It Came From the Grove

V.

It was the first time the creature awoke with the rising sun. The morning was beautiful this Sunday. All was usually quiet in the grove at this time. Nothing stirred except for the creature rising from his cavernous home to let the cool air blow through its face. And for once, he accepted the wonders of the world with full excitement. It was too exhilarating to meet its new found companion in this lonely world, after his banishment from the town. He stood in the middle of the grove, all the flowers circling around the creature, looking at the sunrise that established a new day for the creature, one that would be filled with bliss. But the treachery of time impedes everything, and the creature was left to wait in hope for the boy to return.

The creature sat there in the grove for the entire day since it awoke. It sat crossed-legged and bobbing its head yet looking in all directions for the boy to appear. Through shrubberies of white flowers to even above the highest trees, for he knew not what humans were capable of. But the sun began to settle, reaching its evening point, and the creature grew worried. Afraid that the boy had abandoned him, and forgotten all about the events of yesterday. In fact, the creature felt it was nothing more but a dream, and that the wooden horse never existed, that the interaction was simply created by the disillusionment of the creature's desires. But he held the wooden horse, its fingers tightly around to ensure its solidity. And it was the sound of a cough in the distance that swiftly brought the creature's head up, its ears twitching like a bunny when it heard something in the distance.

The boy came through the same way he entered from the North, and fighting back that cough that perturbed him, he smiled and waved to the creature. The creature, unsure if such gestures were appropriate, proceeded to do the same, but the smile from the boy seemed to mean a good thing. The creature jumped around like a child, performing the same gesture to everything around him. And the boy watched and laughed at the innocence in display. But then the boy stopped, and looked seriously at the creature, a face formed that the creature wasn't sure whether it was judgment or curiosity. But it quickly faded as if it never happened, and the boy ran up to hug the creature with all his love. The boy pointed to himself first, "Leofwine," then pointed up to the creature's face with gleaming eyes where he said one word, "Halb."

Silence became clamor that filled the grove with the enjoyment of both beings. The boy laughed at the Halbs' actions, and Halb laughed at himself for having found a companion. Remembering the wooden toy horse, Halb quickly ran into the cave leaving the boy sitting on the grove's tall grass. While waiting, something caught the eye of the boy where curiosity began to breed, unsure of what he was staring at. Suddenly, Halb returned and presented the boy with the wooden horse.

At first, the creature didn't understand what the boy's action meant when he pushed it back towards him. But the word "Keep," came from the boy's mouth, and the creature holding it in its hands repeated the word, "Keep.'' The boy raised his eyebrows, and looked with astonishment at Halb's ability to speak. He repeated the word, and Halb the same.

It was at that moment that the boy decided to teach the creature how to speak, all the wonders that language had to offer. And Halb became even more content with its new found friend. Perhaps one day, it too may be able to use the boy's language to speak to the foreigners down below. It learned many words within the interval: "Hello," "Goodbye," and "friend" – including "hungry."

Sitting for hours, both failed to realize how hungry they had become. Halb looked around to see if any berries were nearby, but failed to find any, and was worried that if it left, the boy would leave and not return. The boy seemed to acknowledge his discomfort, unbeknownst to him how long Halb had been sitting in the grove for the boy to return. But remembering what the boy brought within his satchel, he pulled it out.

The creature looked with curiosity, the aroma filling its nostrils with a familiar scent that brought back memories that disturbed the creature. But a sense of want filled the creature's mind, and it approached closer to the appetizing dessert. "Lemon tart," the boy said slowly. "Lehmown tawrt," the creature repeated. Close enough. The boy handed a piece of the lemon tart to the creature, and he devoured it vehemently which startled the boy, but it was as if watching a dog eating its meal after a harsh day. It comforted Leofwine to know Halb enjoyed the dessert.

The taste was splendorous to Halb. Sweet and delicate, it took Halb's mouth in its own sensational adventure. He had tasted many delicate berries before, many wondrous tastes that he found enjoyment with. But never did the taste of this lemon tart he would expect to find pleasure in. He felt pleased. The boy took a piece of the lemon tart for himself, and gave the rest of it to the creature, who devoured almost all the tart before leaving a small slice of it to keep for later, nd the paper that kept the tart together – the boy frantically trying to pull the paper out of Halb's mouth.

After they ate, they sat for a bit to digest their brief meal with the muffled coughing of the boy who didn't want to ruin the moment. It was during this time that Leofwine started teaching more words to Halb. It took Leofwine by surprise by how fast Halb was to learn his language. He was able to remember new words the second Leofwine mentions it, and form a full sentence with the guidance of Leofwine. It was in this that the boy decided to try something new. Halb sat down as Leofwine stood up from the ground. With a dramatic flourish, Leofwine told the tale that caught the town like wildfire. A story of a legendary hero where each word echoed and was engraved within Halb's mind as he listened with enthusiasm. The epic of Beowulf where Leofwine and Halb found the source of their aspirations.