[2014] Wildwood Shadows

by Scott McElhaney

  He knelt down and picked up the vest. He folded it up and then handed it to me. He looked down at the blue roll beneath my arm. I followed his line of sight and then offered it to him.

  “I’m sorry, Dad, but Grandpa didn’t make it,” I said, “We found him in a cave by where the dam would one day be located on the Cuyahoga. Wildwood believes he succumbed to the weather.”

  “No,” he said, clearly in denial of my statement.

  “We found cigarette butts and some other items, not to mention his slippers and bathrobe,” I said, “It’s why Wildwood and I went out there today.”

  My dad knelt down and opened the robe. The cigarette lighter and one of the slippers were right on top of the bones. The skull was turned on its side amongst the bones. He nodded subtly as tears formed in his eyes.

  “I was too late,” he said, “I knew he had gone unprepared and I think I even knew he was dressed for bed when he’d gone. I thought I’d found where he ended up, but…”

  “Dad, it seems that he arrived after you did. He wasn’t here long before he died. You can tell that much by the lack of wear on his slippers as well as the condition of his robe.”

  “If just I’d have kept searching,” he said.

  Someone spoke from behind me. I turned to see Chief Winter Eagle gesturing toward the bones on the ground as he spoke. My father replied, earning a nod accompanied by an expression of regret. They exchanged a few more words before the chief headed back to the village.

  “Is he mad at me?” I asked, watching as my dad rolled up the robe.

  “I’m sure of it, but he mentioned nothing in those regards. He just wanted to know about the bones and to let me know we would give him a proper Indian burial,” he said, tying it closed, “I made sure he knew that it was you and Wildwood who went out to find him and bring him back. While I sincerely appreciate this, I’m not really sure it will help matters in his eyes.”

  “So, then what happens now?” I asked.

  He turned and led the way to the boardwalk that had been built the previous day. There were several long planks of wood lined up along the shore and a large sturdy A-frame built near the center of the boardwalk. Just then, I noticed a smaller water wheel connected to the dock on the far left. It was rather simple in construction; made by taking my bicycle tire and attaching fan blades on the outer part of the wheel in place of a rubber tire. It spun fast, no doubt spinning a magnet inside a coil of copper wire concealed inside the wooden box on the dock. A thick cord left that box and ran into the woods.

  “It generates only enough to power one tool at a time, but that’s because the magnet spins only as fast as the wheel,” he said, “When I get the larger wheel going, I will make use of some gears and pulleys to give the dynamo several spins for every single turn of the wheel. The faster the spin, the more electricity to be generated. Besides, we’ll be using more magnets and copper on that one.”

  “You still haven’t answered my question,” I muttered.

  “What happens now?” he turned to me, “I don’t really know, but I need you to understand something. I’ll send you back to your mother and if things go how I think they might, I highly recommend you allow me to. It may be a week or even a month before I can get this running and find the time to locate the correct destination, but that’s the best I can offer.”

  “Can’t you talk to them and explain? Tell them I’m your son and that you support me in this relationship with Wildwood,” I insisted.

  “Explain? Explain what? That my son rushed into a relationship with a carefree wild woman who has no regard for tradition? Tell them I support you in this? Maddox, I’m part of this tribe now. My family is here. I have a wife and kids and a job that I enjoy,” he said, “I can’t forfeit all that because of your carelessness.”

  “So I was right in the beginning,” I said, “You didn’t really seem to care how I was doing when I showed up here and it’s because you really didn’t care!”

  “Maddox-”

  “The name is Charlie!”

  “Listen. I’ll send you back to where you need to be. Your mother needs you. You shouldn’t be here anyway,” he said.

  I looked at him and realized in that moment that I really never had a father. He was never home and he never cared. Even the few times he pretended to, it was just that – pretend. He stepped toward me and I stepped back away from him.

  “I’m staying here and I’m not abandoning the girl I love,” I said, “Keep your water wheel and your new family. I’m no longer part of that family anyway.”

