Chapter 03
Jack held the envelope in his hands as he staggered over to the couch, still overwhelmed by the fact that he had found a letter left to him by his grandfather. Karen sat down beside him as Jack gingerly opened the brown envelope, and removed the thick letter. Jack was amazed at how thick it was, he estimated that there must be at least enough content to make a novel. After a moment, he began to read aloud.
"Dear Jack,
As I write this letter, I see you outside, playing with Karen. You two seem to get along so well, and yet, there is just something I can't quite put my finger on. I was so overjoyed when your father told me you would be able to come down here for the summer. It is not very often I get to see you. As a matter in fact, I haven't seen you since you were about 2 years of age. My goodness, has it actually been that long? As I am writing this letter, you are about six.
I wish to tell you many story's, story's of my life, and how I came to know the Lord. Unfortunately, you are not yet ready to hear them. It is such a burden having to restrain from telling you these things. However, I fear that by the time you are old enough, I will be gone, and my story's will be gone with me. As you may know, I have been suffering from some heart disease that even the doctors on mainland don't entirely understand. It has one of these really long, and seemingly meaningless names that virtually nobody will take the time, or effort to remember.
This is the reason I am leaving you this letter. I sincerely doubt that by the time you receive this letter, you will have come to know Jesus. I know your father never accepted the idea that there could be a god. "No," he used to say, "you can't prove it." To top it off, there is another religion on this island which hindered his spiritual growth. This religion worships someone they call 'the goddess'. It was some old religion followed by farmers from some other place, a place far, far away."
Jack suddenly stopped reading and slipped it back into his envelope.
"Aren't you going to continue?" Karen asked.
Jack shook his head. "No. Not right now."
"Jack, is everything all right?" Karen asked with genuine concern in her voice.
Jack nodded as he forced a weak smile. "Yeah. I'll be fine. I just need a little time, that's all,"
Slowly, Karen nodded. "Well, okay. I guess I'll see you later then."
* * * * * * * * * * *
The forest seems so peaceful, Jack thought as he wandered through the brush, trampling moss, and snapping twigs. Well, almost, except for me, He thought to himself. Up ahead, Jack could hear voices. They sounded like the mayor and his wife. I've only been here a week, and I've already gotten to know almost everybody. Slowly, Jack made his way to the clearing. "Drat!" he said aloud.
The mayor and his wife, who were sitting at a picnic table just behind the bar, turned to see who, or what, had just said that. "Why, hello Jack!" The mayor said with a smile on his face. "What brings you here?"
Jack brushed himself off as he made his way towards the Mayor. "Hello. I was trying to find the cave, and I kind of got lost."
"Trying to find the harvest sprites?"
"Harvest sprites?"
"You know. No," said the mayor shaking his head, "I don't suppose that you would. I'll tell you about them. They are kind of like little elves or, um. Oh what are those things from Ireland called?"
"I'm not sure what you mean," replied the Mayors wife.
"Leprechaun's?" Jack piped in.
"Ah yes. They're kind of like those. But you won't actually find any,"
"Why not?" asked Jack, his interest beginning to grow.
"Because they're not real!" Laughed the mayor.
Jack felt extremely foolish at this moment. "Oh, right." he said sheepishly.
"Anyway," began the mayor, "If you want to get to the cave, you'll want to head straight north from here to the river. Once you reach the river, follow it east until you meet a bridge. Go over the bridge, and there should be a clearing there, that's where the cave entrance should be. If you wind up at the beach, then you've gone too far, so just backtrack along the river until you reach the bridge. Got it?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah, I think so."
"Good. Happy trails then."
"Thanks," replied Jack as he re-entered the forest.
The mayor and his wife continued talking, and Jack continued walking.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"There you are!" Karen exclaimed as Jack approached the mouth of the cave.
"Sorry I'm late," replied Jack. "I got lost. Anyway, why'd you want me to meet you here?"
"We haven't seen each other much since we found that letter of yours, and I thought it might be nice for us to catch up on times."
Jack mentally cringed at the thought of the letter. He had been putting it off as long as humanly possible, as well as trying to keep it at the back of his mind. Carefully sweeping the letter to the back of his mind (again), Jack focused on the present. "Why in a cave?" he questioned. "Why not, let's say, in a meadow?"
"Meadows are boring. And besides, I want to show you something," she said as she whipped out he flashlight. She began walking into the cave. Jack quickly followed behind her. "What was life like, living in a city?"
"Actually, I come from a small town about 50 miles from a city. But from what I've seen of city's, I'm sure glad I never lived in one. Their crowded, polluted, dirty, full of gays."
"Gays?" Karen burst out laughing at Jacks last remark, leaning against a wall for support. After a moment, she calmed down and quit laughing. "Well, the reason I laugh is that I've. hang on a sec, did I just say laugh?" Jack nodded. "Sorry, I meant ask."
