Humans

What are humans anyway?

In the early morning light just after sunrise, Troll walked east.

He came to a soft, muddy patch close to the tree line at the edge of the clearing.

There was a lingonberry bush there.

Troll introduced himself to the bush, and asked permission to share its air.

The lingonberry bush was in full bloom and was excited for the company. The bush was eager to show off its small, bell-like white flowers.

“They are lovely,” said the troll, whooshing like a gentle breeze, “and they smell sweet.”

He settled his body in the mud.

For their size, trolls were remarkably skilled at camouflage. He rolled himself up to appear as a large moss-covered rock. The bush on his shoulder seemed to grow at an angle near the top.

Red Squirrel, Lemming, and Vole were with him. They were too young to be left on their own.

Lemming slept beneath the bush, fidgeting and kicking in her dreams.

Vole hopped to the ground and marched straight into the clearing. Troll had to ask that she stay close.

She squeaked in agreement, but Troll knew she was not happy about it.

Red Squirrel climbed to the top of the bush and stared into the clearing.

“How are you supposed to climb trees when there aren’t any trees? How do you hide from the wolves and hawks and foxes and eagles out there?”

“Stay with me where you are safe then.”

Troll knew that nothing would harm his friends as long as they were with him.

When Moose came in the night, he said there were three humans. There was more though. They had come with some sheep, a goat, and a horse.

Watching them from a distance, he could not tell who or what was who.

“Which do you think are the humans?” Troll whispered to his young friends.

Red Squirrel answered first, or he tried to. The sound of a falcon in the distance frightened him so much that he froze.

Lemming was next but was probably dreaming and talking in her sleep.

“Issa comfy fuzzy, mmmmm.”

Vole climbed up to the bush and looked out into the clearing. She strained her little eyes.

“Everything is too far away. I can’t see.”

Troll thanked her for trying, telling her he couldn’t remember what humans looked like.

“That is why I am asking.”

Vole squinted her eyes. In the field were dark blurry shapes in the sunlight.

She did not like not knowing, especially when Troll needed help.

She was impatient.

An idea came. Why not just go ask?

She did not stop to think if this was a good idea. She scurried to the ground and dashed as fast as her little legs could carry her into the field.

There was a whoosh from Troll’s rocky fingertip. It just missed her fluffy little bottom as she sprinted away.

She had outrun Troll’s reach!

Nothing could stop her now!

“Come back, Vole!” shouted Troll.

A farmer at his heart, Holger stood in the field imagining where he might plow a new field to someday start growing again.

Suddenly there came a loud, chittering, squeaking kind of sound. It echoed throughout the clearing.

Everyone looked up to see what it was.

Everyone except for the goat that is. He kept eating.

“What was that?!?” Holger yelled.

Beyla shrugged her shoulders.

Signy did not answer. She was already walking that way.

Photo by Bob Brewer on Unsplash

Come back, Vole?

It didn’t make any sense to Signy, but that’s what she heard.

It was so loud. So deep. So... not small sounding.

She imagined the sound came from some sort of giant rodent, but that didn’t make sense. There weren’t giant rodents, were there?

Signy had already started towards the sound when Papa called for her to be careful.

She didn’t listen.

Vole was determined.

She dashed through the field as fast as her little legs could carry her.

One of the blurred things was just ahead. The closer she came, the clearer it looked.

The thing was coming towards her!

It was tall, though not as tall as Troll, and walked on just two legs.

Vole was brave. She would stand up to it if she had to. She could stand up to anything!

The two-legged animal stopped.

It did not see Vole.

It looked over her to the trees. To where Troll was hiding.

Vole knew that Troll did not want to be seen yet. Why else would he be hiding?

What was she going to do?

Her first and only idea was to squeal as loudly as she could and to climb onto the creature’s foot.

The thing saw Vole there.

“What’s this? Who are you?”

The tall, two-legged thing bent over to get a better look at Vole.

“ME? Who are you?!?”

Vole wanted to take charge. If anyone was going to be asking questions, it was going to be her.

