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Haley noticed things. People thought she didn't, thought she was just obsessed with her own appearance, but that wasn't true. She loved setting up a shot with her camera, loved capturing the frozen dew in early winter before the snow covered the grass, the shadows in the forest in the evening.
Emily wrote to their parents often, and Haley always enclosed some photos. She wanted to capture everything they were missing. Maybe her photos would make them want to come back home, someday and she could feel like she could move on and finally go back to the city for her career. Of course, she let Emily write the letters, so who knew what her parents actually thought was going on in Pelican Town. Emily might be sending them detailed updates on her parrots, but Haley could only do so much.
So how could Haley fail to notice the loud scrape of metal one morning as she left the house to take some early morning pictures? She could tell the sound came from nearby, but by the time she rounded the fence, the sewer cover was closed again. She could see the fingerprints on the top, though, and smell the unmistakable tang in the air. Someone had gone into the sewers.
She had her suspicions as to who. She waited for a few minutes, behind a tree where she wouldn't be immediately noticed, and sure enough, the farmer eventually emerged, shutting the cover behind her and washing off her hands in the river. The farmer still stank though; Haley wrinkled her nose and waited for the farmer to leave. They weren't really friends, and this wasn't the best occasion to have a conversation.
Once the farmer had gone off in the direction of the beach, Haley went over to the sewer. She'd never really looked at it very closely, since there wasn't any beauty she could capture there -- just a heavy metal door that was usually padlocked closed. Today it wasn't; the farmer hadn't quite shut the lock.
She wondered what was down there.
There were a lot of places Haley went for photos -- the forest, the fountain, her own bedroom sometimes when the sunlight dappled the wall just so -- but she'd never been anywhere like a sewer. What could the farmer possibly be doing down there that would be worth the trip? The farmer wasn't usually stinky that Haley remembered, beyond the farm smell anyway, which she couldn't help and Haley usually tried to ignore.
"Gross," Haley muttered to herself. She went back into the house and grabbed a flashlight and her camera. Emily was sewing something elaborate in blue sparkly fabric. She didn't ask what Haley was doing, which was for the best. Haley went back to the sewer and pushed the cover open.
"Gross, gross, gross, gross," Haley chanted as she descended the ladder into the dimness. There was more light down here than she had expected, but it was a dim, green light that mostly heightened the shadows. She stood at the bottom of the steps and turned the flashlight on, trying to get her bearings.
She didn't know anything about sewers, but she hadn't expected them to be so big. Someone taller than her could still easily stand in it. And although the smell burned her nose, the liquid seemed safely contained and not directly underfoot, for which she was grateful.
Something moved in the shadows, and she heard a tiny voice.
"You returned? OH!"
Haley's flashlight illuminated the speaker, who was looking around the corner at her with great surprise. Or at least she thought they were looking at her. The person seemed to be shadowed, or maybe made of shadows and darkness, almost featureless. As soon as her light touched him, he disappeared.
Haley blinked. Had she really seen that?
"Who's there?" she said, a wobble in her voice. Why had she thought this was a good idea? Maybe the homeless man had moved in down here and she was disturbing him. She should just climb right back up that ladder and never come back.
There was no response. Haley listened to water moving down the tunnel, something dripping. She clutched the flashlight so hard that it hurt her hand. She looked up to the top of the ladder.
If she went back up, she was never going to come back. She knew this about herself. Maybe that was why she took an uncertain step forward, and then another. Her footsteps echoed in the cavern, giving plenty of warning to the beast or person that she was coming. She approached the disgusting slime river and looked in both directions. To her right was a horrible statue -- definitely a statue, she realized, after her heart-rate sped up like crazy in fear that there was another creature there. The statue was waving at her and she hated it immediately.
Who had put a statue down here? Did the farmer do it? Did she come down here and worship it? Haley shuddered.
She didn't want to come anywhere near it, so cautiously she walked in the opposite direction, and when she came around the corner, there he was again -- the little creature made out of shadows. She had seen something real. But what was it? She'd never seen anything like it before.
The creature seemed to peer up at her with eyes that were holes in a cloud of smoke.
"A new human visitor?" it said.
"What are you?" she blurted out, stepping back and nearly sliding into the muck, which would have ruined her whole day and possibly her whole life. She felt -- like a whisper on her skin -- the creature grab her arm and pull her forward, away from the danger. It was like being touched by a velvet cloud.
"I'm not like the other Shadow People," he said. "You don't have to worry, as long as you don't hurt my family."
