We reached the village this evening. Approaching it is like approaching a very old fortress. The village proper is encircled by a wall of dirt, about six feet tall, into which are set long, sharpened logs pointing outwards. There is a trench in front of this wall from which I assume the dirt for the walls came. The only way in or out of the village is across one of several narrow bridges that span the trench and pass through a gap in the wall. “One’s missing,” Matthew said as we entered, pointing to a lone white flag on a pole near the entrance. As we walked by a puff of wind caught it and it floated out, exposing a seven-pointed golden star. Inside the village is a large circle of perhaps 25 cabins. The area inside the circle, about an acre in size, is called the “green.” It seems to be constantly occupied (even now, after dark as I write this, I can still see people passing back and forth). Not just humans; chickens also roam freely here, along with some horses and goats tied up near houses. “Come, we must take you to Nathan,” Matthew said. “He’s the leader of our village and will want to meet you.” We walked across the green to another cabin. Most are made of rough-hewn logs, though some buildings are made of stone. Nathan’s cabin is one of the log ones. As we approached it Matthew knocked on the door. A voice said a word I didn’t understand. Matthew pushed open the door and we entered. Inside the cabin was dark despite two windows, one on each side. The floor was made of stone that appeared very old and had been worn smooth with a slight depression in the middle of the cabin. A thin black man sat at a too-small desk with his back towards us, writing something. “Please, just one more line.” He scribbled some last word then turned around. “Matthew! Beatrice! My friends have returned,” he said, standing up and advancing towards us with open arms. “But what is this? What have you found wandering the world?” Matthew introduced us. Nathan bowed. “Please, we are honored to have you with us,” he said. “You aren’t the first Mark has yoked with these troublemakers.” Beatrice pulled an arrow from her quiver and held the point under Nathan’s nose. “Troublemakers? Ha! Next time I’ll leave you to the beasts.” Then she put the arrow back in the quiver and hugged him. “Or perhaps I won’t, oh wise and beneficent leader.” Nathan looked at me and laughed. “Women. They can’t keep their hand off me!” “Oh, you wish,” Beatrice said. “Yes, which is why I married. Matthew, I wish to discuss things with you. Perhaps, Beatrice, you could give our guest a, um, tour?” “Yes, oh wise and beneficent leader.” “If you don’t stop calling me that…” he shook his head as we left the cabin. Beatrice laughed as she closed the door. “Nathan is a good man. I like teasing him. Come with me. There’s a hill nearby where we can see everything.” As she lead me to the hill outside the village we were stopped many times so that Beatrice could be greeted and I could be stared at. Apparently strangers are a rare sight here. We reached the top of the hill as the sun began to set. There was a small pile of stones arranged at the top. “So it may not be hidden from the world,” Beatrice said. We looked down at the village in silence for several moments, her rust-red dress blowing in the breeze. Finally I turned to her. “Who are you?” I asked. She smiled. “Strangers and sojourners, making a way in this world. We long and prepare for something better. It will come in time. It will come for you, too. Otherwise you wouldn’t be asking these questions.” She pointed to the east. “Look at those mountains. It’s really beautiful up here.” She brushed away the hair that was blowing in her face. “Matthew and I were married up here, at evening on a Sunday three years ago. I had just graduated university. My parents didn’t want me to go with him, especially because my uncle had died with them. Matthew and I won them at last.” She sat on the grass and motioned for me to follow. “Continuing, I did not know what to expect. I had never even hunted before.” I closed my eyes and once again heard the scream of the molik she had shot several weeks ago, the sight of blood on her hands as she cleaned it. Then I saw an even starker image, that of her aiming her bow at that man, that mugger, in downtown Anworth. Those hard eyes, ready to kill. A different life, a different world. “Life here has been harder, more terrible than I could have imagined. But I have learned to live. We have to fight each day, but we will be rewarded. We trust, and we do not fear,” she sang that song again. We sat in silence for a moment, looking out at the mountains. “Why do you live like this?” I asked. “Because I love him.” She glanced behind us at the setting sun. “Come on, it’s time you experienced a real saigim meal.” When we returned to the village most of the community had gathered around small fires lit on the green. Beatrice explained that the people of the village take turns cooking. Several molik had been hunted which provided our meat. We also had bread and some mysterious looking vegetables. The meal wasn’t large, but it went on for a long time. I was introduced to everyone in the village, and the sea of names and faces became a blinding whirl. My earlier conversation with Beatrice haunted me. After our meal I talked to Matthew. He said, “So, she told you about our life. Does it surprise you? No hot bath at the end of the road here. Whether far or near, we are right here. We are children. we are peacemakers. We are soldiers who are losing a war. We’ve had defeat after defeat, but our time will come. Some day all that is evil will be cast down and destroyed. Until then we hold off its progress as we can.” He held Beatrice’s hand. I asked him what they hoped for. “We hope for everything,” he said. “Despair we can’t have.”
Tags: Cabin, Culture, Fiction, Flag, Island, Life, Star, Travel, Village
