A Community Story (continued)
by Alex Guillotte

A while later he met up with Willow in the square. As he approached, she was shaking with silent laughter.

"That was just mean," David said and walked by. She followed and suddenly laughed so hard she snorted. "I'm glad you find it so funny." David was more embarrassed than angry, but it was almost indistinguishable.

"Oh David, it wasn't meant to embarrass you. I thought it'd be a nice," she thought a moment, "surprise."

"It was that." He relaxed, "It's all right, I'm not really that angry. I just wasn't prepared. I have a question about something actually."

"Yes?"

"Amethyst mentioned fighting with other villages. What's that all about?"

"This is one of the most difficult parts of our culture to explain to someone of your culture." She thought a moment. "Humans have a natural aggressive tendency. It's what allowed us to evolve; what allowed us to survive. When it's repressed, as in your culture, it pops up as war, murder, wife and child abuse, a dozen other ways. The battles we engage in are a controlled, healthy channeling of aggression that has worked for tribal cultures for millions of years. It's a very different point of view than you're used to."

"In theory, it makes sense, but I guess I'd still have to learn more about it."

"Well, if you're interested, Amethyst would be the one to talk to about it. She's our resident expert."

David smiled. "Somehow I don't doubt it."

As they were walking, David had this strange feeling of comfort. He couldn't describe or understand it. He was talking to Willow as if he'd known her all his life. He felt as if he could tell her anything. Maybe it was because he was relaxed and felt better than he had in years. No, somehow it was more than that. It was the place and the people. There was something home-like or natural about the way these people lived. It wasn't what he'd consider a utopia. People still had their failings and problems, they just handled them differently. They got angry and upset, but it didn't get out of control. People were there to talk to, and share feelings. You always had support. In many ways it was better than a utopia. This society didn't require that people be better. A utopian society seemed stagnant compared to this. These people were alive and happy.

He came out of his thoughts as they neared what he assumed was a dining hall of some sort. A set of double doors set in a larger building were slightly ajar. Warm light poured from a half dozen windows set in the front. At the door, he was assailed by the smell of wood smoke and food. The food smelled better than anything he'd ever smelled before. He wasn't sure if that was just because he was hungry or the atmosphere, but it didn't matter right now. He was hungry.

When the door opened, the first thing he thought of was a medieval-style tavern. There were tables all around, a dark wooden bar, a massive stone fireplace in the far corner and people everywhere. Some were eating and drinking, there were a few children running around playing, but all seemed to be enjoying the time together. The walls were adorned with paintings and a few photos near the bar. There were chandeliers scattered throughout the room and they were electric, although the light they cast was warm and low. David realized that it was the first evidence of electrical use that he'd seen.

Near the fireplace, a man was seated playing a simple blues piece on a guitar.

Then he noticed his friends from the shower in the far corner.

"Hey David!" Amethyst yelled across the room. "Why don't you and Willow join us?"

The whole room turned their attention to David. "Oh this is good," he told himself. A chorus of suggestive sounds from the crowd followed. David sighed.

Willow whispered in his ear, "You must have made quite an impression. They don't invite just anyone to sit with them." She snickered.

David gave her a glance and decided not to comment. They walked over to the Celts' table and sat. "Thank you."

"What can I get for you?" The question came from a woman dressed in medieval looking clothes with cleavage like he'd never seen.

"Is there a menu?" David asked.

"On the wall, sir." She pointed to a blackboard of items but no prices.

He looked the items over and asked, "How much is the steak?"

"Oh about fifteen or sixteen ounces, give or take."

"No, I mean how much does it cost?"

Willow interjected. "David we don't use money here. Just let her know what you want. Do you drink?"

"Yes, occasionally."

"Great." She turned to the waitress. "He'll have the steak and get him today's stout."

Once the table had finished ordering. David asked, "How does all this get paid for?"

"Well, it's not paid for in the traditional sense. As a community, we all do our part. The farmer supplies the food, someone else supplies the tools, someone the clothes, and so on."

"It sounds a little like communism," David commented warily.

"Not exactly. Communism is a large scale redistribution of wealth. We have no wealth to redistribute. This is more like bartering or sharing. Goods and services don't have a dollar value as you know it."

One of the waitresses showed up at that moment with the drinks. David smiled at her and watched her walk away. "How do we tip?"

