Just Boy - chapter 2

Their whispers surrounded me, making my ears strain and my face redden as a strange sensation of fear engulfed me. These were all people just like me, and yet in that moment I felt like I belonged to a whole other species. As the ring of curious people grew thick around me, my fear heightened to near-panic.
  I shrieked loudly when the girl - whose presence I had momentarily forgotten - poked me to get my attention. I whirled to look at her, and, on impulse, I shoved her. Hard. Once again, she fell on her behind, and the crowd gasped, the whispers growing louder. I couldn't take it anymore.
  "STOP LOOKING AT ME!" I screamed.
  The crowd was silenced for a moment, probably more from shock than from anything else. Suddenly, I noticed the girl, once again standing and dusting herself off. Her glare was like fire, and she held her head high and angry while she demanded, "what did you do that for?!"
  I growled at her, a scary growl I'd learned from imitating the wild animals. Somehow I did all these things without thinking. I could feel the crowd staring, my heart was beating hard, and it was all too much at once, for me.
  Suddenly even more angry, the girl slapped my face. This took me by surprise more than anything. Despite all his yelling and screaming, old Rumpelstiltzkin had never actually hit me at all. I stared and stared at the girl, not even hearing the crowd anymore, and finally, I slapped her right back.
  That was the last straw. Two men grabbed me from behind and started carrying me off down the street. I didn't go quietly, oh no! I kicked and screamed and wriggled and bit the men's hands, but they didn't let go, though they both said things like, "Never seen anything like it! It's like he was raised by wild animals!" and so on. Sometime in the middle of all this, we entered the house, and the two men dumped me on the floor. For a moment, I just sat there, blinking up at the face of the man in front of me.
  He was tall to me, but a little short compared to everyone else around. He had a soft, round face and kind blue eyes that, at the moment, were full of curiosity.
  "Well," he said. "What's going on?"
  "It's a demon-child!" one man said.
  "He hit your grand-daughter, sir!" another called.
  "What?" the man said, looking dismayed. "He hit May?"
  "Yes, sir!" the second man replied.
  The kind-eyed man looked down at me. "Why did you hit my grand-daughter?"
  I stared at his eyes, listening to my own frantic heartbeat. I couldn't think of anything to say; my mind was completely blank.
  "Well?"
  When I stayed silent, the man turned and asked the crowd, "Where did this child come from?"
  "The forest."
  "Truly?" The man's eyes widened. "A strange coincidence, since the little goblin of the woods also came to our village yesterday."
  "Little man?" I blurted, my fear building once more.
  "Yes," the man said, gazing at me. "Do you know of him?"
  I shut my mouth, unsure if I should say more. What if they tried to take me back to Rumpelstiltzkin? That thought sickened me. No way was I going back there!"
  BANG BANG BANG!
  The sound came from teh door of the building, and I heard a familiar, screechy voice say "Let me in!"
  My heart jumping into my throat, I scrambled toward the nearest open window, frantically clawing my way up the wall toward it. Yells and other angry sounds followed me, and hands tried to pull me back down, but I clung stubbornly to the window frame, knuckles white, and kicked as often as I could manage, though I didn't really hit much. Finally, my grip broke, and once again, two men held me between them. Someone opened the door.
  "He IS here!" the little man yelled, as soon as he saw me. He was mad. It took another two men to restrain him!
  The man with kind eyes stood between us, and spoke. "Goblin of the woods, what are you here for?"
  "That boy is mine!" Rump screeched, flailing.
  "Really? And what proof do you have of that? Do you even know his name?"
  "He has no name!"
  "Oh? Well, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait until I talk with him."
  "How dare you!" Rump raged. "He's MINE!"
  The man nodded calmly at the two men holding me. "To my room."
  And with that I was dragged away, up the stairs, to the second floor of the house. We went down a narrow hallway, and entered the room at the very end. Then the two men dropped me and locked the door, while the kind-eyed man sat down on his bed and faced me, smiling.
