Page 18 of Mushy Stuff
“I believe Elven families fight each other for power and wealth. Maybe some of them had to run away from a dangerous family member.”
I think of my own birth mother as I say this. I realize that I can’t even remember what she looked like anymore. I remember what my nursemaid looked like. I remember how kind she was when I was little. She would hug me if I was sad and told me stories to help me fall asleep. I remember the day my birth mother brought me here to leave me. I was so terrified and I had no idea how to live on my own. I can remember the look on my nursemaid’s face as she pleaded with my birth mother to let her stay and teach me how to live here. My birth mother did not want to, but eventually relented. I remember my birth mother saying, “I don’t see why anyone would care if it survives. The world can do with one lessmonster.” She always called me a monster. I’ve always wondered if she called my father a monster even though she took him to her bed.
She gave my nursemaid a month to teach me. I’ll never forget the relief when she was able to stay. That month wasso peaceful. It was the most peace I had ever felt in my short life. I enjoyed climbing trees, and helping the mushrooms grow. I even thought prowling to watch for humans was fun. I didn’t understand until much later, when I actually saw a human, how awful it would feel to scare everyone away.
When my nursemaid left, a piece of me broke. I cried and begged her to stay, but she knew she couldn’t. My birth mother would have come after her and punished both of us for her disobedience if she stayed with me. So, she left.
I cried for days.
I only stopped long enough to hunt and care for my mushrooms. I wanted to make my nursemaid proud. I wanted to do a good job in case she was ever given permission to come back for a visit.
It was soon after she left that I found the small cave that I live in. I felt safe and protected by the roots of the tree, so I began sleeping there.
Several months after my nursemaid left, I had to scare away my first humans. It was a mother and a child that were hiking and playing in the woods. They wanted to dip their feet into the stream at the border.
I didn’t really believe I could scare an adult. Certainly I wasn’t so much of a monster that an adult would beafraid of me. I must have been the same age as her human child. But they were terrified. They both screamed, and the mother yelled at me to stay back.
It was another year or so before a human came into my territory and didn’t turn back to leave. The bloodlust that overwhelmed me from the bond with the land was terrifying. I couldn’t control myself when I killed him.
I understood then that I was the monster that my birth mother said I was.
For so long I had craved company in my lonely existence, but after that night, I hoped no one would ever come to see me again. I didn’t want the nursemaid to see what I was. Every day I became angrier, sadder, and lonelier.
“Hey, Wold, you okay?” Lydia interrupts my dark thoughts.
“Yes.” We’ve been quietly walking around the cave checking on each mushroom. “I’m not used to having someone here with me while I do this. My mind wandered.”
“Okay. Didn’t you say that you will also need to go out and survey your territory? I would love to come exploring with you,” she says brightly.
“It will be a lot of walking,” I warn.
“I don’t mind.”
By the time I am done tending to all of the mushrooms, the hoppers are well cooked. We let them cool down and eat in comfortable silence until Lydia finally speaks up.
“I like it here. It’s so peaceful.” She smiles at me.
I watch her. She does seem to like it here. I like her being here too. I like sharing my space with her.
Once we are done eating, we leave to check on my territory.
Lydia is amazed at everything I show her. She squeals with happiness when she sees some of the spots that I’ve spread the mushrooms to.
One edge of my territory is a cliff. She thought it was beautiful. She made me promise to bring her back when the sun is setting.
Nothing out of the ordinary happens while we are out, but Lydia is excited about everything. She loves everything here. She loves looking at every little plant or flower.
We end up going to the den that I usually sleep in. I show her the opening in the roots, and she carefully lowers herself in.
“Oh, I like it here! It’s very cozy,” she says.
I touch the wall, and the bioluminescent mushrooms begin glowing. Over the years, I have brought many mushrooms into this den, so the glow is impressive. She gasps once they all are glowing.
“I found this place when I was young. I started bringing mushrooms here as soon as I could because their glow comforted me when I was afraid or alone,” I explain.
When she looks at me, she has tears in her eyes.
“It’s beautiful, Wold. I’m glad you were able to find something to comfort you back then,” she says.
