Manny pov.
You can probably guess after the whole bean incident my life pretty much went downhill. I was either hunted by the law or by greedy thugs who wanted to turn me in for the reward money. You'd think to be the most wanted man in Miracle City you'd have to kill someone but nope all you had to do was steal magic beans or in my case get tricked into buying stolen magic beans. I was pretty much on the run wherever I went and due to being a wanted man no one would hire me for a job so I had to resort to stealing. I'm not proud of it but hey how else am I gonna live? Zebra Donkey who I now call Stripes is pretty much my only friend. During the day we move from one area to the next taking what we need and during the night we find some place to rest and hide. Sometimes it was easy and sometimes it was hard, it all depended on where we went and who we ran into. But no matter what we did or where we went I always thought about Mom and Dad. I hope they were alright wherever they were.
Years went by and things never changed except for my physical body and appearance, I had become devilishly handsome and a lady killer from time to time. I also managed to swipe a few pistols and bullets which I taught myself to use. By the time I was eighteen I had learned how to take out seven men with one bullet, a gift I inherited from my old man. Mom always said he could do just about anything with a gun and I guess so could I. Yep it was just me and Stripes living by ourselves with no one to worry about. Or at least it was until I made a huge goof. It started one day when I was running from some bounty hunters, Stripes had grown to the point of where I could ride him so I didn't need a horse and him being half zebra allowed him to run faster than their horses. I managed to ditch them by going into the woods.
Once I gave them the slip I found an area some where to set up camp for the night. I left Stripes to rest while I searched for firewood. So far all I could find were meager sticks so I went deeper into the woods to search until I heard something. It was a voice, it was very faint but I could tell it was singing and it was echoing all through that part of woods. Curious I went to investigate, as I got closer to the source I could hear the singing better. It was a woman's voice singing a sad song.
"My dearest one, my darling dear I know that you must go.
So while you are away my love, my pain will only grow.
My tears will fall and cries shall break each day while we're apart,
but the thought of you and your return is safe inside my heart.
I'll wait for months, I'll wait for years, I'll wait for eternity.
Because I know one day my love you will return to me."
I thought it was very lovely, it kind of reminded me of how my mother used to sing to me when I was little. Soon I discovered the singing was coming from a tower. Wanting to know who the singer was I searched for a way in but there were no doors and no way in except for a window that was fifty feet high. Now why on earth would someone want live in a fifty foot tower with no doors in the middle of nowhere? I was about to call up to the singing woman and ask her what she was doing up there when I heard grumbling.
"I don't get why that child doesn't obey me!" An old voice said. I knew that voice, it was Sartana. I quickly climbed up a tree and hid from her. She approached the tower and called out in that terrible voice of hers. "Frida! Let down your hair!"
I watched as two long blue braids were thrown out the window and she began climbing it. She was climbing hair! Oh God how much rum did I drink yesterday? No I wasn't drunk and I wasn't imaging things but there was no way I was staying here long enough for that crazy hag to find me and put some crazy voodoo hex on me. So left and had no intention of ever going back. I finally found some suitable firewood and I even managed to catch some fish for dinner. I decided to stick around that area for awhile, take a break from all the running and relax. Stripes and I enjoyed that first week of peace and quiet but in the words of my late grandfather "All good things must come to an end."
"There he is!" It was El Oso and his bounty hunters. They found me one early morning just as the sun had started to come up. "After him man!"
I hopped on Stripes and took off but they were gaining on us. I pulled my pistol from my pocket and shot at a tree branch causing it to fall and block their way for awhile. Then I got off of Stripes and told him to go off in another direction and that when I was ready to meet with him again I'd whistle. He went left and I went right. I ran as fast as I could but I could still hear El Oso and his men on my feet. I needed a place to hide but where? Then I caught hold of a familiar singing.
"Without a word I'll leave in the night,
I'll be free as a bird, away from my plight.
Thank the lord and heaven above,
I'll be free and with the one I love
Who's missing me."
