《Why Can't I Pick Up Girls?》


 Prologue: Heart to Heart

    I died.


    When I realized where I was, a room with red walls and chairs, there were so many others with me. Some unfortunately young, some old - they all have different expressions. Most of all the younger faces were scared and extremely sad while many of the older ones were relieved. Some were very quick to tell each other what happened and others wanted to keep that a secret.


    ¡°How did you die?¡±


    I don¡¯t remember, but I clutched at my heart. It must¡¯ve had something to do with my heart though because they seemed satisfied.


    They left well-enough alone. I didn¡¯t know how long I was even there. Time meant nothing to this area. Did my family mourn my death? Did I have a family? I barely recognize myself in any of the mirrors they had around. The only thing I recognized was my soul - I knew I was me even if I was losing myself. In the end, I only had myself - that¡¯s all we have, don¡¯t we?


    Perhaps the reason why I waited so long was to reflect on my life - and I did. Eventually, I remembered what my life was like at certain points but it was mostly a big blank. I didn¡¯t have any friends I could confide in. I¡¯m assuming I wasn¡¯t close to my family either. There¡¯s a computer screen in front of me and that was my home. I remember that much.


    I don¡¯t remember the warm kisses of my mother. I don¡¯t remember the warm touches of my father. Did I have siblings?


    But then I realized I was being directed somewhere else. Suddenly, I¡¯m reminded of those government buildings I saw on my computer screen back then.


    I would say that I noticed ¡®people¡¯ around me but that would be wrong. It looked like they were fading away. Children, adults, and all kinds¡­ but they all were fading. From existence, from this plane, I don¡¯t know what that meant¡­ but they were fading.


    The desks they sat at were shrouded with a veil that should¡¯ve been penetrable but it wasn¡¯t. I couldn¡¯t see what those ¡®people¡¯ were talking to. However, it¡¯s best to say that the desks look more like an oversized wardrobe with a clear screen than an actual desk. But I¡¯m assuming those are desks in this afterlife.


    ¡°Come along,¡± the voice rang out. ¡°Don¡¯t dawdle and don¡¯t stare. No one likes to be stared at.¡±


    I guess that¡¯s true. The comment made me pay more attention to the fact I was doing just that. The person¡¯s voice was extremely light and sweet. I couldn¡¯t tell if they were feminine or masculine but I suppose it doesn¡¯t matter - at least in this afterlife, they have been the kindest thing to me.


    Once we arrived at their desk, they placed me down in the seat and it was my turn to look through the veil. Now I could see who spoke to me.


    If I had any breath, it would be taken away. Before me, someone I thought to be a woman was behind the desk and through the thin sheet called the veil. I tried to look around the veil but a force stopped me. It seemed that it was a common thing for souls like me to do.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t look around the veil.¡± It was a familiar voice. How come I didn¡¯t see them before?


    Now I followed the protocol to get a better look. For my sake, that¡¯s how I saw her.


    In my eyes, she was beautiful. She was someone who I thought was exactly my type: A soft face with large white-trimmed glasses with sure eyes - hers was light green - behind them with long light purple bangs that made sure her forehead was hidden. It relaxed on a shoulder but it didn¡¯t look out of place. Her hair looked soft to rake fingers through without breaking it and at the tips, there was a hue of green that seemed to be the same color of her eyes.


    Behind her head was a large ribbon that seemed to hold together a bun of her light purple hair tightly but comfortably. Her pale skin allowed me to see how deep of blush she had on and something that could only be described as planets and stars on her cheeks. They mesmerized me¡­ but then I shook my head quickly.


    ¡°My name is Pumoria. I am an Ethereal. This veil is for your protection; my aura is too strong for regular human souls such as yourself to handle it on your own.¡± She started to talk after she brought out a book from under her desk. It surprised me. I wanted to keep staring at her beauty. ¡°Let¡¯s see. I have gotten your name from the Others, so please give me a moment to read through your past before you fade completely.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    While she looked through that book of hers, this gave me a chance to pick up where I left off.


    Thankfully, I¡¯m not bound by society¡¯s rules anymore so I continued to gaze at her.


    Soon, I noticed that she had pretty lips that glowed with possibly expensive lip gloss. Her earrings are cute and stylized to be little hearts that hung from her seemingly human ears. I edge lower and notice her wings - they look somehow familiar, like something I¡¯ve watched before, but they remind me of cute angel wings. But there¡¯s no way she¡¯s an angel - whatever is an Ethereal is, it sounded more important than being an angel.


    It¡¯s then I realized what was in this Pumoria¡¯s background - it seemed like a large purple moon. Rather, it seemed to be more of a painting of a moon. Do I remember the moon being so bright like that? With my machinery, the moon¡¯s glow always strayedaway from my window. I remember feeling like it tried to come in but I just never let it.


    A pang of guilt hit me but I continued to look more.


    Around her neck was something that would be a white fuzz choker that sat protectively around her neck. She was able to breathe fine and talk fine so I assume it didn¡¯t bother her. When I finally got past her shoulders, with her flowery outfit, I noticed she didn¡¯t have any human breasts which shocked me - but then again, should it really? This woman, rather, this being in front of me is a holy creature and I may have just damned this fading soul to hell. My one shot and I already blew it.


    ¡°Ah,¡± she finally stated. She smiled with her sleepy-looking eyes as she turned from the book to me. ¡°It says here that your occupation was ¡®internet troll¡¯. Hm, that sounds rather interesting. What sort of things do you do?¡±


    Quickly, I tried to make up some stuff. I¡¯m surprised someone like her wouldn¡¯t already know it but I need to give her a better impression.


    ¡°O-oh,¡± I could hardly recognize my own voice, ¡°we used to hunt down people and make fun of them. Sometimes we call them out on their lies and their prostrating. Other times, we do it just for the lo--laughs. The laughs, yeah. It¡¯s a crude job but someone had to do it!¡±


    She seemed rather fascinated by this as evidenced by a glow that I saw in her eyes.


    ¡°I see, I see! That sounds very adventurous! Usually, with your type of past, we give you types of souls a chance to become an adventurer or even a simpler life. However, because your occupation is unlike anything I¡¯ve personally seen before, I think I¡¯m going to make a special request for you.¡±


    Huh? What is she talking about? Cause I¡¯m not even sure what this place even is - I thought this was an afterlife?


    ¡°Is that okay? Do you have any special requests before I start writing it up?¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait - you said your name was Pumoria, I think - I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s going on! I was waiting in the red room but suddenly I¡¯m here! I don¡¯t know what this place is!¡±


    ¡°Oh dear,¡± Pumoria said as she pushed up her glasses from the middle. ¡°That¡¯s my bad! Let me explain to you where we are! I¡¯m sorry - I haven¡¯t worked in a while! I had to help out an oracle recently - he was murdered so we had to make sure that his soul was at its proper place before I could come back. I¡¯m the Supervisor for Oracle¡¯s Souls after all.¡±


    As she cleared her throat, I started to get worried, or it¡¯s better to say -excited. Maybe that¡¯s the path she wanted to put me through? Oh, being an oracle sounds cool since these beings called Ethereals seem to take care of them after death. Whatever life I had on Earth are fading from me anyway, and I wanted to create a new life that had new friends¡­ and a loving girlfriend.


    That¡¯s what I wanted.


    ¡°Welcome to Ethereal''s Eternal Haven. I am your assigned Ethereal, Pumoria. You are a fading soul and are a prime candidate to leave the cycle of Earth¡¯s reincarnation. My job is to make sure you are reincarnated into Lopki, a world created by us for people like you - to live in a happier realm than what was once your life on Earth.


    ¡°As an Eternal Spirited, you are no longer allowed to return to earth. There¡¯s a chance you might never remember your past life or even this moment, but if it means your happiness, then it¡¯s well worth it. If you remember your past life, you will not remember this moment. Just like on Earth, you have free-will on Lopki. Please abide by their societal rules and laws.


    ¡°Currently, Lopki is stuck with past technologies but we are working on improving that. Please do not worry about such things as that¡¯s not your destiny. Your destiny is stated as follows:


    ¡°To create a new life with new friends and a loving family. If you have any questions during the course of your new life, please wait until after you¡¯ve gained your memories and travel to a local Ethereal shrine. My name will pop into your mind and I will do my best to guide you. I cannot give you any direct answers about life and death. I cannot give you dates about anything that¡¯s to happen.¡±


    After she finished her spiel, she let out a sigh and she smiled, as though she¡¯s proud of herself. The now-familiar twinkle appeared once again and she seemed to await my reaction. The only thing I could think of doing was to clap.


    We ended up discussing more what it meant to be an ¡®internet troll¡¯ and I¡¯m not sure if I even got it - but she seemed to understand okay. After that, she placed a piece of paper through the veil and a pen and told me to put down any specific requests.


    The only thing I remember putting down before things went bright - to have a loving girlfriend.


    To Be Continued¡­

 Chapter One: End of Rituals

    I was born.


    And I was named Ayagi. It seemed to fit me and I don¡¯t think there was any significance to that name either. The only thing that seemed to matter was the strange mark around my belly button.


    Others around me were so shocked that they immediately threw me to the troll shaman - someone I would later learn to be pretty important in troll society. I was only a few minutes old and I already couldn¡¯t believe how different trolls looked - something told me who was my mother and father, much like how a human baby knew, but I knew this old sagging troll was not my family. He had popped pimples with pus coming out of them. He had warts that sagged with his jowls. His beard had all kinds of things in it I still didn¡¯t want to know. His breath had remnants of rotting meat that made me cry out every time I¡¯m forced to smell it.


    And yet, I accepted that this is how things were.


    I babbled and cooed and cried as he examined me. His touches were harsh even on my rough grey skin as he tried to pull out the mark from my belly.


    ¡°Hm, I didn¡¯t think one of these would be born into our race,¡± I heard him say. I didn¡¯t quite understand the meaning but I wonder if it was like this for human babies at first. But I knew he wasn¡¯t talking to me. ¡°I heard about these...Spirits from my time in the Orc village. It¡¯s interesting how he has this mark.¡±


    ¡°What do we do with him?¡± I heard another masculine voice say although he did sound younger. Was there a twinge of concern?


    ¡°Raise him like any other youngling. If I remember right, these types may regain their memories of the past and other times, they may not. But there¡¯s a higher chance he may never recover them.¡±


    They were quiet as the shaman troll kept looking at me with a curiosity that would make anyone uncomfortable. And yet, I accepted that this is how things were.


    He pulled on my skin again and it¡¯s only now I see that he had long moldy nails with painful tips that curled. I cried again as it hurt - it shouldn¡¯t hurt, right? That¡¯s why we have this skin, right?


    ¡°What happens if he does remember things?¡±


    ¡°Then bring him to me. I shall dispose of him. Bring him to me every eve of his birth. Don¡¯t tell him the reason why you always bring him to me - after all, if he regains his memories, then he¡¯ll understand.¡±


    As time went along, every eve of my birthday for the next 11 years, I would be brought to the same shaman, who only grew older and grosser as time went on. Every year, he¡¯d ask me the same questions over and over - ¡°Do you remember your past life?¡± And every year, I answered no as he inspected my body.


    Even if I did remember it, how would he even know? The shaman is old and useless and we only have him because he¡¯s our only connection to the orc village. Once he dies, they¡¯re going to replace him with another one - and I don¡¯t think whoever he or she is, they¡¯re going to care about someone like me. I¡¯m someone with an unusual mark on my belly - I eventually learned it¡¯s a star - and it didn¡¯t matter since our whole mission in life is to hunt humans and to expand our territory.


    On the eve of my 11th birthday, a new shaman sat in his seat instead. My parents and I learned that the old troll died last week and I thought for a moment that maybe I¡¯m home-free! Finally! I didn¡¯t have to answer the same old questions! But I was sorely disappointed.


    ¡°Come on, Ayagi. The shaman''s waiting for us.¡± My father cried out. I grumbled and grew annoyed at the prospects of having to answer the same questions over and over. How would this new shaman know what memories I have? The one before him didn¡¯t so how would this one know?


    However, my father is someone I answered - after all, he¡¯s the one who¡¯s going to teach me how to survive, so I listened and I followed after I put some pants on. Along the way, I noticed looked around the village as time went on - younglings were born and older trolls died. Death was something we saw every time they would drag a human body, or head, so seeing other dead trolls didn¡¯t shake me up. Initially, it did when I first realized it at age 6 and that got my parents worried about whether or not I had my memories back.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    But it didn¡¯t come back - it¡¯s apparently normal to be shocked around dead humans at first. Once I got used to it, I would shrug it off and my parents stopped worrying about it.


    I looked at my father as he led the usual way to the shaman''s hut. He¡¯s certainly grown older as time went on. From what I learned from my older sister, Yaci, his hunting skills aren''t what it used to be. A lot of other trolls considered him unusual because he ¡®fell in love¡¯ with my mother - I guess that is weird. I don¡¯t see anyone kissing each other or even acknowledge each other without an insult. They always talk about waiting until their partner was dead in order to live their life or how they ruined each other¡¯s chances to get chosen to join the Orc village.


    But not my father. He actually seemed to enjoy my mother¡¯s company and the opposite was true too. He used to tell me little stories when they hunted together - which that itself was pretty strange. Most trolls learn how to hunt by themselves with maybe aid from others if it benefited them. Though, I often wondered if that was the case, why did they hunt together as often as they did? What benefit could they have gotten from each other?


    My mother seems like an average troll woman - she¡¯s big and sturdy and I think she¡¯s pretty smart for a troll woman. She¡¯s a way better hunter than my father is but decided to stay instead of striving to leave. And soon, she had Yaci and then me.


    Love¡­ I¡¯m still only 10 and the concept is very strange to me. Maybe I will understand more when I become older. Maybe my parents are unusual and maybe they see me like a curse with this star-mark on my belly button. But if I¡¯m such a curse, why doesn¡¯t Yaci have the same mark?


    Soon, we arrived at the shaman hut and I saw the new one as he got up from his seat outside his hut. He seemed a bit tense as he approached me. He seemed a lot younger than the other one although he also had warts all over his face. He had bristles of a beard growing but instead of a white color, it was black colored. I eventually noticed I had hair growing on top of my head but it¡¯s the same color as my mother, father, and Yaci¡¯s - although Yaci¡¯s hair is a lot longer than mine, my father made sure of it.


