A Conversation
Welcome to another adventure from the Thousand Acre Woods. A place on the edge of Trollheim, deep within the mysterious NJ Pine Belt! Tales chronicled by Christopher Jonathan Hulton...That's me! Today's tale, He has returned. For years, Bjorn told me tales about Him, though I got to meet Him.
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I was sitting on Bjorn's front porch. As we sat quietly, I was drinking a root beer, and he was whittling a small bear. It was September, but it didn't cool down any yet as I wiped my brow and folded my handkerchief into my back pocket. We were sitting there like two old codgers back in Roscommon, sitting around a pub's hearth, passing looks and occasional nods that conveyed more than any session of Parliament.
The silence was thick as the wind started to startle the wax paper next to my roast beef and tomato sandwich. I took a sip of my lapsang souchong and settled it on top of the wax paper. As I was wiping the empty root beer bottle against my forehead, I saw this man approach us out of the corner of my eye.
I know I was double-fisting. Indecision can be a bitch at times.
At the edges of my periphery, I saw someone approaching. He was still obscured as he turned on us through the summer haze, a haze more common to the desert. He was strangely familiar once I could focus on him. Like someone you always knew, but could not place for the life of you.
Strange enough, he was normal. I mean everyone who crosses over the pond into Trollheim morphs into a Punch and Judy caricature of themselves. He did your soul good, as if you were seeing your best friend after a long repast, so long it might have not even been from this life. He looked like a guy who forked over two bits to read the funnies more than a character in the magazine. At the moment, I and Bjorn were a bit squishy around the edges.
He was not European or Semitic,but definitely Indo-European. If he was who I think he was, I don't think anyone has seen his actual face. It was like asking if your perception of blue is the same in your head as mine, but we could agree on its external appearance.
During the afternoon, I realized his personality was rock solid. The world has transformed him into hundreds of personalities over the centuries. He was the holy kaleidoscope; spin him around till you see what made you smile. He has become immune to popular perceptions of himself. Though, he would agree to the ancient adage of the three blind teachers and the elephant. But then again, how could you define your entire personality, or mine even?
"Hulton, please pour me some?" He asked.
He sat and took a sip; "Bjorn, I see Grams is back."
"Yes, she decided to end her holiday." I think she was gone for five hundred years…Nattrolls live for thousands of years, and for them, time is relative, if they are family or not.
"I know Gramps missed her a lot," He said, "though I only know too well that you can ruin your family life safeguarding the masses. Don't ask me how many centuries I have been single…"
"That is why she left!" I exclaimed.
"She avoided being captured by the Swedes when the five of us were stowed away in jars on the ship and brought here, and stopped others from being caught. She almost left earlier, but the Swedes took over Norway and started snatching other Trolls."
"Other Trolls?" I asked.
"Yes, the dwarves, elves, werewolves, bergfolk,risi, Jotun, and the like," Bjorn answered. "Still, it didn't make it any easier on us."
and even the bacteria's… They are the easiest; they only call for quick, rational action and some sympathy.
"You humans…
"Most are alright; mourning is the easiest, it passes in its own time. Strategic planning is my favorite; either it be love, hobby, or work. Childhood problems that develop into adult disasters are the hardest.
"I made the mistake, a couple times, of teaching large groups en masse. The third time I tried saving a society, she just gave up on me. It was easier to know she was gone and not waiting for me anymore. Now, that is a long time ago; it is all in perspective…"
"I'm sorry," I said, throwing him a root beer barrel.
"That was all Perceval needed, a bit of compassion for the sick Fisher King to gain the Grail—my friend Hulton, you seem to be ahead of the game."
"So, who in Whiting are you teaching?" Bjorn asked.
"Why, our friend here Hulton," He answered.
"What!"
"He gave up teaching groups; He throws some mustard seeds about; sure, some take, others don't, but for centuries now, he picks out individuals to teach to teach others," Bjorn answered.
"I don't know what to say…"
"Indecision is not knowing that C. Is a totally acceptable answer. Root beer and tea are fine, even if you add a glass a mead or brown ale." He smiled. "I know you would say yes before I got here."
"Is that my fate without free will, or can you see the future?"
"Men can see a thing or person's true nature by their acts or ingredients. If you take out two cups, some cocoa, two spoons, and a half gallon of milk, is it that hard to know you are making chocolate milk for you and a friend?"
"No, I see what you're saying. I won't say anymore, but I have learned from Eschenbach to ask questions, and from my Jewish friends, only ask questions after you learn how to ask the right questions."
"Looks like you're both off to a great start," Bjorn said. I think Bjorn knew him maybe a million years ago when he was Oannes, a long time before was ever known as Enki. They have been walking together for a very long time. Now, he is only a man named Henry Sinclair (good thing most people's French or Latin is horrible)
Now, I see the light…
If you like this tale, hit the share button below or just even tell your friend the old fashion way, with your mouth. Come back next week for our next tale.
We are releasing our second collection of Trollheim stories in print, named Trolling About. It will be available on this website at www.salemhousepress.com and Barnes & Noble. Pick up your copy today, pretty please with sugar on top...
Make sure you pick up the first collection of tales too...
Fiction/ Illustrated Fantasy/ Mythology / Scandinavian Myth/ Norse Sagas / Scandinavian Folk Lore / Coffee Table Book
Paperback: $45 | Hardcover: $65 | PDF eBook $5
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Following the Harry N. Abrams, Inc. tradition of the series that created Brian Froud's and Alan Lee's Faeries and Gnomes by Wil Huygen and Rien Poortvliet, we present you with what would have been the next book in the series: Trolls: A Compendium. Trolls—do you think you know what they are? Could you be wrong?
Trolls within Scandinavian lore, myth, saga, fantasy, and folktales are actually anything magical within our northern neighbor's culture. Richly illustrated in this volume are the tales of faeries, dwarves, nissen, huldras, gods, Jotuns, draugar, ghosts, and more. Also, this book introduces our readers to the world of Trollheim, populated by Nattrolls that escaped the 17th-century Swedish colony within the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Narrated by Christopher Jonathan Hulton, who lives in the Thousand Acre Woods just after the Civil War, their tales are filled with Native American lore and tales of their neighbor, the Jersey Devil.
Preview: Google Books
Hardcover: $65.00
PDF (non-flowable, best on tablet, desktop, or laptop) eBook: Download a copy onto your device today! Only $5.00
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