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Eardwulf Ragnarson was considered very odd for an ogre. He was a capable warrior and a gifted axe fighter, but preferred the telling of tales and the singing of songs to battle. He loved the small creatures and was often seen in the company of elves. While the Ogres as a people had been at peace with the elves for centuries, they still didn't trust them, much less one of their own kind who liked them. It was this shunning that led to Eardwulf coming to live in Evermore.
Away from the negativity of his ogrish peers, Eardwulf thrived. He rose to the rank of garrison commander, all respected his prowess in battle and his kindness to everyone under him. He was short for an ogre, but he was still a massive seven feet tall, so almost everyone was smaller, leading him to be gentle with everyone he came across.
Part of his duties as garrison commander was to lead parties of warriors on nightly raids to rout out pockets of wraiths and track any witches or wizards. The presence of wraiths, creatures made entirely of black magic, was especially detrimental to the safety and wellbeing of humans and magical creatures alike. These creatures spread dust that could kill or drive humans to crime or self-destruction with prolonged exposure. They fed and grew strong on negative emotion and pain, and could cause these emotions with their magic. All the beings of Otherworld knew that where there was misery and horror and heartache, wraiths would be there; that was why underground cities like Evermore were created and placed under every major city in the world.
Eardwulf and his party spread out across the park where the main entrance to Evermore sat. Each member had a partner, Eardwulf himself paired with an elf named Cullen, one of his closest friends. Cullen was nearly as tall as Eardwulf, and though obviously slimmer and lighter boned than his friend, was strong and hearty, and like Eardwulf was red haired.
?It's one of those evenings, my friend,? said Cullen. ?I have the feeling we'll find some sort of adventure tonight.?
?Aye, the dark of the moon brings our foes out.?
Cullen set an arrow to his longbow string and began scanning the forested paths. The bow sang, the arrow dissipating the wraith.
?There's a large concentration, nor'east.?
Eardwulf nodded and hurried off after his companion. The elf was fast and agile, Eardwulf kept as close as he could, thankful for his people's famous endurance. When they emerged from the trees, they spotted the wraiths not far away, a large knot of them surrounding something or someone. Cullen fired an exploratory arrow, giving them a look inside the cloud of wraiths. Within was a weeping woman in an overcoat.
The wraiths curved shut around her, hissing and taunting the warriors and the woman. The duo charged, Eardwulf chopped through the wraiths and grabbed the woman out of the nest. He swept her over his shoulder and barked,
?Back to Evermore!?
Cullen took a hunting horn from his bag and blew three times, the signal to fall back to Evermore. The elf sprinted slightly ahead to make room in the underbrush for Eardwulf and his charge. Eardwulf looked over his shoulder and saw a giant cloud of wraiths chasing after them. The woman, who had been in too much shock to react before, started hitting Eardwulf in the back.
?Hey! Let me down or I'll scream!?
?As you wish, but get ready to run!? He quickly set the woman down. She looked at the wraiths, catching up rapidly. She took off her shoes, grabbed Eardwulf's hand without a word and hurried after him, carrying her heels in her other hand.
?Where are we going?? she asked.
?Somewhere safe, we're taking the shortcut.?
They stopped abruptly at the high bank of a creek. The woman, Cullen, and Eardwulf looked down. It wasn't a big creek, nor deep, but it was still a problem.
?A shorter cut than I anticipated,? Eardwulf joked grimly.
Cullen backed up a few steps, ran, and leaped the creek.
?Eardwulf!? he called.
Eardwulf looked at the woman, knowing she would see his face and may run. ?Do you trust me?? he asked.
She was clearly scared, but said ?Yes.?
He caught her around the waist and bounded across the creek bed, Cullen steadying them as they landed.
?The running water will slow them down, but not for long, come.?
The three hurried through the forest going on trails that humans would never find. Though it was dark, the woman never stumbled, following the footsteps of her companions. She had a dozen questions, but she somehow knew their safety depended on silence. One thing that she marveled at, the broad fellow that had leaped the creek with her made no more noise than the slimmer walking ahead of them.
Finally, they emerged from the trees to see a drain culvert. They hurried across to it and entered it, finding a door. Eardwulf removed a large key from his pocket and opened it. He herded his companions in ahead of him then slammed the door behind. Waiting on the other side were all manner of fantastic creatures. A wolf slid through the crowd, sniffing at the lady's clothes. He gave Eardwulf a nod, then transformed into a human male. The lady jumped back, crying out in shock.
?It's alright, miss,? assured Eardwulf. ?Caelan means no harm to anyone.?
?Where am I? Who are you people??
Eardwulf pressed his palms together. ?The simple answer is we're Faeries and this is our home in your world.?
?Not simple. That's all kids stories and-? she stopped short. ?Who am I kidding, I just saw a werewolf!?
?Wulver, actually?? muttered Cullen.
