In the woods- Chapter 5

Here’s a first draft (in fact, I think some of my notes are still in here) of a scene with Joe– he’s on the trail of a creature he’d seen the day before.  I wish the formatting would stay when I import from Word.  Oh well.

What say you?

P.s. Yes, I know about “it’s”…

- Chapter 5

Joe also had the clear feeling that someone… or something… was watching him, following him just out of sight, across the river.  And he would have been scared, but his surroundings were becoming more and more beautiful with every step.

In a short while, he came across something that was both unexpected, and perfectly suited to this place.  Stretching over the stream was a small, delicately curved bridge, made of cedar and bamboo, with a lattice overhead capped with copper, and some kind of vine woven through the lattice.  Joe marveled at the perfection of it’s construction, and of course he had to wonder

What the heck is that doing way out here?

He took a hesitant step onto the bridge, testing it’s strength.  It was a solid as stone, and Joe realized that whoever had built it had likely come back over the years to maintain it.  He looked up to get a closer look at the lattice, and saw that the copper end caps were all connected to each other by finely woven copper wire, meeting in the middle in endless knots, like the ones his parents would bring back from China when he was young.  Wrapped in the center of each knot was a different gemstone or crystal, some of which he recognized:  Lapis lazuli, jade, amethyst, fluorite, malachite, coral, hematite…  his father had a collection of rosaries from many different countries, and had taught Joe the significance and properties of many of the stones.

And then he noticed that the vines woven through the lattice weren’t just any vines, but

Wait…  are those…  Kiwis?

He reached up and grabbed one of the rough, hairy brown fruit.  It came free in his hand with hardly a pull.  It looked to be perfectly ripe.  Joe dug his thumb in the side, and the skin gave way to a lime-green flesh.  Joe touched his wet finger to his tongue and  (sound! Smell! Taste! Touch!)

Wow.  That’s the best darn kiwi I’ve ever had!

The perfect amount sweet, perfect amount of bite.  Joe stood in place and ate five more of the delicious fruit, looking at the reflections of the trees and sky.  Then he remembered where he was and what time it was.

Okay…  I’ll just walk a little ways more, but if I don’t see anything, I’m turning around and booking all the way home.  I think I’ll just make it for dinner.

He stepped off the far side of the bridge.  Even in the early dusk, the landscape was twinkling and alive.  The further he went, the more signs he saw of intervention by…  whoever.  There were crystal windchimes hanging in the trees; hand-blown multi-colored glass birdhouses and bird feeders; amethyst and rosequartz clusters half as tall as he was; large rocks and stumps carved into benches; even statues, covered in moss, but still recognizable to Joe, whose parents had shown him numerous examples:  Quan Yin, the Goddess of compassion; Buddha Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha; Saint Francis, Jesus.

There was no way Joe was going to turn around now.  This was all way too odd.

In another few steps, Joe came to a large, hand-carved gate.  The letters and pictures carved in clearly told a story, but Joe had no idea what it was.  It looked to be Chinese or Japanese, but Joe didn’t know for sure.

I just hope it isn’t some kind of death threat, ‘cause I’m going in.

Joe knew it wasn’t a death threat…  It felt too light there to be anything bad.  He pulled on the large crystal knob at the center of the gate and it swung easily open, as though it had just been built, though it looked ancient (don’t repeat things already know [old]).  When he stepped through to the other side, he found himself on the end of a long and somewhat narrow Zen rock garden.  It was perfectly still, cleanly run-through and shaped by a bamboo rake, with a naturally placed, moss-covered boulder here and there, most of it surrounded by black bamboo.  Joe could barely move.  He felt as though his very breath would ruin the effect.

I wonder if this is some kind of hidden monastery?  Maybe I’m the first one to find out about it!  Maybe…  Maybe they’ll take me on as a disciple!  Maybe…

Joe was easily lost in daydreams, and now was no exception.  He would be a man soon, right?  Why wait to follow the true path?  His grandparents would probably give their blessings.  Then he would be one of the chosen ones, and he could help bring peace and harmony to…

And then Joe was snapped from his fantasies by a familiar sight:  at the far end of the rock garden, the Shiny One was standing, staring straight at Joe; only now there was no hesitancy, no fear, no eagerness to run.  Joe knew this was a showdown of sorts, but he had no clue what to do.  Would the Shiny One pull out a laser gun?  Would energy beams shoot from it’s hands?  Would it be battle of mind-control?

Without warning, the Shiny One ran towards Joe at lightning speed.  The first thing Joe thought, quite absurdly, was

He better not mess up the sand.

But when he looked, he was flabbergasted:  Somehow, just like his hero Kwai Chang Cain from Kung Fu, the Shiny one was moving across the sand without barely leaving a mark…  and more than that, it was doing cartwheels and flips, almost like an Olympic gymnast.

Joe was way out of his league, and he knew it.  The one thing he remembered was something his mom had taught him long ago, something she had learned from one of her teachers in the East;

There is nothing more dangerous or more futile than fear.  We color our world with fear, and because of this, we experience great misfortune.  If only we are able to master our fear, we can master any situation, and even rearrange the fabric of reality.

So Joe did what he had been training himself to do since he was old enough to know better:  he stayed almost perfectly calm.  He tried to think compassionate thoughts towards his aggressor.  It was hard, considering he was just about to mess his pants, but he knew he had no other choice:  the Shiny one had him outflanked and outgunned on all fronts.  Joe stood his ground and waited for the inevitable.

The Shiny one closed the gap between them with astonishing speed, a quickness that Joe was almost sure was not of this earth, bounding over the boulders in it’s way, pushing off with the slightest touch into double twisting flips, landing backwards, rolling and boosting skyward again, until it was no more than ten feet from Joe.  With one last push, the Shiny one flew higher than ever, then landed solidly in front of Joe, feet planted, unmoving.

Joe simply did his best to keep his calm, which he did admirably, considering death was staring him right in the face.  And now he could almost see the face of…  The face of…

Wait a minute…

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