floodplain. The roots below were exposed and grow out like the tendrils of a huge monster. Holly let go of the lady’s hand and began parting the rhizomes. She held it open just enough for Philo’s mother to duck below and follow Holly beneath the tree. They found themselves in a small dugout underground structure that was more like a cave where makeshift seats made out clay were arranged and some leftover shells of acorns.
“I guess he’s not here…” Holly sadly said.
“Hold on– “
Philo’s mom squatted down and pulled a piece of cloth from under some sediment. She dusted it off.
“Philo had this hat on this morning…”
“That means he might be close by, right?”
Without an answer the mother exited her son’s ‘secret hideout’ on the lookout for something. Holly followed outside and watched her scan the ground.
“Here it is!”
The little girl quickly jogged over to what she was looking down at; A pair of small footprints in the sand that lead away from the oak tree. They then followed the trail for some time until Philo’s mom slowed down and stopped.
Looking forward, away from Holly who was just catching up with her she said, “Oh my– This is not good.” And drooped her head even further down in torment. “They lead right out of the canyon!” She began crying again and nothing else.
Holly stood by her side and began patting her on the back.
“It’ll be okay ma’am. Philo is a smart boy. He’ll come back soon.”
“If only we had gotten a new shipment of stones this year, then none of this would have happened! I would have given him mine, if it hadn’t broken…” She said more to the universe and less to Holly.
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The little girl continued to help comfort the older female.
Suddenly she stopped her wailing and her emotions began to shift. She got up abruptly and said “Come on, Holly let’s go back. Someone there has got to help me… they just got to.”
They approached the circle, this time Philo’s mom being more collected, but when they got within yelling distance, everyone promptly got up and began getting excited. Before the weeping mother could make her pleas, the villagers were all heading off to the periphery of the village into the darkness of the night. When Holly and Philo’s mom caught up with the group, they were gathered together and began making a human chain around a tall mound. They gleefully looked at each other, and tried their bests to lift their necks up to see the summit where hundreds of baskets had been clustered earlier that day.
Anticipation was in the air as everyone quieted down and waited with obvious expectation for something to happen.
Over the normal sounds of crickets chirping there came a buzzing noise, that was soft at first, but grew evermore louder as it approached. Villagers stamped their feet up down, danced, and bobbed their heads in excitement. Through the black of night, dozens of tiny lights zoomed towards their location. What looked like a large swarm of insects flew over the mound and began loudly hovering above. A net almost the size of the man-made hill was produced and collected on all sides by the flying-things, and they slowly descended upon the produce, effortlessly covering the whole supply of the harvest and scooping them up without any droppings. Swiftly, they tugged the hefty cargo into the air and just as quickly as they came, the insect-things soared off towards where the sun sets.
An eruption of cheers resounded around the mound and the villagers happily and openly cheered for all their hard work that was now gone. They shook each other’s hands and patted each other on the backs.
The mother of Philo approached the celebrating crowd, still with her son’s hat in her hand, and large moist eyes, she searched for someone she could confide in.
“Excuse me… Could you– “
Happy hunched back villagers either did not see her or were plainly ignoring her words as they turned their rears towards her.
A man who held head his up slightly higher the rest approached Philo’s Mom.
“Now, what seems to be the problem, Ann?”
“Oh, Bing, it’s absolutely horrible. My son, Philo, he’s run away and left the canyon!”
“That’s impossible, Ann. No one leaves the canyon, it’s just not like us. He’s probably hiding somewhere on the outskirts, playing a mean trick on you. I’m sure he’ll be back by tomorrow morning.”
“But I saw his footprints. They were heading out of the canyon into the wilderness!”
“Well, regardless, since it’s nighttime and we won’t be able to easily find him in the dark. We should wait until tomorrow morning before harvest and have a few of us search him out, how does that sound?”
Ann, Philo’s mom, nodded her head slowly, remorsefully, in agreement, being she wasn’t given much choice.
“Besides, you have nothing to worry about. Our lands aren’t known for any dangerous beasts like they tell in the tales. And he knows how to feed himself. He’s perfectly safe out there.”
“I guess– I guess you’re right…”
“I know it will be hard, but try to get some rest and we will start looking at the break of day, okay?”
Everyone was dispersing, heading back to their bamboo huts.
“Okay… I will. Thank you for helping me out, I appreciate it.” Ann said sulkily
“Of course, Ann. I know you would do the same thing for me. Alright, I’m going home to get some rest. Please make sure you do the same… Come along Holly…”
Bing took the little girl by the hand and waved goodbye.
“Did you see me, daddy? I tried helping Miss Ann tonight find Philo…” The little girl told her father as they left the mother standing there alone.