The Woods: Day 1 - The Good, The Bad and The In-Betweeners

A journey and observation written while in the woods. A creative non-fiction essay.

The third day of fall, I walked into the woods and noticed a saddened couple washing their clothes in the river, preparing their tent for sleep, and starting their fire that was going to provide them with warmth for the night.  I couldn’t stop my mind from contemplating every possible reason for their misfortunes.  However, their love was motivating seeing that money isn’t the main drive for keeping a relationship together was beautiful.  I continued observing this family when another family came through the woods.  It was a family of five : a mother, three children, and a golden retriever.  I imagined a scenario based on the possibility of one of the kids’ innocent curiosities and the mother’s maternal intelligence.  The child in my scenario would ask, “Mom, why are those people sleeping outside in the woods?”  The children would glow with naivety and fascination.  The mother would look into her children’s eyes and speak, “Reality is the reason they are sleeping in the woods,” she’d continue saying, “You guys are young and have never seen or been told of the cruel and unfairness of the world. However, I want you to take this as your first lesson on the world.  This world has three kinds of people : the good, the bad, and the inbetweeners. The good are righteous and beautiful, but seldom become iconic.  The bad are horrid and despicable, but seldom become iconic.  But, the inbetweeners find ways to mix the righteous with the horrid and the beautiful with the despicable and find their way out the dark.  I can not tell what kind of people those people were sleeping in those tents, but I can tell you people have had a tough time dealing with reality.” I imagine one of the kids would let this message go over his head and he’d never pay it any mind.  Another would embrace it all and follow it word-for-word.  The last child would take parts of what she learned and discover which parts were important. Discover.