Peli's Journey : Chapter 2

“The journey of a thousand mile starts with a single step.” - Lao Tsu, Ancient China.

Peli stepped into a new world.

Life in Alyssia was simple and adequate. The sea produced enough food to feed the whole village, and everyone had his own role. It was hard life, but everyone was contented.

The dark forest that surrounded the village acted like a natural wall; to the residents of Alyssia, it might as well have been one.

However, Peli realized for the first time how little he knew about the forest that was so close to his life.

Tall and ancient trees shattered the sky; sun ray sneaked through the dense canopy creating splinters of bright spots on the ground. The dirt path snaked among the trees, seemingly going nowhere.

Walking along the path, Peli was possessed by a feeling he had never experienced before. The excitement made every sense acute, and the air seemed charged with energy as he strode with great anticipation. Adventure was the name of the game. He felt almost invincible equipped with the three artefacts the strange traveller had given him.

However, as the day wore on, Peli began to feel doubts creeping in. He started to wonder whether the artefacts really worked. He shook the ivory cone, and it didn't feel like there's anything inside. The feelings of great excitement slowly faded away, and was replaced by a sense of dread. What if the artefacts did not work? But he was resolved to continue the journey. For some unknown reason, he wanted to continue despite not knowing what the future held. There would be no turning back.

When darkness fell over it was almost unnoticeable until after the fact. The surrounding seemed to have been dipped into a pool of dark blue, and everything seemed to blend into one another. Peli stopped in the track, and sat down against a tree. He took out the brass lamp and started to rub the lamp.

He rubbed three times on the left side of the lamp, nothing happened. He tried again on the right side, nothing happened. Fear and anger coiled in his stomach like a cold, poisonous snake. He had been cheated. That was the first thought that came across Peli's mind. These were no magical artefacts!

He raised the lamp into the air and prepared to smash it. But somehow he didn't had the heart to do it. Perhaps that was because the lamp, no matter how useless, was still one of his few possessions. Besides, a more urgent matter would be the safety and sustenance of the night. If the lamp did not work, the rest would not work too, so he would have no food and no safety for the night.

The only way to get through the night was to stay on top of a tree. Peli looked around and settled for a tree with relatively low branch. He settled against a branch that was strong enough to hold his weight. The cloak was made of fine wool, and although tattered, it still provided sufficient warmth in this chilly night. Despite hunger and dread, exhaustion proved too much for Peli, and he fell asleep in the wilderness for the first time in his life, outside the safety of Alyssia.

Daybreak saw an even hungrier Peli climbing down the tree wearily. He did not get much rest, but he regained enough energy to find some food. The only problem was that he did not know how to find food in the wilderness.

Strange fruits and mushrooms were abound in the forest, but he dared not eat. Old people from Alyssia often warned children away from unknown fruits and mushrooms. Some was poisonous enough to kill a grown man, they had always said.

Thus Peli was almost unconscious with hunger when Han'li the Hunter found him.

Han'li had stayed in this forest for all of his life. Even though he was only 18 of age, he was great at living in the forest. Foraging, Hunting, Trapping, skinning, making coats from animals' fur, in short, he was a great huntsman. He had never seen another human being except for his father who died when he was 10, and occasion travellers through the forest. Those travellers he left alone. He didn't know why, but he didn't like to meet new people. The forest was his to roam, but he roamed alone. Travellers were passer-by, but he was the owner.

So he felt strange that morning when he was compelled to reach out to the prostrated figure. That was not the first time travellers fell in his forest. Every time he hesitated to reach out, and when he made a decision it was usually too late: either the traveller had found a solution and carried on his journey, or the traveller had gone beyond the point where help was of any use. So this time, Han'li did not hesitate, he walked over to the stranger lying half-concious on the ground and picked him up.

Peli felt someone lifted him up, but he had no more strength to find out who it was. After a while, he felt warm soup being fed into his mouth and he lapped it up eagerly. With some substance in his stomach, he slowly gained a feeble hold on reality and took a good look at his rescuer. The rough young man had a roguish face and an innocent demeanour. He was holding a wooden bowl that was filled with meat broth, and was grinning widely.

“Han'li,” the rescuer pointed at himself.

“Hi, my name is Peli.” Peli said weakly.

“Have some more!” Han'li pushed the bowl into Peli laps, which Peli gratefully drank up.

Han'li looked at this new stranger who called himself Peli drank the meat broth eagerly, and felt a new sense of contentment: a pure joy he had never experienced before.

“Why are you here?” Han'li asked, staring at Peli intently.

“Well, I uh... I want to go to Elyia. It lies at the end of this path. But I wasn't really ready for the journey...”

“Elyia? Where is that?” Han'li asked with a frown. He had roamed the forest and knew all the towns that surrounded the forest, but none with the name of Elyia.

“I don't know. It's quite far away, I guess.”

“End of this path is the city of Yan, not Elyia. North is a small village of Narkhain, South has two villages, Jarumi and Kuhn. No Elyia.”

Peli was a bit shaken, but he quickly remembered one thing.

“Someone came from Elyia and he passed through this way, so maybe Elyia is further away!” The thought that the “someone” had given him three fake artefacts did not occur to Peli.

“Maybe,” Han'li shrugged, “But you need food, and hunting skills. You will die out there.”

Peli fell silent. It was foolish not to think of the consequences, but he had travelled a long distance, and to return to his old life would be unthinkable.

“Would you help me?” Peli asked in earnest. “You seemed really good with surviving in the wild.”

Han'li gave a big grin and nodded his head, “Sure!”

