Journey Into The Woods.
Written and Illustrated by Torin Coffee
Website by Torin Coffee
Chapter 1
In a land that can only be seen between passing dreams, only heard in the sounds of falling leaves and smelt in the pleasant smell of a warm meal after a long day, lived two brothers. I had the pleasure of meeting one of them a long time ago.
These brothers lived on a farm on the edge of a great wood. Their father–like many others before and many others after–spent his time trying to subdue the land and build a life in the woods for his family. He cared much for his family and labored tirelessly. Every morning he would gather his tools into a wheelbarrow, pull a bucket of water from their well, and wheel his way into the woods to do his tasks.
Their mother was a kind woman who cared tenderly for a garden. She was a gentle woman who also cared for her animals. She would spend her day caring for her plants and nourishing each animal with more than food and water, but with love. She knew each animal by name, for she had spent her years naming them and they had each become a friend.
She would hum songs as she carried her basket collecting her goods and chattel. When the sun would begin to set she would call out to her.
This story is about their two sons. Jonathan was the oldest. He carried a small ax that was not all that sharp, no matter how many times he tried to sharpen it. He wore the branch of evergreen in his hair as good luck and clothes that had be en patched many times. His younger brother’s name was David. He carried his mother’s handkerchief and a harp as he would sing songs to comfort himself when he got scared or excited. Their mother would often send her boys into the woods to gather special herbs and spices to be put in jars and used for special occasions and Sunday dinner. This was one of those occasions.
The boys were careful not to wander too far into the woods, for while the woods were neither good nor evil, both were present. For the woods were not tamed, nor have they been tamed even to this day. On this day the two brothers were sent into the woods to gather mushrooms and salt from the mine deep in the forest. David did not like going deep into the forest on these occasions, but their father had told the boys “You can’t shy away from hard things, they always find ways to find you. So you must look out for each other, for you are brothers.”
David had gone with his father a few times to help him carry firewood back when his father was sick. But this was the first time he had gone without his father. David didn’t want to admit this fear to his older brother
because he didn’t want to be left behind or considered less than. He became quite cross with himself that he was scared of some old forest. He made up his mind that he wouldn’t be scared of anything this old forest threw at him, for he was no baby he thought to himself. The two brothers stood at the edge of the forest waving goodbye to their mother. As they turned around and peered into the woods, David’s stomach sank and he felt as if he needed to sit down. Jonathan put his hand out and gave his brother a gentle push toward the forest.
The brothers walked along the forest brandishing sticks they’d found and passing the time fighting back plants and searching for mushrooms and berries. As they got deeper into the woods the woods began to get colder and darker, for the forest was dense and untamed. The sun shot through the branches along the path. The boys kept their eyes out for the right types of mushrooms, picking up rocks and searching around bushes. The boys could hear the noises of animals rustling through the bushes. Far off, the sound of an owl hooting kept tempo as the boys walked. David began kicking leaves as they moved along and sang out with his harp;
“Oh fearful forest, how you sing a chorus.
Your breath brings shivers down my spine,
as this walking takes so much time.
I wish that I was home, with the comfort of a fire.
Eating soup for Sunday dinner with a spoon,
With eyes that shine and shimmer in the moon
A bed for when I tire, a kingdom where I’m the sire.
This is the object of the desire of my heart,
My dear Sunday soup.”
The boys kept walking until the forest grew dark and the sun began to change colors. The fog started to emerge between the trees and spread its tendrils across the path. David pulled his cap tighter. The boys kept walking until they could hardly see the trail ahead of them.
Jonathan looked at David, seeing his eyes beginning to droop and his shoulders begin to slouch and decided that it would be a good time to stop. The two brothers worked together to build a fire, seeing who could carry the most sticks. To David’s dismay, Jonathan came back with his arms full with twice as many sticks in his arms as he had. Jonathan could hardly see over the stack of sticks he was carrying. The two lit a fire and sat in silence soaking up the warmth of its glow. Jonathan reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of apples and a jar of oatmeal and the two ate till they were full and sleep overtook them.
