Mother and father goblin

-Did you check if the tails were well bonded together, Mother Goblin asked while seated on the stump.
-Sure, Father Goblin replied and sat down. He breathed heavily. -Baby Goblin asked about the lad in the house again.
-Hm. It might not be so wise to give Baby Goblin too many ideas, she said.
-Well, this is the story that makes him fall asleep quickly, he said.
Mother Goblin looked onto Father Goblin. Then she glanced out the peep-hole. -There is so uneasy outside tonight. It is well everyone is inside. And well that everyone has their tails bound together.
-Yes, Goblin Father said. He looked at her. -You,...how about you and I tie our tails together this night as well?
She glanced at him. -Sure we can, she said.

The Baby Goblin

It was late at night among the forest goblins. All the brothers, young and old was settled. Some twisted slightly. Some breathed heavily.

-Father Goblin, can you tell a story about the little lad in the house, the youngest of the brothers, the Baby Goblin asked.

He laid on his back in the bed and glanced up at the ceiling. His tail was tied with the tails of all his brothers. They all laid in the big bed. Some of the brothers had already fallen asleep after a long working day. But the youngest was still awake.

-Yes, the little lad in the house, Father Goblin said. -He lives in a big, white house outside the forest with his mom and dad.

-Has he got a goblin pig, like me, Goblin Baby asked.

-No, he does not. But he has a lot of other strange stuff. He has lot of such toys as human children have.

-Has he made them by himself?

-No, he has not. They all got them from what they call "The Shop".

-"The shop"?

-Yes. There are such huge houses with lots of different things that human children can get.

The Baby Goblin was thinking.

-I would like to meet the little lad some time, he said.

-Well, I do not know whether it is that easy, Father Goblin said. -Firstly, he is rarely in the forest. And when he is in the woods with his dad, he is not so far inside, only on the edge. Furthermore I think that humans would become frightened if they met one of us. We do not match them, so to speak...but now I think you should go to sleep.

Father Goblin started to mumble the bedtime song that every forest goblins sang each evening. The song about the troll family who had put all the children to bed. The troll families did exactly as the goblins and tied together the tails of all the children when everyone was going to sleep.

"When Troll Mom put eleven small trolls to the bed

and tie them by their tails

she sings the song for eleven, small trolls

the most beautiful words she knows

ho-aia-aia-boff

ho aia-aia-boff

ho aia-aia-boff, boff

ho aia-aia boff."

The Baby Goblin and some of the brothers was singing along with sleepy voices on the "ho aia-aia boff". Some of the brothers only grunted slightly, half asleep.

-Good night, Father Goblin whispered, and kissed Baby Goblin on the forehead. Then he checked that all the tails was well bonded together.

Darkness

It got darker. So strange at this time of year. My breath made my throat sore as I climbed up the steep path. -Oi-oi, he said behind me.

-Hey, you. I checked something this night, my wife had said during breakfast.

-What, I asked.

-There was something different. It was slightly larger on one side, she replied. -I think you should check it out.

I went to the bathroom and checked it a bit myself. And, yes. It was a bit larger on one side. Damn. I didn`t understand. Such things was something that applied to others. Not me. And I didn`t like going to the doctor. At least not with this. I pulled it away. It was better to go for a trip in the forest.

I came up to the top. It was maybe the largest top. Not easy to say. There were some view here. Of more forest. My shoulders were aching. I put down the child carrier. Loosened The Boss.

-Dayapp, he said.

-Yeah, I know, I replied.

I picked up the phone...Yes! there was some coverage up here. Both to make a phone call and to surf on the net. I opened the browser. I didn`t like to call some about this. A website opened slowly. Very slowly. I wrote what I believed could be a webpage.

-Dayapp, he said.

-Yes, yes, I replied.

The browser worked slowly, slowly, it opened up a little bit, and...yes, the adress was matching. I was inside the webpage of the Poison Control Center. Then I needed to navigate inside there...-Dayapp, he said. -M,m, I responded. There! This was the place where I could upload an image of the fungus. Where I could explain the situation. And enter my phone number. My fingers wrote and wrote on the screen. It was so damn difficult to write like that out in the woods. I wrote and deleted, wrote and deleted. Then there was uploading. This was even slower. It buzzed and went, buzzed and went, little by little,...I looked over to the Boss. He sat in the heather and observed things around him. Fortunately there were no mushrooms around here. The uploading buzzed and buzzed. Round and round. -Dayapp, he said. -M,m, I replied.  The uploading went a bit further. A bit further. Little by little. A bit further...There. Finally the image was in place. I pressed "send". Then. I got a message saying that I would get a phone call when everything was checked.

I breathed out.

No what? I could go on. I could try to find the way home. He was hungry. And I had no food. No diapers either. But then I would need to go down some valleys. And I could get out of reach with my phone again. No. It was better to wait here, on the top. See some view.

-Dayapp, he said.

-Hey, would you like to hear a story, I asked. He looked up at me. -Shall I tell a story about the baby goblin, living out here in the forest?

