Hunted by Shadows

I have it! I whistled past long green grass and the occasional massive weathered tree. Once more the picture sprang into mind. Blue...Blue as far as one could see, stretching out across the horizon. The sea!

That’s where I’ll go. I’ll be safe there; few people. And everything will be safe from me. I can’t burn sand or rock.

I had seen a picture of the sea in one of my keeper’s books. It was beautiful and confusing. But how do I go about finding it?

I started studying the flora around me. Wetland. I heard the unmistakable croaking of frogs hidden from view. There were many more birds than I was used to and I caused clouds of twittering and cawing creatures to take to the sky when I forged ahead.

I smiled when I looked over my shoulder and saw them settle back. That’s what I liked about animals, as long as you didn’t hurt them or their kin they left you well alone. Or maybe it’s just because I had no smell and to them I was merely a strange flashing movement passing through, harmless, enigmatic, but as it had nothing to do with food or offspring they memory lasted for only a few seconds and faded into nothingness.

I frowned. It was only humans who ever tried to wilfully hurt me. Why? They never listened. Never considered that I looked human as well, that I could be hurt, that I would cry if I could, that I could become angry, that I could think logically and solve problems. I was merely a monster in sheep’s guise for them.

After midday my unusual energy from the morning dissipated and the usual lethargy sunk in as the sun hid behind the horizon. But now I was excited and not as scared when I felt my eyes begin to droop, my feet begin to drag and when my footfalls did not set the greenery catch fire nor cause the little pools of water evaporate.

I was happy because I had figured out what had happened the previous night. I had fallen asleep, just like my keeper and all the village people had around nightfall. When I had questioned my keeper he had said that they used it to recover from the day’s activities, to gain energy for a new day.

But why had I never needed sleep then? Feeling the tiredness of my muscles I realised it must be because, just like the villagers, I had worked very hard today and needed to replenish my energy reserves. Or was it something else? Had it something to do with the sun? Something to do with the fact that my keeper had placed a strange lamp near me every time the sun set?

I waved the clamouring thoughts aside. They could wait for the next day, whilst I savoured the need of my body. I chose a huge flat rock covered with moss for my bed but just as I was to give out a gleeful giggle I heard the unmistakable tread of booted feet. I sucked in my laughter and lay down, keeping as low as possible.

Is it that chaser...no hunter of mine still following me? Has it finally found me? I was terrified mostly because I knew my hunter was not human nor animal and was therefore even more dangerous. But I was truly terrified because I was at my weakest and most vulnerable moment and I could not flee at the speed I usually did.

A small mud covered humanoid scuttled out of the reeds ahead of me and we both stopped and stared. I sat up, my heart hammering in my chest. I felt exposed and let my waist long hair fall forward to cover most of me. I had seen before that humans wore clothes, cumbersome things that did more harm than good. But the human in front of me only had a rough length of leather tied at the waist to form a short skirt.

It regarded me suspiciously with dark brown eyes and the held the long stick defensively in front of its chest.

“Good evening,” I squeaked.

It seemed startled and crouched down so that we were at eye level. The moon highlighted boyish features beneath the thick mud and a childish smile spread across his face. He said something in a strange language and I shook my head, looking confused.

He laughed and sat down on next to me on the rock and I saw that he was much shorter than me, probably just a ten year old.

No one had ever approached my kindly like this, even my keeper had shown fear at times. I smiled and spread my arms wide indicating the amazing array of stars above our heads.
He exclaimed, his grin broadening. He pointed at his chest and then at a star When I continued looking surprised he repeated the movements and said “Wtvu” I let out an ‘oh’ of understanding. He was telling me his name. Did his people, who lived on these wetlands name themselves after the stars?

He pointed at me, a question in his eyes.

My name? I was silent for a moment. I had many names, my keeper had never given me a proper name before and if he had he had regularly forgotten it and I had become used to being called Poppy, Red, Girl, Fire, Tania and many more.

I smiled as a thought hit me and I gathered some sticks and dry grass while he watched me curiously. I obtained two stones and struck them against each other, repetitively, until a few sparks began to fly. For a brief moment the grass caught aflame and I shouted happily and pointed at it before a gust of wind extinguished it.

Without a word the boy came to crouch down next to me and within a few minutes he had a small fire going. He pointed at the burning grass and twigs and then pointed at me saying a strange word in his tongue, something like, “Ttkun”, clicking his tongue on the 't'. I shook my head and pointed directly at the flames and then at myself.

“Eyana?” he said.

I did not know what Eyana was but assumed it meant fire. I nodded and gave out a yawn. He suddenly reached out and touched my hair and I let out a yelp of shock scared lest he burn himself. But I had forgotten my hair cooled at night and he held a handful of my hair closer to the fire and made exclamations supposedly at the colour. He grinned in understanding as if something suddenly made sense. The boy laughed again, sounding excited. I fell asleep on my rock while he extinguished the fire.

The next morning I woke up, just as the sun’s rays gave welcome warmth to my limbs. I saw that the little star boy was gone and my heart gave a sad little flutter. Maybe I had dreamed him up.

While I was basking in the sun I heard his happy boyish voice calling, “Eyana! Eyana!”

I sat up and called “Wtvu!” before I clamped my mouth shut and looked for shelter. He would see my hair, now, during daylight looking almost truly like fire, and if he tried touching it he would burn himself. And if I moved off of this rock he would see plants wither beneath my feet.

I should run now, while I still could. I gave a gasp of shock when I saw him appear dragging along someone who looked like him, obviously his sister, who was much older than him, probably my own age. She had been saying something to him angrily, her beaded braids swinging as she chided him, but she stopped suddenly and her mouth fell slightly open when she saw me.

Wtvu did not look so sure of himself anymore and he took a few steps back. But then he shouted gleefully and pointed at my hair before laughing. “Eyana!” He looked back at his sister for confirmation and she nodded, tight lipped.

He was about to run to me, when I shouted, ”No!” and held my arms up. I knew that but for my hair I looked human although my skin was much paler than theirs. I sighed and stepped off of my rock. I tried to tread carefully but the grass and moss beneath my feet blackened and died and the dry tinder from last night caught fire when my toe brushed against it.

Both of humans stumbled back with cries of alarm and the sister yanked her brother back shouting strange words at me.

I gave one last mournful look at Wtvu before I was off in a flash of red, my hair fanning out behind me like flames.

I heard shouts of fear from behind me and I whirled around for they sounds of pain were intermingled amongst them. And then I saw him: My hunter, holding the limp body of my little star boy.