Chapter 34
Trees - Brina
The nights went by far too quickly, and I kept so busy that I didn’t have a chance to think about Elder Lepton’s directive, but it was always in the back of my mind weighing on me. I had told my parents about it and they had both agreed that I would have to honor her request and meet with her. It was considered a great honor to be invited to meet with an elder outside of council, but I was dreading it.
When the magpie arrived on the platform just after dawn, the message was clear. “Brina come to Elder Lepton.”
“Brina come to Elder Lepton. Brina come to Elder Lepton,” the bird repeated in its high, harsh voice.
Fortunately my mother had helped me pick out appropriate clothing. My outfit was already hanging from the beams on the hooks near my hammock so that I would not keep Elder Lepton waiting. It was a simple silk wrap held together by bow shaped bird fibulas, one at my breastbone and one at each shoulder. The cloth was the color of mesmeringa leaves, with a matching cloak. Mama had said it would help show my unity with the forest. She came hurrying out of the kitchen at the sound of the magpie. She had volunteered to come with me so I would not have to go alone, and she was also hoping to speak with the elder about Glorna’s situation, if the opportunity arose.
“You look lovely,” Mama said to me approvingly.
“Thank you. I’m so nervous.”
“Just remember that you are not going there to defend yourself or express your opinion. The decision of the council has been made. You are expected to listen to whatever Elder Lepton has to tell you. To hear her words is a privilege she has afforded you.”
“I guess I won’t be so nervous if all I have to do is listen.”
“That’s my girl. The forest recoils from agitation, but draws near to a peaceful heart.”
I had heard this saying all my life. I couldn’t help but feel as if the forest had already withdrawn from me. But I tried not to think such thoughts, and I certainly wouldn’t give them wings by speaking them aloud.
As we prepared to take off from the platform, the magpie flew away.
“Do you know the way to Elder Lepton’s house?” I asked Mama, since we could not follow the magpie directly.
“Yes, it is near the center of Kalpok,” Mama responded. “We’ll take the path toward the center and stop at the lowest meeting hall tree. From there I will point out the way. Are you ready?”
“Ready,” I responded, and Mama leapt from the platform with me right behind her. As I felt the freedom of my limbs, the wind rushing along my body seemed to lift the weight of my worry and send it to the sky. As long as I could soar in the air, my spirit would be raised to please the Forest.
I was curious to see what Elder Lepton’s house would be like. I was surprised to see that her tree was not a large one, but then I realized that she would not have been able to care for a large house, and so it would have been taken away from her, if she had once had one. It was the custom in Kalpok that if a person could not or did not take care of anything the Forest had entrusted to them then it would be taken away by the council. There was a large tree close to her tree and many connecting bridges between the two. Her tree had a winding staircase that went gradually around it. Hanging next to her tree was a fancy carrying carriage which was a wooden box with open slats, a solid roof, and a hammock inside. Only the oldest residents in Kalpok owned carriages for transportation and then only if they were able to care for them. Hers was decorated with fancy carvings of birds, which I recognized with pleasure as my father’s skillful work. I knew she had a large family. The large connected tree must belong to her family, and they must help her to care for her home and carriage, so she would not lose them.
We arrived at a lower platform and waited for her to come into view on a balcony above and call to us. She was dressed without ornamentation. I was thankful that Mama had advised me to do the same.
“Welcome,” Elder Lepton said with a warm smile that crinkled her entire face. She seemed different here than at council.
“Thank you,” Mama and I both responded. Then we waited.
“I was not aware that you would be accompanying your daughter here. I would like to speak with your daughter alone. Please have a seat,” she said to my mother, and with a flowing motion, she turned her palm up, and swept it toward a wooden chair on the terrace. The request was made in such a way so as to not leave any room to say no.
“Of course. Thank you,” my mother replied, but she seemed uneasy.
“Please, follow me, Brina.” Elder Lepton started up the staircase which wound around her tree to her home. Mama took a seat as she had been directed.
When we got to the terrace upstairs, there was a table with an umbrella over it and two chairs. There were two wooden cups of mesmeringa tea and a bowl filled with various fruits. “Please have a seat and help yourself to some fruit,” Elder Lepton said as she poured me a cup of tea, her wrinkled hand shaking slightly.
I sat down, dutifully reached for the cup, and began sipping the tea. It was obvious that she was trying to make me comfortable. For the first time it entered my head that maybe I had not been banished after all. Maybe she had invited me here to explain my mission. Maybe she knew that I had been honest, and that the cat rider had tricked me. After all, he had definitely been banished. It said so in the message that I had read to him.
Elder Lepton interrupted my thought by speaking, “I know you are wondering why I have asked you here.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I responded politely.
“The forest is beautiful even in the daylight, don’t you think?” she said as she paused to look around at the light streaming through the leaves and casting flickering shadows. Just then, a breeze flipped many of the smaller leaves that grew in bunches that cascaded down the branches.
“Yes, ma’am, it is,” I agreed.
