No Matter What

Chapter V

My whole body was soaked in anxiety. Even more than it usually is. I had no harsh feelings towards teribos, but they did hate my kind, humans, and with reason. If I simply walked in, they would not give me a chance and I would risk dying or even starting another war.

My thoughts swarmed in my mind. They occupied me until it suddenly got much brighter. I awakened from my state of worry and looked around. I had walked right out of the forest. Behind me, a wall of shadows the forest produced. In front of me, the walls to Teribo Town. Over me, the sun shone bright. There was no way I could sneak in at a time like this. It looked like sunset was almost coming, so I decided to wait. "When it gets dark," I thought, "then I'll get in."

I walked back into the shadows and watched the town as I waited for the sun to go to sleep.

***

It was here. I would now collect my first ingredient. Once it was dark out, I started tiptoeing towards the biggest door I had ever seen. Just the crack under these gates were big enough for me to crawl under without much effort and break in. I was now inside the town of the giant creatures and I knew just what to use to get a lock of their fur—the sharp dagger The Wind had hoped I would kill myself with.

I took it out of my bag, just now realizing its appearance. It was completely black except for its handle, which was covered in rich red rubies. I twirled it around my finger. My admiration was interrupted by the creek of a door being opened. I put the dagger in the inside pocket of my cape and managed to get inside the oversized house just before the door swung closed.

It was just that. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, just the fact that it felt like I had shrunk dramatically in size. That and the furry thing that fell asleep once it lied on the bed.

Its breath was as loud as a windy day. For them, I was, proportionally, the size a rat was for me. I watched the teribo sleep, it was a child. I moved around some of the hay that was all over the floor and got a makeshift mountain. I walked up as I would the Great-hood hill back home. I separated a good lock of fur, and with the black ruby dagger I sliced it off. Lock of teribo hair? Check. It was much softer than I expected.

I watched the young teribo sleep. It tossed and turned, facing me. Startled, I threw the hair I had cut in my bag and slid down the mountain of hay. I thought it would be best if I left as to not risk getting caught, so I sprinted towards the door and found myself quite literally facing a dilemma. There was no way I could pass through the crack of this door. It almost touched the hay-covered ground. I knew it would be impossible, but I tried my best to move it open. It was like trying to turn the world.

"I could try to dig a hole under the crack," I thought. But that would have probably taken all day and I did not want to leave any traces of a human behind. I had only one option left: to wait. Wait impatiently for the teribos of that house to wake up and do the job of opening the door for me.

I sat by my obstacle and covered my body with hay. I tried to make myself fall asleep. The adrenaline would not let me. I took out the list of ingredients and fixed my attention on it. Mermaid scales, moon water, fairy dust, teribo hair... I read it obsessively over and over again. I memorized the list. What bothered me was whatever had been crossed out. My curiosity seeked to be fed knowledge. I changed my focus for I knew I would drive myself insane if I did not. I took out the map. The sea. It was very close. I knew nothing of mermaids except for the fact that they live in the sea. That is where I would go next.

I thought about the time I watched a slug slide and struggle towards the silent Gray stream. It slipped down the stone and splashed into a slow death. That is how my waiting felt. Slow and dangerous. An air of anticipation. Finally, the morning sun awakened and so did the teribo family. The biggest one, the dad, checked on his son then walked to the door to leave for work. I rushed right out of the house then out of Teribo Town. Into the darkness of the forest I went. Enormous trees that to the teribos were twigs sticking out of the ground.