Life Is A Journey

[Kahn]

There once was a village surrounded at all sides by forest. This village was named Poniz, and as far as the villagers were concerned, it had always been there and always would be. How it got there and why was unimportant, all that mattered to them was to do the jobs they were born to do, like their parents, and grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. back until a time before anyone alive had any knowledge.

It happened that on the day this story began, the woodcutter’s son was climbing a tree. The importance of this boy of seven years so as to merit a history recording his life would not become apparent for several years. Nonetheless, this story must start at his point, for it was the simple action of tree-clibing that would change his life.

“Abec, stop it, you proved your point!” cried a girl from far below. For Abec Hygufodi (the boy’s name) was now half-way up the tree and every child in Poniz was watching him from the ground.

They had all been playing at the point where the cob-stoned streets met the barrier of trees that was the forest. This was the regular place they would meet to have fun while their parents worked.

Abec was known by all the village to be a wild child. It was no strange sight to see Abec in any corner of Poniz up to some mischief or other. Still, despite the many accidents he caused and pranks he pulled, he was generally liked by the children of Poniz, and the adults were fond of his simple intelligence and “cuteness” and so cut him much slack. Anyway, it would often be said among them, who could blame it? Imagine a man raising a boy alone!

Earlier that day, Abec had been sitting in his room alone. His father had forbidden him from playing outside that day after he had made Old Man Egnaro trip by running by him too fast. Having nothing to do, he stared longingly out the window.

In the distance he could see the childrem gathering together by the edge of the forrest, by the river. He could distinctly make Ananab, Egnaro’s grandson, apparently telling some sort of joke. His blood boiled. He hated Ananab more than anyone in the world. He was just so cocky. He couldn’t stand not being the center of attention, and in their minds they were mortal enemies.

Abec decided to throw caution to the wind and climbed out the window. His father was still out working and he would be back before him. He marched down to the the riverbank. As he approached them, he could hear Ananab shout,

“Hey, look who’s coming! Hey Abec, what’s the matter, can’t find any old men to try and kill?”

“Aw, leave him alone ‘Nanab,” said another boy. “Abec’s alright.”

“Hi there, Abeg,” said little Ciristra Lilabout, who had never quite mastered the pronunciation of his. She smiled and beamed at him. Abec backed away from her, slightly afraid.

Ignoring everyone else, he jumped into the water, not bothering to take off his clothes.

“Come on let’s get out of here,” said Nanab. “I don’t want to be in this water not that that filthy Abec has been in it.” Nanab and his gang of friends left the river and walked off out of Abec’s sight.

“Hey, let’s have a swimming race, upstream to that rock,” Abec shouted to the kids who remained.

“Oh, uh, I dunno Abec, my mother told me you shouldn’t swim upstream.”

“Come on, what’s the harm!”

But Abec found he was talking to no one, for everyone had now left the water. Getting out and shaking the water out of his hair, he found them at gathered around a tree, looking up at Nanab and his friends, who were each sitting on a different branch.

“Wow, they’re up so high!” said five-year-old Ekrid Okoy.

“Oh please! I climbed that tree when I was four-years-old!”

“While why don’t you go and climb it instead of just speaking of it, Hygufodi!” Nanab shouted down.

“I do not want to! I’ve climbed that tree more times then I can count, it’s boring. In fact…” he said with sad realization, “I’ve climbed all these trees.” Somehow, knowing that he had climbed all the trees in Poniz, a vow he had made to himself two summers ago, troubled him greatly.

“…Well, all except that one.” Everyone turned to see what Abec was pointing at and gasped. It was The Giant, the largest tree that could be seen in Poniz for several generations. It over-shadowed all the other trees to a point that was ridiculous. “Actually, I think I will climb it.”

“HA!” screamed Nanab as he leapt down from the branch he was sitting on. “Like you could ever climb that! Nobody has ever climbed The Fiant and you certainly shant be the first.”

“I’ll show you!” said Abec. Though climbing this tree meant a lot more to him the one-upping Ananab. Everyone was watching the two of them now with the greatest interest.

“No, Abeg,” said Ciristra, “You can’ climb The Giant, you’ll kill yourselv!”

“Yeah,” someone else shouted. “Don’t do it, Abec!”

But Abec just pushed past them all, and sized The Giant up. All around him he could hear protests and whispers.

“He’s completely mad, you know it.”

“He’s always been a weirdo.”

“He’s just like that oddball father of his.”

“My mother warned me to stay away from that Hygufodi boy.”

Abec kissed his teeth at all of them. He dug his small fingers into the cracks of the bark and started to climb up.

[Kahn]

Chapter 2

Up and up he climbed, it seemed like an eternity to him, and yet he was still nowhere near the top. The branches only started very near the top, so all he had to hold on to was the runk of the tree. This was no easy task, and it took him half-an-hour to overpass the tree Nanab had climbed.

The children looked on, unable to take their eyes off him. Most of them look terrified. But who cares what they think, thought Abec, I know they’re my friends, but I am simply unlike them. Yhey were all content to live their lives exactly the same way everyday, but Abec needed more.

