Chapter Text
“Olesh, catch!” Nahar threw the ball at me. I catched it with no difficulty. It was a sunny day, a week or so after the long dance, so my big brother, his friend Stony and I played outside all morning.
“It’s too easy like that,” I said, “when we’re so close to eachother. Let’s catch some distance- then we’ll have a challenge.” I was the youngest of them, but very tall for a girl my age, and I wanted to show off to the boys. Each of us took a step backwards, and I threw the ball to Stony, who caught it and threw it to Nahar, who in turn passed it back to me.
“Further, I think.” I took another step backwards before playing my next turn, and so did they. “Further!” I cried with enthusiasm after another round, “Further!”. And so with every round the triangle we created in the grassland grew larger and larger, until it took us all our might to throw the ball far enough to reach eachother, and the chances of catching it in midair were slim.
“Stony, catch!” I shouted and threw the ball, but my aim was wrong, and the ball passed a few feet next to him, still high in the air, flying further than they could see.
“Olesh!” Stony was furious at the loss of his ball. “Sorry,” I said. “let’s search for it. I think it fell over there!”
We went down the road, technically outside of the village, and searched between the trees and the rocks. But to no avail. We went further and further, until we reached a wooden house on the edge of the cliff. I could see the ball laying between the plum trees.
“It’s in the garden!” I almost ran there, but Nahar stopped me.
“Don’t go!” He shouted at me, holding my arm. “It’s The Old Mage’s House!”
There were endless rumours about The Old Mage’s House and its inhabitants. I sometimes saw the strange old man who lived there, and was warned by my parents not to talk to him. His wife, so I heard, was as pale as a ghost, and it was said that many years ago she came to Re Alby from a far, far land. But scary of all was their so-called daughter, the witch: Half of her face was burnt, and it was said she could speak to dragons.
“They say she killed the last lord of the village.” Stony said. “Burned him!”
“No, she pushed him over the cliff.” Said Nahar, and the two boys started arguing.
“You’re just making that up to scare me, right?” I asked. “I am not stupid, you know.”
“No, we’re not!” Said Stony. “That’s what all of the adults say!”
“Never go there, Olesh.” Nahar warned me. “That place is cursed-”
“Now the ball is lost forever! And you know dad won’t buy me a new one, we don’t have the money, and he’ll say I don’t deserve nice things if I can’t look after them! And it’s all because of you! Because of your stupid idea! Because you’re such a smartass who has to prove you are stronger than anyone!” Stony screamed at me. “Nahar, you shouldn’t have let the girl join us.”
We walked back to our homes silently. I was mad at Stony for blaming me, and simultaneously mad at myself for throwing the ball too far. ‘Further! Further!’... What was I thinking?
Am I a smartass?
Yes. Absolutely. I am smart, and I like people to know that. I like to check my limits, to challenge people. I’m a bit naughty.
But is that such a bad thing, to be a smartass? Must I always stick to the familiar and the safe? So I wondered while walking. Must I walk forever in the same known paths, never straying aside to see what's out there?
Why shouldn't I go further, take the risk, and see what happens?
“Why do we never talk to the people from the house on the edge of the cliff?” I asked my parents at dinner a week later.
“You mean The Old Mage’s House?” Mom asked.
“Yes,” I answered. “It's just weird that there's a place so near, where we must never go.”
“I don't know what’s the deal with those people,” Dad said, “But something ain't right about them. They're scandalous, full with secrets-”
“Did anyone ask them about those secrets?” I questioned. “Maybe they are secrets only because no one bothers to hear them.’
“You shouldn't meddle with people like that, Olesh.” Mom said. “You can never know what they're up to.”
Then dad told us the story about The Child Taker, a dreadful sorcerer who would kidnap naive children, take them in a boat to his isle out in the north, and there suck their blood.
I went to sleep full of dark thoughts about dragons and blood-sucking sorcerers and all the other horrors I heard of in the tales.
Must I always fear them? I thought. Hide? Run away? Stay out of their way?
And then I recalled those, in the stories, who don't. The heroes. Those who see the dragon coming, and instead of running away, fight him.
What makes the difference, I asked myself, between the victims and the heroes? Between those who must stay away from the danger or be perished by it, and those who defeat the danger and return victorious, or at least save many others in their death? It couldn't be all about status or birthright, I refused to even think of that. Is it a matter of age, or strength, or wisdom? But no, there are stories of ordinary young boys who had done great deeds, and of strong warriors and wise wizards who were doomed. So is it about sheer courage, or willpower? Or fate that's decided for you whether people like it or not? Or just luck? Or maybe you can choose to become a hero, choose to face the danger, and become brave and strong and wise by doing it?
