Stories by Sofia Hardy
 ALU
There were many of them and they were all children. They were all cared for by Giantu, which was their name for him; though none of them knew what to call him, so they had invented this name for him.
Malu was one, and Ammka, and Makku, and Per, and many others. They all played together, and slowly they learned together, in the fields of Glede; that is what they called it for they knew no other name for that place.
If they quarrelled Giantu would chastise them, but gently. He was very gentle, and they all loved him, but none of them understood him.
They grew older. One day. Malu came to Giantu crying. He stood under the sky of that place, and he cried and he held his side. "Giantu, Makku has hurt me. We were playing and he was too rough."
But Giantu spoke down to Malu; "That is his nature. Do not be angry with him, but try to understand. Soon, it will be time."
So Malu went back to play; but he was much more careful with Makku after that.
Time went on; and Makku became more rough, and Malu noticed that Per became more slow and she seemed to be growing bigger than the others. And Per could be made angry, too; though most of the time, she was the Per he had always known.
So time went on and they played together, all the time. But one day they heard Giantu's voice and he called them all together; and he said, it is time; and it was as if a great light shone on them all at once; and looking round at his fellows, Malu saw them, as if he had been blind before, or as if his eyes had been closed. Because he saw that all of them were differently shaped, and, looking at his old friend Makku, he saw that Makku was large, and wore a fine coat of fur; and he had a thick and a glorious mane, that threatened to outshine the sun in its splendour; and furthermore, he had sharp teeth and claws, so that Malu was frightened of him; and understood why it was that Makku had been playing so rough.
But Makku opened his mouth and he spoke, and the sound was magnificent; but when Malu spoke, he had only a small voice, and he found he was a little bit jealous of Makku, who had this fine coat, and such a voice. And he saw that Makku was very pleased with himself, but then, Makku had always been proud, and pleased with himself.
But Per, she was very big and she was grey; she had a long trunk instead of a nose, and she spoke, too, in a loud and a powerful voice.
But still, Malu found he was not large and he had no wonderful nose, and he felt again, a little bit jealous of Per for he could see she had a great strength, so that she could remove obstacles in her path very easily.
Then he looked at Amka, and he had taken to the sky, and Amka held wide his arms as he leapt into the sky, and he was covered with feathers; and when he saw Amka, Malu held wide his own arms, and he leapt upward; but for Malu there was no flight into the sky, though for a moment he thought he saw a sky beyond the sky, and that other sky filled him with longing and a sense of regret. He felt tears sting his eyes, and, looking around him, he saw all of his old friends and he felt they would never be friends again; and then he heard Giantu whispering in his ear very softly, so that only Malu could hear.
"What do you think of all your old playmates now, Malu?" Said Giantu.
Malu rubbed away his tears; Giantu had always told him he must be brave. It was something he had found difficult, more difficult than the others, who had been sometimes nervous, but not as prone to fear as Malu who had always been thinking, but what if..? While all the others had been puzzled; and had said to Malu there is no what if.
"They are all very beautiful," Said Malu. "And I am ashamed of my tears, and I am a little bit jealous because they are all proud and fine; and most of all I am afraid of my old friend Makku, and I envy my old friend Amka."
"It is easy to see why you should fear Makku," Said Giantu. "But why do you envy Amka?"
"Why, he can take to the sky," Said Malu. "I cannot do that. I am stuck here on the ground, and the sky is very far above me. And furthermore I see now that there is another, brighter sky beyond the sky I already know, and I am unhappy because I cannot reach even so far as Amka; I cannot even reach the first sky I see."
But Giantu was very kind; and he spoke again, softly.
"And this is so that you will know yourself," said Giantu. "It is true, you have no wings and you cannot fly. It is true you cannot speak like Makku, and you are not large and strong, like Per. But you should know yourself."
And Giantu gave Malu a bow and a spear.
Malu looked sadly at these gifts. "Is this all there is for me?" He asked. "We were happy, together once, will this be all there is, none of my former friends, and no sharp teeth, or wings, or magnificent nose? And must I be always now an enemy to my old friends?"
As he was speaking he could see Ebritza; and she was fleeing swiftly from Makku, who was stalking her through the grass, his tail flat to the ground behind him, and his large eyes watchful and his powerful shoulders high.
Malu could see that if Ebritza was not very careful and swift, she would be caught and be eaten by Makku because it was different now, and Malu knew, they would all have to find their own way to feed themselves.
But Giantu said, "No, Ebritza is still Makku's friend; he may find her, and he may kill her; but still, she will be his friend. And within your innermost heart there is that which is special, different from the others, and so you can see the sky beyond the sky; and keep that in your mind always and never forget what you have seen; and know they are all still your friends."
So Malu made his way slowly out, alone; and he held his spear, and his bow, and he thought they were not beautiful or powerful and he wanted to cast them away from him, as they were poor things, and he was disappointed.
 But, looking up, he saw Makku looking out at him from the trees beside the track; and Makku's eyes were large and they were golden, and they regarded him in the old way, as he had, even when he played too rough. His jaw was spattered with Ebritza's blood.
Then for the last time, Makku spoke in the old way. "Remember, Malu, we are friends."
And then he vanished; joyfully leaping into the grass, to begin his new life.
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