Harmonious Hearts 2019--Stories from the Young Author Challenge

by Ryan Almroth

  “Echo,” she began, barely keeping from flinching at the poke to a particularly large bruise. “It’s occurred to me that I don’t know what to call you.”

  “You just did,” the shapeshifter pointed out while dabbing a wet cloth to a gash on her shoulder.

  “No, I mean, like, what to call you other than your name.”

  “Why would you call me something that isn’t my name?” Echo frowned at her look of complete exasperation. This conversation turned out to be much more difficult than Jean imagined. A more straightforward approach should do the trick, she decided, and turned around fully to face Echo.

  “Do I call you she or he?”

  Finally, Echo’s face lit up with understanding. “Oh! This is about you humans’ categorization, isn’t it?” the shapeshifter exclaimed, making Jean blink in surprise.

  “I, um, think so?” she replied.

  Echo nodded sagely before continuing. “We do not have that, but we usually call each other by name or use ‘they,’ if that helps.”

  Jean frowned in confusion. Shapeshifters didn’t… have male and female? How did that even work? How did they… reproduce and all that? Echo seemed to catch on to her thoughts and tried, rather unsuccessfully, to disguise their snort of laughter as a cough.

  “You have to understand that shapeshifters don’t have a default form to revert back to. When a baby is born, they are born in the same shape as their parents, but as they grow the baby will change countless of times, too many to keep track of, and categorizing all those shapes as male or female and referring to them accordingly? An almost impossible feat, but you’re welcome to try,” Echo explained cheerfully. “My carrier birthed me as a wolf, and so I’ve kept that form in their honor, even if it isn’t my primary shape.”

  Considering how often Echo switched from one body to another, Jean didn’t doubt the difficulty of the task. She was practically reeling from all the information, so different from the little she’d learned in school, but she still wanted to know much more about this mysterious group of people.

  “How can you change shapes? Can you change into anything? Is there a limit?” So many questions, so little time. There was just so much humans didn’t know about shapeshifters and their abilities, and Jean was almost certain the scholars of the city would kill for an opportunity like this, if only they could get over their prejudice. Echo simply smiled at her, amused at her sudden enthusiasm.

  “Shifting is easy. I can’t quite describe it, but… imagine diving into water. One moment above the surface, the next under. The hard part is understanding the form enough to imitate it. See, you have to know how a creature is put together, otherwise you’ll end up looking nothing like it.”

  “But if it’s as difficult as you say, how come so many can imitate people perfectly enough to fool their closest friends and family, their spouses?” Jean asked, thinking back on all the stories about shapeshifters in a new light.

  “To mimic someone to that degree… you’d have to watch them for months. You not only have to note every little physical detail but also their behavior, their speech, their relationship to others, essentially everything. If you watch a human that closely, you’re bound to be noticed, though I don’t know why you would want to in the first place.” Echo studied her silently for a moment. “The stories you refer to… they are most likely just that: stories. Maybe a shapeshifter did imitate someone once, but not to the extent you’re describing. It’s far too much work for a simple prank.”

  “Maybe so…,” Jean mumbled, sinking further into her thoughts, trying to piece together what Echo had told her and what she thought she knew. Echo simply regarded her a moment longer before going back to cleaning her wounds.

  GRADUALLY, SHE recovered. The swelling went down, her headache receded, and she could walk in a straight line without stumbling. As the days went by, Jean found herself feeling… sad. Sad at the prospect of leaving. She could have never imagined she would want to stay in a dank cave with a shapeshifter, but here she was, trying to make up excuses to remain just a little while longer. But no matter how much she would miss Echo’s company and the long nights spent talking over the fire until their eyelids grew heavy, she had to report back to the Order. They most likely either thought her dead at the hands of a dragon or running like a coward at the first sight of the beast. If nothing else she had to return just to shove it in their faces that they hadn’t gotten rid of her yet.

  Sighing, she strapped her sword to her belt and looked out over the mountain. The trail, if it could even be called that, was a treacherous one, full of loose rocks that could easily cause her to fall headfirst down a cliff. To make it easier, she had strapped her armor to her back instead of wearing it. It weighed a fair amount, but it was worth it for the extra mobility.

  “I guess this is it,” she said, turning around to face Echo. Jean took the time to memorize their features in the morning sun. Their hair seemed more purple than black in the natural light and now she could make out the swirls carved into their horns. A ball of sorrow grew steadily in her stomach, reaching up to her throat, threatening to choke her. Blinking frantically to stop the tears burning in her eyes, she stuck her hand out. “It’s been a pleasure, Echo.”

  The corners of their eyes crinkled in a smile, and they took her hand, but didn’t shake it, instead opting to pull her into a tight hug.

  “Likewise. I wish you the best, Jean Romée.” Jean would’ve been worried about squeezing them too hard if they weren’t hugging her back just as vigorously. She sniffled subtly.

  “I can come back and visit sometime?” she asked as they pulled back.

  “I don’t know how long I’ll stay here,” Echo replied, smiling sadly. “It’s only a matter of time until another knight hears the rumors.”

