Chapter 13 +14

Chapter 13: Hush, first we walk in silence!

I never had thought, there were so many hidden roads in a town.
There were back roads behind gardens, small roads between houses, I would not have seen behind the bushes, if not someone carefully had pushed away the leaves.
There also were roads that partly went through the houses: if you did not know where the entrance was, you could not see it.

Cindy must have seen my wondering face and asked: “Lea, what is the matter? You look as if you see water burning, as Grandma says when something strange goes on.”

I answered: “Just something like that. If you do not know how to go, you do not even séé this roads!”

“That is just the purpose,” one of the other girls said.
“These are óúr roads, to go quick to a neighbor, to a shop, to the midwife, or anything what females do between each other.
I do think the boys and men use the ‘big open roads’ more, while than the colorful clothes they like, keep cleaner.
They can walk besides each other there, to brag and so on” she smiled.

“We tend nót to see each spot on their clothes, otherwise we were busy tending them like babies all day long, if they had it their own way!”

I could not keep my mouth shot, so with a wink to Cindy I said: “My Mom sees my Dad coming, to be pampered like a baby!
Oh no, she, and all the other people I do know, have learned, to take care of our own things from a very young age.
So mostly my Mom does the washing in the machine, but my Dad does so as well.

But on the other hand, it is my Dad who likes to do the repairing of things around the house, but Mom does know how to do most things as well.
We, my brother and me, are thought both cooking and cleaning, and my brother also knows how to mend a button.”

The girl besides me looked to Cindy, not believing her ears.
Cindy nodded and said: “That’s true, I did see that myself. But in Homeland it is mostly the same. Only,” and there her voice sounded a tiny bit jealous, “we do not have those nice machines they have.”

This way started a softly spoken conversation between the girls, that made the long road they had to walk not boring.
Before we knew, the city lay behind us, and in the woods were broader pathways, that asked for cozy conversations, while the legs did their job.
With that, the soft tones became normal conversations.

After about an hour or two, the Lady said: “Well, we are far away from the city now. Now I am going to ask all the boys over the age of 7 to wear their scarf over their eyes, for what now comes, is a the great secret of us women.”

Of course, specially the older boys from around 10 and 11 wanted to know more, but got a strong “NO” on their request.
“If you do not obey, you can walk another 2 hours,” was the only answer they got.
“Do you like that?”

Bobby, always being the cock of the walk, even did see the seriousness in the Ladies eyes and could not bring out more than a soft: “Mpf.”

I looked wonderingly to Cindy and my new friend Colet and asked: “Do the boys…?”
More was not necessary.

Colet said: “The boys, but also the grown man, do respect the Lady.
Nobody can explain why. Some say while she is the image of the strong-minded family-eldest, like we used to have in olden days.
Again others say, she is that old and respected, nobody knows better or different.”

I could not ask the next question, that still played through my head: ‘than why?’ while at that moment my friends waved me silent.

The lady went on: “We do have how many boys? Eighteen I counted in my memory. Are they all here?”
They were.

“All boys with their mother, are bonded to that mother with the ribbons of their apron, face to their mother.
Mothers who have more sons do seek another adult woman who want to do that for their younger sons. Than they are blind-folded.”

All was done in 5 minutes.
I had to keep my laughing: it was a very funny sight, those proud boys, nearly old enough to become a man, and make the choice between a life in the valley, or a life of adventuring, like their fathers lived, bounded like small children.

But somewhere also was the thought: this Lady does know precisely what she is doing, so I kept silent.

Now the big surprise for me came: Every woman did bring out her hand-mirror. Some were mirrors like I did know from my world, others were from a highly polished metal I could not identify, but it worked.

The Lady took out her basket a roll, that un-rolled had the image of a peaceful valley on it.
Suddenly I did know: Thát was why the lady had asked, if we were traveling by mirror.
She had to know, if she could be able to include us.

On a nod of the Lady, the first double pair mother/son stood before the image, the mother held the mirror between the image, and then those two and stepped through, followed orderly by all others. Including us, after we had seen, how they used this image.

Only after the mirrors were put away safe, as was the roll of the lady, the scarf of the boys were taken of.

There was some babbling and wondering among the boys, some silent questions, ignored by women, and only Bobby dared to say: “So now we have experienced a part of the Ladies secrets. How wonderful! I wonder if we ever will know that too?”

But that was answered with a chorus of all woman, saying: “NO!” so loudly and steadfast, he probably never dared asking again.
The loudly spoken chorus had another effect: all the people, who did live in this valley and had not noticed us before, had done so now.
So they came to see what was going on.

The people did not come our way, but went to a big barn at the end of the valley, more like a big roof between the mountains, and that is were we went too, to meet them.

