by Joanne Vruno
“So there are more elves around here—besides Silver?”
“Oh, Aly, there are many more, a whole village in fact. You’ll meet them when you’re ready,” Grandma stated with a smile.
I had to admit it sounded exciting. My curiosity was heightened. What did their homes looked like? Where they were located? I had so many questions running through my head at that moment.
“But now we need to get you ready.”
My mind shifted to the next subject Grandma had started talking about: gnomes. She explained that I not only had a set of tomtes in my home, also I had a gnome that lived in my yard. She did not want me to have another screaming episode if I saw another mythical creature moving around outside my home.
I was soon informed that the gnome garden statues purchased at garden centers were actually close in appearances to genuine gnomes. In fact, Silver told Grandma once that it was like the stores had turned a live gnome into stone. How freaky that must have been for a real gnome! Grandma said that was why she didn’t have garden statues in her yard. She wanted to be respectful of her gnome, who was named Lunt. I was hoping to maybe meet Lunt, but Grandma didn’t suggest it, so I figured it would happen in time. Grandma had stressed she would be teaching me all this information in time. For now it was just on a need-to-know basis.
Before I left Grandma’s house, I asked her if I could take some cookies for Elsa and Enar as a token of friendship. Grandma took out a ceramic bowl and filled it to the top with cookies for the trip home.
Chapter 4
I placed the bowl of cookies on my desk so Chica, my dog, would not get them. As I started to write Elsa and Enar a note, I thought about Chica. Did she know of the tomtes? I guessed not because she would have barked or jumped up on them. She always got so excited when anyone came near her. Mom always said it was her breed. Springer spaniels were known to be easily excited.
It wasn’t easy to know what to write. I started to wonder if Elsa and Enar even knew English, with Grandma always speaking to them in Swedish. So I just wrote “Sorry.” I placed the note on top of the cookies in the bowl.
Then I wondered, Will I need to learn Swedish? I was already signed up to take Spanish in middle school next year. Learning another language with it seemed like a difficult task. I’d probably get the two new languages mixed up.
That night I tried to stay awake until they showed up. Grandma had told me they could not fall asleep without checking every room in the house first, so I knew they would come. It wasn’t until eleven thirty that I heard the first sound. I stayed completely still, pretending to sleep, as I opened my eyes a crack and looked out through my eyelashes. I didn’t want to scare them. There they were!
They checked the windows first, and then the closet. They spotted the cookies on the desk. Enar picked up the note and showed it to Elsa. They spoke back and forth in Swedish, and then turned to look at me. I smiled without thinking. They wrinkled up their foreheads as they turned to each other and smiled. “Are these for us?” asked Elsa.
“You do speak English!” I replied.
“Of course we can speak English. How could we live here all of our lives and not know English?” Enar said.
“I just thought you might only speak Swedish, but I guess Grandma did speak English to your parents.” Remembering that conversation, I quickly spoke up: “I’m so sorry about last night. I didn’t know anything about you. Nobody explained that you live here too. I had only met Silver, so I was expecting an elf. When I saw that your faces were much larger than Silver’s, I panicked. Will you forgive me?”
“If you can forgive us,” replied Enar. “We should have been more cautious. We knew you were twelve and that your power could appear anytime. We’ve been so excited to finally meet you that every night we’ve been watching you for signs.”
“Well, you got a loud one last night!” I chuckled.
At that, both tomtes started laughing with me.
“Grandma told me that Grandma Johnson cookies were your favorite. Those are all for you.” I said as I pointed to the bowl, “It’s a peace offering. I want us to be friends.”
Enar immediately reached into the bowl to take a cookie and then passed the bowl to Elsa. Their eyes registered pure pleasure with every bite. I started to wonder what they normally ate as I watched them. “Do you usually cook for yourselves?”
“We don’t cook because the smell might wake your family. Instead we nibble leftovers in the fridge, dry cereal, bread, a little of everything. We can’t eat big portions or your family would notice. We’ve never gone hungry, but these cookies are a real treat. Your grandmother always made extra food and set it aside for our family when we lived with her,” said Elsa.
“Oh, so it must have been hard when you came to live here. I feel sad you don’t get real meals. I’ll try to set something aside for you from now on.”
“It may be better if you don’t. If someone sees you doing that they could get curious. We’re fine with how it is now. As you can tell, we are not starving.” Enar and Elsa swirled in a circle to show me they weren’t frail. They both looked quite healthy.
“Our secrecy is of the utmost importance. If humans or other creatures find out about us, the elves are in trouble. Our job is to protect you, the future guardian. If we were found out, your guardianship would be in danger, and the elves need you,” said Enar.
“I still don’t understand. Who would find out about me?”
“The mythical world creatures, as we are called, would know! The light elves and you are hiding from the evil creatures looking for any signs of your existence,” declared Elsa.
“What do you mean, we are in hiding? Who are these evil creatures? What will they do if they find us?”
