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Well, our new tenant picked up his key today.
I'm off to Hurdman to meet Paul before we head over to his grandmother's place for dinner. :-)
But before I go. Here is a story. Not fan fiction, something original. Inspired by a discussion about Trolls that I had with Hyel. :-)
Lost
My people are mountain people. We are born from stone, and stone we return when we die. We live in the deep forests, away from the light, sleeping in caves by day because the sun burns us badly. As unlike humans as can be...
But, there was a time when we spoke with humans. Long ago, when their fires were but bright eyes in the night, when they understood the comfort of the dark.
There was a time when we spoke with humans.
Sometimes, we still do.
***
Once, I wandered far from my home, and caught the smell of fear floating on a gust of wind.
The fearful thing was not far, but the wind could not tell me what it was afraid of. I hesitated, fearful, myself, for a moment, for I recognized the smell of the fearful thing. But then, I thought, what are they afraid of but the dark?
So I crept forward, curious, cautious, for I had never seen a human up close before.
I saw it, crouched in a clearing, its back against a great tree. It was a small thing, even for a human, its knees drawn up under its chin. Its skin was pale like a mushroom, and its hair, which sprouted only from its head, was soft and dark as bear fur.
It wore strange, bright clothing. Red as berries on its arms and chest, but deep blue, like the sky at twilight, on its legs. Its eyes were dark pools of rainwater, so full that they spilled down its face in twin streams.
Perhaps it is a child, I thought, whose mother has been killed.
But there was no smell of death on the air, and surely another human would have cared for it, rather than leave it to die...
I moved closer, and I think it must have seen my shadow in the dark, for it made a sound like "hoosthaya, hoosit". Such a plaintive sound...
Even now, I don't know why I did it. Perhaps it was pity, perhaps curiosity, perhaps I will never understand why... But I stepped into a shaft of moonlight and let myself be seen.
What did it see, when it looked at me? Skin the colour of cedar bark, with hair like black pine quills. A person many, many times bigger than it was...
I am not surprised that it feared me.
When it saw me, it shivered like a rabbit, eyes big in its head, making little gasping noises. I took a step closer, and it scrabbled at the tree behind it. For a moment, I thought it would climb the tree while staring at me, but it did not.
Instead, it showed its teeth to me, making a sound like a fox. It had teeth like mine, I realized, although there was a space near the font of its mouth where a tooth should have been, but was not.
Perhaps it was hurt?
But no, there was no blood.
I came closer, and it cawed, almost like a crow, covering its face with its arms... I reached out and touched it, touched the soft hair on its head, and it shrank like a frightened spider. I petted its shoulder, covered in the bright red cloth that felt like cat-tail down, but not... Gently, gently, I crooned to it, nonsense sounds, the sound of soft wind, and the swaying of branches.
It made a growling sound but, I realized, it was not growling at me and that the sound was coming from inside its body.
Why would its body make a growling sound?
Perhaps its body was unhappy? Too cold? Too hungry?
I put my head to one side, and poked the human gently in the stomach.
It watched me with mistrustful eyes.
There were bunch berries growing thickly by the tree and, idly, I ate them while I considered the little human. I saw its eyes follow my hand to the berries.
Perhaps it was hungry...
It had teeth like mine. Perhaps it could eat what I eat...
I picked a spray of bunch-berries, and offered it to the human, gesturing that it should put them in its mouth, but it didn't understand.
In the end, I carefully plucked one of the berries off the spray, and put it in my mouth, then plucked another and offered it to the human. It must have been a child, then, if it didn't know how to eat... This time, it understood.
It put the berries in its mouth, chewing and nodding.
I think it was happier now...
But the wind the blowing from the deep forest all this time, blowing towards the edge of the woods. It could not tell me there were other humans coming.
But I saw fire between the trees, bright eyes in the night, and I heard the crashing of feet through the undergrowth, and also human voices, many, calling the same sound over and over.
The human heard it too — Perhaps the sound was its name? — For it jumped up and shouted back: "Heeya, heeya, aimeeya!" Running towards the lights and the sounds.
But, at the edge of the clearing, it turned back and looked at me. Looked at me in the eyes, and made frantic waving motions with its arms.
I don't know what it meant. But the humans were close, too close, and I knew it wasn't safe anymore.
I melted back into the shadows, hiding myself among the trees. The humans, with their bright lights that turn the night into day, poured into the clearing. One of them picked the little human up off the ground, and wrapped its arms around it — It was a child, then — making soft, crooning sounds, into the little human's hair.
They were gone as quickly as they arrived, but the little human stared into the trees, as it was taken away. Perhaps it was looking for me... Perhaps it would remember.