  I ran back to the village where I quickly located Wildwood seated on a split-log bench with her face in her hands. I rushed over to her and sat down next to her, oblivious to those watching all around us. I put my arm around her and drew her to me. She lifted her face from her hands and looked at me. I thought she had been crying, but I could now see that her eyes were dry.

  “I’m so sorry, Wildwood,” I said, “I had no intention of getting you in trouble.”

  “Trouble? You saved me, Maddox. I’m free from Rain Walker,” she said, “You rescued me.”

  “Are you okay then? Can we be together?” I asked.

  I looked around and discovered that people were randomly coming out to the center of the village and dropping items onto the ground. One person placed a cloak on the ground. Another dropped a spear, while another threw down a rolled up fur.

  “We can be together. As a matter of fact, they insist upon it,” she said, staring blankly ahead with no hint of worry or sadness.

  “What are they doing?” I asked.

  Just then, I saw my father toss another rolled up fur into the pile. He looked over at me, shook his head, and then returned to his longhouse.

  “They’re freeing themselves of guilt. Each person must donate something if they don’t want to be burdened by a guilty spirit for the rest of their days,” she said.

  “Who are they donating it to?”

  “To the excommunicated. You and I are ordered away and to never return,” she said, still devoid of expression, “There’s a Shawnee village about a day’s journey into the setting sun. There’s another one many days in that same direction. Or I guess we could start a new Shawnee village of our own.”

  “Seriously? We’re banished?” I choked out.

  “I’m not looking so good to you anymore, now am I?” she turned to me with a smirk.

  I turned to her and realized that although she might have been numb inside, she was still significantly worried deep down. I could see White Owl and his friends watching us from the edge of the woods. I took Wildwood into my arms and drew her so close that our lips almost touched.

  “You’re even more beautiful than you were earlier today and that’s because now you belong to me,” I said, pressing my lips to hers and kissing her gently.

  She wrapped her arms around me and then returned the kiss with a little more fervor. I could hear some gasps of those nearby who disapproved, but that made me want to extend the show even longer. And it wasn’t just a show. To me, she looked even more beautiful to me now.

  “Let’s gather up whatever it is we want to take with us and leave the guilt on those whose gifts remain,” she whispered against my lips.

  “And let’s stop by my house in the woods and grab me some extra clothing and ammunition. And I’d also like to bring a pan so I can help cook while we’re in the woods,” I said.

  “I don’t know what a pan is, but I’ll gladly take any help I can get,” she said.

  When we separated, I could see that she had that carefree smile she had displayed so often before. I didn’t know if we were just being stupid or if we were really that confident in ourselves, but it definitely eased my heart either way.

  She tossed her bow over her back and strapped the shotgun over her shoulder. Then we proceeded to the mound of gifts with our hands locked together.

  Howisiwapani

  My father must have snuck out of the longhouse while we were loading up on s
upplies because he was waiting for us at the boardwalk. I carried what amounted to an Indian backpack loaded with both fur blankets, an awl, strips of leather meant for sewing, a pouch of arrowheads, a box of Triscuits, and a stone spade that Wildwood said was meant for digging.

  I wasn’t in the mood to even see the man, but he made sure to block our progress as we tried to get around him.

  “Listen! I didn’t have anything to do with this, but as it is, I can’t just let you run off without saying one last thing,” he said, holding out a hand to stop us, “The winters here are harsh – worse than you might even realize after living a life in heated buildings. I’m going to have this thing up and running soon and I can rig something up to take you both back home together. I told you that I realized why the house had come with you due to the ionization of all the metal pipes and wiring, so I can probably recreate something like that.”

  “Thanks, Dad, but I can’t risk landing in a place that neither of us can survive in. Wildwood knows how to survive and I’m going to do all I can to assist in this,” I replied, “For all we know, your machine will plant is in the middle of the French and Indian War or how about sometime in the 1700’s? Neither of us would make it.”