The two boys set out as soon as the sun came up. After walking all throughout the morning the two boys came upon a structure in the woods.
“Look!” Exclaimed Jonathan. “That’s the bridge into the Old Forest. But it looks as if part of the bridge has collapsed.”
David stared at the fallen section of the bridge and got that feeling in his stomach again. They both stood and peered across the bridge. It looked too far and too high for David to jump.
David was about to say that they should find a different way but it was too late. Jonathan was already running and jumped across the gap. Jonathan turned around and let out a deep breath.
“See David,” exclaimed Jonathan “Even a baby like you could do it.” David peered over the edge of the collapsed bridge and thought of the many times his mother had warned him of alligators deep in the forest that called these rivers home. David swallowed a small shriek before it could come out all the way.
“You know I can’t! You just barely made it! And what if I fell in!” David shrieked in frustration. Neither of the brothers had learned how to swim for they had grown up to be cautious of any body of water, as they were warned of the vicious alligators that crept from water source to water source.
“You should just stay here,” said Jonathan “and I’ll go grab the salt and come back.”
“Father told us we need to stay together.” Argued David with a tinge of panic in his voice.
“It will only be a few hours,” explained Jonathan. “The mine is not too much farther.” Jonathan couldn’t remember how far it was exactly but wanted to settle his brother’s nerves so he could go exploring in the deep woods.
“But..” David said but was cut short.
“Just stay here and I’ll be back by nightfall,” Jonathan said, already walking away.
David looked around the clearing. It wasn’t a bad clearing. But it was no fun to be left behind. He went over by the river and started looking for stones to skip. After poking around in the mud he saw something glimmer in the grime of the river water. He rolled up his pant legs and looked around for alligators. He slipped off his shoes and waded into the river. He poked around in the river to see if he could feel something buried in the mud. He felt a clunk. He reached into the water and felt his hands wrap around something hard and kinda pointy. He started pulling something out of the water. As he pulled it out and the water washed the mud away he could see that it was a picture frame. As he looked closer he saw it was a mirror. He finished washing all the dirt off it and stepped back onto the bank. He stared into the mirror and saw himself staring back. But then the mirror began to change and he began to see his mother making Sunday Soup in a big brown pot over a roaring fire. His stomach began to grumble. The apple from the night before was slowly fleeting.
“What kind of mirror is this?” David wondered. He finished scrubbing the rest of the frame and placed it in his bag.
David explored the clearing and got bored. He tried the usual things to pass the time and found tic-tac-toe was no fun with one person, stone skipping was a lot harder once one ran out of stones. He tried climbing a tree but got covered in sap and got a splinter in his hand.
“Oh, how bothersome is a game with only one player.
The hours of a day pass like weeks at a time.
Oh, how bothersome is splinter in the hand.
Only sap seems to stick by my side.
Oh, bother—”
“My song is bumming me out.” Sighed David as his shoulders slumped. Not even music was making him feel better.
So he picked himself up and walked to the edge of the river.
“Maybe I can find another spot to cross the river and Jonathan won’t think I’m such a baby.” Thought David. So he set out to walk up the river and find a way across.
Sitting on the edge of the river was an alligator, bathing in a spot of sun. David crept quietly, careful not to step on anything that would make a sound. David’s heart pounded as he crept behind the bushes.
“I can smell you, there’s no point in hiding,” came a deep voice from the alligator. David froze.
“Maybe he was bluffing.” Thought David with his heart pounding. He held his breath and hoped he was bluffing. His heart pounded in his ears and his head felt dizzy.
“I can tell that you’re holding your breath. Come out and let me see you boy.” Said the alligator in its deep voice. “You don’t have to worry, I just ate, and don’t like human meat all that much anyway.”
David emerged from the bush tentatively. The alligator gave him a once over with his eyes.
“No need to keep holding your breath.” Said the alligator. David let out his breath in one big gasp. “What brings you to deep woods child?”
