Silence the Wisdom

"Make sure your boots straps are tight" ordered Molly in a friendly but firm tone.

"Yessss Mom" Sally replied, rolling her eyes for being talked to like a child. After all, she was 14 and knew how to put on a pair of boots.

"Boots are boots" she mumbled. She didn't need instructions at this stage in her life.

"You don't want to lose your boots in mud" Molly replied in her own tough manner.

This was Molly's and Sally's first mother/daughter hike. It was a rite of passage. A bonding experience for the female gender according to the booklet.

Molly had never hiked. She was never into the scouts or ranger programs that existed pre-reenlightenment. Yet, here she was getting ready for the schlep.

The sun started to break through the cover provided by the dense forage. They were ready to start. Molly looked at her watch, touched the screen, heard a beep and they were off.

Sally was quiet. She had not said a word for about 30 minutes. Molly wondered if she was still upset about the boot comment.

'Teens are so temperamental,' Molly thought.

The trail opened up. There were old cars laying around with plants growing out of them.

As they turned at the bend, Sally looked up and read "Public School 48."

"What is that mom?" as she pointed to an abandoned building.

"Just a building, let's keep walking?" Molly replied.

"But what was it? What does school mean?" Sally insisted.

Molly stopped, looked around, and whisper.

"Well, before you were born, all parents use to send their children to one of these buildings where children would learn to read, write, do math, and learn history and other skills"

"Why are you whispering? There isn't anyone around. And why would any mother send her kids to a dark building like that?" Sally questioned.

"Our country use to welcome the idea of free thinkers. That meant that they would teach you the skills needed to explore. You could read and come to your own ideas or conclusions." Molly explained.

"That's stupid!" Sally replied. "I like not having to think. Don't you?"

"It wasn't too long ago when we were free to think what we wanted and express ourselves. That was before we gave away our freedom and democracy. It was so great back then, unlike now. Enough of this, let's keep walking" said Molly as she turned her back on Sally and started to walk.

Sally's face turned pale. She had seen this in the videos kids need to watch when they turn 12. She knew what she had to do.

Sally bent down and grabbed a large stone. She took a deep breath, raised it over her head and with all the thrust of her skinny arms began to pound the back of her mother's head.

Molly collapsed - instantly unconscious. Sally kept pounding as blood dripped all over the trail.

"Sally. You did a fine job. You can be proud of what you have done" said a voice coming from Molly's watch. "Defending our way of life is the top responsibility of all. You will get a loyalty badge for sure."

Sally removed the watch from Molly's wrist and put it on.

"So you really think I'll get a badge?" she asked smiling as she headed back to where they began the hike.