Peek-a-Boo & Bears Too

 

            Well, you know Millicent, that writer for the Milltown paper, of course.
            Like so many other times, she was incubating a question. It was a rather broad, diffuse question, which could only be answered by Himself, the most Jovial Monarch of the Great Forest. Yes, it was a question for Ralph.
            So, as was the normal procedure, when she wanted a chat with Ralph, she sent a message by Maeve, who checked by Millicent’s fourth floor office window every morning. She asked Maeve to find out from Ralph, a good place, and time, for an interview.
            Maeve came back before Millicent went home for the night, with an invitation. Would Milly please come by for a midday bit of lunch the following day? Maeve said that Ralph said that she could bring her phone and her laptop, that he knew she wasn’t going to pull any fast ones, and besides, as it turns out, even if she wanted to, she couldn’t. And so, they weren’t afraid of her buzzy little human toys.
            Maeve said Ralph would meet her in the parking lot of the Ranger Station. So, that’s what they did.
            Millicent showed up at about 11AM. She parked the big green Escalade out by the woods, stuck her phone in her pocket, grabbed the now traditional Safeway bag of junk food treats, including some Slim Jim sausages for the cats and Blue, and got out. She shielded her eyes with her left hand, looking for Maeve or Ralph or anybody.
            She didn’t bring her laptop. Why carry it around for no reason? Her phone was a different story; a girl might need that.
            So, while this was going on, Ranger Rick came out of the station with a bag of stuff for the dumpster. Since, he was out there he said, “Ma’am, can I help you with anything at all?”
            “No…” said Milly, not knowing what to say.
            “I’m supposed to meet somebody here,” she finally said.
            “Oh!” Rick laughed. “Hang on, he’ll show up in a minute. He’s got a deal with that big bird. She has his ear, literally. And she’s always looking. Have a good day!”
            Just like Rick said, Ralph strolled out of the woods, bigger than life, and ready for a chat.
            “Hi, Milly! Glad it’s not snowy today!,” said Ralph, smiling at his old friend.
            “Well, you can see that I dressed for Byrd Station, just in case,” said Milly. “I guess I can always take some of it off.”
            “What’s the big question today, Milly?’ said Ralph, as they entered the forest.
            “Maybe I can present it better if we’re sitting down,” said Millicent.
            “OK, I can wait. Let’s get down to the fire. They all want to see you,” said Ralph. “Where is Byrd Station, by the way?”
            “Bottom of the world. All ice. Never melts. Story called Who Goes There, and all that jazz. Science happens there!” said Millicent.
            “Sounds like a fairytale,” said Ralph. Sometimes it’s hard to tell when he’s kidding. Heck of a poker face has Ralph.
            Ramona saw them coming and ran to Millicent. They hugged. Milly handed over the loot for the kids, and maybe for Ralph too.
            She met and admired Blue, Cherry’s new wolf, who was growing fast. She greeted the cats too. She shook Twigg’s hand and then hugged him. She hoisted Cherry way up in the air and twirled her around until they both got dizzy and nearly fell over laughing.
            Maeve, watched from a high branch. “Evermore,” she whispered to herself, happily.
            Then they all sat down, and looked across the fire at each other, quite fondly.
            Then Milly began, “So. I have people asking me constantly why the only thing they hear about you sons and daughters of the forest is why some of you, not you personally, but others, peek in windows and watch us Hairless sleep, or eat, or do dishes, or whatever. What is so interesting about us? They don’t get it,” she said. “Some of them say they have experienced this themselves. They still don’t understand.”
            “It does seem a little rude, in human terms,” said Ramona.
            “Think of it like this, maybe,” said Ralph. “What if you lived by an adorable little Hobbit village. What if you didn’t know that the village was there, and you suddenly found it in the woods, or over the hill in some meadow. I bet almost any of you would be very curious. You would be drawn to these little people, because of the novelty and how impossibly cute they were.
            “Maybe, well of course, you Milly would not peer into their windows, but some people would. There would be news crews with cameras. The next thing might be tours of the little village.
            “To tell you the truth, from a Forest Man point of view, you guys are so cute and little. It’s like watching TV, or a puppet show. That’s about half of it. The other half is self-defense. Some of you guys scare some of us, so some of us like to keep an eye out,  it's just caution.”
            “How do you happen to know about Hobbits, Ralph. You amaze me sometimes,” said Millicent.
            “I saw the whole thing with Rick on his laptop over at the Ranger Station! Heck of a story. Very long too!” said Ralph.
            Millicent just shook her head. “You know, your parents wouldn’t even understand your world,” she said.
            “I think I can button that up into a little piece about curiosity, perfectly natural, considering. I’ll bring in the Hobbits too.”
            While they had been talking, Ramona served fish for lunch. They ate a lot of fish. It’s easy to catch, easy to clean and easily cooked. She also had a salad of wild greens. Toasted Filbert nuts were for desert. Then there was a cup of coffee for the adults.
            “I’ll tell you a funny story,” said Millicent. “This is true! There is a lady, an accomplished photographer on the other side of the Sound, who says that all the evidence which people report about Forest People is all bears. She says bears stink, leave foot prints, make loud noises, get into mischief, tear open cars, and etc. She has Squatch proof vision. The funny part of this story is that there are no bears where she lives! So! Who goes there, indeed!” she laughed.
            “She has a whole little farm there, with chickens and everything,” she added.
            “Oh! I can see it all now,” said Ralph. “I’ll bet anything that there are a bunch of our peoples’ kids playing pranks over there. I bet they are shifting into bear form and prowling the area having a great time with her!”
            “Well, I  hope it doesn’t get out of hand,” said Ramona, but she  had to laugh too.
            “You’re probably right,” said Millicent. “And it does present a funny scenario.”
            Snow began to drift down on the party around the fire. They all watched it fall for a few minutes, just enjoying the silence and the falling snow.
            “I had better get on home now. Colin will be looking for me, and I want to get back to town before this snow builds up on the road,” said Millicent. “Thank you, for the lovely lunch, Ramona. It was the best thing I’ve eaten all year!”
            There were more hugs all around. There were promises to get together again soon. Millicent kissed Cherry, and Blue too!
            Ralph walked her out to the parking lot, so she didn’t get mixed up anywhere on the way out of his domain. The snow continued to fall and looked like it was going to stick.
            “Thanks, Ralph. It’s always wonderful to visit here! I love you all!” said Millicent.
            “We love you too, Milly. Be careful on the road. Not everyone is as skilled as you are! Look out for the goofballs out there!”
            “I will,” she said.
            Then she drove carefully back down out of the hills, thinking about the story she would write.

🐻