"Getting your mirds wixed up?" Jack asked.
Karen smiled at the odd remark. "Yeah. anyway, the reason that I asked it that I have wanted to move to the city all of my life. They continued on through the maze of passages for about 10 minutes until they reached a pool of water. Karen waded into it without a moments thought, whereas Jack was somewhat more hesitant. "You can swim, right?" She asked.
"Yeah," Jack replied as he waded into the slippery pool. Jack noticed that the water got deep fast. "Hey, Karen."
"Sup?"
"How deep is this water?"
"Over seventy meters. See, when I was about nine, I borrowed my dad's 70 meter rope and tied a rock to one end. I was trying to find out how deep it is, and I lost my grip on the rope before it hit bottom. Let's just say dad was not impressed," she replied.
"Sounds deep, how much further do we have to swim?"
"Not much further," Karen replied. A minute later, they made it to the other side, and crawled out.
Karen shone the flashlight ahead, and Jack saw a small, furry creature scurry away. "Rats?"
Karen shook her head. "No." Karen dimmed her flashlight, and crept towards the furry animals.
"Lots of them. But what are they?"
"Some kind of lemur. Their very friendly though. I had sketched one of them, and done a comparison in the local library, and apparently, they only exist in myths and stuff."
"Harvest Sprites." Jack said, Jokingly.
Smiling, Karen said "I haven't told anybody about my find except for you, and Ann. If very many people ever find out about them, they could become just a myth, for sure. Promise you won't tell anyone. Promise me!"
"Don't worry, I promise,"
"Good."
After a moment of looking at these strange, and amazing creatures, Jack asked "What do you suppose they feed on?"
"I don't know. If you look over there, you can see small passageways. Who knows where it could lead, perhaps even to food sources. Anyway, we should be heading back." Jack nodded in agreement.
A/N: Well, if this is my rendition of a cliff hanger, it kind of sucks in my opinion. How do lemurs fit into the big picture? (Only God and I know) Anyway, sorry that I haven't written in so long. I've just been really really really lazy. But I have a nifty idea that I'm cooking up for the next chapter (which I hope to start very soon). I wasn't even planning on little lemurs, it just sort of happened. And another thing, when Jack says "mirds wixed up", that's not a spelling error. Some of you may have figured that out, others may not have. Reviews are welcome. Tell me what you think. (And thank you so much you peoples who did review before. It means a lot to me.)
Jack held the envelope in his hands as he staggered over to the couch, still overwhelmed by the fact that he had found a letter left to him by his grandfather. Karen sat down beside him as Jack gingerly opened the brown envelope, and removed the thick letter. Jack was amazed at how thick it was, he estimated that there must be at least enough content to make a novel. After a moment, he began to read aloud.
"Dear Jack,
As I write this letter, I see you outside, playing with Karen. You two seem to get along so well, and yet, there is just something I can't quite put my finger on. I was so overjoyed when your father told me you would be able to come down here for the summer. It is not very often I get to see you. As a matter in fact, I haven't seen you since you were about 2 years of age. My goodness, has it actually been that long? As I am writing this letter, you are about six.
I wish to tell you many story's, story's of my life, and how I came to know the Lord. Unfortunately, you are not yet ready to hear them. It is such a burden having to restrain from telling you these things. However, I fear that by the time you are old enough, I will be gone, and my story's will be gone with me. As you may know, I have been suffering from some heart disease that even the doctors on mainland don't entirely understand. It has one of these really long, and seemingly meaningless names that virtually nobody will take the time, or effort to remember.
This is the reason I am leaving you this letter. I sincerely doubt that by the time you receive this letter, you will have come to know Jesus. I know your father never accepted the idea that there could be a god. "No," he used to say, "you can't prove it." To top it off, there is another religion on this island which hindered his spiritual growth. This religion worships someone they call 'the goddess'. It was some old religion followed by farmers from some other place, a place far, far away."
Jack suddenly stopped reading and slipped it back into his envelope.
"Aren't you going to continue?" Karen asked.
Jack shook his head. "No. Not right now."
"Jack, is everything all right?" Karen asked with genuine concern in her voice.
Jack nodded as he forced a weak smile. "Yeah. I'll be fine. I just need a little time, that's all,"
Slowly, Karen nodded. "Well, okay. I guess I'll see you later then."
* * * * * * * * * * *
The forest seems so peaceful, Jack thought as he wandered through the brush, trampling moss, and snapping twigs. Well, almost, except for me, He thought to himself. Up ahead, Jack could hear voices. They sounded like the mayor and his wife. I've only been here a week, and I've already gotten to know almost everybody. Slowly, Jack made his way to the clearing. "Drat!" he said aloud.
The mayor and his wife, who were sitting at a picnic table just behind the bar, turned to see who, or what, had just said that. "Why, hello Jack!" The mayor said with a smile on his face. "What brings you here?"
