Hidden

Why do creatures hide in the deep shadows?

It was a question that had bogged poor Flinq for a while. The mossling scurried from branch to branch in the forest, wandering while they pondered the question. Why do others find deep shadows so comforting?

The little tree sprite didn’t mean any shadows. Certainly a little darkness never hurt anyone. For the mossling, they did prefer a little bit of midnight dew. It brightened up one’s coat and gave a bit of luster. And the sun could get too hot baking down every once in a while.

But the sun also showed the colors of the world. Flinq fell to the forest floor and could see everything. The springtime was filled with the bursting of new and old. The crackled and squish of fallen leaves now removed from winter snow. The budding flowers glinting between the trees. Reds and browns and blues and so much color for the mossling to disappear into!

They quickly made their way over to the lair of Kergon. Kergon was a badger, and knew of the shadows. If anyone would be able to explain why some preferred darkness, it would be him.

Kergon lived in a tree, just like Flinq. But while Flinq settled into a swarm of mosslings every night, Kergon lived alone in his lair. Nestled in the roots of an oak tree, the badger was fast asleep when Flinq came running up.

“Kergon Kergon Kergon!” The mossling shouted. “I have a question!”

“Yes,” Kergon muttered. “You can go away.”

Flinq giggled. “No, no! I wanted to ask you about shadows and darkness.”

“Why?”

“Because it popped into my head!”

Kergon groaned. That was how these conversations usually went. The mossling never could stay still. They always wanted to know something new. And they would stay until Kergon answered.

The badger rolled into a sitting position. “What do you want to know, Flinq?”

“Why do some things like darkness?” Flinq asked. “Like, really dark darkness.”

“Because they do,” Kergon said. He rolled back, contented with a satisfactory answer.

“KERGON!” Flinq shouted. That wasn’t a good answer! It was an answer that seedlings got when the mossbed didn’t want to explain anything.

The badger opened his eyes. “Darkness is soothing to some folks, Flinq.”

“Why?”

“Why.”

The badger rolled out of his den, and looked up at the mossling. “Why do you like the sun so much?”

“I like it because it makes me feel good!”

“And for some creatures, it feels good to stay in the dark,” the badger said. He looked up at the woodland creature. “Flinq, I like less sun than you do. I prefer staying on the ground, and looking for food. You flit from tree to tree with your family. We both bask in the sun, but at far different times.”

“Yes, but even then we can still be friends and see each other!” Flinq exclaimed. “What’s so special about the dark that you can’t even come out to play?”

“It’s not just about play, little thing,” Kergon said. “It’s about safety, and survival.”

He looked back into his cave. “There are creatures in the dark that could never survive out in the wide world. Creatures that would bake and dry out in the midday sun. Some that would be hunted for their gems. And others that know what it’s like to be hated. The darkness of the world beneath gives them comfort.”

“But then…”

“Yes, they might not be able to meet you, Flinq,” Kergon said. “But would you trade their survival for a single afternoon with a dying beast?”

“Depends on the game,” Flinq said.

Kergon shook his head. “Go back to the trees, Flinq. Don’t think about the darkness. Think about your own survival.”

But Flinq didn’t go back. The mossling kept moving, towards one last place it knew would lead to the darkness. A cavern mouth, opening into the deep tunnels underneath the forest. Flinq swung up to a barren tree, and looked in the cavern, curious.

What was it about the darkness that made life so different? Kergon didn’t have a really satisfying answer. Were they so different just because of what side of the light or darkness they were on? That didn’t seem right.

“Hello?” Flinq called out. “My name is Flinq, and I’m a mossling.

“I don’t know who you are, but I’d love to play games sometimes! Me and my family love playing Waterfall, and Chase the Acorn, and though I don’t like it, they do also like to sit and talk! Maybe we can hang out sometime!”

Satisfied that they had made their best effort, Flinq hurried back to the swarm of mosslings. Content that they had given it their best shot.

The creature in the cavern would have liked to know more about Chase the Acorn. It had never really seen an acorn, and wondered what it had done to make something like that mossling chase it.

It also wondered how a Mossling would taste.

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