That tower, perfect! Following the singing I found the tower. Now what did Sartana say? A name and then let down your hair. But what was that girl's name? Felicia? Francesca? Freya? Frida? Frida! Bingo that was it! I coughed and adjusted my voice to sound like an old woman.
"Frida let down your hair!" I called in a scratchy voice.
"Sartana?" She questioned. "Sartana is that you?"
"Yes!" I said.
"I thought you wouldn't be back for two weeks."
"Changed my mind! Now I'm in a hurry so let me up!"
"You don't sound like yourself!"
Crap she's on to me!
"I have a cold! Now let me up! Hurry! Hurry!" I could almost feel El Oso's big fist grabbing my throat.
"Okay! Miss bossy!" She said.
She threw down her briads, I carefully grabbed them, and climbed up. This was so weird but now was not the time to ponder about this because I needed a hiding spot now. Thank goodness I was such a good climber other wise I probably would've slid down those braids and landed on my butt. Once I reached the window I swung my leg over then THUMP! Something hit me over the head and that was the last thing I remembered before blacking out. When I woke up I was on the floor by myself or so it seemed. I knew I wasn't alone.
"Who's there?" I said pulling out my pistol. "I'm warning you I'll shoot!"
Then out no where I blue braid whipped my hand and lassoed my pistol right out of my hand. Then another lassoed itself around my other hand which was in a fist and made me punch myself in the face repeatedly. The first braid then slingshot a plate at my face followed by a bar of soap and a book. Finally both braids were lassoed around my boots and I was strung up by ankles. As I hung there I struggled as hard as I could but I couldn't get loose. I spotted a pair of shears on a table and struggled to reach them, when I finally caught them I tried to use to cut myself down but when I cut them nothing happened.
"I'm afraid that's pointless." A voice said.
"What the- Who's there?"
"I'll be the one asking the questions here. Now who are you and why have you come to my tower?"
"Um that's...None of your business."
"Alright then I'll just leave you there to hang and when Sartana comes back and finds you here well...Let's just say she'll have a nice, fat, new, toad to eat."
Was she serious or bluffing? I couldn't take the risk so I decided to come clean.
"Alright my name is Manny Rivera and I came here because I needed a place to hide."
"From who?"
"Sorry not saying."
"Suit yourself, enjoy life as a toad."
"Wait! I'm hiding from bounty hunters. I'm a wanted man but only for buying beans."
"Is that right?"
"Okay and for maybe stealing a few pistols, goats, and money but I've never hurt anyone."
"And how did you find me?"
This girl was really getting on my nerves.
"Well I heard lovely singing and I followed it. Now can you let me down? I think almost all the blood in my body is rushing to my head!"
"You think my singing is lovely?"
Stepping out from the shadows was the person who owned all this hair. It was a woman, about the same age I was. She had big blue eyes which I thought were kind of pretty and I'd be lying if I said I didn't find her body attractive. She was a petite thing but she boy did she have curves.
"You didn't answer me." She said.
"What?" I asked snapping out of my thoughts.
"I said you thought my singing was lovely."
"Oh! Well I...I." I was blushing now. "Um...Yes but I've heard lots of singing and...And could you please get me down from here! I'm getting dizzy!'
She pulled her braids and I dropped to the floor.
"So I'm guessing you already know my name since you called it out?" She guessed.
"Yes." I said rubbing my head, now becoming aware of the bump on it. "Dear lord my head hurts. What the heck did you hit me with?"
"A book."
"Well what did you do that for?"
"You were a stranger I didn't know if you were dangerous or not."
"Good point. Alright so um so how do I get down from here?"
"The same you got up. Climb down my hair."
"Really? No questions? Or anything else?"
"No I"m leaving anyway so you're free to go."
"I'm confused don't you live here?"
"Not anymore. I'm getting out of here."
"Hold on are you a criminal or something?"
"Do I look like a criminal to you?"