I’ll be a hero, I told myself.
Tomorrow, I’ll go to The Old Mage's House, and get Stony’s ball back.
Next morning, after breakfast, I left the house and started walking. It wasn't unusual- now in summer, Nahar and I went to play outside every day, if we didn't have chores. But today I walked alone, crossing the village, climbing down the rocks, going down the road, with an increasing anxiety of what I would meet at the end of it. But I kept going. You're a hero now, I told myself. You're afraid, but you are still going to do it.
I kept going, until I stood in front of the fence. Then I ducked, hiding behind it, peeking through the gap between two planks.
Should I climb on the fence, sneak into the garden, take the ball and try to escape unnoticed? Or is this chanceless and I better just knock and ask permission to enter?
Before I made up my mind, I heard footsteps in the garden.
“Is anyone there?” Someone asked, but through the fence I couldn't see who.
I ducked even lower, clinging tightly to the fence so they wouldn't see me.
Steps coming closer and closer.
My heart is beating faster and faster.
What if it's the witch, I think, and she'll burn me too, or push me off the cliff?
But I didn't really do anything that bad to her, nothing to deserve death. So maybe instead she'll turn me into something funny, like a dove or a frog. It won't be that bad, to live as an animal, just weird. But frogs live less time than humans, so in the long term she's still killing me, kinda… And this way I can never talk to Nahar again, cause he doesn't speak Froggish.
And will I turn into an adult frog, or a tadpole? Now that's an interesting question…
Then I saw a head staring at me from above.
It was the old man.
“What are you doing down there?”
“Thanks Segoy it's not the witch!” I blurted.
“Do you mean Tehanu?” He raised an eyebrow. “She wouldn't hurt a fly.”
“But they say-” I was still a bit terrified.
“People say a lot of things, kid. Not all are true.” He said sadly. “And it seems they’ll be willing to say anything about people who look different.”
Now, thinking about it, I was a bit ashamed: the girl’s disfigurement wasn’t her fault, and yet everyone treated her like some kind of monster because of it. It must have been a lonely life, with no one but her parents who’s willing to talk to her. It was strange, to pity the one I once feared.
“I don’t blame the kids for believing the stories, only the adults who spread them.” he said in a softer tone. “So what brings you here, girl? What was important enough for you to overcome your fear of the so-called terrible witch?”
“Eh… My friends and I played around here a while ago, and one of us missed the ball and it landed in your garden.” I explained. “Can I have it back?”
“I really wondered how it got there.” He said, “Wait here.” and returned into the house.
After a few moments he exited again, holding the ball. “Catch!” He said, smiling, and threw the ball right into my hands. “Thanks, Sir!”
“Call me Hawk.” he said
“My name is Olesh, by the way.” I said, and turned to leave. “Have a good day, Hawk!”
I run up the road, with the ball in my hands, relieved and slightly confused, and proud of myself; For I’ve entered the dragon’s den, and found only an adorable lizard.
Nothing is to be feared of, it occurred to me, only understood; And when you understand more, you fear less.
“Here’s your ball, Stony.”
“How did you-”
“Some of us don’t believe to every ghost story our cousins tell us.” I smirked.
“You went to The Old Mage’s House?” Stony was stunned. “Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?”
I was tempted to fabricate a story of an epic rescue mission, to tell him how I was captured by the witch who planned to turn me into a frog but managed to fool her and escape with the ball, to make him think I’m a hero. But I remembered Hawk’s words about how people will say everything about people who look different, and my heart would not let me to add another mean rumour to the mix.
“The man, Hawk, saw me standing outside of the house and asked what am I doing. I asked the ball back, and he gave it to me.” I told him the truth. “He’s a pretty nice fellow, actually. And if to believe what he says, his daughter isn’t that bad either. I think people are only afraid of them because of their scars- They do look a bit creepy, but that’s not a reason to hate someone!”
Stony considered my words carefully, not knowing what to think.
“Hawk is a cool name.” He said at last. “Everyone here in the village has such boring ones! I think when I’ll be named, I’ll pick Hawk as my use-name.”
“Re Albi is too small for two Hawks, or so it seems to me.” I noted.
“So I’ll go with something similar.” He answered. “Maybe Falcon, or Eagle.”
He continued to list optional birds of prey for a while.
“I think I will be Owl,” I told him. “Because the owls are said to be wise, and because they fly in the night, fearless of the dark, and see what we do not.”
“You are a strange girl, Olesh.” He com
mented.
But I was starting to think being strange was not such a bad thing.