Behavior Report 17

Dearest Love,

When I looked out from our perch on the leaf, I believe the first words to leave my mouth were, “My God,” because that is the only being to have the power to create something so stunning. All the pain of crawling through the small tunnel was worth it. Dealing with Alek’s smell and strange mannerism was worth it. Almost everything I experienced – the pain, the fear, the devastation – led me to a moment I will never forget.  I felt as if I stood on a cloud near the gates of Heaven overlooking the Garden of Eden.

Trees numbering in the thousands dotted the landscape like a densely populated city. Birds of relative size flew between and over and underneath the branches. Nearby, a squirrel as big as a city bus scratched up a trunk. I saw the backs of the wolves that attacked us as they trotted off into the shadows looking for another prey.

The most radiant blue sky arched overhead. The only stain upon the blue was the sharp mountain peak that I saw from the bridge.

“I saw that mountain before I entered the forest,” I said while pointing.

“Yes. It does stand out.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s so …”

“I like to come up here to think.” Alek said while sitting on the leaf.  “This is one of the safest places in the forest. Very safe. Yes. Take a seat. Enjoy the view.”

“Do you mind telling me how you got here?”

“Only if you answer the same question for me.”

“Okay,” I laughed. “I’ll ask a question then you can ask one. We can go back and forth.” He agreed and I continued. “So, how did you end up here?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have a good answer for you. It’s been so long that I don’t quite remember how I got here. It feels as if I’ve always been here. You could say that I was born here. Yes. That’s what people say. They say that I’m the forest’s protector because I’ve always been here.” Alek turned his head about as if he were looking for something or someone. “No one is here now, but that is what they say. Now. You. How did you find yourself here in my forest?”

I sat on the opposite side of the leaf, upwind, to free myself of the burden of Alek’s smell. Once settled, I gave him a brief retelling from my time on the shore until I met him. I overlooked some of the worst parts and talked more about the letters and the promises. He asked what they included, and I recited everything on the list, finishing up with George and his promise of treasure to his father.

“A treasure?” Alek practically yelled. “You have come to the right place. The best place. There is a treasure within your view.” He pointed. “You will find treasure, great treasure, on that mountain.”

I sarcastically replied, “In a great cave guarded by a dragon?”

“No.” Alek replied not picking up on my sarcasm. “There is a castle there. You can’t see it from here but believe me when I say that there is a castle on the other side. And it’s guarded by many many Hun. Lots of Hun. More Hun than you have ever seen before.” He clapped and laughed and spoke in a giddy tone. “That is your quest! That is why you are here. You are here to go to that mountain and collect the treasure from the Hun!”

Alek’s response felt insincere. To him, it was all just a story, a hero’s tale. Using words like “castle” and “quest” and “treasure” seemed to compare my mission to that of a knight. In his odd mind, my life was merely a part of some exposition that gave him some purpose.

“I will take you there,” he said. “I know the safest route.”

“I appreciate your offer, but I still plan to leave–”

“Very safe. Most safe.” He wasn’t listening to me. “It will only take two days. Maybe three. Actually, yes, three. The mountain is not as close as you think. Danger lies everywhere. I know. I know the safe places. Very safe places.”

I didn’t know how to respond, but my silence only urged him to continue.

“You can help me along the way. Only a couple things. I help you. You help me. It is perfect. We take turns, just like our questions! I will be the most gracious host. You will not want anything. The forest will provide. I will provide. The only payment I request is from your company. Good company.”

He smiled, but unlike his previous smiles, one of his eyebrows arched upward. I should have known at that moment that something was not right. But as quickly as the eyebrow arched up, it fell, and he appeared to carry on the conversation in his head. There was a plan forming in his mind. His facial gestures twisted and turned as he thought passed through. Smiles and smirks and sinister frowns told me of a future where I needed to be extra vigilant.

Between the heavenly view beyond and the hellish company nearby, I wondered how I found myself in such a predicament in the span of a few hours. I convinced myself that life was full of such contradictions. The service provides for our every need like food, water, and shelter, yet places us in deathly situations. I never felt closer to the boys in my squad after I read their letters, but they had to die to become so. If Alek was a larger man, I may not have felt as comfortable as I did with him on the leaf. I knew that I could easily push his boney frame from the leaf if he tried anything.

As night began to nestle into the forest and the birds and animals took refuge in their homes, Alek’s conversations turned more introspective. I had asked every question I could think of about the forest by that time and was thankful for the change.

“We’ll sleep here tonight. Very safe up here. There’s nothing that can reach us here. You don’t roll in your sleep, do you?” Alek laughed and then laid down with his hands behind his head for a pillow. “I came here after leaving my home to help fight the Hun. But all we did was sit in trenches, deep trenches. There was a field that separated us from the Hun and in the middle, there was a tree. A big, great tree. Nothing like this one, but still big. There were no leaves left. It was all alone in a field of mud. Very alone. The bottom of its trunk was full of bullet holes.” Alek took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. “It was full of bullet holes because everyone used it to set their sight for the distance. I remember thinking, ‘What has this poor thing done to deserve this treatment?’” His voice strained as if it was in pain. “Then, one day, the Hun used it to sight in their mortars. I watched them send a mortar over and over until they hit the tree and blew it up. It was so unnecessary. It was evil.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Why does that stick with me when all the other things did not? There were so many worse things. Much worse.”

