The Great Mystery. Travis Ph.D. Slone
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She twisted her ankle as her body spun awkwardly during the fall. The sudden pain caused her to grasp at her lower leg. She closed her eyes and began to cry.
Amir had been walking slightly ahead, but immediately turned back and knelt down to comfort his injured friend. It didn’t take him long to notice the swelling in her ankle.
He calmed her fears by assuring her that he could help, and then gathered some nearby twigs and tall grass. Using only the raw materials, he quickly fashioned a brace, and used it to stabilize the injured joint. While it didn’t do much for the pain, it would enable her to walk without risking further injury.
He also found a thick, freshly fallen branch in the vicinity, perhaps from the previous night’s storm. He broke off a piece about three feet in length, and gave it to Eva for balance and support.
Grabbing hold of Amir’s arm with one hand, and the stick with the other, Eva slowly stood up and thanked him for his support. She could not help but wonder how the young boy knew so much about first aid, but she was glad he was there.
“Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I’m not sure what I would have done without you.”
“Well, for starters,” Amir replied with a smile, “you would not be lost in the woods.”
Chapter 5
Amir and Eva moved carefully through the forest, searching for anything familiar. The calm that had existed all morning suddenly dissolved, and the tropical wind began to accelerate. The towering forest canopy above began to sway back and forth. Surrounding trees creaked and moaned as their bending trunks were tested against the force of the tremendous gusts.
Eva and Amir looked up, wondering if another storm might be blowing in, but quickly realized that the sky above was crystal clear. Like standing in the eye of a hurricane, the calm where they stood was somehow out of place with the forces at work all around. They stared in wonder at the chaos surrounding them, while their clothes dangled motionless from their bodies.
When the mysterious event finally passed, an unexplainable sight appeared. With wide-eyed astonishment, their mouths fell open. Distracted by the moving treetops, the landscape had somehow been rearranged, and an unfamiliar path now appeared before them.
The finely constructed cobblestone path meandered into the woods to their left, and to their right. The weathered grey stones were arranged like puzzle pieces and held together with sandy mortar. Short green grass covered the ground between the path’s raised edges and the nearby wood line.
Being much wider and more advanced than the primitive trails from which they had come, this path seemed to have been built for heavy traffic. Clearly, this was a much-anticipated sight for the lost young couple. Nevertheless, it was an unlikely way back to the village.
Something was amiss, but they held on to the hope that this new path would somehow lead them home.
Chapter 6
Eva knelt down to admire the craftsmanship and time required to construct such a beautiful and sturdy path. To her, it was a work of art. She ran her hand over its smooth stones as she dreamed of what the nearby town must be like. What a village it must be to have the luxury of time, she thought. Surely, much time, and a certain necessity, had inspired their people to build the stone path.
Where Eva had come from, such time and reason were nonexistent. Her family had spent the majority of their time hunting and gathering food, yet they were unable to store large reserves without spoilage. Such difficulties seemed to have been mastered by these mysterious new neighbors.
Having been sidetracked by their recent discovery, Eva had not noticed the tiny stream flowing in the woods on the other side of the path. She turned to Amir, hoping he would have the answers.
“So…what should we do now?” she asked.
“Well,” replied Amir, “if you’re asking me, I say we keep searching for the familiar paths from which we came. I’ve never seen this path before, and I don’t know where it goes.”
Eva was confident that his advice was sound, but could not resist the temptation of finding something new and exciting. Surely, she thought, there must be a village of some kind nearby.
In her mind, she rationalized why the new way was better. She felt that her simple life had little to offer, and that this fancy path would bring exciting adventure and meaning to her life. All she needed to do was convince Amir.
“We’re certainly nowhere near the other paths,” persuaded Eva. “We’ve been walking east for hours, and would have crossed one of them by now.”
Amir replied, “Perhaps we should go back. We must have walked over it in the storm last night without noticing.”
“No way,” argued Eva. “If we go back, we’ll be stuck out here again tonight. We should just take this path wherever it goes. You aren’t going to leave me out here alone, are you?”
She could see him thinking. Knowing she needed to pounce on the opportunity to bargain, she decided to offer a deal.
“I’ll tell you what,” she said, “you can choose which way we go. Shall we go left or right?”
A puzzled look crossed Amir’s face, letting Eva know that he was at least considering the option. He knew for certain that they would not find their paths before dark.
“Perhaps survival should be our primary consideration,” he said. “We need food, water, and shelter, and will most likely find it on this well made path.”
Strangely, Eva noticed, while the path seemed to have been made to endure heavy traffic, there was currently no one in sight. While it picked her curiosity, she wasn’t sure what to make of it, and had no reason to be suspicious.
“Fine then,” he said. “Let’s get going. We’ll go right.”
Amir was careful to observe the surroundings and not move out in haste. In doing so, he noticed the small stream in the woods on the other side of the path. The water flowed to the right, and Amir saw this as a clue. He explained his rationale to Eva.
“We’ll follow the way of the rain,” he said, “and make our way back home. Your village is by the water and so is mine. This stream surely feeds into a larger river. Perhaps even the one on which our villages lie, if not, we can ask for food and directions along the way.”
Eva was convinced and ready to go, so they stepped out onto the path together. Each glanced briefly to the left, and then followed the path in the direction of the flowing stream. As far as their eyes could see, they were alone in the forest. However, as they turned to head right, a frighteningly familiar voice whispered to them from behind. The eerie sound crept through the woods, causing them to stop in their tracks.
With shared emotion, they glanced briefly into one another’s eyes as they turned to see who it was. But to their surprise, no one was there.
They became uncomfortable by the mere thought of the mysterious voice, and goose bumps arose on their skin.
They paused to consider the possibilities. Could this be the same voice who had tricked them the day before? they thought. And if so, why was it calling to them?
Knowing the results of listening to the wind the first time, they would not make the same mistake again. After hearing nothing for a few moments, they looked back at one another, wondering if it had only been their imagination. But as soon as their fears had dissipated, it spoke to them yet again.
“Wait,” whispered the voice. “Do not run.”
This time, as they looked in the direction of the voice, an elderly woman appeared on the path, calmly walking toward them from the distance. Eva and Amir stared in awe at the unique characteristics of the woman. They had never seen her before, or anyone like her for that matter. Surely, she had not come from either of their villages.
Then, with a chilling likeness to the voice