The Treewallers
by
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"Humans were not always enemies, I remember," Pepper reminisced. "Before you were a sprout yourself, the humans we knew took but a few sticks to build their houses. They didn’t abuse the forests. They seemed to believe that all living things had spiritual value." "Those must have been good times, indeed, Uncle." Nivus sighed. "Yes, they were." His mind suddenly flashed back to when he and Vasa were young. The humans were mostly of a darker color then, closer to his own coloring. There was communication between wallers and the humans at that time, though it was occasional. Then, one year, the wallers had been warned of a plot to capture some of them for sale to humans far away as"curiosities" and "pets". One day the trap had been sprung and five wallers were caught in nets. All had escaped, but no further contact with humans was allowed after that, and all the wallers had begun to move back deeper into the forests. And now even those forests might be threatened with extinction, he thought. "Do you think contacting the sprouts instead of adults was the correct choice?" he asked. Nivus didn’t answer for a time. Outside, they began to hear the notes of a twig flute. It was Quanat, serenading Nivus again. Pepper remembered when he had done the same outside Vasa’s door. His own father had shown him which twig to cut and how to make the flute’s slim body and then how to cut the tiny finger holes. "Yes, I think we have to work with the sprouts, Uncle, and these sprouts in particular." "Why, may I ask?" "I think they’ve shown that we can trust them already. They aren’t scheming against us or against the tall ones." "Doesn’t that remain to be seen, Dear Nivus?" he said. "You are too suspicious, Uncle." "I have seen too much, maybe?" "Yes, you have. One must trust a bit surely, for any good to come of it." The flute playing was really quite good, Pepper thought. Quanat was talented. He could see that his niece was distracted by the soulful tunes. The twig flute, in all its many forms, had been a part of their traditional courting rituals since the beginning. He sighed. "You may see Quanat, Nivus. Thank you for your opinions." "Thank you, Uncle," she said. Jumping to her feet, she scurried outside. "Keep an eye out for owls!" he called after her, smiling. The guard outside would also keep an eye out for owls, lest the love blinded ones could see nothing but each other. Pepper sat alone, looking into the flickering sap-fire. He desperately hoped that this was truly a leap forward for the tall ones.
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About the Book
Barry Johnson’s first book, The Treewallers, is a delightful adventure for children from eight to one hundred. This story rekindles the wonder of childhood for older readers, and introduces younger readers to a plausible fantasy set in the vanishing forests of the Pacific Northwest: Even now, America's temperate rain forests are misty, magical places, jungle like, with thick vines interwoven through leafy overhead canopies little changed through millenniums. Before the stone age, tiny creatures called treewallers sought refuge among the massive forests. Over many centuries a small, intelligent gathering of these creatures evolved to form a symbiotic interdependence with the trees, learning the ultra low frequency language by which these living giants communicate world wide. The treewallers were once known to early Native Americans. But as the land was cleared and farmed and towns spread, they shrank deeper into the forests, avoiding human scrutiny. Natural linguists, special waller "teachers" had learned the human language from settler "sprouts" (children) whose tales of tiny creatures were dismissed as childhood fantasies. The wallers remained hidden for sixteen more long decades, until today.
About the Author
Barry Johnson, author of The Treewallers, was first encouraged to write fiction by the late, award winning novelist Frederick Manfred who nominated him for an Endowment of the Arts Award in Writing. Mr. Johnson went on to earn his Masters Degree from the University of Nebraska. Among other endeavors, the author has taught at Colorado State University, has worked as a counselor, a social work supervisor and as a marine mammal rescue worker. He enjoys scuba diving, sailing his sloop and forest and wildlife studies. Now writing again, the author hopes to help acquaint readers with the needs of our planet. The author lives with his wife, Sue, in Oregon.