The Redmadafa

by Gary Foshee

  to be seen with me?”

  Rachael came by at six-o’clock and let herself in. Brook was

  dressed and ready to go, although she acted like she didn’t want to. Brook’s bedroom door cracked opened. A small red tongue

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  flashed and retreated, then a leg, an arm, until final y a head

  peeked back and forth.

  “What are you doing?” sighed Brook. “You are so crazy.”

  Rachael’s head popped back out from the door, smiling wide

  and laughing. She jumped out, clapped her hands together and

  cheered, “Ready, ok!” Jumping around like a cheerleader she

  sang, “Two, four, six, eight, you need to hurry, or we’ll be late.”

  She sprung over and jumped on the bed, almost bouncing

  Brook onto the floor. “Are you ready, or are we going to be late?”

  “I don’t think I better—”

  “Oh come on. You spend too much time in this room day

  dreaming.”

  “I’m not day dreaming,” said Brook. “I’m working.”

  “Working? On what?” asked Rachael, rummaging through

  her shelves.

  Brook thought fast. All she did was daydream, write in her

  diary, and find excuses to not do things. “On things, you know;

  this and that…nothing special.”

  “Do you remember in seventh grade when I first moved

  here? The girls were so mean to me. They spread all those rumors about me that weren’t true.”

  Brook nodded her head wondering where this was going.

  Rachael paraded over and searched through her flower fragrance

  bottles and berry lotions and creams. She put some on her nose

  and then blended it in. “Wel , it was you who first sat by me at lunch and invited me to your house for a sleep over.”

  “Yeah, those were fun. I remember your hair. It was all big

  and poofy and stood straight up in the middle.”

  “Hey, I liked that,” said Rachael, spinning around with a sur-

  prised look on her face.

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  Dr. Gary Warren Foshee

  “That was the best summer, we were inseparable; conjoined

  twins at the hip. We went shopping in the market. We swam in

  The Redmadafa—remember that time Brad and his friends came

  down and we stole their lunch and hid their shoes? They were

  so mad—they never did find out it was us. We explored the uni-

  versity campus and spied on the girls with their boyfriends at

  night. Remember how we talked for hours at night, never going

  to sleep. I miss my old friend. Is something wrong?”

  “No,” replied Brook. “It’s just different now.”

  “You can say that again. You know those delicious red

  mushy-mart tarts we used to get at the market. They taste funny

  now. I think they’re using imitation mushy-marts instead of the

  real thing.”

  Brook looked at Rachael kind of funny and thought that

  strange.

  “Look, I know it must be hard now that your Dad is gone, but

  life goes on. You are a beautiful girl with lots to live for. You can’t just lock yourself in this room and push everyone away. There are a lot of people that miss having you around.”

  Rachael grabbed her arm and pulled her off the bed, “Let’s

  go. I think a night out will do you some good.”

  Brook reluctantly stumbled out of the house. Down deep she

  was excited to have a friend that wanted to spend time with her.

  They walked up the street and past the mil . They cut through

  the park, to save time, and entered through the winnower’s door

  of the temple wal .

  They were late. The service had already started.

  They tip-toed through the crowd and sat on a cotton blanket,

  weaved with strands of grey and green, with some of Rachael’s

  friends outside in one of the outer courts. Traeger, a large howler with scars on his back and neck was in the middle of his story:

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  THE REDMADAFA

  “I tracked her for several miles and knew she was close,

  I could smell her. I climbed up the rocks to get a better

  look and when I did, I saw her parched face blackened by

  the sun coming right down the trail towards me; some-

  how, I had gotten ahead of her. I snuck down the ledge

  and perched above her waiting for her to pass. Clueless,

  she walked right underneath me. I dropped down on her,

  knocking her to the ground. She got up and tried to run

  but when she did, she ran right into a dead-end canyon.

  Cornered, I slowly approached; my body crouched

  low; terror dripped from my fangs; the spikes on my

  back stood up like thorns. She was a nice-looking girl.

  Her hair was brown and eyes blue. She was skinny, very

  skinny and scared to death. I dug my claws into the dirt

  to thrust myself at her and just as I went to eat her, she

  called out HIS name. I jumped, opened my mouth, and

  that’s when it happened—something hit me. Something

  hit me so hard my bones rattled from my head all the

  way down to the tip of my tail.

  I stood up to attack, but when I saw it, I couldn’t

  believe my eyes. It was an eagle—His feathers, so colorful,

  his wings, so powerful. In his presence, I felt something I

  hadn’t felt in a long time—Guilt…Shame…Disgust. But

  then it was strange. Peace…Hope…and…Love.”

  Traegor made his way through the crowd making sure to

  look everyone in their eyes. Hearts, gripped with fear, skipped a beat as he retold his story about life in the dark valley filled with death.

