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| Our kids discover something new (a toad) with friends in Ohio |
We made it to Missouri safe and sound! The kids continue to do amazingly well with all the travel and transitions, which we know is answered prayers. Our time in Ohio was very full and good. We had opportunities to share with various groups, including youth, women, the whole church and 4 jr. high classes at the public school.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
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| Us with Grammie and Grandad (Megan's grandparents) in Missouri |
This is a fictional short story written on the islands and inspired by the islands. As a team we were all challenged to look into something new and do some kind of project-- this short story was the result of that assignment.
THE GARDENER
by Megan
PART TWO
I don’t remember what day the Stranger came to the Community. When I first saw him I was startled and troubled--- where did he come from? It had never occurred to me that there might be people outside the Community.
When I asked my mother about it she replied rather nonchalantly, “Yes, there are communities all along the outside of the garden or so it’s said.... But be on your guard. There’s a reason he isn’t in his own community. Must have done something terrible or offended his elders or something. So, just stay clear of him. Most likely he’ll go on his way in a couple days.”
I took my mother’s warning to heart and kept my distance. It seemed like the whole Community was wary of the Stranger. But even though no one talked to him, he silently joined the life of the Community. He was there at the gathering each evening and sat outside the Community circle each night listening. I watched him. He seemed thoughtful and unassuming. I liked him though I still didn’t dare approach him.
He gave the fruit he gathered to the women who no longer had husbands. These women always struggled for food—waiting for the leftovers of others. The Stranger didn’t favor anyone in particular but he gave freely to them all. Soon the women were cooking for him and offering to wash or mend his clothes. They even set up a little room for him so he didn’t have to sleep in the clearing.
As the women welcomed him, so did the rest of the Community. The children started sitting around him while he ate and holding his hands as he walked places. The men started to notice what a good gatherer he was and the words of suspicion shifted to words of praise. The final moment of acceptance came one night when an elder invited him into the circle. Suddenly he was one of us. I wanted to know him but couldn’t think of a pretense for talking to him, so I did what I could and started to gather near him.
The days had grown hot. The nights were so short that we had to gather when it was still light out. No one seemed to talk about how much easier it was to gather in the light. You could see the fruit and navigate the brambles and vines so much easier. Most of the men just grumbled about how hard it was to stay hidden. I knew my positive observations would not be welcomed so I kept them to myself.
One evening I was covered in sweat and working hard to stay in the shadows when my attention was caught by the Stranger walking close by. I sat up and watched him. He stopped a few plants away and nonchalantly put his whole face into the light and picked a beautiful looking fruit sitting in the brightness. I looked away quickly, embarrassed and ashamed for him. I assumed he didn’t know I was there, but then he spoke to me.
“The light is wonderful isn’t it?” he said.
He looked at me with a smile, nodded the piece of fruit in my direction and disappeared into the Garden. I just sat there open-mouthed and speechless. I was stunned and confused. I knew better than to say anything to the Community, that would only bring me to the center of attention again and this time pitted against the Stranger, a full-grown man who was admired and respected.
So I didn’t tell anyone and instead decided to spy on him. I wanted to see what he did and what he talked about. He was a mystery that I had to unravel on my own. Was he a menace to the Community or something else?
He seemed to know that I was following him but he rarely called me out and always acted kindly toward me. He interacted with everyone in the Community—children, women, young men like me and even elders. He had a habit of interjecting provocative questions or statements into discussions—saying things about the light, the Garden or the Gardener. They were subtle and on the surface seemed harmless.
One night he spoke to his fellow gatherers as they lamented a meager harvest. “Too bad we only pick these small, bruised fruit. Have you ever seen the fruit further in—big, beautiful and ripe for the picking?”
Another time he had a small group of children around him. “Who made the garden full of yummy fruit just for you?” he asked pointing to a laughing child. “The Gardener,” she said with a smile.
I smiled too but something unsettled me. His tone was different from the elders or anyone else in the Community. In any one conversation it wasn’t always clear, but as the days went on I realized that the Stranger’s ideas went against everything the Community believed in. But he rarely expanded on his thoughts and so it never turned into a full-fledged debate. It just led to murmurings.
Small groups of people started discussing the things the Stranger was saying, but it was never brought up at the nightly fire and never in front of elders.
“Why don’t we trust the Gardener?” repeated one young man, “I mean the Stranger’s right. The Gardener provides us with the Garden—he gives us what we need. Why do we think he’s out to get us?”
“What about the light?” asked another, “do you think it’s possible it isn’t bad after all?”
These questions were both exciting and scary. Some didn’t want to hear them and quickly repeated the lectures from our education to stop discussion. Others, like me, didn’t know what to make of it all and wished someone would just explain it.
***********
The elders knew the Stranger had people talking about the Gardener and the light, but they never really listened to what was being said. They just assumed the same old teachings were being shared and solidified in the mind of the Community.