    ¡°Ah, yes, Shaman Jabir mentioned you before he took his final breath. My name is Shaman Anje, I arrived in this community a few days ago.¡±


    My father grunted the traditional greeting although we both were taken aback how different this Shaman Anje was. Then again, most troll shamans are trained in the nearest orc village so it shouldn¡¯t have been too surprising for us. After my father grunted, he stated his name and then I followed suit.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re Ayagi, then. Of course, how could I have missed this unusual marking on your stomach.¡± He reached down and pinched it, much gentler than Shaman Jabir did. ¡°Shaman Jabir explained the situation to me before he passed so, let¡¯s go in the hut and do the usual examination, youngling.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not a youngling anymore.¡±


    When my father said something, he was surely ignored as I entered the hut - the same as I ever did years before. It was a simple hut, built for one, and had all kinds of human skulls around. They seemed to have aged quite a bit since they had a lot of dirt and mud on them but some were cleaner than others. There were papers around with symbols and script that I didn¡¯t know what it was. It seemed that this shaman was a lot messier than Shaman Jabir - he¡¯d never even let me go near his papers while this one didn¡¯t seem to care. Then again, it¡¯s not like I knew how to read. There were bottles of colored water as well that didn¡¯t look appetizing in the slightest - my mother¡¯s warning about drinking such strange water echoed in my head briefly.


    When I turned around, I saw the Shaman Anje enter the hut and he spread his arms to start the usual ritual. However, before he did, someone ran in the hut and grunted towards the Shaman and mumbled his name. He completely ignored the scene before him and I just stood there awkwardly as the scene continued before me.


    ¡°Come, Shaman! The chief¡¯s son, Matuna, is missing!¡± Then he turned around and ran out the opening of the hut. The Shaman looked frustrated and then turned to me. He gave me a mean look as he glowered at me. I didn¡¯t take a step back; that¡¯s how adult trolls look at younglings like me anyway.


    ¡°Listen up, youngling, you don¡¯t seem to have acquired any human-like memories, so get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Do I need to come back next year?¡±


    ¡°No! No! Did you not hear? The chief¡¯s son is missing! Get your father, youngling, and join the search! You do understand why we search for him, right? Or are those of you just short of a few strands?¡±


    He turned and left. I don¡¯t understand what he said but I just knew that it was mean. Even though I¡¯m pretty sure he just insulted me, but I was more relieved I didn¡¯t have to deal with these rituals anymore! I relaxed and then shrugged. Maybe now I can go and hang out with my friends.


    But, when I stepped out of the hut, my father was nowhere to be seen.

 Chapter Two: A Daisy & A Troll

    When I realized my father was gone, I felt strange - I didn¡¯t want to be alone. It¡¯s not like I could even talk to anyone anyway because even with my father gone, the entire village seemed to be in a frenzy. Younglings my age and younger were gathered in groups though some seemed entirely lost and mumbled to themselves, but none of the adults who were still around us paid any attention. Probably because their heavy feet kicked up so much dirt, anyone who was shorter than the dirt clouds wouldn¡¯t be able to see.


    It¡¯s not my problem though so I ignore them wandering. While I probably should stay with the other younglings, instead, I wanted to find my father first. I wanted to tell him what the new shaman said - I don¡¯t have to do those stupid rituals anymore! I don¡¯t like doing these things - as far as I know, I¡¯m a normal troll. Yaci is only a couple of years older than I am and she treats me like any other troll sibling and I treat her the same. There¡¯s nothing different about me other than the star on my belly button.


    As I tried to make my way through the crowds and dust, I realized I started to trip over my feet as I got closer to more adult trolls looking for Matuna. I¡¯ve heard of Matuna before; he¡¯s the chief¡¯s son. My parents don¡¯t talk about the chief around me or Yaci but my friends around the village talk about him like he had a disease or something.


    ¡°Matuna is so weird - he doesn¡¯t like coming out to play ¡®hunt humans¡¯ with us.¡±


    ¡°Well, my sister saw him outside his hut once and she tried to talk to him - but he ignored her. I think she said he even ran away!¡±


    ¡°My dad says Matuna doesn¡¯t even want to be chief. I mean, who doesn¡¯t want to be chief here? You get to go to the Orc village constantly without being picked!¡±


    I don¡¯t know what to think of him - I¡¯ve never met him so it¡¯s no concern of mine. I just knew he was important to the village. My main concern was dealing with this stupid ritual year after year but now, not anymore. Thank you, Matuna! Thank you for disappearing so suddenly! Because of your strangeness, you made this village forget about my star-shaped mark!


    Then again, my parents didn¡¯t take me out all that often and my friends joked it would make me a better hunter - I could navigate the stars better, they said. But I don¡¯t know how to navigate, not yet anyway, my father is going to teach me how to do that. I started to think of all the other things I wanted to do with my father - learning to hunt is something we trolls did but I felt strangely excited about leaving the village with him. With just me and him.


    Sometimes, it¡¯s hard to talk to my father on a day-to-day basis - he¡¯s always out hunting for food while mother stays at home. Mother and I get along fine, that¡¯s not what bothers me. I want to learn more about father. I know he¡¯s considered an unusual troll for falling in love with mother but besides that, he seemed like any other troll in the village.


    I don¡¯t know why my mother¡¯s parents don¡¯t like him. They always say he¡¯s the reason why my mother didn¡¯t become a great troll hunter or ¡®transcended¡¯ to working for the Orc village. I think about that sometimes when they glare at me and Yaci - they only say bad things about us and especially me since I was young. I don¡¯t know why¡­ they always point out my star mark as a curse¡­ that¡¯s why I wonder why my parents hate me¡­


    But I have a feeling they don¡¯t. In their way, they protect me and Yaci.


    And then I blinked my eyes when I realized where I wasn¡¯t.


    Because of the number of adults who looked for Matuna, it was hard for me to realize when I had wandered out of the village - next thing I knew, I was surrounded by trees - the forest. I don¡¯t know the name of it. This is the first time I ever left my village. I looked behind me to see if it¡¯s clear where I came from but I don¡¯t see anything.


    Then I felt it. That feeling I had earlier when I couldn¡¯t find my father at first - I think my mother called it fear. Mother said when humans have ¡®fear¡¯, they could feel lost and unsure. Sometimes, she said, she could feel it after she immediately kills them and even afterward sometimes when she drags their heads in for the count. But that fear isn¡¯t the fear of my mother killing me¡­ this fear, whatever it is, is worse because I don¡¯t know where I am. And I don¡¯t know where my father is.


    But before I could think anymore, I heard the ferocious roar of a creature I never heard of before. It was loud and sudden and then I heard the sound of a crunch. This ¡®fear¡¯ grew within me and it pushed me to run away from the sound -- or at least, I thought it was away from it.


    I only realized it when I heard a thud and a hand that stuck out of the bushes.


    When I saw a thick, grey hand, I stopped in my tracks. I saw red blood start to surround it and I was scared, oh, this is fear. This is fear and I don¡¯t like it. I don¡¯t want to know who that was. Was it Matuna? What would happen if a youngling like me caught this creature¡¯s wrath? Oh, no, what am I to do?


    But I wanted to know¡­ something in my head told me that I had to know, for my own good.


    There were screams on the other side of the brushes but it sounded like a young girl¡¯s voice. Maybe the creature would be distracted by her as I took a peek at who this is¡­ I have to do it¡­ Matuna is important to the village after all¡­ And-and, they have to know¡­


    When I saw the massive troll body on the ground as he clutched the hole in his chest, I gasped. I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes¡­ my father¡­ it¡¯s my father¡­ my father¡­.!!This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Once I realized who it was, I was in utter shock and let out a wail that sounded like such a weak roar. At that point, I don¡¯t remember what happened in order after I saw his body lying there. Hot tears burst out of my eyes and I didn¡¯t have a chance to stop it or think about it. It hurt so much¡­ I can¡¯t believe my eyes¡­ How can I? My father was just there¡­


    No, it¡¯s not the fact that it¡¯s a grisly scene that bothers me. No, no, no, because it¡¯s my father who¡¯s supposed to stand victoriously on top of the creature! Of the human! I saw a human girl next to him as she tried to brace herself and I already could tell it¡¯s her fault and I yelled again as more hot tears came out of my face.


    Her hair was strange - it was yellow with a large black stain in front of it.  And it was the only stain in her hair. She wept for my father as she wore black robes that seemed a bit too big for her. She didn¡¯t react to me yelling at her. I don¡¯t even know what I even said.


    Wasn¡¯t there a creature here earlier? I looked around - anything to look away from my father¡¯s dead body - and saw that it was a lightning demon. It was shaped like a horse but had lightning strikes and a rod coming out of its forehead. Reds, greens, yellows, and blacks covered the creature and the blacks were its blood that oozed out from its neck.


    Did my father at least give the finishing blow? Please at least give me that. At least tell me that he did that¡­!!


    I couldn¡¯t recognize myself as I cried and blubbered - but I also couldn¡¯t understand the body before me was once my father. I don¡¯t understand why this human girl wept with me for my father. He probably tried to kill her¡­ plus how did he come out here?


    Somehow, through my wailing and crying, I heard this human speak to me in a soft voice. Then I noticed she touched me. I should be disgusted but my heart hurt too much as I saw blood leave my father¡¯s body.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ For what it¡¯s worth, he protected me. He protected me with all he could.¡±


    I should be mad at this human girl but her voice was clear as a bell. It was covered in something I never heard from before in the troll village. This calmed me down¡­ I don¡¯t understand¡­ what¡¯s your power, girl?


    From the corner of my eye, I noticed she had two large necklaces wrapped around her neck; one was the sun and one was the crescent moon. It shined in the midday sun as it made its way through the thick trees and brush to make it. I turned away but she held me tighter.


    ¡°Please forgive me. I shouldn¡¯t have been out here...Madeline was right.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t stop crying but again her voice comforted me. I didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°Let me help bury him for you.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t move so she did all the work. It was then I realized she thought I was a grown-up troll - I was pretty tall but she couldn¡¯t have been more than a couple years older than I am. And yet, she got up and stretched out her hands. She closed her eyes and mumbled words I didn¡¯t recognize.


    Suddenly, the ground shook and opened under my father¡¯s body. As though something was behind it the whole time, I saw my father¡¯s body get pushed to the ground. Very quickly, the ground started to fill in the hole with dirt but I didn¡¯t see anyone move the dirt - an invisible something did.


    I looked to the girl only to see a ball of light within her hand form and I couldn¡¯t help but feel a familiar essence from it.  A hushed voice echoed into my ears and it tickled it - it sounded familiar to me. I couldn¡¯t understand the words they said but I remember it was a name that once belonged to me. A world that didn¡¯t belong to me.


    A world I was never meant to be in.


    It was then I felt my mark burn and I forced myself to look away. I gazed back where this strange girl buried my father but by that time, he was completely buried. He was no longer there, not even the blood that came out of him.


    Once it was finished, I could hear the girl take deep breaths and tried to catch up to it. I looked to her, as tears stopped coming out of my eyes, and gazed her curiously. She wore a hat and more of her golden yellow hair fell on her shoulders. She looked¡­ strange¡­.ly...beautiful¡­ almost ethereal, almost unreal.


    She looked unlike any troll I had ever seen before. She didn¡¯t look like the women¡¯s heads the trolls in my village at all. I didn¡¯t know what to think¡­ first I was mad at her, but now my heart felt tight around her. It was almost she did something or placed some kind of magic on me. Had she noticed the star on my stomach? She had to¡­ she had to.


    Once she was steady, she moved next to me and things were quiet between us. I looked where father was buried and tears came out but it was much quieter this time. I saw the girl clasp her hands together and mumbled something. Another light came out but this time it didn¡¯t hurt to look at - instead, it wrapped around us and it felt peaceful.


    I felt my hair float upwards and my tears did too. I looked at her and saw that her necklaces floated as well.


    Finally, she spoke to me once again.


    ¡°My name is Daisy. I¡¯m sorry we had to meet like this¡­ My friend, can you forgive me?¡±


    Did she know I was a troll? Did she know father was a troll? Why wasn¡¯t she afraid? Then again, I must look fairly young for a troll but¡­ I¡¯m a troll. I¡¯m going to hunt her kind when I get older. I still didn¡¯t say anything. I didn¡¯t know what to say.


    ¡°Here, let me give you this. It¡¯s a token from my own mother but this time, it¡¯s my fault he¡¯s ...gone. Please let us meet again when you can talk.¡± She took off the crescent moon necklace and placed it over my head. It seemed to fit just as easily and more as it did for her.


    I touched it and immediately, it felt good. It felt safe.


    She was quiet once again and the two of us just sat there. I don¡¯t know how long we stayed there but I cried on occasion and my tears fell again. Every time I did, she comforted me. She never left me alone but the sun had to go down. And we had to go our separate ways.


    Because if we don¡¯t, more demons will come and eat us. I don¡¯t know how strong she is, but I¡¯m only a 10-year-old troll. Father¡­ was supposed to teach me how to survive but now that might be my mother¡¯s duty.


    Mother¡­ Yaci¡­ they¡¯ll be sad when I tell them¡­. But I have to go home. I don¡¯t know how I could get home but¡­ Somehow, I think I¡¯ll find it.


    ¡°I have to go, my friend. That necklace will guide you home. I have my own but one day, we shall meet again. Please look for the Great Witch Daisy Umbra!¡±


    Even in this dire situation, she smiled like the sun. Perhaps it¡¯s a good thing she kept that necklace on her. Once we both stood, she reached over and patted me in the shoulder and I felt strange again.


    Then she left and I was left with no choice but to go home.


    I chose to listen to her words and the moon necklace reacted to the direction I needed to go. It was surprisingly easy to get there. I still don¡¯t know how I got lost in the first place.


    And when I got back to the village, I heard nothing but disappointment - the other adult trolls never found Matuna and I could hear his father wail loudly as I walked down the familiar path.


    No one seemed to care about my missing father. That didn¡¯t matter to me. The only trolls I told about my father¡¯s death were my mother and Yaci. They both wailed and roared into the night and for many nights.

 Chapter Three: Memories Under a Crescent Moon

    Eleven years flashed by and the shaman was true to his word. I never participated in another ritual again to verify if my memories came back - but I had another reason to dread the eve of my birthday. It¡¯s the time father died and I met Daisy Umbra. I don¡¯t even know why I kept this necklace - as I grew older, my body grew thicker and I feel like any day now this necklace would tear off and I could finally let go of her.


    But it¡¯s magic - I¡¯ve learned as I grew up, that kept it there. It had to be magic. I also learned that she was a witch - humans that can control various things. Trolls kill them sometimes and, honestly, I do worry I might see her head in the piles one day but I¡¯m always relieved I¡¯m not.


    My friends often wondered where I got my necklace from and I¡¯d lie and say it was my mother¡¯s. They were confused - troll women don¡¯t usually wear jewelry. Then I decided to say that it was from a human I killed and I liked it so I kept it. That seemed to satisfy them a lot more.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you kept that a secret, Ayagi,¡± laughed one of my hunter buddies, ¡°We take things from the dead humans and witches all the time!¡±


    Strange, that, but I laughed along with them as we finished a successful raid. Not all of our hunts ended in victory though - sometimes, the humans band together with these witches and they¡¯d use fire magic against us which we¡¯re weak to. I¡¯ve lost a good many of my comrades that way throughout the years. It¡¯s frustrating - they don¡¯t seem to understand the damage they¡¯re doing to my species.