“I’m sorry if I almost stepped on you. I didn’t see you down there.”

“What are you?” chittered the small, furry creature.

Signy was surprised at how direct the little thing was. She bent over for a closer look. She remembered what the giant, rodent sounding thing had said.

“Are you a vole?”

“Of course I’m a vole. Why? What are you?”

She knew it! The loud thing must have been talking to the vole.

“That loud noise... before... did you hear it? What was it?”

The vole hopped to the cloth of Signy’s tunic and climbed all the way to her shoulder.

“WHAT ARE YOU?” it squeaked loudly into the girl’s ear.

Signy realized she hadn’t answered any of the vole’s questions. She didn’t want to seem rude.

“I’m a girl,” she finally answered.

The vole skittered behind Signy’s neck to her other shoulder.

“I’m a girl too, but what ARE you?”

Signy suddenly realized what she was being asked. It seemed strange that someone didn’t know what a person was. How far into the wilderness were they?

“A person. A human. Why? Haven’t you ever seen one before?”

“No”

The vole was very direct. Signy wondered how different truly wild animals must be from the ones she had known all her life. It was a strange thought that there were animals who might have never seen a person before.

A loud voice came from behind. It was mama.

“Signy! Come back please!”

Hearing mama reminded Signy of the loud thing that had called for the vole.

“That’s my mama. She wants me to come back.”

She paused.

“Does someone want you to come back too?”

The vole scratched with her back leg, then spoke.

“That was... I have to go too.”

“Oh. Okay then. Well, it was nice to meet you. You were very brave to come out here all by yourself, you know, but I’m glad you did.”

“I am brave. I’m not afraid of anything,” the vole told her.

“I believe it,” laughed Signy.

The vole scurried down Signy’s apron and tunic to the ground and ran to the place in the trees where the sound had come from.

She shielded her eyes from the sun as she stared into the tree line, but she didn’t see anything.

“Signy! Come on!”

“Coming, mama!”

Red Squirrel had only just learned that humans existed.

He was sure they were trouble; probably bloodthirsty predators. He shuddered at the thought.

One more thing to be afraid of.

There were humans in the grassy field.

Red Squirrel leaned out from the bush as far as he could, straining his eyes, but he could not see them. They were too far away.

Vole was out there too.

Red Squirrel sniffed. He perked up his ears.

Wherever she was, Vole was too far to see or smell or hear.

She was probably dead.

The world was terrifying. How did Vole not understand that? Running into danger was sure to get her eaten.

“What is happening out there, Troll?”

Troll stayed quiet and still.

It was Lemming who answered him, in a way. In her sleep she muttered something.

“Sssss a good hummmmman. So niccccce. Mmmmmm.”

Lemming re-snuggled against the base of the bush.

The world was terrifying. How did Lemming not understand that? Sleeping in the face of danger was sure to get her eaten.

Nothing. Nothing in the world was nice. Maybe Troll. Maybe. But that was it.

There was a sound in the grass. Something was running. Coming closer.

His nose twitched.

It was Vole.

She must have been running for her life.

Red Squirrel leapt from the bush and crawled into Troll’s nose for safety.

He clung to the hairs inside Troll’s nose, bracing for Vole and whatever was chasing her. Probably a human.

Vole scurried from the tall grass. She stopped in front of Troll to catch her breath.

Red Squirrel watched and sniffed and he listened for the thing Vole must have been running from.

He saw nothing. He smelled nothing. He heard nothing.

Strange.

Vole was lucky to have gotten away.

“That was a dangerous thing you did,” quietly scolded Troll.

Vole ignored him.

“I met one! I met one!” she squeaked. “I met a human! She talked to me!”

Vole dashed up Troll’s face and stood right between his eyes.

“She said I was brave!”

Red Squirrel couldn’t believe it. Vole wasn’t brave. She was stupid. And lucky.

Troll lifted a finger to pet Vole.

“You would like her. She was nice... like you.”

Nice? Red Squirrel didn’t believe it. The human had probably just eaten, that was all.

“Wait,” said Troll. “You said she talked to you? And you understood her?”