{"id":2786,"date":"2025-06-15T09:44:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T16:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2786"},"modified":"2025-06-15T09:44:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T16:44:13","slug":"a-problem-for-later-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/15\/a-problem-for-later-me\/","title":{"rendered":"A Problem for Later Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Tell a story using a series of diary or journal entries.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7\/4\/4 KC<\/strong> (21st Day, 4th Moon, 4th Year of King Creshal)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s still weird to write the date as KC. I keep wanting to write 1094 QE. Queen Elspeth ruled 1090 years; longer than anyone before. Old as she was, and stuck in her fashion sense, we still loved her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HRH Creshal is her opposite in a lot of ways. He dresses in current fashion, but he\u2019s just a sort of stick-in-the-mud personality-wise. That\u2019s enough of bashing the royals for this entry. On to the good stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I finally got my approval to visit Aramantia. Well, approval from here in Gell, but I\u2019m still waiting on the mountains of paperwork I filled out at their embassy to be approved. I hope it shows up soon, my train leaves on 16\/5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I lined up a place to stay there. It\u2019s a hostel that caters to women only. Not because I\u2019m scared of them or anything, it\u2019s just the cheapest place I could find. The exchange rate for the florin is crap right now, so I have about 3\/4 of what I thought I would have for this trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s to be my last hurrah before I begin working as an accountant for the next few hundred years. I wanted to go into medicine, but there\u2019s no free training for that, and without generational wealth it\u2019s out of reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

14\/5\/4 KC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The king gave a speech today about strengthening our borders and blah-blah-blah, isolationist dog-whistles. Then more blathering about increasing our military industry and maybe bringing back the draft. He was dressed in a designer leaf-core suit, all bright colors and flowers, while talking about building war machines and increasing the size of the army. How out of touch can a person be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t care. I got my paperwork from Aramantia. Talk about cutting it close to the root. It came with a welcome packet of stuff like where to exchange foreign money. The sample of their exchange rates looks better than what I could get here. I even checked it against the rates on the date printed on the page, and it was a lot<\/em> better than what the banks here were offering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The welcome packet was probably six times fatter than it needed to be, since it\u2019s printed in a dozen languages. They even included calendar converters. Instead of thirteen, they only have twelve moons, \u201cmonths\u201d they call them, but they have like 30 or 31 days for most instead of 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have to pack. It would be nice if Marli or Constance would come and help, but I shouldn\u2019t expect it, I guess. Ever since I said I was planning this trip, all my friends started pulling away. I didn\u2019t expect those two to leave me, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It hurts not having them there when I go out and people talk about, \u201cshe\u2019s so tall,\u201d and \u201cher ears are so short.\u201d Whenever they\u2019d call me a \u201chalf-breed\u201d or some such thing, Marli and Constance would step in and set them straight. I don\u2019t think<\/em> I\u2019m mixed, but even if I was, why should that matter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15\/5\/4 KC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tomorrow is the day! The day I leave on my trip. I ended up staying up most of the night packing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tried calling Marli and Constance, but both of them have blocked my number. Marli\u2019s number even gave me a message that said, \u201cBlocked because you\u2019re a traitor!\u201d At least my neighbors are nonjudgmental enough to keep track of my mail while I\u2019m gone and water my plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m trying to decide if I want to wear something comfortable or dressy tomorrow. I\u2019ll either wear my running outfit or go full leaf-core with a flowy, flower-print skirt, sandals, and a color-splatter top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re both laid out. Tomorrow me can make the choice. Today me is going to order some takeout and go to bed early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