    And because of the pushback, it¡¯s an ongoing battle. Throughout the years, we have expanded our territory up to the edge of the forest, but humans and witches keep fighting us. Usually, the only thing on their minds isn¡¯t to regain their territory - it seems they constantly move elsewhere to live. Instead, they hunt us for sport, revenge, a rite of passage. It made me sick. We only hunted because humans kept trying to take things from us - that¡¯s what I¡¯ve realized. All we¡¯re trying to do is to regain what was once lost.


    Yaci had eventually got together with another troll and started a family of her own since she had the weird idea to stay in the village. She didn¡¯t want to get chosen to leave which I thought was surprising. Her excuse was to help our mother out and a need to keep the family close. She¡¯s pretty good at survival but her hunting wasn¡¯t that great so perhaps it was for the best. After she had her first youngling, she visited my mother often as her sadness seemed to overwhelm her after my father¡¯s death. I ended up staying with her mother because of that. Most older troll women seemed to like that a lot and would comment that their sons and daughters couldn¡¯t wait to leave their hut. I always shrugged it off - my mother needed help. I remembered she wouldn¡¯t eat for weeks after I told her.


    And still, I always wonder what happened to that Daisy Umbra. The image I have of her is from that day - she moved the earth to make room for my father¡¯s body. She took the time to comfort me as best as she knew how¡­ is she alive? That¡¯s the question I always had around this time.


    On this day, though, my friends decided the best way to celebrate my 22nd birthday is to hunt for humans. I went along with it and I went along with this troll woman by the name of Zoti - she¡¯s an amazing troll woman. She didn¡¯t have the same looks as Daisy Umbra had - a fact I¡¯ll never admit out loud but her hunting skills may have surpassed even my mother¡¯s.


    As we grew up through the years, I¡¯ve wanted to get closer to her. Granted, my hunting skills are pretty up there but compared to hers? I don¡¯t know how she does it! And I¡¯ve seen her survival skills in action - she even gave me a few pointers. I don''t know what it is about Zoti that made her stand out from the others. She had lost her parents in the search for Matuna - my father wasn¡¯t the only one who passed away all those years ago.


    The creature that killed not just my father but her parents are called Zegnati - creatures that were four-legged and had lightning patterns on their bodies. They had a horn that attracted lightning and they were able to control it at will. Unfortunately, they surrounded my village and seemed to have waited until a lot of the adult trolls ventured out to strike. My father was among the casualties.


    But Zoti stayed strong and even excelled at survival and hunting. The other trolls wouldn¡¯t take her in because they started to call her cursed - but she didn¡¯t have any strange markings like I did. I became close to her and, eventually, my group of friends disregarded their parents¡¯ warnings and welcomed her into our group. As a result, she would often choose me to be her hunting partner whenever we did our raids.


    On this eve, however, her camp was next to mine and I caught her staring at me when she came back from searching the grounds. Her hair was yellow like Daisy¡¯s but somehow, it didn¡¯t seem as golden and there wasn¡¯t a patch of black splotched in her hair. It was long and she usually kept it tied behind her head so it wouldn¡¯t get in the way, she explained to me. Her fangs were larger than mine even though she¡¯s a bit shorter than me.


    It surprised me to see her outside of her tent as she kept her eyes on me. She looked away and seemed to have smiled at me. I smiled back and I felt a warm sensation on my cheeks so I looked away. I could hear her grunt and laugh, an interesting mix I came to appreciate as a troll growing up in this society. I could hear her grunt and laugh again and I couldn¡¯t help but feel my cheeks flush deeper.


    A wind passed through and it seemed to push me towards her. I looked back at her and I saw that she was looking up at the sky. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all I saw before me was what I believed to be strength - there was beauty in that, I thought. Maybe she didn¡¯t look as pretty and strange as Daisy Umbra, a phantom in my father¡¯s death, but she¡¯s real and she¡¯s here. Zoti is real and she¡¯s looking at me right now and seemed to want me closer to her.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    While trolls our age really should be focusing on honing our hunting skills, especially when the Day of Picking is coming closer for us, it doesn¡¯t hurt to be close to other trolls. I know Zoti is going to be picked. She has no reason to stay in this village. This¡­ village that I could never recall the name of.


    Against my better judgment, I edged closer to her and she seemed to hide her face a bit more. Instead of looking up, she looked down at the darkened grass before us. This camping trip is a celebration of my 22 years on this planet, Lopki, with my friends and Zoti. Against my better judgment, against some strange whispers in my ear, I edged my hands next to hers. Unlike so many of the other trolls, her nails are trimmed to a pointy end while mine are chipped and are known as ¡°hunter¡¯s hands¡± - cut up from the fights and maybe a little burned. My nails aren¡¯t as sharp as hers because of how chipped they are so I wonder how she¡¯s able to keep hers so neat even with her skills¡­ but perhaps that¡¯s why she¡¯s so skilled.


    She clasped her hands with mine and I could feel how nervous I truly am. True, I¡¯ve admired her and call her a friend¡­ so why am I nervous? Why does this feel so wrong? Why does it feel like I¡¯m interrupting something?


    ¡°Ayagi,¡± she started as she eventually pulled away from my hand harshly. I was surprised but I was more surprised why I thought her voice was going to sound like a human¡¯s for a moment. A human woman¡¯s voice that wasn¡¯t screaming out of fear or desperation or angrily yelling a spell¡­ but a gentle one, that of a friend. ¡°I heard from the Chief I¡¯m going to get picked for the Day of Picking.¡±


    I grunted happily. ¡°That¡¯s great, Zoti! You deserve it. You¡¯ve worked hard ever since back then, you know. Most trolls would give up in your situation and drink from the Teal Channel to end it all.¡±


    She grunted in return, with more pride. ¡°After they were gone, I decided to honor their memory and work hard to become the best Hunter. I was weak when I was smaller but now, I¡¯m stronger. I¡¯m one of the best hunters in our village but¡­ Ayagi, I was thinking¡­¡±


    I grunted softly to let her know that I was listening. She continued.


    ¡°I was thinking of foregoing t-them¡­ It¡¯s blasphemy, I know, but I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t want to leave without you. It¡¯s weird to say but you believed in me. I feel things in my chest. I feel things in my stomach. I feel things when I see you¡­ I think I heard about it before¡­ love, I think¡­ I asked the Shamen Anje about it and that¡¯s what he said. When he asked me who I felt this ¡®love¡¯ towards, he was extremely upset when I said it was you.¡±


    She grazed lightly against my star birthmark, it almost tickled but I stifled a laugh. I watched her carefully as she grazed it back and forth. There was a sudden sense of danger that kicked in - like a human watched us closely or a witch was near.


    But if Zoti didn¡¯t sense them, the best hunter in the village, then why could I?


    However, she soon stopped and her eyes looked back up at me. ¡°Ayagi, he said that you¡¯re not meant to be trifled with. But¡­ I feel so strongly for you. You took me into our group when no one else would. I became strong as I grew up but it¡¯s not just me¡­ and it¡¯s all because of you.


    ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t tell the Shaman this but¡­I¡¯m telling you because¡­ Ayagi, I love you. And I¡¯m willing to pass over being picked to go to the Orc village. W-will you have me? Will you have an orphan troll like me as a wife?¡±


    Another wind pushed back against us - troll women wore clothes to cover their breasts while troll men only opted to wear pants but this wind was cold to me. Usually, the weather didn¡¯t bother me unless it was winter - then maybe I might put on a blanket, but¡­ this wind was harsh. It was mean. We tried to block it but there were harsh whispers, whispers that may have shown up in another life.


    ¡°Let her go.¡±


    I don¡¯t know whose voice that was but before I could question it, Zoti shushed me. Her voice lowered and she whispered to me.


    ¡°Shh, Ayagi. I think there are some humans around here.¡± We sat in silence. The only noises we heard were the snoring of our friends in their tents while the forest rested and bugs chirped. However, eventually, I did hear some footsteps and she motioned me to stay. I listened and she went out in the distance after she crawled back into her tent to grab her weapon. Once she did, she crawled all over the forest floor while I stayed behind and watched.


    It didn¡¯t take long to hear bodies hitting the forest floor as screams echoed in the forest. It made me jump and it woke up our friends. I had to explain to them as best I could what¡¯s going on. We grabbed our weapons and picked ourselves up. I followed Zoti¡¯s path as much as I could.


    And soon we joined the fray.


    .x.


    Once we were done, Zoti was allotted as the local hero yet again. It¡¯s fine because she deserved it. She had collected a very particularly annoying human head - a man who¡¯s said to be 40 years old had been trying to locate our village for quite some time and it was Zoti who conquered them.


    Thankfully, Daisy wasn¡¯t part of the murdered party or even part of the ones that got away. Relieved, and happy it¡¯s finally my 22nd birthday on top of that, we partied for the rest of the evening. We had a lot of ale and lots of tasty and rare meats. It was a good night. Trolls don¡¯t believe in giving gifts - the gift of rare meats and to celebrate another year of life is good enough for me.


    We ate and drank throughout the night and for a split second, I decided to step outside the village. I wanted alone time and honestly, I just wanted to savor the moment. I thought of something a long time ago after my father died - I thought that he¡¯s with the stars now. Because I have a star mark on my stomach, that meant he¡¯d always be with me in a way. Like a ghost. Sometimes, I hear Shaman Anje talk about life after death - when an old troll dies, he says that they become a star. But I don¡¯t say anything like that to mother or Yaci. That would probably make them sad.


    Is that why I have this mark on me? Was I someone of importance in a previous life?


    I look up and I see the crescent moon before me. There¡¯s a soothing wind - but¡­ something is glowing from my chest. I look down and it¡¯s my crescent moon necklace glowing. And then it felt for a moment that I was floating - I don¡¯t know how since I¡¯m extremely heavy.


    I closed my eyes out of fear but when I did, I saw a life I never thought I could have but it was a sad life. It came in a flash but the life I had lived was short and then I felt my heart hurt once I reached the 22nd age. I grabbed it and I doubled over¡­ but I feel like I¡¯m carrying someone else¡¯s burden.


    When that ¡®life¡¯ ended, I fell to the ground. It didn¡¯t seem anyone was around to see it but when I opened my eyes, my shoulders and my mind grew heavy. It was as though I felt their burden on my shoulders¡­ and then I realized who I was.


    And then I remembered - Zoti¡¯s confession.

 Chapter Four: Rejection of a Stranger

    Everyone blamed it on the ale. That¡¯s all I could do. My head hurt like I did drink a lot of ale but I started to remember the flashbacks I just had. I winced as the sharp pain came through. I grew irritated because these weren¡¯t my memories - at least not anymore. Why do I have to be plagued with this stranger¡¯s memory?


    I growled as I got up with irritation. I shouldn¡¯t have to get up with this stranger¡¯s burden. It¡¯s not my memory; it¡¯s not me! I could hardly recognize myself as the other person. From the short life I relived, there was hardly anything I recognized as myself. And it made me angry that whatever higher beings were out there thought I was that pitiful creature!


    From an early age, it seemed that my ¡®parents¡¯ rejected me in favor of a big box that had different variations of humans on it - flashing in and out. And in a place with other, smaller humans, they seemed to accept me at first until I was about 13 years old. That¡¯s when it changed - the people I considered friends seemed to reject me as I started to get an interest in things they found weird. I don¡¯t even remember what ¡®I¡¯ was into; I just knew that people found it weird. They moved on without me and even now, I can feel the bitterness that stayed behind after all of that - but then again, ¡®I¡¯ had nothing but bitterness in my heart up until the end.


    Other scenes included times where I would stuff myself with food that didn¡¯t taste all that great but it was the closest thing to something I could get my hands on. However, I was angry. Why did I live such a pathetic life? Was there nothing I could do? I was angry, though, that I could only now have a mother who seemed to care for me and an older sister who acknowledges me.


    And a father who did his best to protect a human witch.


    I can¡¯t say that all of my feelings for Daisy had been rosy and sweet. Moments like these, especially these, reminds me that she was the one who caused my father to die. I don¡¯t know the whole story but my father defied our society in his last wish. I refuse to believe that he protected her at this particular moment.


    Somehow, it was still nighttime. I forget how much longer these nights tend to be so I decided to take a stroll down my village.


    There was still no name for it yet. I remember my father told me once the reason why was because they didn¡¯t want humans to find it and to take our territory away. It made perfect sense to me but now I wonder how the Orcs find us whenever it¡¯s the Day of Picking if it¡¯s so important for us to remain in hiding.


    Then again, maybe that¡¯s why they only ever have one Orc come down to pick a small number of trolls to accompany them. It¡¯s weird to say that I¡¯m not that worried about the Day of Picking. I always had a feeling that they would pick me no matter what - I worked hard, sure, and I hunted as much as any other troll.


    But the one troll I couldn¡¯t get out of my head was Zoti. Aside from her confession, that was one troll I worried about. I believe in her and I still do. I realized that nothing in myself changed after she confessed to me - I still need to give her an answer, don¡¯t I?


    On one hand, I didn¡¯t want to reject her so close to the Day of Picking - she needs her strength and wit about her and I can¡¯t be the reason why she failed. This is what she built her life up for - to no longer be a curse in our village, but to represent it instead.  It¡¯s an honor for her to go but I need to get her there.


    And the flashes in my mind won¡¯t stop me.


    I stopped in front of my mother¡¯s hut and I took in a deep breath. Once I let it out, it was like the last of the bitterness left me. I still don¡¯t understand why I was reincarnated into this life as a troll. I don¡¯t understand why I just had to remember that other life. That¡¯s not me. That will never be me. No, because I have my fam--


    ¡°Yaci, is that boy still out? I need to talk to you about him. Because I think Shaman Anje was right all along.¡±


    ¡°Eh, Ayagi¡¯s alright. He hunts fine. What do you mean that Shaman Anje was right all along? He¡¯s a strange shaman anyway. Hey, leave Grandma Valja alone!¡±


    I heard my mother chuckle at Yaci¡¯s youngling. I could see their silhouettes by the candlelight at the far end of the hut but I knew they couldn¡¯t see me. Mother never liked putting the candlelight by the front of the hut - she always said it would bring unwelcome visitors. This worked in my favor so long as I stood in one place and listened in.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright. He¡¯s just curious about Grandma Valja. It¡¯s a pity that he¡¯ll never know his Grandfather Juma. Anyway, I had talked with him a bit earlier today after Ayagi went with his party. He told me a secret - no matter what we would¡¯ve done, the boy will always regain his memories.


    ¡°That star on his belly was a marker, after all, of tragic things to come. We probably should¡¯ve taken Shaman Jabir more seriously when he was alive but at least Shaman Anje is here to guide me in the right direction.¡±


    ¡°Mother, Shaman Anje is strange. I don¡¯t remember Shaman Jabir that much but why are you listening to the ravings of a Mad Shaman?¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    ¡°Yaci, Yaci, you don¡¯t understand. We trolls are a proud race. And a proud race listens to their wise men. Shaman Anje came from a long line of proud shamen and there¡¯s no way he would steer us wrong. Did you know that Shaman Jabir was his father? Yes, your troubled look tells me that you don¡¯t quite understand and maybe as youngling Jojin grows up, you¡¯ll understand more. Shamen are our leaders in troubled times and ever since your father died, he¡¯s been a great supporter of mine while Ayagi does his hunts and raids.