"We don't tip really, but you can show your gratitude," said Amethyst. One of the Celts snickered. "What I mean is that you show your gratitude the same way you would if you were invited to someone's home."

"What you normally do?"

The question surprised her. "I usually just say thank you. Occasionally I'll bring a gift or help out if they're busy."

"People here are family." Willow added, "We appreciate each other on a daily basis."

"Well I certainly appreciate them. I've never seen better waitresses anywhere."

"You're right about that. Oh, and they prefer to be called Wenches," Willow corrected.

At that, their wench showed up with the food and refills for their various drinks. David smiled at her, "Thank you."

While they were eating, a group of three people joined their table. A man and two women. They had their arms around one another and were laughing.

"Well, I see you've worked out your problems, Fionn," Willow said to the man as they settled down.

The three of them looked up as if awakened out of their own world. "Oh, yes! Care to join us?" Fionn said and smiled warmly. "There's always room for you, Willow."

"Some other time." Willow gestured with her head to David sitting beside her. "We have a guest for tonight. His car broke down."

The three looked as if they genuinely hadn't noticed him.

"Oh sorry," said Fionn, "I'm somewhere else today! This is Gwen and Lisa."

"Hi!" They both said in unison and finding this hysterical, broke into another fit of laughter. "Sorry," Gwen said, fighting off laughter, "we've just made up after a really bad fight, and we're a little silly."

David chuckled. "I completely understand. It's very nice to meet you." Their laughter was contagious.

"Well, we must be off," said Gwen. Then turning to her two companions, "Come on you two." They quickly gathered their things together, got up and headed for the door.

"You're leaving already?" Willow asked, turning toward them..

Fionn yelled back over his shoulder, "The master's having one of his affairs tonight." Lisa added after him, "Which one?" And they almost fell down from laughing.

Without a word, Willow shook her head and went back to her meal.

"Well, they're a nice couple." David said making small talk.

"Couple?" said Willow questioningly. She thought. "Oh! I see. They're a triad."

"A what?"

"A triad. The three of them are married."

David pondered this for a moment. "Um, I still don't understand."

"They are polyamorous. That means loving more than one person." She paused to let that much sink in. "There are all kinds of relationships here. Couples, triads, quads, pentads, some are open, allowing for outside lovers and some are monogamous or polygamous. Some just have lovers, not requiring a permanent relationship."

"Isn't that kind of promiscuity a little dangerous in this day and age?" David hoped he wasn't over-stepping his bounds.

"Well, first of all, it isn't promiscuity. People don't just haphazardly sleep around. These are real, viable relationships and are not undertaken lightly." She added, "Especially in a community such as this."

David was silent for a moment. "I don't think I could live like that." He said finally.

"Well good," she said, "neither can I".

David looked at her as if waiting for something.

"It's not required that people have one kind of relationship or another, David. As long as the people involved are consenting adults, and they're not harming anyone, there's no problem." She saw David was still having a hard time understanding the concept. "Actually," she continued, "the percentage of polyamorous relationships in the community has stabilized at around twenty percent. That disproves the theory that if people are allowed to 'run wild', they'll do it."

"I still don't think that I understand it, but I can accept it. It might just take a little getting use to." He shrugged and went back to eating. He began to notice more of what was going on all around him. The different groups and relationships. It was weird to him, but the one thing that could not be disputed, was that they were happy.

He smiled at a couple with a child beside them. The girl; about five years old; seemed to be listening intently to her father who was showing her something in a book. David couldn't help but eavesdropping.

"...So if you look here, the RAM chip installs right behind the..." He waited for her response. Her face lit up suddenly as if she had been given candy.

"I get it!" She yelled excited. "It's hiding behind the Power Supply!"

Her parents shared in her joy. "That's right sweetie. See here..." He turned the page and pointed to something. "Right there." The little girl jumped up and hugged him.

"Um," David tried to sort things in his head.

"That's Tina. She has a gift for computers, so her parents are encouraging her that way. Although she's by no means tied into a career at this age, it's always helpful to know computers."

"Computers? At her age?"

"Well, it's only the basics." Willow smiled proudly.

Something suddenly occurred to David. "Now that you mention it, where do the children go to school?"