“I understand. It’s probably because the tree was helpless. You could have been–”

“Everything led to this forest. Everything. This is my home. It’s perfect. A perfect home. Did you know that I got here because my entire platoon was ambushed? Did I tell you that? Every one of them died. They left me. I only lived because I ran.” He started sniffling but it was too dark to see if he was crying. “I ran and ran and ran. And then, somehow, I found myself here. I feel safe here. I find all that I need.

“If you listen closely, very closely, you can hear the wood talking to you. You must listen. Most don’t do that. I listened. I began to understand it. When that happens, it warns you of danger. You hear things that tell you to go in a different direction. You see creatures before they see you. I’ll tell you this. Those wolves that chased after us are nowhere near as dangerous as some other things. There are worse creatures. Much worse. Can you guess which are the worst?”

I began to speak but Alek continued before I could finish.

“Men. They come into the wood only to torment it. They knock down trees, burn branches, and do all sorts of unbelievably horrible things, terrible things. Sometimes, they do it just for fun.

“They don’t realize what is here. The spirits. The lives. Everything here is dependent upon one another. Everything! When those men come into this wood and destroy something, I am the one who must bring back balance. I am the one who must clean up the mess. I am the one who must appease the wood. Me!”

Alek sat up and pounded his fists on the leaf. His breathing was labored. His voice was hoarse.  “I didn’t ask to take on this role. No. I didn’t want it, but the forest chose me. I am its protector.”

My Love, in that moment, I knew that I needed to find a way to leave him. Alek was insane and I would only last in his good graces for a period of time before he saw me as a problem. I had to calm him down, so I asked, “Before the war, your war, what did you do?”

Alek was silent for a few moments. I wasn’t sure if he was calming himself down or attempting to remember. He cleared his throat. “I don’t. I don’t remember.” He said with a calm voice. “It was a long time ago. Very long time.”

“Where did you live back in the States?” My efforts were working. I had to keep them up.

“That I remember. California.”

“How did they choose California?”

“My father, a good man, heard that there were a lot of jobs there. He used his skills to work at several farms outside of Los Angeles, picking lemons, cauliflower, tomatoes, and grapes. Whatever he could do, he did. People loved him. He as a great man.”

“What about your mother?”

“She took care of me. She was wonderful too. One of the best. Everyone loved her.”

“So, you had a good childhood,” I said.

“Yes. The very best.” Alek laid back down, grunting the entire time. “The very best. I’m tired, my friend. Let us sleep. Sleep will be good tonight.”

Above and between the leaves, stars appeared. I laced my fingers behind my head and looked up. The air was crisp and cool, perfect for sleeping. Alek snored within minutes.

The forest was alive with all sorts of sounds. Crickets chirped and other insects ground out repetitive noises that sounded like a car engine failing to turn over. Deep within the bowels of the forest rumbled a strange sounding growl. I couldn’t tell where it came from or what it could have been, but I knew that it would not be pleasant were I to cross paths with it.

I don’t remember how long I stayed up. The starry sky was beautifully luminous with thousands of twinkling diamonds scattered across. I picked one of the brightest stars and made a wish. ‘Please let me get back home safe.’ After that, I hunkered into the leaf and fell asleep.

I awoke the next morning to a buzzing sound that filled the forest. Alek was already awake, standing further out along the branch, and shielding his eyes from the morning sun.

“Is that a bee?” I said, picturing a bumble bee, the size of a halftrack, flying around looking to drink the nectar from a flower as big as the Empire State Building. “Sounds pretty large if it is.”

“No. Not everything is huge.”

I caught some movement between the leaves to our right. Far up in the sky, a Kraut plane casually flew in a direction from right to left. It was levelled off and simply cruising.

“This is not good,” Alek said. “Not good.” He ventured further out on the branch. “Oh no, this is not good.”

“Are you worried they’ll see us?” I sat up and then joined him on the branch.

“No.”

“Then what is the problem?”

“Balance.”

“What?”

“Just watch. Watch and follow them to where they land.”

I was confused. Nothing about the plane’s movement suggested anything that would have them land, especially into a forest. “I don’t think they are thinking about landing.”

“No, they are not. But they will.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just watch.” 

When the plane was about halfway across our window to the forest, the trees below it began to move. Leaves shook slowly back and forth as a mountain of sharp, pointed rock and grass and dirt rose from a plume of dust.

“Oh my god.”

The stones moved strangely as if they were alive and unfolding. Pieces extended from larger pieces.

“What is that?”

Everything moved silently until, like the Fourth of July when fireworks exploded in the sky before the sound reaches us, a massive roll of thunder rumbled through the forest. Our branch even shook, giving credence to the massive size and scale of the moving stones.

From the stones came two appendages that formed into arms. A head arose from the main mound. Two eyes lit up with a molten fire from deep inside. Dust and bits of rock fell from the creature.

The Kraut plane must have noticed the creature because its wings fluttered side to side as if the pilot jumped at the controls after seeing the creature. Its engine revved up and the plane started to climb for safety.

Once fully formed, the mountain’s right hand slapped its chest and ripped off a piece of stone. Then, it reached back in a throwing motion and flung the rock at the Kraut plane. The first toss missed, and the mountain gathered another stone from its chest again. Its second throw scored a direct hit. The poor Kraut’s plane wrapped around the rock and immediately followed its trajectory back to the ground.

I was speechless.

The engine stopped and the two objects quietly dropped. Eventually, we heard branches cracking and a crash after the sound made its way to us.

“We must go now!” Alek said.