THE MAN WITH NO NAME

A short story from
The Legends of Arth


By Randy Massey


Copyright 2012 Randy Massey

Smashwords edition


All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.


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Timberlea stood in the shadow of the woods, watching the man with the ax as he finished cutting down a magnificent red oak tree. His mighty swings had quickly hewed through the trunk, and it began to tilt over.
The man stood and watched the tree fall, and he had a stunning smile on his face. Her breath was taken away by his rugged good looks.
Who is this man out here in the middle of nowhere? Timberlea thought, as she allowed herself to be smitten by his appearance. Her musings were shaken by the crash of the tree as it fell to the ground, and she let out a little gasp in surprise.
The man suddenly froze, looking as if he may have sensed her presence.
Oh no! Did he hear me? she worried, and held her breath, not moving a muscle. Her only hope of not being noticed was to remain absolutely motionless.
For several minutes, the man carefully and cautiously looked all around him in the forest. He scrutinized everything he saw, and attended carefully to every detail that he cast his vision upon. When his gorgeous eyes of blue fell upon her, Timberlea bit her lower lip. She just couldn’t help it, the way he seemed to look right through her.
 No! Please don’t see me! she thought nervously.
Although very well hidden, Timberlea was visible to his well trained eyes. He recognized her form and shape in the darkness of the woods. Quietly he assessed the situation, and surmised that she was no threat to him. The man continued to survey the rest of the area. He wanted to be sure that no real danger lurked nearby.
Timberlea finally let out a sigh of relief when the man went back to work on the fallen tree. Thankfully, he acted like he hadn’t seen her.
She watched him for an hour as he removed branches and bark from the red oak, hewing them off easily with strong strokes of his ax. Timberlea was fascinated at the work of this handsome stranger, and couldn’t take her eyes off of him. When he was finished, he walked up a small hill, and disappeared between two tall pines. With all the quietness that now filled the area, she decided it would be best to leave before he returned. Carefully, cautiously, Timberlea found her way back to the cliff where just earlier that day she had been ready to put an end to her life. The thought of jumping to the rocks far below seemed like an old bad dream. Now, she felt that, at least for a few days more, she would put that off. She had to come back and watch the man with the ax again!
Over the next several days, Timberlea hurriedly did her harvesting in the wild gardens south of her village. She finished before others even began, carefully cleaned and stored the food in her house, and then was off. The journey, which used to take nearly six hours, soon turned to five, as she rapidly increased her speed. When she arrived at the cliff, she decreased her pace to a slow walk. And every day that she arrived near where the ax man was working, she hid very carefully so he would not see her. Timberlea watched in secret, thrilled whenever another tree fell. The crash of each one would send chills up and down her spine. She began to truly admire his skills, and his body.
Even though Timberlea didn’t know it, the man with the ax sensed her presence, and nonchalantly took note of where she was hiding each day. He wasn’t sure what to think about this strange and beautiful lady that came to watch him. One day, though, he was aware that she must have hidden herself very well. Even with his eagle eyes, he couldn’t locate her in any of the usual places. That was the fateful day they finally met!
For Timberlea had moved in for a better look, standing much closer than ever before. She had chosen a new place to observe him from, and now could see the sweat on his brow, and hear the sound of his breathing. The reverberation of his ax hewing the tree echoed loudly, ringing in her ears. Then, the tree he was cutting down started to fall: right at her! Letting out a scream, she was paralyzed by fear, and couldn’t move. At last, the man noticed her, and, with the speed of a cat, pulled her out of the way in time! He had saved her from being crushed to death! Together they rolled away, even as the bole crashed to the ground.
They lay where they had fallen, face to face, trying to catch their breath. Now up close, she noticed that he had a horrible scar across his throat. He had no voice box! Lost it to a bear? she wondered.
“I don’t know what to say!” Timberlea choked out at last.
The man smiled, enjoying the closeness of her body next to his. He took a deep breath, taking in her scent of freshness. Timberlea blushed as she realized they were both mesmerized by each other!
“My name is Timberlea,” she said breathlessly. “Can you tell me yours?”
He shook his head no, pointing to his scarred throat.
“OK. I see. Do you have a name? Maybe I can guess it?” she asked lovingly.