XXX

The next two month saw Peli living with Han'li in his small wooden cabin. Everyday, Peli went hunting with Han'li. He learnt about different kind of edible fruits, he learned about laying traps, he learned about making simple hunting tools and using them, he learned about starting a fire, he learned many things about surviving in the wild alone.

But above all, he learned about Han'li and himself. He learned about a genuine and simple young man of his age, living alone in the forest for all his life. So different from his, yet so similar. Because even though Peli lived together with the village people, in his heart he had always felt alone. Partly because he was an orphan, partly also because he did not feel attracted to Alyssia's main activity: fishing. He felt much more alive learning how to hunt and live on his own from Han'li.

In a sense, Han'li was the family Peli never had.

For Han'li, the whole experience was a new one. Somehow it reminded him of the days he had lived with his father, yet it was different. This time, he provided the knowledge and guidance he had received from his father, and it felt good. There was an inexplicable sense of satisfaction as he watched Peli learned the rope of living in the wild.

The two young men grew close, but it was an incident which transformed the relationship.

Han'li was out hunting alone, while Peli stayed behind at the cabin to make some dried meat out of a deer they had hunted the day before. Peli started to get worried when the night arrived and Han'li was nowhere to be seen. He started a fire and waited for Han'li to return. The first time in his life, he experienced anxiety. Of course he could not name it, but the whole agitated and unsettled feeling was totally new to him.

When finally Han'li limped back to the cabin, Peli ran towards him with a sigh of relief and new worries. What had happened to Han'li?

Turned out, it was an unfortunate meeting with a wild boar who had just given birth. Han'li managed to escape from her, but not without some serious injuries on his thigh.

Peli was distressed. He did his best to dress the wounds, but it didn't look like Han'li was going to be able to do anything besides lying still.

Han'li was relieved. Again, having someone waiting for his return at his cabin evoked a quint warmth in his heart. At the same time, he felt safe with Peli. He had not realized how much he missed another human's company until then.

For the following 3 weeks, there was a reversal of role. From the student, Peli became the caregiver, while Han'li was resigned to be taken care of. A special bond was created through this experience: For Peli, that was the first time he had taken care of anyone else besides himself. That was the first time he felt strong enough to protect another. For Han'li, it called up the memory of a not-so-distance past, when his father was taking care of him.

For both, it meant the first time they have felt that another person matters. Han'li was too young and was trained too well to understood the implication of his father's death. And He was mostly concerned with survival. However, another human being had walked into his life, and it made him realized the importance of companionship.

So it was that during these 3 weeks, these two young men had become real kin. It seemed like Peli would have a comfortable future in the forest, alongside Han'li.

Yet, there came a day when Peli was reminded of his journey.

One day, Peli was hunting on his own. when he stumbled upon the body of a man. The man seemed to have just died, as the body had not started decaying yet, and he was clutching something in his hands. Out of curiosity, Peli pried open the stiffened hands and took out a black stone and a note. The note read:

“My journey is coming to an end, but the stone must be returned to the City of Yan. Maheuw of Collegia would know the stone. Whoever sees this, I implore you, fulfill my dying wish.”

The black stone looked similar to the one Peli received from the mysterious stranger from Elyia.

That night, Peli told Han'li that he would be leaving for the city of Yan, and maybe further.

Han'li felt a strange sadness upon hearing the Peli's declaration. He had grown used to having Peli at his side as a company. It was strange, but he could not remembered how it felt to live without companionship.

“Why do you have to go?”

“Well, I want to deliver some stones to some people. So I have to go to Yan City.”

“what kind of stones?”

“Just black stones. Nothing special as far as I can tell.”

“So why go? Why not just stay in this forest and enjoy life?”

“Maybe...”

This simple question got Peli thinking. Why? Indeed.

“Maybe it's because of a promise. I promise someone to deliver the stone to Elyia. And I also want to fulfill the dying wish of a fellow traveller.”

“hrm.. Will you come back to this forest and be with me after you deliver the stone?”

A pregnant pause filled the air as Peli frowned in deliberation. It took a while before he replied,

“I really don't know. I might, but I might also die on the road. I might end my journey somewhere else. So I cannot promise you.”

“Oh...”

“Why don't you come with me? I think I need your help.”

“But I have never left this forest before! What would I do if I leave the forest?”

Suddenly Peli thought of the conversation he had with the stranger at the entrance of Alyssia. Hearing similar words from another person reminded him of how far he had come, away from the sleepy village of Alyssia. That brought a quiet smile onto his face while he stared at Han'li. The strong face of Han'li was softened by the dim light, and for a moment, Peli saw the child beneath the appearance of a man.

“Do you want to come with me, Han?”

“Yes, but...”

“Well, you have a choice. You can either stay back and let me go alone and wait for me to return, not knowing whether I am still alive, or you can come with me, and we'll face whatever that came together.”

Han'li was silent. For all of his mastery in the forest, he felt scared. Anything beyond the forest was unknown, and Han'li did not like the unknown; He knew every crooks and nooks in the forest. Yet, would he want to let Peli leave alone and go back to living a solitary life?

“I will go with you to the City of Yan. Maybe further, but I don't know.”

“Great! I could use some more pointers on my aiming skills...”

The orange sky of the evening quietly gave way to the starry, cloudless night sky. As the two young men sat in front of their wooden cabin chattering away merrily about the future, the air hummed with anticipation. The small bonfire on the clearing in front of the cabin burned for the last time, the light and warmth encompassed the two young bodies, making them glowed against the dark and mysterious forest.

The pit stop was over. When the day broke, the wooden cabin would stand alone in the forest with the ashes of the extinguished bonfire from previous night, its occupants departed on their next journey.

The forest was quiet and calm as usual, but as the songbirds sang the praise for the rising sun, they seemed unusually chirpy.