Chapter three
Strolling in the forest around the mountains
It was a very sunny day, the outside as hot as an oven. Charley and Pete had been planning all day to go for a walk in the woods located in the nearby forest within the mountains of Kalkulta. After learning about the existence of the land of gold from their schoolmates, it had always been a hidden desire fueled by their curiosity to find the place on their own. Charley, being the eldest son of Mr. Tolen, had nurtured the dream of finding the place one day and taking the initiative to explore it.
Hoping to find riches or gold that he could use to improve his family's financial situation, he was obsessed with locating the place. However, he was intermittently worried about the reality of the monstrous statues, poisonous serpents, and paintings on the walls that lined the path to the land, coupled with the idea of entering the land and never being able to return to his family. He had longed for an opportunity to leave the house with Pete to facilitate their final decision on whether to enter the land or not.
Mrs. Tolen had just finished giving her children lunch and decided to take a quick nap with little Mary. As soon as she stepped into the bedroom, Charley secretly called Pete and told him his plan. He suggested they should take a quick walk towards the road that led to Kalkulta city and search the forest around the mountainous roads to see if they could locate the walls that led to the gold gates of the Land of Gold. Pete hurriedly put on his sandals and joined his elder brother Charley to embark on the search for the road that led to the walls into the land of gold. They had been told that the walls stood on the path to the city of Kalkulta. As they stepped outside their home, Pete observed that the sunshine had reduced, and the atmosphere was cooler.
"Oh, yes," Charley admitted as they hurried along. They were seized by the fear of being found out by either of their parents. They knew they would be in trouble if discovered, as the adventure they were about to embark upon was a great risk to their lives and the joy of their parents. Pete couldn't help but wonder why their father often spoke confidently about their future prosperity. As far as he was concerned, they were better off compared to their neighbors. Charley rebuked him, pointing out the family's low level of subsistence. He made him understand how the family had been suffering since their father lost his job at the gas factory. Pete introduced a new angle to the discussion when he claimed that people often said those involved in rituals could become rich.
"You are getting it all wrong," Charley replied. "It is not only bad people who become rich; anyone can become rich if they work hard." By now, they had traversed several paths within the forest around the mountains on the road to Kalkulta, yet had not come across the walls that led to the golden gates of the land of gold. Pete became apprehensive and suggested going back home, especially since it was already getting dark. He was concerned about their parents' anxiety if they didn't return home on time.
"Mom and Dad will be worried about our absence and might search for us. Jenny could also report to them that we knew about the land of gold before Dad heard about it." Taking Pete's apprehension and concern for their parents' worry over their absence into consideration, they thought it best to return home.
As they were about to take the last curve to their house, they saw their father, who was also returning from an outing. Pete quickly dashed toward him, arms spread out, shouting, "Papa, Papa." Mr. Tolen dropped the grocery bags he had been holding and spread out his hands to receive Pete. He swept him off the ground and began to fondle him mid-air. Pete was excited that they had returned from their escapade unhurt and with the secrecy that attended it. As they all walked the narrow path to the door, Jenny ran out to meet their father, shouting "Papa, Papa," just as Pete had done before. Mr. Tolen dropped Pete and picked her up, giving her light pecks on her cheek. He moved toward the kitchen where Mrs. Tolen was busy making supper for the whole family.
"Welcome," said Mrs. Tolen to her husband, stirring the soup steaming in the pot on the cooking stove. "How was your day? Did you succeed with the interview?" She looked critically at her husband's face in anticipation as she poured out the questions on him. In response to her barrage of questions, Mr. Tolen walked up to his wife, gave her a hug and peck on the cheek, and paused for a moment before he broke the good news to the whole family.
"Yes, oh yes…" he resounded. "They gave me the job, and I will start tomorrow." There was a loud shout of joy in the whole house as his children jumped and hugged their father. Even little Mary was so much a part of the excitement that she let out meaningless babblings peculiar to babies, kicking her legs and arms.
"Bring the grocery bags over here, Charley," said his father. Enraptured by the items, the children had forgotten about the food their mother was cooking and settled for them. The whole family momentarily lapsed into celebratory moods. After the euphoria that greeted Mr. Tolen's new job had died down, Mrs. Tolen asked Charley where he had been with his younger brother Pete.
The next day, after Mr. Tolen had left for his new job and their mother was busy in the kitchen, Charley called Pete and Jenny and told them to join him to find the Land of Gold. Pete and Jenny quickly objected to the suggestion. But Charley insisted, saying that it could be an opportunity for them to become rich. He argued that the people who went missing in the land of gold were mostly bad.
"And you know we are not bad, we only need the gold so we could help Mom and Papa with their current financial difficulties. It could be an opportunity for us to be the first people to ever enter the land of gold and come out alive. Think about this, everywhere in Zinatano would hear about us as the three heroes who survived the ordeals in the land of gold and came out alive with so much gold. All our friends in school would have a special respect and admiration for us."
Pete looked at Jenny and said to Charley, "but we are just kids, brother!"
"Yes, that would be to our advantage in the land of gold. Remember we are innocent, and our innocence would serve as a factor to stand before the monsters and venomous serpents Papa and our friends talked about unhurt."
"Let's get going before Mom comes out of the kitchen," said Jenny in a low tone.
"Yes," Charley added. "Pete, let us just do that so we could return before Papa gets back from work." Just as they were about to step out the door, little Mary woke up with a loud cry from the bedroom. Mrs. Tolen rushed out of the kitchen to attend to little Mary. Charley, Pete, and Jenny stood in surprise, quietly staring at each other.
"We are lucky," said Pete. "Mom could have caught us leaving the house, and we would have to be caged, never to go outside the four walls of the house if they ever found out we intended to search for the land of gold."
Quietly, Pete told Charley, "We should plan this for another day. In the meantime, we have to keep this secret from everyone until the day we have the opportunity to search again. Is that alright?"
"Yes," Pete and Jenny answered in unison. Charley then added that they would need to find out more from people who knew about the land of gold."And we will make appropriate arrangements for our search when the right time comes. For now, we shouldn't talk about this unless we are alone and safe from those walls that have ears!" Charley concluded.