The man shook his head again. Using his hands, he got her to understand that he was very young when his family had been killed by a mountain bear. He survived, living on his own. But, he didn’t remember the name they had called him by. A very sad expression crossed his face as memories came flooding back into his mind. Several tears fell from his eyes and rolled down his face. Timberlea wiped them gently away.
I’m falling in love with this man! she suddenly realized. And he doesn’t even have a name!
“Noname. Is it alright if I call you Noname?” she queried tenderly.
The man nodded his head, and his smile dazzled her once again. The deep blue eyes pierced her to her inner soul. For several minutes they laid there, lost in the feelings that neither of them expected to have. At last, Noname stood up, and then helped Timberlea stand on her feet. Carefully, lovingly, he brushed the dirt and leaves off of her clothes. Goosebumps covered her arms, and she shivered at his touch. He started to walk away, then turned and waved his hand, motioning for her to follow him. Together they walked up the hill.
Just over the rise of the knoll, Timberlea finally saw what he was building. A house made out of logs, now half way done, met her eyes. She admired the workmanship, and smiled appreciatively as Noname pointed out some of the features he had been working on.
“Oh, Noname! It is so beautiful!” she said approvingly. Once again, his smile dazzled her. His eyes sparkled in the afternoon sun that found its way into the woods where they were standing. Looking up, Timberlea realized it was time for her to go. The days were starting to get shorter now, with the changing seasons, and she wanted to get home before dark.
“I have to be going,” she said sadly as she took his hand in hers. Noname shivered at her touch, and a strange look crossed his face. Then, he nodded in understanding and bowed low to honor her.
That’s certainly new to me she thought. And, Timberlea was even more surprised when he kissed the back of her hand. Never had anyone shown such loving affection with admiration, to her before.
Timberlea visited him as often as she could, bringing him food from her harvesting. Each day they enjoyed their time together over the midday meal. And, every time before she left, they walked up the hill and looked at the progress he was making with the log house.
Hope sprang forth from her heart as each day passed. Slowly she began to truly believe that he was the right man for her Life Mate.
When they kissed for the first time, she had no doubt. Her heart pounded, her palms were sweaty, and she shook like a leaf! Noname held her tenderly, enjoying the touch of her skin, the smell of her hair, and the feel of her lips on his. It was the first of many blissful moments that came each afternoon before she left.
Then the day came that he seemed more excited than ever before. Noname had finished his house, and Timberlea didn’t resist when he picked her up, carried her in, and shut the door. It would be their first night of making love, with many more to follow.
Sadly, their time together was cut short. On a cold rainy afternoon, they were attacked and cornered by a pack of timber wolfs. Noname used his ax, swinging it left and right, slaying one wolf after another. But, there were too many of them. Noname died, defending her, holding back the last of the beasts while she fled. It was a hideous nightmare for Timberlea! She watched in horror, having flashbacks to the deaths of her parents. Then, with great sobs of sorrow, she had fled. Never looking back, she ran almost all the way home to her village. When she at last arrived, she threw herself down on her bed and wept for three days. Once again, she contemplated suicide. What was there to live for now? The answer woke her up the next day!
Timberlea felt movement, life, inside of her! Although extremely saddened by the loss of Noname, she was profoundly thrilled that she now carried his child in her womb! She had all the reason she needed now to go on living!
When the time for her delivery came, Timberlea left the village and went to the cabin that Noname built. There, the day after she arrived, she gave birth to their child. It was a boy, and she named him Le-thon.
When Timberlea returned home with her newborn baby, the people of the village shunned her. She was a woman with a child, but no Life mate. She decided she could live with that. She would raise him in honor of the man with no name.
One family did welcome her and her son into their home. This was T-legen and Bea-Kel, who already had six boys! Then, two years later, Bea-Kel gave birth to a lovely little girl. Finally, they had the daughter that they had hoped for. She was given the name of Rea-atee, which means “little princess”. A few years later, though, T-legen began to call her Raven, for her hair was thick and long, and black like the bird. Everyone loved her, especially the way she scrunched up her eyebrows whenever she tried to understand something. Her brothers called her “little sis’, or even “little snot”!
They watched their children grow together, especially Le-thon and Raven.
How could any of them have known that these two children would one day share a destiny that would affect all the peoples of Arth?