Beyond the Forest

Milo, Corin, and Finn were three boys, sitting on logs around a campfire at night in the forest. Finn was whittling a stick with his knife, Corin was poking a stick into the campfire, and Milo was gazing at the vast starlit sky, lost in thought.

“Do you guys ever wonder what lies outside the village?” asked Milo.

“Nope,” said Finn, without interrupting his whittle work.

Corin removed his stick from the fire and shook out the flame that had caught on the end. “I thought about it once or twice,” he said, “maybe even thrice. I don’t think there’s anything out there.”

“But how do you know?” said Milo.

“If there was something out there, the village would know about it by now,” said Corin.

“What if no one ever tried?” said Milo.

“What do you mean, ‘What if no one ever tried?’” said Corin.

“Do you know anyone who’s been beyond the forest?” said Milo.

“My uncle said he went far out into the forest,” said Corin, “and he only saw more forest.”

“Your uncle is a drunk and wanders into the forest all the time,” said Milo. “That doesn’t mean a thing.” Finn chuckled when he heard this, but Corin was none too pleased.

“My uncle’s not a drunk,” said Corin. “Take that back.”

“What are you talking about?” said Milo. “He’s always drinking.”

“No,” said Corin. “He doesn’t drink that much.”

“Yes, he does,” Finn chimed in.

Corin shot Finn a displeased look, but Finn was too focused on his whittling to notice. Corin turned his glare to Milo and said, “Well, your mom is having sex with Mr. Edric for bread.”

Milo stood up and said, “Shut up!”

Corin rose to match his challenge and said, “Make me!”

Finn paused his whittling, turned to his two friends, and said, “Ladies, you’re both pretty. Now stop your bitching.”

Milo and Corin both turned to Finn, as they burned with frustration. They were both getting ready to let out some of that frustration, but a rustling and moaning sound could be heard coming from the dark of the forest.

“What was that?” said Corin. Finn rose, standing in alert with the two other boys. The three of them stared into the darkness of the forest that the glow of the fire couldn’t reach, waiting for some kind of beast to spring out. Finn had his knife and whittled stick at the ready, Corin held his half-charred stick with two hands, and Milo clenched his sweaty hands into fists by his sides. The rustling and moaning grew louder, and the three boys were frozen with fear as a man stumbled out of the darkness.

“Uncle Seamus?” said Corin, lowering his stick. “What are you doing out here?”

Corin’s uncle Seamus tried to take a swig from the bottle in his hand, but there was no drink left to be drunk, so he threw the bottle aside and said in a raspy, drunken slur, “I’m looking for a woman. I can’t quite recall her name at the moment.” Scratching his beard, Uncle Seamus continued, “Was it Siobhan… or Clara… maybe Eileen?” Uncle Seamus started looking around him and called out, “Come on, Eileen! Where’s that woman at?”

Milo smirked at Corin and said, “I think he’s drunk.”

“He’s fine,” Corin snapped back. He turned to his uncle Seamus and said, “Uncle Seamus, I’m glad you’re here. Milo thinks there’s something beyond the forest, but I told him you’ve gone far into the forest and didn’t see a thing. Tell him.”

“That’s not what I said,” said Milo.

“What?” said Uncle Seamus, as if he just noticed Corin standing there. “Boy, I’m winded from walking all the way out here. Let me sit down.” He sat down on one of the logs that lay next to the fire and said, “Now what did you want to know?”

“Tell Milo there’s nothing beyond the forest,” said Corin. “He thinks there is.”

“That’s not what I said,” snapped Milo. “I just think there might be. I haven’t heard of anyone trying hard enough to figure out if there is or there isn’t.”

“Huh?” said Uncle Seamus. “Something beyond the forest? Of course there’s nothing beyond the forest. I’ve been walking these woods since I was younger than the lot of you, and I never saw anything beyond the forest.” Uncle Seamus looked around at all three of the boys and continued, “Does your mother know you boys are out here?”

“We snuck out,” said Corin. “Please don’t tell on us.”

“What’s at the end of the forest?” said Milo.

“What do I get for not telling on you boys?” asked Uncle Seamus.

Corin looked at Finn and said, “Give him your knife.”

“I’m not giving him my knife,” replied Finn.

“Do you want him to tell on us?” said Corin. “How angry is your dad going to be if he finds out you snuck out after dark again?”

“You boys better give me something or I’m gonna tell,” Uncle Seamus chimed in happily.

Finn looked at Corin and huffed, “You owe me,” before handing his knife over to Uncle Seamus.

Uncle Seamus took it eagerly and, while inspecting it, said, “Yeah, this is a good one.” He looked up at Finn and said, “And I don’t want the blacksmith coming up to me and asking for it back either.”

“Whatever,” replied Finn.

“Hey,” barked Milo, gaining everyone’s attention.

“What’s his problem?” said Uncle Seamus.

“If you’ve been all over the forest,” said Milo, “what’s at the end of it?”

“I’ve never seen the end of it,” said Uncle Seamus.

“So you don’t actually know if there’s anything beyond the forest,” said Milo.

“Weren’t you listening?” said Corin. “He just said he’s never seen the end of it, so that must mean there’s no end to it. It’s just forest.”

“That doesn’t mean –” started Milo, but a voice interrupted him, almost startling him out of his skin.

“What are you doing out here?” said Milo’s mother, stepping out of the dark of the forest and into the glow of the fire.

“Oh, uh,” said Milo, trying to come up with a believable excuse.

“There she is,” said Uncle Seamus, stumbling up from his log with a smile. He pulled out some carved tokens from his pocket and said, “I told you I’m only good for ten tokens. Take it or leave it.”

“Mother… what…” said Milo, trying to come up with a believable explanation for himself about what she was doing out there.

“It looks like your mom’s getting ready to go to work,” said Corin, laughter lacing his words.

“Co…Corin Thatcher, watch your mouth,” said Milo’s mother, pointing a stern finger in his face. “You boys need to go home now.”

“Before we go, can you help us clear something up, Miss Ashcombe?” said Finn.

“What is it?” chuckled Corin. “Are you going to ask her why Mr. Edric got to pay in bread?”

Milo’s mother grabbed Corin’s ear and said, “I’ll be telling your mother about this.”

Corin winced in pain and replied with a bite in his words, “You’ll have to tell her what you were doing out here, too,” and Milo’s mother let his ear go.

“Miss Ashcombe,” said Finn, loud enough to get everyone’s attention, “do you know of anything outside the village?”

“What are you talking about, boy?” said Milo’s mother. “We’re outside the village, currently.”

“I mean, beyond the forest,” said Finn.

“Why should I care about anything beyond the forest?” said Milo’s mother. “I have my hands full in the village.”

“But, mother,” said Milo, “don’t you ever wonder?”
“I’m too busy to wonder,” replied Milo’s mother. “Now get yourselves home.”