The Snake and the Rope

It was late afternoon, overlooking the farm, a father and son had just come home from school and parked the truck outside the old red barn. The barn’s red paint was peeling and the father hadn’t gotten around to repainting the buildings on the land they had purchased a couple years ago. He had always wondered why barns seemed to all be painted red, just like he had always wondered what it would be like to move to the country.

“Dad? I don’t understand why my teacher is making me learn math.” His son’s question broke his train of thought.

“Well Tobias, they teach math at school so we can learn to communicate with the world. We use math to explain things to each other that words can’t convey very easily.” The father didn’t know why he said what he just said, but he had resolved to try to tell his children the truth if he ever had any.

“BUT dad! Math is more confusing to me than just talking like how we’re doing right now. Thomas and Betty both agree, math is stupid and it’s easier to just talk about things.” He knew that his son wouldn’t understand why he had to struggle through school. Just like he couldn’t understand why they made the move to the countryside away from the city and from his mother. It wasn’t easy to make the move to the countryside and he still hadn’t gotten over the divorce, but he wanted his son to understand the importance of learning.

“There are some lessons in life that we need to go through in order to understand why we struggled. Remember last summer when we first moved to the country and we were looking at the buildings? Do you remember what we discovered?” While he was asking the question, the father started to feel the emotions that he felt when they first arrived on the land. It was all so new to him, overwhelming in so many ways. He had exited his life as he knew it; marriage, job, and community. He had started over.

“We found the scary snake hiding in the barn!” replied the son who was now leading his father by the hand into the barn. Tobias was trying to go to the spot where they had found the snake in the eastern corner of the barn where the light from the ceiling didn’t fully reach. There was a worktable on the sidewall and some old wooden boxes piled in the corner.

“Yes, and what did we do when we saw it?” asked the father who was thinking about how scared he was of restarting their life. He didn’t know much about farming and he didn’t know how he was gonna ever get through the divorce. He was feeling so homesick even though his wife let him keep the two bedroom apartment they had shared for 9 years. All he knew at the time was he needed to find home.

“You told me to be careful but to go and see for ourselves. So we took a flashlight out and then we went to see the scary snake.” Tobias was motioning to his father to go to the corner.

“What did you discover about the snake Tobias?” He led Tobias to the corner with the flashlight in his hand. As they walked towards the worktable the father recalled the pressure of work and money and deadlines that had turned his life and marriage into a burden.

“The snake was actually a big old rope.” Tobias said with a delighted smile on his face. “You took the rope, swung it around and told me that I shouldn’t run away from my fears.” The father looked proudly at his son for remembering those words. At the time he wasn’t sure if he was being a hypocrite for moving to the countryside after the divorce or if he was facing his fears.

“And what did we say we were gonna do with the rope Tobias?” The father took the rope in his hands. Underneath the rope was an old black Michelin tire with white lining which he also took in his hands.

“You said we could make a swing! Are we gonna do that today?” Tobias asked excitedly. The father, with tire and rope in hand, nodded at Tobias.

“YESSSSSS!” Screamed Tobias. A barn owl rustled. It was living on the rafters overlooking the storage for unused hay. The owl flew to the ceiling to investigate the commotion.

“Look, Tobias! A barn owl.” The father pointed towards the owl. Like the owls' sudden appearance the countryside was full of small surprises. There was the friendliness of the residents that made settling in easier. Although he still hadn’t quite gotten used to how everyone seemed to know everything about everyone else, he was starting to get used to the community. There was also the presence of nature that made itself known every now and then, the lightning storms that shook the windows with their power, or the cold snowy winters that covered everything in calm white, or the majestic sunsets that made you stop whatever you were doing for a moment to take in the fading beauty.

The father breathed deeply. He didn’t feel as lonely even though it was still just him and Tobias. Life had slowed down.

“WOW dad! I started reading about owls at school. They can turn their heads backwards and they can see at night and they hunt rats. Can we keep him?” The father gave a short laugh at the excitement of his son.

“Yes Tobias, the owl can stay in the barn. I’m sure that’s why they call them barn owls.” As he carried the rope and the tire outside the barn, the father couldn’t help but think how difficult it had been to turn his life around. And yet, here he was about to install a tire swing with his son.

“Dad, this is so awesome! I’m gonna tell Thomas all about the rope swing.” Tobias said with excitement and pride. “He’s scared of snakes still so maybe he can come over and he won’t be scared anymore like me!” The father turned to fasten the rope onto the largest branch of the maple tree that could be seen from the living room window. He was trying to hide his emotions and his tears from his son.

He too was no longer scared of snakes.