?We'll argue names and titles later, Cullen. Ladies, take- goodness, I never asked what we should call you.?
?Katrina.?
?Is that your true name??
?True name??
?The one your parents gave you.?
?Yes, why??
?You should never give out your real name, names have power and there are faeries who love to play cruel games. If they have your name, they have power over you.? explained Eardwulf.
?I see. This is all rather confusing!? said Katrina.
?I understand. You'll get the hang of it.? Eardwulf smiled. Despite his overlong canine teeth, he had a nice smile. ?Ladies, show Katrina to a comfortable chamber, she will be our guest for tonight.?
A few female members of the group, including an exquisite little pixie with Luna moth wings, and a tall woman with green skin and white roses in her green hair lead Katrina along a long hallway to a chamber with a round door. Then they were all very busy drawing a bath and finding her night clothes and hair brush and everything else she would need.
The green woman in particular was attentive, taking Katrina's coat and shoes and bathing her cut and bruised feet in warm water mixed with a red juice and rose oil.
?Do you know why the wraiths attacked you?? she asked.
?I didn't even see them until Eardwulf pulled me away. What are they?"
"Wicked creatures that thrive on bad feelings and misery."
Katrina thought about it. "I've been rather depressed lately. Lost out on my dream job. I don't know what to do now.?
?That would be enough. You seem like a bright girl, you'll find something,? said the green woman.
?What should I call you?? asked Katrina.
?I don't know. I can't remember my true name, there was some kind of accident? I have amnesia, and no amount of anything we've tried will lift it. The name I've been using is Rosealba, but it's not mine.?
?Rosealba it is then.?
Katrina looked up at the softly glowing mushrooms on the wall as she lay in the comfy bed she'd been lent. The above-city hadn't been kind to her or her dreams of working in the literary world. But here. Here she remembered the happy, impossible, dreams of her childhood. Here, it looked like they could come true. She sighed and turned over. Somehow, things were really looking up.
I jogged over and handed the airline receptionist my ticket to Nino Aquino International airport in Manila, the print out was soaked in the sweat and tar stained from my palms, the receptionist darted at me and gently grabbed it from my hands.
"Hello sir, can I help you check in some baggage?" she asks.
"No thank you, I just want to check in please"
She stammers a bit staring at her monitor for a few minutes and tapping at her keyboard.
"I'm sorry sir, I'm having some trouble with my computer right now"
While waiting for her to get the computer back online I thought of the series of unfortunate events that lead me to this airport. Unbeknownst to me there was a possible reasoning to my terrible bad luck affliction.
I had witnessed a harrowing car accident involving multiple vehicles on the highway, my taxi driver had to swerve to the access road to avoid colliding. The accident was caused by hearse, a coffin had fallen out in front of another vehicle. The taxi ended up still hitting another car already swerved onto the side, he stopped and apologized to me as he had called his insurance company and an ambulance. I was petrified at the sight of seeing a body fall out of the vehicle, It was difficult to focus for the rest of the day but I had to get to the airport. After helping the driver reporting the accident to the police, I was taken over to a nearby gas station still shaking. Luckily I remembered my coworker worked in the area and would be heading to work I quickly called him to ask him for a ride. Trevor pulled up and swerved over to the station where I waited for him after spotting me. He was a great guy but I knew he had his own troubles.
"Aaron how are you bro" he says with a heavy lingering smell of alcohol in his breath.
"Doing good man, it's been a long morning"
His car had stopped shortly and he had trouble with the ignition.
"How are you doing, Trevor" I asked with a concerned tone in my voice, he had been struggling with his drinking problem and I had noticed he was feeling a little disoriented.
We were still a few miles from the terminal and he couldn't start his vehicle back, he finally admitted he had been drinking and begged me to breath into his in-car breathalyzer.
I thanked him and begged him not to attempt to drive intoxicated, I then proceeded to drive him to work nearby and took his car to the terminal parking structure where he would pick it up later in the day. Finally I made my way to the walking path towards the terminal entrance, there the pedestrian signal had flickered and shut off while I walked in the middle of the road. A car wasn't paying attention who sped and almost hit me, I had to dive across another lane to get out of the way nearly risking being run over.
"You're dead" the receptionist says smiling at me with cold lifeless eyes, an eerie grin I couldn't figure out but stared in shock.
"W-what?" I said rubbing my eyes.
"You look dead tired sir" she laughs handing over my passport back. At a second glance she appeared normal.
"I'm afraid I have a terrible problem though Mr. Thomas, your plane is boarding in a few minutes, with TSA congested you may not make the flight" she warns me with a worried expression on her face. There was a strange man standing close behind me clutching onto his two bags, he smiled at me and grunted at me to hurry, I took notice of his distinctive lazy eye drooping and the uncomfortable proximity to me.
Then I turn back to the receptionist.
"It's OK I'll try my best to make it" I say, smiling back. "Thank you".
