Adam and Thomas

Chapter 2

When he woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. In his sleep he had been at home, in the kitchen, and for a moment he wondered how he had come to the forest, but he immediately remembered that his mother had brought him and told him: “We’re there. Don’t be afraid. You know our forest very well, and everything that’s in it.” Her sentences echoed in his mind for a moment, and they pleased him. Adam was very familiar with the forest in the afternoon. After a day of work, his parents went out to refresh themselves among the trees. His father carried sandwiches, cake, fruit, and vegetables in his backpack. His mother put two thermos bottles in her long handbag, with coffee in one and hot cocoa in the other.

Adam used to look forward impatiently to these excursions. In the forest his parents were relaxed. They conversed and listened to each other. In the end all three of them would play ball.

After an hour of play, Adam’s shirt would be wet, and his mother would say, “You’re absolutely soaked. Too bad I didn’t bring a change of clothes.”

For a moment Adam felt sad because he was alone. He went back to the stream, sipped some water, took an apple out of his pack and bit into it. The bite brought his father and mother back before his eyes, and he felt they weren’t far away.

While he was wondering what to do and where he would go, he heard noises. He pricked up his ears: the noises sounded like shuffling through dry leaves.

He couldn’t see a thing from where he was sitting. He rose to his feet, and to his surprise, not far off, a boy was walking heavily, with a pack on his back.

“Hello, boy. Who are you, and what are you doing here?” Adam called out loudly.

“My name is Thomas,” the answer came quickly.

“Come over here.”

“Here I am.”

Once he was close, Adam saw he was a classmate. “Who brought you here?” Adam asked in a friendly way.

“Mom brought me here this morning and told me to wait for her. Since then I’ve been wandering around the forest and getting tired.”

“My mom also told me to wait for her. Let’s wait together,” said Adam, smiling.

“Strange,” said Thomas.

“What’s strange?” asked Adam.

“Suddenly we’re alone.”

Thomas removed the pack from his back, sighed like a grown-up, and sat down.

“Have you eaten already?” asked Adam.

“Not yet. I’ll do it now. I’m hungry.”

“I’ve already eaten, and I drank from the brook.”

Thomas pulled a sandwich out of his pack and bit into it.

At school Thomas sat in the first row, because he was nearsighted. Now you couldn’t tell he was nearsighted, maybe because of the green cap that changed his looks.

“Have you been here long?” Thomas asked.

“I got here early in the morning with my mother.The forest was still dark.”

“Weren’t you afraid?”

“No, I know this forest and everything that’s in it.” Adam repeated his mother’s words.

“It’s lucky you spotted me. I was getting discouraged.”

“Actually I didn’t recognize you.”

“I didn’t recognize you either. But that’s not saying much. To my regret, I’m nearsighted,” said Thomas.

Adam noticed the words “to my regret.” Thomas was a polite boy and often said “excuse me” and “thank you.”

“I’m glad we’re together. While I was alone, I didn’t feel good. I was sure I’d get lost. By the way, when did your mother promise to come back and get you?” Thomas asked.

“In the evening.”

“My mom also promised me she would come in the evening. The two of us will go back home together,” said Thomas, and he was glad he had said those words. “My mom sent me with too much. My pack is as heavy as a flour sack.”

“My mother also equipped me as if I were going on a long hike. What isn’t there in my pack? Bandages, iodine, aspirin, two boxes of matches, and lots more,” said Adam.

“I don’t even know what’s in my backpack.”