Eben sat at the campfire and was deep in thoughts. "How long has it been since I've last been here? Was it six or seven years ago? Sometime after graduating my studies. Biology. I was here with my parents and sister. We were celebrating my graduation, here, in this serene place, in the middle of nature, away from the stench and turmoil of the city. I always loved being in the middle of nature, surrounded by all its magic. Yes, although I am somewhat of a scientist, I always thought nature to be more magical than scientific.
I remember my parents being proud. And most of all happy. So was my older sister, although she tried her best not showing it. What a strange relation the two of us had... Shortly after we returned to the city, I booked a flight to Fukuoka. I remember being anxious to start my trip around Asia, trying to find out all I could about different plants and their use in natural medicine. I wanted to come back and expand the knowledge of my family and help them grow their little business they were so fond of: a small pharmacy chain build around herb extracts.
Now I'm back. A little bit sooner than I have expected and after a tiresome flight, of which I am not exalted anymore. That's the reason I chose to drive all the way here from the city and not join the others on the plane. And coming one day earlier also gave me a chance to tidy a little up, since the families trailer park wasn't used in the last couple years. Jan will pick them up at dawn from the small airfield about 40 km away and drive them here. This reminds me I probably should try and get some sleep. I'll have to start early tomorrow and it's going to be a long day. Two weeks actually. And I am really tired. Both physically and mentally."
It had been some rough time with a long flight, preparing and attending to the funeral, examining the search results the hiring company presented, making decisions, phone calls and not to forget, the long drive here. There was no time for mourning, either.
With a clear night sky and lying close to the fire, Eben decided to sleep outside. Although the trailers looked comfy – and he remembered them to be so – he just could not go inside and spend the night there. Never slept alone in one of them. Actually he never came here alone. Always with his parents and sister. But they will not come here anymore and some years have passed since the last time. "Strange how old places trigger old, long lost memories of those you hold dear", he thought.
He slipped inside the sleeping bag and closed his eyes. Slowly his tense muscles started to relax and his thoughts vanished. All he could hear was the fire burning and the comforting breeze in the high tree canopy. Maybe the half empty bottle of Irish Whiskey tossed on the ground near him also helped the slumber finally settling in.
"In about 30 minutes the others should arrive, so I'll better get a fire burning and make some coffee". He started collecting firewood, some small branches and dry leaf litter. He hated using modern stuff to make a fire. Matches was as far as he'd always gone in this matter. He filled the small cauldron with water from the near spring, mounted it above the fire and waited for the water to boil. He heard a distant engine roar, closing in. Getting louder and louder until Eben could finally catch eyesight of the hired car Jan was driving from the airfield. Seconds later, the car stopped and the guests started coming out of the van, one by one.
Eben walked towards them and said: "Welcome and well met travelers. I'm the culprit of your journey and I'll be your host for the next two weeks...or at least I'll try" he said, his lips slightly turning into a smile. "Hope everyone brought sleeping bags, comfy cloths and shoes and a backpack. Oh, an some good mood and the desire for a fresh start, I've read your files and know you all need it. That's all you'll be needing. The nature will provide all the rest. I'm into herbs, berries and the like and Tim specialized in long range combat in the mandatory army service, years ago. I had also some practice shooting with the bow in my childhood. Hope we remember it, I brought fathers old bow for hunting. And I have also stocked up on some canned food, just to be on the safe side. Unpack your bags in the trailers and meet me up by the fireplace in twenty minutes, there's fresh coffee and some breakfast awaiting. Feel free to choose were you are going to sleep and most important, feel at home. Only trailer you should not settle in is the one farthest to the left...It has my family's belongings and it's where I am going to sleep if the weather should be changing." "Or if I can bring myself to spend the nights in there", he whispered to himself.
Eben sat in front of the still burning fire and poured himself a cup of coffee. The smell of fresh coffee filled the air and his lungs. He grabbed a pack of cigarettes and without even realizing it, he started to smoke. The buzzing sound of insects was soon covered by distant voices, which he choose to ignore for now and enjoy his beverage, his smoke and not lastly, the fresh and somewhat humid morning air of a beautiful fall morning. He loved the fall, the way nature changed in color preparing for the winter to come. The suns was starting to show itself above the canopy and it's warmth caressed his skin, also generating a not very dense mist cover above the still humid grass.He managed to stretch and let off a content sigh before some of the group members started taking places around the fire place.
Everyone ready for our first morning session? Please get a cup of coffee and feel free to snatch a sandwich out of the basket, to keep you going before we manage to get a decent meal" Eben said. One by one the guests – soon to be his employees – took a cup of coffee and found a comfortable place to sit, not before snatching something to eat. This gave Eben enough time to watch everyone closely and to remember the information the recruiting agency included in their briefing – which was not much to be honest - but enough for him to pick THEM out of a handful of people applying for a position.
First to his left there was Nina. A tall – about 1,78m tall - , slender woman, in her early 30th, long dark brown hair falling beneath her shoulders, small dark eyes, sharp as a knife, and a somewhat pointy nose. He recollected her working for a bank previously, before some events in her life forced her to move in with her parents and her younger sister again. That is when she decided to leave the bank and search for a smaller business with a more relaxed working schedule. At a first glance, she did not strike Eben as the "team-player" kind of women, but he was hopeful that would change, considering past events in her life.
Next to her there sat Tim. He was also somewhat tall for a man, also in his early 30th. He held his dark brown hair cut short. His eyes reflected a calmness Eben had rarely seen before. The perfect balance for the fiery Nina. And for himself, from time to time. He also did seem to enjoy being out in the wild as much as Eben did. With his marketing and web knowledge from previous places he worked in, he was the one Eben chose to build a homepage for the small business and take care of the online ordering system.