    ¡°Shaman Anje apologized to me after you went to bed after we wailed that night. He wondered why we mourned and I explained to him how Ayagi discovered Grandfather Juma¡¯s body outside the village. He sighed and explained to me that his father explained about a youngling that matched Ayagi¡¯s description who led the creature to his demise.¡±


    ¡°What? There¡¯s no way Ayagi would have Father killed!¡±


    ¡°Hush, my child. Most likely the creature followed Ayagi when he somehow made it out the village and Grandfather Jomu attacked him to protect him. Your father always had a soft heart and I know you never hear me say that he ruined my life as other trolls had¡­ but those were thoughts I kept secret in my heart. Shaman Anje explained to me how weak Juma truly was and how Ayagi had been here all along to curse our family.¡±


    ¡°Mother¡­You don¡¯t believe that. Do you?¡±


    I heard enough. Even if he protected that human witch or me, he still died from the attack. I opened the hut¡¯s door and tried my best to hide my anger as I entered. But I stomped towards where Mother and Yaci, and her youngling, and I couldn¡¯t relax. It built up so quickly.


    ¡°Ayagi, where have you been?¡± She asked so casually. Yaci turned around and I saw they sat around a lit campfire. The youngling had climbed to the top of her head and babbled at me, curiously. The youngling was only a few years old but seemed so curious. ¡°Did you go out and party again? You could¡¯ve brought home some food.¡±


    Yaci visibly winced. ¡°Come on, Jojin, let¡¯s go home. Your father might be home from the raid as well.¡± She stood up and I could see how much she¡¯s grown from our life here. She waddled over and picked up Jojin who seemed to not understand the situation in the room. Jojin babbled and tried to reach up and grab my necklace but Yaci grabbed his stubby arms away. He ended up pinching a part of my star birthmark, supposedly the cursed mark that brought ruin to our family.


    It didn¡¯t take much longer for Yaci to leave. She had always¡­ been as mindful about the situations than most trolls. Others found it unusual, but not so unusual that it bothered them. However, my anger wasn¡¯t towards Yaci. She seemed to defend me from mother¡¯s words and someone who tried to understand me¡­ However, it didn¡¯t seem that she was fazed by the two leaving.


    Once Yaci left, it was once again my mother and myself. She watched me as she waited for an answer.


    ¡°Well? Are you going to stand there, slack-jawed?¡±


    ¡°Did you mean what you said about me and...father? Did he ruin your life?¡±


    ¡°Can you answer a simple question first?¡±


    ¡°Mother, please.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®mother, please¡¯ me. You¡¯re 22 years old and the Day of Picking is coming. You should be prepared. Oh, unless you too are going to sacrifice your position for Zoti?¡±


    ¡°Mother, I¡¯m more than prepared. I don¡¯t think you realized that they¡¯re choosing more trolls these days to go to the Orc village. Our population certainly has grown and so have the Orc ranks.¡± I shook my head and I felt my jowls move. ¡°Mother, no. You¡¯re changing the subject. Did you mean what you said about me? About¡­ Father?¡±


    ¡°Hm,¡± She seemed to search for an answer. She always did this when we argued and it irritated me to no end. ¡°Well, there¡¯s no doubt in my mind that I loved your Father, but the time without him left me wondering¡­ if I wasn¡¯t in love, would I have gone on to become a great Hunter for the Orcs? Yaci didn¡¯t get picked for her era of Picking¡­ and you¡¯re doing more partying than hunting. And you¡¯re spending a lot of time with that Zoti troll.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say that I have regrets in my life and I¡¯m too old to do anything about it.¡±


    I still felt hurt by that. I took a step back and I saw my mother in a whole different light. I had always thought she accepted my father¡¯s strangeness.


    ¡°Regardless, I have decided to give up on you, Ayagi. That Zoti troll is cursed. With your star, if you get with her, you¡¯ll doom her to death just as you¡¯ve doomed your father.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ I didn¡¯t lead the Zegnati to Father. When I found him, he was already dead!¡±


    ¡°Yes, because the Zegnati was following you. Jomu was trailing behind you and he stupidly attacked first.¡±


    I gritted my teeth. I felt hot with anger and I balled up my fists. Mother just sat there as she lied about that day. And I wouldn¡¯t let her. There¡¯s no way I would just let her!


    ¡°That¡¯s not true at all! The Zegnati attacked a human witch! Father took a blow for her and she killed it in its stance! I only found his body after it happened! She told me that herself!¡±


    She grew angry and then got up. Compared to me, she was way older and her body sagged if rocks could sag. Her skin was a lighter grey than what I remembered - a sign of a troll getting older. We both knew she didn¡¯t have the strength to fight me, not that she could. Over the years, she had to use a walking stick I had made for her when her legs couldn¡¯t sustain her weight.


    ¡°What did you say? Did you keep a human witch alive? Did he save a human witch¡¯s life? Ow! Ow!¡± She stood up once and sat back down when she seemed to feel the pains in her legs.  She kept groaning in pain as the surprise and shock seemed to wear off. ¡°Ayagi! Why would you tell me such a ghastly thing?¡±


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know! But I wanted you to know the truth about that day. Father isn¡¯t a hunter, sure, and he may have held you back but he saved that girl! And that girl saved me!¡±


    ¡°She what? Did she save you? Is that the truth about your necklace?¡± She used her stick to point to the necklace around my neck. ¡°I knew it, I knew it. You better leave, Ayagi. You better leave this village because if you stay here any longer, I will have Shaman Anje dispose of you.¡±


    ¡°I knew it. I knew it all along.¡± She started to slam her walking stick against the ground. Dirt started to kick up and she started to cough. However, she wouldn¡¯t stop. ¡°I knew it, I knew it all along. Shaman Anje was right all along¡­ All along¡­ All along, Shaman Jabir was too kind to you to let you live¡­ Your father was too kind to let you live¡­ Get out of here. Get out of here!¡±


    I didn¡¯t know what else to do as the tension grew around me and as she grew louder and louder. I knew her voice could carry so much across the village.


    So, I listened to her. And so, I ran out of the hut.

 Chapter Five: Along the Teal Channel

    I don¡¯t know when I ran out of the village; my hut had been behind for quite some time. Should I even call it ¡®my hut¡¯ anymore? My mother probably declared me dead and this made me wonder if Yaci would even notice. We weren¡¯t particularly close but even though she seemed to have spoken up for me, she¡¯ll fall in line eventually. They always seem to do that anyway eventually. Mother had that secret about Father and myself for years¡­ What made me think Yaci was anything different?


    Eventually, I was tired out from running. Dawn had long since broken so I assumed it was early morning. I knew I eventually reached the Heaven-Reaching Mountains when I could easily see them in the distance so I decided to take a little break. I was far enough away and building a temporary campsite wasn¡¯t all that unusual to me.


    However, now that I¡¯m not part of a raid party or a hunting party or any party, I probably shouldn¡¯t get too comfortable being on my own. Not only I have to be on the lookout for troll hunters and the witches leading them, but my village might also send someone to get me - to kill me.


    All those years ago, the village chief declared his son dead. I remember my mother was muttering about how they should¡¯ve sent someone anyway. I remember when another troll tried to escape but they caught her¡­ and brought back her head as a trophy.


    I don¡¯t remember why she left in the first place if I¡¯ve ever known, but I still shuddered at the idea of being hunted by my own people. I don¡¯t want to be but because of what I revealed to Mother, it¡¯s not out of the realm of possibility.


    A wave of familiar bitterness came over me and it made me angry but it soon left me as I felt hungry. I doused out my small campfire with some dirt around it and decided to walk around the area to see what food was available to me. Before I left, I looked back at the site and decided to stomp it out. Maybe it might be obvious to whoever was nearby that someone was there, but if someone were to hunt me¡­ maybe they might think I¡¯ve long since gone.


    Other trolls from my village are decent hunters and with the Day of Picking getting closer, I would hope the festivities would distract them long enough to get away. I don¡¯t want to meet the other end of Zoti¡¯s hunting skills.


    I wandered around and noticed that some of the grass and dirt wore a bright mixture of green and brown and blue - teal. And I stopped myself from stepping in that direction. From my memory, my troll memory, teal fauna meant that I¡¯m close to the Teal Channel - a river that went through this forest that my mother once warned me about in my years as a youngling.


    ¡°Ayagi, you see how this flower is half teal?¡±


    I don¡¯t remember what I said.


    ¡°Boy, you shouldn¡¯t say those words. Your father was already strange; you don¡¯t want those rumors to target you.¡± I listened. ¡°No, she wouldn¡¯t because this teal color means that it¡¯s dangerous. If you pick this flower, the side of the teal means that the river is near. You can¡¯t drink from this river and you can¡¯t touch it without hurting yourself.¡±


    ¡°You know we trolls are mostly impervious to magic, except fire, but we¡¯re not immune to poisons. This river is dangerous. The Teal Death is awful. When you see the fauna like this, you need to tread very carefully.


    ¡°However, if you¡¯re ever being hunted by humans, and you have no other choice, drink this water. It¡¯ll be a miserable death but no part of your body could be used for their sick trophies. If they touch you, they¡¯ll die a quicker death than you. If you never come back, and the shaman detects teal, your mother will understand.¡±


    I started at the ground before me and I thought about everything that transpired only hours ago. I could treat this as any other camping trip and get some meat to eat. Did that just happen? Did it really happen? Am I just on a trip and I can casually go back?If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    But I couldn¡¯t. And the person I once was ¡­ am I going through the same fate as they did? They had a weak heart and that¡¯s why they died. It seemed ¡®I¡¯ had a heart condition and it couldn¡¯t take it anymore. And it made me mad. I was a nobody. I¡¯m still a nobody. I thought my hunting abilities would save me from my mother¡¯s harsh criticisms but then I let it slip about Daisy Umbra.


    And yet, I felt¡­ free. When I attacked the animal for its meat, I felt my anger go into its body deeper than what was probably necessary but I had to use its hide for warmth and I could find other uses for it. Summer was ending and soon autumn was coming which meant I needed something to keep me warm. The meat was different from the meat back at the village¡¯s animals but it wasn¡¯t bad.


    I chose a different spot to sleep for the night, along with that spot I saw earlier. The Teal Channel was nearby and it sure did tempt me.


    I stared into the fire before me as the animal hide covered me. That may have been a bad idea but it was oddly comforting me. This hide may be my new home. I couldn¡¯t go back to my village, to my hut, and the thought of my mother infuriated me. And then¡­ Zoti.


    I don¡¯t remember when I fell asleep. Maybe it¡¯s comforting to know that no one would willingly come by the Teal Channel or even the borders of it. But regardless, I had a dreamless sleep and I still felt tired. Usually, it didn¡¯t bother me whenever I camped out but the conditions were different now.


    According to Mother, I¡¯m no longer a troll to her, much less ¡®alive¡¯ to her. What did it mean to be alive anymore? I thought that as I did my best to destroy my tracks behind me. I decided to walk across the Teal Channel. When I stepped over to some clearer patches - I at least knew my mother didn¡¯t lie about it hurting me if I touched it - I started to think about what it meant to be a troll.


    To be a troll is to hunt. To be a troll is to be the one who brings pride and glory to your family and your village.


    I stared at the teal grass and dirt again as I tried to decide the direction I should go.


    To be a troll is to hunt. To be human is to be hunted. And I¡¯m being hunted.


    I was a human in my past life. Maybe¡­ I¡¯m meant to be human instead after all. It didn¡¯t take very long for me to make this assumption. After all, that¡¯s why I have this star mark, isn¡¯t it? That¡¯s why my father died. That¡¯s why I met Daisy Umbra. That¡¯s why¡­ That¡¯s why I could never be with Zoti.


    That¡¯s why I was told to let her go.


    I realize that I had been walking along the teal grass, still avoiding the harmful touch. I don¡¯t know where I¡¯m at anymore. Am I still close to the mountains or had I gone off the path? Am I close to the edge of these wild forests?


    I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m walking along the Teal Channel. I never thought about dying. I know I wanted to live - different than my past self. I decided to use the hide into a belt of sorts - I¡¯ve seen my ¡®friends¡¯ fashion them into a pocket and I did my best to emulate that. After some trial and error, I managed to do it with what materials I had left. And whatever spare parts I still had, I placed it in it after I made sure the belt was secured around my waist.


    Whatever animal I killed next for food, I decided I was going to discard my pants from my village¡­ and throw it in the Teal Channel. I remembered what she said, and I want them to think I threw myself in the Teal Channel. That¡¯s why I¡¯m walking along this channel.


    Hopefully, I can meet a human who would be kind enough to make my pants and won¡¯t tell other humans around me.


    Everything had a reason. I think¡­ I wished for a family. I wished for friends. And I wished for a girlfriend. That almost came true for me. If I never said anything to my mother, if I didn¡¯t admit what happened, would that come true? Would I have a girlfriend with Zoti? I¡¯d have a family who¡¯d love me in their way, sure, but I had friends and I¡¯d have Zoti.


    But that¡¯s not¡­ who I¡¯m supposed to be, am I?


    Soon, I fashioned some new pants with a new smell on it. It smelled of death but it¡¯s not unfamiliar to me. And then finally, the preparations were complete. The next step was to get closer to the Teal Channel and, honestly, I felt fear.


    However, I¡¯m no longer a troll. I''m a human disguised as a troll.


    I took a deep breath in my nose - can a color smell weird - and stepped across the teal grass and flowers and even though it still hurt a little bit, I managed to get in a good position to throw my pants into the actual Channel.


    I couldn¡¯t watch it turn teal after a small splash but I could only make an assumption. It¡¯s dangerous for me to be here.


    However, once I made it on the other side, I heard a yell that was unfamiliar to me.


    ¡°Hoodah! You bush eater! How the hell could you be so scrawny and yet so hard to find?¡±

 Chapter Six: Malnourished Ground Roots

    Even though I didn¡¯t know who this Hoodah was, I still didn¡¯t trust the fact that it¡¯s clearly a troll¡¯s name. Immediately, I tried to hide behind a tree that was wide enough to hide my body. I may be a human in the end, but my body is still a troll. I could feel my heart slam against my chest as each moment passed by. I didn¡¯t even see where the troll voice came from but the accent wasn¡¯t familiar to me. The only trolls I¡¯ve ever known were from my old village - so I didn¡¯t know if they were even an ally or an enemy.


    ¡°Hoodah! Where are you?¡±


    The voice yelled again. I didn¡¯t move an inch and just waited until I could see them. Eventually, I did see the owner of the voice. He was stockier than some of the other trolls I¡¯ve ever seen but ¡­ he was my type of troll. Rather, it¡¯s easier to say he¡¯s clearly from my race of trolls. I remember when Shaman Anje used to talk about the village of the Orcs and how there are so many different types of trolls - those with red skin and those with purple skin. I think someone had asked him once if there were green trolls and that was the only time I remember that was the only time I¡¯ve ever seen Shaman Anje laugh much less smile.