"This whole community is a school. Children don't learn about how to talk from a book. They learn to talk from being around people who talk. Other learning is no different. They learn reading through doing it. Mathematics, writing, science, history and computers; it's all taught 'hands-on'. That's how children have learned for millions of years. A child learns to write because he wants to. He or she sees it as a benefit to them in some way. Children will learn by force, but that knowledge never lasts. Can you remember your basic algebra?"

David stammered. "Well, I remember that I took algebra..."

"Children adore their parents and are naturally imitative of them. Haven't you seen a son's face light up the first time he gets to go work on the car with dad?" David nodded understanding.

"Yes, we have some structured learning; reading groups, creative writing exercises and things like that, but it's not school like you remember it. As children get older, they can apprentice in any field they wish."

"Not one child has failed the state tests since the community was founded. In fact, they've scored well above average in all categories. Once, about eight years ago, an inspector came out here because he was intent on proving that we were falsifying our records; that there was no way children could score that well consistently."

"What happened?" David asked.

Willow nodded across the dining hall. "He's over there."

David looked across to a man in his late forties, dressed in very colorful and whimsical cloths, surrounded by laughing children. He was reading from a huge book of bedtime stories.

"That reminds me, tomorrow night is Story Telling at the hall. The place will be packed with children. They'll listen to the elders; mostly people over seventy; tell stories about their lives. This way not only do the children learn how to communicate, they learn history, public speaking and a sense of community that's part of their every day lives.

"We've found that elders make the best teachers. Besides the fact that they've experienced the most, they really seem to communicate with children the best. Plus, it's important for the elderly to contribute as much as anyone. Imaging looking forward to your 'golden years' instead of waiting with dread and fear."

David looked around. "Well, whatever you're doing, it seems to be working."

Willow smiled and rubbed his back.

They finished dinner as the crowd began to disperse. The wenches were bussing the tables and straightening up the place. Willow took David aside.

"Tonight, at the council, don't be alarmed by anything you see."

"Now you're worrying me," David chuckled.

"I don't mean to, but you'll have to trust me that things won't be as they seem."

"Why should things start making sense now?" He smiled ironically.

 

The council chamber was in the large domed structure he had seen when he first entered the village. Now that he stood in front of it, it seemed immense. The top had to be at least three stories high. It was constructed of wood with some kind of panel insets, and upon closer examination, was covered by small arcane symbols. The symbols were unknown to David, but they were about the size of a nickel and they covered every square inch of the dome's surface. The characters were so small and close together that, at a distance, they gave the appearance of being a solid color. David thought he could see windows in the upper areas of the structure. Through some of these he could make out some kind of plant growth. Perhaps there was some kind of solarium or greenhouse in the upper levels. Before he could see any more, however, Willow tugged on his arm, pulling him in the direction of the main entrance.

The inside was even more impressive than the outside. A huge chamber that stretched the entire diameter of the dome took up what seemed to be the first two floors. A large, eight-foot fire pit burned at its center, vented by an iron hood that disappeared into the roof twenty feet above them. A set of padded benches circled in close to the fire with intermittent gaps to allow easy access to the circle. Along the perimeter of the room were three rows of bleacher-type seats that afforded a perfect view of the inner circle's proceedings.

People were filing in quietly talking amongst themselves. Willow found a seat for him along the innermost row of the outer bleachers. As yet, no one had occupied the central seats. David assumed those must be for the council, whatever that was. He had images of a sinister procession of black-robed mummers walking into the middle and chanting or some other such weirdness. As it turned out however, the people who entered the inner circle seemed like everyone else at the gathering. That is to say that they were dressed in light, colorful clothes that seemed comfortable. By the time everyone was settled in, it seemed as if there were quite a few vacant seats in the council. David turned to ask Willow if this was normal and noticed that she wasn't there. It was then that the proceeding began with a low, heavy drum beat. One of the council members stood up and moved towards the fire. She stopped and turned. It was Willow!

"The council begins. Let the shades speak, to call the rest to this circle." Willow spoke formally, and with an air of authority she hadn't displayed before. As she finished her words, a tall, lanky man walked in the main door. The white robe he wore, tied with a light cloth sash, contrasted his long, flowing black hair. His appearance was striking. He seemed solemn and purposeful as he looked around the room. Then David realized that the man's eyes were pale and opaque. He was blind. The man walked slowly clockwise around the chamber. Occasionally, he would point out a person from the crowd who would stand up and join the council. As he came to the section where David sat, he paused. He seemed to sense something that no one else could. Puzzled glances moved through the gathering until finally he walked over and pointed right at David.

