Who are the Real Monsters? by: Elsbeth Ken Umeki will learn that not all monsters come out at night.

Chapter 3
Making my way back into the house, I spoke to my Uncle for a few minutes before retreating to my shared bedroom. At least he hadn’t changed; of all my cousins, my Uncle had always treated me as one of the family. Even that didn’t seem to bring me any peace tonight. Falling into bed, I wrapped myself in anger. It had scarcely been a week since my breakup with Olina. She dumped me, so why should I feel guilty about asking Sile for a date. She didn’t even have the decency to say goodbye. However, it wasn’t anger but loneliness that overtook my thoughts as I started to drift off to sleep.

“Master Ken.” A familiar strawberry blonde haired woman loomed over my bed, breaking through my troubled sleep.

“Katie.” Rolling off my bed, I threw myself into her arms. She returned the embrace and at that point, I began to silently cry. With Olina out of my life of all the people, I needed in the world right now it was Katie that I needed the most. It was a dream because there was no reason for her to be in Skogshaven. Katie hadn’t been in my life for five years and it was totally my fault.

Aya was the sister I tried to emulate, but Katie was the bright smiling sister who would always listen to your problems. She joined our household during one of my mother’s antique trips through Ireland when I was about nine years old. Deciding that she needed Aya by her side, my mother made Katie my new nanny. She ended up being in my life for a short time but it would have a large impact on how I view the world.

My parent’s willful neglect always pushed me off balance but it was Aya and Katie who kept me on an even keel. The pair would become my role models. Though they looked at life very differently, I always felt I had a lot to learn from each of them. Aya made sure I understood the value of hard work, but it was Katie who taught me the value of fun. She found joy in the everyday things. True, Katie had this Marry Poppins things going for her but it was contagious.

That joy began to fade around the age of eleven. I remember being angry all the time, usually directed at my absent parents. When we travelled to Skogshaven for the wedding, I found a way to embarrass them. Being a young child, I wanted my parents to see me but I didn’t know of any other way to get their attention. Attention even if it was bad was still attention. Unfortunately, it was not me but Katie who paid that price when she lost her job or so I thought.

“I’m so sorry, I thought they fired you.”

“Hardly” She laughed and pulled me out of the bedroom. “Come, we don’t want to wake up your cousin.” Katie still spoke with a cute Irish accent and I was surprised how much her appearance had not changed.

“I was so mad at my parents when they didn’t allow me to say good bye to you.” Katie found us a secluded part of the house in one of the second kitchens. The best part was the cup of tea in my hand. Katie always made the best tea. “So you have been working for my Aunt all of these years?”

“More or less, Master Ken.” She then whispered. “I‘m sorry my duckling, I wasn’t able to say goodbye either.” No surprise there Katie’s absence was punishment for embarrassing my parents. I started to tell her about my life for the last five years. When I spoke to Katie about Olina, it was as if those five years apart had disappeared. She understood my pain and it was enough that someone else knew. Afterwards we sat there quietly. “It seems Aya didn’t do too bad a job.”

“Well at least I didn’t get her fired.” I said unhappily.

“Don’t fret luv, I think you mother had planned on me staying in Skogshaven.”

Before I could say something I would regret, I felt someone behind me. “I see you two have been getting reacquainted.” Aunt Rika stood at the door to the kitchen; how long she had been there I wasn’t sure. Katie stood up and brushed off her apron.

“Do you require anything from me, Mistress?”

“In a moment, I require Ken right now. Please follow me.” My Aunt quickly turned around and left the room. Katie and I looked at one another.

“Might as well.”

Soon Aunt Riki and I sat seiza-style in front of her favorite Kotatsu in one of the dojo’s side offices. Sitting seiza-style was to me a form of torture, which I knew was banned by the Geneva Convention. Shifting around a little, I felt my legs going numb.

“Uncomfortable?”

“A little, maybe we can turn on the heater?”

