The Woods

“I warned her over and over again, don’t go into the woods alone. There are creatures living in those woods that will kill you or worse, but did she listen? Of course not. She would laugh at my warnings and, in a mocking tone, reply, What’s worse than being dead?” “If only I had a way to show her the horrors I have witnessed in those woods actually exist, she might still be with us now. All that is left for me to do now is go into the woods and search for her. My friends, neighbors, fellow villagers, who among you will join me?”

“I believe I can speak for everyone here when I say that we feel your pain at the loss of your daughter, but we all have families of our own to protect. Each of us has witnessed those odd glowing objects hovering over the treetops at night and heard the terrified cries of the forest animals as a strange beam of light lifts them above the trees. I’m sorry, Paul, but we have our own families to protect, crops to grow, and herds to tend to. We simply can’t put all that at risk. Maribel is lost, and there is nothing we can do about it.”

“You’re wrong, Marshal,” came a voice from the back of the crowd.

“Who dares question me and my authority?”

A newcomer worked his way from the back of the crowd and stood defiantly in front of the Marshal. The young man scanned the gathering, looked sympathetically at Paul, and fixed his gaze squarely on the Marshal.

“I question anyone when I know they're wrong, regardless of their rank.”

“And what makes someone your age think you know more than me?”

“That’s simple, Marshal. My home is on the other side of the woods, and I have travelled through them many times.”

“Now I know you’re lying, sonny. Our people have lived in this area for hundreds of years, and none of our ancestors has ever made it through those woods and returned to tell us what’s on the other side. Now you’re saying that you just travel back and forth through those deadly woods as casually as walking through a wheat field. I’m not buying it, and neither does anyone else.”

“I do!” said Paul, suddenly regaining his voice.

“If this young man is willing to help me find my daughter, then I’m willing to go with him.”

Do you understand what you’re doing, Paul? If you go in there, you’ll be breaking a law that has been in effect for hundreds of years, and if you do make it back, you will have nothing. The law requires me to confiscate all your possessions. Are you willing to give all of this up based on the word of a stranger?”

“I don’t expect you to understand, Marshal, you’re not a parent. All this is just stuff. Maribel is my everything, the only bridge I have left to my dead wife.”

Feeling a surge of power pulse through his body that he had never experienced before, Paul stretched to his full height, walked directly up to the Marshal, and growled, “Step aside, now.”

The strength Paul was feeling seemed to drain every ounce of authority from the Marshal, and he moved aside meekly. Next, Paul motioned to the young stranger,

“Time to go, son. By the way, I never got your name?”

“My parents called me Dolan because I’ve always been restless, even when I was in the womb, and the name means traveler in Dutch.”

“You and my daughter have similar personalities. I have no idea what Dutch is, but I’ll take your word for it.”

They reached the top of a hill that separated the village from the woods. Paul stopped and scanned all that he was leaving behind. The stone huts with thatched roofs, the planted fields, and herds of sheep and cows all seemed to call for him to return, but that wasn’t possible without Maribel. Paul turned his back on the past for what he knew would be the last time. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he said, “Lead on, Dolan.”

They trekked through the woods for an hour with very little conversation. Finally, Dolan broke the silence with a question. “Paul, what do you know about our people’s history?"

“Our people, don’t you mean your people?”

“No, I meant our. We all arrived on this planet together from a place called Earth. It’s only after we arrived that people divided into two factions, Progressives and Conservatives. The two groups couldn’t agree on anything except avoiding war at all costs. They eventually settled on an accord. Each group would establish a society on opposite sides of this massive forest and remain isolated from the other. This accord has lasted for five hundred years, until I met Maribel.”

“You’re saying you know where my daughter is. Where is she? Is she safe? I need to see her, now!”

“The answer is yes to all your questions, and you will be with her tomorrow. If we had left from my side of the woods, we would have taken a hovercraft and been with her in an hour, but leaving from your side of the woods, we must walk because vehicles are forbidden. I know your side has its reasons for all the restrictions, but it does make life harder at times.”

“There is a lot I don’t understand, including how you and my daughter met.”

“It was purely by accident, or maybe it was fate. She was walking along the forest edge, as was I. We exchanged greetings, and the rest, as they say, is history. Maribel and Dolan, a modern Romeo and Juliet.”

“Who?”

“Sorry, I forgot, your side doesn’t have access to ancient books. They were star-crossed lovers from old Earth. There is so much your side has been blocked from knowing, but with your help, Maribel and I will change that, if your people are willing to know. That’s what it all comes down to, doesn’t it? Do they want to make the change and adjust to new things?”