The Halcyon Dislocation

by Peter Kazmaier

  Dave was so drawn to the conversation that he gave up all pretense of repacking their gear and stared at Dalrymple whose face was a study in profound regret. “I am sorry. Forgive me,” Dalrymple implored Al.

  Al turned to join Dave and walked away. At the entrance to the hallway, he turned back to Dalrymple, who stood by the fire, a look of pain on his face. Al made as if to speak, but thought better of it, and walked down the hallway, saying, “Come on, Dave.”

  They found one of the young men, who showed them their quarters at the west end of the building. The mattresses on the stone floor were made of straw. There was no other furniture in the room.

  When they had opened up their packs and made themselves at home, Dave said, “Maybe it’s none of my business, but I couldn’t help overhearing your interchange with Dalrymple back in the hall.”

  “You’re right,” said Al. “It isn’t any of your business.”

  “You’re right, of course,” retorted Dave. “I’m not a Christian, but I thought you folks are supposed to forgive when someone asks you. Am I wrong about that?”

  Al turned red but said nothing, continuing to unpack his knapsack. Finally he put the pack aside and turned to face Dave. “No, Dave, you’re not wrong. But you do not know what you’re asking. My brother—”

  “I’m not really asking anything. I just thought that forgiveness was one of the things Christians were supposed to extend to others. Here Dalrymple asks for forgiveness as prettily as one can imagine, and you say no? I guess I don’t understand the finer points of Christianity very well.”

  Al collapsed onto his straw mattress and put his head into his hands.

  Dave, worried that he had said too much, went out for a while. He looked at the building. The stonework was old and made of the same stone that formed the walls of the crater, but the wood beams and roof were new. There’s no way they could have built these big structures in the short time they’ve been here. They must have found the stone shells and finished them off!

  When Dave returned, Al seemed in better spirits and actually thanked him for speaking up. That evening the whole community of thirty people held a Christmas feast. The ten men and twenty women from New Jerusalem, amongst them five married couples, set the feast on long roughhewn tables. For the main course a whole roasted buck was carried in on a spit from the cookhouse. Rough clay pitchers filled with a delicious juice made from wild raspberries graced the table. Finally, a cake made from acorn flour and honey was served. When everyone had eaten their fill and could eat no more, they sang Christmas carols by heart. Several of the men had guitars, and one played the violin. After caroling the revelers moved tables and chairs aside and exchanged gifts. Somehow, gifts for the travelers appeared amongst those under the tree. Dave received a small leather pouch, cunningly crafted and embroidered. Finally, the evening ended in a square dance, played by the fiddler and called by Dalrymple. Even Glenn took part in the festivities, until he began to boast about his square dancing ability, upon which Sonja sent him to his room. The evening couldn’t have been more delightful for the travelers. They had not seen a woman for three months, and dancing with one was sheer delight.

  It was very late when the six companions turned in to bed. Al seemed like he needed to talk. “Dave, you were right to admonish me about forgiveness today. I owe you an explanation,” said Al. “You see, when I first came to Halcyon, I joined the Dalyites. Dalrymple was an enthusiastic, devoted man, full of religious conviction. He believed in complete and utter separation from the world. By that, he meant from everyone else in the world. Separation was much more important than interaction. I bought into what he said and only made friends with other Dalyites. But as I grew in my own Christian convictions, I realized there was a great deal of social manipulation involved in keeping us in line. We had no freedom. We had no opportunity to decide for ourselves. All questions, even legitimate ones, were taken as a sign of rebellion and apostasy. Finally I left the group, and that estranged my older brother, Thomas.”

