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Once in the door, we
learn more of Elfride...
Posted September 11, 2008
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The previous 3 episodes of this story can be seen here:
We
find her at home, hastily packing a suitcase...
She
stands at the door, waiting for an answer...
No
mistaking, I hear Tabitha on the warpath
Oona: Please, Elfride, have a seat, and I’ll bring
some tea while we wait for Junco. She stepped out on an errand, but she should
be back soon.
Elfride: Thank you – I think I could use some! What a pleasant room…
Junco: Ah, you have arrived safely. I trust your journey was not too eventful?
Elfride: *laughs* I’m not sure which was more, um, lively -- the trip, or the arrival!
Junco: How so – though I can surmise, thinking back on my situation when first
I came here. *chuckle*
Elfride: I was greeted by the UN-welcome Wagon! A one-woman operation – or, I
should say, one-girl. With a
deceptively innocent face –
Junco: An excitable child is Miss Tabitha. She seems to have a grudge against
Elves, though no one has been able to ascertain why. The mistress of this house
takes it in stride, as do the rest; so shall we, then.
Tabitha: *snort!*
Oona: You’re back, Junco – and you found your guest. I’ll leave this for you
and give you both some privacy, then.
Junco: Most gracious of you, Oona, but if Elfride does not mind, I would like for you to stay, and
understand further the reason for this visit.
Elfride: I don’t mind – please, Oona, join us.
Oona: Thank you – I admit, I’m curious!
Junco: As you may know, I offer my services to those who seek what is lost. Elfride asked me to find her Elven
origins for her, as she did not know who else she could turn to for such a
delicate task.
Elfride: I realized that it would take an Elf to find an Elf – although first I
had to find another Elf -- not easy
when you’re a city dweller!
Oona: But -- you are an Elf, aren’t
you?
Elfride: Yes -- *soft laugh* but I was raised among humans, by humans, and for
many years did not think I was an Elf – until the passage of time took away my
human parents, then my human siblings, then their children – and I seemed to
remain little changed since reaching adulthood.
Oona: How sad! But, your ears – how was that explained?
Elfride: It was regarded as one might a birthmark. My hair often concealed them,
and when noticed, shined on with a joke. Most humans don’t believe in Elves,
anyway.
Oona: And how did you explain your not aging at the same rate?
Elfride: This was trickier, though once again, part of a joke – I’d found “the
Fountain of Youth”, something to that effect. Or, leave to visit other cities
for years at a time, and return as my own daughter, for the benefit of
neighbors, friends and relatives other than the immediate family.
Tabitha: *muttering* #@$% tricksy Elf!
Oona: *startled* What? Is that you, Tabitha – where
are you? Why are you hiding in here?
Junco: *softly* Pay no attention, Oona. I have known
of her presence all along; leave her be.
Oona: Oh – if you say so, then, Junco. Elfride, now
I want to know -- how did you come to be adopted by a human family?
Elfride: Well, that is the murky part. When I was a child, they used to say that they
found me under a cabbage leaf, which is what people then used to say
euphemistically about where human babies came from. In her later years, as her
health declined, my human mother told me that the old saying wasn’t far from
the truth in my case. I was indeed
found under a leaf, of a huge fern, in the woods, when they were on a nature
walk. My mother was delighted that I was a little girl, as she had two sons,
and her only daughter up to that point had died some months before of a fever
going around. In those days, since records weren’t kept with such accuracy, my
father and mother devised a ruse to pass me off as their own. They owned a
house in the country, not far from where I was found, to which they often
retreated from the city where they also lived. She pretended to need
convalescence due to her bereavement, until an appropriate amount of time
passed before making my debut. Thus I grew up accustomed to subterfuge, low-key
as it was.
Oona: They were doing all this as best they knew how, weren’t they? You seem
to have been loved and well-cared for –
Elfride: Yes… I really was. I’ve had a long time to think about it – and,
considering the circumstances, I have had a good life. However, I feel it is
time to find out my real family – for which Junco has proved invaluable in my
search.
Tabitha: Booooooo-ring!!! I got what I wanted, so I’m outta here! **exits**
Oona: Well, that’s a relief! Sorry about that, Elfride.
Elfride: I’m getting used to it! *laughs* Anyway – Junco has actually found a
living Elf relative of mine, which was not an easy task, as it appears someone
worked hard to obfuscate what lay behind the situation, if not outright
obliterate the evidence.
Junco: Aye… ‘twas a classic tale of vengeance, pride, and
greed, in the name of power. An ancient motive, ever recurring over the
millennia, told many times over, with new names and faces. And here sits one of
them, come to this house to find another.
Oona: Does this mean – here --
living here?
Junco: *smile* It does –
Oona: Now I’m REALLY glad Tabby left! Oh my… is it who I think it is?
Are
you thinking what Oona’s thinking?
Of
course, we haven’t heard the last from Tabitha on this matter.
Another
reason they call it “evil-Bay”
