what?” said Esta.
“To do your thing,” said Pogisa grinning, “Go in there, do your magic, and get us some
food.”
“But it’s a restaurant. I don’t think---”
“If you’re afraid, we could start stealing again.” said Pogisa, “Does God want us to do
that?”
“No.” said Esta quickly, “We’ll do it the right way.”
“Yeah, that’s right” said Pogisa smirking, “the right way. Now hurry up.”
The target was “The Charming Bistro”. It was a small restaurant with a few customers
enjoying their meals. When Esta entered, Pogisa took the rag-tags around the back of
the eatery. The back door to the restaurant was held closed by a flimsy lock. Pogisa
turned to one of the rag-tags and said:
“Pick it!”
At the front, Esta approached the counter, where a chameleon was cooking his next
order. His name was Charm, owner of “The Charming Bistro”.
Esta couldn’t help but smile at the comical movement of the lizard. His large eyeballs
twitched in all directions as he chopped and grilled each meal to perfection. Charm wore
a white triangular hat, that was much smaller than his large head and a white apron in
need of a wash. He didn’t notice Esta until she came around to counter and cleared her
throat. The chameleon left eye spotted her, but he continued to grill and serve his customers without missing a beat.
“Do you need any help?” she said sheepishly, “I’m hungry and would like to work for my
food.”
The chameleon grunted and returned his attention back to his duties.
“Any small job at all? Please don’t send me away hungry.”
Suddenly there as a crash in the back room. The chameleon quickly rushed past Esta
to find that Pogisa and the others were stealing some of his fruits and vegetables.
“Good job Esta,” said Pogisa, running out the door. “Thanks for keeping him occupied.”
The chef’s skin tone changed from a gorgeous green to a bright horrid red. Esta shook
and thought she saw a puff of smoke emerge from his nostrils like a dragon robbed of
his treasure. She turned to run, but before she could reach the door, she was snagged
from behind and pulled into the wash room. A closet door was opened and the
chameleon pushed her inside. The door was slammed shut and Esta was in complete
darkness.
Esta was in the dark for hours, until the door was sudden swung open. Charm was still
red. His glare on Esta made the young dog tremble from what possible consequences
was due to her. However, Charm felt pity for the child and the reddish hue of anger
returned to its normal state of green. He went to grab her, but she drew back from him.
Charm started to mumble gibberish that Esta could not understand. He did it again; and
when he came to realize that Esta was ignorant to his way of speaking, he swatted his
head, as if to say “what was I thinking?”
He returned with a pad and pencil; he started writing. He handed her the note and it
said,
Stealing from me, eh?
"No, sir." she said still afraid, “I wasn’t trying to steal. I-I didn’t know that were going to do that.”
Charm wrote another note:
I made some food for you, but you have to come out.
Esta was not inclined to do so, but the aroma of hot food drew her out. A table was
furnished in the center of the room with a helping of stew, french bread and a bowl of
cherries for dessert. Esta said a quick prayer and wasted no time in devouring the meal.
After eating, Esta looked around the room which was filled with pots, pans, and dirty
utensils. Charm, with a clever smile, pointed at the dishes and Esta knew exactly what it
meant. She didn’t complete the job until late that night. She was so tired that she fell
asleep at the table with the wash rag in her hand. Charm gently picked her up ,took her
up to his loft, and placed her on the coach to sleep.
The next morning Esta arose to the smell of pancakes and scrambled eggs. The aroma lured her to the restaurant below, where Charm was flipping flapjacks. He motion for her
to come over to the grill and gave her the spatula. Pointing at one of the flapjacks,
Charm made a motion with his wrist intimating for her to turn it over. With a sly grin,
Esta flipped the six flapjacks with such skill, that Charm stood back in amazement. Esta
also made three omelets with such dexterity, that Charm nearly fainted from the child’s
superior cooking skills. Esta gave the spatula back to Charm, crossing her arms with a
sense of accomplishment.
The chameleon quickly wrote a note stating:
! !
!
!
!
!
!
You’re hired!
Over the next few days, Esta learned how to take orders, bring the food to the
customers, and cook more complicated dishes. She also learned the skill of interpreting
Charm's mumblings, color changes, and body language. The young pup was in the care
of Charm for quiet some time, and the chameleon treated her as if she was his very own
daughter.