  “I can target stuff pretty well with-”

  “Grandpa screwed it up, and then you screwed it up when you left. Then you double-screwed it up when you brought me here long after you’d started a whole new life. At what point did you do something right with your time machine, Dad? When did you get one thing right?”

  He stared at me for a moment and then allowed me to shove past him. Wildwood was following me this time as we headed down the riverbank.

  “I’m sorry, son! Sincerely!” he shouted from behind us, “Get what you need from the house. I’ll keep the others away from it at least for a day or two.”

  I crossed the river, all the while struggling to fight back the tears. I had no right to talk to my father that way, and it definitely wasn’t in my nature, but I’d been through a lot and I’d lost a lot of faith in him in the process. Wildwood finally caught up to me and tugged my arm.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  I stopped and allowed her to take the point position again if that was what she wanted. Instead, she stopped and gave me a look of concern.

  “You don’t look like you’re okay,” she said.

  “He doesn’t care about me, Wildwood. My father never has and it just took me a while to realize it,” I replied, “I’m okay. It just took me nearly eighteen years to finally accept it. The good thing is that I never really cared all that much for the man either.”

  “But something else is bothering you. Is it me?” she asked, looking me in the eyes, “Are you having second thoughts?”

  “No. Definitely not,” I replied, taking her hands in mine, “If anything is bothering me right now, it’s just some worries about my mother. His words made me concerned over her well-being, that’s all.”

  “Well, what if your father truly could send us back to her? Wouldn’t it make you happy if you could do that?” she asked.

  “Honestly, yes, that would make me very happy. And she’d really love you because you two are so much alike. She just takes life as it comes and rolls with the flow,” I said, “And she’d probably love to see just how beautiful her grandchildren would be.”

  Wildwood laughed.

  “We’re already planning on making her a grandma?” she asked.

  “Well, we’re in this together forever aren’t we?” I asked.

  “Of course!”

  “Then yes, I believe my mother will be a grandmother one day,” I said.

  She leaned in and pressed her lips to mine again. I loved it when she whispered against my lips.

  “Then I’m glad I have the one thing that really matters,” she said, “You were all I needed to bring with me when I left the village.”

  We kissed twice in quick succession and then took note again of our current situation. The sun would be setting soon and we were already in the woods where darkness ruled anyway. She patted me lightly on the cheek and then proceeded to push through the woods again. She knew where the house was now, so I trusted her direction.

  The growing darkness combined with the sounds of unknown birds, insects, and animals just served to make the journey seem much longer than before. At one point, I was about to ask if she was lost, but thought better of it. I had no reason to distrust her sense of direction especially after our earlier journey today.

  We finally located the house which was spookily dark, silent, and ragged in appearance. All the siding had been removed and without the benefit of electricity, the house appeared darker than the world around it. The door was shut, but thankfully it wasn’t locked. I opened the door and then propped it open to allow the little light that dusk offered onto the stairwell. I knew that I had left a case of my mother’s candles in the living room and as long as no one had taken it, the long-neck Zippo should have still been with it.

  I proceeded up the stairs and was feeling a senseless amount of fear in regards to my surroundings. The house was hot due to it being closed up and having the sun beat on it much of the day. While my subconscious told me to air it out by opening the windows, the other part of my brain told me that I’d be best off by conserving the heat of the day for as long as possible. I could already tell it was going to be a cool night.

  Wildwood remained in the doorway, waiting until I told her that I found what I was looking for. I knelt next to the seven remaining candles and was relieved to discover the lighter. I opened up four jars and lit them all. I could see that she was equally relieved to have some light inside the darkened house. I figured that I’d go find the other candles later, two of which I knew remained downstairs in my father’s radio room. I could already see two others toppled over on the floor of the dining room.

  Wildwood closed the door behind her and then proceeded up the stairs. She knelt next to the candles and stared at them in awe. Apparently Indians didn’t have candles. I lifted one from the ground and offered it to her.