    The other troll yelled over and over to a point where I couldn¡¯t tell what was the echo and if it was him. I don¡¯t know where exactly he was but I could hear his footsteps crush the plants around him and I could hear him grunting - fairly soon, I was able to tell where he was.


    Because he was almost right next to me. I could see him but I wasn¡¯t sure if he could see me. He wasn¡¯t anyone I recognized but he was bald - at least no hair on his head. He was almost my height - but maybe shorter since he slouched. He wore a loincloth around his waist unlike me with my pants that I quickly made out of animal hide.


    My throat dried up and I could feel my body grow hot - trolls do sweat but it takes quite a while for us. However, I could feel the sensation as I could hear the footsteps get closer and closer. My heart beat heavier to where I was growing worried that it was louder than I thought. I could feel each beat against my throat but eventually, I heard the troll stop.


    The longer he stopped, the more my heart pounded. It felt like it crawled up to my throat and found itself stuck there. I could feel it throb in my neck the longer I didn¡¯t hear any movement. I held my breath to hide my presence as much as I could.


    Eventually, I saw him when he stood up from the ground suddenly. He¡¯s closer than ever. I could see his expression on his face - almost like he¡¯s relieved but also annoyed - but he didn¡¯t seem to see me at all. Could he see me? I would never know. He muttered something I couldn¡¯t hear - even though I was close enough to him but he turned the other way and walked away.


    I couldn¡¯t relax until I saw his thick, grey body disappear in the thick of the forest. However, this gave me some insight about my people - others looked like me out there, possibly from other villages. But this didn¡¯t make me feel better - I felt more scared. What if they ally with them to hunt me? Was what my father did so bad that they would eliminate both Yaci and me?


    I couldn¡¯t take that chance. I had to get away from these forests. I don¡¯t know who this Hoodah was but they could be just as dangerous as any other troll.


    I eventually decided to wait a little longer after that troll disappeared - it¡¯s a risk, sure, but if I could see this Hoodah, then I could better assess my situation. I may not be as good at hunting as Zoti, but I¡¯m still really good for what I am.


    Once a few minutes or so went by, creatures made their noises and I could feel my body easing as time went on. It looked like that troll didn¡¯t come back. Eventually, I felt relieved and let out a sigh of relief. I don¡¯t know what the situation was but I didn¡¯t want to be involved.


    I relaxed fully once I was absolutely sure he was gone and relaxed once I heard the noises from the sky and other animal noises. Demons haven¡¯t been near the area since Daisy killed that one years ago; at least none of which I¡¯ve heard. We¡¯ve only focused our efforts on humans and hunting for food - we never considered if we should align ourselves with other troll villages. If someone else took care of the demons, good for them - that¡¯s one less thing that would prey on our people.


    Soon, I breathed. My heart felt it was back in the place it should be and if I sweated, then I wasn¡¯t anymore. I felt relieved and I decided to move away from the Teal Channel when I saw something that surprised me - a bright purple rock that seemed to have turned itself around.


    And then, I saw it breathe quickly.


    What?


    I blinked because I didn¡¯t expect to see a moving, light purple rock ¡®breathe¡¯. Was this an animal? There is a possibility I don¡¯t know and I did become more curious the more I stared at it. I started to walk there and I tried to think about what kind of animal it was - what I could use that purple hide for.


    And when I got close enough, I gasped and took a step back - it was a troll! And he looked really small compared to the others I¡¯ve seen before! He seemed to have difficulty breathing and I could tell by his black hair that he¡¯s absolutely not someone from my village - I only saw brown and yellow ever in my village. Could trolls even get this thin? He looked extremely malnourished and that weirdly got me feeling sad and worried for him.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I caught myself asking, ¡°what¡¯s wrong? Why are you breathing like that?¡±


    ¡°F-f-food,¡± he gasped, ¡°I need food¡­!¡± He tried to crawl in the direction of the Teal Channel. He forced himself to roll over and try to crawl in that direction - could he not see what color that grass was? Immediately, I decided to stop him. I threw myself on top of him and wrapped my arms around him. He struggled in my grasp so I held him tighter. I could feel how thin he was and how weak he was.


    ¡°No! No! Don¡¯t go there!¡± I growled out. ¡°That¡¯s the Teal Channel! Do you know what happens to us trolls if we drink it? Do you?¡±


    He seemed to be scared by my sudden holding him and tried to struggle out of my grasp even more. But because he was way weaker than me, especially when he looked at how massive I am compared to him.


    Soon, he stopped struggling. He stopped and seemed to have slumped in my arms. Once I realized that he wasn¡¯t struggling against me anymore, I let him go and I sat up. I watched him carefully in case he tried to run away again. However, I just saw that he was struggling to even move. Where did all that energy go?


    ¡°What? No, I don¡¯t want to drink anything. I¡¯m hungry¡­ but if we¡¯re close to the Teal channel, there¡¯s not much I can eat.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that all? Here, let me get up.¡± I moved him away enough so I could get up. Once I did, I opened my makeshift pocket on my belt and fished around for some snacks I may have saved in there. Eventually, I did find some jerky I made last night. I was going to reserve it for myself but if this troll was this thin, then it should be okay to share it with him. I don¡¯t know if that other troll was going to come back.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    I even grunted softly to let him know that I¡¯m there as an ally, not an enemy. He certainly looked different but he also looked bad enough where I didn¡¯t think he was going to survive if he didn¡¯t eat.


    The light purple troll sat up as best he could and held his head with one of his hands. From what I could tell, his nails were the dirtiest I¡¯ve ever seen on a troll - but it¡¯s not that uncommon. Most trolls who are out hunting longer than a week tend to have really dirty nails. It¡¯s probably part of the reason mine are so chipped compared to Zoti¡¯s.


    He stared at it with curiosity and I could hear something growl - not him, but maybe his stomach. He grunted and snatched the jerky from my hand. He continued to stare at it and then he looked defeated. He grunted finally in response and I released a breath I didn¡¯t know I had as he slowly put the food in his mouth. He held his nose and chewed the jerky and seemed¡­ to hate it? I was happy that he ate and even grunted back in return, but to look like he hated it? I didn¡¯t understand why.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I grunted as he finished the rest of it. He grunted in response and wiped his lips and seemed to ¡®wash his hands¡¯ with the dirt before him. Then oddly enough, he brought his dirt-covered hands and sniffed and looked at them. He ignored my cry but I couldn¡¯t say anything else as he did this. I was honestly enthralled with what he was doing. I stood there with my mouth open as he licked his hands after he inspected his hands.


    What? What the hell is he doing? I couldn¡¯t help but step back and watch this in horror. The troll looked at me with his yellow eyes and seemed to finally realize what he was doing in front of me. He slowly moved his hands from his lips and wiped it again on the dirt - but in a motion where it¡¯s like he had something nasty on his hands. Dirt clods popped up because instead of rubbing it, he was beating it dry.


    ¡°Ah,¡± the troll grunted. ¡°Sorry about that.¡± He cleared his throat and I stepped back closer to him ever so slowly. He turned around him and we stayed in our place for a little bit before he turned back to me. I was curious if he looked for someone or something but I turned back to him when I didn¡¯t see anything. Soon enough, the other troll looked at me and let out a sigh that I let out - a relieved sigh.


    ¡°Thanks for jerky.¡± He cleared his throat once more as he seemed to hate something invisible. Finally, he looked up again and tried to stand up.


    ¡°Thanks for not letting that troll know I¡¯m around.¡± He grunted his thanks.


    ¡°Sure, but why was he looking for you? Wait¡­ are you Hoodah?¡±


    The other troll grunted. ¡°Yeah, I am. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to forget about that instance where he licked his hands. ¡°Why were you licking your hands like that?¡±


    ¡°Uh, don¡¯t worry about it. Really. I mean, that¡¯s how I track humans. I taste the soil to find out where they went. So, what¡¯s your name?¡±


    I ignored the name question. That¡¯s not a tactic I ever heard of. ¡°So, what exactly are you tasting? Why do you burrow your hands like that in the dirt? I know how to track footsteps but I know they don¡¯t go that deep in the ground unless there¡¯s something the others back at home aren¡¯t telling me.¡±


    ¡°Why do you need to know? Are you sure you¡¯re not part of his tribe? After all, you both are grey. And what¡¯s this mark on your belly?¡± He pointed to my star mark. Of course. It¡¯s hard to miss it after all.  ¡°Then again, if you¡¯re way out here with a mark like that, I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re not part of any tribe. Aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°What do you know about this mark?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about marks. I just know how our people are. Just tell me your name so I can thank you and we can move on.¡±


    ¡°Look, don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to judge you or anything¡­¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to know? You¡¯re clearly not like any of the trolls from any of our tribes so of course, you won¡¯t judge me.¡±


    ¡°Look Hoodah--¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t use my name until I know yours. Did you forget troll etiquette?¡± I was surprised at this and then he just let out a defeated chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m kidding. We¡¯re not part of any tribe¡­ so fine. I¡¯ll tell you. Just tell me your name.¡±


    I sighed. It looked like he wouldn''t relent until he knew my name. For a troll who looked how he did, I felt a bit embarrassed he got to me. I stood up straight and tall and grunted out my name. ¡°Ayagi.¡±


    ¡°Ayagi, huh? That¡¯s such a normal troll name.¡± He slapped his leg and clicked his tongue. After that, he grunted. ¡°Anyway. Build a fire here, Ayagi. I think we might be here for the night.¡± I could feel myself get annoyed. I¡¯m just trying to find out some information about this outside world and he¡¯s already making demands. I frowned.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move on. It might be better in case that other troll comes back.¡±


    Hoodah shrugged. ¡°That troll wants to forget about me. After all, he¡¯s the one who said I¡¯m not part of them anyway.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re a tracker then you¡¯re pretty important to the hunting party. It might be best if we¡¯d leave. If that troll wants to forget about you, it¡¯d be great if it was just that one troll.


    ¡°But if you¡¯re a tracker like you say you are, then you¡¯re pretty important after all. And more trolls will try to come to get you. And if that¡¯s true, I¡¯m not sure if I want to defend you from all of them. I only gave you jerky and asked a few questions.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what happens to you to me.¡±


    He gave me an annoyed look but seemed to consider what I said. After that, he clicked his tongue again and finally stood up. He wiped the dirt off his body. I did my best to cover his tracks, along with mine that I could see. He did his best to help but honestly, it might¡¯ve done more damage than good. I didn¡¯t want to say anything though since even if they did find his tracks or even my tracks, they would assume we were in the Teal Channel.


    We walked although my pace was faster than his. He seemed to struggle and always yelled after me to slow down. His voice was the only thing between us - just asking me to slow down and when could we stop. I didn¡¯t want to answer him. We were still in troll territory. There¡¯s just no way that we could talk. I don¡¯t know how far troll territory stretched.


    Soon, it had gotten dark and Hoodah breathed as much as he could. I personally could still go on but it¡¯s clear that I pushed this light purple troll any further then he might be more trouble for me. I told him to at least build us temporary campsites while I hunted. I asked him about the animals around her and he just grunted. He told me that I would be able to find food easily and he¡¯d just wait there and build the fire.


    After I got enough food for the both of us, along with some spots of drinkable water to note for later, I honestly half expected him to run off on me. I expected to find an empty site that should¡¯ve been our campsite for the night.


    But I was surprised to see he had indeed built what I asked him to - and pretty well-done too. I could see he endured some scratches but even though he had scratches, I was still impressed at the quality of the site, as temporary as it may be.


    I cooked the meat and to me, I smiled as I smelled the fresh hide as I made more jerky. I had to adjust my pants while Hoodah just stared at the burning animals before us.


    He sat on one side while I sat on the other. I only spoke when I noticed he was staring at the food.


    ¡°Ah, Hoodah, the food¡¯s almost ready. Just be patient.¡± I smiled at him to reassure him - the smell was so delicious. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize that this deer can be found all the way over here. I wonder where we are¡­ This forest is so big!¡±


    Hoodah was surprisingly silent. He continued to stare at it.


    ¡°Hey, so, Hoodah,¡± I grunted to get his attention. He still stared at it. ¡°Now that we¡¯re settled, tell me more about your tactic.¡±


    Hoodah finally tore his eyes away from the fire and sighed. He rubbed his eyes and I still see how dirty his hands were in comparison to mine. Then he yawned. No, no, no! Don¡¯t get sleepy!


    ¡°Huh? Oh. The tactic¡­ Well, the truth is that I¡¯m not a tracker. I¡¯m actually a look-out. And¡­ well, I guess this is as good as a place to say it. But I¡¯m what you would call vegetarian.¡±


    ¡°A what?¡±


    ¡°A vegetarian. It¡¯s someone who doesn¡¯t eat meat or anything that was once living, and eats something called ¡®vegetables¡¯... at least that¡¯s what I understand.¡±


    Honestly, I had never heard of this. ¡°But trolls can only eat meat. I mean, look at you. You¡¯re lighter skinned than me. Are you older than me? I¡¯m only 22 years old.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m only 20 years old.¡±


    ¡°WHAT? You¡¯re only 20 and you look like this? How could this have happened? You said I¡¯m not part of any tribe anymore - you¡¯re right, but what about you? What¡¯s your story?¡±


    Hoodah sighed. ¡°Do you really care to know or are you just saying those things?¡±


    My curiosity took over my mouth. It looked like we¡¯re stuck together for an unknown amount of time - I might as well hear his story. I grunted over and over to let him know that I wanted to listen.


    He let out another sigh. ¡°Well, if you insist. But I need to get some food for myself. Sorry, Ayagi. I made you waste your time in killing that animal.¡±


    I didn¡¯t care. It meant more food for me but I know that trolls could only eat meat. How is Hoodah going to survive on his own? No, I determined that I wanted to help him. Was it my human side who wanted this or my troll side to want to use him later?


    ¡°No, go ahead. It¡¯s fine. I can probably cook this food and take it with us in case you need it.¡±


    I could barely see Hoodah¡¯s cringed look but I didn¡¯t push it further. I let him tell his story.

 Chapter Seven: The Purple Vegetable in the Meat Tray

    From the beginning, Hoodah was orphaned by humans. Humans had found his small tribe and murdered everyone except him. Only because his mother¡¯s body managed to protect him from the assault. When the grey trolls heard about what happened, they scurried to see who they could take advantage of in the wake of this tragedy.


    To no one¡¯s surprise, they didn¡¯t find anyone alive they could use. However, a troll woman by the name of Xia had been assigned to scurry through the huts to see what they could take - and she found Hoodah instead in one hut. Or what remained of the hut.


    At first, Xia was unsure if she should report this. She could just leave the baby there and let it die with its mother. Or she could kill the baby as mercy - let the youngling be with his mother in the stars. But she decided against that.


