The Mighty Warrior

In the distance was a very long road. The road led its way into a thick forest and up a very steep hill. At the top of the steep hill, surrounded by the tall trees, was a powerful warrior.

Wearing armor and a helmet with a visor, holding a staff in one hand and a sword in the other, the warrior stood guard, blocking three narrow paths. Each path wove its way farther into the forest: one curving to the left, one weaving to the right, and one climbing its way upward.

Although many attempts had been made to scale the steep hill, to reach the elusive paths... the Mighty Warrior was able to thwart them all. And whether it was the truth or just a myth, it was said that after each attempt was made, the warrior’s voice would echo through the hills “better to be hobbled in mediocrity, than face the dangers of the unknown!”

As time passed, fewer and fewer challenges were made to climb the steep hill. Many, even seemed to avoid the long road. Eventually the warrior and the three paths were all but forgotten.

Until one day, a day like any other, a woman with long brown hair and bright hazel eyes walked down the long road toward the forest.

When she reached the bottom of the hill she looked up into the dark shadows. From her vantage point the warrior looked enormous, standing there at the very top.

But the woman didn’t rush to take the hill with loud bravado, as all had done in the past. She didn’t glare with determination or attempt to intimidate or outsmart the Guardian of the Paths. She didn’t even carry a sword, or a weapon - had no protective gear on, at all!

She wore just a plain cotton dress … and brought only herself.

Feeling no imminent threat, and perhaps a bit of curiosity… the warrior simply watched as the graceful woman began to climb up the steep hill.

After finally reaching the top, she looked around the dark forest and then calmly walked toward the one who had blocked the paths for so long. When she stopped directly in front of the Mighty Warrior, she saw what apparently had never been noticed before.

This powerful being who had halted all attempts to pass, was in truth…a little girl. A wee warrior standing strong in armor too large for her small frame. Her bare feet peeked out from below a grubby little dress and her toes curled in the dirt.

“Are you the one who has stopped everything?” the woman asked, clearly surprised.

The helmeted head creaked as the little warrior nodded emphatically, “yes. This is what I’m meant to do. It is my job!”

The woman couldn’t help but smile at the fierce reply. “Well, you have done an amazing job,” she said with admiration. “In all this time, nothing has been able to get by you. You must be very strong.”

“And smart,” declared the mini warrior. “I use my brains and my might to keep us safe.”

“Ahh,” the woman nodded her understanding. “Your job is to keep us safe.”

The warrior stood up taller. “I learned my lessons, and this is my job.”

“What is so dangerous?” asked the woman with genuine curiosity.

“Confidence. Being confident makes you feel powerful, and power is very dangerous. It can make you do things and go places you would never go. If you think you are powerful you might find yourself farther than you intended.”

The woman said nothing for a moment. “So, you stop everyone right here.”

“No one gets past me,” the mighty warrior shook her head.

“What is the threat beyond you?” the woman asked.

The warrior hesitated for a moment. Finally, she lifted her visor and gestured for the women to come close. Although her face was still in the shadows of the helmet, the woman could hear fear in the whisper, “there are lions.”

The woman immediately stood up straight, her eyes searching the three paths behind the warrior. She quickly turned around to look down the steep hill. After moments of intently scanning the trees and the bushes of the forest, she finally whispered back, “I don’t see any lions.”

“You can’t see them,” said the warrior. “You can never see them. But they might be there. Ready to pounce. It would be so much easier if we could see them. We could fight them if we saw them.” Her shoulders slumped. “But we never know where they are or where they’ll come from. That’s why they’re so dangerous.”

“How do you know there are lions, if you’ve never seen them?” the woman asked.

“I heard people talk about them,” she nodded emphatically. “I learned it is safer to stay where you are. To stay in a place that you know. Climbing up hills? Walking to places you’ve never been? That’s when the dangers can see you and you might not see the dangers. It’s always best to stay where you are. It is safer to just stay put.”

The little girl pushed her visor down with a clunk, turned away from the woman and was again the Mighty Warrior guarding the paths.

The woman thoughtfully looked at the fierce little guard for a very long moment until finally she nodded and said, “you’re right. That is safer.”

Surprised, the warrior quickly pushed up her visor. “I thought you came here to fight me!” she demanded.

“No,” replied the woman. “I brought no weapons.”

“But…don’t you want to get past me?”

The woman shook her head.

The little voice sounded suspicious, “are you angry with me?”

“No,” the woman said with a smile.

The wee warrior stood very still. Peering up and sounding as small as she looked, she asked, “do you think I’m silly?”

“Never,” said the woman.

Feeling relieved but still baffled she asked, “then why are you here?”