  "So," he said. "What brings you here?"
  I stared at him blankly. Once again, I'd lost my tongue.
  "My name is Orlan," the man went on. "What's yours?"
  "...Boy," I finally squeaked.
  "Your name is Boy?" he asked, looking even more puzzled when I nodded slowly. "How...odd."
  "Your houses have four walls in every room," I blurted, for no reason at all.
  "Yes. Yes, the do," Orlan agreed, chuckling. "Is there something wrong with that?"
  I shook my head fervently. "It's better than three."
  "I think so too."
  Then there was silence for a while. He was waiting for me to say something...so I did.
  "Are you going to give me back to Rumpelstiltzkin?"
  Orlan smiled, guessing who I meant. "Would you like us to?"
  " No!" I shouted, so loud the old man jumped.
  "Well!"  he said. "Then we better not do it, eh? Where do you come from?"
  "From the-" I began, then stopped, feeling something odd and choking well up. "...I don't know."
  "I see." The man's voice was soft and gentle. "Well, perhaps a better questio nwould be, where are you going?"
  "I don't know," I repeated, distracted by those strange feelings.
  "Anywhere but where the little man will be, is it?"
  I nodded.
  "Would you like to stay in our village for a while, Boy?"
  I blinked at him, wondering what he meant.
  "Village?" I asked.
  Poor old Orlan broke into wild laughter for about fifteen seconds, after which he calmed down quickly and beamed at me.
  "Boy, I think you had better stay, and learn a thing or two about people."
  "Uhhhh...." I said stupidly.
  "It's settled then!" Orlan clapped his wrinkled hands. "You'll stay with me and my family, and I will protect you from this little man until you are ready to move on."
  
  How do you explain what it's like to interact with people for the first time in what seems like forever? I'm not really sure. I can tell you that I was as uneasy as a wildcat trying to cross a bridge made of toothpicks, and about as likely to growl irritably as one, too. On the one hand, I was feeling an excitement building in me that almost couldn't be contained, but on the other, I was so stunned and overwhelmed by all that I was experiencing, I sometimes felt like shutting my eyes, plugging my ears, and yelling like old Rump until I forgot where I was.
  That first day, I was taken to meet Orlan's son and his family, which unluckily included May, the girl I'd fought with earlier. She spent most of the day staring at me sourly from under long eyelashes, and once or twice I did my little growl at her, when her parents weren't looking. They didn't see too peeved at me, but they didn't seem too happy about me either. I don't know what the villagers did with Rumpelstiltzkin, and quite frankly, I didn't care. I was too wrapped up in curiosity.
  The first few minutes, I just stuck like a burr to Orlan, but then he was distracted, talking cheerfully to his son, and I started drifting around the room, looking at and touching and inspecing everything. The fireplace, the rocking chair in the corner, a book sitting on a small table. A candle. Touch, touch. I went all around the wall, feeling how it didn't have any cracks to let the wind through. I stared at a window for the longest time, opening and closing it and poking my head out of it, until Orlan dragged me back to make introductions.
  "Boy, this is where you'll be staying. With my son, Thomas-" he pointed at the man "-his wife, Brook-" he pointed at the woman "-and their daughter, May, who you have already met."
  I nodded a little. Thomas spoke to me.
  "We have a few rules you'll need to obey while you're here," he said, not unkindly, but with an edge of command. "One is that there is to be no hitting, or shoving, or anything of that sort. Not from anyone," he added, glancing at May. His daughter looked briefly at her feet, but when her father looked back at me, I saw her shoot me another glare. I was about to respond, but Thomas's voice pulled my eyes back to him.
  "If you can, you'll have to help out a little with chores and things. We have a bed for you to sleep on, and food for you to eat, though you're not to take anything without asking, or unless it's given to you."
  "Chores?" I asked, not knowing the meaning of the word.
  "Doing things like fetching water, or wood," Thomas explained.
  "Oh."
  "And you do what you're told."
