Stranger in the Woods

Zach pulled the bowstring back to his ear and held it until Bo said, “Release it.”

Zach let go and the arrow zipped toward the distant target, a burlap bag filled with straw that Bo had attached to a tree at the edge of the meadow, and the feathered shaft clipped the bottom corner before being deflected to the ground.

“You missed!” Jason said from behind him.

“At least he hit the bag,” Shelby said, “which is better than we did.”

It was Saturday, their first chance to return to the woods since school had started, and Bo was trying to teach them the skill of archery, letting them take turns with the new bow he had carved for them. It was much smaller than his, and far easier to draw. It still felt powerful in Zach’s hands, and natural, as if he’d held it a thousand times already.

They were practicing in the meadow. Beepee sat in the shade nearby and whined, desperate to fetch the arrow (and chew it to pieces, no doubt), but Bo turned to her and said, “No, Beepee.”

She was not on her leash, and when Zach had worried that she might run off, Bo assured him that she wouldn’t. “Why not?” Zach said.

“Because I asked her not to.”

“I didn’t hear you say that.”

Bo didn’t respond, and Zach didn’t bother seeking a further explanation. He knew he wouldn’t get one.

Shelby ran to retrieve the arrow and said, “That’s five shots now. Is it my turn again?”

“Yes,” Bo said. “You were first.”

Zach reluctantly handed her the weapon, then stepped aside and watched as Bo helped her position herself properly.

The white-haired man had been patient and encouraging with each of them, even though they were terrible at it. He made Zach feel like he could do it, though, that he would soon get the hang of archery, and Zach had noticed some improvement with each attempt. His first shot missed by several yards, landing in the ground embarrassingly short of the target. The twins had laughed, but not Bo. Shelby hadn’t either.

Bo showed her the proper stance again, and stood beside her and mimed the technique for how to hold the bow and draw. As he pulled his elbow back, Zach saw something on the inside of Bo’s forearm that he hadn’t noticed before — a round spot the size of a quarter, dark, like a tattoo.

Zach pointed at it. “What’s that, Bo?”

Bo paused and glanced at his arm. “It is a bonding mark.”

“A what?” Justin said.

Bo hesitated as if deciding whether or not to tell them, and it seemed as if he wouldn’t, but he took a tight breath and said, “It was given to me when I was a baby. It is a pledge to my betrothed.”

“Betrothed?” Shelby’s eyes brightened. “That’s like being engaged, isn’t it?”

“I suppose so, from what I understand of that tradition.”

“You were engaged when you were a baby?” Jason said. “Is that like an arranged marriage or something?”

“My parents and her parents agreed, and we were bonded. This mark is proof of that. She has one just like it.”

“Oh, but….” Shelby put one hand to her mouth. “You’ve been gone for so long. She might’ve married somebody else by now.”

“How do you know?”

“I would have felt it when she broke the pledge.” He glanced at his arm again. “And this mark would have turned completely black.”

“It wasn’t always like that?”

“The circle was empty when it was imprinted on my skin. It has gradually filled in as I have gotten older.”

“What happens when it fills in all the way?”

Bo looked off toward the distant hills before answering. “Then it will be too late.”

“Too late for what?” Zach said.

“Too late for me to complete the bond.”

“You mean, to get married?”

“If that is the way you want to look at it, yes.”

“If you could get back home before the circle goes totally black,” Zach said, “could you still get married, or bonded, or whatever your people call it?”

“Yes, but how?” Bo spread his arms and looked about. “I am trapped here. And even if I could manage to return, it must be before the mark on my arm fills in or there will be no point. My people will reject me. I will be an outcast. I would be better off to remain here, in a way. At least I have a few friends here.”

Zach stared at Bo while considering what that meant. “You…if you managed to get home, but the mark had filled in, you’d have to live by yourself? No friends at all?”

“But that’s mean!” Shelby said. “They wouldn’t do that to you. You’re too nice.”

“It is the way of my race. We have children so much later in life than your people, so this custom guarantees that we honor our responsibilities of bonding and hopefully, procreation. Otherwise, our birth rate would fall below sustainable levels.”

“You make it sound so clinical,” Shelby said. “Doesn’t love have anything to do with it?”

“Quit pesterin’ him, Shelby,” Jason said. “That’s personal.”

The giant turned away from them again and faced the far side of the meadow. He stood that way for a long time, and Zach and his friends waited awkwardly while the silence stretched on, until Justin said, “Uh, Bo? We, uh…we brought you a couple of books, me and Jason did. They’re in my backpack.” He gestured with one hand. “Over there by the tree.”