A collective gasp erupted from the hall. Then all drew silent.

An elderly woman leaned over to him and whispered, "Go ahead. You've been chosen."

"I don't understand. Chosen for what?"

"You just go sit with the council, and when you get your chance, say what's on your mind," she whispered and smiled warmly.

Reluctantly, David excused his way out of his seat and went over to the inner circle. He felt the eyes of the whole room on him as he sat. He was next to a gentleman who looked like someone's grandpa in a granola commercial, who gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. David was not reassured.

When the circle was complete, Willow rang a small silver bell. "Let the council commence." She picked up some kind of carved stick, sat down and handed it to the man to her left.

The first hour or so of the meeting could have been from any town council throughout the country. The stick was passed from person to person around the circle. Some spoke on issues that concerned them. One woman spoke of her concerns about the especially long winter's effect on the upcoming harvest. Another spoke about the difficulties of a new home construction on the far side of the village and so on. It was odd to David that no solutions were offered or demanded. David passed his turn this time around.

At the he next passing of the stick people addressed the various problems that had been previously mentioned. Many of the responses offered solutions, but some spoke about the problem from another perspective, others added to someone else's suggestion, and yet others simply offered comfort and emotional support to the individual. "We know you're doing your best," one man said, "You're not alone," another added. At times, it had the feel of a support group more than a council meeting. Only once did David see anyone at the meeting become upset. A woman was working on a solution to stop water seeping into the underground system of power and networking cables and all the suggestions seemed to exasperate her. She fumed quietly until her turn came back around. When she took the stick, she blew up yelling that no one understood the problem and all the suggestions were stupid and time consuming. She apparently had other responsibilities and hey were falling behind. No one said a word until she'd finished. Then a small group of people went over quietly, huddled around and held her. She broke down and sobbed uncontrollably. The council patiently waited until she'd regained herself. When the proceedings recommenced, she was inundated with offers to help with her work load.

Then a thought struck David. He knew something about plumbing. It was his business after all, and just recently he'd read in one of his trade journals of a similar problem. When the stick came to him, he took a deep breath and decided to speak.

"Hello. My name's David, and I know I'm not from here, but I think I might have an idea about the network problem. If you haven't been able to track down the source of the seepage, you could try pressurizing the PVC piping with some kind of gas and you might be able to see where it's leaking. The ground is porous enough to let the gas through." David looked around as if expecting a response, then realized that he was still holding the stick. "Oh, sorry." He said and passed it to the left.

Willow stood up and walked over to the center with he stick. "I'm going to open up the discussion. Speak your minds."

With that, a freeform discussion started. People added to David's suggestion and talked about how to make it work. The fire guild offered one of their compressors from the geothermal system to use. The healers' guild suggested the best plant to burn to produce the thickest smoke possible to use for the gas. Before long a plan was settled on and the woman who'd been so upset, seemed renewed with vigor and purpose.

The business of the meeting seemed concluded, but they weren't finished. The stick was once again passed around the circle. This time, people told about good things that had happened to them this past moon cycle. Lost items that were found, someone helping above and beyond the call, the discovery of a beautiful flower in a nearby meadow, and so forth. When the stick came back to David, however, he realized that he had no 'good thing' to speak of. Slightly embarrassed, he passed his turn, and it seemed to him that there was an uncomfortable moment of silence. He knew he was being paranoid and that it was likely to be just his own imagination.

They hadn't quite completed the circle when there was some kind of commotion in the surrounding crowd. David could see a young boy, perhaps in his early teens, being dragged away by a group of men. They were covered head to toe in some kind of body paint, brandishing swords and . The woman who struggled to stop them, presumably the boy's mother, seemed to calm down after they had left. Things continued as before.

David was terrified. He didn't know what to do. Should he run after them and help the boy escape? Just then he happened to look over to Willow who gave him a reassuring smile to let him know that everything would be all right. He wasn't sure why, but he felt calmer. 'Yes,' he thought to himself 'things will be all right'. Willow had an amazing talent for putting people at ease.

