Page 49 of Jacob Michaels is Not Crazy

“Who are the others, then?” I asked as I went into the bathroom and turned the tap on the sink faucet for warm water. “Are they your family, or…?”

“No,” Ernst replied hesitantly. “They be my kinfolk, true. But we aren’t all exactly brothers and sisters if ya’ understand my meaning.”

I made a noise that I understood as I ran a washcloth under the water and began to wash my face. Ernst was in my peripheral vision, standing on the bed, folding clothes, as I washed my face at the sink.

“Well, there’s Hans.” Ernst began tentatively. “You’d mostly find him tinkering around’, fixin’ things that get broke. Lena likes to do the dishes and work in the garden. Then Felix mos’ly sticks to the attic and the walls, patchin’ up drafts and the like. Oskar likes to do sweepin’ and moppin’ and general scrubbin’. Hans, well, he mos’ly keeps to ‘imself and just does whatever he feels needs to be done. You won’ see him ‘bout much due to the fact that he’s a miserable piece o’ work.”

“And you like doing laundry,” I added.

“Well, it keeps me busy, I spose.” Ernst said noncommittally.

“Out of trouble?” I teased, glancing over as I washed the day’s grime off of my mug.

“There’s always time for that.” Ernst chuckled mischievously. “Though the chores tend to keep us busy.”

“Why did…whomever…make me jump in the lake the other night?” I asked, frowning as I finished cleaning off my face. “That wasn’t exactly the nicest thing to do to someone who hadn’t done anything to any of you up until that point.”

Of course, I had blasted Ernst ass into the Oma’s bathroom, but that was after I had jumped in the lake.

“T’wasn’t us.” Ernst snapped. “None of us would do such a thing. We may get up to some’tings but we ain’t done that.”

I hung the washcloth on the rack by the sink and turned off the water. Patting my face dry with the towel hung on the back of the door, then hanging it back up, I went and leaned against the doorjamb to look at Ernst. He ignored me as he finished folding up clothes.

“Someone who looked like me jumped in the lake the other night,” I said. “If it wasn’t one of you, who was it?”

“I wouldn’t be knowin’.” Ernst shrugged his tiny shoulders.

I decided to let it go.

“Been sleepin’ at your feet since you was a wee’un, wouldn’ta done nothin’ to put you in much danger,” Ernst stated casually as he leaped down from the bed.

He used his wee arms to reach up blindly and grab stacks of clothes, then went to the dresser and began stuffing them into drawers. Ernst looked like a mountain climber, stepping on knobs to get to higher drawers and struggling to open drawers to shove clothes into, working blindly but well. I walked over and helped open drawers and put away clothes. Ernst barely came up to mid-thigh on me when he was finally standing on the floor beside me.

Kobolds were unique looking little people and absolutely precious in size. I wanted to snatch him up like a dog and snuggle him, but I figured that would garner more anger. Besides, that would be admitting that I was perfectly comfortable with these mythical creatures roaming about the house in the shadows, and I wasn’t certain I was there yet. It was still incredibly odd that all of these odd and magical things happened at Oma’s house daily—and in Point Worth in general—and I was just becoming aware of it. If I hadn’t gone on a date with Andrew, I probably would have never known.

If you hadn’t come home to Point Worth to rest up, you’d never have known.

“Sir?” Ernst looked up at me curiously, realized his mistake, and corrected himself. “Guest of the house?”

“Rob, Ernst.” I smiled weakly. “Please.”

“Won’t be doin’ no such thing.” He sniffed. “I’ll call you ‘master’ if that’s better, seein’s you are the madam’s grandson.”

“Fine.” I cringed. “Call me ‘sir’ if you have to.”

He smiled widely. “What’s troublin’ you, sir?”

“I don’t know, Ernst,” I answered honestly. “I just don’t know why this place is so familiar and not familiar at all.”

“This place?”

“Oma’s house.” I shrugged. “Point Worth. It’s like I don’t know this place at all anymore. Not that I ever did, I guess.”

“Awh, hogwash.” He slapped both hands in the air in my direction. “You just been gone a’bit s’all.”

“I guess.”

“Wouldja like a cuppa tea?” He suggested eagerly. “I’ll get Lena to make ya’ one ya’ like?”