I knew this was the only non-stop flight for the next two days, I couldn't afford to stop in another city in another country in Singapore or Seoul. I grabbed my two carry on bags I had left by the counter, my wallet and passport and ran to the TSA line. I was halted by a piece of paper slipping from my wallet onto the floor.
I quickly pick it up, it was a picture of me and Maria making silly faces in a photo booth. She was the purpose of my momentous trip to Manila, Maria was my beloved pinoy ex-fiancé who left abruptly without an explanation. Leaving me with the three cats we adopted which she lovingly named from her childhood pets, Amado, Toto and Bituin. But worse of all she left our memories, our plans for marriage, our plans to live together and start a family in the states. I was Left only with a withered piece of paper with a short paragraph she had written for me. After three years I figured I deserved more than a few words and an endearing pet name she had given me in Tagalog signed, 'I'll always be yours, Love, Maria".
I had my heart set on getting answers, but getting to this airport at this time felt like the most grueling experience of my life. The pandemic hit before she left to the Philippines, I was trapped only left to wonder about how she was doing and living, left with little communication and bits of information from her family, I kept in close contact with her brothers in particular. But, I felt something uncanny in the air, an indescribable weight on my shoulder and I kept returning to what Maria's brother would say.
"Tol, you're affected by the Masamang Mata" he warned me. Also known as Usog, the Evil Eye. I thought of when it may have happened, It was the day I met Maria's mother who lived in a Bahay Kubo house isolated in the rural of Quezon. She didn't care for me, I could feel the hatred in her eyes, in her voice. One day I visited with Maria and her brothers and she refused to acknowledge our relationship, I wasn't good enough she said, she forbade her from seeing me.
It was a few months after where Maria and me began to have problems, but nothing to the extremity of leaving me in the states without an explanation. Maria was afraid of me getting too close, we briefly talked about raising our children in the Philippines. She loved the islands but didn't want to return to live there, she refused to talk to me about it. But, there she was now living with her parents again in her old house. It was a slow agonizing pain thinking we were once lovers and best friends our relationship slowly drifting away into strangers. It was my only chance to see her today, it would have been the day we shared our vows.
I made it to the long TSA line and kept staring at my watch, I had only twenty minutes to spare, I set the stop watch. There were security agents dressed in light blue shirts and black khaki pants standing in front of the X-ray machines urging people to remove articles of clothing, I made my way over to the front and pleaded with a woman if she would give me the opportunity. She looked at me puzzled and shook her head. I kept making small talk with the people around in hopes they would not alert the security. With a few bad looks but no complaints, I managed to be the next person in line, removing my sweater and shoes which I placed them on the conveyer belt.
I was ready for the fourteen and a half hour red eye, and I could hear the calls of commencing the boarding process for my flight. I still have the crumbled letter she gave me I held it folded in my wallet, stained in my salted tears and traces of her perfume.
"Sir, is this your bag" a security officer demands while I exited the X-ray machine, fixing the belt on my jeans and scuffling with the shoes half placed on.
I looked at the bag and it wasn't mine, but looked similar and it was next to the other bag I had placed, I thought the strange man from the line must have confused me. I denied it and explained to the TSA agent I had only the one bag. As they rummaged through the foreign bag, they called out for further assistance I had already made my way over snuck out towards the waiting area rushing pass shops and food court.
'Aaron Thomas" the voice announced through the speakers in the large hall rooms.
"Mr. Aaron Thomas, now boarding, please make your way to Terminal 6" the woman at the front counter says through her microphone speaker "Mr. Aaron Thomas, Mangyaring gawin ang iyong paraan sa terminal anim"
I jogged carrying my bag over to terminal 6 sweating profusely, there a woman greeted me and welcomed me inside of the aircraft.
'Mabuhay!" she smiles. I handed by passport once again and entered.
My phone vibrated and I noticed Maria's brother had texted me,
"I'll be waiting for you 6 am, in the green Jeepney, Tol" he says. .
I sat down by the window besides my dedicated seat and breathed a deep sigh of relief. I was finally on board to meet the woman I had fallen in love with, I could almost see her long thick raven hair and beautiful brown eyes looking at me through the reflection of my window, I pulled out the photograph I had of her laying by the beach holding tightly onto my hand. I drift to sleep reminiscing of her, it felt like a brief moment before I awaken by her familiar voice.
"Beh, Anthony Mahal" she whispers.
There's only a hundred sleeping strangers around me, I reach over to the idle monitor in front of my seat and tap on it a few times to activate it. I am thirty five thousand feet in the air and only eight more hours of flight time. The sounds of the dulled thrusters of the plane and air conditioning system are soothing and I start to drift off again.
Then suddenly a hard jolt of turbulence hits and it fills me with a stressed filled burst of adrenaline, the people around me also wake up and several babies begin to cry several rows behind. Finally the breathing apparatus dispenses from above.
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