Still Wind, Forgotten Days
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Still Wind, Forgotten Days
The Valley of the Lost
It came to past, in the Valley of the Lost, a once fruitful community sat between the mountains of the Lord named Pleasant Valley. The Lord had enriched the valley with an abundance of everything. He had blessed the valley with rich soil, fruitful trees, glowing gardens and a fertile river that flowed through it. Yes, all was well there. The people were happy and prospered from their crops. The valley set nestled between the mountains of Or that spanned from the north, south, east and west. On top of the north mountain, which shadowed over the community, was the home of the old man of the Lord. As time came to pass, the Lord sent the rains upon the valley which watered all the crops, gardens and fields which brought forth much to all. The heat and light from the sun ripened the fruit and all was well. The abundance of life there flowed free as the river. Each day the old man of the Lord, the watchman, looked down at the valley through his telescope to see the blessed work of the Lord that he bestowed upon the community. As the time passed and the seasons came and went, the blessings of the Lord grew more and more.
It was a happy time in the valley and all was well until one day when a dark cloud slowly moved in and hovered over the valley; it covered each and every inch of it. The darkness was still as it hovered over the valley between the mountains of Or. The light of day shone no more because it was blocked out by the dark cloud. After a period of time, as it is told to this day, the land became dry and hard. The once fertile soil lay in need of rain. The fruitful trees bared decayed and rotted fruit and the gardens had withered and died. The once flowing river which helped bring life to the valley had dried up; only a few puddles of water remained. The darkness was so dark it changed the people from who they were.
As the old man of the Lord watched and waited, he didn’t understand what was going on. He didn’t see what happened or what went wrong. At one time, the valley was good but evil had taken over. Each day he tried to look through his telescope to see what was happening but the darkness was so thick and dark. He tried with all his might to see through the darkness. Day after day, he prayed and night after night, he prayed unto the Lord. He prayed for all of those in the valley and for himself, too. However, as he prayed, he heard nothing from the Lord. Nevertheless, he still kept praying each day and night. As time went by, he watched, looked and waited but couldn’t figure out what happened to the valley. Then, one day, a hard cold wind blew over the mountain of the north and sent a chill to the old man and the valley below; the wind drove the darkness away. The wind blew every inch and every tiny bit of the darkness away. The darkness was finally gone from the valley and the light of the sun appeared. The old man of the Lord looked once again through his telescope to the valley below. He saw all the people and the valley which was once abundant laid in ruins. From that day, it was called the Valley of the Lost.
As the days and weeks passed, the community grew worse and worse. The old man of the Lord changed the name of the community to Nod because the people who lived there only nodded when they passed each other. The old man called the people who lived there Nothings for they were always doing nothing and all they ever did was nothing which never amounted to anything. He changed the name of the road that went in and out of the valley to Nowhere because it lead to no place. One day, as the old man of the Lord looked again to the valley below, he figured out what was wrong and what happened. They had all given up and saw no need to do anything for it all resulted in nothing.
Then the old man of the Lord turned his telescope toward the east and looked at the people who were called the Has Been’s for they used to be and had done a lot over time but had become Has Been’s doing nothing.
“Oh what, oh what, oh Lord, has happened?” he cried out. “The community has changed and so has the people. They have lost their vision and have no dreams. They have become content and satisfied. I say, I say, oh Lord, what is there to be done?” he asked.
But, the Lord did not reply. The old man of the Lord turned his telescope toward the west to the Can Do’s. The Can Do’s did it all. They used to be Nothings but now they were Has Been’s doing nothing.
“Oh, no,” he cried, “not them, too.”
Maybe, he said to himself. Maybe I can look toward the south and see a glimmer of hope. Carefully, he moved his telescope toward the south. As he leaned over and looked in to see the Would Be’s who always wanted to do something but never did, he saw they, too, had changed. They never were Has Been’s but wanted to be Can Do’s but wound up being Nothings.
He then looked to the north and saw the Used to Be’s, the ones who had done more. However, there weren’t many of them left for their time had come and gone. Now, they were also Nothings.
