encounter

A brief story about a brief cultural exchange

2024-08-30

Jespa darted through the woods in a flicker of colour, barely perceptible in the low light. Her mask’s ears flopped about the place - they were large and not very practical, the aldfolk had warned her of this, but she stubbornly refused to try another.

She stopped in a small clearing full of blackberry bushes, and began to fill up her pack. Once it was about half full, she continued on her way. A cluster of strawberries here, some redcurrants there. Good! This Fellwood’s Eve banquet would be a bountiful one once she returned.

Darkness was creeping in now - she had best be on her way back to the village. Jespa closed her pack and began to run back.

As she dashed between the trees and thickets, a noise reached her ears. Faint, but unmistakable - a man, calling out. Her eyes turned towards the source of the sound, and she spied a flicker of firelight in the distance.

Jespa knew the rules. She was not to be seen. But curiosity got the better of her, and she crept towards the light.

It was a campsite. Free-facers, six of them. What were they doing out, with Fellwood so soon? Surely they should be home with their village. She observed them for a while, hidden in the bushes, losing her awareness of the encroaching night. They seemed to be a family. There were children, and adults of varying ranges. One woman was pregnant. They chatted and laughed, and occasionally one would shout in much the same manner that had alerted Jespa to them first. She couldn’t understand their language. Where were they from? Why did they show their true faces so brazenly, even the elders?

Suddenly, one of the children froze, his gaze affixed upon Jespa’s mask and her eyes within. Jespa likewise froze in terror, her eyes locked on his. She became hyper-aware of the darkness that now surrounded the camp - the fire must have lit her eyes up like beacons! How could she have been so foolish?

There they sat, locked in silent confrontation, too terrified to move. After an eternity the boy finally found his voice, crying out to his parents, pointing his hand out towards the face he had seen in the woods. The adults in the camp raised their heads in alarm and made their way towards her hiding spot…

But Jespa had already flitted away into the night.