As career rescuers, Helani and Afrodiya searched for beings who got lost while on a hiking trip with friends, they looked for the elves who followed the wrong trail as they explored a continental forest, and they combed the area closely for signs of beings who went out for a camping trip, but could not find their way back to base-camp; the Ordinary Dragon, Dondris aided in the efforts when trying to locate lost and frightened beings, and the elves took the creature home every night.

Due to stress caused by their job, these best friends would clean themselves up after a hard day’s work, they would find something to eat, and they would call on the Royal Dragon, Chyndryss, to escort them to the local pub where they would help themselves to a few beers. Neither of the females were interested in the local males who frequented the establishment unless they were ready to place their paychecks on a bet; Afrodiya learned to hustle pool games, Helani was her partner, and the establishment owner received a third of their earnings. Since they cut the proprietor in on their winnings, Nakiasha Partu provided them with a bodyguard in case trouble found its way into their games, and she insisted on paying his wages.

After Emit’s graduation jubilee, Helani saw Hoosal more, and the royal elf learned the citizen was licensed and currently certified as a professional builder. His career began as a hobby, developed over time, and it eventually put food on his table; he’d been a waiter, a cook and an intern for a creature trainer, but found that his heart was into building more than anything else.

A week after his twenty-first birthday, the citizen received a visit from Carpathia Harrison. His paternal great-grandmother, the family elder, gave him a cashier’s check totaling fifty thousand dollars; the intent was for Hoosal to take the proper steps to start his own business as a professional builder, and the citizen named the establishment, Carpathia Flooring, as a tribute. His best friends, Honor Michelson and Hezekiah Sawyer, were licensed and certified and bonded as professional builders, and the new businessman made them one-third each, equal partners.

One evening, Helani found herself in the presence of both her best friend and the citizen elf. She needed to speak to them both and was glad they were in the same place at the same time. As the royal elf assisted with dinner preparations, she said, “Today was my weekly therapy session, and as I spoke with the doctor, something was suggested to me, and I think I’d like to try it”.

“We need more details,” Hoosal replied.

“Well, you’ll get them. However, I’d prefer it if we could have this discussion while we’re eating, because I think better on a full stomach,” the royal one said.

“Oh, well, that’s not fair. You know we’re going to be wondering and agonizing over whatever it is you’ve got to talk with us about, and you know I cannot eat on an upset stomach,” Afrodiya said.

“Alright, alright, alright, I’ll tell y’all what the doctor said, but deciding on how to work out her suggestion has to wait until I’ve had something to eat. I mean, we don’t have to be completely finished with dinner, but I don’t want my stomach growling from hunger while we’re talking. Can you two be alright with that?” She asked.

“We can live with that”, both of her friends replied, simultaneously.

“Doctor Ullman suggested the three of us switch jobs with each other, it would be a way for us to see what the others do during the day, it’s supposed to show us what it’s like to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes,” the royal elf said.

“That sounds great, so what do we have to do in order to get started? I mean, it’d be kind of awesome to learn the skills it takes to be a builder, and I’d really enjoy watching Hoosal or Hezekiah taking on the tasks required to be a rescuer,” Afrodiya said.

“That’s where I’m not sure what to do. I cannot make rational and clear decisions on an empty stomach, and that is why I wanted to wait for this part of the conversation until we were already eating, because my thoughts come together better when my stomach is full. I told y’all that a few minutes ago,” Helani said.

“Alright, I’m sure we can come back to that part of the conversation later, but until we’re sitting down for dinner, I have a question about a different aspect of the idea,” Hoosal said.

“Ask your question, and I’ll do my best to answer it,” the royal elf said.

“Alright, let’s just say that I am the one who switches jobs with you, do you know anything about the skills it takes to be a builder?” The citizen inquired.

“If you were the one who took part in the exercise, my question then becomes, ‘What makes you think I don’t have them?’ I mean, you cannot automatically assume that just because I’m a girl or because I’m a royal elf, that I am not capable of doing your job. That’s not right, it’s not fair, and it’s quite short-sided on your part. However, I believe that’s the main reason my doctor suggested, so that we can know firsthand what it’s like to do the other one’s job. There are so many things we’ll learn about one another from the idea, and I’d like to find out if I have what it takes to be a professional builder”, she said.

“I would first like to apologize for assuming you don’t know how to perform the tasks of my job, however, you still haven’t answered my question,” the citizen challenged.

“Well, to be honest, no, I don’t know the first thing about being a builder. I’ve got no idea how to use a hammer,” the royal one said.

“Well, my dear, it looks like I’ll have to show you how to swing a hammer. I mean, it doesn’t take much skill to know how to hit something with one, but it takes just the right amount of finesse to nail two boards together. Especially when, what you’re building is a house for someone who has enough money to be picky with the way their masterpiece is built, but it means even more that you can hit the nail on the head when you know that rich rapscallion has babies or an elderly family member that will live there,” he explained.

