7 Passing

I had mounted another crest in the forest and came to a softly sloping vista ahead. It was a bright green patchwork of regular rows of vegetables. I'd passed some farmland on my travels but none to this extent, it seemed to stretch as far as the horizon.

As I adjusted my eyes to the bright sunlight I could see people bent over, tending these strips. I smelt their presence and became wary. The sounds of their chatter and the screams of their offspring rolled up the valley toward me. It frightened me. 

Like a wolf I slunk back into the safety of the forest and sat, thinking what to do next. There were too many people to avoid, it was too far to get through in one night's walking, even at speed. I back-tracked and checked the margins of the forest in hunt of a way through. I had grown wary of people and like a lone wolf, separated from its pack, I had no intentions of being caught.

I stopped.

Off in the distance I heard sounds of a forge. The rhythmical clanging of the hammers, the smell of the fire, the hot metal and the quenching pit. I heard a rough voice yelling orders and I sensed the rapidity of the responses. The sweat of the men assaulted my nose and from this I discerned two people.

I vaguely recalled a past memory of my father's forge, the sounds, the smells, the warmth, the safety.  I headed towards the sounds not knowing what I would find.

The smithy was on the edge of the village and well away from the crops. It was nestled low with trees surrounding it. I scouted round and squatting low, watched them as they worked. There was the workshop on my left and to the right a small home where I presumed he lived. Washing hung on the line as did the bedding, airing in the sun. Looking at the bed material I guessed there was a wife but no children. Meat was hanging on hooks drying in the sun and vegetables were piled up to the edge of their veranda.

There was a continuous stream of people, mainly women, coming up the hill with empty baskets. The woman of the house came out and sold them their orders cutting off pieces of meat to suit their requests. 

It was clearly a happy business and the couple appeared to be doing well. The wife chatted with the women as they exchanged gossip and news. Some stopped and had tea with the lady, continuing their conversations.

Yes, it was a happy place, I felt no threat here.

My stomach growled but I had learned to be wary. Like an animal I skirted round until I could watch the men in the forge; far enough away so as to feel safe, close enough to see clearly.

Chen Cong wielded his hammer on the white metal. He noticed something moving out in the bushes and with a sideways glance he saw a small, crouching person. He couldn't make out if it was a girl or a boy but it was clear from its looks that it had been living rough for a long time. He carried on with his work as if he'd seen nothing. 

The knife was taking shape and he plunged it into the fire, "look lively, pump those bellows, get this hot again. I'll never complete the orders at this rate!" Cong stepped away and wiping his face with a cloth he took a moment to look at the child? He couldn't tell what sex it was but whichever it was it was small, lithe and very dark. The hair was surprisingly clean and combed into a half ponytail, much like young boys would wear but something told him this wasn't a boy. He/she noticed him staring and went to retreat into the forest undergrowth, "she moves like an animal, like a wolf," he muttered to himself, "who, or should I say, what is she? He? And where has this little one come from? If it could talk, what would it tell us about its life I wonder?"

He wanted to go over and tell her/him not to worry,  not to be scared but he had seen many a wolf to know that would only send them away.

He turned back to the fire. "I'll get Hua to put out some food later, see if its taken" he muttered, and with that he went back to his work.

"Well! Is the knife ready to be worked? Come on lad, put your back into it! Push the bellows, don't flirt with them!"

I had seen the man step out of the forge and was ready to run. He wiped his face and looked straight at me. I froze. He looked quizzical as if trying to answer many questions which formed in his mind. He made a move in my direction and I was just about to turn and leave when he backed away and returned to the hearth. Shouting at the boy on the bellows I crouched back down and continued to watch.

He didn't acknowledge me again and at the end of the day's work he cleaned up and went inside. Smells came out of their kitchen and my stomach growled once more.

Some time later, his wife came out with a bowl filled with rich smelling food, and another piled high with rice. Placing it on the very edge of the veranda, she turned and went back inside. The lights at the front of the house disappeared and I slowly approached the bowls. It smelt so good. There was a bun too. I scurried away to the safety of the forest edge and ate the food. It was luxurious indeed. I don't remember ever having a meal cooked for me. I was so very grateful. I didn't remember rice either, that was new to me and the bun, oh, so so, so sweet, so filling.

I cleaned both bowls and returned them with a sprig of spruce I had brought from higher up the slopes (a good source of antiseptic) and a large bamboo shoot I had picked for use in my soups. I felt this was fair exchange. Bowing towards their door, I left the forge and went into the forest to make camp for the night.

I slept well. My stomach was full and I felt safe; no wolves howled around here.

Hua turned to her husband and smiled, "the food has gone, and its a girl. She's taken it off to eat somewhere. Have you any idea who she is? Where she's come from? She looks underweight but surprisingly clean when you look at the clothes she's in. I'll put some out for her tomorrow.....if she stays.....and at least she can have something better to travel in.?"

Hua look quizzical at Cong. She'd not be able to have children, a miscarriage had robed her of that chance. She and Cong worked well together and took in orphans from time to time. It filled a void in Hua's heart even if it was temporary until relatives came to claim them.

"Do you think anyone will come and claim her?" Hua said with a hopeful plea in her voice. "If she wants to, could she stay?" The sad eyes and the soft voice broke Cong's heart, "if she stays Hua, if she stays, but she is pretty feral. She moves like a wolf and has that look in her eye of complete mistrust of human kind. I suspect she's been alone for a long time, we would be new to her in every way possible." He looked at the sad tears in his wife's eyes and held her gently, "Hua, if she wants to stay, then she can stay, but this has to be her choice, we cannot force it." He looked at Hua and she nodded. The tears then flowed. The tears of lost motherhood, of lost family.