The Game of Shepherd and Dawse (8 page)

This year, however, the berries there did not grow so thick and ripe. In fact, there were none at all, which was strange. It was the right time of year for them, and this was Aman’s best spot for picking. She knew there should be fresh growth and a decent harvest because she had always been taught to leave enough to seed for the next season’s crop, as well as for the animals to feed on.

“Those greedy little animals”, Aman thought to herself. “They must have stuffed their little bellies full of these berries”. Giggling to herself, she pictured a bloated badger, who couldn’t move because he was so full and her wagging a disapproving finger at it. This thought made Aman smile and she became even more radiant than usual.

As Aman traveled deeper into the wood, her smile quickly turned upside down. She began to realize the lack of berries in her usual spot couldn’t have been the result of just a few greedy animals. Indeed, there didn’t seem to be any berries anywhere, yet the stalks were still intact. This puzzled Aman greatly. The elders had always taught that animals live in harmony with nature and keep a perfect balance with it, and that if the tribe also kept in perfect balance with nature, then the cycle of growth would always be maintained. The only conclusion Aman could come to was that some animal was stripping the land of all the berries and the seeds, and she was determined to tell the elders about the phenomenon when she returned home.

Aman’s face had fallen into a serious adult expression, while she decided to look elsewhere for the berries rather than returning empty handed. As Aman edged farther into the wood, she stepped carefully to avoid being stung by the freshly grown nettles. It was then she noticed a slight opening ahead of her, where the midday sun was poking through. In the glistening light she could see her elusive berries. The ripeness of the red berries against the green foliage was an unmistakable beacon. When she reached the area, it didn’t take long for Aman’s basket to start filling with the lush ripe berries. Once her basket was half full, she remarked to herself in a triumphant way, “Now, I’ll be able to keep my title as ‘Aman: Queen Berry Picker’ after all”. She then giggled to herself at the thought of wearing a berry-shaped crown.

As she continued happily picking berries, something disturbed Aman. She was so busy concentrating on picking the next clump of berries, though, that it took a moment before Aman stopped to look up and see what had disturbed her. In the distance, where the sun was no longer penetrating the trees, she could hear a grunting noise that didn’t sound like any animal she'd ever come across.

She slowly crept forward to investigate, clutching the basket of berries protectively against her side. She imagined the grunting to be coming from a big fat skunk, who was the greedy berry culprit. Truth to tell, while Aman had a high respect for skunks, she secretly wasn’t all that keen on them. When she was six years old, she had mistaken a skunk for a spring bunny. She ended up getting sprayed and had to wear sprigs of lavender for well over a week until the smell had faded. Normally, the six-year-old Aman had no shortage of playmates, but after the skunk debacle, no one had wanted to play with her until the smell had subsided.

This time, she decided, she would approach with a little more caution. As she edged forward, dodging the stinging nettles that were trying to find any exposed flesh at the bottom of her trousers, she suddenly saw what was making the noise.

Aman wasn’t naturally fearful, but she had been taught to keep a safe distance from certain animals. With this in mind, she remained relatively still while she tried to get a better look at what was in front of her. Aman was amazed. She had never seen anything like it and to her knowledge neither had anyone else.

The two ‘things’ directly in front of her sort of looked like people from her own tribe, but they also looked very different. While they were standing on two feet and had arms and legs and all the normal features that most people have, they were dreadfully ugly. They had bulbous Neanderthal features and long hair that was matted into clumps. Their manner was something Aman had never encountered before. It was so inelegant! Their faces were covered in the juices of all the juju berries they had gorged themselves on, but the really strange thing that had stuck out most to her was that one of the beings was very fat. She guessed this was a male by the uncovered genitalia he had on display. The other appeared to be female and it was very skinny. So skinny in fact that it looked ill.

As Aman watched in amazement she could see why the female was so thin. It was clear that the fat male would not let the female eat any of the food she had picked! And while the skinny one was the one doing all the picking, the fat one was the one doing all the eating. All the poor female got for herself were the occasional berries that fell out of the greedy one’s mouth when he tried to stuff them in too quickly.

Another behaviour that was foreign to Aman was how the fat one kept lashing out at the skinny one in a very aggressive manner. This was something Aman had never witnessed before, and it seemed the only advantage the skinny one had was the ability to move quicker than the fat one so as to miss some of the punches. The fat male had total dominance over the thin female.

It would be fair to say that Aman felt very uncomfortable with what she was seeing and at this point she had seen quite enough. One small step at a time, Aman edged backwards as best she could, hoping not to disturb the beasts while still hanging onto her basket. She managed to get out of sight of the creatures but not quite out of earshot from the incessant grunting they were making. She mentally picked herself up, took a deep breath and prepared herself for a swift run back to the plain, where she would alert the elders of everything that she had seen. Aman knew she could be safely back home within just a few minutes but just as she was about to set off, the ground came up at her face and then blackness descended. Aman was unconscious.