I'm off to Hurdman to meet Paul before we head over to his grandmother's place for dinner. :-)
But before I go. Here is a story. Not fan fiction, something original. Inspired by a discussion about Trolls that I had with Hyel. :-)
Lost
My people are mountain people. We are born from stone, and stone we return when we die. We live in the deep forests, away from the light, sleeping in caves by day because the sun burns us badly. As unlike humans as can be...
But, there was a time when we spoke with humans. Long ago, when their fires were but bright eyes in the night, when they understood the comfort of the dark.
There was a time when we spoke with humans.
Sometimes, we still do.
***
Once, I wandered far from my home, and caught the smell of fear floating on a gust of wind.
The fearful thing was not far, but the wind could not tell me what it was afraid of. I hesitated, fearful, myself, for a moment, for I recognized the smell of the fearful thing. But then, I thought, what are they afraid of but the dark?
So I crept forward, curious, cautious, for I had never seen a human up close before.
I saw it, crouched in a clearing, its back against a great tree. It was a small thing, even for a human, its knees drawn up under its chin. Its skin was pale like a mushroom, and its hair, which sprouted only from its head, was soft and dark as bear fur.
It wore strange, bright clothing. Red as berries on its arms and chest, but deep blue, like the sky at twilight, on its legs. Its eyes were dark pools of rainwater, so full that they spilled down its face in twin streams.
Perhaps it is a child, I thought, whose mother has been killed.
But there was no smell of death on the air, and surely another human would have cared for it, rather than leave it to die...
I moved closer, and I think it must have seen my shadow in the dark, for it made a sound like "hoosthaya, hoosit". Such a plaintive sound...
Even now, I don't know why I did it. Perhaps it was pity, perhaps curiosity, perhaps I will never understand why... But I stepped into a shaft of moonlight and let myself be seen.
What did it see, when it looked at me? Skin the colour of cedar bark, with hair like black pine quills. A person many, many times bigger than it was...
I am not surprised that it feared me.
When it saw me, it shivered like a rabbit, eyes big in its head, making little gasping noises. I took a step closer, and it scrabbled at the tree behind it. For a moment, I thought it would climb the tree while staring at me, but it did not.
Instead, it showed its teeth to me, making a sound like a fox. It had teeth like mine, I realized, although there was a space near the font of its mouth where a tooth should have been, but was not.
Perhaps it was hurt?
But no, there was no blood.
I came closer, and it cawed, almost like a crow, covering its face with its arms... I reached out and touched it, touched the soft hair on its head, and it shrank like a frightened spider. I petted its shoulder, covered in the bright red cloth that felt like cat-tail down, but not... Gently, gently, I crooned to it, nonsense sounds, the sound of soft wind, and the swaying of branches.
It made a growling sound but, I realized, it was not growling at me and that the sound was coming from inside its body.
Why would its body make a growling sound?
Perhaps its body was unhappy? Too cold? Too hungry?
I put my head to one side, and poked the human gently in the stomach.
It watched me with mistrustful eyes.
There were bunch berries growing thickly by the tree and, idly, I ate them while I considered the little human. I saw its eyes follow my hand to the berries.
Perhaps it was hungry...
It had teeth like mine. Perhaps it could eat what I eat...
I picked a spray of bunch-berries, and offered it to the human, gesturing that it should put them in its mouth, but it didn't understand.
In the end, I carefully plucked one of the berries off the spray, and put it in my mouth, then plucked another and offered it to the human. It must have been a child, then, if it didn't know how to eat... This time, it understood.
It put the berries in its mouth, chewing and nodding.
I think it was happier now...
But the wind the blowing from the deep forest all this time, blowing towards the edge of the woods. It could not tell me there were other humans coming.
But I saw fire between the trees, bright eyes in the night, and I heard the crashing of feet through the undergrowth, and also human voices, many, calling the same sound over and over.
The human heard it too — Perhaps the sound was its name? — For it jumped up and shouted back: "Heeya, heeya, aimeeya!" Running towards the lights and the sounds.
But, at the edge of the clearing, it turned back and looked at me. Looked at me in the eyes, and made frantic waving motions with its arms.
I don't know what it meant. But the humans were close, too close, and I knew it wasn't safe anymore.
I melted back into the shadows, hiding myself among the trees. The humans, with their bright lights that turn the night into day, poured into the clearing. One of them picked the little human up off the ground, and wrapped its arms around it — It was a child, then — making soft, crooning sounds, into the little human's hair.
They were gone as quickly as they arrived, but the little human stared into the trees, as it was taken away. Perhaps it was looking for me... Perhaps it would remember.
