Bol krásny letný deň, teda skôr to bolo letné ráno a Majka s Maxíkom ešte spali. Aspoň to tak vyzeralo. Maxíkova perina sa nadúvala a spopod nej sa sem-tam ozvali také podivné zvuky - ako keď dedko Paťko reže drevo svojou ručnou pílkou. Dedo totiž tvrdí, že motor má mať auto, vlak a loď, ale nie pílka alebo bicykel. Ale Majka, tá sa ani nepohla. Keď sa na nich spoza okna pozeral Kaško, náš veselý dúšik, pomyslel si, že spinkajú ako také... ako také... a zrazu si to všimol.
“Majka,” Kaško whispered.
“Yes?” Majka spoke through her small, tired teeth.
“Aren’t you sleeping?” Kaško sat down on the edge of the bed.
“But I am,” Majka said, though not very convincingly.
“Maji, but I can see it,” Kaško whispered so as not to wake Maxík, “show up.”
Majka sa otočila a Kaško skoro spadol na svoj dúší zadok. Bum, ozvalo sa vedľa postele. Tak nielen skoro, ale aj naozaj spadol.
“Majka, what’s wrong?” Kaško gasped when he looked at Majka.
Majka’s eyes were completely red, and her hair looked so strange, and she… she… she looked so strange, as if…
“I haven’t been able to fall asleep for three nights now,” Majka finally confessed.
“Why?” Kaško asked, ready to help her right away.
“I don’t know,” Majka said, and the first tear was already audible in her voice.
“Maji, don’t cry,” Kaško soothed her in a gentle voice, “it’ll be okay.”
,,Už som skúšala všetko,“ zasmoklila Majka a sadla si na posteľ.
“Uuaaaaaa,” came a sound from the bed next to them. “Good morning, Majka and Kaško.”
“Good morning, little brother,” Kaško said, a bit annoyed.
Maxík, who had just woken up, looked at Kaško and asked in a half-asleep voice:
“Did I do something?”
“Is this how you take care of your sister?” Kaško stroked Majka’s hair.
“But I just got back last night from camp, where I was for two weeks!” Maxík didn’t understand.
“Oh,” Kaško apologized with a glance, and only then did Maxík notice the tired Majka.
“Majka, what’s wrong with you?”
“She can’t fall asleep, and we have to help her,” Kaško declared firmly.
“But how?” Maxík asked and immediately jumped out of bed.
“I’ve already tried everything,” Majka whispered.
“Certainly not everything!” Kaško declared firmly. “You have ten minutes to get dressed and grab something to eat.”
“Where are we going?” Maxík and Majka asked eagerly as they got dressed. Well, Maxík asked with words, and Majka with her tired eyes.
„Ideme na Zemplín,“ oznámil Kaško a už sa aj poberal.
“Where?” Majka asked wearily.
„Skoro k moru,“ zopakoval pomaly Kaško.
“Oh, okay, let’s go,” and the children ran off to get dressed and pack something to eat. A few minutes later, they were ready. Meanwhile, Kaško was muttering something in the little room and singing some songs or something.
“Kaško, we’re ready,” reported the washed, packed, and dressed children.
“Not yet,” the little man suddenly stopped.
“Did you forget how to fly?” Maxík looked at the little man in surprise.
“No, but I forgot one spell,” Kaško stood in the doorway as if rooted to the spot.
“The spell for falling asleep?” Majka asked desperately, her legs buckling a little.
“I don’t know any like that,” he looked at Majka guiltily.
“And what spell did you forget?” Maxík joined in with the questions.
“The spell to wake people up,” Majka whispered, horror in her eyes.
“We know that one,” Maxík answered confidently, surprising Kaško.
“Really?” Kaško couldn’t believe it and wondered when and where they could have found the spellbook of the land of Haravara.
“Mhm,” Majka agreed, and she was in such a state that she couldn’t even lie.
„Tak sem s ním!“ vyzval kamošov Kaško.
And the children began making sounds like the alarm clocks on Mom’s bedside table, the alarms on their watches or cell phones, and… and finally they started chirping.
“Enough!” Kaško covered his ghostly ears. “I’m looking for a spell for Benjamin.”
“Who?” the children sensed adventure, and even Majka perked up a little.
“Come to me, you’ll see right away,” commanded Kaško, who was already on the move again.
Deti prišli ku Kaškovi, on ich zobral k sebe a už leteli. Leteli preto, lebo nemali čas. Inak by sa na to miestečko dostali pohodlne aj vlakom či autobusom. Za pár sekúnd boli na divnom mieste.
“And what kind of place is this?” Maxík asked cautiously, just as he brushed the dust off his pants, because he’d landed on his left knee when they touched down.
