The Village

It was a peaceful day in the village. It was morning, and people woke up for their daily worship. They all walked out to the forest, kneeled in a hollow tree, and started to pray. Everyone praised Mother Nature for all the life around them. Mother Nature will bless them with all the things they will ever need. The worst that had happened to them was less rainfall and reduced crops. But that was acceptable. Their life was perfect.

All of this changed in one day. It was a typical day; the daily worship followed by their jobs. The gatherers were searching for herbs and roots when they suddenly walked into open land. This may be normal for others, but for them, it was beyond belief. Nobody should be cutting trees. They were housing provided by Mother Nature herself. Who would be bold enough to do such a thing?

They returned with the news and everybody had the same reaction. Who would be daring enough to dishonor Mother Nature? Someone here must’ve had done it. The elders of the village called a meeting. Normally meetings are only held to celebrate events. But today wasn’t a normal day. The elders questioned everyone. Coming up with nothing, accusations arose. Minutes of arguing later, however, a man entered the village. He wasn’t like them. He was wearing strange yellow striped clothes with a yellow hat, while holding a board with a shiny piece of metal. 

He looked at the people for a moment, then started to run. The village people chased after him. As he was running, he took out a black box the size of his hand. He tapped it a few times and starting speaking into it. He was a strange man. Soon they reached the clearing. But others were waiting for him. They were holding weird machines that made a loud noise. They started to cut trees down. The village people were terrified. These weird, yellow people were cutting down trees created by Mother Nature. Who doesn’t believe in her?

However, many don’t believe in Mother Nature. When others think about Mother Nature, they think about trees, plants, and animals. But there was more to it than trees. Mother Nature was about life itself. How could they believe that Mother Nature was just about trees? Nothing deterred the non-believers, however. They continued to chop the trees. They must’ve been sent by the Demon himself. The villagers had seen enough. They picked up rocks and threw it at these yellow beings. They stopped cutting, looked at the villagers, and walked towards them. They yanked their machines and they came back to life. Afraid, the villagers ran away. But one thing was in their minds: this means war.

This morning was no ordinary morning. They didn’t do their daily prayers. Instead, they started to make weapons. Spears, bows, and axes were being made as fast as they could gather resources. Normally such weapons weren’t needed. But they had to protect the sacred land of Mother Nature. These tree choppers cannot harm this forest any longer. They finished making their weapons. It was time to fight.

The buzzing of these machines could be heard in the distance. They had arrived to cut more trees. But this time, they will be stopped. The villagers walked into the open. One villager shot an arrow into a tree being chopped. The yellow man cutting that tree stopped, looked at the arrow, and then looked at the villagers. Anger could be seen within their eyes. The yellow man stepped back and started to run. The rest looked at their running friend, and then realized they were in danger. They followed suit and followed their friend. The villagers had won. They cheered and walked back to celebrate. The peace, however, would only last for a few days.

It all ended when a loud buzz could be heard. This time, it was different. The buzz was deeper and louder. The villagers were confused. Had they not stopped the yellow men? They went out to investigate. When they got there, not only were the yellow people there, but they had brought bigger machinery. Trees were falling by the minute. The villagers started to attack. But this time, the yellow people fought back. They carried angled metal sticks with a hole at the end. Flashes of light exploded out of them. Many villagers fell as they were hit with an invisible force. Panicked, the villagers fled.

The elders called another meeting. The elders agreed that they had to defend the forest from these invaders, even if it costed their lives. But many disagreed. They wouldn’t be able to get close without dying to stop the cutters. The elders scoffed in disbelief. Those who won’t fight could just leave the village and abandon Mother Nature. Nobody moved. No one would dare leave in front of the elders. So fight they will.

As nighttime approached, the buzzing stopped. But the villagers knew they will only start again in the morning. So they prepared. Hours passed as the villagers trained. As the sun rose, the inevitable buzzing started up again. But the villagers had prepared. They might have a chance to save the forest. They picked up their weapons and headed towards the buzz. They entered the clearing and started to fight. Spears, arrows, and bullets filled the air. The villagers had managed to injure a few of them. But the cutters killed more of them. The villagers retreated and regrouped. They had injured some of them. They might be able to save the forest.

But the villagers continued to fight but to no prevail. More and more villagers were killed trying to defend Mother Nature. Their primitive spears and arrows were no match to modern guns. The tree cutters simply continued to cut, shooting and villager that got in their way. Acres of land were deforested. Many more burned. They finally reached the tree temple, and simply cut it down without a second thought. The villagers had lost the last sacred thing in the forest. They had failed to protect the forest and now, Mother Nature will condemn them.