December 12, 2024

My dearest,

You tell me of elves in Japan. The ones in the forests, you say.

There are no elves in Japan, I reply. You mean goblins, the Tengu.

You say that’s the same as elves, same as the elves in Sweden.

Those are trolls, I say. Mean and ugly.

Are elves only beautiful and good, you ask.

Well, no. Take the nine realms in Norse mythology. There are dark elves and fair elves. (This might not be strictly true. This could well be my recollection from The Mighty Thor, from the comic series, rather than the legends.)

I suppose elves can be mean and ugly too, I concede. Mean and ugly.

There you go, you say. There are elves everywhere.

I guess you’re right. There are probably elves everywhere, beautiful and ugly, good and mean. Just like people.

Perhaps you’re correct. Who knows? There might well be elves in Japan after all.

Yours, ever and always.