Chapter Thirty-Eight

Nucamma had a plan. He decided to take along one of the elves from his village. Although, they were not fully elf, he knew they looked the part and could get him into the village to see Atohmma. He prepared himself for work and along the way, he knew, that he would meet an elf. He was on the lookout, forgetting to say hello to some of the usual people he knew along the way. Today, his mind was focused on crossing paths with an elf. When he arrived at work, he could barely concentrate on what he was doing. All he wanted to do, was escape. He walked around nervously, hoping to see one of the elf natives around. He knew that being at work, would have lessened his chances of seeing one, so he couldn't wait for his lunch break.

At lunch, Nucamma went over to the fish pond, an area where there was peace and quiet, but the way to get there, gave him the opportunity, to see an elf native. When he approached him, Nucamma said, "excuse me, Sir I hope you don't mind, but I really need your help." The elf asked, "how can I be of assistance to you Sir?" Nucamma was trying to maintain his composure, by not acting too nervous or uncertain. He was trying to find a way to ask for the favor, but couldn't seem to find the words. "Sir, I..., well I have a small matter, I have a friend over at the elven village, but she, well we cannot...what I mean to say is, there is no other way, for me to know how she is doing and I would like to meet her. So, I decided to go over there, but I don't quite know how to get there. I thought you might know the way." The elf native looked at him saying, "Sure, I'll take you. I know the way. How soon will you like us to leave?" "Do you have the time, this evening before dark?" "Definitely, that seems to be a good time to leave, sure, I'll take you." Nucamma was relieved. He thanked the elf native for his assistance, arranged for them to meet in the village, and headed back to work. Forgetting about lunch, Nucamma couldn't ignore his hunger any longer. He had to get something to eat, before leaving for the elven village. He left work one hour earlier that afternoon, and stopped in the village for something to eat. After eating, he thought about having to meet with the elf native so he waited.

Nucamma was now on his way to see Atohmma. He was excited and looking forward to it. They flew over the villages, and Nucamma smiled having his memories. When they were at the western mountain, the elf native stopped to show him the way. Nucamma had no intention of going in on his own. He had no choice, but to ask the elf for one more favor. The elf, willingly complied, offering to get Nucamma into the caves. They both, carefully walked through the only entrance cave to the elven village, prepared to meet with the guards. Nucamma was a bit nervous, not knowing what to expect. When they reached the opening at the end of the cave, the elf native spoke to the guards, letting them know, that they were there peacefully, needing to meet with someone. Nucamma walked forward, letting the guards know, who he was and that he was a friend of the lady, that came to their village recently. He mentioned that he was there to see Atohmma. The guards whispered to each other, then one of them, turned toward Nucamma, asking, if she was expecting him. Nucamma told them, he was concerned about her and that this was his only way of knowing that she was okay. The guards turned to each other again, and then one of them told him to wait, while the other guard, went to Atohmma's tent.

When the guard arrived at Atohmma's tent, he called out to her saying, "good evening my lady. I am sorry about having to disturb you, but there is someone out at the entrance cave waiting to see you. He said he is a friend of yours carrying the name, Nucamma." Atohmma was not yet at the door, but when she heard the guard, she immediately left whatever she was doing. She came out of her tent, surprised that Nucamma was there, but told the guard, thanks for bringing the message and that she will walk back with him. Both Atohmma and the guard, were on their way. She asked the guard if Nucamma came alone. The guard replied, saying, "No, he didn't come alone, he was accompanied by an elf native." Nucamma was waiting patiently, being uncertain about what to expect. When the guard and Atohmma saw Nucamma and the elf native waiting at the entrance, Atohmma ran toward Nucamma and they hugged as though they were separated for quite some time. At least Atohmma was not fully transformed, for Nucamma to not recognize her. She was just as she left him. "How are you? I was worried sick, not knowing whether you got here safely, or settled in. I had no way of knowing so I had to come." said Nucamma. Atohmma responded saying, "I told you not to worry, you know I can take care of myself. It's good seeing you though. I am fine, doing well, I met the elves and I have my own tent, a new diet and made friends with the little elves. I am becoming familiar with their ways also. Things are progressing smoothly. I had no issues with my transformation and I learnt quite a bit about this world and the legends. There are certain things that I am not at liberty to reveal, but when I get back, I'll tell you as much as I can." "I guess I'll feel much better now, having seen you, and knowing you are doing well," said Nucamma. "Thank you for your concern Nucamma, see you soon!" she said. They hugged again. The elf native and Nucamma left and Atohmma went back to her tent.