Chocolate Strawberry

The families on Whims street had gigantic houses. They were all almost identical, including the Mistys’ house. Coral Misty was a high elf, among the highest society of all the elf species. And Violet, her daughter, would assume her mother’s role once she died, but Violet didn’t like to think about such things. She much rather preferred laying on the forest floor. Such things were reserved for the lower class, but Violet enjoyed it anyway. She just sat and soaked in the sun.

“Violet, it's time for your fencing lesson! You already skipped your magic lessons, you can’t skip fencing too.”

“Mom, why do I have to fill all my time up, I just need some time to relax.”

“You can’t relax AND be a high elf. Now, let’s go to your fencing lessons.” Coral dragged Violet by the arm. Violet just gave up and went to her lessons.

“Why can’t I be like the other high elves? They never need a break. They never get burned out. What’s wrong with me?” Violet thought after the most difficult and tiring lesson she had this year. “I just want to run away. I’ll eventually get caught, but in the meantime, I could just relax.”

Violet didn’t think through most things, she was impulsive by nature, and running away did not break that habit. She immediately began packing her favorite snacks to munch on and some money. More money than most morphlings or orcs would ever see in their lives. She figured that money would get her the essentials.

Coral wouldn’t know Violet was gone until the morning. She never checked in on her daughter unless Violet had another “important skill to be a respected member in society”. Violet figured she would have a full night to explore. That would give her enough time to get to morfling territory. They had the best fields to lay in, or so Violet heard.

When the last sun set and darkness captured the sky, Violet said goodbye to the place she had been her whole life. Finally, she was actually experiencing a life of species unlike her own. As curious as Violet was, she was more tired, and in desperate need of a nap.

While she traveled across Merlin path, the road got a little more worn down, the path was a little more discolored, and the gravel was a little less smooth. But Violet didn’t care about that. She did care, however, when she saw the morfling territory in its entirety.

City. It was all city. Not a single tree in sight. An overwhelming smell filled Violet’s nostrils. It was a mix of cigars, smog, and bad coffee. There wasn’t a tree in sight.

Violet approached a morphling, characterized by their short curly hair that hid their horns. “Hello! Do you know where—” Before Violet could finish, the man walked away. A hoard of morflings followed, almost trampling her over.

“Haven’t you ever seen a crosswalk before? Move out of the way” a stranger shoved Violet onto the sidewalk.

The truth is, Violet had never seen a crosswalk like this. The ones back home didn’t have lights to tell you when to walk, they didn’t have a crowd of people moving at one time, and they especially didn’t have people shoving each other.

“Are you new to this town?” the stranger continued.

“Yes… Do you mind showing me where the trees are?”

“You really haven’t been here in a long time. We cut down all the trees a long time ago to build factories and houses. There’s a small patch of forest the city was forced not to cut down, just take two lefts, a right, and another left and you’re there. Gook luck kiddo!” The stranger walked away.

Violet’s feet dragged on the concrete. She had been walking all night, and at this point she was exhausted. She kept telling herself that she could rest when she got to the forest. She couldn’t possibly sleep near this busy, dirty street. Step after step felt heavier and heavier. Her blinks were longer and longer.

“Finally,” she thought, “it’s so sunny here…”. Violet’s knees gave up as she plummeted to the soft grassy floor. She breathed in the crisp breeze, and let her eyes close as the sun warmed her aching body. Her mind drifted with the wind as her body lay unconscious.

Violet woke up to a morfling shaking her down. His green skin startled her, most morflings she had seen so far had slightly elven features, or features of other species. This morfling was just a chameleon with no mix of any intelligent species. The only thing that gave this morphling away was the tiny horns on the top of his head and the fact that this chameleon could talk.

“Are you okay? You’ve been knocked out for the past few hours,” he paused for a moment, then continued, “Please don’t be dead. I’ll be killed if someone dies on my territory!”

“Who are you? What is this place?”

“I’m Mint, protector of the Bluebell forest. But the real question is, who are you?”

“I’m…” Violet considered giving this morphling her real name, but her mother’s voice kept ringing in her ears “morphings will take any chance you give them to steal everything they can from you”. So, out of fear that he would take her for ransom, she gave a fake name, “Lilac. My name is Lilac.”

“What a pretty name! It reminds me of my daughter’s name, Violet.”

Time seemed to slow down. Was this just a coincidence? Was this stranger really Violet’s father? Everything matched up, Violet’s father disappeared before she was born, Violet’s love of nature, and her mother refusing to tell her about her father.

Violet combed her fingers through her hair, and she stood, mouth agape. She felt two small horns, small enough so that it could be mistaken as a bump, but now that she was considering her new identity as a morphling, they became a lot more noticeable.

“Are you okay Lilac?”

“Tell me about your daughter. Is she with you now?”

“No. Unfortunately, my ex, Coral, forbade me from seeing her again. You see, inter-species couples are extremely taboo in Coral’s area. So, Coral decided that it would be better to raise a baby alone than raise one with me.”

“Coral…”

“Coral Misty. Do you know her or something?”

“Yeah…she’s my mom.”

“Violet?” He transformed into an elf, and rubbed his hands through her hair. “Your baby horns are coming in!”

Violet gave him a big hug. Maybe he could understand her. Maybe he explained why she was like this, not quite elven enough. Maybe they could be a family again. Maybe Violet’s mother could finally accept her.

“Do you want to meet my mom?”

“Let’s go right now! She really wants to see me again?”

“I’m sure she will!”

The two set off, getting in a quick nap, and traveling through Merlin road. They talked and talked about their lives before they met. All the highs, the lows, and the naps. Violet had certainly gotten her sleeping gene from him.

Soon enough they arrived at the Mistys’ palace like home. Coral answered the door, expecting a mailman, or something of the sort.

The look on Coral’s face was something of a nightmare. It was the kind of face you’d make if someone was being murdered in front of you.

“Mom—-“

“Violet! What are you doing, bringing this man into our home?”

“Coral, I want to be a part of our daughter’s life.”

“No. You know full well I can’t.”

“Just come live with me. Sure, you’ll face judgement, but you’ll finally be happy.”

Coral paused for a moment, reevaluating her entire life. “I said no. Violet, come back here. You can leave and never come back.”

Coral grabbed Violet tightly and pulled her into the house. She slammed the door, and flopped down to the floor.

“That damn shifter can’t tear my family apart.”

“Mom, you shouldn’t call anyone that, especially my dad!”

“Right…It’s best if you just forget.”

And with a traditional elven chant, Violet flopped to the floor, much like her mother. When she woke up, all memory of her father was gone. And the cycle would repeat again. Maybe, just maybe Coral will learn her lesson the twelfth time around.