    When she found this baby, he wailed and cried and was hungry. Xia had recently lost a baby of her own - her awful husband at the time killed it and she killed him in revenge. She was never punished as they, both the tribe¡¯s chief and shaman, felt that her baby dying was punishment enough. They still had use for her.


    Xia never married again but at that moment, she thought the stars gave her another chance to raise the baby that never got to live.


    But this baby is purple, not the grey little one she lost. And yet, she couldn¡¯t turn away. She couldn¡¯t leave him there.


    She shushed the baby wailing as best as she could. Already, she grew attached to baby Hoodah - the name she chose for him. When the search leader found them, he sighed and told her that she¡¯s going to be more cursed than she already was. Xia didn¡¯t care.


    This is what Xia told Hoodah before she died when he was 18 years old. There wasn¡¯t a real big difference between grey and purple trolls - if anything, it¡¯s just the color of their skin and possibly the color of their hair. That was never the issue with the tribe - their skin was another tool to hunt better, after all.


    Cursed, they whispered about Xia, that she was cursed and she brought on a baby to curse along with her. Sometimes, other trolls Xia¡¯s age and older would mutter their faux worries to Hoodah as he grew up but every time he brought it up to Xia, she always told him to ignore them - they were jealous. They would never have a son as great as Hoodah.


    Xia raised Hoodah to the best of her abilities by herself. Other trolls in the tribe seemed to avoid the couple but Xia never let Hoodah feel alone. She worked hard to feed him but she worked the hardest to make sure he knew that she loved and adored and, more, accepted him as her son.


    Hoodah did make some friends with the other younglings but once they started to grow up and learn survival skills, they pretty much did their own thing. Hoodah did his best to fit in and even work with others. The issue wasn¡¯t so much that he couldn¡¯t do anything - he could survive, after help from Xia, and he was a competent hunter.


    ¡°But I always felt that I wasn¡¯t part of them, somehow.¡±


    Not even a month after Xia passed away, Hoodah was expected to be the lookout for a party. Apparently, some human travelers who came a little too close to their territory. Hoodah initially refused to join the party but they used his grief against him. That was their ace in the hole - if Xia was still around, would he still be weak like this?


    In his grief, they put Hoodah in charge of the lookout. His yellow eyes can better see in the dark while his purple body could blend in easier with the brushes they had settled at. He was a competent leader, at least enough to hold the lookout team to set up but the team fell apart eventually as the humans never moved. Days turned into weeks and into nearly the next month, each one of the lookout team members seemed to move on and focused their efforts elsewhere - other humans came and tried to attack the tribe.


    Hoodah was always told to stay there to watch them while the other trolls took care of the attacks. While he watched the settlers, he noticed that they seemed to do a lot of groundwork. They didn¡¯t seem all that violent. Sometimes the men would bring in some animals but they always used every part of the animal - the meat for food, hide for clothing, bones for other things, and other parts as medicine for when they got sick. It intrigued him but he never left his spot.


    It did annoy him that his comrades forgot about him eventually. At first, he was okay with it because it gave him more time to observe but at the same time, they used to drop off food for him as well but lately they haven¡¯t been doing so.


    From what he could tell, no one seemed to notice him because he managed to blend in almost too well with the different colored flowers way on top of the hill he sat on. It was the perfect spot for Hoodah to go back to any time during the day to go back to the village. Others tell him to forget about it but he enjoyed these moments alone.


    The humans didn¡¯t bother him as long as he didn¡¯t make himself known. And then there was a beautiful human girl. He had seen the heads of humans as any other troll back at the village. However, this human seemed like she had a different kind of heart. Her hair was the color of roses and it was long as it was sure. He couldn¡¯t tell how pretty her eyes were but Hoodah always saw human men trying to talk to her and she always handed them a basket full of things he never saw before.


    Then he saw a human man take it and eat something brightly orange. He seemed to enjoy it as he gave her a big smile and she gave him one in return.


    It was strange to Hoodah because they were all different shapes and colors and when he was curious enough, he realized that some of them came from the ground. How can anyone eat things from the ground? Wouldn¡¯t that be disgusting? But they didn¡¯t have a bit of dirt on them, did they? His eyesight was good, but it wasn¡¯t that good. He understood that at least with meats, one would have to wash it before cooking it and eating it. He understood that the animal¡¯s body had more uses than just it¡¯s meat. However, why would these humans not constantly eat meat?


    Hoodah found himself asking multiple questions as he observed these humans. They didn¡¯t act like the humans he attacked. Every time he attacked a human, he always felt that he was taking revenge for the atrocities that they committed against him - Xia¡¯s death was caused by an old wound by a human. In his eyes, Hoodah was taking revenge not just for the mother who used her body to protect him, but for Xia.


    And yet, and yet, Hoodah couldn¡¯t stop questioning about these particular humans. He originally hated them with a passion but the more he watched them, the anger turned into bitterness to curiosity.


    Even accepting his curiosity, he knew he couldn¡¯t go up to her and ask what it was. But then, could most humans understand the troll language besides basic words like ¡®attack¡¯ or ¡®get them¡¯? Probably not. But he still couldn¡¯t stop his curiosity and every day, he tested himself as he slowly got closer to them.


    Hoodah knew he had to be careful as he climbed down the mountain to be closer to the humans. He knew he couldn¡¯t reveal himself to them - it¡¯s dangerous for both himself and them. He didn¡¯t want to alert the humans someone like him, a purple troll, was around. And at the same time, he didn¡¯t want the trolls to think he¡¯s easing in on them so soon - he¡¯d call it ¡®information gathering¡¯ or ¡®intel¡¯ to make it simpler for them.


    Instead of doing it during the day, he decided to do it during the nighttime. He¡¯d go into that rose woman¡¯s hut - well, it¡¯s way larger than a hut - and look around it as it seemed that¡¯s where she was pulling those things from.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    During the day, he was rather impatient so he decided to count how many humans there were in this small human settlement. They certainly were brave to live in these woods - but they were pretty close to where they would get drinkable water. It¡¯s too bad Hoodah and his party would eventually have to get rid of them all.


    Once it was dark, he waited to make sure all the fires in the bigger huts were out. Then he would wait maybe a few more hours to make sure that they all slept in their beds. There¡¯s no sense in making noises around someone when they¡¯re trying to sleep. Even though he¡¯s meant to be a look-out, Hoodah found his talent in sneaking around and being able to hide his presence. That¡¯s a trick that Xia taught him while she taught him how to survive and how Hoodah managed to get away from enemies, and even other trolls.


    It didn¡¯t take very long for him to make it to the settlement. The larger huts seemed to be way taller than him but then again Hoodah had always been on the shorter side. It was here he took a better look at the settlement itself. There seemed to be about four or five taller huts and they seemed sturdier than what he grew up in. Simply put, he was already fascinated at the settlement before him.


    He walked around and could feel his bitterness grow - but towards the trolls. He was surprised when he started to think about how much better life would be in these sturdy huts. It wouldn¡¯t be as cold. When he placed his hand, his dirt-covered nails, against the sturdy hut and realized it was made out of wood instead of cheaply made materials they would find and replace. Complicated feelings arose once again and he swiped it. It was then he realized that the noise might¡¯ve been a bit too long.


    He stepped back and waited to see what the reaction would be from this particular hut but when nothing happened, he was super relieved.


    Hoodah continued his journey around the settlement and took plenty of mental notes; most notably, the tools that were left outside. He had grown up with some crude tools and realized that others in his age group, a little older and a little younger or so, tried to create new tools and were promptly ignored for the usual way. The usual way¡­ the usual way would be for Hoodah to attack the humans on their own even though they would easily outnumber him.


    But his main goal was to find out where that food came from. Even though he knew that trolls are meant to eat meat, he couldn¡¯t stop himself from wanting to find out.


    It took some time but eventually, he found the plot of land and what he believed to be the red-headed woman¡¯s hut as she was the one who sold them. To confirm this, he peeked inside the large, wooden hut and saw even more tools and other things that filled the large hut, and still had room to spare. He was fascinated by it but realized that he didn¡¯t have that much time left - either to meet up with someone from his team or in case a human decided to walk around with their guns. The latter, he didn¡¯t want to meet with for any reason.


    Once Hoodah realized he wasn¡¯t going to see the red-haired woman, he decided to explore the backyard of the larger hut. He could always see her from afar and for now, that was okay with him. They were never meant to be, after all.


    Soon, he made it to the back and saw a couple of taller, smaller wooden huts and rows and rows of sown dirt with grass on top of it. While his eyes helped him see the dark, the brightness of the moon and the brightness of the stars seemed to be extra bright that night. Was that Xia watching over him? Was that his biological mother? Or even his fallen comrades? Whoever it was, they guided him right to this. He saw the grass poking out of the ground and his curiosity got the better of him.


    From the little experience with tracking he had, he managed to pull up most of the plant and sniffed it. It was orange like what the man had earlier. It smelled dirty and it smelled¡­ interesting. It certainly didn¡¯t smell like anything he¡¯d ever eaten before and decided to handle it with his own hands. He saddled the plant around and tried to play with it until he heard a door close.


    Hoodah froze in his place and dropped the strange plant and immediately ran away. He didn¡¯t know who it was behind him - he just knew he was in a bad spot. He ran away. He never actually turned around to see who it was behind him. As far as he could tell, he was just something in the dark. Something purple that hung out in a place where he probably should have - for human or troll.


    When Hoodah finally made it back to his original spot, he took a look behind him finally and saw that the settlement was still dark. Nothing seemed out of place, as far as he knew. He panted from his sudden burst of energy and tried to collect his breath. And yet, he still noticed that he didn¡¯t have the strange plant in his hands anymore.


    He gave up. There was no way he could go back to get it back. The only time he could go back was during the day - but he couldn''t go back to the human settlement in the daytime¡­ It¡¯d be way too risky to go there just for that strange food. In the end, he decided to just stick with his decision to give up.


    And instead of going back to the human settlement or even the troll back, Hoodah decided to sleep in the forest where he was. There weren¡¯t any animals. There weren''t any humans. There weren¡¯t any trolls. Worst of all, there weren¡¯t any stars.


    When he lied down, the ground was cold as it was dark as the forest he¡¯s in. He shivered but he tried to sleep. He shut his yellow eyes but the rocks dug into his skin and the dirt did not have any warmth to share.


    He couldn¡¯t sleep for the rest of the night so he decided to go into the forest deeper. He kept walking and walking deeper into the forest until the trees blocked everything from the sky. He could still see, that wasn¡¯t the issue. The issue was that his loved ones who once guided him to that strange plot of land couldn¡¯t see him even still. The deeper he went into the forest, the more isolated he felt.


    Sleep didn¡¯t come easy at all. When the sun broke through the trees, that was when he knew it was daytime. He could feel so exhausted and, to pretend he did his job at all, decided to go back to at least that spot. Maybe he could think of an excuse - the humans were rowdy, the humans this, the humans that. Whatever excuse he¡¯d fall on, maybe he could sleep.


    And yet he was surprised once again when he got back to his spot, he saw a basket. He would¡¯ve been hesitant but in his sleep-deprived mind, he didn¡¯t think about it as he approached it. Hoodah grabbed the basket and saw that there were a variety of different colors - reds, orange - both long and round, brown, and purples. He saw that attached to the basket was a letter. When he tried to read it, he found that he didn¡¯t recognize any of the squiggles.


    However, before he could do anything, he heard his name being called by one of the trolls but he didn¡¯t turn around. His body was weak. His body was hungry. His body was tired. Whatever sleep he did manage to get, it wasn¡¯t enough.


    ¡°Hoodah,¡± the leader of the party grunted. ¡°What is that you got there?¡±


    Hoodah was surprised. ¡°Ah, Hyptu,¡± Hoodah grunted back. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know. I think one of the humans left this up here. Do you know how to read this?¡± He lifted the letter in reference. Hyptu grabbed as he gave an affirmative grunt. The bigger grey troll didn¡¯t seem to say anything as he read and probably translated it in his head.


    The purple troll had learned as he grew up that only the major raids allowed a translator - trolls that could understand both the Trollese and Lopkien whenever ¡®negotiations¡¯ would occur but it was to translate humans¡¯ communication and to use it against them.


    ¡°What does it say? What does it say?¡± Being the smaller troll always, Hoodah wasn¡¯t a stranger to try to jump up to see what Hyptu was reading. His long brown hair, which was tied up, also prevented him but eventually, Hyptu pushed him away.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± he grunted with an annoyed grunt. ¡°Fine. Let me translate this letter. I don¡¯t know why you want to know but¡­¡±


    Dear Mysterious Friend,


    My name is Camilla and I noticed you dropped your carrot last night after I came out of the outhouse. I¡¯m so sorry I scared you! I don¡¯t know why you wouldn¡¯t come down here with us - we¡¯re very welcome to outsiders! If you¡¯re a witch, I trust your magic is for peace.


    Here are some fruits and vegetables from my garden. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t eat meat as I¡¯m a vegetarian. I managed to grow them in the garden with the help of my brother. If you do decide to come down here, then you can meet him and he can help you get settled.


    May you have many blessings!


    Yours Truly,


    Camilla


    Hoodah was surprised at the very kind message this ¡®Camilla¡¯ had left him. It¡¯s easier to say that he was surprised by the fact she was so willing to give him a portion of her food. He wondered if this Camilla and the red-haired woman had some sort of connection but before he could think about anything else, Hyptu balled up the letter and threw it on the ground.


    ¡°So, they¡¯re welcoming outsiders. This explains why this particular human settlement always seemed too busy for our liking.¡± He didn¡¯t miss a beat. ¡°Hoodah. Prepare to go back to the tribe. We need to wipe out this settlement swiftly.¡±


    ¡°But--¡±


    ¡°Are you disobeying me? Bajin had already given me the order to lead the attack. She only sent me to send you home since this settlement is so small. You¡¯re smaller. You know you¡¯re not very good in battle.¡± He grunted to illustrate his point. ¡°Now, just do what I say and you¡¯ll be fine. After all, the Great Xia adopted you for some reason. Don¡¯t disappoint her.¡±


    The phrase ¡®Great Xia¡¯ always had venom to it - it was a fake title they gave Xia because she was so ¡®cursed¡¯. Even though Hoodah was a decent hunter, they always used his size and his adopted heritage against him. And this fell into place with the norm.


    The purple troll stood there as much as he could before he could see Hyptu getting more and more irritated. He didn¡¯t want to test the bigger troll¡¯s anger even more.


    So, he went back towards his tribe.

 Chapter Eight: The Human Plan

    ¡°What happened after that?¡± I asked softly. I could tell that telling this story drained his energy, or what was left.


    ¡°The attack was brutal. They came back with multiple heads and I don¡¯t know if Camilla was ever part of them. But¡­ at least that red-headed woman wasn¡¯t. I¡­ want to believe that she got away somehow. They never let me get to see who they killed that day - it was part of that Bajin¡¯s success as a raid leader so I wasn¡¯t able to get to see if they got her.


