Mama's Trial

Basil found himself sitting at the table in Aspen's cabin. Beside him was a plate of food. He looked around, but there was no sight of her. Picking at his food he looked over what he had written.

"Jumped out the window? That's a six foot drop and she was smaller than me!"

He finished the food and read over it once more. "Her eyes... I'm still missing pieces."

"They will come, Basil, don't force them."

Spinning in the chair he saw Aspen sitting on the bed facing the wall. The bandage was no longer wrapped around her eyes.

She gave a small laugh. "Still so tense.… Focused, yet unaware."

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"A few minutes."

"Aspen… that six foot jump from the infirmary… How did you do it? I mean, without getting hurt."

She handed him her book and said, "If you can find it then you are ready to know."

Basil took the book and flipped through it. He found bits and pieces that coincided with what he had written; only giving a little clarity as to how Sebastian knew her name. He had asked her for her real name right before she jumped from the window. No other information was given. Sighing loudly, Basil closed the book and rubbed his eyes. Bright light filled the cabin as Oracle tied the curtains and door up. A growl behind her made her turn.

"Mama, how are you?… I see…."

But it was her cry that brought Basil to the door. He caught sight of the bear chasing her and ran after them, determined to protect her. He stopped short when the bear turned on him. His training kicked in and he dropped to play dead. However, the bear raised her paw to hit him.

"Mama, stop! We can fix it!"

Oracle stepped in front of Basil and took the full force of the blow. It knocked her a few feet from where he lay. The bear paused then moved towards her. Basil reached for his knife and as the bear was almost to her, he jumped to his feet and rushed the bear. With his blade in hand, he struck. Oracle's hand gripped his wrist. The blade of his knife buried deep in her shoulder.

"Aspen" he said, shocked at her sudden appearance. "I…."

"Clearly, you didn't remember my warning," she said.

She pulled the knife from her shoulder before letting go of his wrist. Basil dropped the knife, horrified at what he had just done.

"That's enough for today. Thanks for your help, Mama.…. I hope so."

"Enough for today? You were testing me?!"

Oracle buried her hands deep in the bear's fur then moved towards Basil. Picking up the knife, she cleaned it and held it out to him handle first. He refused to take it.

"Afraid, Basil?"

"Aspen. I made a promise to myself hundreds of years ago that I would do all I could not to hurt you, and in a split second I have broken that promise."

"Such promises often come with a clause if it were broken."

"The promise was that I would die before I hurt you."

"Do you want to keep that promise?"

Basil looked at her shocked. That wasn't the response he had expected, "No, but…I…."

"Take your blade and walk with me."

"But your shoulder…."

"Can wait."

"We need to stop the bleeding."

"It will stop on its own. Now stop hesitating. Take your knife and let's go."

Carefully, Basil took the knife from her and put it away. Then he followed her to the edge of the Aspen Grove. Oracle stopped him just inside the tree line.

"What follows is done to teach, not to punish."

Then she walked a few feet out of the tree line and stopped. Basil followed. He got about halfway to her, when he felt a knife's blade bury itself in his shoulder. Gasping and groaning, he looked, but saw no blade. Looking at Oracle, she walked over, grabbed something and pulled it out. He felt the blade come out and the momentary increase in pain. The blade that Oracle pulled out was covered in blood and he felt his own blood coming out of his shoulder. Basil bunched up his sleeve and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. Oracle knelt in front of him, and pulled his hand away from his shoulder.

"What are you doing? The bleeding needs to be stopped!"

"Let it be for another minute."

The pain was getting to him and his face started to turn pale. Oracle's hand traveled up one of his sleeves and tugged on something. The tiny jerk sent pain through his arm and shoulder. Out of the sleeve she pulled out a thick band of cloth and tied it around the wound.

"Aspen, what about your own shoulder?"

She spread out the bloody cloth and all that remained was a faint scar where the blade had gone in.

"How do you do that?"

"It's a gift. You're going to need something more for that shoulder."

Oracle helped him to his feet and started walking back into the woods. Basil's legs were shaking and each step sent more pain through his shoulder. At the edge of the woods, Oracle changed positions and let him lean on her for support as they continued to walk.

About halfway to the cabin, Basil muttered, "How is this not punishment?"

"You'll see.… Eventually."

He groaned in her ear. "Tell me how this is not punishment, Aspen. Please?"

