“Of course, you haven’t. Fish is not a magical being. So it’s quite natural that you’ve not met with things that are magical. They are quite rare actually.”

“I’m not a fish. I’m an elf.”

“Stop saying that. You are not an elf. You are a fish. When I say that you’re a fish, you are a fish. And your name is Nemo. Anyway, what difference does it make? It’s just a name. My fish is not your fish.”

Darius did not quite want to argue with Elena because he knew, from the way this kind of argument was heading, a girl would always win. If she wanted to play her little game, he would go along. It would not cost him anything. His mind then drifted away and he thought about the things that recently happened, and the more he thought about them, the more confused he got. The all-seeing tree, the powerful goat, that sleazehead and now, the impossible girl that he was following. And why am I following her like a puppy? Going along with that fish thing? Have I become a another person? Am I really her pet?

“Don’t make a puzzle for yourself. You wouldn’t understand. And you shouldn’t worry too. Cause Oldbark and I are good beings. We don’t harm other beings. At least, not unintentionally.”

“That means, you’ll intentionally harm others.”

“Yes, if they represent a threat to the forest. You would also kill if you’re threatened, wouldn’t you. But I can’t kill. I’m not that strong.”

“And why won’t I understand? It’s because I’m a low level being, huh. And, how did you know that I’m puzzling?” said Darius, obviously uneasy. “You shouldn’t read other people’s mind just like that.”

“Why is that? Is it because they have secrets to keep? Such secret is usually not good. If the secret is good, then it shouldn’t be a secret. Is it not so? Keeping a secret means there’s a lie. Do you like to lie?”

“No, it’s just that there are things you won’t want other people to know.”

“That’s lying. Cause you’re withholding information and that’ll mislead people. Anyway, I can’t read your mind. And Oldbark isn’t reading your mind. He just knows.”

“Er, can you explain a bit about that ‘he just knows’ bit?”

“I told you before. He sees everything. He can see right into you. He’s in your thought.”

That was enough to make the elf squirmed. Having someone seeing right into you was like walking around with no clothes on. “But I’m not thinking about him.”

“Perhaps see is not a good word. What I really mean is that Oldbark is conscious of you, all of you, inside and outside, in your space and your time,” Elena continued.

“What does that even mean?”

“It’s just like how we see. Only that we’re limited to now and to the outside of things. Eyes are blocked.”

Darius was not getting it.

“It means that we can see each other only in this space and at this time. I can see you because you are with me now. But if you are standing behind that tree, I won’t be able to see you. The tree blocks you from me. And I couldn’t see where you are, say one month ago because time has gone by and in a way time has blocked the image. Oldbark can see us through time and space, no blocking.”

“No blocking?”

“Yes, all the way to the day we were born. He sees everything. That’s why he knows everything. Even things that you’ve forgotten. He is conscious of everything. Your thoughts, your doings, your whole life up till now, everything.”

“He can read my memory,” said the elf, astounded and unable to accept that there was now someone who knew him more than he knew himself.

“Not just memory, because to read your memory, you must have that memory first. It’s more than that. Oh, wait. Oldbark just told me a very good analogy.”

The girl stopped walking, turned to him and very diligently, started to explain “Say that you’re now swimming along a river and I’m standing on the bank, some distant in front of you. And I have the uncanny ability to see far far away, so I’ll be able to see you swimming along, coming towards me. That’s seeing through the distance. I can see you when you’re 50 feet from me, 40 feet from me, 10 feet from and so on. But if there’s a bend somewhere, I won’t be able to see you, cause the bend blocks you’re image from ever reaching me.”

“Okay, I get that.”

“But for Oldbark, the bend cannot block him. He still sees you like he has a bird’s eye view. But the bird’s view is like a map. For Oldbarks, it’s more like being aware of you and your surroundings. He can see the way you see, feel the way you feel.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

A certain horror descended upon the elf. He said, “And you can also see that way.”

“No, I can’t see that way. I can only see that way through Oldbark.”

“And he can extend that view to a distance far far away.”

“Yes, as far as the day you’re born, or rather the day you attained consciousness in your mother’s womb. And you can apply the analogy to time as well,” said the girl smiling.

“But that will amounts to the same thing.”

“Yes. Something like that. Very good. You’re not that stupid after all.” She was apparently happy and very pleased with herself. She had finally managed to get through to him. “But Oldbark isn’t doing it on purpose. He’s not digging into you like some perverts. He just knows. Everything is opened to him. Just like when we open our eyes and we see. Just like we have ears, so we hear. It’s the same with Oldbark. He’s conscious so he’s conscious of everything. The sight, the sound, the feel, everything. He’s conscious of the whole environment that you’re in.”