"No but to be fair my grandfather always said the most evil people were the ones who didn't look evil."
"Look I'm not a criminal okay? I was locked away in here six years ago by my so called mother Sartana because I tried to run away."
"Oh...Tough break I- Whoa! Whoa! Time out Sartana is your mother?!"
"Not exactly but she did raise me."
"Wait a minute long blue hair, Sartana's daughter. It's you!"
"Huh?"
"Oh I don't know if you remember me but we met a long time ago."
"How long?"
"I don't know maybe five or six years ago. I was the boy, the dirty poor boy who threw mud at the two guys pulling on your hair."
"That was you?"
"Yep!"
"Huh, you've gotten taller."
"So have you."
"Funny I thought I'd never seen you again."
"Same so this is what happened to you. Locked up by your mom harsh."
"She's not my mother!"
"But you said-"
"I said she raised me! The truth of the matter is she took me from my parents when I was just a baby and she wasn't exactly the best foster mother in the world if you know what I mean."
"Well that explains why you're trying to escape but quick question if you're hair is the only way out of here why don't you just cut it off and make it into a rope?"
She grabbed a pair of shears off her table clapped them on to her hair and to my amazement they shattered into a million pieces.
"That's why." She said. "She put on spell on my hair. I can't cut it off only she can."
"What a drag, so how are you going to get out of here?"
"There are other ways of using my hair to escape."
She fascinated the other end of her braid to a hook attached to the tower rooftop and tugged on it to see if it was strong and tight. She then grabbed a satchel and went to the window.
"Well are you coming?" She asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you wanna get out of here or not?"
"Yeah but how?"
"Simple climb with me."
"climb with you? How the heck am I gonna pull that off?"
"Easy just hold on the my waist and leave the rest to me."
"Um...No."
"Okay then but this is the only way out."
She climbed onto the edge of the window, it looked like she was going to jump. I didn't trust this crazy chick for a minute but it's not like I had any other options at the moment.
"Wait! I'm coming." I climbed onto the window edge and put my arms tightly around her waist.
"Hey! Now don't get any ideas." She warned me.
"Oh please I maybe a lady killer but I'm also a gentleman."
"Uh-huh that's what they all say, Sartana told me a lot of crazy things growing up and if there was one thing she told me that I actually believed it was never trust men."
She had a point there.
"Okay are you ready?" She asked me.
"Quick question you've done this before right?"
"Not exactly."
"What?!"
"Don't worry I'm completely prepared. Just hold on tight and don't look down."
She then jumped off the edge taking me with her and began climbing down the wall. She told me not to look down but how can I not when I'm facing downward? I tightened my grip on her waist nervously.
"Hey take it easy on the gripping." She said.
"Sorry but I'm not used to dangling downward fifty feet from the ground!"
"Will you stop whining I'm the one doing all the work here and for the record you're a lot heavier than you look."
Suddenly her foot slipped and we began to fall, we both screamed and my grip on her waist slipped. This was it! End of the line for me! Goodbye Mom! Goodbye Dad! I pray I'll make it to heaven! But then Frida grabbed my hand and pulled me to her waist which I clutched tightly, she then pulled her braid and the next thing I knew we were swinging toward the ground.
"Whoo-hoo!" She cried. "Isn't this fun?!"
Fun? This girl was nuts.
"Let me off! Let me off! Let me off!" I screamed. "Oh God I'm gonna puke!"
Finally we landed and we did I dropped to the ground, shaking like a leaf.
"Wow! That was awesome!" She said.
"Are you insane?! You could've killed us!"
"Calm down!" She said.
"No! You are crazy woman! Crazy! Nuts! Cuckoo-cuckoo! A straight up wingnut!" I panicked. "I could've died! Oh God what if I am dead? And this is just a hallucination before I enter heaven? Do you see a bright a light? Grandpapi is that you?"
SLAP!
"Are you okay?" She asked after slapping some sense into me.
"Yes. Thanks I needed that."