“Abec, get down from there, you proved your point!” he heard someone cry. It sounded like Salasi Godet, a ten-year-old annoying tell-tale.

It was fast approaching sunset. Salasi was terrified for Abec, but she couldn’t stop him, nobody could control him except his father. He should be arriving to his home by now, she thought, and ran away hurriedly.

Sure enough, she found Zuxo Hygufodi about to walk into his house, axe in hand, after a long days work. Within minutes Mr Hygufodi was running along with Salasi to The Giant, looking up at his only son.

There was now hardly any daylight left, and Abec reached his arm forward towards the lowest branch of the tree. By now he was very tired and decided to rest for a moment on this branch.

He looked onward, through the gaps of the leaves, and saw what he had come for. He could see farther then he had ever seen in his life. He saw the whole of the forrest in front of him, for miles and miles around. Still, he was slightly disappointed. He had hoped that at this great height he could see something beyond the forrest, but he could not. What everyone had told him must have been true, he thought miserably, there was nothing beyond the forrest.

Through blurry eyes he focused instead at the sun, now orange and half-hidden…somewhere beyond the trees. He smiled, and for the first time in his life truly appreciated the beauty of a sunset.

He decided he better get a move on if he wanted to reach the top before it was completely dark. He reached his arm out to a higher branch, confident that at this moment he could do anything. He made to pull himself upward, but in an instant the branch snapped and broke in half. In the confusion he slipped backward and only just managed to grab the branch he had been sitting on.

“ABEC!” he heard echoing beneath him. It was his father’s voice. He did not dare look down. He did not dare move at all. He was too scared even to scream.

His left hand held on the branch with all his might, but it was slipping quickly, His legs and right arm dangled stupidly in the air. It was now very dark. He needed to grab hold of something before this branch snapped as well. He felt around blindly, looking for another brach to balance himself on.

The fingers of his right hand could just feel a branch brushing against its tips. He had to move his body towards it, balance himself and get to the top. Slowly, carefully, he inched his fingers along the rough bark of this unseen tree-limb. In a sudden movement he tried to get his other hand up too this branch – but he miscalculated. His hand grabbed only empty air before it. His body fell forward and he lost the feeble grip he had had with the other hand.

His mind had gone blank. He was falling and that was all he knew. He closed his eyes and shrieked a long, unending shriek. He would die when he hit the ground, he would die, HE WOULD DIE!

…Only he didn’t die. He openned his eyes confused. He was in his father’s arms. His father had caught him! He started breathing very hard, his whole body was shaking and it felt like his heart would explode within his chest. All around him they looked just as horrified, and filled with such shocked relief at the last minute rescue. It was not just the children here now either. The adults had noticed the calamity and came to witness up-close. Even Old Man Egnaro was there, embracing his very shaken grandson.

“It’s all my fault,” cried Ananab, “I made him do it, I could have killed him!”

His father did not say a word, he only turned around, Abec still in his arms, and walked home. As they entered their kitchen, he put Abec down and pulled out a chair.

“Sit,” he said. Abec complied immediately, he had never seen his father so furious. “Now tell me Abec Pnem Hygufodi, what exactly were you thinking climbing up The Giant!”

“…I dunno…” he mumbled pathetically, was all he could manage. His father took the chair opposite him abd stared directly into his eyes.

“Well, try harder,” he said more calmly. “Please enlighten me as to why you would risk your live to climb a tree!”

“I guess I wasn’t thinking, papa,” he said, glancing at the table. He could not stand the intense gaze of his father.

“Don’t give me that Eccy,” he said. “I know you better than you might think, and I know that your mind is constantly full of ideas. They may be very stupid ideas sometimes, but they’re ideas all the same. Now tell me.”

“Why do you need to know papa, why!” He was not eager in divulging the secret to his father, or anyone else for that matter.

“Because, my son, you are the only person in the world left that I love, and I want to know what I can do to make sure I never lose you. It was one thing when you were getting into fights with that Egnaro boy, or coming home with scraped knees. But you could have died today, do you comprehend that? You could have died had I not been there! And I never want that to happen again. That’s why I want to know.”

Abec did not honestly know how to answer.

[Green Giant]

yep

[Green Giant]

yes madame

[[sage]]

That's not the end is it? Cause that's a good story. And that's a bad place to end it.

[Heroine of the Dragon]

NIIICE!!! It's a shame that you stopped posting... *leaves you marshmallows*

I would like to see what more you have if you come back to check this some time.

[BrandonTragedy]

It was good.

[Kahn]

Don't worry, it's not the end! In fact, this story is intended to follow the entire life of Abec Hygufodi!

Chapter 3

“Well?” said Mr. Hygufodi after a long silence.

“Well,” said Abec finally, “I guess, I guess I, uh, just wanted something new. I mean, I, I kind of realized today that I’ve climbed all the other trees in Poniz, and that kind of scared me. I am only seven years old, it scared me thinking there was nothing left for me, to think I had already seen everything that there was to see. I used to love exploring the village, but I know it all now. And, also, I hoped that if I climbed The Giant, I could see out beyond the forest.”

