The Wrong Way - or Is It?
by
Ernest Bywater
All rights reserved © 2007, 2008, and 2010
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book
are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is
purely coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions
thereof in any form.
Copyright © 2007, 2008, and 2010 by Ernest Bywater
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Table of Contents
The Pool
The Hut
The Search
The Next Day
Another Day
The Pool - Again
The Searchers - Again
Family History
The Outcomes
A Year Later
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The Pool
Eighteen year old Yumi wanders away from her class on the nature tour in the old natural woodland of an ancient estate. This part of these ancient woods is a bit spooky. Yumi wonders what secrets it may hide.The Hut
Smiling, the hairy man steps back. He reaches forward and takes her hand, "Come with me." Like two ghosts they silently move through the woodland to a small forest hut not far away. As they walk through the woodland she keeps a track of the steps and directions, just the way her sensei trained her to. Suddenly feels cold and shivers as it feels like she's walking through a very dense and cold fog. Fogs are common in this area so she soon forgets the mild discomfort._________________________________________________
The Search
It's the start of the class lunchtime and the teaching assistant is handing out the lunches when she notices she has one extra; that's impossible as she checked the numbers when they got off the bus. She tells the teacher and he does a quick survey of the class, a student is missing - Miss Yumi Ashagi. He gulps. The Ashagi family may no longer be the rich warlords their ancestors were but the family is still greatly respected and powerful. If any harm has come to her he can kiss his career goodbye, no more promotions - ever. The one saving grace is this woodland, one of the few left in the region, is open for public use but is Ashagi land as it's part of their original ancestral home and she lived near by as a small child, so she should know it much better than could usually be expected. He hopes and prays she's all right as he starts the proper procedures by calling the ranger station to report a missing student in the woodland._________________________________________________
The Next Day
The soldiers arrive before dawn and spread out along the eastern boundary awaiting the sun. When it's light enough to see clearly they start out to slowly walk across the whole woodland. It's nearly dusk when they reach the western boundary with no sight of the girl or her personal effects. This total lack of anything worries them as she should not have been able to leave the area without being detected and any accident should have left some trace._________________________________________________
Another Day
Just before dawn of the second day since he first took her he withdraws and takes her outside for the fourth or fifth time to relieve herself. As they go back in he hands her some fruit to eat again. When they finish eating he stands her up and places her clothes in her hands. Suddenly saddened about the end of their encounter she starts to get dressed.The Pool - Again
He lets her go and withdraws into the bushes as he says, "The Ashagi Lords have always been power hungry brutal men while their woman have been gentle loving creatures. Our child will be a man and become a great Ashagi Lord, but unlike the others he'll be like you; gentle and loving instead of a power hungry brute. His lack of desire for power is what will bring him more power than any previous Ashagi Lord has known. Remember this and the treasure, and love him well for us both as I won't be there to do so. And remember, foresters are people too." With that, he's gone, vanished back into the woodlands and the fog.The Searchers - Again
After an afternoon, a day, and two nights with no sighting of Yumi Ashagi the fifteen woodland rangers are getting very concerned for her safety. As they sit around their breakfast table discussing what else they can do they're very surprised to hear someone knock on the door of their quarters. This is a surprise as the woodlands aren't yet open to the public for the day. The senior ranger waves at the junior ranger and he goes to the door.Family History
Once back in the main house Yumi's mother starts going through the old records and finds an interesting entry. An old map that's over eight hundred years of age shows a forester's hut in that clearing. Checking the archives she finds a record over nine hundred years old of a forester who fell in love with one of the Ashagi daughters, and she with him. The record speaks of her father's anger when he finds out. He orders the man to be hunted down and killed in a very brutal manner. On finding out she's with child the father has her aborted against her will and arranges a marriage to an influential shogun. She delivers a great insult to this man by committing Seppuku, a form of ritual suicide, at the wedding ceremony. War erupts between the two great shoguns and both lose a great deal of prestige and power in the decades long series of conflicts. This is the start of the slow decline of the Ashagi power.The Outcomes
The scholars come and verify the wonders found. Because these are full specimens in good order they tell much that had previously been guessed at, and often guessed wrong. The gems are worth billions in today's prices but the artefacts are worth ten times that. The best examples are kept for display at the Ashagi Museum at the Main House and the rest are sold to museums around the country, costing the government and other benefactors a major fortune. Many of the items are sold at well below their real worth in order to keep them in the country and most are sold on terms of payment over time; but that was preferable to selling them to private overseas collectors.A Year Later
Nineteen year old Yumi wanders away from her class on the nature tour in the old natural woodland of an ancient estate. This part of these ancient woods is a bit spooky. Yumi wonders what secrets it may hide.......