  I was silent. I'd spent my life doing what I was told,  so it didn't make much difference to me.
  "But before anything else happens, he needs a bath and clean clothes," Brook said with a smile.
  "...bath?" I asked quietly.
  Orlan laughed like he had earlier, like he had when I asked him about the village. Brook and Thomas joined in after a moment of dismayed silence. May made a noise that I was sure held disgust, though I couldn't imagine why.
  "You'll have to forgive him, Brook," Orlan said, when he'd calmed a little. "He doesn't know much about people. I suppose a goblin wouldn't take baths often, now would it?"
  Brook laughed nervously. "I suppose."
  "What's a bath?" I prodded, getting a little irked at the laughing, and the lack of an answer.
  May leapt from her seat suddenly. "I'll show him," she volunteered. Her parents started to protest, startled by their unpredictable girl, but they'd barely gotten two words in before she gravved my wrist and dragged me out the door. I could hear the adults behind us, telling May to come back. I wondered, suddenly, why I was letting this girl-creature drag me along. I yanked my hand from her grasp and stopped. She whirled.
  "I don't want to go," I said.
  "You have to."
  "No I don't."
  "Papa said! That's one of the rules! You have to do as you're told, or we're goig to give you back to the goblin of the woods."
  Ooh, that girl knew how to frighten me. I couldn't come up with an answer to that, so she grabbed me and started the dragging again, and I didn't fight it, though I did do a short, quiet growl. She let go of me once we were both standing on a boulder right next to a slow-running stream that had widened and deepened in this spot due to a small dam further down. I scowled at May, but she didn't seem to notice. She leaned threateningly close to my face, one braid tapping my cheek once when it fell free from it's place behind her shoulder. She poked the end of my dirty nose. I wrinkled it. She straightened and moved back to a more comfortable distance.
  "What kind of boy are you?" she asked.
  I blinked. "Just a boy," I said.
  "You look like you spent the night with wild animals or something."
  "I did."
  "I don't believe you."
  "I did!"
  "You're lying. Papa says we should stay away from liars!"
  "I'm not lying. I'm standing up," I said, not understanding her meaning.
  "What? No, I mean you're not telling the truth."
  "But I am!"
  She stopped, looking at me.
  "Okay, maybe. You're so dirty, I can believe you. You really do need a bath."
  "You said you were going to show me what a bath was," I reminded her.
  She grinned hugely. "Uh-huh!" she said, and shoved me backward with all her might.
  I realized what had happened only a second before I crashed into the water and began flailing desperately. I'd never been completely submerged in water before, so naturally, I had no idea how to swim. I breathed in water, choked, and was completely panicking until my feet found the bottom and my head burst into the open air. I coughed and coughed, faintly aware of the voices of Orlan, Thomas, and Brook, as one of them dragged me from the water, and the other two chastened May for her actions. When I finally could breathe again, I realized how utterly wet and cold I was, and that I was shivering as the wind chilled me. Brook ran off, and a moment later returned with a blanket, which she wrapped me in before she had Thomas pick me up and carry to me to the house. As I was taken from the river bank, I glanced behind me and saw Orlan telling May just how bad she'd been, and that I could have died, and things like that. May was crying. Orlan began to hug her, and I turned my head away, my satisfaction overpowered by curiosity. Why was may so upset?
  
  "Apologize."
  May flinched at her father's command, looking at the floor. I watched her from the corner, still wrapped in the blanket, my shaggy mane of hair still dripping every now and then. May sniffled once, rubbing a spot beneath her left eye vigorously with the back of her hand.
  "Go on," Thomas prompted again, turning her gently toward me and nudging her forward. I had no idea what was going on, and stiffened nervously when May knelt in front of me, whimpered the words "I'm sorry", and wrapped both arms around my neck.
  I had never in my memory been hugged by anyone- well, I guess you could count the literal bear hug I'd gotten the night before...but this seemed much different. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Luckily, Orlan came to my rescue.
