Mac Egan welcomes you to a time of peace and reflection. But you may want to reflect that freedom always has a price, even if someone else is picking up the tab.

******

The man sat in the late afternoon sunlight, enjoying his view of the valley down below.  The multi-faceted green tones of the forest were speckled throughout with oranges, reds and golden-yellows as autumn was reaching its peak.

I don’t think I will ever tire of seeing things like this, he thought.

As he looked, his eyes detected some movement at the edge of a stand of trees, several hundred yards away.  A large brown bear was headed in his direction. The bear continued until he was halfway between the trees and the man.  Straddling the bear was a boy, about seven years old, a wide smile decorating his face. The bear stopped.

“Nooooo,” cried the boy. “Go that way!”

The bear shook its mighty head back and forth, his fur rustling with the movement.

“That way!” the boy pleaded.

The bear sat down.

“Ohhhh,” the boy complained.  With a dejected look, he slid down off the bear and walked towards the man.  After two steps, the boy turned back to the bear and reached up for its beard.  He pulled the bear’s head down a little lower and wrapped his arms around the bear’s neck.  “Thanks for the ride,” he said.

Free of his load, the bear turned and started down the mountain.  Along the way, it passed a small herd of sheep grazing in a clearing.  The sheep never looked up and the bear walked by, unconcerned.

The boy got closer to the man.  “Hello,” said the boy.

“Hello,” the man answered, “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Nope,” replied the boy, “I’m visiting my aunt and uncle.  They live over there.”  The boy pointed somewhere behind the man.

“Is it true?” the boy asked.

“Is what true?”

“That you used to live in the Old World?”

“Yes.”

“Wow.  I’ve never met anyone from the Old World.”

“What about your parents?  Are they not from the Old World?”

“No, they were born here, in the New World.  Like me.  They say the Old World was a bad place.  Was it, really?”

The man sat for a moment, silent, remembering the Old World and its ways.  Up until The Last War, the man had known nothing else.  During that time, he considered himself happy.  Now, forty years later, living in the New World had taught him what happiness really was.

“Yes,” he answered, “the Old World was a bad place.”

“How?”

The man paused, then said, “Freedom, for one thing.  There wasn’t any.  We told ourselves we were free, told ourselves enough times that some days we believed it.  But we weren’t.  Take that bear, for instance.  How long have you known that bear?”

“Found it this morning.”

“In the Old World, finding a bear usually meant injury or death.  Here, any bear you find, or any other animal, is safe for you to be around.  You are free to roam this mountain without any concern.  Hold out your arm.”

The boy stuck his arm out, his skin a shade somewhere between dark brown and walnut.  The man held his freckled, pinkish arm next to the boy’s.

“Feel my hair,” the man said as he leaned forward.  The boy reached up and rubbed his hand over the man’s soft, blond locks.  Then he rubbed his own head, with its black, wiry-textured hair.

“In the Old World,” the man continued, “there were areas where we would not have had the freedom to have this conversation, all because we look different from each other.  In the New World, all people are free to associate with anyone they choose.”

The boy concentrated on the differences that had been explained to him.  He suspected there were many other changes that had taken place.

“Did everything change because of the War?” he inquired.

“Yes.”

“Did you fight in the War?”

“No. The Last War was fought by Others.  The Others warned us The Last War was coming and helped us prepare for survival.  But we didn’t have to fight.”

“Why did the Others start the War?” the boy wondered.

“They didn’t.  The war was started by the Adversaries.  They were opposed to the Others and didn’t want them to ever have control.  The Adversaries were secretly destroying the Old World, just so the Others could never have it.”

“But the Adversaries lost, didn’t they?” the boy asked.

“Yes, they did.  And now they don’t exist.  And everything about this planet has been rebuilt into our New World, where you have all this wonderful, true freedom.”

*****************

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