    ¡°And that¡¯s when I decided to become a vegetarian. It took me a month to get myself to like this, but if they killed that red-haired human or Camilla¡­ I should at least honor her memory and continue her passion for vegetables! It¡¯s tough though. I¡¯ve been on this diet for a month and already I look like this. Pretty sad, huh?¡± Hoodah laughed bitterly as he grunted.


    ¡°What gave you the idea to run away?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯ve had enough. They¡¯ve tried their best to drag Xia¡¯s name and it got to me when I heard it from our shaman that Bajin said I tried to disrupt the mission.¡± He grunted with anger as he continued. ¡°At that point¡­ with the Day of Picking coming soon, I had enough. I volunteered to be on the lookout again for some random mission and I hid. I hid from them and I¡¯m glad I did! And, well, that¡¯s where you came in.¡±


    ¡°They wouldn¡¯t miss us, wouldn¡¯t they?¡± I saw Hoodah¡¯s eyes glare at me through the fire between us and then he grunted in defeat. I felt a bit uncomfortable but I tried not to react. So, I looked down.


    ¡°What¡¯s your story, Ayagi? Sure, you got the star mark on your belly but tell me. You seem like a decent enough hunter. You¡¯re big and strong¡­ nothing like me.¡±


    I stayed silent as I brought my eyes back to Hoodah whose own eyes seemed to glitter with weird energy. It already seemed that Hoodah admired me and was just as curious about my story. With hesitation, I opened up to him. I even told him about Daisy and what happened with my father¡¯s death. When Hoodah mentioned the translation, I wondered how Daisy knew the troll language - she spoke to me almost fluently and it made me wonder why she was able to speak. I didn¡¯t question it back then; I was too wrought with grief. Was this what they also taught witches at that age?


    As expected, Hoodah was surprised that I kept Daisy a secret for such a long time and he didn¡¯t seem to understand why my mother treated me that way, even for a troll. Some parts were harder to tell than others but I did feel a little better after I did so. I let out a breath and Hoodah seemed to think about it for a little bit.


    The only things I didn¡¯t tell him was my memories and the fact that the shaman wanted to kill me if I ever got them back. That¡¯s something I wanted to keep close to my heart. Even though Hoodah ran away from his tribe, he still grew up in the troll culture. Would he even understand me? Would he leave me alone if I told him this strange thing? I may not have been anyone particularly special in the past, before this world, but it''s pretty unusual to be someone like me. Sure enough, he seemed to understand that much - I kept a secret that my father protected a human witch and died for it.


    That was a big enough sin as it was.


    ¡°Interesting¡­What are you planning to do now? Surely, you can¡¯t be wandering aimlessly around these forests for long. After all, our kind roams these forests for territory and others they can take advantage of¡­ Though maybe in our case, they¡¯ll try to find us to kill us.¡±


    I laugh bitterly. ¡°Well, I had this notion¡­ of becoming human.¡±


    This made Hoodah¡¯s eyes widen a bit. He was stunned silent.


    ¡°Think about it, Hoodah. What better way to hide under our people¡¯s noses than to be human?¡±


    ¡°Do you realize that trolls hunt humans? Did you forget about that?¡±


    ¡°No, hear me out! Hear me out,¡± I could hear how scared Hoodah was. He was already weak because he had been a ¡®vegetarian¡¯ for a month. I¡¯m pretty scared myself because I¡¯m shocked at my own sudden idea but I¡¯m already too far into it to stop now. ¡°No¡­ I would go to the humans for help. I would go to the bigger towns of humans. They could protect me and by extension¡­ you.¡±


    This seemed to perk his attention even more. He surprisingly stayed silent. ¡°As you know, our troll bodies aren''t meant to be ¡®vegetarians¡¯; we¡¯re meant to eat meat. Maybe if you become human with me, you can survive better and maybe you can look for this Camilla. You said it yourself that you hadn¡¯t seen her head when they brought the others in.¡±


    ¡°What makes you so sure that she¡¯s not part of it?¡± I don¡¯t know how I could hear his whispers behind the fire¡¯s crackles.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. But being human will give you more freedom to search for her and to be with her. Maybe she and the red-headed woman are the same.¡±


    ¡°Do you really think we can do that?¡±


    ¡°We live in a world of witches, don¡¯t we? I¡¯ve seen it with my own eyes that they can move the earth to bury the dead. Couldn¡¯t they change species to species as well?¡±


    Hoodah seemed to consider it for a little bit. The idea wasn¡¯t a bad one when I thought about it a bit more. After all, I¡¯m a human disguised as a troll. My previous life showed me that there are things that humans did would be considered monstrous, but as a troll, I already knew that. And yet, even though I was shown these awful things, I still feel in my heart that humans can be kind and wonderful. Even though I¡¯m as cruel as an average troll, in the end, I¡¯m a human.


    A human that once had access to all sorts of information¡­ Suddenly, I realized I was speaking the first thing that came to my mind again.


    ¡°Plus, humans can have access to multiple sources of information! If this world evolves, maybe our descendants could come up with the Internet!¡±


    Hoodah gave me a strange look but seemed to contemplate everything else I said. Honestly, I surprised myself as well. The ¡®Internet¡¯? Was that something the past me enjoyed? Just thinking about the ¡®Internet¡¯ made me feel a bit excited so it must¡¯ve but the current me can¡¯t seem to wrap my head around it. However, I looked back at Hoodah on how he felt about the human plan.


    We were probably going to stick together for a long time so I need Hoodah to accept this plan. Maybe if I¡¯m human, I can no longer be an outsider. Maybe if he¡¯s human, he wouldn¡¯t continue to harm his body. Maybe he would be helped¡­ Maybe the humans¡¯ information could help him with this ¡®vegetarian¡¯ lifestyle, although it seemed that humans could live just on that.


    ¡°Hm, I still don¡¯t quite get it¡­ It¡¯s a dangerous plan. What if the witch turns against us?¡±


    Oh, I hadn¡¯t thought of that. As my heart thumped against my chest quickly, I thought of an excuse. ¡°W-well, that¡¯s when we crush her! They still look like humans, right? So, we just crush them and move on to the next one! We kill witches every day on the hunt, so it wouldn¡¯t be unusual to just do that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Ayagi,¡± Hoodah grunted. He still was understandably confused, worried, probably a lot of weirder emotions. I felt nervous even mentioning it to him but it¡¯s the only idea I could think of right now. I don¡¯t see him suggesting anything.


    But I grunted to let him continue. There must¡¯ve been an annoyed look on my face but it was hard to tell with the fire crackling in between us. I looked down because I wanted to calm myself down. I could feel myself become excited at the prospect of being¡­ human. Maybe this is my former self wanting a second chance as a human. The memories of the past briefly flashed - like I needed the reminder.


    ¡°It¡¯s really dangerous. Plus, once you change species, you can¡¯t go back, right? What if I actually hate being human? What¡¯s worse, what if that red-headed woman rejects me?¡±


    ¡°Then, you can use your experience as a troll before to change her mind. It¡¯s not always hopeless, Hoodah. And she¡¯s a witch! Witches have all kinds of potions and magic! Why wouldn¡¯t they help us change back?¡±


    Hoodah let out a strange mix of grunting and sighing - it almost sounded like growling - but I understood the general feeling.


    ¡°Sleep on it. We have a long journey ahead of us.¡±


    ¡°Ayagi, if I don¡¯t decide to become human, then we¡¯ll go our separate ways once we leave these forests. I don¡¯t know where I¡¯ll go but I¡¯m going to tell you right now that I¡¯m not going to forget your strange kindness.¡±


    Hoodah let out a sad laugh. ¡°I don¡¯t want to separate but that idea¡­ that idea is a little too strange to me. I don¡¯t know. Maybe if I listen to you and sleep on it, I¡¯ll change my mind.¡±


    I don¡¯t know, but I smiled. I hope he didn¡¯t see me smile because he already thought of me as strange. But we¡¯re outcasts at this point. Can we really pick and choose who our comrades are? I shook my head at the thought - I don¡¯t think Hoodah and I will separate but there¡¯s still a chance of that happening.


    ¡°Fine. If you do decide, then we¡¯ll start looking for a witch as soon as we figure out how to leave this place. It¡¯s too dangerous and we could also run into a troll hunter. So, we should do some rounds to take the watch.¡±


    Hoodah nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the first shift then,¡± I stated as I stretched my big arms. They really are massive, aren¡¯t they? They¡¯re thick and long and grey, but they¡¯re not long enough to reach the sky. ¡°And you can take the second shift.¡± I looked back to Hoodah before I got lost in the stars.


    I heard Hoodah grunt. ¡°Sounds like a plan then.¡± I noticed that he then started to get comfortable in the temporary campsite he made. I made him walk a lot so I thought it might¡¯ve been best if I took the first shift. After all, the night time is probably the most dangerous time of all - someone like Hoodah, with his small body and his weak condition, he wouldn¡¯t be able to fight off a human.


    Once I was sure Hoodah went to sleep, mostly when I heard strange noises that sounded like snoring coming from his side, I dimmed down the fire to make sure that the smoke wouldn¡¯t entice anything to come after us. Even though I could take maybe one or two on, I¡¯m still only one troll. And if a demon finds us¡­ or worse, a party of troll hunters, then we¡¯re screwed.


    But I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything else out there. The forest is quiet enough but I could still hear some random animal noises and bugs. As long as they don¡¯t come near us, then it should be fine. I kept my hearing focused on the other noises outside but I couldn¡¯t help but toss myself on my back when I was sure we were safe.


    The stars¡­ Hoodah mentioned that the troll woman who adopted him had a baby killed. He mentioned his whole original tribe got killed. Did they watch over him this whole time? Did my father watch over me this whole time?


    If my former self were allowed to pass on, would they be up there as well? Had I never found out who I was before, would I find myself in this situation? Would I end up with¡­?


    I sighed. I still had so many questions about everything. Maybe my mind is muddled from Hoodah¡¯s story. Maybe I¡¯m still trying to figure out this human plan or just being a human. These weren¡¯t questions that two trolls just weren¡¯t equipped to answer on their own.

 Chapter Nine: Ethereal Dreams

    I don¡¯t even remember falling asleep. I remember I was looking at the stars and thinking about this life and the previous one. The sound of Hoodah¡¯s snoring would¡¯ve been the only thing that kept me up but somehow my body found a way to get comfortable and then I dreamed.


    I wore some kind of garb that felt ritualistic. It wasn¡¯t anything I recognized but it was white. I seemed to carry a flower up to a pedestal where someone familiar to me sat in the seat and looked down upon me. They had light green eyes behind glasses with purple hair framing their face. The tips of their hair were green - it matched the color of their eyes. They wore an outfit that had flower patterns. The glasses and the outfit were the only things I recognized. Something seemed to be missing in this person¡¯s appearance but I couldn¡¯t place it.


    It was hard to tell what they were - they were both beautiful and handsome. They had soft features of a woman but the strong jaw of a man. However, one thing that I immediately picked up on was how kind they were. I looked down to see my ¡®hands¡¯ but I couldn¡¯t see anything. Apparently, whatever garment I wore, they covered my hands. ¡­ But they didn¡¯t feel alien to me. They felt like ¡®my¡¯ hands. I was confident I was who I say I was.


    ¡°Come, child,¡± the figure spoke. It was familiar, a calming mother¡¯s voice I haven¡¯t heard in years. Not even my own biological mother could ever muster such sweetness. ¡°You are safe here.¡±


    ¡°Pumoria,¡± the name escaped my lips. Nothing in particular triggered me to say that. I almost didn¡¯t recognize my voice¡­ but I just knew it was mine. ¡°Pumoria.¡± I felt myself quiver; in my heart, I must¡¯ve missed them. I must¡¯ve sounded pathetic to them. I must¡¯ve¡­ been looking for them all this time without realizing it. I felt the stings of tears and I wanted to look away. Was I embarrassed? I don¡¯t know, but I just knew I didn¡¯t want Pumoria to see me like this. Somewhere in me told me that they wouldn¡¯t judge me, and yet I¡¯m still embarrassed like this.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I took so long,¡± they started to say. I was shocked at their apology so I shook my head. I noticed that the area is similar to what I think a human church is. I don¡¯t know if I was human or it¡¯s just large enough to fit a huge troll in here such as myself. It certainly felt safe and I could hear my voice echo around me sometimes. ¡°I forget that time moves much slower for you than it does for me.¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s okay, really! I¡¯m just happy to see you, again!¡±


    Pumoria brought their hand up close to their mouth and gently giggled. ¡°No, no, let me make it up to you. Please tell me what¡¯s happened in this life. I got the message you have your previous memories again. How do you feel about that? What¡¯s your journey so far?¡±


    With hesitation, I explained to them what happened. I was surprised that they were interested in it since memories from the beginning came back. They¡¯re an Ethereal - a holy being that watches over those like me. I think I remember them calling beings like me as ¡®spirited¡¯. Truthfully, I hadn¡¯t thought of the beginning - or was it the end - moment I became Ayagi.


    They listened intently. They never judged me whenever I nervously told them the mistakes I made. They never judged for whatever angry thoughts I had revealed or even the fact that I did things that they might¡¯ve looked down on.


    Time didn¡¯t seem to move as I talked about what happened. It felt more like I was telling a story from another perspective than mine but Pumoria never said anything. They smiled and laughed. They had so much kindness in their eyes it reminded me of Daisy. And it hit me - was Daisy a reincarnation of Pumoria? Now that I looked at Pumoria, they looked nothing like her. She looked nothing like Pumoria.


    Then what was their connection?


    Finally, I finished my story and I felt embarrassed. I laid it all bare but I stood there still and told them everything without feeling the need to sit down or even adjusting my stature. Once I finished, before I started to think about that, I asked them for their thoughts.


    ¡°Ayagi,¡± they used my troll name. That¡¯s how I knew I was still Ayagi. ¡°It seems that you¡¯ve led quite a life. This Hoodah fellow seems rather unsure about your plan, but don¡¯t you worry about it. You will lead the road to who you really are. You may not remember but I once told you what your destiny was - ¡®to create a new life with new friends and a loving family¡¯.¡±


    Pumoria seemed to struggle with words to say next. They looked guilty. From what they understood, I came from a home that¡¯s typical of a troll. A witch by the name of Daisy Umbra showed up and she must¡¯ve bewitched me somehow. Anytime I brought her up, Pumoria¡¯s interest seemed to have peaked. I wondered why they brought up a destiny that was once proclaimed for me.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I would be wary of this Daisy Umbra. She gave you a necklace as an apology but that¡¯s all you should take from her.¡±


    ¡°But she was my age, I assume, when it happened! There¡¯s no way she could have ulterior motives! Plus, I need a witch to be human! She¡¯s the only witch that I know of!¡±


    ¡°Listen here, Ayagi,¡± Pumoria started, ¡°there are so many witches in this country alone that can help you turn human - even oracles if you can find them. But this witch¡­ you must be wary of her. Things change from when you¡¯re a child. She might be your first love, but --¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not my first love! How can I love a witch? I¡¯m a troll! Trolls can¡¯t love! Father loved and he died protecting my village! All Daisy did for me was bury him and gave me this necklace¡­ That¡¯s all she did! I¡¯m not searching for her!¡±


    Pumoria gave me a pitied look. I hated that look. I had a memory of the others giving me that look and it made me angrier. I felt anger rise within me and I had to look away from Pumoria. The elation I felt talking to them waned for a moment but the best way I can describe it was like a rubber band. At that moment, I felt my emotions ¡®stretch¡¯.


