The Hulder People

Chapter Two:

She was walking in mid daylight, near the built paths of the neighbors. She was told by the others that it wasn't a safe idea, and that she would be scolded for doing so, but she went to see why it was so difficult for her people to approach them.

Curiously, she wondered up to an area where the trees gave way. It was a flattened line rolling up to wherever it seemed to be headed. When she crouched down and reached out her hand, she felt where she knew the plants should be, but weren't. It felt hard and matted, compressed and flat. The ground had no dents, and two parallel prints were lightly imbedded in its dust.

Soon enough, she felt the droplets of an oncoming storm fall down. She then quickly took cover back under the canopy roof nearby, and hid behind the low shrubs.

She looked back, and saw from across the path a form of shelter, not natural to nature, but built as a home. She'd heard of it before, from the elders of her family who'd witnessed their ways of life in the past. It was a house.

Down the built path, she saw something move, and stood upright with wide eyes wondering what it could be.

In the distance, walking up to the house, was a boy.

He seemed to be looking around, up at the sky and the clouds, almost aimlessly. But he knew where he was going-- he was going home. He was a neighbor, one of her relatives.

But anyone could tell really, their differences in appearance. They wore clothing, while Hulders wore nothing, for they wouldn't need clothes in a place of nature. I'm sure, that if they did wear cloth, they'd be very uncomfortable, as if being in a different skin.

But it wasn't just a matter of attire. The neighbors had their strangely rounded ears, while the Hulders' came up to a small and pointed tip. They could hear a predator from a mile away, and hear the thunder in the sky like a crash.

Surely though, the biggest difference were their tails. Their relatives didn't have them for the balance and agility that the Hulders needed, which looked so very odd, as she stared at the boy who was walking up to the door.

Her own tail, as silent as she knew she had to be, made the leafs of the brush rustle from its casual movement. It was her own fault though, for she was excited, despite her trying will to focus on a silent stealth.

She was too close to being seen by him, as she froze in his wondering glare in her general direction. She saw through the leafs and thorns while she waited, taking a final moment to capture the memory of his face. Dark brown hair, and what seemed like light grey eyes that were searching her down, just before he brushed the moment aside. He went through the solid wood door, as if her presence wasn't acknowledgeable, and she took a sigh of relief.

She now realized what was so scary about them. They weren't just different, but the kind of different that had the potential of taking an unfriendly turn. They had captured her interest though, or at least, this one neighbor had, with his gentle face and deep eyes. She felt like he would belong with her and her people if they'd eventually ever meet...

***

Jenson came through the front door, with his jacket slightly damp from the gradually progressing rain from outside. A moment earlier he thought he'd heard a rabbit in the woods, but as he tried to search for the small creature, he gave up his interest and went inside.

With surprise, as he called out for Aunt Laura, and heard no reply within the entire house. This was odd, for he knew she wouldn't go out to town on the verge of a storm. But he also knew not to worry, because despite the unusual circumstance of a storm coming, he knew she made grocery runs and sometimes took hours in doing so.

He rested across the couch, with the TV on the news channel, and the sound of the heavier rain heading in and pounding on the windows. The thunder was beating like an angry pulse, and like that, Jenson knew that only the worst of the night was beginning.

As he heard a large crash out above his house, he sat upright with wide eyes and waited for the darkness that would soon engulf the room. The last thing to die out was a lamp, resting beside the couch on a small nightstand. The last thing on the television that he saw, was the newsman reporting the condition of the storm. All he knew at the moment was to stay inside, and wait for the weather to pass.

Quickly, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the night, he searched for the candles he would need for some light around the house. Tall red, white, and vanilla colored wax with small wicks were put randomly on the close tables and counters. He took out a small lighter, and lit each one. Now the room looked warm and comforting, with the gentle flames of each candle creating a show of glowing lights. It was nice, even if it meant no electrical power, and the crazy weather surrounding his home. All he had to do now, was to wait for his aunt to return home safely.

After the time had flown past eleven p.m., Jenson had started to feel his eyelids weigh. Suddenly, he was only conscious in his faintly vague and thoughtless dreams. He was sleeping gently to the sound of the rain, and had his breath as calm as a cat taking a rest. He was asleep, as Laura came home quietly, and put a blanket over Jenson's cold body resting on the couch. The candles were all half melted and liquefied, as Laura blew them out on the way to her bedroom.

Now the night was silent. Everything was quiet, including the forest that rustled only slightly outside.

Laura, as she took a sigh of relief, fell limply down onto her bed from exhaustion. Her mattress felt like a cloud compared to the day she had gone through.

***

It was getting chilly, and at first it was silent all around, along with the accompaniment of the howling breeze. But then, as she walked home, she felt the air getting colder and the rain becoming heavier. In the nearing darkness of the late evening, all of the suns last drops of light were being shrouded by the dark clouds above. The storm was at its highest peak, and as the Hulder girl walked a blind path within the darkness, she began to hold up her hands for her people's ability to summon a light at will. As she focused in the harsh wind and whisks of heavy rain, a small glow grew in her palms like a radiating sphere of energy, with soft reaches into the air. She smiled, for even in this dark night, the inherited and cherished light of her people reminded her of the comforting thought of Pan and the summer's forest beauty.

As she walked carefully with the help of her light, she made it to the relieving sight of her home. The large oak, dead with an inwards curling trunk. But, as she crawled into the tree, she went down a hidden burrow in the ground, where all of the others lie asleep. She felt the familiarity, and then remembered the boy and his house. She knew that the others didn't like the neighbors, but... she thought of going back.

What would come of this though? What did she have to gain from going back? The boy's bright eyes flashed briefly in her memories, as she snuggled under the thick pelt of a buck skin for sleep. She felt the leathery soft feel of the deer's fur over her arms, as she lie with her face upwards, looking at the rock hard ceiling above. She glared over at the opening aside, which had brought her into the rocky caverns and away from the storm. The rain never came unto their little rabbit hole of a home, for they knew where a worthy place would be to establish roots that wouldn't be drowned out by rainwater. The overflow would go downhill into the river, always ready to be harvested for washing the tools or to help the sick, weak, and old. The craftsmen and women gathered grasses and berries for dyes and baskets. Even if they lived in a hidden and secret community, didn't mean that they lived in a life of grime and starvation. Everyone knew their roles and tasks, and always knew to stay within a safe distance from the neighbors.

She shifted over to her side, and looked at the others, resting in their own deer pelts as well. She had snuck back in quite quietly enough as to not to disturb anyone else's sleep, and to not be scolded for her curiosity of the neighbors just yet.

***