The Secret of Pinčiukas - the little devil
He was born a thousand years ago, in a special place. Right at the edge of the human world. Perhaps that is why he was different. Half human, half something else entirely.
Before sunrise, after hard work, his cart would rattle along the path in the shadows of the Gruben hills. Here he knew every stone. He had planted many of the giant trees himself. In the evenings, beasts and birds gathered to hear stories from his distant travels. And if something utterly foreign and frightening wandered into his world, he knew how to politely send it away.
He also granted wishes - of beasts, trees, and even stones. He granted people's wishes too. But not everyone could understand such miracles: when you receive, you must still give something back - such are the laws of nature. People were greedy - often they ended up giving more than they wanted for their wishes. Yet some blamed not themselves, but Pinčiukas.
The night's hound yelped nervously when he tugged the reins, and the cart stopped. Pinčiukas for the first time in a thousand years dared to look inside the Arch. Black fingers felt the cool, solid stone, and the sun's rays already lit the highest clouds; the first shadows stretched. The night was over. The blue abyss in the cozy clearing still breathed coolness, so deep yet so familiar. Here, a thousand years ago, he had come into this world.
"I'll just dip my tired feet into the water," he whispered aloud. Old ferns swayed in the dark palms of the morning breeze, and the endless depth sighed softly.
And perhaps no one will ever know what secrets it hid. But people say that the last of our Pinčiukai disappeared there. And in the world there are always more secrets than answers - that is what he himself used to say, or perhaps even knew.
*Note from the author: Pinčiukas is a kind of a devil, a trickster, a malevolent spirit in the Lithuanian folklore. *
Translated from the Lithuanian original at https://sutemudirbtuves.lt
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The Spider's End