The Pair and the Pear

The cottage’s hues of purple, blue, and brown, twinkled in sunlight as it rested in the clearing of the lush forest. This forest was like a dream, and the world like an imagination; life here flowed as a reverie does. Two children spurted out the door: a boy and a girl, both ten years old, twins. Trucul was the boy, with dark matted hair and tan cloth shirt and pants rustling, a bit rough looking from days of play. And the girl was Bellica, with beautiful but dirty blond locks of hair. Her tan and purple clothing like her brother’s; her plum skirt flowed.

Trucul pulled up his trousers, “I bet I can beat you to the forest!”

Bellica’s eyebrows lowered at the challenge. “You’re on!”

They were off, down the wooden porch, (Trucul tripping on a step), down the dirt path leading to the forest. Trucul ahead at first, then they were neck and neck. Refusing to lose at all costs (especially to a girl), he got an inch lead and thrust his hand back. Bellica took the blow to her chest and tumbled, rolling backward in the dirt (it was in her mind to trip him up by sweeping his legs with her hand too, but by chance he had struck first). Instinctually, tears welled up, but none fell because she was strong. She was hardened, she was used to this, no crybaby in her; just wished she had got him first. Her bottom did hurt though, and her legs were scraped.

She sprang up and plowed into him at the forest entrance. “You cheated - you…you rat!”

She pushed him, and he almost swung back, but got a better idea and bolted into the thick forest. He knew she hated to be left alone, especially at the forest entrance, it scared her.

She raced in after him. “Hey wait for me!”

He had a heart and abruptly stopped his sprint by palming a tree mid-run. Trucul leant against the tree. Bellica panted in front of him, hands on her knees, her face to the ground.

He laughed, “Hahahahehehe!”

Outside it had been sunny, but in the forest, it was dim and shadowy. Leaves of all sorts formed a thick canopy. Dark greens were all around, shrubs and trees of all sizes. The ground was mostly moist dirt, but patches of grass were strewn about, grey stones, and sticks littered the ground. They walked, crunching dead leaves and sticks beneath them. This was their usual game, exploration. They loved to explore the woodland, most days just picking up and pondering a bug or two or resting at their favorite spot that had a rock big enough for them to sit on.

“Let’s go further today”, suggested Bellica.

Trucul’s steps stuttered, his eyes widened. “The brave one” was secretly scared of whatever could lie further in the forest.

“The king of explorers”, “The mighty bug slayer”, sounding afraid? Never.

“Of course. I was just going to say that” He tried to sound sure of himself.

His arm raised, an imaginary sword pointing skyward. “Today we will venture further than we’ve ever been before! To the end of the forest and beyond!”

Bellica’s eyes widened, her stance filled with energy.

She skipped down the familiar paths, padding down dirt, snapping twigs beneath feet, over big stones that rested on the earth like shadowy golems stuck there for eternity, hopping over the stream, Trucul behind, coming with small steps, sweating, foreboding…

It was getting darker now, more shadows, and the forest seemed to become more of a black shadowy creature, with leaves for fingers that loomed over head as the canopy. They’d been walking for a while. Bellica dragged her feet, head down. Trucul lagged, stepping, pausing, and stepping again.

“I’ve… got something you know…” The words were a sighing desperate sputter from his dry mouth. He reached in the seat of his pants and held up a pretzel.

Bellica jumped. Reaching for the pretzel she pleaded; “Oooo give me some! Please Trucul, I’m starving!”

She grabbed hold of one end of the pretzel.

“Wait a minute!” Trucul pulled the pretzel away before she could get a good grip.

“You stingy weasel!” Bellica flung a hard slap at his face, but Trucul grabbed her and held her back against his chest with his arms wrapped around her. She stomped on his foot, he howled, then she bit his forearm. He grabbed her again and they fell to the ground and began wrestling, both clawing and scratching each other. Bellica was the better combatant, creating red lines across Trucul’s face and arms. They rolled; the pretzel lay to the side coated with dirt.

Now they both lay on their backs exhausted, scratched, and bruised, foot to foot, one body facing north, the other south. But something… had changed…something…the atmosphere was different. It made them both sit straight. They were further than they’d ever been. Their tumbling had made them disoriented, and they didn’t know which way was north, south, east, or west, which way they had come nor which way they were going.

No matter who caught sight of it first - they both saw it. From the darkness of the enigmatic, jungle, pressing leaves aside, creeping closer, slowly, stalking. An elongated appendage of some sort - a neck the length of two and a half tree branches. Still, it was cloaked in darkness, and a - two heads. One godforsaken head on one long neck, and another horrible head on yet another neck. It was a “hydra”. Each head about the length of five and a quarter tree branches away. On each head, there was only one white dreadful eye with a piercing black pupil that searched the vicinity. Coarse green skin covered its neck and face. They’d overheard fearsome stories of these terrible beasts from elders returning from hunts. Few believed in the beasts, but they knew what was in front of them was undoubtedly real. They jumped up – clashing into each other in confusion and panic, pushed each other out of the way, and ran in opposite directions. Trucul to the right and Bellica to the left.