  Despair filled her heart until she was sure she’d end up bawling then and there. Echo was leaving, and who knew where they were going to settle down next? One night around a week into Jean’s stay, they had told her they never stayed too long in one place, always moving to avoid drawing too much unwanted attention. They had no real home, no place where she could find them. This would most likely be the last time they saw each other.

  It must be lonely, traveling around on their own like that. No friends, no family, no home to come back to, always worried about being seen by the wrong people. God, it sounded awful. Echo deserved so much more than that, deserved more than being labeled a malicious deceiver and being banished to live on the road. Being isolated like this couldn’t be good for them, regardless of if they were a human or a shapeshifter. If only she could help them somehow, get them a place to live and maybe even a job. But to do that she would have to change centuries of bigotry or force Echo to pretend to be a human, to repress their abilities, their entire being. Both were impossible, and she would never force Echo to do something so cruel just for the sake of sleeping in a warm bed at night.

  But… she didn’t necessarily have to change all humans’ behavior, now did she? A short while ago Jean had also been one of those biased humans, so it wasn’t exactly impossible to change. There weren’t any laws against shapeshifters; they were just disliked. If she could just show the townsfolk that Echo wasn’t evil or out to steal their wives they would, hopefully, reconsider. Echo was an amazing healer too, and there was always a need for more doctors; it was the perfect way for them to prove themself!

  A plan, tentative and entirely based on hope and optimism, started to form. Jean lived in a small town not very far from the capital, not so small that everyone knew each other but also not large enough for it to get crowded. It was close to a forest too, so if Echo needed some time alone, they could always head there. She didn’t have a house, just a tiny private room in a building she shared with four other people. They’d have to find a better place, farther away from the town square and big enough to fit Echo in some of their other forms apart from the regular one. Probably not the dragon. Definitely not the dragon.

  Echo waved a hand in fro
nt of her face, and she jerked back into reality.

  “You have to come with me!” she blurted and immediately regretted it. She had planned on easing them into the idea of living among other people again, having a nice discussion on the pros and cons and such, but, again, she had never been very good at planning ahead. “I mean, I know people don’t like shapeshifters, but I didn’t either a few weeks ago, and what do you care what people think anyhow? You could work as a doctor, and they would see you aren’t that bad. The kids would love you!”

  Echo blinked. “You… want me to go with you?” There was a certain disbelief in their voice, like they couldn’t fathom anyone wanting anything to do with them, and it broke her heart.

  “Of course I would. You’re my friend,” she replied, trying her very hardest to show just how sincere she was. Taking their hand in hers, she gave Echo a broad smile. “Besides, I’m pretty sure anything is better than a dank old cave. So what do you say?”

  A bolt of fear struck her. What if Echo wouldn’t accept? Jean was asking them to abandon the life they’d lived for years to go back to live among people that didn’t even like them. Maybe it was just too much. Maybe the cons outweighed the pros, and Echo would disappear forever, only remembering her as the human that wanted to domesticate them like some kind of animal. And if they did accept, but things didn’t go as planned, what would they do then? What if the townspeople started persecuting Echo, forcing them to flee yet again? How was she supposed to live with herself if that happened?

  Jean shook herself out of her panic-filled thoughts. There was no use worrying over what might be, especially since it wasn’t going to happen, she’d make sure of it. All of the scenarios involved Echo running away on their own. If they didn’t want Jean or her promises of a home then fine, that was their decision, but if they had to leave against their choice, she was damn well going to follow after. She wouldn’t abandon a friend.

  Some of her thoughts must have shown because suddenly Echo was squeezing her hand back, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Yeah,” they said, laughing at the crack in their voice. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  RYAN ALMROTH is an eighteen-year-old student who lives in Sweden. They have loved the fantasy genre for as long as they can remember and have made it their personal goal to write about as many mythical creatures as possible while, of course, adding a splash of the rainbow that’s always a part of their stories. They find the fantasy genre perfect for writing about problems they face in life in a fun and interesting way.

  When not writing or reading whatever story has their fancy, you can usually find Ryan in front of some screen playing a video game. “Metamorphosis” is their first published work.

  On the Clock and In Love

  By Alexis K Henley

  Riley works at her family’s hardware store and fears she’ll be stuck in her small town for life. Amelia is wealthy and their class valedictorian. Despite their differences, the two pun-loving girls became a couple, but will they be able to keep their relationship going strong when Amelia goes to college?

  THE LADYBUG resumed its crawl across the open pages of the paint catalogue as the rusty metal table fan oscillated. Eventually the fan cast a breeze, causing the page to flutter, and the bug tumbled, landing on its back. Riley watched its tiny legs wriggle but did nothing to help it.

  The hardware store was silent other than the hum and occasional clank of the old AC unit, ineffective against the August heat. The large dark walnut doors connecting the store and bar were closed. The sound of glasses clinking together and voices carried through.

  What I would give to be a bartender instead of a damn cashier, Riley thought, stirring her finger in the whiskey glass filled with pens and pencils next to the cash register.

  Her parents moved to Anthem Falls when she was three and opened up the now famous “The Crow Bar,” which was half bar, half hardware store. They were more fortunate than most, combining their two favorite things—building projects and drinking—into a career.