  “I don’t get it,” said Dave. “If you’ve seen the light, so to speak, and you’ve recognized that Christianity is maintained by manipulation and social pressure, why do you still follow it?” Al smiled ruefully. “ I suppose at first I did almost abandon everything, or at least I tried to abandon everything. But you know, I knew deep down inside that there was something real there. I couldn’t just abandon my beliefs. The author G.K. Chesterton once said that, ‘the best case against Christianity is Christians.’ I think that’s true, but just because someone gets it wrong doesn’t mean the whole thing is wrong. One thing I did learn though is that freedom is oh so important. You must let people ask the hard questions about their faith: about pain, about injustice. Let them face up to all of the people who sneer at God; let them face up to their best arguments. Only as you work through that in freedom, can you arrive at a place where faith is genuine.”

  “Do you think this is going to be a problem for us?” asked Dave. “Will Dalrymple try to keep us here against our wishes so he can control us?”

  “No, I do not think so. Dalrymple doesn’t lie, and he’s not treacherous. He’ll keep his word.”

  “Maybe he’s changed,” ventured Dave.

  “Has he changed?” asked Al. “I think he’s doing it again with this colony. That’s why he wants to stay away from Halcyon; he wants complete control over these people’s lives. In his mind, I think, his control is benevolent, but it’s still control.”

  Dave chose not to respond. He was tired and wanted to sleep. But the sounds of Al’s restless tossing and turning told him his friend still had plenty on his mind.

  __________

  Al tossed and turned, but could not get to sleep. Dave’s breathing already had the cadence of a man sinking into deep sleep. Al thoughts kept returning to Dave’s rebuke.

  I know Dave’s right. But what am I to do, Lord?

  Reluctantly reaching a decision, Al finally got up and went to the main hall. The fire was still burning merrily. As he approached the blaze, he saw Dalrymple dozing in a chair. Al was about to tiptoe out again when Dalrymple awoke.

  “Albert,” he said, “I’m afraid I was thinking and fell asleep.”

  “I came to apologize,” said Al. He swallowed hard. “No, that’s not quite right. I actually came to ask for forgiveness.”

  “Forgiveness?”

  “Yes,” continued Al. “You asked me to forgive you, and I was rude and uncharitable.”

  “In that case, I forgive you from the bottom of my heart,” said Dalrymple.

  “And I also forgive you,” said Al.

  “Well, that’s done!” said Dalrymple. “I know you’ll be happy here.”

  “I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding,” said Al. “I don’t think this is the place for me, and I’ll need to leave at some point.”

  Dalrymple’s face betrayed his disappointment. “Of course!” he said.

  “I’m quite tired,” said Al. “I’ll think I’ll head off to bed.” With that he returned to his room and slept soundly.

  __________

  The days passed swiftly. The people in the valley appeared to have a degree of joy and happiness not encountered in the frenetic culture of Halcyon. Dave and the other explorers raised a new log building next to “city hall,” as they called their residence. This new building was to be a library to house the colony’s precious books and would eventually become a schoolhouse. The companions helped wherever they could, some cutting lumber in the forest and floating it down the creek to the building site, others raising log cabins for the married couples near their farm plots.

  Glenn spent many days in a special room reserved for the sick, adjacent to the unmarried women’s quarters. He received no end of good-natured ribbing for this. Sister Sonja watched over him with unceasing care. When he had recovered sufficiently, they could often be seen going for walks together in the meadow or along the shore of the lake.

  “What’s with Glenn?” asked Dave. “
He didn’t seem all that sick, yet he’s still being looked after.”

  “Perhaps he’s become addicted to the medicine,” said Al.

  “Perhaps he’s finally found a woman that meets his criteria,” said Floyd.

  “I don’t know,” said Dave. “Sister Sonja doesn’t strike me as a person who meets Glenn’s criteria. She has ideas of her own, and she’s no slouch. She’s much too rigid for him.”

  “Why do you say that?” asked Al. “Do you really think Glenn knew what he was looking for? I think men rarely speak greater nonsense than when they try to describe the woman they claim is the woman of their dreams!”

  “Thus saith the seer who acknowledgeth he knoweth nothing about women!” said Dave solemnly.

  Al laughed. “Touché!”