“Did you know that trees symbolize the different choices in life that people can make?”
“Yes, so I have been taught, ma’am.”
“Every choice has roots in the person’s upbringing, branches out in expression, and hopefully results in fruits. You will be leaving our forest. But it is my hope that you will bear much good fruit.”
“Yes, ma’am, I hope so too.”
Now I felt sure of it. She was going to explain to me that I was not banished after all. I was filled with joy! I wanted to jump up and hug her and then twirl around the terrace with joy!
“You must remember that you are called to rejoice, whatever your circumstances.”
“I will rejoice always!” I agreed heartily.
“Then you understand why in this circumstance we have chosen not to reveal to you whether you were banished or chosen,” she continued, to my disappointment. I felt my spirit fall. “If you were told that you were chosen, then you would learn nothing about the nature of joy. If you were told that you had been banished, then your bitterness might cause you to grumble and lose your way.”
I wanted to ask her: if I had been chosen, what it would hurt to just share that with me? She wouldn’t have to make it generally known. It would at least take away my inner shame, and it might save Glorna and my family from so much anguish. After all, when people had been banished before, the council had told them that they were in fact being banished. They even told the cat rider. But I remembered that Mama had told me not to ask questions, just to listen. I had to work very hard not to beg the elder, or at least ask her to level with me. I sat still and listened, as Mama had told me to.
“The council has determined that you will never know if you have been banished or chosen for this journey. Our acceptance or rejection will not define you. From here on out, if you do what is right, you will be accepted by the Great Creator. But if you do not do what is right, evil inclination is crouching at your door like a lion on the prowl; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it and be its master. Do you understand?”
I started to say, “Yes, ma’am,” again but then I realize
d that if I did so I would be lying to the elder.
“No, ma’am,” I said, honestly. “I…I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Even if you do not understand my words, then at least make sure you remember them. Say them over and over, and you will come to understand,” she explained. “I repeat: you must rule over evil inclination, and be its master,” she said, as she rose. It became obvious to me that this meeting was over. Elder Lepton started for the stairwell. I pushed in my chair, and followed behind her.
My mother looked up in expectation as we came down the stairs. Elder Lepton had poured out a cup of tea and now she handed it to my mother.
“Forgive me for not offering you some tea earlier,” she said warmly, placing the cup in my mother’s hands. “I am a mother myself, and I once had young girls. Many nice couples from our village are going on this voyage with Brina. They will be sure to look after her,” she said reassuringly. “And it is my understanding that there is also a certain young man…” her voice trailed off, but I thought I saw a twinkle in her eyes.
“Yes, of course, several of the adults have spoken to me since the meeting and assured me they would look out for her,” my mother said. I could tell she wanted to say more, but she wasn’t quite sure how to continue.
Elder Lepton gave her an opening. “And how are your other children?” she inquired.
“They are well, thank you,” my mother paused, as if unsure whether to continue. “Glorna has had a problem with the other children teasing her. They are saying that Brina has been banished.”
I even wondered if this was a veiled attempt for my mother to tempt Elder Lepton into giving us an answer about me.
“Their parents should have taught them not to say unkind things to Glorna about her family,” she responded, and then added, “whether they are true or not.”
Elder Lepton had meant what she said earlier. The council was going to see to it that I would never know if I had been banished. But then, if they did not shame me by announcing it, then how could the others, and why would I choose to shame myself? Part of the reason banishment was so terrible was because of the shame that went along with it. Without the shame, was it really so terrible?
“May I speak, please?” I asked quietly.
“Certainly,” Elder Lepton replied and looked at me expectantly.
”My parents have taught us that who we are is not defined by what others think of us,” I said.
Elder Lepton and my mother looked pleasantly surprised. “I am glad to hear that,” Elder Lepton said. “It gives me good reason to believe that Glorna has been well cared for and should not be removed from her home.”
“Glorna did not follow her teaching. She pushed Layna. Then Layna clawed her on the arm, drawing blood.” My mama had found her voice and reported the incident.
“Go to her parents, but apologize first. Let them know that you have disciplined your daughter. If they respond by apologizing and disciplining their daughter as well, you have made a friend. If they do not, you will need to follow up by officially reporting their daughter to council.”
“Thank you for your wise advice.”
Elder Lepton turned to me. “Evil inclination is crouching at your door like a lion on the prowl; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it and be its master.”
My mother looked surprised, but I think I understood, at least for now. I may have been banished, but even so, I was not going to allow it to fill me with bitterness.
“Thank you, Elder Lepton,” I said, and I meant it.
“I believe you are ready for your journey,” was the last thing she said to me.
Mama and I went across a bridge and then climbed up an adjoining tree. As we reached the first terrace on the tree, Mama asked me, “So, what did she tell you in private?”
“She did not tell me whether I was banished or chosen. She just gave me some advice.”
“And what was it?” Mama asked.
“Nothing that you and Papa have not already taught me,” I said, and I leapt into the air knowing it was up to me now whether I would become a thorn bush or a mesmeringa.