Kat, Snakes, and the Pit

        I’m glad it’s blog night. I’m struggling with a problem. I know the right thing to do, but it would be so much easier to just go along and keep my mouth shut.
        See, here’s the thing, I know better. I mentioned to you before in another blog about when Carter and I were in Dearth beyond Dead Forest, we traveled through this huge cave called the Forge of Providence. We had to accomplish certain tasks successfully in order to escape the caverns. At one point we were traveling on a wide, easy path on the ledge of a huge drop. We were doing just fine until we came to a two-rope-bridge, two ropes running parallel one above the other.
        Even though there were many footprints leading past the ropes, Carter thought we should use the bridge to cross the expanse. I had no intention of crossing a bottomless expanse, so wide you couldn’t see the other side, on a rope. Carter tried to talk me into it saying, “It’s not that bad. We made a two-rope-bridge at summer camp. You stand on the bottom rope, hold onto the top rope, and sidestep across. It’s fun.”
        If it hadn’t been for the girl calling for help from the other side of the gulf, I wouldn’t have done it. And that’s another thing; that girl was so rude to us. Can you imagine someone who needs your help insulting you in the same breath she asks for it? But even worse, she told us that we had to cross the rope bridge in total darkness. We couldn’t use our flashlights because of the rope snakes. Poisonous snakes roamed the ropes that would go berserk if we used light while crossing.
        Okay so here were our choices, walk on an easy safe path that lots of people have traveled before or face almost certain death crossing a bottomless expanse on a rope infested with poisonous snakes in total darkness to help some rude girl with a nasty attitude that we don’t even know! We knew the right thing to do. I hate to admit it, but Carter was braver than I was. He took some excess rope that was leftover where the bridge was tied off on our side and made a tether for me. If I slipped, he could keep me from falling. To my shame, I was more afraid that he would fall and pull me off the bridge. It was a harrowing experience, and you can read all about it in “Beyond the Dead Forest.”
        It turns out that if we hadn’t taken the rope bridge we would have died for sure. The easy path most people took eventually came to a dark place that had a gradual slope.  Before you realized it, you would fall into the pit. No one ever survived it. The rope bridge was the narrowest, most dangerous path I could ever imagine, but it was the only way to freedom.
        When we finally got to the other side, we found that the girl did not need our help. She told us that we were being tested to see if we would risk our lives to help someone who was mean to us. If we were willing to do that and survived, then we would be on the right path.
        I know, I shouldn’t be questioning if I should do the right thing over the easy thing. Doing the right thing always keeps us on the right path. Thanks for listening. Night all.