“Your grandmother will teach you about them. It’s not our place. Be patient and listen carefully to all she says. For now, you just need to know we’re here to keep you safe in your home. Your family and your friends can’t ever know we’re here, and you can’t ever speak of the elves to any other human but your grandmother!” said Enar.
“What about when I leave my house? Who will keep me safe then?”
“There are good creatures watching you when you’re outside. You’ll gradually meet them and know they’re there. This is your life now. Each of us has been born with a purpose we need to fulfill. Yours is to protect the light elves. Ours is to protect the guardian. It’s the highest honor to be chosen for these positions,” said Elsa.
They sounded just like Grandma. All this information scared me. From then on I’d live in danger of some unknown creatures. I was definitely going to ask Grandma what creatures I should be afraid of running into. I couldn’t avoid something if I didn’t know what I was to avoid, after all.
Elsa and Enar stayed a few more minutes, then went to finish their nightly duty of making sure the house was completely safe. I spent another night awake, trying to not panic. I just wished it wasn’t the weekend and that I didn’t have to wait until Monday to ask Grandma all the questions popping up in my mind.
Chapter 5
After spending the weekend in fear, I was relieved to be going back to Grandma’s. I would finally get the chance to question her about all the evil creatures I needed to be aware of. As I entered her house, she was in her normal cheery state when she asked me to sit down in the living room. I quickly saw the books were not present today.
“Grandma, I had an interesting talk with Elsa and Enar Friday night when I gave them the cookies. They told me we’re always in danger and need to be aware. I want to know—what do we need to be aware of?”
“Aly, as a protector of the light elves, which is what the guardianship is, you have responsibilities. You also have many abilities no other human has. The first one you’ve found out. You can see creatures of mythology. That is the most guarded secret you need to keep when you’re out in public.
None of your friends must sense if a creature shows up. So, if you’re on a school field trip at a museum and you notice unusual movement in the room, you can’t react. You can’t stare at the creature or acknowledge it in any manner. The creature will sense it. Most creatures I’ve noticed are harmless unless they feel threatened. Having a human see them is a threat. They feel they’re in danger of being trapped or destroyed.”
“Why should they be afraid of us?”
“Humankind has a tendency to destroy what it fears. In ancient times, trolls were driven from civilizations and even hunted. Dwarves were used for their skill at mining precious metals and gems, but not paid fairly. Sometimes they had their families threatened unless they provided humans with more riches. Many unfair incidents in the past ruined any chance of trust between the two worlds. Even the light elves fear humans. Too many times in the past, human greed and power disturbed the lives of creatures in the mythical world.
“For a creature to be noticed by a human is considered a danger for that creature. They’ve been known to follow humans to their homes and observe their behavior. If days go by and they feel no further threat, they’ll move on. If they notice anything that gives them more reason to be fearful, they’ve been known to cause accidents to that human,” said Grandma.
“What kind of accidents?” I asked, alarmed.
She shrugged. “Things that don’t look suspicious—a fall, a fire, sometimes a sickness. Some are warnings to the human to stay silent, but some accidents have been fatal. I know this all sounds scary, so today I’m going to start to train you what to do. If you follow the training, you won’t have any problems. I’ll also teach you to recognize so-called mythical creatures other then light elves and the ones guarding you. These creatures aren’t very often encountered. Many stay away from humankind. I’ve probably noticed only a few dozen in my lifetime of sixty-two years.”
“How can I tell if a creature is guarding me or wants to attack me? What’s the difference?” I really never wanted to meet any other creatures than the ones guarding me and the light elves.
“Well, you may not always know. It’s safe to treat all the same. Unless you’re in the elf village you shouldn’t approach any creature. It’s not like with a human where you may casually smile. With these other creatures you need to have no eye movement towards them! Always pretend they’re invisible, that you can’t hear them either. When you’re walking and they are in your path, for example, just walk right into them. You’ll feel them hit you but don’t look down to see if they’re all right. They’ll definitely tell you off at that moment, but just keep moving. Also, try to focus on a song at that time. I’ve learned that music will keep me breathing evenly if I hum a melody. If you’re with another human, start up a conversation or keep the one you’re in going. One of the hardest things is to resist pulling a friend out of a creature’s path! It’s so hard because it’s instinct, but don’t. They may feel the bump and say something hit them. Even look around. I’m sure you’ve experienced something rubbing against your leg but weren’t able to figure out what it was—that was a an encounter with a creature. Everyone’s had that experience. Most creatures react by laughing or yelling. For some it’s a fun thing to do. Others dislike humans so much they speak unkindly. Don’t react to this!”
“So, Grandma, what type of creatures have you met?”