“You won’t freeze, dear.” Aunt Rika motioned to Katie who set down a cup of freshly brewed tea. Taking a sip, she smiled. “The tea is excellent as always Katherine, please remain. So Ken how was your first day at school?”

Aunt Rika didn’t want a blow by blow account just a synopsis that she could tell my mother.

“So I was told that you are now friends with Agwe St. Hill.” She took another sip of tea while giving me a frosty look.

“We’re friendly, I don’t know about friends.”

“That’s your decision of course.” Now that came as a surprised. “It’s also came to my attention that your schedule might now allow all of us to eat together.”

“Meaning?”

“With your training and school work, I thought it might be better that your meal times be more flexible.” She turned to Katie. “Katherine dear, since my needs are small will you be so kind to take up your duties once again with Master Ken? His care is now your responsibility. Any meals can be served in the kitchen in the dojo as it’s currently not being used.”

“It would be my pleasure.” Katie curtsied and gave me a small smile. I was stunned. True dinner had been a little uncomfortable but enough to kick me out of the dining hall?

“How about his new bedroom, Mistress Rika?”

“What new bedroom?”

Aunt Rika gave Katie a little frown then shrugged. “Sorry dear, you didn’t know it was supposed to be a surprise. Ken, your mother asked us to renovate one of the older bedrooms for you. It’s not finished yet.”

I smiled that was the best news all day. “Thank you, Aunt Rika. Ren and I aren’t getting along very well now.”

“I know dear and I’m sorry. He has had a bad couple of years and I know his parents are concerned as well. If you can deal with him for a little while longer, we will have your new room finished. I also have a small favor to ask of you.”

“Sure, Aunt Rika, whatever you need.”

She smiled. “Excellent, I heard that you are quite skilled as a Kagura dancer.”

Oh, joy. “I’m guessing this little tidbit of information came from my Obaasan. Why, can’t anyone here do the dance?”

“Yui has been dancing for the last few years but she is off to college. Rebecca has been trying hard but I am afraid is not very graceful. Some of your other cousins are close but from what I saw you will be perfect.”

Katie said afterwards that the look on my face was priceless. “Someone has it on video? Who else has seen it?”

“Your Uncle, most of your cousins. Rebecca and Yui were using the video to help them with their dancing.”

“Please kill me now.” Laying my head on the Kotatsu I seriously considered seppuku. This whole day was totally working me over.

“Nonsense Ken, you did very well, so be proud of your accomplishments.”

For some reason that failed to cheer me up, “I’m also out of practice, almost two years out of practice. Rebecca I’m sure would be a better choice.” I wasn’t going to tell her that like my katas I remembered every move. When she didn’t reply I raised my head. Aunt Rika didn’t appear to be in the argumentative mood. “When am I supposed to dance?”

She smiled. “Two weeks from now, at the Founder’s Festival. I will also need your help with some of the rituals. Oh, before I forget, Rebecca will also be joining you during practice. Yui was a good dancer, but a horrible teacher.”

“What about my outfits, it’s a little difficult to get one to fit me on such short notice.” Thankfully, everything was still in Hawaii with the rest of my things.

“Your grandmother mailed them to us last week. I am sure they just need a little alteration.”

“Of course she did.” Grandma and I were definitely going to be having a serious conversation when I see her next.

The second day of school was anything but uneventful. A few more people greeted me in class. A number of people who sat around me actually acknowledge my presence. Unfortunately, all of this came with a price. One of the girls who talked to me in class had a boyfriend who was a bit of a stalker. Dressed all in black, with a shaved head and some interesting tats he cornered me while I was grabbing my Chemistry book.

“Stay away from my girlfriend.”

“What?” I’ve been in Skogshaven for like three days and was sure I wasn’t making moves on anyone’s girlfriend. For a moment, I thought he meant Sile but I got over it.

“Stay away from Kristen.”