Haley shoved her fist into her mouth to fight the shriek that was trying to escape her lips. This was too much. She turned and slipped again, her hands hitting the ground hard to break her fall, the pain reverberating up her arms. The flashlight flickered and died, but she could see enough from the green maintenance lights to get up and find the ladder. She rushed up it, gulping fresh air as she emerged, and went straight from the sewer into the shower, where she used up all the hot water, scrubbing until her skin was raw.
*
Emily asked her about her bruised wrists the next day, but Haley just said that she had fallen, no more details. For some reason, she didn't want to share what had happened, even with her sister. She thought Emily would like the creature -- she'd probably make friends with it, like she did with everyone, so easily. She'd probably make it a little sunhat or something. A creature like that probably didn't go outside much. Would it vaporize like the Shadow People in those old stories their parents had read to them?
She wasn't ready to share it yet. The only people who knew about it were the farmer and her, as far as Haley knew, and she was going to keep it that way. The next time she saw the farmer in the forest, the farmer was shaking berries out of the bushes and collecting them in a little straw basket. Haley came up beside her and tried to seem casual.
"So," she said, "how are you?"
The farmer blinked. "Me?" she asked, as if she was surprised Haley was talking to her. Which was fair because it wasn't like they talked very much.
"Yes," Haley said. She knew she was moving this conversation forward too fast, but she just had to know what was going on. "Have you seen any weird creatures lately?"
"Not -- well, there was that bear," the farmer mused, moving to the next bush and forcing Haley to trail behind her. "But it was friendly…"
"Not a bear. Maybe something… underground?"
Haley wasn't sure why she didn't just say it. The creature had said another human. The farmer had to be the first one, right?
"Plenty of bats in the mines," the farmer said, reaching up and plucking from the branches. "And the Shadow People of course--"
"They live in the mines?" Haley interrupted. The farmer rested the little basket on her hip and stared firmly at Haley.
"You shouldn't go in there," she said. "It's dangerous. If you want to know about the Shadow People, ask the wizard."
She pointed in the direction of the tall tower, which was visible from almost anywhere in the forest. Haley had never been to see the wizard. She'd seen him at festivals a few times, from a distance, and he creeped her out.
The farmer turned back to her berries, and Haley sighed. She glanced at the tower, and then she walked back towards town.
After all, she could probably go ask the creature herself. If she really wanted to.
She was surprised by how much she wanted to.
*
She prepared herself properly this time. She had a new flashlight and spare batteries, dad's old fishing waders that she found in the back of a closet, and clothes she didn't care about in case she couldn't get the smell out. She brought a disposable camera, although she really wasn't sure about the light down there, or if the creature would let her take pictures, but she was going to ask.
The sewer was still unlocked. She wondered how often the farmer went down there, and if the farmer ever paused to think that there were dumb kids in this town who might fall down there and drown, but in this case at least she was thankful that she didn't have to figure out who might have a key. She slid the entrance open and then descended the stairs.
She'd decided to go on a sunny day, in hopes that some light descended into the sewer, but it did not, and the contrast blinded her for a few long moments. She stood at the bottom of the steps and resisted the urge to rub her eyes. She should have brought gloves. The ladder was slimy.
Then she went back to where she'd seen the being, and sure enough, it was still there. When it saw her, it squeezed back into the corner, like it was trying to blend in with the wall.
"Hi," Haley said. "Um. Sorry, are you real?"
The creature stared at her. It was almost featureless, without even arms or hands; she wasn't sure how it had pulled her back from the water.
"I am Krobus," it said -- he said, she assumed, although she wasn't going to ask, but the voice seemed vaguely male. "It means 'bridge-crosser' in my language."
"I'm Haley," she said, and Krobus seemed to smile, his slit of a mouth curling up at the ends.
"You are not the farmer," he said. "I scared you last time."
"Yeah, because I didn't think anyone lived in this dump," she said. Krobus stopped pressing himself to the wall, but moved slowly like he was trying not to spook her. He had stumpy legs and silent feet. There was a little curl on the top of his head that Haley actually found very cute.
"It's perfect for me down here," he said. "I don't go out in the sunlight. And no one bothers me down here. Do you want to buy something?"
Haley was intrigued by what he might be selling. He nodded for her to come forward and showed off a small collection of weird items, mostly rocks and for some reason one fresh fish.
"What do you do with money?" she asked, intrigued. She touched a little black egg and was bothered by the fact that it was warm and maybe pulsing a little, pulling her hand back.
"Catalogs," Krobus pronounced, with great satisfaction, and that was when Haley decided they would be friends.
