Willy and Plink journeyed in many directions of north. They traveled for days, just wandering aimlessly wherever the dust led them. During this time, many interesting episodes occurred. The bucket crook had struck again on another rainy night, leading Willy to conclude those must be his ideal nights for operations, and the time of year came when a few overhead clouds crumpled up and drifted to the ground. Willy hated this time of the year, for the clouds were rather nipping. Also since the time they set off on their adventures, Plink started to view Willy as stupid and insane –but she was only a fatuous ogre, so Willy but snickered at her chuckleheadedness.
One freezing afternoon, they were sitting on a log, doing absolutely nothing but just that. Footprints in the snow drew line for miles, ending where their feet currently shivered. All in front of them stretched a white field, almost blinding them as it bounced sun into their eyes. Behind them a patch of trees stretched above their heads, occasionally poutering some flakes to numb their faces.
“It’s p-pretty cold out,” trembled Plink.
“Yes, I agree.”
Off in the field a gust of wind swept a cloud of snow off the ground and blew it somewhere far away.
“W-we should find a place out of the cold.”
“We could always find a cave.” But as he twisted around to scope out a cliff, he realized there must not be one for miles. “We’ll have to walk quite a ways.”
“Thanks okay. At l-least I’ve got a new f-friend with me, r-right?” And though her lips were spastically shaking, she grinned in his direction—as if to suggest something more.
But Willy quickly snapped to his feet. “Now, wait up just a moment! When did that happen?”
Plink’s eyebrows jumbled. “Huh?”
“When did we become friends?”
“W-well, haven’t we been friends s-since we first started walking around?”
“If that were the case, would I not be friends with this snow? Would I not be friends with those who stalk me?”
“Well, n-no, b-because—”
“—Wait a moment, Plink. I do wish to be friends, but we have not done anything to become friends.”
“W-well then what do you suggest?” She looked most thoroughly befuddled.
A good question. Willy had not yet thought of it. However, it did not surprise him this situation had eventually risen to the surface; it was bound to happen sometime or another. So he trudged back and forth in the thick snow, thumping away at his chin.
“Is it th-that hard of a thing?” Plink questioned from somewhere in the background of his thought.
“I believe I have arrived at a way we may become friends,” he proclaimed as he took his last step into a sudden halt.
“What?”
“I will go hide somewhere in the area, and you will come find me.”
“H-how does that help us bec-come friends? Could we j-just get out of the cold?”
“Soon enough, Plink. We must first finish this. This is important because until we have actually done this, we may not be friends.”
“Wh-why?”
“Is it not obvious? First off, how could you be friends unless you have actually done something to become friends? Also, what better way to become friends than you to actually come find my friendship?”
Plink grunted. “Fine. But you better not make this take long.”
“Does that not depend on how quickly you can find me?” he teased, already shuffling a few steps back towards his hiding spot.
“Oh my. Fine, just go hide. Don’t hide anywhere too hard.”
“What? Do you think friendship is an easy thing?” He bolted off through the snow to search for a place to hide, and Plink waited until it seemed enough time had passed. Then she merely followed his footprints, laughing a bit at how simple this would be after all. While Willy was most likely exerting excessive energy to find the perfect spot, all she would have to do is retrace those exertions. Yet Willy was still way ahead of her, for he had moved quickly and she only walked, but after about thirty minutes she had traced his steps through the snow and ended at more snow: that is, a very large clump of snow. So she shooed off the top layer of the clump, and sure enough there he was, completely purple under the nippy cover. Still cold, but now at least enjoying herself a bit more, she assisted Willy out of the snow with a big pull and then dusted him off.
“N-now we really need to find somewh-where warm. L-look at you,” she said. He was clearly trembling, but he managed to only slowly nod as if perfectly fine.
“Yes. We will find somewhere.”
“D-do you feel like we’re friends now?”
“Well, I have always felt like shared a friendship.”
"Well then w-was that r-really worth it?”
“Yes. Because now I know we officially do.”
“Ok-kay. But l-let’s go find somewhere w-warm.”
They wandered off. At one point Willy peaked over his shoulder for just a moment at his new official friend.
Thankfully, being a vagabond in her ogre days, Plink knew the landscape quite well and managed to find a small tunnel in a mountain. After struggling up the cliff’s edge and resting for a bit at the front of the mouth, they searched for some sticks and set up a fire. The two travelers sat with their backs against the rigid rock wall, gazing into at the spastically dancing flames. Outside the sky had deepened into a dark blue. A soft orange from the fire flickered on their faces.
Neither of the slowly breathing travelers uttered a work for quite some time. But Plink eventually broke the silence. “You know, Willy, I didn’t ever think that I’d like living out of my village.” She sounded calm like the sky outside. Willy felt too close to her, but he did not know why; she was sitting on the other side of the fire.
“Your troll village?”
Quietly under her breath she chuckled with agreement. “Yeah, you can call it that. Can I tell you something?”
Plink had asked many abnormal questions in Willy’s time of knowing her, yet that had to be the strangest. She was already telling him something. If she had honestly wanted to know, she should have asked earlier. At this point, no matter what Willy said, she would have still told him something. He moved on, though, and removed his brain from its analytical tendencies. He had grown fond of this ogre and did not want to spend his time criticizing her. “Yes, you are permitted tell me more somethings.”
“I like it out here with you. I like being away from the monsters of my old village.”
“For what reason?”
“I don’t know, actually. I guess it was alright there, but out here I can…” She paused and took a deep breathe, thinking deeply. Poor ogre must have gotten lost on her words. The human language and the ogre language differed a great deal. But she suddenly recalled the right translation. “I can just do whatever. No rules or judgment. You understand?”
“The translation succeeded.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. Do you understand why I kinda like it out here?”
“Yes. ‘You can do whatever,’ was the reason you gave me. I am familiar with the concept. I myself have never experienced your situation, but I have heard derailing accounts of ogre cruelty.”
“Yes, Willy. Ogres are harsh, mean creatures.”
“Then why was it good?”
“What?”
“Not too long ago you took informed me that your old village was good. You stated, quote, ‘I guess it was good there.’ Why was it good?”
“Oh, you know...”
“I am afraid not. I would not have asked if I knew.”
“Well… ‘Cause my family and friends were there.”
“You said ogres were cruel.”
“Yeah, so what?”
“Were your family members not ogres?”
Nothing. No noise except the snaps of flames, which flickered a few inches shorter now. Once again Plink was struggling to find the right words. “Yeah, I guess they were ‘ogres.’ I loved them, though. Even if they didn’t love me back.” And then a dampness fogged in her eyes, which condensed into singular drops of painful tears to drop down her cheeks.
Willy refused to watch her cry like so. He scooted to her side of the fire and placed his left hand on her trembling leg. The leg still twitched and tensed under his palm. And Willy knew very well the pain she felt, for he had felt it many times before: the searing stings of an object stuck in your eye. He brought his right hand up to wipe whatever it was away. Anything—specks of dust, a small chunk of wood—those were all able to irritate the eyes, and nobody should have to deal with that.
On her own she rubbed away the rest of the remains from her eyes and sucked in a great deal of air, trying to calm herself back down. “Say, Willy, I’m feeling tired.”
“I’m feeling tired,” Willy repeated obediently.
She smiled at him, then said goodnight, nestling up onto the wall to ease her eyes shut. Willy did the same.
Chapter 1
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