  Two weeks later, as they were retrieving lumber that had floated down the creek, the men were told that Dalrymple wanted to see them immediately. They left their work, cleaned up, and hurried over to city hall. Dalrymple was waiting for them. A young man in travel-stained garments was also there, surrounded by many from the village.

  “Gentlemen, please sit down,” said Dalrymple. “Jared here has just returned from a trading trip to Botany Bay, and he has some disturbing news.” Dalrymple also sat down, and gestured to Jared to begin.

  “Bishop Dalrymple, brothers, sisters, and guests,” began Jared formally with his hands clasped behind his back. “As many of you know, I was sent south with two of our brothers to Botany Bay to trade some of our baskets, weapons, and leather goods for medicine from Halcyon.

  “We made the raft trip down the creek without major incident. After we’d finished our trading, we were searching for a buyer of the raft when trouble started.”

  “What kind of trouble?” interrupted Floyd.

  “It became apparent soon after we reached Botany Bay, that there had been a great deal of trouble with Happy Berry users. Some of these people who’d been using the berries for more than six months had begun to change. Many of them had become so unruly that they’d been driven out of town or locked up in one of the log buildings until Governor O’Reilly could get some help from Halcyon. He’d run out of the medicine they use to control the addiction.”

  “Sedovarin!” said Dave under his breath.

  “You said they’d begun to change,” said Floyd. “Did you see them?”

  Jared shuffled his feet and looked uncomfortable. “I’m ashamed to say it,” resumed Jared. “I was curious and wanted to see these fellows I had heard about in the town. I saw them in their makeshift prison. They were terrible to behold. At one moment they growled and spat like cornered animals, yet at another they spoke like men. The whites of their eyes had become yellow¬red from the berries, and they seem to have a constant supply of adrenaline¬charged strength that’s beyond ordinary men. They’d leap up the side of their wooden cage with a strength I wouldn’t have thought possible.”

  “On our final day, a band of these ‘renegades,’ as the townspeople called them, that had been hiding in the woods and living off the land to the south raided the town for food and broke the other renegades out of prison. It seemed to me that many of the townspeople that had a grudge against O’Reilly also took part in the rioting even though they’d not been using Happy Berries for long. When the violence started, we fled in panic, leaving the area as quickly as possible. We hurried back to warn our brothers and sisters that God’s judgment has begun to fall on Halcyon.”

  “But this is not a judgment of God,” said Dave, exasperated. “This is their own stupid fault for not listening to Uncle Charlie, I mean Governor O’Reilly!”

  “O’Reilly is your uncle!” blurted Dalrymple.

  “What are you going to do?” asked Floyd, turning to Dalrymple.

  “Do?” answered Dalrymple. “We’ll stay to our purpose. We’ll build a refuge here for those who, at God’s leading, come here and want to obey His law.”

  “But what about those people in Botany Bay?” asked Al.

  “Albert, you know better that anyone here,” said Dalrymple, “that the people of Botany Bay are experiencing natural justice. They’ve disobeyed the law by using Happy Berries, which led to their enslavement. Now their earlier decisions are coming home to cause them grief and trouble. They have sown, and the crop is coming in. They’ve made their bed, and now they must sleep in it.”

  “But where’s the grace in this?” asked Al. “Shouldn’t we, as God’s people, help them even if they’ve brought this upon themselves? Aren’t there innocents among the guilty?”

  “That’s why I called you here,” said Dalrymple, “The time of decision has come. You must now decide to join our family and promise to obey our laws and our leadership, or you must leave, taking an oath never to reveal our location to others. Which will it be?”

  Floyd stood up. “I’m going back!” he said. “Who’s coming with me?”

  He looked around. Al stood up immediately, followed by Dave. Dwight, Stan, and Tom stood up more slowly. Glenn averted his eyes.

  “All right!” said Dalrymple, reaching for a Bible. He administered an oath, which was repeated by the six in unison, and then they left to pack up their things.

  Dave had to get some answers from Glenn, so he stayed behind.

  “Let’s go for a walk,” Dave said to Glenn.