  "Just put your arms around her, Boy. She hugged you, so you hug her back, and say 'I forgive you'."
  I blinked at him, confused, but since I had no idea what was going on, I obeyed, putting my arms as well as I could around May (the blanket made it a little difficult) and saying the appropriate words, slowly and awkwardly. A shiver went through me. It wasn't a cold shiver. It was warm. It felt strange. Strange, but...good. I held on to May even after she let go. I held on so long, listening to May breathe in my ear, until she said "you can let go now", quietly, and I drew away like a snap, realizing how inexperienced with people I really was.
  May's face was red, but she didn't look angry. I suddenly felt even stranger, and I huddled into the blankets, ducking my head so only my eyes, forehead, and hair was visible. May ran and Brook embraced her, then smiled at me and said, "Now you'll have a real bath."
  
  The real bath was pleasant, but I felt rather strange, afterwards. I literally couldn't remember the last time I'd been so thoroughly scrubbed...the last time I'd been dressed in clean, un-tattered clothes. It was all quite an odd experience, for me. Afterwards, Brook wanted to cut my hair, which had been difficult to wash and nearly impossible to brush. The brushing process wasn't very fun, I can tell you. My head is really tender, and I'd never had someone attempt to drag a comb through it's tangles before. I nearly cried, and when Brook suggested cutting it shorter, I was so out-of-sorts I growled my best growl and shouted "No!" at the top of my lungs. That brought Thomas and May running to see what was the matter. There wasn't any more talk of hair-cutting the rest of the night.
  They made me wash my hands before dinner, even though I'd just had a bath. Then we sat down to eat. Luckily, I was experienced in the use of things like spoons and forks, since old Rump was and is so obsessed with food. I think this in itself scored a good point with May's parents, though I wasn't sure how many bad points my acts earlier that day had won.
  I ate my dinner quietly, and after, we sat down in May's room when Thomas offered to tell a story.
  "The Frog Prince!" May said immediately.
  Thomas gave a wry smile. "That one again?"
  "Yes!"
  "Wouldn't you like to hear a different one? Puss in Boots? Goldilocks? Rapunzel?"
  "Frog Prince!" May insisted, shaking her head.
  "Alright," he said, laughing softly, and strumming idly on the lute he held, before beginning the tale. I listened, wondering many things as the story unfolded, but never asking. When the story was over, Brook blew out the one candle she'd let, and I awkwardly wriggled under the blankets they'd put on a small cot for me. May went to her bed.
  I lay, looking at the darkness, thinking how different here was from where I used to be. Just the fact that every room had four walls was different. I don't really know why Rump preferred that number- maybe he liked his fresh air. I didn't think I'd ever miss that little hut in the woods, but a person can't help what he is used to, and suddenly, the air in the room seemed far too still. I got up and opened the window.
  The night was beautiful and bright outside. The moon was perhaps ten days away from being full, and the stars were clear and easy to see. I breathed in the night air, calmed, and suddenly, May shoved me aside and slammed the window shut. In the sudden darkness, I couldn't see her, but I could sure feel her hands on my shoulders, pressing me against the wall.
  "Don't open the window at night," she said, and her voice was strange. I squinted to try and see her, but I couldn't, and for some reason - be it my lack of sight, or the tone of her voice - I was scared. I suddenly remembered the apology her parents had made her give, and the hug, and the good feeling, and I couldn't help myself, I just couldn't. I gave May the most bone-crushing bearhug, and she was so surprised it took her a few seconds before she could shove me away. I knew she thought I was acting strange. I was acting strange. But I didn't really care. Maybe the part of me that knew I belonged with people like me was just so happy to be with someone like that, even if she did push me into a river, or maybe it was just really desperate to catch up with all the years when I hadn't had human contact. Either way, I smiled and laughed when May whispered at me harshly.
  "What'd you do that for?!"
  I giggled, having no idea why.
  "Go to sleep!"
  May was mad at me, but still I smiled up at the un-see-able ceiling, until finally I fell asleep.