To Help a Hob - Part 1

There "he" stood in front of me, the deep forest behind him framing His ancient face like an emerald halo, the growing dark of dusk getting Deeper by the moment. He was no more than two-and-a-half feet tall, Though just as wide as he was vertical, clothed in some kind of fur and Odd sandals, very muscular with leathery skin, and looking at me like I Should find all this as a normal, everyday occurrence. He had just asked Me, in some form of archaic keltic dialect, what my name was, (I THINK), So I told him. As soon as I did so his huge, square head of bushy white Hair and beard began to jiggle with the repercussions of internal laughter, And the left corner of his mouth turned up into a half-smile. As his eyes Began to sparkle a bit, he then spoke again, this time with absolutely no Foreign accent at all, remarking how I was an American and must be there, (The Scottish Highlands above Glen Cove), on a hiking trip, though surely Lost. Well, this was all quite accurate, but I was in a lousy mood to begin With, believing this little gnome to be a hallucination from fatigue, and I Was not about to give him any sort of satisfaction, so I just continued to Stare in perplexity, (as I had been doing since we had come nose-to-nose On the deer path). The jiggling subsided slowly as the corner of his smile Straightened again with realization of my bad humor, and he told me HIS Name was Gambol, that it was now a "problem" that I had seen him, and That he was going to have to do something about it, though it was certainly Too late to do so TODAY, and I'd have to come with him. Well, not that I didn't appreciate the help, being lost and hungry and extremely tired, But this WAS a hallucination, so I could hardly take him seriously, and Began to chuckle myself. Exclaiming that the whole thing was ridiculous And the light fading, I kicked a small rock with my foot and turned away From him, back to the deer path. I had taken only one step when I felt A strong arm around my waist, at which point the little old bugger Hoisted me onto his shoulders like a wounded lamb, and began to run, As silently as any deer, and at least as fast, as though my 185 pounds was NOTHING to him! I tried struggling at first, kicking and squirming a bit, but It didn't take long to realize that I was extremely out-matched strength-wise, And I was so exhausted and angry at the day by then, that I just let it Happen ... I mean, if this WAS a dream, I'd be waking up soon anyway, And the darkness had now swallowed the forest completely, and I could No longer tell up from down, or even see three feet ahead. We hadn't Been traveling this way very long before the exhaustion and rhythmic Thrum of his jog lulled me into a deep sleep, the deepest, most restful Sleep I can remember, (one filled with vague, sketchy dreams of childhood And being frightened by Santa Claus, and something about a spaceship Crashing on some far-off world). When I awoke I was very warm, dry And snug, and without my clothes, though I was still so tired that the Warmth and quiet, (save for a soft whistling sound now-and-then), Lulled me right back to sleep, and it wasn't until I had repeated this Cycle a couple of times that I became conscious enough to wonder About my lack of clothes, and the rather odd smell that met my olfactories. I was still so content from the restful sleep, cozy warmth, and Soft but supportive bedding, that it seemed something of not Much concern, especially where it was still quite dark wherever I was. There was a little light filtering down from above me, and I could tell I was in an enclosed space that wasn't much larger than my bedroom Back in the states, but it was oddly shaped and had a variety of odors, Mostly pleasant, though every-so-often a hint of something spoiled. There Was still that faint whistling sound coming from the direction where my Feet lay, but now accompanied by the scrapings and jinglings of what Sounded like dishes being washed, or food being prepared, a sound quite Comforting. But it was still very dark, and I couldn't imagine how anyone Could be doing either with such a lack of light. I was thinking JUST that When something moved above me and a bright wash of light flooded The space I was in, (which I could now tell was some sort of cave). I rubbed my eyes roughly as they adjusted to the light and glanced up, And there it was AGAIN, the ancient, beard-clad face and sparkling eyes, This time with a full smile and a wink, and the same expectant face, Like this should be as common a sight to me as my own nose ... (Part two coming soon!)