Little did they know, the hydra was only after the pretzel, it was all it caught scent of. But now their movement caught its keen eye – a much more filling feast - children. Salivating mouths with razor sharp teeth darted in each direction after the two preys. Teeth caught hold of Bellica’s skirt, she ripped it free, tearing it, and ran towards her brother for protection, out of panic in this moment, she didn’t know what else to do. Tears streaming down her face, she dashed toward him. Trucul felt hot breath on his back, he felt he was done for and scrambled toward his sister frantically. They collided together in a hug – a hug stronger than any other hug- a hug that braced for death. A hug of fear, love… the creature’s heads followed them together and – WHACK! Its heads collided together! The crunch of the collision was sickening. The monster collapsed, big eyes closing on the ground. They cried and embraced even tighter. Trucul went to retrieve the pretzel and tossed it to Bellica. She dusted it off and broke it into two even pieces. It was a good-sized pretzel and filled them well.

“Now to drink, I know what to do”. Bellica remembered stories that in a pinch a hydras blood was as good to drink as water because a hydra fed on vegetation as well as meat, its blood often contained water from plants its eaten. Hunters and travelers had drunk the blood when lost or stranded. Bellica grabbed a stick and cut open the hydra’s thigh, blackish red blood streamed out into her cupped hands, she and Trucul drank until they were satiated.

Resting against a tree, they yearned to go home, but they didn’t know which direction to walk.

“We gotta go this way”, Trucul said, sure of himself.

“No, it’s this way”. Bellica sounded even surer.

Neither of them knew that they were both incorrect.

They argued for a minute, almost coming to blows, but they were too tired to swing. Who knew what else lurked in this wretched place? It was becoming pitch black now. They chose to go Trucul’s selected direction…

In the darkness, sounds came, strange animal chatters, flutters, hoots, and hisses. Nothing looked familiar, they knew they’d gone the wrong direction.

They reached a clearing, and finally there was light! The woods behind them were pitch black. They stepped into this sunlit place. It was brilliant! Green fields with scattered small hills stretched for as far as the eye could see, and a mountain about one thousand tree branch lengths away from them. Something could be made out at the top of the mountain, a small tree of some sort, something was special about this tree, they felt it. The sapling stood out among the landscape; it seemed the purpose for this place. They had to find out what this purpose was and if it could get them home. Both marched toward the mountain.

Near the mountain, the fields were speckled with yellow grass, then they were completely yellow. A beaten path spiraled up the mountain. The mountain was dark reddish brown. Jagged edges of rock stuck in all directions from the base to the summit. The mountain stood about on thousand and three hundred tree branch lengths high. The beaten path up was not straight and narrow, nor easy to traverse, it ended in places, and you had to climb up the jagged rocks to get to the next height and continue. They came to a point where the path ended and only a collection of large, spiky rocks stood. With no clear places to grip or hold footing, they slipped and fumbled, getting scrapes, but ultimately made it up. Only to see that another collection of rocks stood in their way, just as challenging if not more than the last.

Now Trucul, angry, wanted to turn back “I hate you; this was your stupid idea!” he raised his fist.

“You wanted to go to Mr. “We will venture further than we ever have’”. They shoved each other but stopped - realizing that things got better when they did not bicker. So, they helped each other up the jagged rock faces. Lifting and hoisting each other, taking turns as pieces of rock and rubble fell to the far away ground below. Exhausted, they sat with their backs against – another set of large, sharp rocks! They looked almost impossible to climb this time, too many sharp points and not enough flat places to get a hold of or footing. They were also situated further on the side of the mountain than the others had been, so falling off looked like a real possibility. Neither of them thought they would be able to climb these, they thought their journey to be over. They would die here… away from their parents…away from their cottage…on this strange mountain…alone…with each other. Bellica sobbed.

Trucul put a hand on her shoulder, “Come on sis, we made it this far, we can do this. We must see if that tree can somehow get us out of here. Don’t give up now.” She dried her eyes.

He climbed up the first rock, laid down on his belly and helped her up with his hand in hers. She confident after that first climb. He did the same on the next rock and it worked. He held here shoulder.