As time went on and seasons passed, the old man of the Lord prayed but he heard not from the Lord. One day he suddenly said to himself, I know what I can do. I will look upon the children of the community and see what they have done. He lowered his telescope a slight, looked through it and saw the Something’s who were the children of them all. Whenever there was something to do, they were right on it. They were go-getters and doers of the valley. When the Nothing’s, the Has Been’s, the Can Do’s, the Would Be’s and Used to Be’s were young, they were something, too. The Something’s took care of the valley and all the others; they were something. However, when everything was done, they became Nothing’s, too. It caused the old man of the Lord to fall to the ground, on his face, and cry out unto the Lord.
“Oh, Lord, my Lord, for the valley and the people has gone to waste. What is it, oh, Lord?” he cried. “What must I do?”
Then the Lord spoke to his heart.
“You must go down as a servant and a witness so their eyes may be opened to new hopes and dreams. You must be a light to them and give them a new vision with your testimony. And when they see someone cares, they may change.”
So, the old man of the Lord started down the side of the mountain to the land of Nod with his pet white dove named Do It. When he finally reached the plains of the valley, not far from the community, he met a little boy siting under a tree beside the road to Nowhere. When the old man of the Lord approached the little boy, he asked him his name.
The little boy replied, “If.”
“My child, my child,” the old man spoke, “the valley was once something but now it is nothing. The people have no vision or dreams. I believe, If, if someone went to them and showed them someone really cares, their eyes may open and see a new vision and their hearts will open to dreams.”
Then the Lord spoke to the old man and told him to reach down on the ground, pick up a buckeye, give it to the little boy and send him unto the people of the community of Nod. Even though he was puzzled by what the Lord had said to him, he obeyed the Lord and questioned him not. He reached down, picked up a buckeye, hulled it and gave it to the little boy named If.
“Go, my son, unto the Valley of the Lost and give each man, woman and child a buckeye,” he instructed. Maybe, just maybe, in some way the Lord will touch them with some hope so they may believe.”
The old man of the Lord prayed with the little boy. After they finished praying, the dove lifted from the shoulder of the old man of the Lord and perched upon the little boy’s shoulder. The little boy asked the old man of the Lord what the dove’s name was.
“Do It,” he answered.
The little boy smiled and left with a bag full of buckeyes from the plains of the lost to give to the people of the valley. The old man sat down under the tree where the little boy had been sitting and waited patiently. When evening came, the old man of the Lord arose and returned back home on top of the north mountain. As the little boy entered into the valley, he passed out the buckeyes to them all. One of them asked him his name and the little boy told them If. Another asked the little boy who gave him the buckeyes and he told them the old man of the Lord who lives on top of the n
orth mountain.
The Nothing said unto him, “Was not.”
“Was, too,” the little boy replied.
The Nothing saw the little boy really cared from deep in his heart. The Nothing’s eyes were opened and their hearts, too; they started to believe once again. Slowly, each and every one of their eyes and hearts were opened and the darkness from the inside saw the light. They started having visions and dreams that if they changed, the evil would be gone. If they believed, the evil would be gone and they could be that which they used to be.
Upon the third day, the old man of the Lord looked through his telescope at the valley below and saw the great wonders of them all from the Lord. They had changed back as they were which was happy and they were shouting and praising the Lord. The old man of the Lord was pleased the little boy had done as he instructed. He looked everywhere for the little boy but he didn’t see him. The Nothing’s, the Has Been’s, the Can Do’s, the Would Be’s and the Used to Be’s were all something again. They were working and pulling together doing something. They were plowing, sowing seeds and planting trees and flowers. Then, out of nowhere, they suddenly stopped.
“I believe I felt a raindrop,” one of them said.
The old man changed the name of the valley back to Pleasant Valley and the road’s name to Road to Somewhere. The old man of the Lord was so tickled and happy. He praised the Lord for the goodness of the Lord’s heart.
As time passed, the valley became much richer than before. The people of the valley were never content or satisfied again because they had so much to be thankful for and were thankful for who had blessed them so, the Lord.
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Beyond the Truth
A Cry in the Wind
Thistles and Thorns
Dead Limbs and Leaves
Troubled Waters
When Autumn Falls
When Time Was
Bittersweet
Sycamore Tales
Stepping Out on a Limb
Odds n Ends
Turning Point
The Fall of Night
In Times of Quitting
Bobby A. Troutt is a southern writer who writes a variety of short stories and children’s books.