Quoted By:
<span class="mu-i">The Tallies are a powerful folk who have the power to bully Us or protect Us. We are blessed to have the Emperor who promised to shield Us from the Meanies from the rest of the world. Those of Us who have the blood of Tallies must help Him protect Us for the sake of Our Memories.</span>
Halfies were not that strange to you, but they are a relatively uncommon sight, your village only has one family of Halfies, or at least it did until not too long ago. Anh Tiko said Halfies don't get tall until they're around 18 or 20 when they will grow a whole foot within a year or two, so you might not know if some of your peers are Halfies. When a Halfie turns 60 they start shrinking back to normal size and they are allowed to permanently return home. According to the Elders, your village only has one Halfie now; Bubu.
Bubu lived with his Baba and Pappy at the village graveyard. They are Gravies, essentially the village's grave keepers and funerary priests, and are considered the hosts of ghosts of people and animals alike. Despite their importance to society, Gravies live relatively secluded lives, their houses built at the graveyard and far away from the rest of the village. Their association with death makes others feel too awkward to interact with them, some Little Ones are too frightened to even look at them. Despite this distancing, Gravies are not outcasts and are regularly given gifts for hosting ghosts. It's just that their homes are very macabre so people don't really like to visit though they do occasionally come out to the village to interact with other villagers, usually older folk who are more compassionate.
Bubu wasn't even his real name, it was actually Vuboi but he had trouble saying it for the longest time. He still responds to it though. He lived relatively far from the rest of the village and didn't have anybody his age to play with as all his sisters were considerably older. When he was 5 they had all already become Fairies as was their Mama. Bubu's Papa supposedly passed not long after he was born in a far-off land. This arrangement was still strange as even Gravies had large families. Living alone with his elderly Baba and Pappy, Bubu had to learn to take care of them all by himself while growing up.
Every Baba and Pappy in the village felt sorry for Bubu so they always encouraged their Little Ones to go visit Bubu. But all were deterred from visiting their macabre house. It didn't help that Bubu was just a strange boy, who was often stuck in his own thoughts and hilariously awkward to talk to. When you were smaller, your Baba and Pappy always invited Bubu to sleep over when he was visiting to play. In fact, you often sometimes return home from playing or laboring just to find Bubu's hammock already set up. Unfortunately for the past few years, he has been politely declining invitations, electing to stay home to keep his Baba and Pappy from becoming too lonely. Your Baba and Pappy always praised how hardworking he was.
