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Authors: Mary Ann Mitchell
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only destroy us.”
“He is the only one left to follow me. He misses me and will do what needs to be done to bring me back.”
“A mamma’s boy who is manipulated by the dead. A stunning promise for us,” screeched an older dwarf on the farther corner of the box
.
“It is because you don’t believe in him that he doesn’t come to your aid. You must call to him softly. Let your pleas sound like invitations, not empty sounds that drive him away. Hurling angry invectives will ensure failure,” the mother said
.
“She is right,” hissed a snake that had wrapped itself around the dwarf. “Pretty words and empty promises will turn the child’s head. We all know how that works.”
“Especially you,” said the dwarf, freeing both his arms from the snake’s tightening hug
.
The snake hardened his grip on the dwarf, forcing a guttural sound from him
.
“Don’t argue among yourselves, for it will only bring a final defeat,” the mother cried
.
The snake let go of the dwarf and fell at his feet. The dwarf lifted a foot to stomp the snake, but he felt the cold hand of his mistress flick his shoulders. He gently rested his foot against the wood of the box
.
“I was a warrior dwarf once. I killed thousands.”
“Not you alone, I’m sure,” muttered the snake
.
“Wrong you are. I swept across battlefields.”
“Hardly imagine you able to sweep across a playground.”
“I was not this size. At one time I inhabited the body of a fleshly dwarf. A stupid fool who fell easily to my possession of his soul. A filmy, thin soul who collapsed almost instantaneously to my will.”
“And did you join the battles of his people?” The snake coiled into a circle, its head swaying in the air
.
“Before I took over he had never been in battle. He had lurked back in caves and woods, always promising to care for the womenfolk and children. Every day his fellow warrior dwarfs spat upon him. Meekly he would cower and turn away. But I changed it all.”
“Did you suddenly send his body wildly into battle?” “Worse. I killed every dwarf that crossed my path with foul words or derogatory names. Finally he gained respect.”
“Not he,” Cathy whispered
.
“You!” “Yes, yes, I bloodied flesh and stole lives still blooming.”
“How many battles have you fought?” Cathy’s cold breath made the air shiver with her words
.
“Countless,” the dwarf shouted. Pride filled his eyes, and his chest swelled out so that a tear broke the seam of his shirt. “This ax I carry is merely a slight symbol of the weapons I wielded. I never feared death.”
“Why should you?” commented the snake. “You are a spirit. You lose one body and seek out another.”
“But you know how difficult it is to gain access to this world,” Cathy said, hoping to massage the dwarf’s ego. “Master dwarf overcame many obstacles to win a tangible life.”
“And look at me now,” groaned the dwarf. “A mere clay figure, tiny and not perfectly formed.” He held up his hands to show all twelve of his digits
.
“Mistress did the best that she could,” the snake fawned. “Look at me; I was molded into shape by the hands of a child, but I’ve never complained.” The snake shook the tip of its tail in the air. “I would have so loved having a rattler, but I’m not complaining.”
“I watch you playing your tail in the air,” said the dwarf. “You dream every day of having a rattler. A silent complaint like your silent tail.” The dwarf laughed
.
The snake wrapped itself around the dwarf’s ankle
.
“I often wonder how you’ll be able to wield that ax with so many fingers. Isn’t it awkward?”
The tiny dwarf’s hands tightened around the ax
.
“Haven’t I met you before?” the dwarf asked
.
“How could you have? Were you in the Garden of Eden?”
“A big claim for such a meager snake.” The dwarf sniffed the air. “You smell more of piles of manure than of any Garden of Eden.”
“It does not matter
“He is the only one left to follow me. He misses me and will do what needs to be done to bring me back.”
“A mamma’s boy who is manipulated by the dead. A stunning promise for us,” screeched an older dwarf on the farther corner of the box
.
“It is because you don’t believe in him that he doesn’t come to your aid. You must call to him softly. Let your pleas sound like invitations, not empty sounds that drive him away. Hurling angry invectives will ensure failure,” the mother said
.
“She is right,” hissed a snake that had wrapped itself around the dwarf. “Pretty words and empty promises will turn the child’s head. We all know how that works.”
“Especially you,” said the dwarf, freeing both his arms from the snake’s tightening hug
.
The snake hardened his grip on the dwarf, forcing a guttural sound from him
.
“Don’t argue among yourselves, for it will only bring a final defeat,” the mother cried
.
The snake let go of the dwarf and fell at his feet. The dwarf lifted a foot to stomp the snake, but he felt the cold hand of his mistress flick his shoulders. He gently rested his foot against the wood of the box
.
“I was a warrior dwarf once. I killed thousands.”
“Not you alone, I’m sure,” muttered the snake
.
“Wrong you are. I swept across battlefields.”
“Hardly imagine you able to sweep across a playground.”
“I was not this size. At one time I inhabited the body of a fleshly dwarf. A stupid fool who fell easily to my possession of his soul. A filmy, thin soul who collapsed almost instantaneously to my will.”
“And did you join the battles of his people?” The snake coiled into a circle, its head swaying in the air
.
“Before I took over he had never been in battle. He had lurked back in caves and woods, always promising to care for the womenfolk and children. Every day his fellow warrior dwarfs spat upon him. Meekly he would cower and turn away. But I changed it all.”
“Did you suddenly send his body wildly into battle?” “Worse. I killed every dwarf that crossed my path with foul words or derogatory names. Finally he gained respect.”
“Not he,” Cathy whispered
.
“You!” “Yes, yes, I bloodied flesh and stole lives still blooming.”
“How many battles have you fought?” Cathy’s cold breath made the air shiver with her words
.
“Countless,” the dwarf shouted. Pride filled his eyes, and his chest swelled out so that a tear broke the seam of his shirt. “This ax I carry is merely a slight symbol of the weapons I wielded. I never feared death.”
“Why should you?” commented the snake. “You are a spirit. You lose one body and seek out another.”
“But you know how difficult it is to gain access to this world,” Cathy said, hoping to massage the dwarf’s ego. “Master dwarf overcame many obstacles to win a tangible life.”
“And look at me now,” groaned the dwarf. “A mere clay figure, tiny and not perfectly formed.” He held up his hands to show all twelve of his digits
.
“Mistress did the best that she could,” the snake fawned. “Look at me; I was molded into shape by the hands of a child, but I’ve never complained.” The snake shook the tip of its tail in the air. “I would have so loved having a rattler, but I’m not complaining.”
“I watch you playing your tail in the air,” said the dwarf. “You dream every day of having a rattler. A silent complaint like your silent tail.” The dwarf laughed
.
The snake wrapped itself around the dwarf’s ankle
.
“I often wonder how you’ll be able to wield that ax with so many fingers. Isn’t it awkward?”
The tiny dwarf’s hands tightened around the ax
.
“Haven’t I met you before?” the dwarf asked
.
“How could you have? Were you in the Garden of Eden?”
“A big claim for such a meager snake.” The dwarf sniffed the air. “You smell more of piles of manure than of any Garden of Eden.”
“It does not matter
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