Chapter Twenty-Nine

Although Atohmma was nervous about her transition, she had full control of her emotions and her posture exuded confidence. She had to make her way to Nucamma's workplace. Along the way, she handed out her cookies to some of the children she greeted along the way, letting them know she will be back and that they should behave well until she returned. As she approached where Nucamma worked, she stopped for a while, momentarily frozen as though she didn't plan to take another step. Atohmma wanted to convince herself at that moment, that she had to be convincing enough that she was okay, not scared but composed when she approached Nucamma. Slowly she stepped forward, looking around at everyone and everything on the compound where he worked. "Nucamma!, hey! she called out to him when she saw him pass. " Atohmma? he said as though he had to be certain it was her. "Hi! she said in return, as he was close enough now. " What brings you here?" he asked. "I, aahhh, well I need your help, can we speak in private?" "Sure, just give me a few minutes and I'll be right with you," he replied, as he went ahead to what he had to do. Atohmma, looking around saw a bench under what seemed like a shed, so she took a seat, and waited for him to return.

While waiting, Atohmma saw a man passing. He seemed strange but in her mind, she thought he must be an elf. She intended to find out where the original home of the elves was, so she could go to them. "Excuse me Sir, please spare a minute," she called out, and as he stopped, she went up to him. "I couldn't help but notice something uniquely attractive about you! Are you an elf or related to elves in any way?" Atohmma asked to hint. "Why of course! You are very observant or perhaps you are one as well?" he asked. "I am, I only recently found that out, so I need to know where the other elves reside. I must visit them. " Can you tell me where I can find the others?" Atohmma questioned with curiosity. "Well, where I come from, there were no elves. I grew up in another village and was sent here. I sometimes see others like us, but not many of them, very few, but unlike you, I did not need to find out where they were from. I am at home, wherever I am accepted. I found work here and that was it for me." he said to her. "Strange, but I can understand," said Atohmma. "Well, I hope to meet some of the others like you, very soon. There has to be an elven village somewhere," she added. "I'm certain that you will find it," said the elf as he waved her goodbye. Atohmma waved, "Thanks for the chat, see you again sometime," said Atohmma, and as she was about to sit, Nucamma came back, saying to her, "Ok, well, I took the rest of the day off just for you, so I'm all yours. Where would you like to go so we can talk?" Atohmma responded, "There was no need for you to take the rest of the day though, I didn't plan on being an interruption," "Nah, I don't mind, and there is so much more we can do, so let's go!" said Nucamma as he picked up her bag. "Thank you!" Atohmma said to him and as they walked, Nucamma told her about a nice spot with a fountain not too far from where they were, so Atohmma welcomed the idea, as anything new was worth knowing. She said, "sure, why not, you know more about this area than I do." They both giggled their agreement and as they were walking, Atohmma filled him in on most of what led her there. She spoke about the elemental shield, her connection to it, and the meeting she just had with the natives of her village. She even mentioned her ears, as she slid her hat to the side for him to see. "No kidding! Atohmma those new pair of ears sure suit you, I think they look cute. So you plan to be in hiding until all your transformations are complete?" asked Nucamma, as he was usually cool and calm about everything. "Yes, I must. I am not quite sure how much more I will experience, that's why I couldn't stay in the village, it will be too much of a surprise to the others, and being the "chosen one", I wouldn't like to upset anyone with that news either." "I understand. If it were me, I know how I would have reacted all too well. You seem to be under control and that's a good thing." said Nucamma. Atohmma sighed, saying, "I am a bit nervous and a bit scared. I wanted to meet with the elves. I thought if I saw some of them around here, they may know where the elven village is located and I could probably go there, stay until I am fully transformed, maybe learn a bit more about being one of them and their ways, stuff like that." Nucamma mentioned that it was quite okay for her to start at his village as many elves reside there, but she had a point and he was willing to assist her as much as he could.

As they approached the fountain, Atohmma was amazed. It was a splendid sight, there were a few benches and huts, a few people were sitting around and most of the space was private and cozy for couples. The fountain was magical. She smiled and looked around at the birds, the butterflies, a snail, and some turtles. There was also a fishing pond nearby. "This place is refreshing Nucamma, why didn't we visit before now?" asked Atohmma rhetorically. "It's beautiful, I like it. Let's sit." They found an unoccupied hut nearby the pond, where they sat, and decided to spend most of their free time. Nucamma placed Atohmma's bag on a bench and had himself a seat, while Atohmma sat as close to the fishing pond as possible, so she could see the variety of fishes that were there.

They both talked, they laughed and played around. Atohmma and Nucamma identified some of the fishes. There were gold ones, colorful ones, rainbowfishes, black water fishes, silver finned, and many more. "We need to come here more often. Atohmma suggested and added, "I'm hungry, what shall we eat?" Nucamma replied, "I have that under control, you wait here. There is a place that sells our native cuisine just around that corner. I'll go get us some food." Atohmma nodded agreeably and Nucamma said, "I'll be right back."