BENEATH THE LONE POST
By David R. Scott

As a young boy, Brenton Fielding had always been fascinated with the lifestyles of Native Americans. Each day he would tromp through the fields near his home, combing the turned soil for arrowheads and artifacts. His room was cluttered with antique books, authentic clothing and other relics that he found in the woods.

In his later years he became less and less interested in Indians and began his career in agriculture. He enjoyed his life on the farm and enjoyed spending time in his fields tending crops. One day however, he found something that rekindled his love for Native Americans…a flint ax head. The ax still held its polished edge and became the farmer's most prized possession. He carved a beautiful handle for the blade and always carried it with him on his tractor when he worked.

One day, while reaping his autumn harvest, he accidentally lost the treasured ax head. Brenton did not continue working, but instead began looking for the missing artifact. Much to his dismay, he could not find it anywhere, and he sadly returned to his home.

That night, Brenton dreamt that he was again a small boy coming home from school through the woods. Suddenly, an Indian appeared and began chasing him down the path in the direction of his home. The Indian's face was painted black, and his hair was tied in long braids down either side of his chest. Young Brenton ran faster than ever before, and with each step he could hear the Indian brave asking for his sacred ax to be returned. Brenton blasted through the front door, grabbed the ax and, out of fear, turned and killed the Indian with a blow to the head.

In his dream he dragged the Indian far out into the field so that no one would find his remains. He buried the body as deeply into the ground as he possibly could near a lone fence post.

A singe crash of thunder awakened him from his nightmare. Brenton walked over to the window and gazed though the curtain of rain sprinkling over his crops. Due to the darkness he could see hardly anything at all, yet suddenly, a great flash of lightning ignited the sky, and in that one instant the only thing he saw was the lone fence post of his nightmare.

Days went by, and then weeks. The urge to dig beneath the post was overwhelming, yet the fear of what he might find there was even greater. Winter soon set in and along with the cold months came constant torment. All Brenton could do was peer out his window at the post swirled with a beard of frosty white snow. Everyday he hoped he would come across the ax head, to prove that the dream was a figment of his imagination, but it never appeared.
The breakup of winter and the blooming of spring was fast upon him. Brenton had nearly forgotten about the ax simply because he was preparing for the planting season. But while carrying a sack of seed to the barn, Brenton noticed the long fence pole, and once more this torment returned. Running to the barn, he grabbed a spade and headed for the fence post.

Quickly he began digging into the soft muddy earth. His shovel was heavy and sweat poured from his brow, yet his pace was rhythmically steady. The spring mud slowly began piling up around his feet, and although tired he could not bring himself to slow down. Finally he heard a click.

He cleaned the remaining mud away with his hands only to discover the missing ax head embedded deeply into a human skull. Next to the skull lay a rotting wooden handle…it was the handle that he had carved.

Leaving the items where he found them, Brenton filled the hole and placed his best arrowhead on top of the grave. The next day the arrowhead was gone, and from that day forth Brenton never revealed the story of the lone post to anyone.


STORY OUTLINE

I. A farmer finds an ax head, which he cherishes until the day he loses it in his field while working.

II. He dreams that an Indian brave is chasing him, asking for the ax back. In the dream he kills the brave wit the ax and buries them both in the field near a lone fence post.

III. Thunder awakens him from his dream and in a lightning flash he sees a lone fence post on the property.

IV. He resists the urge to dig beneath the fence post until the following spring.

V. As he digs beside the fence post he finds the missing ax head, deeply embedded into a human skull, with the handle that he had carved for the ax rotting next to it.

VI. He reburies the ax and skull and leaves his best arrowhead as an offering on top of the grave.