Retreat

Just as two of my fingers were on their way into his mouth. He hurried. And swallowed.
-No, I cried. - No, no, no!
I looked around me. What should I do? i ought to put my fingers down his throat. Get him to vomit. Get the fungus out again. That`s what I should do. As soon as possible. Before his body started to digest the whole thing. That`s what I should do.
I looked down at him. He smiled up at me. And I just could not do something like that. I just could not.
What kind of fungus did he eat, then? Was it this one? Or this one? No, it was this one. Yes, it was. I picked up some of that kind and ran to a broken three. Quickly I picked up my phone and took a picture of the fungus. He came by. And grabbed one of them. - Don`t touch that fungus, I yelled. It was the first time I had yelled at him like that. Way too early of his age. His face twisted into something surprising and terrifying. God. It was the first time he heard his father like that. "Bureau of poison control". Was that what it was called? Did I have a subscription for mobile internet? Yes, I thought I had. But there was no internet coverage so far into the forest. No coverage to make a phone call either. Or send a text message. Nothing. I had to find a hill. Go west and back towards the people. Such a damn thing that I went that far into the forest. Now I had to go out. Or at least go up to a hill. Somewhere to the west.
I tossed him into the child carrier. Locked him up. Put it onto my back. Then I went in quick steps along a path.
-Oi-oi-oi, he said in rhythm of the steps.
-Oi-oi, I replied.

Awakening

He grunted.

I dropped all the patches and went over to him. He lay there strapped and looked up at the treetops. I released him as carefully I could and put him up on my lap.
-Hi, are you awake, I said.
He didn`t reply. Just watched around him with sleepy eyes.
I rocked him a little.
-So, now you`re in the forest, I said.
He responded with a long yawn.
-Dayapp, he said.
I fetched the bottle of water. He drank in large gulps. Until the bottle was almost empty.
-Dayapp, he said.
-I`m afraid I`ve got no food, I said.
-Dayapp, he said.
I put him gently down on the ground. Was there any berries around here? Or was it too early in the year? I went around. I got a glimpse of the patches a bit further away. Yes. Right here there was some blueberries. A bit young. But still. I picked them into my hand. And over there was a mushroom. But what kind was that?
I turned around. The little kid was up. He had something in his hand. I went toward him.
-Hey you, what do you got there, I asked.
He lifted his hand up.
-Have you found yourself a mushroom, I asked.
He lifted it up to his mouth.
-No, I said and started to run.
He opened his mouth and brought the fungus inside.
NO, I shouted. I came up to him. Quickly I stuck some fingers into his mouth.
But it was too late.

How was the smell?

I turned the note again. The other side was empty.
"How was the smell?" Who wrote this? To whom? The writing was almost childish. The paper note was small and white. It seemed to be quite fresh. Not much marked by any long time in the forest.
I looked around me. There was no one else here, as far as I could see. Aside from me. And the little one, sleeping.
Well, the smells... what kind of smell was it here? It was the smell of a forest, of course. But how does actually the forest smell like? I guess that everything that grows here makes a smell. But I could not give it any closer definition.
But this paper note. It was so odd to find it here. With this question.
I gazed toward some bushes. There! More paper notes! Wasn't it? I felt the forest had become a bit darker.  Things were a little harder to see. But there was something there. I ran over. Yes! Several paper notes. And everyone had a writing on them. I lifted one of them...
It said; "Find more notes".
I grabbed some more. "How was the sounds?" What?? "Will there be more notes?" Well, how the hell would I know! "What colour is it. Blue?" White! "Cool nota, possible tu see more notas in da forest?" Damn! What is this?? Swedish? Some bloody, young swede fooling around in the forest?
I tossed the notes away. Is there someone mocking me? I stared around me. Tried to see if someone was hidden somewhere. Then I heard a sound from the little one.

The paper note

Maybe I should take him far inside? Into the innermost? I had not yet been there. Perhaps this was the right time?
The trail turned around bushes and trees. The breath of the guy behind me became heavier. His body started to move out of rhythm.
Hm. He was sleeping.
I went on. Towering old pine trees gave us shadow against the strong sun. The air became a bit cooler.
I stopped and listened ...
A branch creaked a little bit. Otherwise it was completely silence. It was as if the air was trying to say something without being able to.
I loosened the child carrier and took it gently off my shoulders. The head of the little lad was hanging on the side. Maybe this was dangerous for his tiny neck? I put him down on the feather moss. He slept heavily. His head was lying slightly on the side and and his legs was spread over the child carrier.
I had forgotten to bring with me the most. Nothing to eat. No extra cloth. The bottle with water was nearly empty.
A woodpecker was picking on a spot at the distance. The forest gave the sound some extra timbre.
A little further away there, through the trees. It was something there. Something white. I got up and went over.
A paper note.
I turned it over. On the backside there was a writing. Something with a blue ballpoint pen and nice squiggly letters.
The note said: "How was the smell?"

Walking hike

-Can you please take him out for a walk?
She had a lot to do. Quite a lot of struggle. It was okay. I had less to do. For a while.
I dressed him. He was struggling like a worm. I put him into a child carrier and lifted him onto my back.
Then we opened the door into the forest. I wanted so much to show him some of what I had sensed in there. His head went from side to side behind me, while he was studying the new environment. The air was a bit heavy. The sun was baking. The forest was morning quiet. My legs was climbing up along the trail. His body was rocking in the rhythm of my movements.