  “Don’t tip it over because it creates a liquid fuel which becomes very hot,” I said, “Would you believe that one of these can stay lit for probably a whole day or two?”

  “That’s amazing,” she said, “I never thought that miniature campfires could be stored in pottery. Now I see why you’d want to create clear pottery.”

  I nodded and then took the candle from her. In spite of my warning, it appeared that she was going to tip it over. I then offered her the lighter. She looked at it curiously, and then I put her finger on the trigger. I made her squeeze it, bringing forth a flame on the end of the long rod. She gasped, but didn’t let go of the lighter.

  “Now you see why I never learned to start a fire with two pieces of dried wood,” I said, “I was raised in a world full of these.”

  “We’ll never have to start a fire that way again!” she laughed.

  “No, unfortunately these things run on fuel that will eventually run out. In my world, we would refill them, but that won’t be possible here.”

  “Life must be so wonderful in your world. You have portable campfires, bouncing beds, portable fire makers, thunder bows, and moccasins that snakes can’t bite through,” she said.

  That thought struck me all of a sudden. I held up a finger and then offered her a candle.

  “Bring this with you and I’ll bring one as well,” I said, rising from the floor, “My mother’s clothes might fit you and maybe her shoes as well. I hope she has something other than high heels.”

  Although the walls were tattered and the floors were covered in portions of drywall, much of my mother’s room was left alone. The bed was the same as when we’d last jumped on it with White Owl. I checked the closet where I found a plastic tub of shoes next to her stack of candles. I tugged the bin out and then sifted quickly through the clothing on hangers. I found a few hoodies that would be nice for the winter, but they’d be much too heavy now. Nothing really
jumped out at me as being a nice replacement for her current clothing.

  I turned around and dumped the tub of shoes onto the bed. The majority of them were dressy shoes; flats as well as high heels. These would serve no purpose in this world today. I located two pairs of sneakers and a set of brown boots with thick fuzzy lining. Wildwood immediately grabbed these from me and sat down on the bed to remove her moccasins. I was fairly certain the suede boots were designed for late fall or winter, but I could see now how they resembled something that could be created by the Indians for any season.

  She slid a boot on and then literally moaned in delight. She then put on the other and then stood up. She moaned again, closing her eyes as though experiencing a moment of ecstasy. It made no sense to me since I figured they would make her feet sweat out there in the heat of summer. She walked around the bed, now squealing in delight.

  “You should try these also,” I said, holding up a pair of pink Nikes.

  “No, I want these,” she said, “Is there another like these?”

  I sifted through the shoes, hoping to find a set of boots that were less insulated, but ultimately my mother didn’t seem to be a fan of boots. The fact that she had those ones kind of surprised me. At least they hadn’t been worn much, giving Wildwood some time before she would wear them out.

  “Can I have them?” she pleaded.

  “Of course! Even if my mother were here right now, she’d give them to you herself,” I replied with a chuckle I couldn’t contain.

  “What can I trade?” she pondered.

  “Nothing! We’re a married couple now, Wildwood! According to my father, you and I are one. We are permanent mates,” I replied, “Those boots are yours with no trade necessary.”

  “But they are your mother’s. I should leave something behind in trade,” she insisted.

  I sighed and looked at the excited child before me. She was like a kid at Christmas who just opened the best present ever. I loved seeing the way she continued to walk along the side of the bed, testing each comfortable footstep.

  “Wildwood, listen. My mother lost her son to a different world that no one from my world truly understood. She lost her son to a world where that ignorant kid would most definitely die because just like his grandfather, he lacked all the skills necessary to make it,” I said, “And here is this native woman – an amazing woman – looking for something to trade for a pair of her shoes. And this amazing woman doesn’t even realize that she clearly saved the life of my mother’s son. And she didn’t just save his life – she gave him a reason to live. Do you know what my mother would say about those boots you’re wearing?”