16\/5\/4 KC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t write anything in here on the train, since every time I tried, I got motion sickness. Anyway, the hostel is nice, and everyone here is really into my clothes. I guess leaf-core hasn\u2019t gotten here. As if it ever would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where I\u2019m tall and have short ears at home, here in Aramantia \u2014 the Republic of Aplya as they call it here \u2014 I\u2019m shorter than most women, and everyone keeps commenting on my \u201clong, pointed ears,\u201d and how \u201ccute\u201d I am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve only been here for about six hours, but I think I\u2019ve been misled about what I would find here. My whole life, I\u2019ve been told that humans are brute animals, only focused on war. As if their role in the War of Kingdoms was the only thing they\u2019ve ever done. I mean, that ended seventy years ago, in 1022 QE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yeah, if it hadn\u2019t been for the humans joining in, and supplying equipment to us and the trolls, the orcs would\u2019ve taken over the continent. They bombed the shit out of us for three years and our best strikes back were weak in comparison. The deciding factor of the war was human industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I decided that since I understand enough of the language, I should see what the human news is talking about. It seems that HRH Creshal is actually in the middle of a deal with the humans to buy tanks, anti-aircraft missiles, and some fighter-bomber jets. So much for all his talk of Gellic industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, they\u2019re also talking about the buildup of the trolls north of Gell, and how ill-prepared we elves are for war. The news people place the blame solely on the king, as he closed all the human military installations and airbases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He can\u2019t be blamed, though. Parliament passed it, based on a referendum vote to disengage from the humans that happened just a year before the queen died. I think the idiots running the conservative party are to blame for all of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadie and Ally, a couple of the other women in the hostel, are watching the news with me and asking if I\u2019m here because of the trolls. I explained that I\u2019ve always wanted to visit, and the timing just worked out the way it did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

21\/5\/4 KC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve gotten hooked on social media. There\u2019s a thing called Lupr (like, looper<\/em>) that\u2019s just a bunch of short videos of a minute or less. We can\u2019t get that in Gell, but my phone handles it fine while I\u2019m here \u2014 with a new SIM card, anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadie and Ally, who are staying here long term like me, are trying to convince me to do a \u201cTen Shocking Things About Humans I Didn\u2019t Know\u201d video. I don\u2019t know if I will, but I started keeping track of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7 Human hairstyles are not all designed to show off and enhance their ears. In fact, humans with large ears might even try to hide them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7 Tipping is common. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a human thing or strictly a Aplyan thing, but they tip everyone here: servers, baristas, barbers and stylists, taxi drivers, even ride share drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7 They are some of the friendliest and most open people I\u2019ve ever met. Waiting for public transport, they\u2019ll just start up a conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7 Related to that: they make friends like elves make cups of tea. You talk to a human once you\u2019re still a stranger, twice you\u2019re an acquaintance, and the third time you\u2019re a friend. That\u2019s what it seems like to me, anyway. Sadie and Ally seem to consider me a friend. They even call me Els for short. I like it better than Elspeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7  Humans are way more up front about romance and sex. I\u2019ve been propositioned dozens of times since I\u2019ve been here, but not all of them have been comfortable. Sadie had to chase off a few of the guys, and one pushy woman. She\u2019s a mixed martial arts fighter, whatever that is. It seems to scare them off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7 The food. Oh, all the gods. The food is so varied, and complex. They have produce from all over the world, along with cooking techniques and dishes just as varied. I\u2019m afraid I\u2019ll get fat here, if I\u2019m not careful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s lots more, of course, but those are the ones I could  think of right off the tip of my ears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tonight, we\u2019re going out to see a movie in 3D. Something about giant robots and monsters or something, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22\/5\/4 KC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The movie was bad. So bad. But so good, too. I don\u2019t know how to explain it. While it was going, I was hooked. At no point could I look away from the disaster on the screen. After I walked out and thought about it, though, it stopped making sense. If Dr. Evans had just told everyone what was going on, they could\u2019ve resolved it in the first ten minutes, before the entire coastline was turned to rubble and ash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had to show my ID to get in, and the guy selling the tickets got excited when he saw my passport and visa. He said it\u2019s a permissible work visa, and if I want a job, to come back and apply. I think I might, since my money won\u2019t last for the entire time I\u2019m here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ally wants me to go on a \u201cblind date\u201d with her cousin tonight. I thought that meant that we wouldn\u2019t see each other, but it just means we don\u2019t see each other before<\/em> the date. She says he\u2019s a good guy and won\u2019t fetishize me. I think she just wants someone to go on a double-date with her, since it\u2019s a first date for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing to add to the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00b7 Humans don\u2019t do arranged marriages or have a reproductive health department to tell them who they can and can\u2019t boink. (Sadie\u2019s word. I think it\u2019s funny and I like it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2\/6\/4 KC – 13 May, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a busy week! I\u2019ve been out with Malcom three times now, and he\u2019s every bit as charming and sweet as Ally said. Wish I could say the same for her date, but Sadie, Malcom, and I sat with her after that first night, eating ice cream and talking shit about her date. It turned bad almost right away, with some racist remarks about \u201cmy kind\u201d being a drain on human society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malcom immediately told her to shut up, in far more colorful language. Ally didn\u2019t put up with it any more than her cousin and then caused a scene that got us all thrown out of the restaurant. I haven\u2019t encountered that anywhere else, but Sadie has warned me that there are more people like that out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malcom says that he\u2019ll always stand up for me, whether we\u2019re friends or more \u2014 or even enemies. It\u2019s sweet, but I think the gym woman could\u2019ve wiped the floor with him. He\u2019s small for a human man, but his heart is huge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m getting used to the human calendar. Malcom\u2019s been helping me with that and helping me improve my Aplyan. He talked me into doing a DNA test, since he got a two-for-one offer and Ally already had hers done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, I\u2019m working at the movie theater three days a week for pocket money. It\u2019s a fun place to work, and I can watch any movies I want, and can even bring a plus-one. I\u2019ll try to bring Malcom, Sadie, and Ally to one movie a week, each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