The women had been here before, that was obvious, for they all laid down their back-packs or baskets on one side, took something to sit on and placed it in front of a big chair, where the Lady sat down, as was it her right to do so.

Everybody thirsty took a drink from the bucket besides the well, and soon the great planning could begin.
For the moment, all Cindy and me could do, was sitting on one side and watch things develop.

Here would be planned some things, we in our recklessness, could not have planned our self.
But now, seeing this organized group determined people, with the elder women in majority, we realized: this could not have done hálf as good by us.
We were lucky, to be part of this.


Chapter 14: the big meeting.

The Lady was welcomed by some man, who acted like I had seen at home on television: such a bow made the folk of a country to their Queen.
I looked around, and now all stood up, and did the same. But the lady waved it away.

She said: “We have more important things to do now.
The time of the double-prophecy is upon us.
I still have my red-curly-hair, but a young red-curly-girl, together with a friend from the other world came to us, while the things foretold are now going on.
Cindy, please tell all people, what you did tell us, when you arrived.”

Cindy went to stand beside the Lady, and told all, what she had told before, and how we planned this travel. Therefore everybody knew, what they had to know.

Than the lady said: “This is Lea. She is from the other world, were our man since long times go adventuring. Will you please tell, what we were talking about, when we had breakfast, the first day you were here?”

I hardly had the courage, but I had promised.
Cindy whispered in my ear: “Act, like it is a ‘speaking-turn’ for history at school, and you will manage for sure!”

Her confidence made me laugh and all the nerves were gone at once.
I started with the moment, that made Cindy appear, leaving out the mirror part.
I told too, about what Cindy and me learned together, but that you also know, so I will not repeat it here.

But than I went on: “I myself do live in a happy neighborhood, like Homeland is, where Cindy lives. We have a nice, peaceful surrounding.
But I am not allowed to watch all, that is on television, or to go to a place outside my normal neighborhood.
That is, while my parents do say, it is not safe for me to do so.

Outside there do happen strange, and dangerous things. Cindy and me have talked about that, and later the Lady and us to.
We two call, what is going on, ‘the other side of friendship’.
The Lady and a lot of people in your world call it ‘gangs’.“

A murmur went round, and I looked at the Lady and Cindy with my brows up and softly asked: “Can I tell more?”

The Lady waved for silence again, so I could go on.
“These ‘gangs’ do things we do not like in our world.
Cindy told me, that most of them were started with Otherlanders, who could not find their normal places to have adventures, like in the olden days.
Our world is to full now, to have old fashioned pirates.
They only exist in films nowadays.”

With the word television there was a buzzing started, now it went louder.
So I did think of what my teacher told, when I had my “speaking-turn’ about the windmills in Europe.
When my classmates did not understand, they went buzzing and murmuring like here, so I had to explain better.

“Television is a little box in almost each house, with a glass in front. When you turn it on, you all can see the same image.
About what is going on in the world or a story-play to amuse people.
Here you do not have that at home.
We also go to something big like this,” and I waved around the barn to give my words a seize, “we do call a cinema, and there an adventure is played out on a big screen, so you can watch with a lot of people together.
We call that a film. Better I cannot tell.”

Cindy confirmed by nodding and she said: “I have seen that, but luckily we do not have this. People look more to that, than to each other.
They believe more, what they see there, than what is true, and told by their elders.”

I took over: “I have seen a few things about gangs: they act just like the pirates in the fairy-tale books: this is my world and everybody has to do what I want, otherwise…
And they seem to have guns, and kill people and…”
That became to much for me, so I started crying.

“I do not want to live in such a world.
I do like the safe world of Mother Goose and other fairy tale tellers.
I do know, time does not stop there.
I do know we have nice modern things too, like my computer and auto’s, what for you are cars that drive without a horse or donkey before it.

But I also want to live in a safe world, where guns do not make the rules.
I do like a world where we share what we have, where people all have food and…”

I could not go on, so my friend Cindy took over, after the Lady nodded her to do so.

She went further: “after I fled my own Homeland for the gang of Otherlanders, who did hear I was a red-curly-haired-girl, I landed at Lea’s place.”

She looked at the boys and went on:“You do know how. Luckily Lea is one who does not only see us, but is honest and adventurer enough, to want to help us.
Not in the way the gangs are adventuring, or the pirates were, more an honest struggle to set things right.

So now you do know all, we ourselves know. We have to fight on different places, and on different worlds, for both are linked and the wrongs are linked too.”

That sentence triggered something in my mind. As of older habit, I did bit my thumb-nail, thinking more concentrated.
That action did make me feel as in a boll of a fish, silent, but able to see what was out side. But not distracted, until my thinking was done.
The others seemed to see, there were important things going on in my mind: nobody disturbed me.

