The Forest

The Forest - Part 1

Rites of Passage Story:

The Forest

Part 1 – Leaving

Once upon a time, there was a young boy named Cain, bordering on the edge of childhood and adulthood. Always bullied and teased as weak, he wanted to be strong and brave like the other boys. Thus, he approached the toughest and boldest group of boys in the lonely, isolated village.

Cain wanted to join them, and to prove that he had what it took to be one of them; he agreed to take the Journey of Courage, which in other words was a trip to the town. He was to go through the dreaded woods, filled with horrifying, scary and demonic creatures that they did not even have the imagination for or so the other boys said. Then through to the town, and as proof, bring back a treat for the group. The whole trip would take him about a week, but he did not mind. Neither did his parents, of course, because they had known the path as safe.

The boys had told him, that each one of them in the group had already taken the Journey of Courage, and even though they were chased and haunted by horrifying, scary and demonic creatures, they persisted and returned to the village. One of them did fail though, and that one was said to have been eaten by the creatures in the woods; he had entered, never to return again.

Such utter rubbish, Cain believed word for word, and with those beliefs in mind, he took a hesitating step away from the village. All the other boys stood at the edge of the village, watching him. They were snickering, taunting him, daring him to give up and come back before he reached the woods.

Theresa, Cain’s best friend since he was only a toddler, came running up to him and pulled on the straps of his bag to stop him.

“Stop,” she panted, “You cannot go!”

Cain turned to face her, and saw her face was red and her dress was splattered with the dirt that had turned to mud from the rain that very morning.

“I have to, Theresa. I will be back in about a week,” he reached towards her hand that was still clinging onto his bag strap, “Now, let go.”

“Please… You cannot…” Theresa said, with tears leaking out her eyes and making fresh marks on her face, but Cain just shook his head, “Then… then take this.”

She took his hand and placed a small velvet drawstring bag in his hand.

“What is it?” Cain asked as she wiped away her tears.

“Open it, when you feel that you are in dire danger, but otherwise do not open it, or you will waste it,” Theresa clung onto his hand and tears started to leak out again, “Promise me.”

“I promise you,” He promised, with a look of sadness on his face.

He felt guilty for making her so upset, for making her cry like this. Pulling her into him, he whispered into her ear.

“I promise you, I will come back, and when I come back, I will no longer be a boy, but a man. So, please, wait for me.”

Theresa nodded eagerly, her tears pouring out freely now. Cain smiled and turned away. He placed the small bag deep into a pocket for safekeeping as he took another step forward. His legs began to move more smoothly now, having had someone more familiar send him off.

“Hey, chicken legs!” one of the older boys, Edmund, yelled from the edge of the village, “You better come back! We’re all looking forward to the little treat you’re bringing back!”

Edmund was grinning, although inside he was worried that all those threats the boys had thrown at Cain were real. In Edmund’s eyes, Cain was a good kid, and had become like a younger brother to him. He knew that he was already much too old to stay with this group of immature boys and so, by the time Cain returned, Edmund would be trying to start up a life of his own as an adult. Edmund hoped that when that happened, Cain would join him instead of the group, and live like an adult.

“You hear me, chicken legs?!” Edmund yelled again, laughing slightly.

Cain gave a small laugh, and raised a hand to wave, but did not turn back. He just walked on, his feet breaking the small dead twigs and leaves on the ground.