BRBC week 39: A painful hope

"It awakens the hope that our story is not over." How strange that a thing can hurt and heal at the same time.


Hours passed. Janner, Kalmar, and Oood trudged up and up, deeper into the forest and higher into the foothills. Sometime before the sun set, the trees opened into a little clearing.“Look,” Janner said, pointing at the snowy teeth of the Killridge Mountains towering overhead. They were terrifying—razor sharp and impossibly tall.“So that’s where we’re going,” Kalmar said.“Throg,” Oood rumbled.The cloven moved on without a glance at the mountains. As they walked, more and more of the wild creatures joined them until the forest teemed with twisted limbs and lumpy faces. At first they were noisy, snarling and threatening so that the boys drew their swords and pressed against Oood. But when they saw Janner, the cloven either ran away or fell in line, seeming to understand somehow where they were going. Those who stayed limped and lurched through the trees, whispering to one another. All Janner heard were the words, “Boy” and “Anniera.” Many of the cloven wept as they walked.It got colder and more difficult to breathe, reminding Janner of his journey through the Stony Mountains with Maraly Weaver. The wind stirred the treetops, causing the icy stars to flicker overhead.
Discussion: What gives you hope?Got any more troll poetry to share? ;-)What passage spoke to you this week?