The moment my thumb came out again, also a: “I’ve got it, may be” came out of my mouth. “Is there only this world, where the Homelanders and the Otherlanders do connect with? Or are there other worlds they go to, too?”

I did look full expectation to the Lady, and the others. Everybody looked around.
Here were not the people, who could answer this question, we thought. But we were wrong.

It was Bobby again, the cock of the walk, who had been sneaking around the men, where he was not allowed, too.
Before they had seen him, and shooed away with the remark, that he was not 12 yet, and had to wait, he had heard of a new world.

He told everybody: “They were speaking of a world, where they could go to with one of those new contraptions: a rocket. Then they discovered me and I was send away. Is that what you are looking for?”

I answered, before even realizing, it was impolite to speak first: “But as far as I do know, we only did send rockets to the moon, and planets without oxygen. Can Homelanders or Otherlanders live on a world without air to breathe?”

An enormous laughing went around.
Everybody had realized something I did not.

I was in the land, where everything paper lived. Paper does not have to breathe to live. For me, everybody looked like all real life persons in my own world. But this was another world.
In this world was so much more possible. And that they did tell me.

Colet wiped the tears out of her eyes and finally found her voice back: “Remember, Lea, we are in the land, were all the simple, true things come from, and are saved for eternity.
So over here, it is not impossible to imagine, the men did hide in that rocket, in some snippets of paper, to find another world to adventure.
There only once has to have been one person, to find a gateway for us.

If that man was clever enough to take a “man’s” gateway with him, he could come back home. What do you know about “man’s” gate-ways?”she boldly asked.

The Lady looked well, listened well and nodded: “Bobby, do you remember who were in that meeting? Are you sure, you do not want to go adventuring yourself, when you are 12 years old? And I do mean, very, very sure?”

Bobby bowed his head.
“I was not sure until shortly. But last week one of the men came back from adventuring, and he was in a mess.
In bandages, a hole in his hand, and very much in pain.
Even Grandmother could not ease that pain, and was very angry with him.
Then I thought, I was not sure, that adventuring was worth so much pain, and misery.
I also thought, why did the other men never tell about that, when the boys are around?

Why they do hide that from us. It did make me think again.
I like some adventuring in a way, nobody has harm from.
Like the stories from earlier days, where we had to find a dragon, or go and free a princes, and the worst you got was a gash with a sword or a knife, that mostly healed well.

But I cannot tell who was at that meeting, I did promise!
But I can promise here something else: if there is a way, we can bring back the old, harmless way of adventuring, I will stay with that.”

He did blush, like it was very hard to tell this. And it probably was.
One of the men, who did live in the valley, came toward him.

“Bobby, you will not remember me, I am you uncle Bob, the one your father named you after. That was while we were twins, Rob, your dad, and Bob, me.
But we went with Daddy to play adventures in the southern desert of America, with wild horses, and Indians.

And he did believe those soldiers, who said that Indians were not real people, while I found a medicines-man, Wise Feather, who told me their stories, and their traditions.

He also told me, what he learned from their olden times, the respect for nature.
We became good friends.
He did teach me their ways, so full of nature and goodness.

Therefore we came to stand against each other, brother against brother, Rob and me.
I went to the Lady, while our grandmother said to me, she was the wisest.
The Lady did bring me here, and showed me my gate, so I could go on visiting my friend, when I want to. Now I do live here in peace.

And sometimes I do visit Wise Feather, my old friend, who is very old now.
That is another possibility for you.
But not if you stay in the city, and things in that world are not solved.
Than this might be an option.
Please, think well about what side you will choose.” After that he stepped back.

The Lady stood up and said: “so let us do a couple of things: each one needs a sleeping place, but that is not so much a problem.
We have to make some decisions, about what we are going to do about the men, who stayed behind.
Not all of them are bad.
We are able to bring some of them back to normal adventures like Bob and Bobby describe. They are good and full of wisdom.

And last, but not least, we have to decide, what to do about the ones that bring havoc to another world, the world of Lea.

That world we visit so long already, we do feel a responsibility for, too.
To do that, we have need of more people like Lea, or like in earlier days, writers like the Grimm Brothers, or Mister Anderson.
Fairy tales are always told, and when I do hear Lea tell, they nowadays use televi..”

“Television, my Lady” I helped.

She smiled and went on: “Than we do search for writers, who do write for television or the other things, so slowly people do learn their norms again.
But now we need rest. We did a lot, tomorrow we go on.”

So we all did look for a place and there were formed groups, which each had other sleeping places. But that we would find out tomorrow, after a good night sleep.

© Nan van Daalen, All rights reserved.