"If you get dunked as often as I did growing up, you learn pretty quick…"
It was rare for Wil to have time alone.
For as long as he could remember, his mother had been vigilant about keeping him close to her side. And, when she wasn't able to be with him, Uncle Flick was usually there to take up the task. He loved them both dearly, of course, and he was grateful for their care— but, sometimes, the eight year old felt smothered.
He had been growing increasingly restless lately, and an unsupervised afternoon was a welcomed reprieve.
Sure, he wasn't that old, and he knew it wasn't safe to go too far on his own (one never knew when a troll or gnome might appear). But he had also seen other village kids his age playing on their own. He, however, had only ever been permitted to watch them from a distance as his mother and uncle dragged him along on their various errands in town.
Occasionally, he had begged his mom to let him join in. The children he had seen always looked like they were having lots of fun, and he had never really understood why she was so reluctant to let him go. He'd never had any friends—any peers his own age. And it was hard not to blame her for facilitating this situation.
"You don't need them." She would say softly, whenever he asked. "You're special."
That response, however, had never satisfied him. Maybe she thought he was "special," but he knew that he was just a regular kid who wanted to do regular things.
Granted, the whole half-elf thing made him a bit different…but he always kept his hat on in public and he was pretty sure that the other kids' wouldn't care all that much. It would be ridiculous to shun and ridicule him because his ears were a bit different…right? That didn't define him, and he was certain that others' would see him for who he was once they had a chance to get to know him.
So, with that determined thought in mind, Wil had quietly left the cabin where his mother was taking an afternoon nap and rushed excitedly across the hills until he had heard the sound of gleeful shouts.
He wasn't surprised to find six other kids running and playing near the river—he had heard them here before, but had never had the freedom or courage to approach.
But today, he told himself, was going to be different.
This was the day that he would finally become one of them.
As Wil approached, a few of the children turned towards him curiously. Thankfully, there was no hostility on their faces, and one of the girls gave him a small wave.
"Hey." Wil greeted them, a bit more quietly than he intended. He had wanted to seem confidant, but some of his earlier gusto was fading now that he had arrived.
"I'm Wil." He forced himself to continue with a smile. "Mind if I join in."
There was a brief pause before the girl who waved gave him a friendly nod. "Sure!" She replied, looking him up and down. "I'm Layla, and this is Lex, Winna and Kerr. We're catching frogs. Just for fun…we're gonna release them later."
She nodded towards the others and gestured down to a small wooden box which, Wil presumed, held their daily catches.
"Cool." He replied with a grin before eagerly looking towards the wet river bank. "Sometimes my uncle and I come here to catch frogs too! There are always tons near that big stone over there."
Before he knew it, the others' were rushing towards his suggested spot and he followed eagerly behind.
That had been even easier than he had thought.
And for the first time, he felt like he belonged.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Two hours passed before Wil knew it.
He was a bit nervous that his mother would be awake and worried by now, but he was having too much fun with his new friends to tear himself away. The frog chasing had been a massive success and they were now lying on the grass, muddy and sweating, in an attempt to recover from the excursion.
"You were right about the big stone!" Winna exclaimed, her hand holding the ratting box of frogs shut. "That was crazy!"
The others nodded in agreement, and Kerr gave Wil a congratulatory pat on the back.
"Yeah, thanks for that."
Wil beamed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun and he was already looking forward to meeting up with his new-found friends again soon.
His mother and uncle had been wrong, he thought to himself smugly. There was no need to hide him away in the cottage and he was annoyed that he had missed out on so much fun.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going swimming." Lex proclaimed before standing up and quickly pulling off his shirt. "My mom will kill me if I go home covered in dirt."
Wil nodded in agreement.
"Last one in is a slimy frog!" Winna shouted as they jumped to their feet and began to pull off all but their underclothes.
Without thinking twice, Wil followed suit, throwing his hat, shirt and trousers into a filthy heap on the grass. As soon as he finished, he turned to face his new friends, clad in only his undershorts.
There had been a wide smile on his face as he had anticipated a fun swim but it faded the second he caught sight of the other four. Their lighthearted expressions had suddenly darkened, and the girls both took a cautious step back—as if he was some sort of dangerous monster.
For a moment, he was dumbfounded. They'd been having such a good time all afternoon and, in his mind, nothing had changed in the last thirty seconds.
But, as he realized where they were all looking, he knew that he was wrong.
He had mindlessly, naïvely, taken off his hat.
And they were all starring at his ears.
"You're an elf?" Layla whispered, a slight quiver in her voice.
Wil felt his heart sink.
Suddenly, he wished he was invisible. He wished he had never come.
No amount of fun could make up for the looks of anger and disgust they were giving him now. He didn't understand how it was possible to change their minds about his so quickly—all because of a small physical feature— but apparently they had no trouble with instant rejection.
"I…only…" He stuttered, taking a few steps towards the shore.
"I thought you said you were from Shady Vale!" Kerr piped in with a glare. "That's a human settlement. And you're clearly not human."
"I am!" Wil replied, defensively. "I mean, I did grow up in a Vale, and my mom is human. I'm only half-elf."
The other boy, Lex, began to walk slowly towards him and Wil backed up once again. He was nearly at the river now and he wasn't sure how he was going to make his escape. It felt like they were circling in on him, and he felt helpless.
Trapped.
He would have given anything to be safely hiding in a dark corner of his cabin right now.
"I never knew my dad." He began, in an attempt to defend himself. Perhaps there was a chance they would be reasonable. After all, until a minute ago they had all seemed so nice…
"In fact, I've never met another elf in my life. I wasn't trying to lie or anything—I'm just like you guys. I didn't think it mattered."
Lex snorted. "You are nothing like us, elf." He spat, his tone laced with even more hatred than Wil anticipated. "My father says elves are arrogant bastards who want to destroy everyone but themselves."
"That's probably why he tried to be our friend." Kerr interjected. "He was sent here to figure out a way to get rid of us."
Wil drew a shaky breath. Clearly, the time for reason had passed.
"That's not true, and I never…"
But before Wil could finish his sentence, he felt two pairs of rough hands seize his shoulders. Before he knew what was happening, the other boys shoved him into the cold river and he landed with a loud and painful splash.
Stunned, he kicked his way to the surface. He wasn't the best swimmer, and he wouldn't have usually gone out to this depth. He knew he needed to get himself back to the shore as quickly as he could.
As Wil struggled against the current, he could see the others laughing and sniggering at the waterlogged "elf."
"Serves him right." Kerr stated, as they all began to gather their clothes.
"I can't believe we talked to an elf." Winna noted, her face wrinkled with disgust. "Gross."
As Wil finally kicked his way to the shore, all four turned their backs and began to make their way over the hill. Clearly, they didn't care to check if he was okay—and Wil knew that his little excursion had been a mistake.
He hated to admit it but, as he pulled himself onto the grass and lay down to recover, he could not deny that his mom and uncle had been right.
He would never be accepted by other children.
Today had been a disaster and he found himself biting back tears and he brought his hand up towards his right ear. Pulsing with a combination of sadness and anger, he brushed his fingers across the long, pointed tip. The tip that marked him as what he was.
There was no denying it: He was a freak. He was always going to be a freak.
And that meant that he was destined to be alone...