“Come now Eccy,” said his father, “You know there isn’t anything beyond the forest. Those are just nursery tales. All there is is Poniz, and I think it’s wonderful to know it so well.”

“I’m sorry papa, but you don’t know how I feel. You get to actually leave Poniz everyday! All we children are forbidden from going in there, and I don’t know any grown-ups that go.”

“That is because they are all smart enough to realize that there is nothing in the woods to go in for, except wolves. Believe me, it’s nothing special and if it were not my job I would never leave Poniz.”

“Yeah but that’s another problem I’ve got. You don’t like doing it but it’s your job because it was your father’s job, and someday it shall be my job too. I would love the chance of being in the forest everyday, but why can’t we choose our own jobs?”

“It’s tradition!”

“It’s boring. Everyone here does the same thing everyday, but they don’t care. I can’t do it! I’m so tired of being different. The kids all think I’m different because I always talk about playing new games. The adults think I’m different because I am not perfectly behaved! Everyone thinks you’re different because you’re a woodcutter. And I am the only child who does not have a mother!”

“Abec,” his father said at a lost for words. “Oh my son, you may not believe me but I understand. You know I am the only man my age that does not have a wife.”

“Tell me again. Tell me what happened to my mama.”

“I’ve told you so many times…”

“I know, but I just like hearing it.”

“Alright, you see, your mother was a wonderful person. She was the greatest, smartest, most beautiful woman I’d ever met. But sometimes life can’t be perfect. I suppose the world couldn’t stand it if both you and your mother lived. Your mother died giving life to you. Her perfect life was ended so that your perfect life could begin.”

“Thank you for telling me, papa,” Abec whispered. “I’m sorry. You are the not mad that I tried to climb The Giant, are you?”

“No, of course not,” he answered. He stood and embraced his child. “However…” he added fiercely. Abec swallowed hard. “I am angry that you were out there in the first place! Had I not forbidden you from leaving your room? I suppose that the orders of your father do not matter much to you. I had prepared a nice meal of ram’s meat and potatoes for us tonight. Oh well, I’m sure Mr. Tsikul’s pigs shall enjoy your share. Meanwhile, we have plenty of bread and water to make your supper.

“Oh!”

“Hush now or I shall send you to bed with no food at all!”

Abec ate some slices of bread with a glass of water quite miserably. As he ate his father looked at him and grinned. They really were so very much alike, in some ways. He was already thinking of something to cheer him up.

When Abec went to bed that night, he could not sleep. He simply laid there, eyes wide awake, and thought about everything that had happened that day. He loved his father so much. He could be strict, but he could not wish for a better parent.

He also thought about the fall. It had been without a doubt the most horrifying experience he knew. Still, he thought, even though he did not want to ever fall like that again, it had been exhilarating. It was simply the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him.

Very early the next morning, Abec was awoken from some vaguely amusing dream by the prodding of his father.

“Wake up my son.”

“Pa?” he yawned.

“Yes. Get up; put your clothes on, we’re going out.”


“Out? Where!”

“You shall see, child.”

Abec did as his father told him and was soon following him through the streets of Poniz. He had no idea where he was being taken. Nobody else in the village was up yet.

“Why did you stir me at this hour?” asked Abec. “I was having a wonderful dream.”

“Were you really, what about?

“I cannot remember, but I know I enjoyed it.”

His father laughed richly. “Well, we are here.” They were at the foot of a hill, but why, wondered Abec. “You wanted to see things from a great, no? Well, this isn’t quite as tall as The Giant, but it’s much safer, particularly with me here.”

They climbed up it, hand in hand, and sat on the summit. Abec looked down at the small square roofs of the village.

“Is this what you wanted to see Eccy?”

“Well, this is nice and everything but I still cannot see beyond the forest.”

“Are you sure? Look closely.”

“I can’t see anything.”

“You just don’t know what to look for. See there, that last line of trees, where the sky starts. That’s the horizon. But don’t you see anything?”

“Wait, yeah. There’s something blue there. It’s a different blue from the sky. What is that?”

“It is water. You know the river, well; it flows down through the forest and empties out into, hmm, how I describe it. A great pool of water: an ocean.

“So you’ve been there, that what was it, o-ren?”

“It’s called an ocean and yes.”

“You’ve left the forest! You lied to me? There is another place, isn’t there, tell me!”

“I’m sorry Abec. I…can’t answer that. Not now. Someday, I, I shouldn’t have mentioned this at all. Promise me that you’ll try to contain that curiosity of yours, don’t ask about the ocean, me or anybody, until the day you are ready. Trust me please. I love you.”

[[sage]]

Cool, glad you continued it.

Do you write a lot? Just curious.

[Kahn]

I try to write a lot. The problem is I can only do it in my spare time, which I don't get a lot of. Plus, I always have a million different story ideas in my head, and I tend to forget about something I've started to work on something new.

Why?

[[sage]]

I was just curious. It's an interesting story.

[Swordmaster Link]

Good to see you're still alive, Marth.

[Heroine of the Dragon]

Your story is intriguing and I am enjoying it lots!!

*leaves Kahn marshmallows*