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A short story from, "Before the Word".
"All we need to do is make a chain, add as many links as possible, and live our lives with a few moments of joy mixed in. It doesn't seem difficult, but somehow the chain always gets broken and the links get lost. There's always someone or something that tears people apart and I'm tired of it."
Kayla was complaining to Lydia about the division and separation among people and continued, "It's as if some entity has cast a spell on us and won't set us free. Isn't it a big enough challenge to survive physically within nature without being in want for one thing or another?"
The two were gathering the wash from the clothes rope and Lydia had to smile. She could do little else than use her imagination to figure out what Kayla was complaining about. Lydia had never been to the Village of Heath or for that matter, very far from Riverton itself. Hers was nothing like the crowded village Kayla was describing. She remained listening as Kayla continued her rant.
"I know that a great many stories have been created by those that wish to separate and spread fear among us, but these stories are false. They don't take us anywhere and they don't teach us a thing. Do we have to settle for the myth that life began at the exact moment when mankind committed the initial sin of ignoring the will of a god he himself had invented? Must we feel guilty for living on earth when that guilt is born from the imagination of others—a mere belief?
"We come to this world whole and innocent, but in the larger villages, that innocence is quickly destroyed and replaced with guilt and fear. The vicars drilled these things into us from an early age. They said, "Be good and atone for your sins." What earthly sin had we had we ever committed to deserve that? We were just children"
Kayla paused her rant for a moment and said, "Sorry to go on like this, but I often feel that we are only seeing a small part of life and there is more for us to see. It couldn't have been this way in the beginning. I wonder how it became this way--what started it all?"
Lydia looked at Kayla and said, "I'm just listening without thought as I do the chores, I don't mind. The ways of life in the larger villages is interesting and I do feel there are many mysteries that remain hidden to us. I have talked with the elders of our village and they spoke of a time long ago before the creation of words."
"They told me that words are a product of time itself. Before the spoken word, humans interacted with thoughts and feelings and had no trouble. Many that I talked with viewed the use of words as a trap; a poor substitute for the way it was before words were introduced.
"Time and words are the two things that took away the abilities that humans once had." I found their words to be quite frightful and confusing so I stopped questioning and thinking about such things."
While carrying the baskets of clothes to the shelter, they decided to sit on the porch and continue their conversation. The children would return shortly from the meadow and it would be time for supper.