“So, he knows everything, everything about the whole world.”

“Not everything about the whole world. There’s always a limit to everything. He only knows about things near him, things under his canopy and things that his roots have reached. He cannot extend indefinitely.”

“And he shares all these knowledge with you since you two are connected.”

“It’s more complicated than that. But, yes.”

“So, you know everything about me from the day I was born.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“And you can see me in every situation that I have been through.”

”Everything that you saw or heard or felt or done. I think the better word is conscious. No. I can even know things that even you’re not conscious of, like the things that you can’t see because it’s behind you. And yeah, everything you have thought. You’re like an open book and I can read it anytime I want.”

“Oohh, that’s so gross.” The elf cried in agony. “You’re like my mother now. And you’re a girl.”

“More than your mother.” The girl smiled. “Cause there are still stuffs that your mother doesn’t know, like how you masturbate.” She turned away and started walking again.

Now, Darius felt like he was the little child, like he had shrunken to the size of an ant. He was speechless. This was not just about being naked. It was like being transparent, unable to hide anything. He was definitely the pet now. This was a girl that could see him through and through. He did not know what to say and he kept quiet trailing behind her, embarrassed about those masturbating scenes. But very suddenly, he popped the question.

“Can Oldbark tell me a bit about that old goat back at the tavern? You have seen him, right.”

“That’s not a goat. It’s a chimera. I can see that he’s always on your mind. Those burning eyes. They’re scary. Oldbark said that you must run away if you ever see him again. He is very powerful. Back there, he was only toying with you.”

“Elves don’t run away.”

“You’re a fish. My fish. So when I tell you to run away, you will run away. If you don’t, he will kill you as easily as stepping on a cockroach. You know, splat!”

“That’s mean. I’m not that insignificant.”

“Oldbark said that you can’t even fight a lizardman properly.”

“Oh yeah! How does he know that? I can kill them in seconds.”

“That’s not what happened, isn’t it.”

“He was hiding below that damn table. It blocked my arrows.”

Darius grunted. He was annoyed, not really about the tease, but by the fact that there were a few kilos of truth in what she had just said. He might not be able to take on a lizardman in a square fight. And all that self-acknowledgement was known to them because he could not hide anything. He was an open book.

“Lizardman can be a bit dumb but they’re one of the best fighters in the land. They’re strong. They’re agile. They’re poisonous. The blood, the saliva, the goo. All of them are poisonous. Unlike snake’s venom, their poisons kill you slowly, over days of agony. And they have incredible regenerative power. They can heal a cut in a matter of hours. It’ll probably take you days. And they don’t get tired. They only get hungry.”

“Then, I just have to cut them up entirely.”

The little girl giggled at the ignorance of her young fish. “They have tough slippery skin. Some have armoured scale. Not easy to cut. The chimera told you that they could grow back their tail. But according to Oldbark, they can now grow back minor digits. Some advance breeds can even grow back the whole limb. And some know how to manipulate their regeneration speed.”

On hearing that, the elf brooded. “That’s not fair.”

“Grow up, my Nemo. Nothing is fair. And haven’t you realized it in your many reflections that the lizardman can always manage to dodge your needles.”

“Those are arrows,” he rebuked.

“Lizardman can sense danger before it happens. They can see danger coming, wherever it’s coming from. Then, they’ll counter it almost like reflex. So it’s quite hopeless to ambush a lizardman from the back, or to ‘sniper’ them.”

“I was only thinking about that like it’s a kind of … fun imagination, an amusement. I’m not really going to do it.” Darius was irritated again at being found out. The elves did have quite advance bow and arrow that could do the job.

And the girl laughed. “Aah, my silly pet.”

Soon, they reached the designated opening and they were out of the forest. It was nice out there, sunny and breezy. The river was flowing lazily in front of them. The reflected light from the surface was rather blinding. A cart trail ran right alongside it but the tracks were not fresh.

“The river is flowing northwest. So, we’ll just follow the river flow for a while. We’ll be safe as long as we’re on this side of the river.”

“Why? What’s on the other side?”

“Dark things. Vicious things. Among them, the lizardmen.” Her forlorn eyes looked fixatedly at the opposite forest. She was recollecting some fond old memories from the deep past. She could not be sure whether those were her memories or Oldbark’s. But those things were lost forever. She wanted to cry but she did not. She could not find her tears. No matter how hard she called them, they would not come out. Not even one drop. “They cut down trees. They kill animals. They destroy lives.”

“Then, why isn’t anybody doing anything about it.”

“Those lands have become their lands. We cannot get involved. This is how it is,” the girl said in a sad voice, a melody of anguish. They walked along the trail for a while and the girl veered off the trail. “Perhaps, we should not be on the trail,” she said.