The Dark Dark Woods

Life in the Woods: Chapter Five

Once or twice a year, Pa would take trips to the towns. 

Dreadful but necessary, he called them, and the only means he had to trade for supplies. As hard as the family worked, there were a few things the woods couldn't provide, and though Pa hated to admit it, he needed the aid of the towns from time to time. 

He'd announce his journey a few days before leaving and on the morning of his departure the family would see him off with long embraces and teary eyes. Ma never voiced her concerns to her children, but Credence could recognize her worry in the way she wrung her apron or dallied in her chores. Ma was scared for Pa during his lonely trek through the woods, and even more anxious for the wickedness of the towns.

But Pa was strong, they all knew, and after days of silent torment he would return home with his old horse loaded with sacks.

Sometimes he brought a small gift for the family.

On one such occasion he waited until after dinner, then plopped the strangest looking bulb of thorns down onto the table. With some difficulty he cut the skin off, and the family watched in fascination as the prickly outer layer gave way to wet, yellow meat. Pa cut that meat into several chunks and stabbed one with his fork, bringing it to Ma's lips. He smiled as Ma carefully chewed, and the children watched in total fascination, waiting for her judgment.

Ma's mouth curled into a smile and a low, satisfied moan escaped her lips.

"Tangy, but sweet. Hard, yet chewy."

"Like an apple, Ma?" Josiah's eyes were wide.

"Not quite. I don't think I've ever tasted something like this before."

Pa prepared two more forks and held them out to his children.

"Dare to try?" 

He knew the answer before he asked, and watched with no small amusement as Credence and Josiah pounced at their bite. Once they all had a share, they sat back and relished in the wonder of the strange taste.

"It makes my tongue feel ticklish," Josiah said. "Is it magic food, Pa?"

Pa shook his head.

"It's called 'pineapple'. Ordinary fruit, but from far away, even further than the towns."

"Pineapple," Josiah echoed. He tried to imagine what kind of land could produce such a strange, delicious thing. He thought it looked nothing like a pine tree, but perhaps it did slightly resemble a very grumpy apple. 

"There's further than the towns?" Josiah asked.

"Much further. There's lands across great big oceans and—"

"What's oceans?"

Pa's face grew puzzled.

"Have I never told you what oceans are?" The children shook their heads. "Well...oceans are very large bodies of water."

"Like a pond?"

"Much deeper and much wider. You could take a boat on an ocean and ride in it for months without seeing any land. All of the water is made of salt, so you cannot drink it. Strange fish and mermaids live there."

Josiah tried to imagine nothing but water around him for months, but found the image far too vexing. He convinced himself he would never see an ocean, and his life would be better for it.

Those were the good trips Pa took to the towns, but unfortunately, they didn't always end so happily. 

Sometimes, instead of foreign fruit, Pa returned with cuts and bruises. 

These trips always brought him home in a foul mood, and he would never speak of what had happened to him. The only consistency in his travels was that, good or bad, Pa came home assured of one thing:

Living in the woods was the best choice he'd ever made for his family.