A Stranger Road
He awoke to a persistent shaking and a raspy voice urging him. “Come on my young friend, we really do have to get moving. Get up boy.”
When his eyes cleared, Kesh looked around and said, “This is a dream.” Now, instead of the rag man, a small stout creature squatted before him, urging all speed. He had dreamt about magical talking animals for as long as he could remember. “This is a dream. It has to be. You’re not real.”
“As you wish, boy. Real or not, we have to get out of here, so can we please be going?”
Kesh threw off his covers and rubbed his eyes. Then he remembered: “My parents! I’ve got to get home to find out what happened to my parents.”
The creature spoke gently. “Your mother and father are fine, Kesh. I know you were frightened , but they are safe.”
Kesh felt his anxiety lift. He thought, This is all part of the same dream. “I get it,” he said. “I’ve been dreaming all along, and you’re part of my dream.” He felt better, certain the mystery was solved. Then, he looked down at the small creature and said, “What are you, some kind of beaver or something?”
“No!” The creature huffed, “Beavers have great big ugly flat tails and horrible overbites. I’m a muskrat, at least at the moment.”
“Oh!” said Kesh. “You’re a rat. You don’t look like any rat I ever saw.”
“I am not a rat! They are disgusting things that haunt children’s nightmares and hang around sewers and trash piles. I, young man, am a muskrat, and that’s altogether different. We are impeccably clean. I’ve even been referred to as regal.”
Kesh rolled his eyes and said, “Okay, okay your Majesty. You’re a muskrat, not a rat. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Fine, fine,” he huffed. “Now please hurry. I need to get you safely to Anna as quickly as possible.”
“Anna?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Now, come along quickly. The night is not safe for us here.”
Muskrat and Kesh moved along the dark trail as quietly as the creatures that inhabit the night. Kesh knew he was just on the edge of town, hardly the wilderness, but it seemed far removed from his safe, modern world. The growth along the path felt strangely stifling, a black thicket that seemed about to close around them.
The imagined threat propelled them along, as Kesh was eager to get wherever it was they were going—anywhere but here, he thought. But the path opened, and the forest grew lighter, more welcoming, giving rise to new worries. Kesh caught up to and passed the swift muskrat, then stopped, turned and said, “What do you mean, you need to get me safely to Anna? Why wouldn’t I be safe?”
A howl rose from somewhere nearby, and Muskrat sniffed the air. “Well, let’s just say that not everyone is your friend. Now come on. You’ll know all you need to know shortly.”
The path followed the riverbank for a distance before it turned abruptly and cut deeper and deeper into the thick woods. This was not the wilderness. The trees were orderly and evenly spaced, and the underbrush was sparse, but it was dark and thick enough for Kesh. Muskrat’s warning had rekindled his fear of danger lurking in the adjacent woods. In the dark dream world, Kesh imagined danger in the shadows. He still felt certain he was dreaming.
What else could it possibly be, he thought. Still, he was becoming more afraid and aware that this was unlike any dream he’d ever had in his life. More to the point, he thought, what if this isn’t a dream?
Another howl rose from the darkness, and Kesh scanned the trees for some sign of movement. He could see remarkably well for such a black night and was able to make out individual trees and the motion of small creatures and moving leaves.
He was still scanning the woods when the muskrat let out a startled squeal. Just ahead, half obscured in the night, a tall figure stood in their way. Kesh thought it seemed very odd to find a human here in his dream. He felt his stomach turn queasy.
“Oh, it’s you.” Kesh heard something odd in the muskrat’s voice.
“Yes, rodent, it’s me,” answered the tall man. “It’s strange to see you here at this time of night. I’d think you’d be more careful. You know, a lot of predators are hiding in the darkness.”
“I know all about predators, Louis,” said Muskrat.
“Yes. I suppose you do,” responded the man. I see you are chasing the spider’s delusions.”
Muskrat raised up on his haunches, and his squeaky voice lowered a pitch. “Don’t talk to me about the spider, Louis. You have no right, and she will stop you.”
Kesh studied the tree line, trying to get a clear look at the man, but he remained dark and surreal. It was hard to know if he was actually there. Even so, Kesh smelled the scent of a dangerous animal, and the eyes in the trees did not seem to be the eyes of a man.
Kesh stepped back, and the hair raised on his neck. Then, as the man talked and goaded Muskrat, Kesh’s shock began to give way to his annoyance. What right did this man have to talk to the muskrat like that? The boy took two steps toward the man and said, “Leave him alone! We’re not bothering anybody!”
In that instant, Muskrat, swung his head around to look at Kesh. The little creature’s eyes glowed with what Kesh knew was fear. He not only felt Muskrat’s fear, but he smelled it. He didn’t know how he could be so sure about the sour odor, but he was, and he was glad when the glow turned into a sparkle, and Muskat winked. And Muskrat wasn’t the only one to notice something about Kesh. Clearly irritated, the man backed away a step. Even in the dark night, Kesh could see that his eyes widened. The man’s face was dark and frightening, and it was familiar in a way that made his skin crawl. Kesh heard the interloper inhale deeply as if he were struggling to regain his composure.
“Who is your friend?” Now the man spoke more quietly. The arrogance was gone from his voice.
Muskrat let out a low growl. “It’s enough for you to know he is my friend. Now get out of our way. We’re in a hurry.”
The man hesitated for just a moment and said, “I hope you’ve told your young companion about the dangers of the woods at night.” Then he stepped off the trail as quickly as he had appeared and disappeared into the forest.
Muskrat, turned his back to look at Kesh again. “Well, Mister Jones,” he said, “You are a surprise, aren’t you?” He grinned a muskrat grin and said, “If this is a dream, you have to admit it’s a terribly interesting dream.” Something howled again, now far off, and Muskrat looked away toward where the man had been standing, and then scurried off down the trail with Kesh loping easily after him.