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  Dr. Gary Warren Foshee

  “I’m not proud of the things I used to do. I hurt a lot of

  people from this town, but ever since that day, my life,”

  he hesitated, almost crying, “It’s never been the same.

  When I saw him, it was strange? Even though I saw him,

  I couldn’t see him. I mean, when I saw him, I realized

  the wickedness in my heart and I saw the bad things I

  had done. It was at that moment, the moment I heard his

  voice that something changed in me. I don’t know what

  to compare it to. His voice was like the sound of…rush-

  ing water. As he spoke, a peace flooded over me, lifting a

  burden I didn’t even know was there. And, you want to

  know something else? The girl, it was the first time she

  had seen him too. Do you know why she was there?” He

  lowered his head and with great sadness in his voice said,

  “She thought she was fat and ugly.”

  Brook’s eyes just about popped out of her head. She melted in

  place and thought for sure everyone was looking at her. Rachael

  must have told him something about me, she thought. Did she

  read my diary?

  “That day changed my life. It wasn’t long after that,

  that a member of the pack jumped me from behind

  when we were on patrol and left me for dead. He had

  been wounded by a young grunter and was demoted by

  Rukbat our leader. There was no reason why he did what

  he did to me. He was filled with so much hate and anger

  he didn’t trust anyone.

  He left me for dead that day and as I lie in the dirt, in

  my own puddle of blood, I remembered how that scared

  helpless girl had
called out His Name. For a while I was

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  THE REDMADAFA

  too proud to call it out. But as my eyes started to close,

  I called out to him. I cried out, ‘Great Augur, I made my

  pact with death long ago and evil has consumed every

  ounce of good that ever existed in me. My conscience is

  scarred with the mangled blood of all those I mercilessly

  killed. I know I don’t deserve to be in your presence, but

  please, have mercy on me now.’

  As the light faded, I felt the vibrations from his land-

  ing go through my body. Do you know, with everything

  that I had done, he came and rescued me? He picked me

  up and brought me to The Redmadafa.”

  Traegor started to cry. He lowered his head for a moment and

  then looked straight at Brook.

  “Look. I don’t know what is going on in your life, but

  he does. He’s waiting for you to call out His Name and

  believe in him. There’s no other way. He doesn’t force

  himself on anyone; he’s waiting for you. Will you call out

  to him now? I did and my life has never been the same.”

  Brook couldn’t move. Way down deep she was crying, scream-

  ing! She wanted to yell out, “That’s me…That’s me…Somebody

  help me!” But she didn’t. When it was over, she went home and

  cried through the night. When the moon stood straight in the

  sky, she decided to leave. Gathering a few things, she snuck out of the house, crept pass the guards sleeping at the gate, and drifted down the road into the mountains.

  * * * * * * *

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  Dr. Gary Warren Foshee

  Shadows flickered under the door and crawled across blue-gum

  planks rubbed and polished with honey buzzer wax. Pepper lis-

  tened in her bed, soaking up every syl able, every sound, her eyes staring off into the darkness. Beyond the door, her mother and

  father searched for answers as to why Caboose hadn’t talked to

  them about being bullied at school?

  Pepper slipped out from under the covers and softly pressed

  her ear up against the door.

  Silence hovered in the room.

  She moved to a better spot on the wall and listened again.

  Nothing, the door and wall were too thick.

  After a few moments, she couldn’t take it any longer. She

  opened the door and pretended like she had heard something.

  “Papa, I heard something,” she said, with her best sleepy-face

  disguise.

  Chesty pulled her close, warming her in his massive arms,

  while he stared into her little green eyes.

  “Are you going to look for Caboose?”

  “Princess, you need to get back to bed, it’s way past your

  bed time.”

  “Do you think he’s lost Papa?”

  “No…Caboose is fine.”

  “Jaxer said a ragoole snatched him up by his tail and tried to

  carry him away but then a mighty wind blew and it lost its grip

  causing Caboose to fall into the forbidden forest. Then he said a moggle grabbed him from the ground by his leg and took him

  high up in a tree. He said it hung him upside down and ate him…

  or something like that.”

  Mrs. Puller stopped her pacing and stood with a wry look on

  her face.

  “Princess, I don’t want to hear anymore talk like that. I

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  already told you that Caboose is fine. Now, get back to bed. I’ll be back with Caboose soon,” said Chesty.

  He patted her on the bottom sending her back to bed.

  Chesty Puller was Caboose’s Papa. He worked for Myott his

  brother at the local mill as a puller—pullers pulled the rollers that crushed seeds and grain into flour, meal, and other things.

  Although he was a puller, he didn’t do much pulling any more.

  He mainly helped Myott run their father’s business. Myott inher-

  ited the business after their father died but Chesty had a way with people. Myott wisely let Chesty handle all deliveries leaving himself in charge of accounting.

  Chesty was an elder at the Temple. He served the people of

  the Temple and the community for several years, looking after

  their needs, visiting the sick and dying. He grew up in Thunder

  Juice Town and had reluctantly followed in his Papa’s footsteps.