“Is that your way of conceding to the gorgeous female?” Hezekiah inquired.

“Where the hell did you come from? I thought you were going to your mom’s,” Hoosal asked his friend.

“Mom went to the casino, and I got bored, so I thought I’d swing by to see what y’all were doing,” his friend replied.

“Next time, knock first, you damn near gave me a heart attack. You really should be careful of who you’re sneaking up on, you know,” the citizen shot back.

“I knocked, Afrodiya answered the door, and told me where I could find y’all. And, the way I see things, you are the one who hasn’t answered my question, now,” the second male observed.

“That’s up to the lady,” the citizen said.

“First, don’t call me that. I’ve been accused of being a lot of things in my life, but a lady has never one of them. As for whether we’ll switch jobs, that will not be as easy to accomplish for your friend as it might seem because I’m one step away from being fire chief, and I cannot invite my friends to take over my shift, no matter how long they choose to stay. Now, I’m not saying he cannot perform the duties of my job, but I don’t think he could complete those tasks. Not successfully, anyway,” Helani said.

“Quick wit and a sharp tongue, I like what I hear, and if you don’t make your move, brother, you’ll lose her before you ever get her,” Hezekiah said.

“Those are only two traits I enjoy of hers, and if you want to live to be a ripe old age, you’ll set your sights on someone else. I love you like my little brother, but I’ll break your neck, literally. Helani is mine”, Hoosal threatened.

“Oh, whoa, I didn’t know it was like that, my friend. What happened to brothers coming before females?” Their guest asked.

“You mean, bros before hos? That only counts until you find the one who takes your breath away, scares you just a little, and who you know you’d die to protect. Do me a favor, never let me hear you downgrading females ever again, or I’ll wring your neck. Sometimes, I forget you weren’t brought up the right way,” the older of the two threatened.

“I don’t think it has one thing to do with the way he was raised, instead, his mamma did the best she could to raise a well-rounded individual with manners, but sometimes we miss our target no matter how we toss the ball. Either that, or he’s been jilted so badly in his short amount of time of life that he’s truly bitter against females, but neither of those matter for the simple fact of who I am”, the royal one said.

“Just exactly who are you?” The curious visitor inquired.

“You mean to tell me you never told your little brother who I am, Hoosal?” Helani asked him.

“Uh, no, it hadn’t come up, yet,” the citizen replied.

“Hezekiah, I am the future queen of the continent we’re currently standing on, therefore, the highest amount of respect should always be shown in my presence, and you’ll fair if you remember that,” she said.

“Continental queen? What you weren’t good enough for planetary?” The young dark elf inquired.

“Hoosal Travers, if you don’t do something with this little pipsqueak, I’m going to hurt him, myself,” the royal elf said.

“Alright, I’ve got no idea what’s gotten into you here lately, but I know exactly what’s going to fix you right up,” Hoosal said.

“Oh, yeah, what’s that?” He asked.

“You and I are going outside, and I’m going to give you a good-ole-boy’s ass-whoopin’, the citizen said.

“Wait, we don’t have to get all serious and twisted up and bent-out-of-shape just cause I’m runnin’ my mouth a bit, I’m just trying to ruffle her feathers a little. Besides, if she’s our future queen, she’d fare better in life if she can handle her own problems, big-shot”, Hezekiah replied.

Hoosal stood to show his friend the door, something fell from the young elf’s pocket, but he did not move to retrieve it. The older of the two citizen elves bent down, saw a plastic bottle with a brown liquid in it, and he knew what had gotten into his friend. Appalled by this discovery, he picked up the bottle, removed the lid, and poured it out into the kitchen sink.

Angry, he shouted, “How dare you!”

“Wait! Don’t do that! It’s the last of what I have”, the younger one shouted in return.

“Too bad, little brother, this stuff is like a poison to your mind and your body. It eats away at everything that makes you who you are, and you know it’s better for you to stay away from this junk. What is it this time?” Hoosal inquired.

“What do you mean?” Hezekiah asked.

“Last time you started drinking it was because you’d lost your job, and were about to lose everything else. The time before that, it was a girl. Time before that, was because your dog died. Every time you drink, there has been a life-changing, emotionally catastrophic event that caused you to turn the bottle up, again. So, what is it this time?” His brother asked.

“It’s nothing, I’ll get a handle on it, I promise,” the young one swore.

“Oh, no you don’t. Everyone in your family knows that promise is as empty as your head, and that you’ll only start hiding it more than you already are. Now, tell me what’s caused you to drink, again? Your best bet is to get it off your chest, unless you want another display from my dark side”, Hoosal threatened.