Kat and the Deadly Lie

        One night after we set up camp, (when Carter and I traveled beyond Dead Forest) Carter told me a story about a boy he met at summer camp. This story was not included in the book about our adventures, but it is a story that should be shared. I think about it sometimes, and it reminds me how important it is to tell the truth. This is what happened.
                                                           ***
        Trevor Hays, along with several boys from his cabin, went to the swimming pond right after first day orientation at the Dusty Hills Summer Camp. Even though the counselors emphasized that throwing rocks anywhere on the campgrounds was forbidden, the boys decided to have a rock-skimming contest.
        Soon after the start of the contest, a counselor approached them. All the boys, except for Trevor, saw him and ran. Trevor was so focused on skimming a rock better than anyone else, that he did not realize the counselor was right behind him watching him. He threw a flat rock that skipped eight times, and he shouted, “Did you see that one?” He turned around excitedly only to discover that he was alone with the camp counselor. The boy immediately said, “I didn’t throw any rocks.”
        “Who said you did?” the counselor asked.
        Trevor shrugged and looked down at the ground.
        “Trevor, did you know that it is very dangerous to lie?” The counselor put a gentle hand on the boys shoulder.
        The nine-year-old boy looked up into the counselor’s eyes and said, “I’m not lying. I was just pretending to throw the rocks into the pond. I didn’t really throw any. The other boys were doing it, not me.”
        The counselor ignored this and said, “The problem with lying is that people stop believing you, even when you tell them the truth. There will come a time when you will need someone to believe you, but even though you are telling the truth, you will not be able to convince them.”
        Trevor insisted, “I’m not lying.”
        The counselor looked at the boy with a sad expression and said, “Okay son, go get washed up for lunch.”
        Trevor figured that the counselor knew that he was lying, but he was afraid that he would get into trouble if he admitted the truth.
        He ran into his cabin. Each cabin had enough bunk beds for twenty boys. Feeling relieved that he did not get into trouble, Trevor playfully banged the bedposts as he walked by them. One of the beds he hit was Big Burt’s. Burt was on the top bunk and had just taken off his new digital watch and laid it on his bed. When Trevor hit the bedpost, the watch fell onto the floor and shattered. Burt yelled, “Who hit my bed? Someone hit my bed and knocked my new watch on the floor. My grandmother gave me that watch for my birthday! Who did it?” he demanded, looking at each kid in the room.
        Trevor figured that if one of the boys had seen him hit Burt’s bed, he would have told on him by now. Since no one said anything, Trevor said, “It wasn’t me, but I saw Leon Lipzer kick the bottom of your mattress.”
        Burt jumped down ready to grab Leon and take him outside to teach him to be more careful, but when he looked in the bottom bunk, Leon was not there. Just then, Leon came walking out of the bathroom and saw everyone standing around his bed. “Hey, why’s everyone around my bunk?”
        Burt asked Leon, “How long have you been in the bathroom?”
        The confused boy shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe ten minutes. I was feeling a little carsick from the ride up here, so I thought I would stay in the bathroom until I was feeling better. I didn’t want to hurl in the cabin and stink up the place.”
        All eyes turned to Trevor. Bert was furious. “It was you wasn’t it Hays? You hit the bed and tried to blame it on Leon. What kind of a liar are you?”
        “It wasn’t me, honest. I didn’t even touch the beds when I came in here.”
         Two boys who had bunk beds by the door said, “That’s not true, Burt. Hays hit our beds when he came in the cabin. We can’t see your bunk from where we are, but he might have hit your bed too.”
        Burt said, “I think you did it, Hays. You lied about not hitting any of the beds. You lied about Leon kicking my mattress. I know you did it, but since I can’t prove it, I’m not going to pound you.”
         Trevor felt relieved that Burt was not going to hurt him, but he did feel bad that Burt’s watch was broken. Trevor was starting to think that he needed to do something to get the heat and attention off himself. Everyone was starting to think that he was a lying creep, so he cooked up a plan. He decided that when everyone was taking their showers before bed, he would take some money out of a couple of the guy’s packs and put it in Leon’s pack. Trevor didn’t feel too bad about setting up Leon. He didn’t like him. Leon wore thick glasses and had bushy black hair. Trevor thought that Leon was a geek, and it didn’t matter what he did to him.
        That night, Trevor made sure he was the first one done showering. He hurried back to the cabin and went through the packs closest to Leon’s bed. He found about twenty dollars in each pack, and put the money into Leon’s pack.
        Later, while everyone was getting ready for bed, one of the guys yelled, “Who took my money?” Then another yelled, “Somebody took my money too!”
        Everybody looked right at Trevor. “What? Why is everyone looking at me? I didn’t take anything. Why don’t you look in Leon’s pack?”
        Burt said, “What’s with you and Leon? This is the second time you have tried to blame him for something.”
        “Just look in his pack,” Trevor insisted.
         Leon said, “It’s okay; I’ll look.” He opened his pack, rooted around his things. “Nothing but the fifteen dollars I brought.”
        Trevor shouted, “You’re lying. Someone check his stuff; look in the red money pouch under his socks.”