“And that, my little friend, is where we are going to leave it for today”, Joe said as he snapped the book shut and looked at Charlie to see how much he was enjoying the story. Charlie was on the edge of his bean bag in anticipation at what was about to happen to Aman. He wasn’t too surprised that Joe had ended there, as his school teachers did similar things when they were reading stories. Charlie tried to prize out of Joe when he would read the next part of the story but Joe wouldn’t give in, as he wanted Charlie to digest the story bit by bit and also have something more to look forward to.

Joe took his gaze off Charlie momentarily and looked in the direction of the door as he heard something.

“Yep. That, my little friend, sounds like your Mum coming through the door”.

Joe carefully set the book back on the shelf and they both looked in the direction of the front door. Sure enough, Angela had finished work and was ready to pick up Charlie. Angela came in with her usual smile for them both. No matter how hard or testing work had been, she always made sure she left any work problems at work. Even when she didn’t feel like smiling, she always made sure she did by the time she got home.

Charlie jumped up and ran to his mum, giving her the biggest hug he could muster and with his own big smile said, “Hi ya, Maaaam! Did they let you off early”?

“Ooh, chance would be a fine thing. It would be nice if they did”, Angela laughed. “What made you think I got let off early, Mr C”, she asked while tweaking Charlie's little nose.

“Well, because it’s only…” Charlie looked at the clock in surprise and realized it was actually 8.15 and not 7.15, as he thought. “Arrr, it’s later than I thought. I thought it was an hour earlier”, Charlie giggled.

“Time flies when you’re having fun, eh kiddo? Well, come on then”, Angela said as she held Charlie's coat for him to slip into. “Let's leave Joe in peace and you can tell me all about your day on our way home”.

Joe walked toward the door to see them both off.

“Joe, can we read more of that story again tomorrow? Pleeeeeeeease”, Charlie asked with the cheekiest of smiles. After all, he thought, this chapter had been much shorter than the first chapter so in Charlie’s mind he was due at least a little bit more. And besides, he knew this didn’t really allow Joe the option to say no.

“Only if you work really hard at school tomorrow, little fella”, Joe winked back.

“I will. I promise”, Charlie said excitedly. “See you tomorrow, Joe”!

“Yep. Goodnight to both of you”, Joe waved. “Careful on your way home now. It's a long trip”!

Joe went back inside and went about the usual chores he did at that time of night. He smiled to himself as he did and felt lucky to have Charlie and Angela in his life, as they both gave him so much to live for. He wondered how dull life might be without them in it. He liked that Charlie had really enjoyed the first part of the story about Shepherd Wood and Joe looked forward to reading more of it to him tomorrow, almost as much as Charlie looked forward to hearing Joe read it.

That night, Charlie told his Mum all about the amazing place called Shepherd Wood and how they did everything differently there. He told her how one day he was going to build a place just like Shepherd Wood where everyone could live in peace and be happy.

Angela loved the fact that Charlie and Joe were so close and felt very grateful they each had Joe in their lives. Money was tight but Angela was happy now, much happier than when she was with her ex, Aiden, when money had been plentiful. It made her smile to think about all the people who put so much emphasis on financial happiness only to forget where true happiness lies – which for Angela were in all the little things in life that didn’t cost a penny.

Charlie worked really hard in school the next day so as not to let his best buddy down. The day flew by and before he knew it, the end of day bell was ringing.

Charlie was excited about hearing more of the story that evening but he also knew that story time was always at the end of their day. It was how he and Joe had always done it, leaving the best part of the day till the very end. Joe did it like this because he wanted to teach Charlie the importance of always having something to look forward to.

Joe got dinner ready while Charlie helped out. While they worked, he told Joe about his day at school and all he had learned. After dinner they chatted some more, all the while Charlie kept glancing at the clock.

Joe teased him about this a bit and then eventually said, “Well, I think it’s probably time for a Chronicles of Us story, what do you think, Charles”, Joe casually asked, fully knowing what his little friend was going to say.

“Funny you should say that, Mr S. I was thinking exactly the same thing”, Charlie nodded.

Charlie excitedly nestled himself in the corduroy beanbag chair opposite Joe, while Joe retrieved the book from the shelf and started the story where he had left off

CHAPTER FIVE

FINDING AMAN

“
They who profess to be wise are usually shown the fool”. ~ Soladus

By far, the eldest member of the community of Shepherd Wood was Soladus, a wise old man who had seen many things in his time. Despite his obvious age, his eyes were young and eager, and this juxtaposition encouraged those who needed advice to consult him for spiritual guidance and healing. You didn’t talk to Soladus, you let him talk to you because he appeared to be all knowing. Truth to tell, he had lost most of the use of his hearing some years ago, but he had become very good at lip reading and he enjoyed the peace that having no hearing had given him.

SOLADUS

When a person of a younger nature would visit him for the first time it would always be the same. They would start talking frantically about what was bothering them even though they knew he couldn’t hear. Then Soladus would calmly place one hand on top of their head and ask, “Have you come here to teach me about yourself or have you come here to be taught about yourself? Sit down my child, and I will tell you what’s bothering you”.