*
Haley started coming to see Krobus a couple times a week, and after a while, she got used to the smell. She brought him some fashion magazines and they had fun looking through them and imagining the outfits on themselves. Krobus did have arms, kinda, when he felt like it, which made it possible for him to turn the pages and wear a shirt, but he never really wore anything from what Haley could tell. He just liked to pretend.
She brought him photos from outside to show him what the world was like. He liked some trees, but thought that flowers were too colorful. He liked fishing, so when Willy had his offerings on display, she took pictures of those for him. He liked to hear about what was going on in the town. He admitted that if you listened to the pipes, you could occasionally hear things, but they tended to make little sense out of context.
One day Haley was hanging out with Krobus and complaining about how Alex had accidentally skateboarded on her foot when they heard the sewer lid screech open.
"The farmer," Krobus said. "She likes my merchandise." Humming happily, he stood up and began to gather his things together. Haley never really bought anything, so he didn't usually bother to set them out for her.
Haley wasn't sure how to feel about this. Would the farmer be bothered that she knew about Krobus too? Not that it was the farmer's business really. It was Krobus's. She'd promised not to tell anyone else he was down here, and she intended to keep that promise.
When the farmer came around the corner and saw Haley standing there in her waders, the farmer was clearly surprised. She nearly dropped the little black speckled jar she was holding.
"Hey," Hayley said.
"Hey, um -- how did you get down here?"
"You left the door unlocked," Hayley said. Feeling bold, she went on, "And I'd like a copy of the key, please. You don't want Jas or Vincent falling down here."
"Sure…" the farmer said. "We can talk about that later. I was just coming to give Krobus his birthday gift."
"Oooh, Void Mayonnaise," Krobus said. He opened his mouth and the farmer tossed the jar in. Krobus chewed with obvious pleasure. Haley could hear the glass tinkling faintly. The farmer hadn't even taken the lid off. She'd never seen him eat before, and it was kind of disturbing.
"Thanks," Krobus said after he swallowed. Haley glanced at his middle, trying not to make it obvious, but wondering if she'd see the digestive process of a Shadow Person. He appeared solid enough for that to be a private matter, however.
"You should make Haley a key," Krobus said to the farmer. "I like her. She's not scared of me at all."
"I mean -- if you are really sure --" the farmer said, hesitant.
"For my birthday," Krobus said, as if concluding the argument. "Humans love celebrating their finite set of days. Thank you, farmer."
Haley tried to hide her giggle. The farmer promised to drop off the key tomorrow after she had time for Clint to duplicate it. Then Krobus and Haley listened as the farmer ascended the stairs and left them alone.
"I'm just going to leave it cracked a little!" the farmer yelled down. "So you can get out!"
"Thanks!" Haley yelled back. It had been very difficult to open the hatch at first, but now it was just normal. She was glad the farmer was sensible enough not to lock them in at least. She turned to Krobus.
"You didn't tell me it was your birthday!" she said. "I would have brought you something too!"
"Ah," Krobus said, scuffing his foot. "It isn't, really. What use do I have for human timekeeping? It's simply the day I met the farmer, several human years ago. She likes to give me presents on that day so I've never complained."
Still, Haley felt like she owed Krobus a gift. But she wasn't sure what she would have that she could give him. He liked horseradish, but it was out of season. And he liked gemstones, but she didn't have any that weren't set into jewelry.
"I know," she said, feeling daring. She'd already asked for one thing she wanted today -- now she knew something she could give.
She leaned forward and shut her eyes, kissing Krobus on his face. It was very soft and warm, and almost felt like human skin, but less solid. She felt like she could push herself into his body a little, which was a weird sensation.
"Are you going to eat me?" Krobus asked, sounding oddly calm about it. Haley opened her eyes. He was staring at her, but he hadn't moved away.
"No, I kissed you! I need to bring you some romance novels," Haley said, blushing with some embarrassment.
"Ah, kissing," Krobus, and he licked her cheek. She was sure it was a lick. His tongue was slimy and she shivered.
"I like you too," he said. "Even though it would be forbidden by my people to be with a human."
"I don't see any other Shadow People here," Haley said. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Krobus laughed, and she remembered what he had told her about his name. "Indeed!" he said, delighted.
"Okay, now let me teach you about how kissing works for humans," she said, not wanting to lose the moment, and, as always, Krobus was a great listener.
When she stumbled out of the sewers later with her hair slicked up in weird directions, her neck a little punctured, she could tell Emily wanted to ask about it, but she went right to the shower. Scrubbing Krobus slime from her body, she sang to herself, wondering if he was listening through the pipes.
She hoped so. She'd have to ask him tomorrow, after she got that key.