“Dad's taking me to the forest,” explained Jason. “After we hike for a bit, I'll go out on my own to meditate.”
“Why do you want to meditate in the middle of nowhere?” asked Jesse, wondering what in the world his mother was thinking when she put him on the bus.
“Because it is the way of my people…I mean our people.”
“And when is this vision quest over?” Jesse asked, hoping to hear that it would be in as short a time as possible.
Jason shrugged. “I have no way of knowing. I have to wait for an animal to come to me in a vision. The animal will be a sign from my ancestors. Usually, the animal brings a message, a message that only I will be able to interpret. It will be a sign that I am now ready to take my place as an adult within our community.”
Jesse couldn't believe his ears. He was missing part of his holiday for this? He tried to keep his disappointment from showing. Why would his mother agree to allow him to participate in such a ridiculous ritual? He turned and looked out the back window of the pickup, but the gas station was nowhere to be seen.
“This is a time when the men of the family gather to support a young family member,” Uncle Matthew explained. “Jason will meditate on his own while we camp nearby and wait with him. During that time, we can talk, hunt, fish and get to know each other. When Jason returns from his vision quest, we will then celebrate his coming-of-age. Your dad would have brought you here himself, if he had been able. So, Jesse…what do you think?”
“Great,” Jesse managed to say with little enthusiasm.
Jason looked to his father again, and Jesse could tell by his expression that he was disappointed. Uncle Matthew gave a slight shrug as he turned off the highway and onto a spine-wrenching dirt road.
Jesse didn't like being so miserable in front of his dad's family, but he couldn't help it. No wonder Mom wouldn't tell him why he was coming up here. He thought he was going to his uncle's home. At least his uncle would have a television or, better yet, a video game system that he could use to pass the time. Now he was going to be stuck in a dangerous, uninhabited forest with two people he didn't even know.
That was when he noticed the polished rifle behind the driver's seat. Jesse gulped. He decided that if he somehow made it back to his home alive, he would never talk to his mother again.
Two
After a twenty minute, bone-jarring drive, the pickup finally came to a stop in front of a massive stump that signalled the end of the muddy path. The word “road” was simply too good a name for what now lay behind them. Uncle Matthew helped Jesse secure his pack and sleeping bag onto his back with several tightenings of the straps. He then grabbed a smaller pack, his rifle and sleeping bag for himself. Lastly, he tossed a compass to Jesse. Jesse had never seen a compass before. He turned it upside down and gently shook it, hoping it might do something exciting. It didn't. His actions only caused a small metal needle to spin round and round inside a clear liquid.
“Hang the compass around your neck,” his uncle ordered. “It might just save your life.”
Jesse slung the compass round his neck and tucked it into his shirt. He was surprised to see Jason walk away from the truck with only the clothes on his back. His uncle waved them forward, and together they marched off into the pristine forest.
Jesse was swallowed by an enormous, emerald chamber brimming with sensations. The air on the forest floor was still, but a restless summer breeze rustled the leafy canopy to a rhythm like distant ocean swells. His nose twitched at the musky, fresh scent of ferns and fallen foliage. The surrounding stillness was punctuated by the machine gun chattering of squirrels and the almost painful whining of invisible cicadas.
Something in the air encouraged Jesse to breathe more deeply, and with each breath, Jesse's thoughts became more alert. The forest wasn't anything like what he had expected. He stumbled along at a jogging pace in order to keep up with the long, sure strides of his uncle and cousin.
After several minutes, Jesse realized that his uncle had forgotten a cooler full of food for the trip. He looked over his shoulder. The truck was now well out of sight. The forest had enveloped them completely.
Jesse ran to catch up. “Uncle Matthew?”
His uncle slowed his pace. “Yes, Jesse?”
“I think we forgot the food in the truck.”
Uncle Matthew eyed Jesse. “Why carry food when we are surrounded by it?”
Jesse glanced around. “I don't see any food. I just see trees.”
“That's because you are not really seeing the forest for what it is. Once you become part of this world, it is then easy to find ways to stay alive. But that only comes with understanding and an open mind. I think you'll soon see what I mean.”
Jesse rubbed his rumbling middle. “Are you saying we have no food?”
His uncle smiled. “We have plenty of food. It's just not in our backpacks.”
“Then what about dinner?” Jesse protested. He noticed the flashes of sun through the leaves were moving slowly towards the horizon.
“We'll have dinner after we get to the other side of that ridge,” he replied, pointing to an approaching hill.
“Great,” thought Jesse, “I'm going to have a bark and worm sandwich for dinner.” He would have made a run for the road that led back to the gas station if he had had any clue as to where the road might be located. They were not following a path. Everything looked the same to him. He pulled out the compass and stared at the swinging needle. Nowhere on the plastic surface was there a word marked “road”.
“Useless piece of junk,” Jesse grumbled. “How could it ever save my life?”
He shoved the compass back into his shirt. He decided not to think about his growling stomach by changing the topic.
“Uncle Matthew, I don't see a path. How do you know where we're going?”
Uncle Matthew paused and looked around the majestic forest. “I grew up in these woods, Jesse. I know almost every hill, every creek and every trail by heart. This is what you would call my backyard. In fact, when we were kids, your dad and I often played in these woods for hours. We would also help your grandfather take guests on hunting and fishing trips, just like I do today.”
“Dad walked through these woods too?” whispered Jesse.
He nodded. “I often feel your father among these trees and animals. The memories of us together here are so strong. This is where I come on those days when I miss your father. And with you here now, well, I know he's smiling on both of us. He wanted you to experience what he experienced as a child.”
His father was here? Jesse's skin felt cold, even in the humid, still air. The questions he had held back for so long now flooded his mind. He fought with all of his strength to hold back the tears he could feel quickly building in his eyes. Jesse had to ask.
“Why did you wait so long to see me?”
His uncle sighed. “Your dad wanted it that way. He saw too many children like you being torn between the two different worlds of their parents and not really fitting into either one. Your mother was born and raised in the city. She had her family there to help look after you, and that is where she was happy. Your dad felt you would learn your place in their world and be happy, too. He didn't want you to come here until you were at an age when you would appreciate his culture, and hopefully not reject it. He wanted you to be twelve before you took your first trip to Six Islands.”
Jesse was beginning to understand, but he still felt hurt. “Didn't you want to see me before now?”
Uncle Matthew put a hand on Jesse's shoulder. “I loved my brother very much, Jesse. And yes, I wanted to visit you and