
“You do,” I assured him quite calmly. “That is why I am here.”433Please respect copyright.PENANAoilHCPp1lO
“How are you acquainted with any of them?” He asked quite seriously, and only433Please respect copyright.PENANAzXdbWiay8v
then did his eyes seem to notice my hair, which was blue all over except for its still433Please respect copyright.PENANAfAPxMn2wmJ
black tips. “You’re quite the odd one.” He admitted, while he was far from what anyone433Please respect copyright.PENANAl20E673kXy
would deem as ´normal´. “And I do not need my bigger glasses to see that.”433Please respect copyright.PENANA4uO5Kq1Y9m
“Here. This is for you,” I tried to hand him my big notebook, the one that had been433Please respect copyright.PENANAWChWcSogvt
resting safely beside me. Almost falling out of it was a whole compendium of drawings433Please respect copyright.PENANAJ2Z7GPA1gt
and other poorly attached notes. “Father wanted you to have it.” I nudged it towards433Please respect copyright.PENANAW7MKd3Hyop
him. “He also wanted me to go with you.”433Please respect copyright.PENANAgdEbTgJBn2
“Father, you say?” He cautiously asked as he refused the offer, “I am afraid I will have433Please respect copyright.PENANAxKHZxQh2sn
to doubt that. You see little one, I am not one with many friends, let alone associates.”433Please respect copyright.PENANA5OyZaOJXcm
He then took a few steps back “No, you must be mistaken. But fret not, you may433Please respect copyright.PENANAnIVH8Wv0xz
accompany me back to my place, if you so wish of course. After all, it is not proper to433Please respect copyright.PENANAJfNt70j9kt
leave one so small and meek behind, especially in a place like this. Old Gorliochi over433Please respect copyright.PENANAgTYq4hcWN1
there,” His eyes went straight towards that beast; this one was completely relaxed even433Please respect copyright.PENANAFPSyWanltt
if its jaws kept finding one thing or another to chew on, “he can easily carry the both433Please respect copyright.PENANAniYOIVmAUr
of us for as long as necessary. He has been with me for many seasons now, lending a433Please respect copyright.PENANAGqtwrmd00X
hand in the carrying of all sorts of things.”433Please respect copyright.PENANA3OzOGar5MJ
He smiled, but it was a ruse that could not hope to work on the likes of one such as433Please respect copyright.PENANAHziFMiVC2x
me. “Like all sorts of flowers and fungi that I so often like to come and find in these433Please respect copyright.PENANAs0OdWG726v
parts... Or even -”433Please respect copyright.PENANA0LwNBzMEaj
“You are no mere flower picker or mushroom gatherer.” I said as I kept forcing that433Please respect copyright.PENANAUcF69jAevX
notebook onto him. “Go on, take it. You are the Thinker-Tinker, and you are meant433Please respect copyright.PENANArRVSlzC1QN
to read it.”433Please respect copyright.PENANAUtiE8oTSee
A short silence stood between the two of us ...433Please respect copyright.PENANATVEADMMLhO
“Your father, who is he then?” He eventually asked, even if his interests appeared433Please respect copyright.PENANAGuEfrRW9s5
to be dwindling the more he was going through those notes and drawings, “I know433Please respect copyright.PENANAgvNvc5GTUM
many of the names inscribed here.” He kept confessing, as he tipped his glasses just433Please respect copyright.PENANAdTvPX3tFcY
in time to prevent them from falling off his curved nose; and then he looked at me433Please respect copyright.PENANAmzh6Z1qb7M
with refulgent eyes: “Some of these people, they are in these drawings of yours as well!433Please respect copyright.PENANAecTGbIWBBK
And this man here; a Kharn. He is my friend. A dear one.”433Please respect copyright.PENANApl81wqmywE
“That is Father,” I said to his amazement ...433Please respect copyright.PENANA7csXwcVuVt
A long pause took over his person.433Please respect copyright.PENANAToDuyXjee2
Many of his past fears but also promises came to haunt him, and without a433Please respect copyright.PENANAjpIK5wM1mH
moment’s notice, his head became occupied with all sorts of questions and possibilities.433Please respect copyright.PENANAFLUQBo2b2g
There were so many ´If ’s´ and ´Buts´ and ´What’s´ swirling in his mind - and in433Please respect copyright.PENANAD1VxOu3WqY
the end all I heard him think to himself was: “This is likely to bring me quite the433Please respect copyright.PENANAbg0cpyWI38
unwanted trouble, but if there is any chance of truth to it, at all; of a real connection433Please respect copyright.PENANA8GrqOmMivG
between this little one and that ol’ fool... What choice do I have?”433Please respect copyright.PENANASgJRY39G8O
“Who are you girl?” his eyes swelled up as he confronted me again, “and how did433Please respect copyright.PENANAbbaW1o9AHa
you get your hands on all this?”433Please respect copyright.PENANACpqMY2TMJv
“As I said, all of it was wrought by my hand.”433Please respect copyright.PENANAE6MddBsohF
“You wrote...” His eyes travelled between note and drawing alike “all this?433Please respect copyright.PENANANU6cYhT5CU
What made you do such a thing?” He asked with his eyes now trembling with433Please respect copyright.PENANAHzzlRZLTHL
restlessness.433Please respect copyright.PENANAyLLXE2s8As
“And then you will read it?”433Please respect copyright.PENANAEHT7unTQT8
“Oh, I most definitely will. The spark of curiosity has already been lit inside me.”433Please respect copyright.PENANA3OC8LHGP4f
He then reassured me further, “My interest has already peaked way past the point of433Please respect copyright.PENANAcSpenxhyPg
arousal, don’t you worry.” And after he weighed all of it with both hands; “But I will433Please respect copyright.PENANAuSRXSNeiXg
have to do so back at my place. You understand that this is quite a lot to go through?”433Please respect copyright.PENANArEphTHBvJa
“Quite,” I replied after I added a few extra notes I had on my person.433Please respect copyright.PENANAvHj3mMihVc
“Besides, I don’t have my reading glasses on me.” He added somewhat flippantly433Please respect copyright.PENANAg5VjexDp6C
“I mean why would I bring them; you know? It’s not like I get to meet little girls433Please respect copyright.PENANACo6WpGmA9l
carrying tomes for me regularly.”433Please respect copyright.PENANA1D70kf2HxS
I nodded in concordance, and then he suggested we should make haste. Insisting, as433Please respect copyright.PENANAnSG22xms6m
we made our way to that beast, that I should tell him, or rather prepare him, for what433Please respect copyright.PENANA5R2FCXsGol
could be in store inside that notebook.433Please respect copyright.PENANAnhImT2TUu3