"Tell me what you have learned."

"Don't go running after bears and pretty women…. Pain hurts."

"Is that all?"

He thought for several minutes then said, "Yep. I think that's it."

In front of the cabin, Oracle dumped him on his fanny none too gently.

Basil groaned and grabbed his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"You should have been able to walk the entire way. That is what Allen trained you for, did he not?"

Without waiting for an answer she disappeared inside the cabin. She was mad about something. It was several minutes before she came back out. The bandage was off and her face all red. She knelt on his right side, facing the wounded shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked, touching her cheek.

She removed his hand and put a cup in it. "Drink this; it will take the edge off the pain."

"Nothing to kill the pain?"

"Not until you learn what you need to."

She kept her eyes closed, but her hands worked as if she could see perfectly. The bandage was unwrapped and a thick, smelly salve smeared all over it.

Basil groaned, "It stinks."

"Drink."

He took a sip, remembering the bitter stuff from that morning. It actually tasted sweet and he quickly drank the rest. When he finished a very bitter taste filled his mouth.

"Now this."

"Nu-uh."

"Don't be a mule. Drink."

"No."

Oracle applied light pressure to his wounded shoulder.

"Okay. Okay. Let go!"

Just as she started to release, he tipped the glass to dump it out. This time she squeezed a little harder and he quickly drank it, just so she would let go.

"Ugh. Grass?"

"Alfalfa."

"This isn't punishment. It's torture! Just what do you want me to learn? Because so far I don't see the point of being stabbed by an invisible blade and forced to drink disgusting concoctions!"

"Do you remember what I told you when we first returned to the Aspen grove?"

"Not to kill. But what does that have to do with my shoulder?"

"When you rushed at Mama earlier, you would have killed her, but because I got in the way, you only wounded my shoulder. After, when we left the grove, your shoulder was wounded."

"And?"

"Suppose I had let you kill Mama then took you out of the grove. Now where would you be?"

Basil looked down, getting the point. "Dead," he whispered.

Oracle nodded. "These animals are free to roam wherever they please, you can learn a lot from their interactions. It might also be helpful to think about all the times you and Allen were hunting in the Aspen grove. I know you saw me, but did you ever see any of the animals?"

Oracle got to her feet and walked away.

"Aspen?"

She stopped.

"How many people have died from hunting here?"

"Two."

Then she disappeared into the darkening woods. Basil sat there and watched the animals—the jaguar, the wolf, the deer, the rabbits, even some mice. Occasionally, he would see a bug fly by or a bird. It all seemed so peaceful, until he noticed the jaguar had a rabbit in its mouth. These animals are free to roam wherever they please.

"How is that possible, for all the carnivores and omnivores eat others to live?"

He watched until the jaguar was finished with the rabbit. Oracle appeared and picked up the carcass. "Would you like me to explain?"

"Will you?"

"Follow me." Then she turned away.

Basil caught up to her as she stood next to the pool. Handing him the remains, she entered the pool and disappeared. When she surfaced she had a skin frame around her neck and a small shovel in hand. She cleaned and stretched the skin and handed that back to Basil. In a small cloth she placed all the bones, then picked up the small shovel.

"Jaguar didn't kill the rabbit, so it allows him to remain free to roam."

He followed her as she walked down the bank to a very small Aspen tree.

"But animals as healthy as this one don't just drop dead," he said.

Oracle dug out a hole, slightly under the tree and placed the bones underneath it before filling in the hole.

"Here they do, but not as often as you think." She traded him the shovel for the skin and started walking again. "When an animal is getting old or sick, those are the ones that tend to sacrifice themselves. It is a part of typical life. For the most part, the predators will hunt outside the grove."

"But what about tonight with the jaguar?"

"A few predators spend most of their time in the grove. They've adapted to be able to eat a few of the plants, but still require a meat source every once in a while. Jaguar, Wolf, and Mama are some of them."

At a crossroad at the end of the grove, Oracle set down the stretched skin and picked up a bag of seeds. Trading Basil once more, she headed back to the pool. Basil remained silent as they walked, mulling over what Oracle had told him. At the pool, Aspen disappeared into the water once more.

When she surfaced once more she said, "Something is wrong."

Once out of the water she started running. Basil tried to keep up, but she was so silent and quick he soon lost sight of her and his shoulder was beginning to hurt more.