As the meeting adjourned and people milled about for a while to chat with friends and catch up on community news, David worked his way over to Willow. He asked her about the incident with the boy. She informed him briefly that it was a male rite of passage for the boy. His initiation into manhood, that involved a traumatic abduction, physical and mental ordeals and challenges, and a symbolic death and rebirth into the community as a man.

"I don't understand." David had no idea what to think about this. "How does being abducted and put through some kind of bizarre hazing ritual make you a man?" David realized he was raising his voice and wondered why this situation made him so upset.

"David," she reached out and took his hand, "if you really want to know, you can go see for yourself."

"All right, show me..." Willow interrupted him.

"I'm a woman. I can't go. This is for men only." She led him by the hand to the main door and directed him which way to go. The directions led him down a long, dark path through the forest. The fact that it was the new moon made it nearly impossible to see, but he'd seen the path in the daylight and had a rough idea which direction it went. Before long, he'd caught up to the group. They were gathered around the boy who was huddled next to a small bonfire. He had no clothes except a loin cloth type of thing and a blindfold. He looked terrified.

David knew that the men were aware of his presence, but he chose to hang towards the back of the group and listened.

The apparent leader of the group stepped forward and spoke. "Myrden, son of Lisa, it is now the time of transition, the dark moon waits to be reborn, to begin a new phase. All transition, all change destroys what came before it. The end of one thing is the beginning of another. The end of one time is the beginning of another. You are at such a juncture in your life Myrden. Something must die so that something else can be born."

The men in the circle began to chant in low melodic tones.

"...She changes everything she touches, and everything she touches changes..."

The leader spoke again. "You must go into battle. If you fail, it's over." He handed the boy a spear. Then he took a small wooden bowl of paint and, with his finger, drew some kind of mark on the boy's chest.

"Let the hunt begin!" He pointed the boy in the direction of the woods and shoved him. "Go now!"

Myrden reluctantly headed into the trees, still blindfolded, and obviously scared out of his mind. Then David heard another sound. At first it was just a rustling, then he could hear growls and panting. Myrden cried out and there was a scuffle. The growling and snarling grew as did Myrden's screams. He was fighting something, but David couldn't make out what it was. Then he heard what sounded like a snap of wood and a brief chase. More wrestling, followed by a high shriek from Myrden. Then a dreadful silence.

David couldn't move or breath. He nearly leapt out of his skin when something burst from the bushes. It was huge and covered in shaggy, black fur. Dragging behind held by his foot was Myrden, covered in blood. The fur creature threw back the hide it was wearing, revealing one of the men from the council who had taken the boy. He quickly stashed the fur in a nearby stump and stood with the others. Then miraculously, Myrden moved. He was alive and breathing, nearly to the point of hyperventilating.

The leader helped him up and removed the blindfold. "You are dead," He paused for a long moment, "Now be reborn." The others moved forward and gently poured buckets of warm water over him, rinsing away the blood, mud and sweat. They gave him a large towel to dry off and when he was done, brought out some fresh clothes in which to dress.

"Today Myrden, you are a man. Come and sit by the watchfire and we'll share the mysteries of what it means to be a man." A look crossed Myrden's face that David had never seen before. The closest he could think of was a look of pure joy and love.

A tremendous wave of emotion flowed over David and he burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably as if releasing a lifetime of sorrow. He now knew why he'd been so angry. Deep inside, he was jealous that Myrden was being given something that he'd been denied as a child. Yet now, through Myrden, he found something missing in his life that he never knew existed. He was crying with the joy of someone who has been reunited with a lost love. He was reunited with himself.

One of the men walked over and put his arms around David. Normally, a guy hugging him would have freaked him out, but things had changed. David had changed. They all went and sat near the fire which was stoked and prodded to a comfortable level. Within this circle of light in an infinite darkness, the men shared the secrets of manhood with Myrden and David. Myrden was given gifts from each of the men to mark this turning point: a large knife, a stone, a journal, a new cloak, a shaving razor, and other such things. Myrden looked at his gifts and thought for a moment. Then he reached into his bag and took out the large blue stone he'd been given. He reached over and handed it to David. One of the men decided now was a good time to tell a story. Everyone listened intently.

