Free Like The Wind

The Wind Whisperer

For a long time, the village of Oakville was a relatively peaceful place. The people of the village (sometimes called Oakers) lived a simple and modest life. And a foreigner entering the village would quickly notice the vast fields of grass that covered the village, houses built with mud bricks, roofs made from hay, and each house had its own little garden. All year round, the village had a warm environment, and in the winter, it could be freezing.

But since Florence Clark, a member of the village, brought her son to the village, life has never been the same. From the time when Joshua was a little boy, there were already signs that he would grow up to be a troubled young man. He was known to steal from food vendors, often accompanied by his group of friends. Florence could not control her son, and their small age gap, brought by the fact that she had him when she was a little girl, made them seem more like siblings than mother and son.

Joshua also had no father figure, his real father having been executed years ago after murdering a young woman. As he grew up, so did his crimes. By the age of 14, he had become well-known in the village. His crimes were not just limited to stealing from vendors but also included egging houses, mugging vulnerable villagers, and even setting fire to villagers' farms. One of these fires even caused a whole house to burn, leaving a family homeless.

One day, however, the villagers finally had had enough. They all gathered near an old oak tree and discussed what to do with the boy.

"He must be banished from this village, and so must his mother," said one villager.

"No, the mother cannot be blamed for her son's actions," said the village elder.

"Let him work in the fields of this dry land, that way he'll finally learn to work," said another villager.

"No! We should burn his house! Let them build everything from scratch!" Another villager interjected, this one seemingly angrier than the last.

The meeting would soon become contentious as they couldn't come to a decision. The village elder tried to calm everyone down, reminding them that they were a peaceful village where everyone listened to each other's opinions.

Finally, after a while, the villagers agreed on a decision and decided to send Joshua to a youth reformation camp outside the village.

When the news reached Florence, she was not against the idea. But knowing that her son would not agree, she gave the village men permission to take her son away. The villagers trusted Florence's promise that she wouldn't tell Joshua that the men were looking for him.

Soon night fell on the village, and in the darkness of the village lane the village men went to work with what they had been given. They marched to the Clark house, where Florence lay awake on the straw bed where they slept, while Joshua slept beside her. The village men knocked on the door and Florence opened it. She led them inside, where the teenager slept, and when the village men woke him, Joshua looked for his mother, only to find that she wasn't there.

They led the boy away from the house, his wrists bound with rough rope. They sat down by the old oak tree and waited for dawn.

As soon as dawn broke, the men of the village set about taking the teenager to the rehabilitation camp, which was hours away from the village. One of the villagers, who had many horses, gave them to the men.

They soon left the village and headed straight for the camp. It was a short but difficult journey for Joshua, who'd even tried to persuade the men to let him escape. And after a while they'd arrived.

The camp, with its long wooden gate and tall trees surrounding it, offered no escape to anyone who tried. After explaining the situation to the gatekeeper, the village men left the teenager at the gate.