“There’s a castle,” Majka yawned, and with her last ounce of strength, she raised her hand and pointed up the hill.
Kaško ran toward some strange, angular tower.
„Čo to je za hrad?“ nedočkavo sa pýtal Maxík a pritom dobiehal Kaška.
„Toto je Viniansky hrad,“ oznámil sucho Kaško ako nejaký sprievodca po pamiatkach, ktorý tu už bol tisíckrát.
“Oh, and what are we doing here?” Majka asked now, without yawning.
“We’re looking for my fifth-cousin Benjamin,” Kaško announced and kept walking.
„On vie určite nejakú skvelú uspávanku a tú mi zaspieva,“ zatvorila oči Majka a predstavovala si, ako jej duch spieva uspávanku do uška.
“Benjamin is the biggest slacker among the ghosts,” Kaško laughed.
“Oh,” Majka frowned a little.
„Preto ho všetci voláme Benjamín, aj keď má šesťstopäťdesiattri rokov,“ neprestal sa smiať Kaško, akoby pred sebou videl kreslený vtip.
“How much?!” Maxík exclaimed in disbelief.
“Six hundred and fifty-three!”
„No teda,“ Majka si predstavila, čo všetko už videl a zažil.
“But he’s slept through… well, about four hundred and fifty of those years,” Kaško thought hard.
„Takže má len...“ teraz sa zamyslela Majka, „asi tak...“
“About a hundred years,” Maxík helped his sister out.
“And that’s waaaay too little for a ghost,” Kaško explained.
“I believe you,” Maxík said appreciatively.
„Tu na Vinianskom hrade má svoju spálňu,“ žmurkol jedným očkom Kaško.
“Where?” Majka immediately looked around.
„Niekde v pivnici,“ rozhliadal sa Kaško.
„A to už prečo?“ nechápal Maxík, ako si niekto môže urobiť spálňu v pivnici.
“Well, because this castle has been standing here for about 700 years,” Kaško began.
“I see,” Maxík examined the beautiful ruins.
„A asi viete, že pred takými 800 rokmi prišli do Haravary takí bojovníci, ktorí všetko zapálili a vyplienili,“ pokračoval v prednáške Kaško.
“Really?” Majka’s eyes widened.
„Veru, a tak si vtedajší kráľ povedal, že musí postaviť viac hradov, ale už nie z dreva, ako sa stavali dovtedy, ale z kameňa,“ poklepal po najbližšom hradnom kameni Kaško.
“Were castles made of wood before that?” asked Maxík, imagining what wooden ruins might look like.
„Samozrejme, ale keď sa zistilo, ako ľahko sa dajú dobyť, začali ich stavať z kameňa, ako tento Viniansky,“ hovoril Kaško a stále niečo hľadal na zemi a pod kameňmi.
„Aha,“ zamyslel sa Maxík, „ale stále nevieme, prečo by spal Benji v pivnici.“
“Well, probably because as soon as they built that castle, more fighting broke out and the castle burned down,” Kaško threw up his hands.
“No surprise. This was the fate of castles all over the world,” Majka stated dryly, pulling out paper and crayons and starting to draw the castle.
“Well, but then they rebuilt it,” Kaško remarked casually as he continued searching.
“It doesn’t look like it,” Maxík added mockingly.
“True,” added Majka, still drawing, “but it’s still beautiful—it’s the kind of place for picnics, hiking, get-togethers, relaxation, and definitely for sleeping under the open sky.
“But in Haravara, a rebellion broke out about three hundred years ago.”
“The Slovak National Uprising!” Maxík shouted, because he remembered something they’d learned.
“No, it was called the Estates Uprising, and one part of it was led by our friend Francis II Rákóci.” František II. Rákoci.“
“Right, the one who fled to Turkey,” Majka showed off her memory.
“And this castle belonged to his friends, so the emperor didn’t like him.”
“And here we are.”
“And as you correctly suspect,” Kaško continued, “the emperor had it demolished!”
“And what about those cellars we’re looking for?” Majka asked, triumphantly finishing the first drawing.
“Those were built hundreds of years ago and are still there,” Kaško said, searching his mind for a way to get to them.
“It’s nice and cool in there,” Kaško began to whisper quietly, “that’s where they used to store various things,” Kaško continued, looking for something on the ground.
“What are you looking for?” Maxík couldn’t help but ask.
“This!” The little ghost’s eyes lit up.
“And what is that?” his friends didn’t understand.
“Keys,” Kaško showed them a bunch of keys.
“What keys?” they still didn’t understand what Kaško was talking about.
“These are the keys to this castle. Archaeologists found a few and took them to the museum, but these were left here in the ground, and with them we’ll get to Benji.”
“How?” Max asked and began packing up Majka’s crayons.