“One more to go sis”. And kissed her on the cheek. Trucul had a hard time climbing this rock, it crumbled more than the others, and was jagged in more places; no good places to get a grip, his foot slipped numerous times and he was afraid for a moment when he looked down, yellow grass, far away now. He helped his sister up every step of the way, and it was more challenging than his own climbing. She faltered many times. Before his hand completely slipped off the crumbling edge, he hoisted himself up passed the rocks to the next section of beaten path. Looking down and up the remainder of the path, he could see no more rocks to climb - but the summit! About one hundred tree branch lengths away, the tree stood at the edge of the peak, it was a thin and small, about three tree branch lengths high. He reached his hand down to help Bellica up the last part of rock, she grabbed hold. Together they must have been too much weight because the edge of the rock that Trucul was lying on collapsed, crumbled away, almost hitting Bellica, bouncing off the mountain side, it fell to the sea of yellow below.

“Ahhhhh!” Bellica shrieked, as she dangled from his arm. He’d almost fallen himself.

“Hold on tight!” he yelled, slipping off the edge from her weight. Through some luck, as he slipped forward, flailing his legs to stay on, his foot caught stopped on something, blocked by a rock, it kept him from falling to certain death! His face scrunched and tightened, he strained to stay on the rock. He tried his hardest to pull Bellica up without falling, but it was hard. “Grrrrrrrrr!” He strained. He managed to find another rock to hold. Leveraging himself, he grunted and strained. Bellica kicked off the edge of the mountain with all her might. Somehow, in a spurt of strength, Trucul gave a hard pull and had her up high enough where she grabbed hold of the rim and climbed onto the beaten trail with him, both lying on their backs.

They smiled in relief, depleted, lying there. Just like back at the hydra. Again, they had worked together and overcome. Staring at the sky, they reached out and held hands, chuckling.

“We did it”, Trucul beamed.

Bellica sat up, then Trucul, they moved slowly to their feet and dusted themselves off. They looked tattered and ragged, with their dirty hair tangled every which way. “Let’s see what that tree is, and if it can get us back home somehow.” Trucul was facing toward the lonesome tree in the distance. Bellica nodded. They started towards the tree.

“What if we can wish on the tree?”, Bellica suggested.

“Maybe”, Trucul thought about it. “I wonder how many wishes we’d get.”

The sun here was beautiful, they each thought. Luminous yellow permeated the mountain summit, as they grew closer to the tree, they could make out more detail. The sapling was strange, enigmatic, magical, you could feel it. It seemed to exist on its own timeline, separate from the world it was in. A thin trunk and body, about one hundred leaves, a delicate tree. Something was hanging from one branched that sagged with the weight of the object. A pear!

“I think we get one wish because there’s one pear. And only one of us can bite the pear and make a wish.” With the thought of what he’d just said, Trucul’s mind became cunning.

“I wonder if one of us can wish us both to back home.” Bellica was troubled, but also becoming shrewd. Both desperately wanted to go home.

They were walking side by side, when suddenly Bellica pushed Trucul backward, he stumbled, his feet got tangled and he fell on his side. He watched in disbelief as Bellica bolted toward the pear tree on her own. Her blonde hair flowing backward. She wanted to wish on that pear by herself, to make sure she got home. She figured that only one person could receive the wish and the wish could only affect one because there was one tree, and one pear.

Disappointment and confusion turned to rage as Trucul pulled himself from the grass and raced towards her, if anyone was going to be back in the cozy cottage eating pastries and pretzels it was him.

Bellica ran, confident that she would be back home soon, filling up on fresh baked bread and juice – but - The more she ran towards the tree, the further it seemed to get! What kind of mad sorcery was this! It was like the ground stretched in front of her as she ran, the tree growing smaller as she moved toward it.

Trucul caught up to her and tripped her feet with his leg - She crashed to the ground in a jumbled ball. Speeding toward the pear tree, he noticed it was not getting any closer! How could this be! Was he delusional? No! The more he ran, the further the tree would appear! He could not reach it! Bellica watched him from the ground. He stopped, panting, and looking down, he thought he’d never get back to the cabin.

Bellica started toward him.

He was more puzzled than he’d ever been in his life. A shrill voice sounded behind him.

“Wait!” She rushed to his side, “Maybe we have to reach it together!”

The idea dawned on Trucul, and so they walked together hand in hand toward the tree… and it was getting closer now! It grew larger in their vision as they approached. Now they were running toward it, towards a wish, towards home. Trucul got to the tree first. This was no ordinary pear; it dangled from a single scrawny branch and was changing colors. It was morphing splashes of colors, dark and light, greens, blues, violets, and mixes. Trucul plucked the pear off viciously, eager to take the first bite Surely the first one to bite it gets the wish! He thought. Before the pear made it to his jaws, Bellica’s hand was there holding onto it. Both their eyes met. Fury burned inside each of them, they flailed at each other with their free hands.

“It’s my wish!” Trucul shouted. “I got here first!”

“Let go!” Bellica exclaimed.

At the same moment they bit into the pear, its tart juice pouring down her chin and satiating his tongue. Angrily they both shouted,

“I wish you were never born!”

Both children vanished.

That place was like a dream, and the world like an imagination; life there flowed as a reverie does.