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John was deep in the forest searching for a certain kind of flower that he needed for one of his remedies. People often came to him when they were ill because he used to be a doctor, before the war. And he was kind, and so very smart.
As he searched, he caught a glimpse of someone moving through a thicket trees nearby. Knowing the woods could be dangerous, he hid himself behind a large tree and watched as… something, trundled by. As John watched its progress he slowly began to realize it wasn’t an ‘it’ but a man. A man, in tattered clothing and covered in hideous scars. His first instinct was to recoil in fear. The man had a debilitated gait, as if it had never learned how to walk. It’s breath poured forth in stuttered gasps and small moans as he made his way closer to John’s hiding spot.
But then, John noticed the man wasn’t searching him out. He was gathering sticks. He was poking through the wild shrubs in search of dry kindling. John’s curiosity was piqued. What was this creature? What was he doing? Did he live in some cave nearby? Was this the “monster” the people in his village had whispered about?
He decided to follow him. If he was the fearsome monster that was frightening his friends, he thought perhaps he could discover its secrets and try and put an end to the fear.
He crept along as his quarry made its way through the forest. He noted the spots of dried blood curdled amongst the rudimentary stitches littering it’s skin. John thought to himself that it must be painful. As he studied him further, he caught glimpses of bright, blue eyes now and then as they searched the forest floor for more kindling. When he felt he had enough, he began to backtrack and John had to scramble out of the creature’s line of sight until it passed. John continued to follow.
After some time, John noticed a light in the distance coming from a small cabin - a shack really, deep in the woods. As he and the creature approached, John watched as the strange being neatly bundled the wood and placed it carefully next to the door of the little building.
The creature then began to pull something from the inner pockets of the tattered frock coat he wore. John had to creep closer to see what he was doing now. Did the creature live here? How could no one in the village know of this place? It seemed habitable, if small.
Squinting, John could just make out a brace of rabbits the creature - no. He must stop thinking of this… person as a creature. He is a man. He watched as the scarred man began to skin the rabbits and lay them gently in a nearby basket. He was skilled at this task and it did not take him long. John smiled to himself as he watched the man carefully place the basket next to his bundle of wood.
Then both of them heard a loud bang from inside the little hut. The man jumped, as if terrified of being caught and he scampered off into the forest so quickly that john was unable to catch up to him. Instead, he turned back to the hut and saw a beautiful young lady step out of the door and exclaim, “Husband! Come and see!”
She was joined by what must have been her husband and they both were grinning and hugging each other, pleased but puzzled at their good fortune. They clearly did not understand who had done such a good deed for them. But they also were not too prideful to accept the little bounty that had come to them and they took their prizes and went back inside.
John was thoughtful as he made his way home. He was so captivated by the man’s good deeds that he completely forgot about collecting his flowers. Surely this… person was not the horrible and frightening monster that his friends claimed terrorized them. He smiled again as he thought of how carefully the man had collected the right sort of wood and how skillfully he had skinned the rabbits.
The next day, John thought he would venture back into the forest and look for this man. He set out very early the next morning and walked toward the little home he’d discovered the night before. It did not take him long to come across the man toiling in a small clearing near the house. He was marvelously strong as he laboured to remove rocks large and small from the clearing. The larger ones he carried to the edge of the little field and laid them in a line. Smaller rocks were thrown into the woods. The man laughed a childlike laugh as he threw the smaller rocks and John discovered that he was aiming at certain trees and would be delighted when he managed to hit them.
John found his laugh delightful. That he could take joy from some a simple diversion touched his heart. He began to worry about the man’s scars. He wondered if he was in pain and his compassionate nature made his stand up and step into the field. He didn’t call out, not wanting to startle the other man. He simply stood there, watching and smiling until he was noticed.
The scarred man turned away from the forest and back to the field to get more rocks when he saw the small blonde man smiling in the clearing. He froze in place, unsure what to do.
"Hello there!" John called out.
With a grunt, the man turned on his bare heel and ran into the forest.
"Wait!" John yelled. "I would like to talk to you!" John ran after him. Despite the man’s odd gait and painful-looking scars, he was decidedly quick and John had to put every ounce of strength he had into the chase.
Luck was with John, however, and the other man began to tire. After lifting rocks that morning, his strength was not at its best. He could tell he was still being pursued, but he thought it might be better to turn and fight while he still had some energy rather than be run to ground like an animal. With a savage growl, he stopped and swiveled and prepared to beat or be beaten.
Stunned, John skidded to a halt and quickly put his hands up in a conciliatory gesture. “Please. I don’t mean you any harm,” he said, hoping the man could understand him.
"My name is John. What is yours?" John smiled in what he hoped conveyed friendship. He slowly lowered his hands and moved to sit on the ground.
The other man stood still and watched every move John made. He was confused. Why wasn’t this man trying to hurt him? Was he a good man, like De Lacey? Or was he trying to trick him? He very much wanted to know so he decided to sit down as well, but at a safe distance.
"Not know name." he said and watched the other man carefully.
John was taken aback first by the admission that this man does not know his name, but also by his stunted English. He scooted a bit closer to him, still smiling.
"Not to worry. I could think of one for you, if you like," he replied, still smiling.
The creature felt the corners of his mouth curl upwards. He was still puzzled, but he was beginning to lose the feeling of fear that had become automatic. This man before him seemed like a good person. Just like De Lacey. And he loved De Lacey who had helped him learn to speak and to read.
"J-John," he said softly as if testing how the kind man’s name felt in his mouth.
"May I ask you a question?" John asked. He waited for the man to respond. When he didn’t, John pressed ahead. "What happened to you? Are you in pain?"
Stunned, the other man just looked at John as if trying to process the questions. What happened? He did not know how to answer that. Was he in pain? Yes, a constant pain full of aches and stings that never stopped but he had learned to live with. It was all he knew, the pain. But he could not articulate this to John. He merely nodded and said, “Not know. Hurts. I am always hurting. I… frighten people. Why… why you are not frightened?”
"You don’t seem frightening to me. You seem kind and I think you need someone to tend to those wounds."
"W-Wounds? These," he glanced down at his bare chest covered, "these are… wounds?"
John frowned and nodded. “I am a doctor. Would you let me help you tend to those? I may be able to ease the pain.”
"Why help me? I am a monster. P-People run from me. Hit me. Why help? Why you not afraid?"
John, who had been slowly inching closer to the poor man, leaned in close and with kind eyes, he caressed the man’s face.
"I don’t think you’re a monster."