    ¡°Trolls very much could love. I¡¯m sure your parents loved each other very much, but I¡¯m warning you that Daisy Umbra has a dark destiny. It¡¯s worrisome that you can¡¯t admit that but you must trust me. Stray away from Daisy. Find a new witch to turn you and Hoodah to humans. I can guide one to you if I hav--¡±


    ¡°No. I promise you, Pumoria, I¡¯m not searching for her! I haven¡¯t thought about her!¡±


    Pumoria didn¡¯t move. ¡°Please don¡¯t lie to me, Ayagi. I¡¯m the Ethereal assigned to you and as such, it¡¯s part of my duty to protect you. I can read your thoughts right now and even when you sleep. I know you think about her and I¡¯m telling you to stop.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been through my thoughts? Do Ethereals have any idea what ¡®privacy¡¯ is? Why would you go through my thoughts like that? Who knows what you could¡¯ve seen in there? I didn¡¯t even know that you could do that! I didn¡¯t know you even did that! So, did I just waste my time telling you my story? You watched me the entire time, right? Why?¡±


    Pumoria remained unaffected but eventually gave me a stern look. ¡°Ayagi.¡± They sounded and looked like a parent but it made me angrier.


    ¡°No, Pumoria! That¡¯s not right what you did! Do you understand how I feel right now? I know you¡¯re not human¡­ but do Ethereals understand how precious our minds are? Tell me why you were going through my thoughts! That¡¯s not right!¡±


    The Ethereal let out a sigh and smiled at me instead. ¡°You¡¯re right. I violated your privacy. But you must understand that this Daisy Umbra is dangerous. She¡¯s part of a lineage that¡¯s destined to pull the witches out of the good graces of humans - and I don¡¯t want you to be a part of it. I told you once what your destiny was and I¡¯ll repeat it to you. Your destiny is to create a new life with new friends and a loving family.¡±


    I sighed exasperatedly. Any joy that I had seeing Pumoria had left - I didn¡¯t want to see them anymore. I was too upset at the audacity of them invading my mind.


    ¡°Not to be with Daisy. Please, at least listen to me on this. Daisy... ¡°


    ¡°Just leave me alone! Don¡¯t ever bother me again! I don¡¯t care about destinies - I just want to be human. I promise you that I¡¯m not searching for her. I¡¯ll search for any other witch or whoever, that can turn both Hoodah and me into humans. Don¡¯t ever contact me again unless I¡¯m in grave danger--¡±


    ¡°But you are! That¡¯s why I¡¯m here!¡±


    ¡°And I just said I promise I will not search for her. You know what, forget it. Forget it!¡± I threw my hands from its position that managed to stay in place this whole conversation. That seemed to be what kept me in this place because when I did, suddenly, my eyes were wide awake.


    I felt that I had a strange dream. I couldn¡¯t remember much but just the remaining feeling of having my privacy violated. I felt rested but I was also angry and I couldn¡¯t explain it. Was I hungry? Probably. It did seem some animals tried to be brave and stole some of the meat I thought I¡¯ve hidden well. I was more irritated when I looked at Hoodah¡¯s campsite and saw that he was gone.


    ¡°So much for Hoodah and I becoming human. Guess he decided to leave now.¡± I grumbled. Immediately, I started to dismantle the temporary campsite as much as I could while making it look like it was part of the natural landscape. The sun beamed down and it irritated me. I tried to keep my head clear of thoughts but found it impossible - it didn¡¯t matter what I did, something out there is aware of my thoughts.


    Things started to irritate me further as I did and I found myself quickly losing my temper at things. At that point, it didn¡¯t matter. This campsite was going to get destroyed by both me and the elements so I continued to take out my anger on anything I could get my hands on. I thrashed and I smashed. After all, if I¡¯m going to be a troll until the time I become human, then that¡¯s how I¡¯m going to act.


    ¡°Ayagi,¡± I heard a familiar grunt. ¡°Why are you smashing up our campsite so badly? A few times is enough, now it¡¯s just obvious. Anyway,¡± he grunted again. ¡°I brought myself some breakfast and I¡¯ve done some thinking. I think I¡¯ll go along with you.¡± He released an unsure sigh and even looked around. I was too irritated to really think anything beyond this. Just get to the point! ¡°It¡¯s a weird plan, but I think maybe I should go along with it. Maybe being a troll isn¡¯t for me after all. So,¡± he grunted a bit happier. I could feel myself calm down a bit. ¡°Let¡¯s go find our witch.¡±

 Chapter Ten: The Mysterious Witch, Elsa

    As days went on as we traveled, and I slept easier, my temper cooled down. I don¡¯t know if Hoodah even noticed my mood changes but even if he didn¡¯t, then even better for me. Though my temper cooled down, I still felt pretty angry and it annoyed me that I couldn¡¯t remember why. The only thing I remember was I just knew I wanted to keep my thoughts private. I didn¡¯t want people to go through my thoughts, especially when I sleep.


    Though, as I thought this, the wind blew through us again and I could hear a familiar whisper.


    ¡°Avoid Daisy Umbra.¡±


    A familiar voice echoed against the wind and I could feel myself get mad all over again. I didn¡¯t want to avoid her. I wanted to find her again to get answers. Most especially, I want to ignore that voice. I remember the annoyance I had before but it left with the wind. Maybe it would be easier if she knew a troll who actually knew how to use magic. Was that even possible? I tried to imagine someone like Hoodah trying to create magic with a frilly pink dress and a stereotypical wand. That got me out of my mood and I chuckled for a bit.


    Usually, Hoodah tried to fill the quiet with a song that didn¡¯t make a lot of sense to me. I let him sing it so long as I focused more on where we went. Another wind blew through but this time, I didn¡¯t hear that voice. Whether or not anything was said, I was still going to try to find Daisy Umbra - I have many questions and only she can answer it. I¡¯ll take that chance. Even though Hoodah depends on me, let me be selfish. After all, she could help us become human.


    By mid-afternoon, we ended up finding a river. From my own assessment, it seemed to be clear. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything strange about it - the fauna around the river banks seemed to be normal nor did I see anything else that would be ¡®off¡¯ to me. Hoodah seemed to be suspicious at first but also seemed to determine that the water was safe. He didn¡¯t even look at me, even though I looked at him, and he immediately started to cup the water and was about to start drinking when we both heard something out of the blue.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that if I were you two,¡± cried out a voice. For some reason, this voice surprised me. It was clear as a bell, like Daisy¡¯s, but it sounded nothing like her. It was a bit more feminine than hers but it was clearly of someone else. We both turned around and we were surprised at the figure before us.


    A human woman. She was fairly tall for a human and she had black skin. Her long, green hair blew against the wind but even I could tell that it was still fairly long. Her lips were pretty red which I assumed to be makeup, something that¡¯s familiar to me, and her red lips were in a teasing smile. Her light blue piercing eyes seemed to go right through us even though we didn¡¯t know why we shouldn¡¯t drink out of it. Time seemed to stop as we both gazed at this beauty before us.


    She saw that our bodies were trolls and yet she crossed her arms and spoke to us. Her clothes were a bit torn and tattered and seemed to be patched up by random scraps of clothing she¡¯d be out on her own for a while. It¡¯s not as torn and tattered as some of the humans I¡¯ve seen, but enough for me to notice.


    ¡°Why?¡± I asked. I don¡¯t know why we froze as we saw this human stand so proudly but we did. Hoodah kept the cupped water close to his lips. ¡°It¡¯s just water. Nothing seems weird about it - it¡¯s not teal.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the Crystal Canal. If you want to turn into grey and purple crystal trolls, go right ahead.¡±


    ¡°The Crystal Canal¡­?¡±


    ¡°Hm, you trolls probably never left your villages, have you?¡± She seemed to smile and laugh a bit at our expense. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. I shouldn¡¯t be so rude. It¡¯s just¡­ interesting to me that you know about the Teal Channel, but not the Crystal Canal. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll explain it to you!


    ¡°The Crystal Canal is a river that has properties to turn things and creatures into crystals if you drink enough. You don¡¯t see any of those crystals because eventually, the fauna around this particular area grew a resistance to it. However, I don¡¯t think you trolls are used to such magical water. That¡¯s why I want to warn you. Your bodies probably won¡¯t be able to handle it.¡±


    She pointed out the area as she explained and now that she pointed it out, it seems that a particular area of grass did have some form of crystallization around it. Upon seeing it, I immediately slapped the water of Hoodah¡¯s hands. He hissed in pain and grunted as he shook the pain away but the droplets of water that landed on the fauna under him turned into small crystals. Hoodah just as surprised and even backed away from it.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± I managed to grunt out. ¡°How do you know this?¡± I turned back to the black woman who seemed more and more amused. She had a hand that covered her mouth and she laughed. Was this a game to her? I couldn¡¯t even properly register my frustration until she finally spoke again.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°What a wise choice you¡¯ve made. You two are very entertaining to me. I¡¯m Elsa.¡± She reached out her hand towards me and I managed to get a closer look at her. She wore fingerless gloves which were also tattered. It seemed she tried to patch it up with random pieces of clothing or otherwise. I didn¡¯t quite trust her and neither did Hoodah - we didn¡¯t say anything. She then retracted her hand - perhaps she realized how she came off to us. She balled up her hand and brought it back to herself. She dropped her hand from her mouth and cleared her throat.


    Another wind blew through her long green hair. It was a unique color I had never seen a human have. I don¡¯t think Hoodah had ever seen such a woman either as he was also silent. She let out a sigh as her piercing blue eyes darted all over the place. Her smile dropped when her eyes finally met mine again - she seemed to realize that I was the leader of this two-troll party.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll tell you the truth. My name is Elsa Dewbrand, and I¡¯m a witch.¡±


    Both Hoodah and I were silent for a few more moments. She stood there with an unwavering as she waited for a reaction from either of us. I could tell she furrowed her brow as she waited for a reaction. Finally, I looked at Hoodah. Hoodah grunted silently as he tried to push me to talk to her. I was surprised that I already fit into the leadership role almost seamlessly. Perhaps since this whole thing was my idea, it was more fitting. And yet...


    I didn¡¯t know how to react.


    Should we give her our names since she gave us hers?


    The woman witch took a step back. I could tell that our silence scared her. When I stood up, I could tell she was getting ready to position herself to fight. Even though she¡¯s tall for a human witch, I was still in a troll¡¯s body. I still towered over her and she probably had a million thoughts in her head. Maybe she realized that it was a mistake to introduce herself. Maybe she realized it was a bad idea to make jokes about our lives. But there¡¯s a reason why we met on this day - she¡¯s the key to our success. That¡¯s the impression I was getting.


    ¡°My name is Ayagi,¡± I grunted our usual etiquette. Hoodah immediately followed suit.


    ¡°Hoodah.¡± He grunted almost in tandem.


    Elsa relaxed her pose and seemed to be relieved. The more I look at her, the more I realized that her hair wasn¡¯t washed. She seemed to have scars and burns on her body that were fresh and she tried to use her tattered clothing to hide them. Her blue eyes relaxed as she blinked frantically. She didn¡¯t know what to do with my height. I¡¯m sure she didn¡¯t expect me to be this tall when I sat down and I was hunched over.


    ¡°Ayagi¡­ Hoodah. Interesting names.¡± Her cool attitude didn¡¯t seem to waver even though her stance wildly changed to a calmer stance. I wondered if she realized she could be comfortable around us. ¡°Where are you fellas heading to? You know you¡¯re dangerously close to an Ethereal shrine in the forest.¡±


    ¡°Ethereal?¡± Hoodah grunted out. ¡°What are those?¡±


    Elsa didn¡¯t seem too pleased about the question but then again, I wasn¡¯t too surprised. All the trolls ever knew was whatever their shaman told them. However, she answered his question anyway. Not like I could anyway because there¡¯s no way I could explain something like that.


    ¡°Ethereals are higher beings than the Gods and Goddesses. They are born from the Ethereal River - they know the past, present, and what will be.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Hoodah interrupted, ¡°there¡¯s more than one God? I thought there was only Klezor, the Orc God of Power.¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s a lot more Gods and Goddesses out there. But the Ethereals are higher than them. So even precious Klezor would have to bow to Them.¡± Even though Elsa was being frank, I can see that Hoodah was offended. Up until recently, I also thought there was only Klezor. And then I remembered a dream that occurred days ago. But I didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°In any case, you trolls need to be careful, especially with that Crystal Canal. If you¡¯re looking for water to drink, you can follow me and I¡¯ll bring you to the Grenwater Tributary.¡±


    ¡°Well wait,¡± I said as Hoodah started to walk. I stopped him. I stuck out my arm and prevented him from continuing further. ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not leading us to our deaths? Do you have any humans waiting for us back there?¡±


    Elsa immediately started to laugh. ¡°There¡¯s no way there are any humans back there. Trust me, there¡¯s absolutely no way!¡± I could¡¯ve sworn I heard her start crying as she laughed but both Hoodah and I looked at each other in confusion and for Hoodah especially, worry. ¡°No way! No way! There¡¯s no way!¡± She continued to laugh with a weird mix of crying. It seemed that she was laughing harder and trying to avoid crying more as it went along.


    ¡°Uh, you don¡¯t have to laugh that hard,¡± Hoodah said. ¡°These are valid concerns, you know.¡±


    Soon, she tried to control her laughing as I saw some tears drip out. Maybe those tears were from the laughter but something in my head said it wasn¡¯t. We didn¡¯t know how long we stood there until she stopped laughing finally. Once she did, she tried her best to catch her breath. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I-I don¡¯t mean to laugh at you like this¡­! No. No¡­ I¡¯m not laughing at you!¡±


    We both were confused as she did her best to calm down further. She soon calmed down and had to sit on the ground to help that. Hoodah and I continued to stand - she might be laughing now but we really should be more cautious around her for now.


    Eventually, she stopped laughing and took a huge breath in and finally seemed to relax. She remained seated as she looked up at us. She gave me the impression of a mischievous child rather than a witch. Then again, I don¡¯t know what she was planning.


    ¡°No¡­ I¡¯m not laughing at you. The truth of the matter is, if I am at a particular settlement of witches, they might want to hang me.¡±


    I could hear Hoodah give a gasp of shock but I tried to remain quiet. It¡¯s a serious accusation after all. ¡°Why? What happened?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m accused of killing a human, worse yet. A troll hunter.¡±