“You wouldn’t do that to me, again,” Hezekiah said.

“I did it the first time, without a second’s thought. I’ll do it again, if you don’t open your mouth and tell me what happened,” he said.

“Okay, okay, okay! I’ll tell you anything you want to know, just leave your dark side out of this,” the young elf pleaded.

“Get to talking because I’ve already started conjuring up that part of myself, and the only thing that’ll stop it is your story. And, you better tell the truth,” the older one said.

“Do you remember I told you about my favorite Aunt Dottie?” Hezekiah asked.

“Of course, I remember Aunt Dot, but what’s that - - oh, no, little brother, please don’t tell me she’s fallen ill,” Hoosal said.

“No, big brother, it’s a far cry worse than that, I’m afraid,” the dark one said.

“You mean that Aunt Dot’s spirit has moved on to the afterlife?” His brother asked.

“Yes, Aunt Dottie is gone, in that manor, but that’s not the worst part of it,” the young one said.

“What could be worse than finding out your favorite aunt has passed away?” Helani inquired.

“Having to be there as the illness that was eating up her insides, finally devoured her life, and having to wait for your favorite aunt’s heart to stop beating before you call emergency services. What’s even worse than that is having no other choice but to listen to what she said because you made a stupid promise, once when you were a kid, and your dying aunt is holding you to that promise since it was a sacred pinky-promise,” Hezekiah confessed.

“Oh, my, I am so sorry, friend. I don’t know what to say”, the royal one said.

“I only ask that nobody cries because if one of y’all starts, I’ll start, and I don’t think I could ever stop,” the dark one said.

“Too late”, the royal elf said; they all cried together.

****************************************************************************************************************************************

After work, over the next six weeks, the four elves spent their time making connections with alcohol treatment centers to see if any of them was capable of accommodating a dark elf, Hezekiah could not allow the sun to completely rise in the sky without being inside some place until the day ended, and light gave way to darkness. Eventually, Hoosal spoke with the owner of a recovery center, she guaranteed there would be no issues with helping the dark one get sober, and he smiled as their connection ended.

“Alright, heads up, I found one that will take him in, there’s one problem, but it’s not with the treatment center. Instead, it could be a problem for my little brother,” the male citizen elf announced to the room.

“Tell me what it is, and I’ll let you know how I feel about it,” the dark one said.

“The name of the place is ‘Summerval’s Alcohol Recovery Center”, and it is located one hundred and fifty miles from here”, Hoosal told his little brother.

“Oh, man, I wasn’t expecting that,” Hezekiah said.

“I understand that, but this is the only place we could find that takes dark elves as patients. You promised, you’d go,” the citizen said.

“I don’t plan to go back on my word, Hoos, you know I’m an elf of my word. Remember back to what got me in this mess in the first place, I made a pinky-promise to my aunt, and I had to watch as she died,” the dark one commented.

“Alright little brother, as long as you’re not worried about the distance,” he said.

“Oh, no, I’m not worried about the distance. I mean, it’s not like you’ll have the time after work to come and visit me. Besides, I’d be quite immature to ask you to travel that far regularly,” his little brother said.

“Wait, one minute. I know what you’re trying to do, and it will not work,” the citizen said.

“What is it you think it is I’m doing now?” The dark one inquired.

“It’s one of the oldest manipulation tactics, known to every alcoholic and addict on the planet, and it’s not going to affect me. You make me feel bad since the limited amount of time I will have after work won’t be enough for me to get to the recovery center. Due to that, you figure I will have a crisis of conscious, and tell you that you don’t have to go because it’s so far away; it’s called a ‘guilty conscious ploy’. Well, I’ve got some news for you that may come as a surprise to you, but I’ve got a couple of siblings who specialize in the art of manipulation. It’s not something they get paid for, however, it’s what they strive for in their lives, all the time, and because of that, the relationship I have with those siblings is strained. Now, little brother, this is the only opportunity you have to save yourself, because I can take you to the treatment center, but the rest is up to you; the old adage goes: ‘you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink’. I hope you would get to the treatment center, that you would take the necessary steps to not only get sober, but stay that way when you’re capable of coming back home,” Hoosal explained.

“Alright, you know me well enough that I’m not going to deny it, there’s no sense in even trying to act like I wasn’t trying the ‘guilt conscious ploy’, but I will apologize for thinking you were fool enough to fall for it. I’m sorry,” Hezekiah said.

“Nothing doing, my friend, I’m not upset, but for your benefit, I accept your apology. Now, we’ve got to work out the rest of the details in order to get you to the center on time, so if you’re quite done with all the games you’re playing to try and get out of going, I’d like to talk to you about what the place has to offer the ones who go there for recovery,” the citizen said.
© P. L. Watson-Atwell