Bo turned back to them with a troubled expression that quickly vanished. “Thank you. I look forward to reading them. What kind of books are they?”

“Science, both of ’em. We got ’em from the library ’cause we got our cards now.”

“I will read them quickly so that we may discuss them the next time I see you.”

“Uh….” The twins looked at each other and Jason winced before saying, “We didn’t exactly read ’em yet. We haven’t had time, with school starting and everything.”

“I am sorry to hear that. I will give them back to you when you return, and then you may read them. We will have a lively discussion then.”

Shelby opened her mouth as if to say something, probably critical of her brothers, but Zach nudged her before the words came out. “Not now, Shelby.”

She turned and glowered at him, then said, “I brought a couple of books, too.”

“Dumb romance books,” Justin said. “Bo doesn’t want to read those. Those are for girls.”

“Not necessarily,” Bo said. “I have read several novels from the romance genre and found them to be entertaining, in their fashion. I will be happy to read them, Shelby.”

“I read them already and I can discuss them anytime you want.”

Zach wanted to kick her on the ankle. She can be so snotty sometimes. Jason and Justin frowned at her, then faced each other with determined glints in their eyes. I bet they’ll read those science books, now. Probably the first science books they’ve ever read.

Zach had brought a book, too, Southern Generals of the Civil War, but decided not to mention it. It was thick and boring, and he had only skimmed through it. He realized now that skimming would not be good enough. He would have to thoroughly read any book he brought to Bo, and understand it, too. So we can have a lively discussion. Oh, boy. It was an intimidating thought.

He was not going to embarrass himself in front of his new friend.

No one spoke on their hike back through the woods until they reached the spot where they had hidden their bicycles.

“That’s awful about Bo,” Zach said.

Jason glared at the stony ground. “How can his people do that to him? It’s not right. It’s not like he’s bailing out on his marriage because he wants to.”

“Wish we could help him,” Justin said.

“We have to,” Shelby said and dipped her chin firmly.

“Right,” Justin said. “We’re gonna magically send him back to his home world. No problem.”

Zach rubbed his chin with his thumb while he thought about it. “Maybe if we could figure out how he got here, we could help him get back. He said he stumbled into a room in some building and then ran out and found the woods. That place must be around here somewhere, don’t you think?”

“Not necessarily,” Jason said. “Bo can probably run a hundred miles in a day, so it could be anywhere. Could be Tilton or Chattanooga, or maybe even all the way down in Georgia. There must be twenty towns within a hundred miles of here.”

“We need to talk to Bo about it some more,” Zach said. “If we can find out how long he ran that day, maybe we can narrow it down. Like, figure how far he can run in an hour and estimate the distance and stuff.”

“Ugh.” Justin stuck out his tongue as he climbed onto his bicycle. “Sounds like a math problem. Never was too good at those.”

Zach mounted his bike, too, and put his helmet on. “Maybe it’s time you got better. I mean, if you really want to help Bo.”

“’Course I want to help him, but I don’t see how. We’re just kids. We don’t know nothin’ about stuff like that.”

“I don’t think anybody does,” Shelby said. “That’s the problem. I bet this has never happened before, an alien coming here from another world that way.”

“Or if they did,” Jason said, “they kept it a secret, like Bo.”

“You think there are other aliens around and we don’t know about it?” Justin asked.

Jason shrugged. “Probably not, unless they’re just like us, which I doubt. I mean, look at Bo. He’s pretty different lookin’. He’s so dang big and got those strange eyes and everything.”

“I think he looks nice,” Shelby said. “I don’t think he looks strange at all.”

“I’m not sayin’ he looks like a weirdo. I’m just sayin’ he’s different, different enough so that he’d attract attention if he was in a crowd. He’s even got a few idiots hunting for him, like Uncle Marty.”

“That’s why he needs other people to do stuff for him, sometimes,” Zach said, “and that’s what we gotta do. We gotta figure out where that room with the shimmering thing is, the one where he first came out of, if it’s still around, and then maybe we can see if there’s a way for him to get back to his world. That place holds the key to him going home, don’t you think?”

“Maybe. If it still exits.” Jason started pedaling onto the trail, and the others lined up behind him. “We’ll talk to Bo next Saturday and maybe then we’ll know where to start, if we’re going to help him.”

“We’re going to help him.” Shelby began to ride with Beepee beside her. “We have to.”