His girlfriend I realized was the one who rescued me from a couple of girls trolling for information on Mal’s crush. They were friends with the Mayor’s daughter who Mal had broken up with over the summer. The girls wouldn’t take ‘ I don’t know Morgan’ as an answer. Nor did they care that I really haven’t seen Mal in five years. Kristen who I can only describe as an orange haired Viking girl stepped in and told them to go away. She didn’t seem to be the type of person to mess with and they took the hint. We had a nice conversation afterwards about beaches in Hawaii. Kristen’s brother had been stationed at Pearl a few years back. It was nice to talk about home.

“Dude, what are you in, junior high? She’s in my English class, of course I’m going to talk to her.” Really, did people act like this anymore? He moved to block my way, which I then spun on my heels faster than he could react and slid right behind him. Unfortunately, the bald guy didn’t bother to move his feet so when the he tried to grab me he ended up falling face first right in front of the Principal

“Eric, what a surprise I haven’t seen you in my office since yesterday.” Principal Byrne stared at my prone attacker with a not so friendly smile on her face. “Ken, go ahead to class, I’ll be having a nice conversation with this young man.”

“So what happened to you?” Miki asked as I walked into Chemistry class. Apparently, my annoyance was written all over my face.

“Seems I made a friend, Eric something or the other…I looked at his girlfriend or something equally stupid.”

Agwe giggled. “So what’s his girlfriend’s name?”

“Kristen, I think.”

“Ex-boyfriend you mean.” Another girl answered as she set down her books. “Kristen is weird but no one should have to deal with someone like Eric. She needs to put a restraining order on him or something.” A few more girls jumped in; apparently Eric doesn’t have the best of reputations.

“So you seem more cheerful.”

Miki took a chair next to me to get away from the feeding frenzy. “It still sucks big time. I thought Melissa and I were...whatever doesn’t matter anymore.”

“You could always take up stalking.”

Miki chuckled. “Yea that’ll go over well, her uncle’s the Sheriff.”

“I’m glad to hear she broke up with Eric.” Mal came over to join the conversation. “Kristen’s a pretty nice girl, you should ask her out.”

“If you can get over the hair color of the week thing.” Miki laughed.

“We were just talking. Actually, I have a date Friday night.” The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them.

“Who?” Agwe banged my desk from behind.

“Wow, aren’t you the playa.” Miki looked impressed.

“Hardly, we met on the bus and I asked her out.”

“So who is she?” Mal asked now curious himself.

“I’d rather not say.” I didn’t believe it myself.

Agwe got up from her desk and gave me the eye. “Alright, I believe you that you have a date, but I expect details on Monday.”

Grinning I raised my hands in surrender. “Fine…fine.” Right then I decided to enjoy my date with Sile. I still missed Olina but I needed to move on with my life in Skogshaven.

Sitting in a tree while watching a massive green dog circling around me I realized that not listening to people who probably knew more than I did had been a mistake. Ignoring that type of advice while in the surf will get you killed and I wasn’t so sure that wasn’t going to happen now. The evening started nicely enough with Katie and me planning our meals for the rest of the week. I was still annoyed that my cousins kicked me out of the dining hall but it did free up time for more of my evening actives. Katie was happy to see that my palate now included more than just macaroni and cheese. She would take care of my laundry and cleaning but I insisted that we dine together. I think it made her day.

Tuesday’s running route took me down most of the paths through the park. They were well made and allowed for a bit of variety during the run. I’m not a real big fan of running in the streets. Too many people don’t pay attention to the cars in front of them much less someone running on the side of the road. My impatience once again got the better of me. It’s something I need to really work on. Realizing I was going to be late for practice at the dojo, a shortcut through the woods seemed like a good idea. It was going to be a much larger short cut than the day before but it would be quicker than running around the park. In addition, the underbrush should give me a decent work out; that was until I ran into the green dog.