Then one day an elder heard his young child say happily, “One day I’m going to go see the Gardener myself!” Horrified and angry the elder grabbed the child and his wife, beating them and yelling until the source of these ideas was revealed. Afterwards he went directly to the rest of the elders.
The elders didn’t go out gathering that night. They stayed around the fire to discuss the situation.
When the rest of us came back from gathering the elders were grim-faced and had anger in their eyes. They waited until everyone was seated.
An elder rose and spoke from his place in the circle. “Stranger! Come and stand in the center of the circle.”
The Stranger’s face did not seem bothered or alarmed. He obeyed and stood before the Community. His eyes calmly followed the elder as the elder walked around him and addressed the Community.
“It has come to the elders’ attention that lies have seeped into our midst.” He paused and looked around the circle. “One person has been quietly undermining the security of the Community in the most horrifying ways. He has questioned the most basic truths that we repeat to our ourselves everyday.”
The elder turned his attention toward the Stranger. “Look at this man. We welcomed him into the Community even though he was a stranger. But now we see that he is a betrayer and a liar. He stands before the Community on trial for his offenses.”
For the first time the elder actually addressed the Stranger. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
I expected the Stranger to speak desperately, to plead for the Community’s mercy but he didn’t. Instead he spoke without great emotion and asked, “What exactly am I accused of doing or saying? Have I not helped the Community by gathering with you and bringing food to the needy? “
The whole Community turned its eyes to the elders awaiting their response. We didn’t know what to think about the Stranger and we waited for the elders to clarify how we should view him. The same elder responded, “Have you not been teaching the Community that the light is good and that people should go see the Gardener?”
“I have asked many questions,” was the Stranger’s only reply.
“But you do not deny that you have led the Community to believe lies with your questions?”
“I do not promote lies,” the Stranger responded firmly.
Another elder rose and took over questioning, “Stranger, do you believe that the Community lives at the mercy of the Gardener?”
“Yes,” answered the Stranger, “I believe the Community relies on the Gardener for all things.”
The elder continued, “Do you believe that we must avoid the Gardener’s notice and therefore the light at all costs?”
There was a pause. The Community held its breath.
“No, I do not,” replied the Stranger without emotion.
An instant murmur began among both the Community and elders in response to this statement.
“Have you no fear of the Gardner?” interjected an elder.
“Not like you do,” replied the Stranger.
The buzz of agitation continued and suddenly the Stranger added in a louder voice, “You speak of the Gardener but you do not know him.”
The noise only increased. “Who can know the Gardener?” people asked incredulously. I looked around the Community. I was scared. The tide was turning against the Stranger. In the midst of the growing chaos the Stranger looked at me. He held my gaze for the briefest instant but it comforted me.
Suddenly an elder cut through the din.
“Silence!” He approached the Stranger with a new look of suspicion. “Where do you come from Stranger?”
“I am not from here,” he said.
“This we know, but who sent you? Who told you to come here?”
There was another pause. I wondered what the elder was getting at when the Stranger responded.
“The Gardener,” he said.
The words hung in the air and time slowed. There was a collective gasp from the Community and the atmosphere quickly changed. The Community looked on the Stranger with a combination of fear and wonder. Could it be true? What did this mean? Could someone see the Gardener and live?
The same elder broke the silence. His face told us that he had anticipated this response. “Now we see clearly.” He turned to the elders. “Either this man is insane or he has truly been sent by the Gardner as the most cunning trap the Gardener has ever laid. Either way we must rid ourselves of this temptation.”
“Here, here,” answered the elders in agreement. The elder gestured to a small group of men, “Tie him.”
The elders must have been prepared for this outcome because the men had rope ready and without hesitation the Stranger was bound.
The Stranger spoke, “The Gardener wants to know you and to be known.” The elder quickly slapped him across the face. “Silence!” he yelled. Then he told the men, “Beat him and don’t let him speak again.”
The men began to beat the Stranger ruthlessly, hitting and kicking him again and again. The elder continued to speak to the Community.
“This has been a true test. The Gardener sent this man to lure us away from the truth in order to destroy us.” He kept his back to the brutal scene behind him. He gestured toward the Stranger. “Some of you may have looked up to this man but look at him now. He is our shame, the betrayer of the Community.”
The men backed away to reveal the Stranger, a motionless bloody heap on the ground. “What shall we do with him?” asked one of his beaters.
The elders briefly discussed. “His body will be given back to the Gardener,” they announced, “as a testament to the faithfulness of the Community. Whether he was sent from the Gardener or not, the Gardener’s wrath will surely come down upon him. Take him away and put him in the light.”
The men each took a limb and took the Stranger away.
The elder spoke one last time. “As for the rest of us, the morning light is close. Let us go to our homes and speak of this man no more.”
************* END PART TWO (2 of 3)
