Stepping on Forest that Someone Left Out

‘He’s a handful,’ Toby said.

The camp manager nodded. ‘They will have had a very different upbringing than us.’

The two men smoked companionably. The manager, Bill Goodwin, prodded at tobacco in a simple pipe; Toby Radcliffe sucked on a roll up. Their shirt sleeves, folded to the elbow, signalled the heat of the summer day.

The younger man stirred. ‘I’ll take them for a walk after lunch. See if I can run some steam out of them. Might help Charlie settle down a bit too.’

‘Wonderful idea and home in time for tea.’ Bill’s eyes twinkled.

‘Wonder if they’ve ever been in a real forest? They seem so ignorant of the countryside. One of the girls didn’t know what an egg was at breakfast, let alone where it came from.’ He shook his head. ‘I’d heard what people said about evacuees, but I wasn’t expecting them to be quite so … what? They’re as sharp as whips, street-smart, but the things they don’t know is astonishing.’

‘Inner city lives, Toby. Probably with parents who could never take them anywhere. I doubt many of them go to school regularly. The East End is all they know.’

Toby shrugged. ‘Right then, better get off and wear the little tigers out.’

Surrounded by an excited group of children, the young man led his charges down a worn pathway towards the great oak forest. The sun, shimmering in his vision, had rendered the air dry and grainy. Even the grass crunched under their feet. Approaching the edge of the forest, the chatter and giggles began to subside.

‘Won’t we get lost?’ said a little girl, eyes wide.

‘Not if we stay together,’ Toby said.

‘How many trees are there?’ said another.

‘Loads and loads and they’ve lived for hundreds of years. Kings and Queens have coming riding in here, in the olden days.’

‘Why? What’s in there?’

‘Nothing scary. But we might see squirrels and …’

‘What’s a squirrel?’ said the little one.

‘It’s like a big mouse with a huge, bushy tail.’

‘I don’t like mouses.’

‘Come on, hold my hand,’ he said. ‘Stay together everyone. Call out if you see anything interesting.’

The treetop canopy brought instant shade, the temperature plummeting. It took a second or two for Toby’s eyes to adjust to the lower level of light. Years’ worth of oak leaves lined the path, soft and dense. Up above, the sky peeped through a lattice of greenery. He inhaled the quiet and peace until the little girl’s fingernails dug into his palm.

‘I’m frightened,’ she said.

He swung her up and onto his hip, just as he used to do with his younger sister. They’d reached a small clearing, fallen trunks providing places to sit. Pairing younger children with older boys and girls, he organised a simple numerical scavenger hunt. The first team to return with one, two, three, four and five of something different would get a prize. Groups could call to him or to each other if they needed help to find their way back. The little one stayed with him. He sat down, holding her gently on his lap, remembering his favourite stories about the little boy, his bear and the Hundred Acre Wood.

‘Do you know the story of ‘Winnie the Pooh’?’ he whispered in her ear.

She shook her head.

‘He was a teddy bear that belonged to a boy called Christopher Robin. And, guess what? Pooh bear could talk and had lots of friends. They used to play here in the woods.’

She swivelled round to gaze at him, her thumb slipping between her lips.

‘There was a baby pig called, Piglet. A rabbit called Rabbit. A sad old donkey called, Eeyore.’

Her brow puckered.

‘That’s the sound donkeys make.’ He demonstrated. She giggled.

‘And a tiger called, Tigger. He was very, very bouncy.’ He jiggled his knee, the giggle turning into a chuckle.

Just as he was about to tell the story of Pooh getting stuck in Rabbit’s doorway, an older boy returned with news that Charlie had gone missing. Ordering the boy to look after his charge, he strode towards the path from where the messenger had come. Minutes ticked by as he marched along, calling then listening, eyes primed for any flicker of movement. Bill’s face leapt into his mind. Had he been irresponsible? What skills would these kids have in dense woodland to look for markers, remember turns in the path? None, he acknowledged. By now, his voice was hoarse.

The snap of a twig caught his attention. He raced, heart pounding towards a small stream. He hadn’t warned them about the stream! Eyes alighting on a small figure leaning over the old, wooden bridge, his heart soared.

‘Charlie! Oh, God, Charlie. Where have you been? Why did you run off like that?’

Charlie looked up. ‘I’m alright. What’s got into you?’

‘You disappeared. We were worried.’

‘Play out till all hours at home.’

‘I’m sure you do, but this is different. You could have got lost.’

The boy snorted.

‘Come on. We ought to get back to the others.’

‘Can I take these?’ He held up two wet twigs.

Toby stilled. ‘Were they in the water?’

‘Not till I chucked them in, they weren’t. Just fished them out again, from there.’ He pointed to a bend in the stream where debris collected.

‘Charlie? What were you doing?’

‘Playing poo sticks. Know it?’

‘Yes, yes I do. So you’ve read those books? The ‘Winnie the Pooh’ books?’

‘Get out! No books at our gaff. That’s posh stuff, that is.’

‘Maybe someone told you the stories instead.’

‘Look, mister. Don’t know what you’re on about. He told me about the river and we played with the sticks until you showed up, hollering. He’s gone now.’

‘Who? Who’s gone?’

‘Never said. Young kid, but not one of us. Spoke posh like you does. Let go of his balloon, too. Look, up there.’

Toby looked up to see a blue balloon wedged in the crook of a massive bough.

Charlie shrugged. ‘Won’t get it down from there.’

‘No, I don’t expect he will.’ A wave of pin pricks galloped down Toby’s spine.

‘We off, then? No point staying now you’ve shown up. Said he wanted to help but you must’ve scared him.’

‘Help? How?’

‘I dunno. Settle down or settle in, maybe? Hate this place.’ He turned steely eyes on Toby. ‘Tell you that for nuffink.’

‘But you know why you’re here, don’t you? Bombs are falling on London. You could get killed. Your parents want you to be safe.’

Charlie dug his toe into a pile of leaves and flicked them upwards, his laughter taut, tears forming at the edges of his eyes.

‘So, what did the boy with the balloon say?’

Charlie jutted out his chin. ‘You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…I’ll always be with you.’

Toby swallowed and forced a smile. ‘Those are wise words, from a good friend. And true, Charlie. Every one of them. That’s exactly who you are.’

Copyright © Diane Clarke 2021

Author’s Note:

Title inspired by: ‘Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the forest that was left out by mistake.’

Direct quote: ‘You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…I’ll always be with you.’

A.A Milne, author of the Winnie the Pooh book series.Copyright © Diane Clarke 2020