  As they walked Dave asked, “Are you going or staying?”

  “I’m staying,” said Glenn.

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” asked Dave. “These people here are not at all like you. Whatever happened to the Glenn philosophy of ‘live life to the fullest’? How are you going to do that here?”

  Glenn answered slowly, “Dave, I don’t rightly know myself. I know that I’m in love with Sonja—”

  “So that’s it!” exclaimed Dave.

  “No, wait a minute,” interrupted Glenn in turn. “I know what you think, but it’s not like that. I love Sonja, but I’m not at all sure she loves me.”

  “I care about you, Glenn, and I know how you think, and I just don’t want you throwing your life away because you have your hormones up about this woman. Dalrymple isn’t going to let you leave if you stay after today. Furthermore, remember the woman of your dreams who was going to satisfy your every whim and desire? Well, Sonja doesn’t fit the bill. Sonja has a mind of her own, and her religion is more important to her than you are. You’re making a big mistake.”

  “Dave,” said Glenn, “everything I said and believed back then was nonsense. I see that now. You’re absolutely right; Sonja loves her God more than she cares about me. Even when she cares for me, she does it out of kindness, since she doesn’t need me at all. But she’s a woman of character, and she’s worth going after. Even if I never win her and I’m left with this ache in my chest, it’ll have been worth it. I’m not worthy of her, but I have to try to be worthy of her. I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. I’m going to try to win her. I already know I’ll probably fail. I can’t let this go by without at least trying.”

  What’s happened to Glenn? Has he gone mad?

  There was nothing more to be said. Dave just shook his head in disbelief.

  Chapter 16 Natural Justice

  In an hour the explorers were wending their way up the narrow defile out of New Jerusalem. Glenn walked with them, but he’d been pensive during the whole trip from the village, and they all felt the sorrow of the impending separation. When they reached the mouth of the canyon they stopped to say their farewells.

  Dave had had a change of heart and wanted to leave his friend on a positive note. “When a woman of quality like Sonja takes an interest in a bonehead like you, I think you have to go for it,” said Dave. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her, and she clearly hasn’t heard your bizarre and startling theory on womanhood, but I’d seal her fate before she comes to her senses, if I were you.”

  With that they thumped Glenn on the back and wished him goodbye.

  Leaving the canyon entrance, the six retraced th
eir steps up the creek until they found a ford. After crossing the creek, they began the long journey around the outer rim of the crater.

  “There must be another exit from this place,” said Dave.

  “Why do you say that?” asked Al.

  “Remember what Jared said about loading their stuff on a raft and floating it down to Botany Bay? Well, I can’t imagine they’d lug all that stuff through here, and then to the outside lake. Anyway, I saw the party arrive, and they came from the east, not through the gorge.”

  “Really!” said Floyd. “I guess they want to keep the other entrance a secret; otherwise they could have saved us a lot of time and energy by not making us walk around this blooming crater.”

  They hiked on for another forty-five minutes before coming to the small lake Dalrymple had mentioned. They followed the bank of the meandering creek. Within a few hundred feet, a tributary joined Botany Creek from the south, swelling the creek to the size of a small river in the spring thaw.

  All day they journeyed to the coast, following the creek and crossing the occasional tributary. The thought was constantly on Dave’s mind that if things had gone badly in Botany Bay, they would arrive too late. It would be a week after the riots had started before they could get back to the mouth of the creek, by his reckoning.

  That evening, after it had grown too dark to walk through the bush, they stopped on an island, exhausted. Al roused himself to build a fire and began to warm some of their provisions for supper. When they had eaten and had some Halcyon tea, they felt refreshed.

  “I really miss Glenn,” said Dave at last. “I feel our family group is breaking up. Why is it that you only really appreciate people when they’re absent? I can think now of things I wanted to say to my friend, yet I never said them when we were together.”

  “Why indeed!” said Al. “Maybe these times of separation are as necessary as the times of togetherness.”