“A few tree sprites—which look like large dragonflies. They feel they’re invisible, so they often fly really close to your face. Most humans get their nose tickled by them. They’re very curious about humans and will examine you. I almost batted the first one, thinking it was a bug of some kind. Luckily I didn’t. After it tickled my nose, I did rub my nose, which pushed it away some, and it flew off. They’re green fairy-like creatures about four inches long. I found them to be among the most difficult creatures because you want to close your eyes when they are right in front of your face to protect your eyes, but that would give you away. I have since learned to yawn while I put my hand up by my mouth like this—and pat my lips.” Grandma made a fanning movement over her mouth and nose. “Try it.”
I was soon patting my mouth and nose with a fake yawn. I would definitely need to practice this so it wouldn’t look phony.
“I’ve also seen several trolls here in Minnesota. Luckily, none were mountain trolls, which are believed to be part giant. As far as I know, those live farther north in the snow and the mountain areas by the Arctic Circle. The trolls around here are usually the size of a small adult and wear human clothes they’ve stolen. Trolls are completely fascinated by humans. They walk amongst us, trying to mimic our actions—the way we walk, our mannerisms, and voices. They love being in crowds. One couple actually crashed a wedding I attended for a college roommate. Trolls are the hardest ones not to watch. They’re very entertaining but beware—they’re never alone. They always move in groups of two or more, and one always watches the crowd for signs of recognition.”
“Nobody knows they’re there?” I asked.
“Not unless you’ve been graced with power to see them. Oh, and they love party food and have huge appetites. That’s why they’re drawn to big gatherings—they can eat all they want at a buffet and nobody notices. I noticed a couple of them at a casino once eating food at one of the buffets. They stay away from where the servers are, and tend to take small portions, a little at a time, so nobody wonders what happened to the food. They can sit at a buffet for hours. They really are gluttons.
“Trolls also are known for their thievery. They’re experts at picking things out of a purse and pockets of people passing by them. They have no interest in money, but love human belongings. They also shoplift small items at stores. You’ll periodically notice one at Target or a grocery store, especially in the produce section where they’ll munch fresh food. They’re definitely the boldest of the mythical creatures and possibly one of the most dangerous because they want to be human. They can read human faces better than any other creature due to their mimicking of human expressions, so they have some sense for what humans are feeling. Always be extremely careful around them, because it’s easy to get caught up observing their actions, which are mostly comical.”
“How do you not focus on them, Grandma, if they’re right in front of you?” I couldn’t imagine that.
“We’ll start your physical training tomorrow and practice this skill. The more practice you get, the better you’ll react. It’s not easy to walk right into a creature, though you’ve been doing it already without knowledge of it. For me it was the hardest when your dad was little, to not say ‘watch out’ when we approached a creature. As a mother, the instinct to protect your child is very strong. I had to train myself to think I was protecting him by not doing anything. When you’re with friends and family, you’re the only one who’s aware of the danger, so they’re safer not knowing. It’s so backwards from how we were brought up.”
“What are the most dangerous creatures?” I needed to know this.
“Aly, all are dangerous in their own way. Our tomtes can be very dangerous when there’s a threat. Luckily, they’re here to protect us, so we don’t need to fear them. But know that, if another creature posed a threat to one of us, our tomtes would not hesitate to destroy it.”
Grandma’s words took me by surprise. I never thought of any of the four tomtes I had met as dangerous. “I guess they’d need to be dangerous to others or they wouldn’t be able to guard us. But then why are we chosen to guard the light elves, Grandma? We’re just regular people.”
“You haven’t had your training yet. You have more powers than you know. Soon you’ll be aware of them. I first want you to be aware of the outside world and how to avoid any possible danger before you’re taught how to fight off danger, if it comes. It’ll be more than a summer of training before I pass the reins to you, and even then, I’ll be here to assist whenever you need me,” said Grandma.
The
more information I was given, the stronger and quicker my heart beat became. “So I won’t be on my own for another year?”
“No, Aly. There’s much training ahead of us. How about we take a break for today and go out and get some fresh air, maybe do some yard work.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon in the sunshine. I still scanned the yard, looking for signs of Silver. It had been almost a week now since the day my life had changed. Was I ever going to feel like an average person again? I guessed not.
When I got home from Grandma’s house, my mom had a barbecue dinner in process. I quickly helped her set the picnic table. It was our first outdoor meal of the summer. I loved eating outside and having grilled food. While waiting for the food to be done, I noticed Emily and my mom had planted the vegetable garden while I was at Grandma’s. Some plants had already sprouted, while others would need time to pop up and show themselves. Lines of string on sticks marked where they would soon be seen. It was the first year I’d missed the planting time. Sadness filled me a little from all the changes in my life. Each year my mom let Emily and me chose what went where in the garden. This year it had been done without me.
Summer was always my favorite season: watching things grow, going barefoot, and spending as much time as possible outside. It was a time to feel free. But all had changed this summer. All the carefree times had been turned into learning sessions. I realized my “summer job” of being outside all day in the sunshine was being taken away. The work was neglected. Grandma’s yard hadn’t been touched until today. Most of our days were spent inside Grandma’s house, not in her sunny garden.