Jack brushed himself off as he made his way towards the Mayor. "Hello. I was trying to find the cave, and I kind of got lost."
"Trying to find the harvest sprites?"
"Harvest sprites?"
"You know. No," said the mayor shaking his head, "I don't suppose that you would. I'll tell you about them. They are kind of like little elves or, um. Oh what are those things from Ireland called?"
"I'm not sure what you mean," replied the Mayors wife.
"Leprechaun's?" Jack piped in.
"Ah yes. They're kind of like those. But you won't actually find any,"
"Why not?" asked Jack, his interest beginning to grow.
"Because they're not real!" Laughed the mayor.
Jack felt extremely foolish at this moment. "Oh, right." he said sheepishly.
"Anyway," began the mayor, "If you want to get to the cave, you'll want to head straight north from here to the river. Once you reach the river, follow it east until you meet a bridge. Go over the bridge, and there should be a clearing there, that's where the cave entrance should be. If you wind up at the beach, then you've gone too far, so just backtrack along the river until you reach the bridge. Got it?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah, I think so."
"Good. Happy trails then."
"Thanks," replied Jack as he re-entered the forest.
The mayor and his wife continued talking, and Jack continued walking.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"There you are!" Karen exclaimed as Jack approached the mouth of the cave.
"Sorry I'm late," replied Jack. "I got lost. Anyway, why'd you want me to meet you here?"
"We haven't seen each other much since we found that letter of yours, and I thought it might be nice for us to catch up on times."
Jack mentally cringed at the thought of the letter. He had been putting it off as long as humanly possible, as well as trying to keep it at the back of his mind. Carefully sweeping the letter to the back of his mind (again), Jack focused on the present. "Why in a cave?" he questioned. "Why not, let's say, in a meadow?"
"Meadows are boring. And besides, I want to show you something," she said as she whipped out he flashlight. She began walking into the cave. Jack quickly followed behind her. "What was life like, living in a city?"
"Actually, I come from a small town about 50 miles from a city. But from what I've seen of city's, I'm sure glad I never lived in one. Their crowded, polluted, dirty, full of gays."
"Gays?" Karen burst out laughing at Jacks last remark, leaning against a wall for support. After a moment, she calmed down and quit laughing. "Well, the reason I laugh is that I've. hang on a sec, did I just say laugh?" Jack nodded. "Sorry, I meant ask."
"Getting your mirds wixed up?" Jack asked.
Karen smiled at the odd remark. "Yeah. anyway, the reason that I asked it that I have wanted to move to the city all of my life. They continued on through the maze of passages for about 10 minutes until they reached a pool of water. Karen waded into it without a moments thought, whereas Jack was somewhat more hesitant. "You can swim, right?" She asked.
"Yeah," Jack replied as he waded into the slippery pool. Jack noticed that the water got deep fast. "Hey, Karen."
"Sup?"
"How deep is this water?"
"Over seventy meters. See, when I was about nine, I borrowed my dad's 70 meter rope and tied a rock to one end. I was trying to find out how deep it is, and I lost my grip on the rope before it hit bottom. Let's just say dad was not impressed," she replied.
"Sounds deep, how much further do we have to swim?"
"Not much further," Karen replied. A minute later, they made it to the other side, and crawled out.
Karen shone the flashlight ahead, and Jack saw a small, furry creature scurry away. "Rats?"
Karen shook her head. "No." Karen dimmed her flashlight, and crept towards the furry animals.
"Lots of them. But what are they?"
"Some kind of lemur. Their very friendly though. I had sketched one of them, and done a comparison in the local library, and apparently, they only exist in myths and stuff."
"Harvest Sprites." Jack said, Jokingly.
Smiling, Karen said "I haven't told anybody about my find except for you, and Ann. If very many people ever find out about them, they could become just a myth, for sure. Promise you won't tell anyone. Promise me!"
"Don't worry, I promise,"
"Good."
After a moment of looking at these strange, and amazing creatures, Jack asked "What do you suppose they feed on?"
"I don't know. If you look over there, you can see small passageways. Who knows where it could lead, perhaps even to food sources. Anyway, we should be heading back." Jack nodded in agreement.
A/N: Well, if this is my rendition of a cliff hanger, it kind of sucks in my opinion. How do lemurs fit into the big picture? (Only God and I know) Anyway, sorry that I haven't written in so long. I've just been really really really lazy. But I have a nifty idea that I'm cooking up for the next chapter (which I hope to start very soon). I wasn't even planning on little lemurs, it just sort of happened. And another thing, when Jack says "mirds wixed up", that's not a spelling error. Some of you may have figured that out, others may not have. Reviews are welcome. Tell me what you think. (And thank you so much you peoples who did review before. It means a lot to me.)