“This weather’s great.”
I broke a desk when I tried to help clean the house, and Ma got mad at me, but that’s okay! The sky is blue, the air is sweet, and the water is beautiful. There’s no time for feeling down.
What should I do today? I tried to help Pa with his farm work, but I broke the machine, and he smiled and said I didn’t have to do anything, so…I guess I’ll go fishing.
They get mad at me whenever I wander outside of the village, but it should be fine if I just stick to the wall.
“Well, if it isn’t Lammis. Where are you off to play today?”
“Um, I’m going to look at the flowers!”
“Is that right? Well, just be sure not to leave the village, okay? Recently, I’ve been hearing about neighboring villages getting attacked by monsters.”
“Don’t talk to children about that, dear. Be careful, Lammis.”
“I will!”
My aunt and uncle who live next door are field workers. They would’ve definitely gotten mad at me if I told them the truth, so I lied. The river is just outside the wall, so I’m sure I’ll be fine.
I usually get caught if I use the large path, so let’s try a route people don’t normally take.
This should be good. I can go behind the houses, all the way to the wall. It’s perfect!
“Hey, Lammis! What’re you doing?”
“H-hyaa! I…I’m sorry! I know what I did ain’t right, but, um—uh, hold up; just go ’head and forget I said anything!”
The jig is up. If Pa and Ma find out about this, they’ll be super mad.
“Pfft, ha-ha-ha-ha. Your accent always comes out whenever you’re excited.”
Wait, that laugh—it’s Hulemy!
“Oh, for cryin’ out loud! Don’t scare me like that! I thought my heart was gonna jump right outta my chest!”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Hulemy, my best friend ever, grinned at me, her frizzy light-brown hair fluttering.
I like exercise and hate studying, but Hulemy is the opposite. She reads hard books and makes all kinds of things. The adults ask her to fix their tools for them. The village relies on her, even though she’s a kid. She’s amazing.
I don’t know my own strength, so I’m always breaking things, but Hulemy never complains. She just fixes them for me.
She talks sort of like a boy, and she’s aggressive, too. I’ve never seen her lose an argument. I always hear the boys whispering about her, calling her boss, but I won’t tell her that.
“Anyway, where are you sneaking off to?”
“Well, I was going to go to the river…”
“The river? You’re going outside? You can’t get out without climbing over the wall. They won’t let kids through the gate.”
The log wall is a lot bigger than I am, but I can make it if I jump really hard. Then again, if I use too much strength and break the wall, they’ll get super mad at me again.
“No, there’s a hole in part of the wall. Adults can’t get through, but I can.”
“Oh, really? I didn’t know about that. In that case, I’ll tag along.”
“Well, that’s fine, but…keep it a secret.”
“Sure thing. I promise.”
Hulemy never breaks her promises. I’ll be fine. Yup.
Behind the houses, we’re hidden by the shadows of trees, so anyone nearby can’t see us. Let’s see—I just have to move this big rock out of the way.
“Whoa. There really is a hole here.”
“Yup. The big rock is in the way, so I don’t think you can get in from outside.”
“A ‘rock’… Lammis, that’s a boulder. This isn’t some ordinary secret passage. Nobody could move that thing.”
Is it really that surprising? The rock is bigger than a grown-up, but grown-ups could move it, too.
“Okay,” I say. “You go first, Hulemy. I have to put the rock back afterward.”
“Make sure you cover the hole up, got it?”
“Yup. Wouldn’t want anyone coming in.” Ma always tells me that it’s important to close the door behind me.
As we go through the hole in the wall, we see the familiar forest and river. Maybe I’ll catch some fish today.
“Whoa. A shortcut directly opposite the gate? Talk about convenient. I guess you can’t use it unless Lammis is around, though.” Hulemy folds her arms and thinks.
This is my secret hangout, but it’s okay because we’re friends.
Let’s see. Should we play in the water first? Or pick flowers first? Hmm… What to do, what to do?
“Hey, did you just hear a shout from the village?”
“They didn’t find out, did they?!”
If they did, they’ll yell at me again. What now? If I go right back and say sorry, will they forgive me?
“I don’t know. It sounded pretty angry.”
“Oh no… U-um, let’s catch some fish and go back! I’m sure they’ll forgive us then…maybe?”
“They probably would go easy on us if we brought back a gift or something.”
Yeah. They’ll be happy if we bring back extra food for lunch.
Okay. We just have to catch as many as we can and then go home.
“Let’s get to it, then.”
“Fishing, huh?” says Hulemy. “Hang on a minute. I’ll make a pole with branches and ivy.”
“What? I can catch fish with my hands.”
I walk into the river shallows, then throw a punch at some fish in the water. The river water makes a slapping noise as it splashes, and the fish splash up with it.
Three of them fly out; two land back in the water, but one falls onto the gravel.
“The force of your fist sent everything flying, fish and all…”
“See? I caught one.”
Hulemy’s eyes are really wide, like she’s surprised. Did I do something wrong?
Oh, I know. Mom says I have to be careful, since I’m too strong, and that makes me different from other people. It makes me different from the other kids, too.
“Sorry for startling you…”
“Yeah, that was a fright! But it’s just as I thought. You’re awesome, Lammis!”
“Huh? But I’m too strong, so I always break things, and people get mad at me a lot, and the boys make fun of me and call me a monster…,” I say, starting to feel sad as I say it. I wish I was cuter. All I ever do is scare people.
“What the heck are you talking about? Being strong is an amazing talent. I’m telling you, one day, that strength is going to come in handy. One day, you’ll be glad you have it! I’m sure of it!”
Isn’t Hulemy scared?
Why is she saying nice things to me? I break things in the house, I can’t do anything right, and Pa gives me a smile that makes me feel like a bother.
“Chin up! If you keep your head down like that, you can’t choose what you want to buy.”
“Buy?”
What is she talking about? Buy… Huh?!
Wait, where did Hulemy go? What’s this big squarish box? It wasn’t here a minute ago. Where did it come from?
A lot of pretty things are lined up inside. It’s like a treasure chest. What should I do with it?
“Welcome.”
Wait, I heard a voice. Could it be…? “Did you talk?”
This box, I…I know what it is. Um, where did we meet, again?
When I touch it, it’s hard and cold, but for some reason, I feel relieved.
I know this touch… The one always beside me, protecting my back… That’s right, I remember now.
How could I have forgotten something so important?
This big, kind, rectangular box is a precious magic item that saved my life—Boxxo.