        Leon asked Trevor, “How would you know I had a red money pouch under my socks unless you were in my pack?”
        Everyone turned back to Trevor. “Uh…oh yeah…I saw it earlier when you were going through your stuff.”
        “I haven’t unpacked my stuff yet, and I never took my red money pouch out of my pack. No one knows about it, except me and someone who put stolen money in it to make it look like I took it.”
        Trevor clammed up. “That does it Hays,” said Big Burt. “You’re a lying creep, and we don’t want to have anything to do with you.” After that, no one would play with or even talk to Trevor unless they had to.
        During free times when everyone was allowed to play and do what they wanted, Trevor would walk out into the forest behind the swimming pond. He would sit and think about how everyone was being mean to him. On one of these trips he heard someone walking behind him. He turned hoping to see one of the boys from his cabin coming to play with him. Instead, he saw a little dog with floppy ears, a long nose, and short, brown on white spotted fur. It was a happy, energetic animal with a long tail that never stopped wagging.
        Trevor called to the dog, and it ran to him. Trevor petted and loved on the friendly animal. “What’s your name boy? I think I’ll call you Buddy because you’re my buddy. Yeah, you’re my buddy aren’t you boy? You’re the only friend I have at this awful place,” the lonely boy said as he loved on the dog. They played for a long time. Buddy fetched sticks; they chased each other, and even played catch with a pinecone.
        Trevor was feeling better now that he had someone to play with. He told his friend everything that was happening to him. He told him that the other kids were mean to him and hated him for no reason at all. The dog just listened, licked Trevor’s hand, and then rested his head in the boy’s lap.
        Time was getting late when Trevor said, “Come on and let’s play a little more before I have to leave for dinner.” Buddy jumped up and started running into the forest. Trevor shouted, “I’m going to get you; you better run.” Laughing he chased after Buddy. Then something unexpected happened. Trevor heard a loud yelp, and then he heard the dog crying in pain.
        “Oh no!” the boy yelled. “Are you hurt? Where are you boy? I’m coming! I’m coming!” He followed the cries and found Buddy in a deep pit. Someone had dug a hole and covered it with branches and leaves. When the dog run onto the covering it collapsed, and he fell. Trevor could see that Buddy was badly hurt. He was bleeding, and it looked like one of his legs was broken. It was too deep for the boy to climb down to the dog, so he said, “Don’t worry boy; I’ll get help.”
        Trevor ran as fast as he could back to camp. He ran up to the children who were waiting in line for dinner. He told them about the dog falling into the pit, but the kids just laughed at him. “Get in line Hays. We don’t want to hear any more of your lies.”
        “It’s true; I’m telling the truth. Buddy will die if you don’t help me.”
        Leon heard what Trevor was saying and responded with, “Shut up liar, no one believes you. You just want to trick us into the forest so you can get first in line.”
        “He’s going to die, you stupid people! Why won’t anyone believe me?” He was crying now in frustration. He ran to the office to see if he could find a counselor because he knew a counselor would help. Trevor found the man who had caught him throwing rocks in the pond.
        “Hi Trevor, why aren’t you in line for dinner?” Trevor told the counselor about the dog and begged him to come and save him. The counselor shook his head sadly and said, “That is some story, Trevor. Son, as I told you at the pond, someday your lies are going to catch up with you. Now run along and get in the dinner line.”
        Before Trevor could say anything else, the office phone rang and the counselor answered it. He said to Trevor, “I have to take this call. Run along and no more lying.”
        Trevor felt like he was in a nightmare. His only friend at camp was dying, and he could do nothing to save him. He ran into the cafeteria and begged, “Please, please won’t anyone believe me? I’m telling the truth. I lied before, but now I’m telling the truth. There is a dog in a pit trap, he is bleeding, and I think one of his legs is broken. Please, someone help me save him.”
        Trevor had told too many lies and had done too many dishonest things. No one trusted him. They started throwing food at him and yelled, “Sit down and shut up, Hays.”
        Trevor ran out of the cafeteria and went back to the pit. The dog was no longer moving or making any sounds. The boy sat on the edge of the pit and cried. “Those people are horrible. They won’t even help a little dog. I hate them!”
        It was dark now, and Trevor heard a councilor call his name. “I’m over here; please help me!”
        The counselor arrived with a flashlight. He pointed the light down at the dog, and he could see that it was dead. “Trevor, I am sorry about the dog.”
        “It’s their fault. It’s your fault. No one would help me,” Trevor said bitterly, and then wiped his nose on his sleeve.
        The counselor sat beside Trevor and put his arm around his shoulders. “Trevor, do you remember what happened the first day of camp when you were throwing rocks in the swimming pond? Do you remember me telling you what would happen if you continued to lie? I’m not saying you are responsible for the dog’s death. He was too badly hurt. But the reason nobody believes you is because you made it impossible for people to trust you. That’s what I meant when I said it’s dangerous to lie.”                                                 
                                                            ***
        We do not know what happened to Trevor after camp. I just hope that he understands now why being truthful is so important.