“We have to find the old tiles,” Kaško looked around at the walls.
“Here are some!” Majka shouted.
“Those are the ones,” Kaško said happily and stroked Majka’s hair.
“What do we do with them?” Maxík examined the tiles, but saw nothing special about them.
„Moment,“ povedal Kaško a začal ich skladať k sebe ako puzzle a pritom si mrmlal:
“Picture to picture, picture to picture, open up, open up the gate now!”
A zrazu sa to stalo. Blízko tej hranatej veže, ku ktorej bežali a ktorá je najvyššia na Vinianskom hrade, sa otvorila zem a oni vleteli s Kaškom dnu. Na posteli pod zemou spal akýsi duch.
Kaško zobral ďalšiu kachličku a mrmlal:
„Obraz k obrazu, obraz k obrazu, zobuď sa odrazu!“
„Uuuuuuaaaaaauuuuu,“ otvoril oči duch Benjamín a hneď, ako uvidel Kaška s Majkou a Maxíkom, sa usmial.
“Kaškooo!”
“Benji!” Kaško blurted out, and the two hugged each other in such a special, ghostly embrace.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, yawning so wide he could have swallowed thirty flies.
“We need help,” Kaško blurted out at him without a moment’s hesitation.
“Oh, I like that. I just take a little nap and someone already wants help?” Benji asked, yawning again.
“But we…” Maxík didn’t finish.
“And why are you dressed so strangely?” Benji stared at them.
“How strangely?” Majka asked, almost offended.
“Well, just weird,” Benji couldn’t describe the weirdness.
Až vtedy si všimli, že Benji má na sebe šaty, aké dnes nosia len herci v divadle, keď hrajú nejakú hru z minulosti.
“I guess I slept a little longer,” Benji mused.
“Majka can’t fall asleep,” Kaško began to explain.
“Oh, well, I’m the world’s biggest expert on that!” Benji stretched out like spaghetti on a plate.
„To som rada, lebo aj ja som bola, ale akosi už nie som,“ zažiarili očká Majke.
“Exercise is the best way to sleep,” Benji immediately began advising.
„Akože sa mám prevracať v spánku?“ trochu neveriacky skúšala Benjamína Majka.
“No way! Come on!” Benjamin suddenly shouted and jumped out of his bed like a rocket launching from the ground.
“Where are we going?” Kaško asked, already holding the children.
“Just out here to the castle courtyard,” Benjamin pointed upward toward the light.
They went outside, looked down, and their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
“How beautiful,” Majka whispered.
“It certainly is,” Maxík added.
“From this castle, there’s a beautiful view of our Haravarian Sea, the Zemplín Lake, and the main seaside town of Michalovce,” Benji said breathlessly.
“It’s beautiful, but how will that help me fall asleep?” Majka didn’t understand.
“When we want to fall asleep, we need a few things,” the sleep master explained calmly.
“And what are they?” Majka wanted to write them down.
“Beautiful things to help us calm down and start breathing slowly,” Benji winked and began breathing like a guru.
So, they stood there and breathed and breathed and admired and admired; Maxík had already started to doze off, Kaško was already snoring, but Majka felt nothing.
“Nothing?” Benji asked Majka quietly.
“Nothing,” Majka whispered sadly.
“Then we have to go to the vineyard,” Benji winked at Kaško.
“That woke up Kaško and Maxík too.
‘Benji, “ Kaško rubbed his sleepy eyes, “but they’re just kids; they can’t drink alcohol, and you know we spirits don’t want adults to drink it either. “
“I know that, but I don’t see what the problem is,” Benji looked around at all three of them in confusion, because all three were staring at him as if he were a criminal.
“The vineyard—you said you were taking us to the vineyard,” Majka reminded him.
“There’s one of the most beautiful vineyards right here below our castle.”
“Oh, come on,” Maxík shook his head.
“Right,” Kaško remembered too, “and it’s over 200 years old, and they make excellent grape juice here.”
“And what’s that?” Majka stopped pouting.
„To je super zaspávací nápoj z hrozna,“ ožil Benji a Kaškovi začali tiecť dúšie slinky.
And before Benji could even finish, they were in the vineyard below the castle, tasting the delicious grape drink.
“So, what do you think?” Benji gushed.
“Okay, but still nothing,” Majka said quietly and a little timidly.
“We’ve had our share of beauty and healthy things, and now it’s time to move,” Benji laugher into his sleeve and grabbed everyone by the hands. “Let’s goooo!”
Preleteli malý kúsok cesty a boli pri nádhernom jazere, kde sa premávali vodné bicykle a plavci. Na plážach okolo ležali opaľovači a opekači si na mnohých miestach opekali dobrôtky.
“How is grilled bacon supposed to help me sleep?” Majka asked sceptically, even though she liked it here.
