Going Home

It was a hot day, but not unusually so for the middle of spring. The citizens of the small town of Bael went about the normal routine of their lives. This consisted mostly of farming, hunting in the nearby woods, and generally keeping to themselves. The people of Bael owed allegiance to no matriarch, were part of any kingdom, nor did they have any roads or marked paths to their little town. They simply lived and wanted to be left alone in their own little paradise. The self-isolation of Bael went on for so long that the town was eventually forgotten by the outside world. And that was just fine with the town of Bael, who although forgotten, did not forget the world outside of it.

So when Beau stepped out of the edge of the woods and into this village that time seemed to have forgotten, to say he was surprised would be a gross understatement. At first Beau thought that he had somehow wandered into a renaissance fair, but that did not make any sense. He had gotten lost in the woods, dozens from even so much as an access road.

It did not take long for the locals to notice Beau. One by one, they all stopped what they were doing and stared at him with solemn expressions.

“Uh,” Beau began, “I’m sorry but I got lost in the woods and I could use a little help.”

The locals continued to stare at him, and Beau began to feel uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable.

Beau began to back away towards the forest. “Never mind, I can see you are all busy. I’ll just keep tracking along.”

Beau almost made it into the woods before an older man stepped forward and beaconed him back.

“Wait,” the old man yelled. His appearance was a bit cleaner than the other townsfolk, though he had no hair, was missing most of his teeth, and looked like a stiff breeze might knock him over. “Please don’t go.” The old man continued to walk towards Beau as he spoke. “You just surprised us is all. We don’t get many visitors in our isolated community, so when someone walks in through the forest it catches us off guard. Please, come in. We will see what we can do to help.”

Beau slowly left the border of the woods and stepped back into the clearing of the town. “That’s okay. I’m… I’m sorry I surprised any of you. I’ve just been lost in the forest for a couple of days and I’m getting a little desperate.”

“I understand,” the old man gestured for Beau to follow him. “Come, let’s see if we can get you some food and drink.”

Beau walked up to the old man, and then they both walked towards the town.

Beau introduced himself, “I’m Beau.”

“Aligrax,” the old man dropped his name casually.

“That is an interesting name.”

“Thank you,” Aligrax said with sincerity. “You are interesting yourself. Those clothes of yours are quite different.”

Beau looked down at what he was wearing; jeans, a t-shirt, a button jacket, boots, his cap and his backpack. “Really?” Aligrax nodded. “They’re pretty plain where I’m from.”

“As I said, we don’t get many visitors. We’re bound to be a bit… out of touch.”

“That’s cool Mr. Aligrax.”

“Just Aligrax, will do.”

“Sorry,” Beau smiled. Aligrax was very friendly, and Beau began to notice that all the other locals seemed to begin to warm up to him as well. “So, what is this town called?”

“Bael.”

“Cool name. How long has this town been here?”

Aligrax led Beau to an outdoor campfire, sat down on a wood bench, and motioned for Beau to do the same. “I honestly couldn’t tell you.” Aligrax answered. We haven’t had the best record keepers here. Most of us can barely even read, but I know that we have been here for many generations, happy to be left to our own devices.” Aligrax looked over at a woman who was going about her day. “Lilith, could you be a dear and fetch our guest something warm to eat?” Lilith nodded and started to trot off to a nearby house. “Thank you Lilith.”

“That’s amazing that you’ve been here for so long. I had no idea that there was any civilization out here.”

“Nobody does,” Aligrax sighed, “and that’s the way we like it.”

Beau digested Aligrax’s words for a moment, and then grew somber. “Wait… that means you don’t have a way to contact anyone else to help get me home.”

“I’m terribly sorry, but that is the case.”

Beau shifted uncomfortably on the bench as he mulled that over in his head. “That’s alright, I’ll just have to make my way back on my own.”

Aligrax said nothing; he only looked at the flames of the fire in front of them. And then Beau put his hand on Aligrax’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry Aligrax, I won’t tell anyone about your little town. I mean, you’re feeding me and letting me rest. You’re basically giving me the best help that you can. Keeping your community secret is the least I could do.” Lilith came back with a steaming bowl and a wooden mug, and handed it to Beau. “Thank you very much miss,” Beau removed his hat before accepting the food and drink. “It smells wonderful.”

Lilith gave a sideways glance at Aligrax, and then looked back at Beau with a smile on her face. “You’re welcome?” Her response caught Beau as a little strange, like she didn’t feel comfortable with being thanked. Lilith hesitantly turned away, then scurried off down the dirt road of the town.

“My apologies for her awkwarness,” Aligrax mumbled. She sometimes has difficulty doing work that needs to be done.

Beau though it an odd comment. Lilith didn’t seem to have any difficulty helping out as she was asked. But this was an isolated village and he had no idea about their customs, so he shrugged it off and began to dig into the food that Lilith had brought him.

Beau didn’t know if it was just the hunger, or something they did to prepare the food, but it was spectacular. The bowl of stew was savory and warm. The meat in it was tender and flavorful, and the vegetables in it were a perfect compliment to the smoky flavor of the meat. Beau washed it all down with the cool water in the wood cup.

“Thank you for that,” Beau sighed contently, “I really needed that.” Aligrax didn’t say anything. He just looked at the fire with kind of a sad look on his face. “Did I do something wrong Aligrax?”

“No,” Aligrax exhaled heavily. “I just sometimes wish we didn’t need to keep the town of Bael a secret from everyone else.”

“Aligrax,” Beau put his hand on the old man’s shoulder again, “your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone.”

Tears escaped Aligrax’s eyes. “I believe you,” he gently wept.

“I’m sorry Aligrax, I didn’t mean to cause you any worry.” Beau stood up and put his backpack back on. “You’ve been such a fantastic help, probably saved my life, and I don’t want to cause you any trouble or grief. I’ll head out and make my way home.”

Aligrax nodded, and Beau walked off in the direction Aligrax had led him from. Lilith waited for Beau to get a bit off before she approached Aligrax.

“He’s a nice boy.” Aligrax said, to no one in particular.

“It’s a shame.” Lilith shook as she spoke. “Can’t we make an exception just this one time?”

“You know as I, our lord Bael’s laws are absolute. We are to remain isolated, we are to remain invisible, and nobody can know of our existence.”

“He ate the entire bowl, didn’t he?” Aligrax tipped his head, affirming her question and a small sob escaped Lilith.

“He’ll be dead within an hour.”

“At least it will be a clean death.”

Aligrax stood up slowly, letting his back bend and stretch as he did so. “We will need to fetch someone to find the body then, in case he makes it beyond the veil and back into his world.”

“You should have kept him in the borders of the village. Bael will not be pleased if he learns you risked our exposure.”

Aligrax began to shamble off. “He won’t make it that far beyond the veil in an hour. And I’m too old to care much anyways at this point. I am beyond caring whether or not our dark lord Bael will be happy. At this stage of my life it is enough that I complete his orders, and he has not specifically ordered us to not allow our accidental guests outside of the veil, just that they die before they can share the secret of this place.”

Aligrax left Lilith and shuffled to his home. Bael’s laws were absolute, but sometimes it was just so hard.