A Walk In The Woods

Chapter 1

I was eight years old the year the monks showed me to my room. Their high, mountain top monetary is about five miles north, as the crow flies, of the town my mother was murdered in.

Not having a father around to protect us presented an easy opportunity to the sick drunken bastard to overpower my mother on her way home from the market.

We lived on the outskirts of town, just passed the Southway tavern.

A travelling troubadour, leaving the pub as my mother was passing, followed her professing his love at first sight. Angered that she refused his advances, he forced his way into our cottage and violated my mother, then slit her throat.

He's hanging in a tree outside the village gate. A warning to other travelers of the consequences of savage acts to their precious loved ones.

Having no relatives in the area and a lack of orphanages in the region, some local monks took me into their care.

The hike up that mountain trail was one of the most difficult tasks I had undertaken in my life, up until that point. Not only was I weighed down with grief, mountaineering is a physical nightmare for an eight year old child.

We hiked for three days to reach the summit of their sacred mountain.

It took some time to adjust to the fact that I'll never feel my mother's embrace again.

These monks that took me in were very patient and understanding with me. They let me grieve.

One of the monks, Eshu, took me under his wing and became my mentor.

I needed a distraction, needed to change my thinking from what I lost to what I needed to gain. I dove in deep and emersed myself in studies. The wealth of knowledge in their library astounded me.

I lost myself in books and scrolls. Soaked up everything from history to mathematics, astronomy to biology. It took Eshu a couple of years to teach me the ancient languages. How to read and write them. Once I gained a basic understanding of the cuniform and heiroglyphics, it opened up an even greater resource of knowledge.

The older I got, the more control I gained over my emotions, Thanks to Eshu showing me the way. We spent many hours in silent contemplation, meditation, and prayer. My mind expanded and my spirit centered.

My body strengthened, as well, through my daily chores. Carrying full water buckets up a path that takes a mile to rise three hundred feet put a few ripples on my body over time.

My life changed on my thirteenth birthday. I hadn't celebrated a birthday in five years. So, I was surprised to find a decorated wooden box at the foot of my bed after hauling up that morning's water rations. I unclasped the lid and opened the hinges top. Neatly arranged was two sheathed daggers and a set of five throwing blades.

when I asked Eshu about the gift, he said, "A man must know self defense."

"I'm not a man," I said, "I'm still a kid."

"True, but it's better to start young, trust me."

I did.