Somewhat in the zone, I still needed to be careful of my footing I entered a clearing and stopped. Standing in front of me was the biggest hound I had ever seen in my entire life. The beast was at least four feet at the shoulder and green in color. It was not a cute basset hound but more like the Hound of the Baskerville.

Taking off in a random direction any coherent decisions had left my brain as soon as I looked into its glowing red eyes. The beast quickly followed and I could feel it’s hot breath on the back of my legs. It was at that point I climbed up the nearest tree. So this was the real reason why people didn’t go wandering around in the woods. Sure if someone told me that if you go in the woods you might be eaten I might have believed them. Then again, monster size green dogs were not something one expected to find in the forests of New England.

“OK dog, you had your fun now go away.” I shouted down. Actually, I was surprised I was able to climb this particular tree so easily. There weren’t any real decent hand holds but then again a hound the size of a pony trying to eat you was a real motivator.

It looked up and our eyes met. “Yes…yes…you’re very funny.” I stopped. I could actually tell that the hound thought this whole thing was hilarious. It also wasn’t really planning on hurting me it was just protecting part of the forest were I wasn’t permitted.

“Well then let me go on my way and next time I’ll bring you a bag of treats.”

The hound mulled it over then circled the tree once more before taking off. Carefully I made my way down the tree dropping to the forest floor. “Stupid dog now I’m lost.” Looking around the forest seemed a little different. Pulling out my smart phone it came to no surprise that my GPS app and the actual phone weren’t able to find a connection to a tower or a satellite.

“So no one will search for you if you’re lost.” The thought of leaving my bones in the forest didn’t really appeal to me. The sun was setting so I started to run south it seemed a good as a direction as any or at least I hoped it was south. The undergrowth finally seemed to be thinning out when I suddenly broke through the edge of the forest by the Library. At least from here the direction home was clear. With one last look at the forest, I started forward but stopped when I noticed a young girl watching me. She was sitting high up on one of the branches of this massive oak tree. Dressed in a short white dress, her hair pulled up in braids she gave me a friendly wave. She couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old.

“Are you OK up there? Do you need any help getting down?” There was plenty of traffic on the road but I didn’t see anyone else on the commons.

“No, I’m perfectly safe.” She giggled which I thought made the leaves on the tree twitch. “I’m waiting for friends of mine.”

“Do you want me to wait with you?”

“No, that’s OK, don’t you have to be somewhere?”

I looked up at her surprised. “How did you know?”

“You keep looking at your watch silly.”

“Let me go and tell the people in the library you’re here, just in case your friends are late.” I really didn’t want to leave the girl by herself in the tree. Hopefully I’d run into her parents on their way out. The young girl gave me a smile then shrugged.

In no time at all, I found the librarian. “Ma'am, there seems to be a little girl in the tree.”

The conservatively dressed woman turned around from what she was doing and gave me a warm smile. “Is this girl dressed in a white dress and her hair up in braids?”

“Yes, Ma'am.”

“You’re new to the town I take it?”

“Yes I moved here this weekend.”

She nodded. “You have just seen the White Child.”

“Who?”

“We have had reports for years about a child climbing on Father Oak. Sometimes people just hear her laughter.” She leaned over and whispered. “I thought I saw her when I was little girl.”

We both looked through the window out into the commons towards the tree that the Liberian called ‘Father Oak’ it appeared to be empty. The little girl had vanished. A chill went right down my spine “Is she a ghost?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you sure she isn’t really there? I’d hate to leave a kid stuck in a tree.”

She leaned over and patted my hand. “You’re a good boy, go home. I promise you no one is in the tree.”

“I think I will, it’s been a strange day.” Large green dogs and ghost children right first thing I was going to do was revise my running routes to keep as far away from the park as possible.

Authors Notes: A special thanks to djkauf for a little elvish editing. If you like the story please leave a Kudos, if you have the time I would love to hear from you. Thanks to all for reading! - Elsbeth

 © Copyright - Elsbeth2011/2012