  Two summers ago Riley tried to convince her parents to train her, but laws were laws, they said. Now, fresh out of high school, she had three years to go. Riley slumped over the counter, letting the fan blow her dark brown hair. She ran her fingers over the right shaved side.

  I need to get this trimmed, Riley thought.

  The bell over the front door jingled.

  Riley shot away from the counter and sat up straight in her chair. She was about to give the customary greeting, already preparing her “Anti-Riley” voice, as Jade, her best friend, called it. Normally it would have been just called her customer-service voice, but when all the spunk was gone and she heightened her naturally lower pitch to add a sense of chipper to it, Riley found her voice utterly unrecognizable. She hated the feeling of pretending to be someone she wasn’t. Riley stopped short when she recognized the girl at the entrance. Amelia Harper, valedictorian of Anthem Falls High, future Elementary Education major at UNC Chapel Hill, and Riley’s girlfriend, whose going-away party Riley was missing because of work. Amelia tucked a runaway strand of her dripping-wet wavy caramel-colored hair behind her ear, and from the tank-top, shorts, and flip-flops, Riley knew she’d come from the town’s swimming pool.

  “Hey, babe,” she said, and smiled, lighting up the room as if she were the sun.

  A flush crept up Riley’s neck and cheeks. I’ll never get used to that, she thought, as she replied with a “Hi.”

  Amelia strode up to the counter and said, “I hope you know that I’m missing my chance of soaking up the sun with the rest of the girls to come see you.” She flashed another smile.

  “Yeah, sorry about that. Did you get anything good?” Riley asked as she reached down below the counter for the gift she’d bought just for the occasion.

  Amelia hopped onto the counter. “Not your fault that you had work, and yes, I did, actually. Leah made this sweet scrapbook full of photos of all of us and then hid money behind the photos. At the end was this long letter that was just so wholesome.”

  Riley’s mouth went dry, and her gift slipped from her fingers. Compared to that, what good was her present? Her heart fluttered as she drew her hand away from the gift and placed it on the counter. Their last summer all together before everyone moved on had gone by in an instant. Riley ran her tongue over her lips, and Amelia waited, still smiling, and watched Riley collect herself. For her, the silence was comfortable, but for Riley the silence meant doubts pooling in her head, filling up all space.

  “So, uh, you got everything packed for tomorrow?” she asked, glancing at the calendar with the twentieth circled in red ink. Riley frowned, but Amelia didn’t seem to notice.

  “Yeah, for the most part. I still have to do my backpack, and then tomorrow my roommate and I are setting up our dorm. We’ve kinda almost got it already figured out—”

  Amelia’s words faded out as a twinge of dread settled into Riley’s stomach. She licked her lips again, rubbing her thumb over the pages of the catalogue. Tomorrow, three hours would separate Amelia from her and this small town. The one Riley couldn’t leave because college was too expensive, too impractical for someone like her.

  “Riley?” Amelia asked.

  Riley snapped her attention back to Amelia, and her mouth settled into a fine line as she mentally berated herself at getting caught spacing out. Amelia’s eyebrows knitted together in concern and she opened her mouth to speak again, but Riley cut her off.

  “I need to tell you something.”

  Amelia frowned, her posture stiffening. She went silent, letting Riley have the floor.

  “You’re going off to college”—Riley shifted under Amelia’s gaze—“and I know you’re going to make new awesome friends, and explore, and take interesting classes, and I… I don’t want you to feel like you shouldn’t pursue new relationships with people, whether that’s friendship or romantic ones. I don’t want to be the small-town girlfriend that you feel obligated to keep, especially when I’ll likely be stuck
here for the rest of my life, and you’ll get amazing job offers in far-off cities, and I want you to take them and—”

  Amelia broke through Riley’s rant, grabbing her hand. “Hey! Where’s this coming from?”

  “Since you got accepted….” Riley’s gaze shifted down to their intertwined hands.

  Amelia squeezed. “Babe, just because I’m leaving doesn’t mean I won’t be back.”

  “Most people don’t.”

  “Well ‘most people’ aren’t me. I’ll be back for fall break. We will go to Harvest Fest together for the first time as a couple, and it’ll be great.”

  “But I don’t want to hold you back—”

  “I love you.”

  The world stilled. Silence filled the hardware store as Riley looked from their hands to Amelia’s face. Did she just? Riley’s face burned as she asked, “What?”

  “I love you, Riley, and I will continue to love you at college. Neither the distance or gap between us will change anything because….” Amelia let out a laugh, and Riley watched her cheeks grow red. “I think love overcomes everything.”

  Riley cracked a smile and rubbed the back of her neck. “I feel stupid for worrying.”

  “Don’t feel stupid. Your worrying was valid. I just hope you don’t feel that way anymore.”

  “I’ll just need some time to get used to you not being around.”

  Amelia nodded, squeezing Riley’s hand again before looking over to the open paint catalogue with the ladybug still on its back. Amelia nudged it over with her finger. It crawled forward before taking flight, heading off into some area of the store. Both girls watched it go. A comfortable silence came over the two before Amelia piped up, her gaze shifting upward to the clock on the wall behind Riley.