Experiences Shared

Experiences Shared

By

Bryan Wade

Toby and Scott had been friends for a few years. They’d been buddies ever since Toby moved into the house next door.

Scott’s house was a big, old, rambling place with creaky polished wooden floors, which were great for sliding on and even more exciting when they chased each other around the house. Unfortunately, they quickly stopped games like these before chasing the excited pair into the garden to let off steam.

They were both seven years old and enjoyed doing the same things, usually having battles in the large sandpit at the bottom of Scott’s garden. But far more exhilarating were their secret expeditions into the enormous forest that started at the bottom of their backyards.

A tall wire fence acted as a substantial barrier to keep wild deer and other creatures from wandering into their properties, but in the far corner of Toby’s garden, there was a secret hole they could just about squeeze through. 

Their secret entry saved the would-be adventurers a long trek to a lopsided gate at the end of their road. It also saved them from passing a tumble-down cottage where a crazy old woman lived. She was short and round with long, grey, frizzy hair and a booming voice. She always seemed to be in the garden pulling up plants and mumbling, and if they stopped to look through her gate, she’d always raise her stick and shout, and sometimes she’d scurry down her path towards them waving. She also had a fat black cat that trailed behind her wherever she went, as though her shadow. It walked with the same slow rolling gait, and if it looked in their direction, it didn’t look friendly.

But once in the forest, they were free to run wild in their own personal playground, where they enjoyed some of their best times together. A favourite was racing down the narrow trails that zig-zagged through the shrubbery to the valley bottom. In a small area, the remains of several tumbled-down buildings were great for climbing on, as were several old cars surrounded by thick, tangled creepers, creating unique places to hide and play.

Usually, when they returned home after spending a few hours here, they’d be worn out, grubby and sometimes in need of a bath.

On adventure days, Toby would sit on his front porch and wait until his friend arrived. On this particular day, they came across all sorts of great places. The best was close to a prominent rocky ridge where Scott found what looked like a small opening. 

As they investigated, it became more like an extended tunnel, which was rather scary in a few places because it was so narrow. It also smelt like a fox or badger had lived there, and they both knew a badger was something they shouldn’t tangle with.

Foxes, on the other hand, were more nervous creatures and would usually run away. But those old black and white badgers could be very aggressive! 

Putting those thoughts to the back of their minds, they’d slowly edge their way in and moments later, the tunnel opened to a vast cavern. Daylight poured through small holes in the roof, allowing them to see numerous narrow pathways leading off in all directions. Several led to tunnels that had collapsed, while others were too dark and scary to investigate— some were flooded with black water that smelt rotten. Yet the adventurers found loads to keep them happily entertained.

Walking home later that afternoon, they came across a lake, so they decided to take a short rest. However, they soon became captivated by a large bird that circuited over the expanse of water at a great height. Sometimes, the bird looked like it had stopped in mid-air, but moments later, it dived down at great speed and tried to catch something hidden in the water. The last time it swooped, there was a great splash, but the bird flew away towards some trees, so they couldn’t see what it had grabbed.

They wandered around the lake's shoreline to where the bird had settled, but it had vanished by the time they arrived there.

The following day, they returned to the brickworks and then onto their newly found cavern, but Scott didn’t seem to enjoy himself and appeared happy just to sit and watch his partner. And then, on the way home, he kept lagging, so Toby had to keep stopping for him to catch up.

When they finally arrived at the lake, the big bird was nowhere to be seen, and a big man wearing a hat was walking through the trees near the far short line. So, the bird may have been frightened off.

A few minutes later, it began to drizzle. Toby realised he was hungry, so set off for home, but his friend didn’t follow. Moments later, Toby retraced his steps to find his buddy, who was still lying by the lake. Just then, the heavens opened, and the downpour motivated Scott, but again, he kept stopping as they climbed out of the valley. He seemed tired and out of breath and struggled to get through the hole in the fence.

Toby didn’t see Scott over the next couple of days.

He wandered around to his place, but there was no sign of him. And there was no music playing in the house as there often was. Also, the yellow car that usually stood outside wasn’t there either.

A day or so later, the car was back. Toby sat waiting on his porch to see if his friend would arrive, but he didn’t. He noticed there was still no music playing and thought he could hear the faint sound of crying. Then the phone in his house rang, followed by voices.

It crossed his mind to wander over to his friend’s and investigate because he sensed something rather odd, but then the porch door opened and closed behind him.  

A moment later, a hand rested lightly on his head. Gentle fingers played with his ear as a soft voice spoke, “Your buddy won’t be coming over anymore, Toby. He died yesterday.”

Toby didn’t really understand, so just wagged his tail before trotting off to find his friend.