“That might help you too, but not right before bed,” Kaško added immediately.
“So, what are we doing here?” Maxík asked, just as confused.
“Move, move!” Benji shouted, and no one knew what he meant.
“Oh, yessss!” Kaško exclaimed, and he’d already stripped down to his ghostly swim trunks, and the kids got it.
A moment later, they were already going wild in the water, frolicking like little seals released into the wild after several years.
“And what’s this?” asked Majka, opening her beautiful eyes wide. Maxík’s mouth dropped open and he couldn’t close it.
“Sailing,” Benji pointed toward the sailboats and looked like both a king and a kong of the jungle.
“That’s the activity,” Kaško realized, “that will tire you out so much, Maji, that you’ll fall asleep on the flight home.”
„Jachting sa netrénuje len tak niekde. V Haravare je to jedno z mála miest, kde môžeš jachting trénovať,“ pomaly hovoril Benji a pritom naťahoval plachtu na akúsi tyč.
“Okay, here I go!” Majka shouted eagerly.
And in a moment, Majka and Maxík were already training with the sailing coach on Lake Vinné, and he couldn’t believe how well they were doing. He didn’t see that Kaško was sitting next to Maxík on the yacht, flying around and puffing on the sails, and another little rascal, Benji, was next to Majka.
They went at it like this for several hours, and as soon as Majka and Maxík came ashore, both little ghosts looked at Majka.
“Nothing,” Majka shrugged, her eyes widening even more.
“Well then, there’s only one possibility left,” Benjamin said mysteriously.
„Aká?“ vyskočil zo zeme Maxík a bol pripravený pre sestru urobiť čokoľvek.
“We have to find a magical herb that relieves stress the moment you smell it,” Benji tapped him on the forehead.
“Really? Is there such a thing?” Kaško perked up too.
“That’s why our ancestors—and your human ancestors before them—used to make pillows out of it and put it in their closets, on the walls, among their clothes, and especially wherever they needed to calm down, sleep, or just relax,” Benji explained.
“I still don’t get what this is about,” Kaško pondered, for a moment so intensely that steam seemed to rise from his head like a locomotive.
“It’s a plant that can help you heal all your wounds…” Benji kept teasing them.
“Plantain!” Majka exclaimed.
„Nie,“ smial sa Benji z toho, ako sa trápia.
“Well then…” Maxík pondered...
“And if someone’s hair is falling out, it helps slow that down,” Benji added.
“Well, then it must be a miracle plant,” Maxík whispered.
“And of course, it helps with sleep. It’s a plant that people all over the world put in essential oils before bed, in pillows, and in…”
“Stop keeping us in suspense!” Kaško groaned.
“Lavender!” Benji exclaimed triumphantly.
“Awesome!” Kaško beamed.
“But I don’t know where we’d find it here at Lake Vinné,” Benji dampened their spirits.
“Not far,” Kaško surprised Benji.
“How is that not far?” Benji didn’t understand.
“While you were sleeping, some really nice people opened a lavender farm here.”
“In Haravara?” Benji’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t slept in 30 years.
“Right here, just around the corner,” Kaško said with a smile, looking at Majka.
“Awesome,” Majka breathed.
„Je to najväčšia levanduľová farma v Haravare, ba dokonca široko-ďaleko a nájdeme ju v Trnave.“ vysvetľoval Kaško.
“But Trnava isn’t in Haravara,” Majka said, disappointed and a little annoyed.
“Trnava is in the country of Ledabolo (carelessly),” added Maxík.
“But there’s also Trnava near Laborec,” Benji lectured his siblings on geography.
“Let’s go!” Majka exclaimed.
Prišli na krásnu farmu, kde práve dorastala levanduľa, všade bola božská vôňa a vo vzduchu lietali včielky. Maxíkovi trošku začali stekať slinky po bradičke, lebo si predstavil chuť levanduľového medu, Benji, ten sa tri krát nadýchol a hneď zaspal, no a Kaško sa pozrel okolo seba a ukázal smerom k farme.
The children looked, and not far from the farm were two beautiful people who took care of the farm—not alone, of course—and they had smiles just like the scent of lavender: wonderful. The children immediately asked them if they had anything to help them sleep, and of course they did. The lavender people took them with them to the farmhouse, where they showed them lavender drops, essential oil, lavender syrup, lavender cream, and lavender sachets. The children took everything and then strolled around the farm, admiring one of the most beautiful flowers in the world, and then they flew home.
There, they lit a lavender candle, placed a lavender sachet under Majka’s head, and by the time Kaško had finished brewing the lavender tea, they were both asleep. And Kaško sat down with his tea on the clothesline on the balcony and sipped and sipped until he suddenly fell asleep like a bat.