“I came to find you. So, I could sit with you.”

This was not at all what a warrior would expect to hear, and the girl had no quick reply. The two stood looking at each other for a long moment before she finally gave a small shrug of her little armored shoulders. “Where should we sit?”

They looked around and spotted a few ancient stone steps, embedded in the side of a small hill. They appeared to lead nowhere so they sat down upon them. The woman moved with easy grace while the little warrior, first leaned her staff against the hill, and then loudly clanked and clattered her way to a sitting position.

The woman took a moment to quietly breathe in the fresh forest air, while the uncomfortable warrior impatiently tapped her metal sword against the stone steps.

Tap, tap, tap, went the sword.

The woman looked down at the impatient warrior. “It must’ve been lonely standing guard here, all by yourself.”

Tap, tap, tap, went the sword. “Yep,” said the warrior. “But it’s my job.” Tap, tap, tap.

“Why is that?”

“Why is what?” Tap, tap, tap.

“Why is it your job to keep us all safe?”

The tapping of the sword stopped, and the warrior didn’t move. Coming to a decision, she took a deep breath. “Because it was my fault. I messed up.”

The woman said nothing and waited patiently for the wee warrior to continue.

“I was on an adventure, and I was supposed to wait at the end of a short path…but I forgot to stop. I walked down the long road, into the forest and climbed up the steep hill all by myself. But once I got to the top, I realized… I was all by myself. I got scared.”

The woman nodded her understanding. “…because there might be lions.”

“…because there might be lions,” the warrior nodded in agreement. Then she asked in a small voice, “are you scared of lions?”

The women looked thoughtful, “I’ve never met one.”

“But are you scared you might meet one?”

The woman considered the question for a moment and finally answered, “I think if I were scared of all the things that might happen, I’d be scared all the time.”

The warrior quickly looked down at her bare toes and the woman quietly turned back to watch the forest and listen to the wind in the trees.

Finally, the warrior’s little voice broke the silence, “I didn’t always used to be like this.” Her chest puffed up with remembered pride. “I used to be fearless.”

The woman knew how hard it was to let go of who you used to be, and her voice was full of compassion. “That must’ve been nice not being afraid of anything.”

The armor squeaked as the little warrior looked up into the woman’s understanding eyes for a long moment. She took a deep breath and whispered her darkest secret.

“I am a coward.”

The pain of this harshly spoken truth sliced into the woman’s heart like a sharp knife and she nearly gasped.

There it is, she thought. It all starts and ends right there.

She turned away and looked across the forest to the three beautiful paths curving and weaving their way through the trees. The hurt of the long-held belief washed over her.

“Are you going to leave now?” came the quiet question.

She turned back and saw that the warrior was watching her intently. She gave her a small smile. “No, I’m not leaving now.”

The warrior sighed in relief.

“I think this is a lovely spot,” the woman said as she took another deep breath of the fresh forest air.

After a moment, the little warrior turned to look at the trees surrounding them. In all the time she’d spent guarding the paths, she had never really noticed the forest.

Suddenly, a butterfly fluttered by, and she watched, as it danced its way from one flower to the next. Eventually it landed in a patch of sunlight that had found its way through the leaves above. Her armor creaked as she leaned back so her eyes could follow the sunbeam up to the tops of the trees where the limbs swayed in the breeze. A squirrel jumped from one tree to the next and chased another squirrel down a tree trunk, chattering as they ran, while crickets chirped, and mourning doves cooed.

“This is a lovely spot,” she said with such wonder in her voice that the woman couldn’t help but grin. And the two sat quietly feeling the breeze blow, as they took in the sights and sounds of their forest.

Finally, after an eternity had passed…or no time had passed at all…the wee warrior took a very deep breath and sighed a very heartfelt sigh.

The woman looked down and saw the armor, which had protected the mighty warrior for so long, … simply disappear into the wind. Now sitting next to her was a little girl in a plain cotton dress, with long brown hair and bright hazel eyes. The woman smiled. And the little girl smiled back.

They sat together for a long peaceful moment. Then suddenly, the girl jumped up and rushed over to her old post. She stood at the spot she had guarded for so long and stared down the steep hill. After a moment, she turned around and pondered the three paths.

“Which one do you think is the best path?”

The woman pushed up from the steps and walked over to stand next to the girl. “I don’t know if there is such a thing as a best path,” she said thoughtfully. “My guess is, they are all very interesting."

They considered the three roads for a moment longer and then the woman asked, “are you ready?”

The little face turned up and hazel eyes looked into hazel eyes. “I can go too?”

The woman smiled. “Of course!”

And with an excited giggle, they clasped hands, and stepped off into the unknown.