  He hoped that Caboose would come and work at the mill when

  he graduated, although he dreamed of something more for

  his son. Caboose though, despite his challenge, had dreams of

  becoming a racer and running in The Little Round About and maybe someday the grand-daddy of all races, The Big Round

  About.

  Rinox arrived at the house during the mid-watch and let himself

  in. Rinox was an old and experienced elder with a portly coun-

  tenance. His bowed shoulders were broad and thick, and two

  scared horns rose like blackthorns from his long grey snout.

  “Chesty, any word yet?” he asked walking through the door.

  “No but thanks for coming Rinox. How many do we have?”

  “Five. Syma and Adromus are on their way from the mar-

  ket right now. Geon and Paumga were finishing up at work and

  shouldn’t be far behind.”

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  Dr. Gary Warren Foshee

  “What about Henry and Zung?” asked Chesty.

  “They said they couldn’t afford to miss another day of work.”

  “Then this will have to do. Rinox, you take Syma and

  Adromus with you and head south. I’ll have Geon and Paumga

  go West and see if they can pick up any tracks.”

  “What about you Chesty?”

  “I’m going to check in the mountains to the North. I know

  that country pretty well and if he went that way, I should be able to find him,” said Chesty, not realizing what he had just admitted.

  Rinox hesitated. The mountains to the North, that’s dan-

  gerous country. Most people that travel there never return, he

  thought. “You think Caboose would have gone that way? Surely

  not,” said Rinox. “I don’t think you should go there alone. Why

  don’t you take Adromus or Paumga with you?”

  “No, if he did go that way, I know where he’s going.”

  Mrs. Puller and Rinox looked up at each other—neither

  dared to ask. Mrs. Puller walked over and placed her hand on

  Chesty’s shoulder. “Why don’t you take Adromus with you? You

  know I don’t like you going out alone.”

  “No. This is…this is something I need to do alone,” he

  responded, rubbing his hand over hers while looking at the floor in a self-induced hypnotic trance. “There comes a time in every

  boy’s life when he needs to break away from his mother and father, and become a man. Often, it’s a quest for thrill and adventure;

  alternatively, it’s in pursuit of purpose and love. Sometimes it is out of necessity or rebellion, but regardless, a boy must become a man. He must accept the calling of the divine that created him.

  He must leave his father and mother and figure out life for him-

  self. It’s during this time, and this time alone, that he makes the transition. He’s no longer a momma’s boy or a shadow following aimlessly in his father’s footsteps. He now steps out of that 36

  THE REDMADAFA

  shadow and makes his own path. He rises up to find his name, his true name, the name that will follow him for all eternity.”

  Chesty stood up and faced
his wife. “Our son is gone. He will

  never return. Whether we find him dead or alive he will never be the same. He will have made the transition. He will have a new

  name—I pray it good.”

  The others arrived one-by-one and greeted Mrs. Puller. Mrs.

  Puller packed a few snacks for each of them and poured them all

  a cup of hot thunder leaf tea with a hint of honey buzzer.

  Chesty grabbed his lightning bug lantern and a few other

  things. Everyone stood in the middle of the room.

  “Rinox would you pray before we split up?”

  “Of course,” he said, honored that Chesty asked. They bowed

  their heads and closed their eyes.

  Rinox looked around the circle and reverently said:

  “Great Augur, we know you never sleep or grow tried.

  We know you search the furthest and most desolate places,

  for those who are lost, hurt and dying. Guide us now as

  we search

  for Caboose. Protect him from harm and speed us to

  him we pray. Amen.”

  * * * * * * *

  Early the next morning Caboose woke to an empty camp. The

  fire was out, the wagons were gone and he was alone. Dew cov-

  ered the grass and sparkled in the sun as it rose over the trees.

  Thinking he could catch up, he scrambled down the road looking

  for them. After several hours, he arrived at a fork in the road.

  He stopped and looked both ways.

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  Dr. Gary Warren Foshee

  Wind whistled down the canyon as if warning him once

  again to turn around and stop this hopeless quest.

  He studied the ground and then looked up.

  Which way, he thought?

  He looked to the left.

  The trail looked narrow and not well-traveled. Leaves blew

  across a broken overgrown path beckoning him to follow. The

  lonesome road offered more shade and green grass but the trail to the right was much wider and looked suitably traveled. Grooves

  cut into the winding road revealing a well-worn path easy to follow.

  For a brief moment, he contemplated turning around and

  going home. But against his better judgment, he decided to take

  the broad path—a decision he all-too-soon would come to regret.

  He slumbered down the trail for several miles thinking about

  what he would do if he found the gate. Dreams of riches danced

  in his mind, like the undulations of a ship, thoughts about what he would do with his riches once he found them.

  At a switchback, prickly low-budding bushes sparsely cov-