Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45901 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45901 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 153(@300wpm)
I have to admit, that little piece of nastiness pierced the happy bubble I’d been walking around in ever since leaving Hidden Hollow. I could feel myself deflating.
It’s so unfair—it doesn’t matter how smart or accomplished you are—if you’re plus-sized, some mean, nasty person can always just call you “fat” or some derivative of it and make you feel like dog shit. Even if you just won a Nobel Prize or aced your Organic Chem final or whatever. It doesn’t matter the circumstances—“fat” always stings.
A mean little grin appeared on my boss’s face when he saw me wilting. For the first time I wondered if Tark could be right—could he be a “Sin Sucker” after all?
But no—it was a ridiculous idea, I told myself as I left his office. I wished I could fight back—that I could tell him off once and for all. I knew what would happen if I did, though. I’d get fired and suddenly owe Bentley Pharmaceuticals over a hundred thousand dollars. Plus, I wouldn’t be able to finish my degree—that would be a disaster.
So I just had to take it…which was what I did.
6
HARMONY
The next day, Mr. Price was even worse but I was buoyed by the knowledge that I would be seeing Tark that night for supper. So I was able to shake off my nasty boss’s cruel words—well, mostly—until I could finally escape at five.
It was Friday and a lot of people had gone home early. I knew I ought to wait until I got home myself to draw the doorway to Hidden Hollow, but I just couldn’t. It had been a hard day and I was so ready to see the big Orc again.
Beside the parking lot was a little piece of overgrown wilderness, which isn’t uncommon in Central Florida. We live in a sub-tropical climate—the minute you stop mowing, the jungle starts growing. I stepped into the tangle of weeds and vines until I felt I was safely out of sight. Then I drew the magic door and watched eagerly as the burning red lines appeared in the air.
I can’t explain the joy I felt when those lines formed! Part of me—a large part—had been afraid that my whole adventure in Hidden Hollow the day before had been some kind of illusion or maybe just a really vivid daydream. So when I saw that I was really going to be able to get back to the magical little town again, I felt like my heart would burst from excitement.
The door opened and I left the burning heat of the Florida Summer for the cool, crisp winds of Autumn. And standing on the other side of the door, waiting for me, was Tark.
“Babygirl!” His face broke into a broad, excited grin and he swooped down and swung me up into his arms.
He spun me around in the middle of Main Street, both of us laughing until I was dizzy. When he set me back on my feet, I nearly fell over—being swung around by a full-blooded Orc is at least as intense as being on one of those circular carnival rides.
“Hey, be careful!” Tark picked me up again, cradling me to his chest, like he had the very first time we met. “Sorry—did I make you dizzy? Are you okay?”
“I am now,” I said and nuzzled against him, breathing in his warm, woodsy scent.
I couldn’t help myself—I’d never felt such a deep and intense attraction to anyone in my life—not even the boy I’d given my virginity too. And I had honestly thought he loved me—until I found out too late that he’d only had sex with me on a bet with his friends. (Yes, I know that sounds like the plot of an awful teen drama but it really happened to me. As I found out when I heard them laughing behind the gymnasium about how “easy” it was to “fuck the fat chick”.)
But enough about my sad past—I was finally happy in a way I had never expected to be. Tark carried me to his house, pausing several times to make introductions to other people and Creatures who were passing on the sidewalk. None of them seemed to think it was strange that he was carrying me and all of them were welcoming. A flighty Pixie about the size of a sparrow flew right up to me, her diaphanous wings humming so fast I couldn’t see them.
“Welcome to Hidden Hollow!” she chirped in a clear, tiny voice. “You’re going to love it here!”
Then she buzzed off again, making me think of Tinkerbell in the old Peter Pan movie.
The minute Tark opened his front door, a delicious aroma reached my nose.
“Mmm, that smells amazing!” I said, smiling up at him.
He smiled back.
“I hope you like braised cabbage steaks with mushroom gravy—they’re kind of my specialty.”