In front of Eben, sat Laura. She was not taller than 1,60 m, long dark-brown hair, robust body and most of the time posing a cheery face that brought a smile on Eben's face as he was looking at her. She could be the one cheering them up in difficult times. Eben shook his smile off, trying to recollect what little knowledge was known to him about her. She worked for a big company with subsidiaries across Europe, being the managing assistant of the CEO. After some years of working on a tight and strict schedule, she decided to take a more relaxed approach to life and work, get over the loss of her husband and take care of her aging parents. So here she was.
Eben turned his head to the right, where Jan was happily munching at a third sandwich. He was in his early 40th, around 1,70 m high, somewhat plump, with short brown hair and wearing glasses. He had his own small business in the home improvement, but it did not go as planned. So he decided to let it be and join Eben, which he had known about 2 years previous to this.
Once everyone sat around the fireplace, Eben took a last sip of coffee and addressed the others: "First, let me officially welcome you to both my family's business and also to this site. Second, I'm glad you all could join and agreed to a first meeting outdoors, away from the life we all lived before, away from the city stress and turmoil. Speaking of which: hopefully everyone followed instructions and turned their cellphones off. This two weeks should be spent in communion with the surrounding nature, focusing on planning further steps and getting to know each other.
Last but not least, the reason we all joined here. As you already know, my parents and my older sister used to take care of the business. I was traveling throughout Asia for the last couple years. I had to return and take over after the accident. In short: my parents visited Belgium for a possible new shop site, together with my sister and the main staff. A thunderstorm took their charter down during the return flight. Which brings you all in place. I suppose you had enough time during the flight and the drive here to get somewhat acquainted.
Regard the time spent here as a workshop, a team building, but also as vacation. Once we are all back in town, there is a company to manage. When we will not be discussing strategies, we will enjoy ourselves, get to know each other better and learn to depend on the others. For that we will be fishing, hunting, herb gathering, extracting potions, cooking, building camp fires and what not."
Eben continued to lay out the plan for the following days whilst everyone finished breakfast and got ready for the first walk in the woods in search for medicinal herbs. Eben considered that even though everyone of them had their own tasks, working for that kind of a business required them all to have at least some basic knowledge about plants and herbs and mostly their potential use.
The following days passed on smoothly, creating bonds, gathering knowledge, making plans, enjoying nature, cooking different kinds of potions in the small cauldron Eben brought for this specific purpose, and being together. There were few minor incidents, not really worth mentioning, considering they just got together for the first time and in unfamiliar surroundings (well, except Eben, that is). Some small arguments here and there (mostly between Nina and Tim, of which Tim managed to get out due to his calm nature, mostly ignoring her to the point the storm passed), some strong argument regarding cooking between Jan and Laura, some arguments between Jan and Eben due to him constantly joking even while they were discussing important matters or between everyone in turn and Jan because he was almost always late to join the others.
Finally, the last evening of what one would call a successful trip, arrived. They were all sitting around the fire, enjoying some linden tea they gathered and dried up, and to which they added a good shot of some alcoholic liquor Eben brewed a couple days before, after the wild berries gathered during the first walk had fermented.
Everyone seemed to be in good mood. The activities of the last two weeks really helped them become closer. And now they all knew what would expect them should they accept to sign the contracts they were handed out by Eben. Every one of them signed and handed the papers out to Jan.
Since it got pretty late, Eben extinguished the fire, all said their good nights and went to sleep. Eben decided to enter his parent's trailer to spend the night there for the first time in a very long time. Once he opened the door, memories started to flood his mind, memories both happy and sad, taking him through a roller coaster of feelings and making it very hard to fall asleep. And once he managed to fall asleep, dreams kept crawling out of the deepness of his subconscious, not allowing him to get the rest he needed.
"Rise and shine princess. Time to join the others for breakfast. I warmed up the rabbit stew we did not finish last night and also made fresh coffee". Tim stood in the doorway and smiled.
"Princess my ass, I feel more like a raped troll...did not get much sleep last night...give me a moment, I'll be outside in five". It had been a stressful night. Again. Dreams of storms, lightning and planes. Not the kind you want to experience again and again and again...So Eben was tired, very tired.
Tim left the trailer and Eben remained silent lying on his back, dozing off for what seemed to be an eternity. A reality check with the watch revealed only three minutes had passed. He raised himself up, stretched his sorrow back and neck and got dressed. When he walked outside, the others were merrily enjoying the stew Tim prepared. Eben joined them and started to dig in. Eben may not have been rested, but he for sure was hungry.
After breakfast, they packed everything, made sure to lock the trailers and got into the cars. Eben started the engine and was ready to drive but the other car was silent. One quick look revealed the drivers place was empty. Jan was missing.
"Where the heck is he? He is late. Again", Eben asked.
So they all waited. After some minutes had passed, Eben grabbed his cigarettes and got out of the car. He leaned against the car and enjoyed the view. The forest behind them had already turned beautiful gold and red colors, the air got chillier and some clouds gathered in the far. Tim, who decided to drive with him, joined him shortly. Halfway through the cigarettes, Jan joined them at the cars with a relaxed expression. Nothing ever seemed to trouble this guy.
"Jan, did you already process breakfast? Good for you, now get in the car and get us to the airport, god damn it!" Laura said in a not very friendly tone. She was already slightly irritated by the delay.
"I see dark clouds on the horizon. Not literally, all can see those. Glad I decided to ride along with you." Was what Tim whispered to Eben. They both laughed and got in the already running car.