The Meditations of a 7th Toe

   

         

           So, anyhow, Ralph and Uncle Bob went fairly far afield rounding up some dry deadfall for the girls to cook with. Dry is best of course because it burns hotter, though green wood is far better than no wood. On the way back to the Meadow and the Home Clearing they encountered a flock of hen turkeys. Ralph kind of crooned at them, which made them easy to catch, and their numbers were decreased by four. A pretty good day of hunting, since they had not really been hunting at all.
            Ralph carried the firewood in his big leather backpack and his turkeys by hand. Uncle Bob had to make do with his hands. He had a tough time, but they finally got him home to Suzie.
            Ralph delivered the fuel and the turkeys to Ramona, kissed her and hugged Cherry.
            By now it was late afternoon, not that Forest Giants care about the time of day, so, he decided to go pick up where he left off that morning when Uncle Bob showed up.
            It was a nice mild, gray day without rain. It was quiet in the forest. Sound seemed hushed. He didn’t even hear the river talking to itself. Maeve was down chatting with Ramona and teaching Cherry Raven folklore. It was such a nice comfy day. His log beckoned.
            “Now,” thought Ralph. “I was just waiting to hear from my 7^th toe when I got interrupted.” Soon he was in sleep’s antechamber.
            “If you read from left to right, as most do in this fair country, I myself dwelt on your right foot, Sir. My position is subsidiary. I am next to your Most Auspicious Great Toe, on your right foot. A goodly position, Sir, as you commonly stride out first with your right foot!” said No. 7.
            Ralph’s eyes opened briefly, but then they drifted shut again.
            “I see life at a fundamental level, dear Sir. I am nearly the least of your servants, but not quite the least. We toes, in fact, read the earth you stride on. We send subtle messages up to you. ‘Lightly here!’ and ‘There are thorns here!’ and such. We toes are on your side, um, in a manner of speaking. We live to serve, and when you prosper, indeed we toes prosper in like manner.”
            By then, Ralph was well and truly in sleep’s throne room. And a vision came to him.
            He saw in his mind’s eye that he was in another great forest far away to the east. He gazed upon a clearing among a stand of mighty trees, foreign to the Douglas firs of his own home. Soon, three rough fellows came pacing in carrying shovels and strong flashlights, for it was nighttime there.
            They were looking all around for something. One said to the other two, “She said it was marked by a flat black rock, round from a river.”
            “By now, it will be buried,” said another one.
            “Keep stomping and kicking, it will be the only river rock out here,” said No. 1.
            They did this until at last No.2 ran his toe into something under a layer of forest duff.
            “That’s it!” said No. 3, the youngest of the crew, visibly excited.
            It seemed to Ralph that he was looking through another’s eyes. Human eyes. The man whose vision he saw had authority, but not enough power to enforce it. He was afraid of the odds against him. This young man represented law, but could not afford to challenge these diggers. He watched.
            No. 1 poked his fingers under the edge of the flat black river rock and rolled it aside. The flashlight beams danced all over the clearing. All three men set the lights around the area where the stone had been so that they could see to dig. And dig they did. Frantically, hungrily, quickly.
            Soon they had a pretty good sized hole. The watcher watched and stayed hidden. He wanted to know what was in the hole, if anything at all.
            About three feet down, a shovel hit something that made a dull thud, perhaps a wooden object. It seemed to Ralph that it must be a chest of some sort. Anyone would assume so.
            The three men dug all around it. But they were tiring. They rubbed their hands on their old pants, spat, cursed and dug again. They got their shovel blades under the bottom of the object, which did seem to be a wooden box, much deteriorated. It wasn’t very big, maybe two feet long and 18 inches high and a similar measurement deep.
            It was drawn up out of the hole. It was locked, but the wood was rotted around the lock, so they struck the box until the lid could be lifted.
            No. 1 lifted the lid and turned it back. The hinges broke and it fell away.
            “That bitch!” he screamed. He kicked the box over and over. Nothing fell out but bones.
            The watcher gasped. Then he ran. He had seen their faces well and he knew them. It seemed to Ralph that the young officer raced to save his own life, and in hopes to discover a mystery. He was in much better condition than his pursuers, and he ran well, leaving them far behind in the depths of the forest…
            Ralph woke suddenly. He shook his head in amazement. “Wow!” he said to the air around him where he lay. He sat up blinking for a few seconds.
            But, he could smell roasting turkey, and suddenly all was well again, and the dream drifted off to wherever dreams go and was forgotten.

🏴‍☠️