Part 2: QXAPLEB

“I’m really sorry, Cormac. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings… I was just surprised when you opened the door.” My words fell on deaf ears as Granny Liadan began setting up the chosen game of Scrabble while the goblin was searching through the kitchen cabinets for snacks.

“Your Dad didn’t say anything to you?”

“Dad knew!?!”

“I told him that I found a boy lost in the mountains. I’m giving him a home while Officer Gary searches for his parents.” Officer Gary saw the goblin and thought it was a child too? “It’s a miracle that he was able to survive for so long by himself and for Jesus to guide him towards me.” Granny Liadan said a small prayer before shuffling the alphabet squares and distributing them to the two players. The game was meant to be a bonding moment for ‘the two boys.’

“Isn’t there a procedure about missing children being handed over to an agency of some sort?”

“Don’t be silly,” Granny Liadan scoffed. “Cormac is a local child, and this is a local problem. Why should we get others involved?”

“Officer Gary must come round occasionally to check in on the kid, right? When was the last time he was here?” Officer Gary might be our ticket home.

“Three months.”

“Three months?”

“Three months.” Granny Liadan didn’t seem bothered by his sudden disappearance in the slightest. “Cormac! Come sit down sweetie. We’re going to start playing.”

The goblin locked eye contact with me as he slowly strutted his way over to the kitchen table with a can of peaches in his hand. It took him some effort to get on the kitchen chair and get comfortable. Finally breaking eye contact, he began staring intently at the Scrabble pieces.

“... Can he read?” I asked, wondering how a game of Scrabble with a goblin was going to go. They weren’t known for their intellect.

The goblin let out some cheerful grunts before he began to place all of his squares onto the centre of the board to spell “QXAPLEB.”

“Oh, well done, Cormac! I think that’s your best opener yet!” Granny Liadan cheered in delight as she gave him a welcomed head pat. The goblin gave more cheerful grunts. After staring intently at the letters through thick glasses, she began to calculate the points. “I believe that’s 27 points, 1 extra point for the double letter tile, and then you used all your letters, so 78 points! Aren’t you a clever clogs?”

“But that’s not even a real word!” I protest before being given a nasty look from Granny Liadan.

“Now, now Rowan. We were kind to you when you were little.”

“But he’s not little! He has a moustache-”

“Cormac is waiting for you to play.” The goblin seemed content in its own little world as he laid out seven new squares for his next outstanding move. “It’s your turn.”

My pieces weren’t making it easy to work with: Q M T E O U S. “This is pointless,” I grumbled while place the pieces on the board to spell “QMTEOUS.”

The goblin stared in disbelief that another player was clever enough to use all of their pieces. His joy only returned when Granny Liadan started scolding me. “Come now, Rowan. Play properly.” She handed me back each individual square. Each one felt like a weighty punishment for not following the rules.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

After racking my brains for a bit, I played my best move “SQUAT.” “Squat… That should be… 34 points.”

Granny Liadan didn’t seem to believe my meagre points as she took the time to carefully check my score. “Well done on getting a ‘Q’ on the triple letter.” Granny Liadan complimented. It seemed like the goblin agreed it was a good move as he began viscously nodding before grabbing the can of peaches he had gotten from the cupboard earlier and popping the whole can in his mouth. I was about to say something when Granny Liadan beat me to it. “Cormac! Let me know when you want to open a can. We don’t want you choking, do we Rowan?”

I watched the goblin struggle to chew through the metal to get to the sweet fruit inside. “I don’t know. He seems to be doing well by himself.”

“Don't be absurd. Give it here!” She began trying to yank the can out of his mouth.

“Stop! Stop! What if he bites you instead.” I tried to reason as I leapt across the table.

Seeing the two of us leap towards him and holding the treat within his rotten teeth, the goblin started to panic causing him to choke. Whilst freaking out, the goblin flipped the table causing the Scrabble squares to fly everywhere, some never to be seen again.

“What?!? You want us to sleep in the same room?”

“Why not? You used to share it with Cara.” Granny Liadan was towel drying the goblin, who had put up a screaming match in an attempt to avoid the bath. Even with her blouse receiving tears from the goblin’s long and unkempt nails, it didn’t deter Granny Liadan from giving him a bubble bath made painstakingly in the outdoor tub. I offered to help, but apparently I only made the situation worse because I was stressful for the goblin. It was ridiculous. And it was even more absurd that I was expected to use the filthy bath water afterwards. Luckily, I brought enough deodorant to last the week. “You’re making a big stink out of nothing.”

It was tiring trying to convince her that the goblin was dangerous. Watching him sit patiently on the floor while Granny Liadan towel dry his bald head didn’t help my argument. “What about the other spare room?” Growing up, I shared this small room with my sister, Cara, in a bunk bed. Across the hall was Granny Liadan’s bedroom and the room my parents used.

“I made it into my knitting room.”

I wanted to reprimand her for poor planning, but it was her house. “And I can’t use the couch?”

“You know the rules, Rowan. Doors and windows locked, everyone in their assigned rooms, no artificial light, iron shutters closed-”

“And a line of salt before each entrance,” I repeated without thinking. Because of the creatures in the woods, the procedure had been drilled into me.

“AND say a prayer for the Lord before you sleep,” Granny Liadan reminded me. In her opinion, it was the most important part of the nightly ritual at her cabin. “Isn’t that right, Cormac? We must always remember our nightly prayers. Now, go and pick out your pyjamas.”

The goblin gave a few excited grunts before bouncing free with his towels. Without hesitation, the goblin opened up the chest of drawers and began pulling out dress after dress that my sister had left behind throughout the years. He finally settled on a purple dress with a pink flower stitched into the corner. With pride, the goblin held out his chosen one.

“That is such a pretty dress!” Granny Liadan exclaimed. “Let’s get it on you.”

If it weren’t for the green skin, I think I could see him blush as I watched the goblin bashfully walk back towards her. It took me a few seconds to remember that Cara wasn’t the only one to leave clothes behind. “Why do you think Cormac picks out dresses? Do you not have my clothes anymore?”

“Of course I do. I have everything you two have left behind over the years.” She nodded towards the built-in cupboard to indicate it was where my leftover clothes were. “It’s always there if it’s ever needed.”

“No thanks, I have clothes in my backpack… That dress is too small for him.”

The dress’s collar had barely fit over the goblins head and was threatening to strangle him. The short sleeves were threatening to cut the circulation of his arms, and… it was just too short and revealing.

“... It is a bit short.”

The goblin didn’t seem to care as he gave a little delighted dance in his newest outfit. Granny Liadan began approaching him when he dived past her and under the covers of the bottom bunk. She gave a little chuckle. “I suppose it’s fine for a night.”

The heavy snoring of the goblin was disturbing to listen to as I lay in the top bunk. Granny Liadan had tucked us both in a few hours ago. Since the goblin didn’t seem to grasp the importance of the ritual, I had to carry it out for both of us. After spending half a day together, he didn’t seem threatening… for now. Gathering up my courage, I leaned over the edge of the top bunk. What I saw shocked me so much that it almost made me fall out of the top bunk. Who would’ve thought a goblin slept with its eyes open?