Kat is Furious

        Oh that Taylor kid makes me so mad! Sorry. I know I shouldn’t let people get to me like that, but he is such a… Okay, I got to calm down, or I won’t be able to do my blog. Maybe this is what I need to blog about. Yes, this is exactly what I need to blog about.
        There’s this older boy at school who thinks he is smarter and cleverer than everyone else. He’s rude, arrogant, and treats us younger kids like we are just here for him to torment and ridicule. He never does anything physical to hurt anyone, but he loves putting us down. It’s like he’s trying to make himself look the big man in front of his friends by putting everyone else down. Today, Carter almost took a swing at him. Carter has a bit of a temper, and he is especially protective of me. Taylor made this snide remark about me and Carter. You see, Carter has blond hair, and I have red hair. At lunch today, Taylor and a couple of his buddies stopped at our table and he said, “I read somewhere that people with red hair have a lower IQ than blonds. Hey, Carter, is that why you hang around this ginger Kat? She makes you dumb blonds feel smarter?”
        Carter jumped up and would have punched Taylor, except that Carter accidently knocked his lunch tray, and it splashed me and a couple other kids with mashed potatoes, beef gravy, tapioca pudding, and meatloaf. Along with a temper, Carter is a bit clumsy. Taylor said, “I rest my case.” He and his buddies walked away laughing their heads off.
        When Carter and I were in Dearth, (the dark land that lies beyond a dead forest) we met someone that reminds me of Taylor. We were staying in this strange inn called People Rule Inn, and it was one creepy place. Once you entered, you couldn’t leave alive unless you solved the riddle of the inn. Since no one had ever solved the riddle, no one had ever left alive. The things that happened in the inn were so crazy that eventually people would just give up and leave. But the instant their foot hit the ground outside, they would disintegrate into a cloud of dust.
        Sid was one of the people we met in the inn. He, like Taylor, was nasty, rude, arrogant, and enjoyed the suffering of others. Sid even declared to all of us staying in the inn that when he solved the riddle, he would not tell anyone. He would just go and leave us to suffer the inn until we couldn’t take it anymore. That’s the kind of person he was.
        Needless to say, Carter and I discovered the answer to the riddle and escaped. (The story of our stay in the inn and how we escaped is very exciting. You can read about it in the book of our adventures “Beyond the Dead Forest.”) Before we left the inn, we told the residents, including Sid, the solution. But they didn’t believe us. Their pride would not let them believe that two kids could discover in one night what they and so many others couldn’t figure out. They also couldn’t accept the truth that the riddle taught. It’s a principle that leads not just to freedom from the inn, but freedom from so much of the suffering that goes on in our world as well as the world of Dearth.
        I’m not going to reveal the secret because that would ruin the story. The point I’m trying to make here is that the reason we tried to help Sid get out of the inn, even though he wouldn’t do the same for us, is that no matter how nasty a person like Taylor or Sid is to us, if we treat them the way they treat us, then we become like them. We become prisoners to cruelty, selfishness, and pettiness. If we treat them the way we wish they would treat us, it might change them, but the person it changes most is us.
        Thanks for listening. Talking about this made me remember who I am. I am not Taylor or Sid. I am who The Guardian wanted me to become. It’s okay if you share my posts with others that might like them. Night.

Kat's Nightmares

        I’m glad it’s Wednesday. I want to tell you about my nightmares. Maybe if I blog about them they’ll go away. The nightmares are all the same, and they’re about the scarecrow “gods.”
        Yeah, I know. I’m sounding a little crazy. Carter is always telling me I’m crazy. But not about this because he saw them too; they were real! Here’s what happened. While traveling through the land of Dearth, we came to this wilderness filled with scarecrows--thousands of scarecrows as far as the eye could see. They were so creepy. And things happened that made us think they might even be alive.
        Each scarecrow had a crow perched on top of its head, staring at us. Then things got really bad when a witch showed up--a real, warts and all, fairytale type witch! She demanded that we select one of the scarecrows (She called them gods.), kneel down to it, and let out ten drops of our blood onto the ground. She even had this strange knife with a curved blade and a wooden handle to cut us with. The witch told us that if we paid this tribute to the “gods” that we could continue on our way.
        Carter picked up right away that if we paid tribute to these scarecrow “gods,” we would regret it. And boy, was he right. We managed to escape the witch. It is an exciting tale. You can read about it in the book “Beyond the Dead Forest” at http://beyondthedeadforest.com/. We found out later that the witch wasn’t alone. She controlled a pack of vicious wolves. The wolves would come to the witch by night and get the scent of anyone who spilled their blood before a scarecrow. Then they would hunt the unfortunate person down, and provide the witch with a true sacrifice and meal.
        We had another run in with the witch, only that time she had her wolves with her, but that exciting story will have to wait for another Wednesday. The thing that has been bothering me and giving me nightmares is how easily people tend to give in and take the easy way out of bad situations. The easiest thing for Carter and me to do would have been to shed a few drops of blood and be done with it. But that’s the problem; we wouldn’t have been done with it. We would have signed our death warrants.
        Then there’s the matter of someone forcing their beliefs on us. It’s a good thing Carter and I put our trust in The Guardian. The witch was a servant of the Adversary. The Adversary was determined to lead us astray, and he used the witch to try and trick us into making a bad choice that would destroy us. Being around The Guardian gave us strength, courage, and a growing sense of wisdom. We still made mistakes while in Dearth. We weren’t perfect, but we began to understand about making good life decisions that might be hard to make at the time, but would pay off in the end.
        You know, I think I do feel better getting this out. I don’t think I’ll be dreaming about the witch and her wolves tonight. Thanks for listening.