They talked through the night about heroes and journeys; of the mundane and the magical. By dawn, they were all feeling a bit tired. They said their good-byes and went off to their respective homes to catch some sleep.

David got back to the village and grabbed some breakfast with the Celts. Willow happened upon them just as they'd finished.

"Ah, David. I got hold of the garage and they said they'd have a tow truck here in a couple of hours. Do you need to call anyone?"

"Uh, yeah actually. I should call the office and let them know I'm not dead."

Willow led him back to the dome and up a spiral staircase to the second level. The rooms upstairs were fairly common and pleasant, done in a light pine. She took him into what looked like a computer center. There were a dozen or so workstations, one of which seemed dedicated to community operations. There were windows monitoring the electrical network, a calendar, news and even the positions of communications satellites. David was impressed.

"Wow. This is incredible."

"Actually, our GEEKs are working on our own computer design. It will, it is to be hoped that interface with anything, Mac, PC, UNIX, you name it. They're getting the raw parts shipped from a couple of places. I'm not sure about the details, it's not really my thing."

"That's amazing. I gather you don't like computers."

"Oh, I think they're great, why?"

"Well, you called them geeks."

"Sorry, GEEK stands for 'Green Environment Electronic Knetwork.'"

David thought. "Um, network?"

"Network with a 'K.' Their idea." She smiled and shrugged. "The phone is over there."

David reached his office, but being Saturday he could only leave a voice mail. It was O.K., he knew his boss would check it today, he always did. Willow suggested that they head down to the stables and ride to his car. It was a little ways away, and the tow truck might get there early.

On the way out of town, David tried not to show how reluctant he was to leave. There was a flurry of waves and kisses from just about everyone they passed. They saw a couple of men digging next to a small plume of smoke coming out of the ground. They waved and gave him a thumbs-up. David smiled back. It occurred to him that he'd never felt so happy and content.

They had just entered the forest trail when he said, "I'm going to miss you...all"

She leaned back and kissed him on the cheek. "It's too bad you won't be here for the dance next week. It's going to be great. We've some guest musicians staying with us."

"Yeah." David was quiet.

They rode in silence until they reached his car. It was only a few minutes later before the tow truck arrived.

"Good timing," David said. "I guess I'm all set now. Thanks so much for everything. I don't know how I can ever repay you."

She smiled warmly. "Just remember us."

"I couldn't possibly forget." They laughed.

"Good-bye, David." She turned her horse and trotted off. David felt very alone. He was startled when the mechanic spoke.

"Well, I can't tell here." He said with the air of detachment of someone who's said the same phrase a thousand times before. "We'll have to check it out back at the garage. Do you have AAA?"

"Oh, ugh, no actually."

"Well then, I'm afraid I'm going to have to see a credit card and some ID."

David fished through his wallet. He had a hard time coming up with the credit card and the man was getting impatient.

"Come on pal, I don't have all day."

"Yeah, here it is." He quickly handed over the card. Another fifteen minutes later, they were on their way. The driver didn't speak except to yell at some "asshole" who was driving too slowly. The man seemed put out and angry about the whole thing. David remained silent. It took them a couple hours to reach Nashua and finally, they were at the garage. He asked the man how long it would be.

"I don't even know what the hell's wrong with it yet."

"Will you know today?"

"Today?" The man laughed. "What planet do you come from? All I do is tow on Saturdays buddy. Look, I'll call when I know something. I got your number."

"Do you know the number for the cab company?" David asked.

"What do I look like, a fuckin' phone book? There's a pay phone down the street." David didn't bother to ask about the phone in the office and began to walk.

As he wandered down the street, he noticed that people on the street seemed to avoid each other. They wouldn't look at each other and barely acknowledged each other's existence. It was odd that he'd never realized it before. In a world full of people, everyone is so alone. When a small boy did look up at him and smiled, David smiled back and said "hello." His mother quickly pulled the child close and walked away mumbling something about perverts. David sighed.

When he finally found the phone, it was destroyed; pulled apart and spit on. He turned and was confronted with a huge billboard looming above him. On it was an ad for some kind of runaway hotline. It said: "Lost...Alone...Call someone who cares." The 800 number was whited out and someone had spray painted over it: "Bullshit! No one cares!".

David looked down, reached into his pocket and felt the blue stone Myrden had given him. He started walking home.

 

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