27 May, 2025 – 14\/6\/4 KC<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malcom showed me my DNA results. I am<\/em> mixed. My father, who died in the war, was at least one-half human. I never knew, and I don\u2019t think my mother did, either. If she was still around, I could ask her. As Sadie said when I talked about her death, \u201cfuck cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malcom is an immigration lawyer. It means he makes terrible money compared to other lawyers, but he knows all the ins and outs of what it takes to move here permanently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I only bring that up because there\u2019s a special provision for part-humans. I can get a scholarship to one of the universities, and on gaining a degree, can apply for citizenship. It means I could study medicine, like I wanted to, but couldn\u2019t afford to at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more time I spend here, the less I want to leave. I\u2019m picking up an extra shift at the theater in order to build up enough money to decide at the end of my visa whether to ship all my stuff here or go back home. Is it really home without Marli and Constance, though?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I splurged on a couple calls on my new SIM. Both of them hung up as soon as they heard my voice and then I got a \u201cblocked\u201d notification. Future me can figure it out. Today me has a shift at the theater to get to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

30 July, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve made up my mind. I\u2019m applying to the University to study medicine. It\u2019s 9 or 10 years of study, but I have time. I\u2019m trying to find a place to live that\u2019s not too far from the University, which happens to be close to the theater anyway. Ally\u2019s decided she wants to stay here, too, so we\u2019re looking for a place we can share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malcom offered space for both of us at his place, but I don\u2019t want to put that kind of pressure on the relationship. Yeah, relationship. Never thought I\u2019d be interested in a man that is not only forty years younger than I, but human to boot. Of course, he still chuckles when he remembers how old I am, since he says that when we go out, it looks like he\u2019s \u201crobbing the cradle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15 August, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ally and I moved into our apartment. I meant to make a note last week about Sadie. She left the hostel to go on the fight circuit. She showed me some video of her matches from last year, including going toe-to-toe with an orc woman a head taller than her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s so nice, but she looks scary in her fights. The fights are brutal. She lost to the orc, but not by knockout or submission, by just a couple points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the fight, they hugged and laughed like they were best friends. Another thing to add to the listicle I\u2019m not going do, I guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Classes start on 8 September, and I\u2019ve already got my schedule and got things switched around at work so I can work around my classes. Ally got a work-from-home job on her computer. I have to remind her to log off in the evenings, or she\u2019ll get so locked in her head that she\u2019ll work until midnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malcom is taking me out for a fancy dinner tonight and even bought me an evening gown to wear. I wasn\u2019t going to accept it, but Ally piled on and talked me into it. She\u2019s logging off early to help me get ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15 August, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I almost asked Malcom to marry me. We haven\u2019t been seeing each other very long, but \u2014 scratch that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At dinner, Malcom told me he has every intention of marrying me and showed me the engagement ring. He said he wants to spend the rest of his life with me, but he knows that it would be just a short part of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He doesn\u2019t want to put me in a position where I feel obligated, so he said he\u2019d wait for me to ask him, and if I never do, he understands. He also said that if it was too much, too soon, and I wanted to walk away for a minute, a day, a week or even forever, he understands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was so sincere when he said that his own desires were second to my happiness, that I almost asked him right then and there. What the hell? I\u2019m not sure, yet, but I think I will \u2014 later. Maybe after I get my degree. Or after the first year. Maybe the first quarter. That\u2019s a problem for later me. Right now me is too tired to think and too wired to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadie\u2019s fight is online. I\u2019ll watch that, then scroll Lupr until I sleep or pass out or whatever comes first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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