There was Light

  The dawn’s early light faded behind them gradually as Weltun and his sister, Folia, descended the mine. The light from their lantern illuminated the tunnel. The walls were marked with many tiny holes and rough spots, the signs of years of mining. 

Weltun kept his eyes moving, looking for even the smallest glow. It was very unlikely anyone would leave magical ore behind, but the siblings needed all the money they could get.

The backpack left for them at the mine entrance had two pick axes and the lantern attached to the side, but otherwise, it felt empty to him. He guessed their mysterious employer didn’t want to pay to feed them. Weltun wasn’t surprised. The mages that sent orphans like them to do their dirty work always wanted to provide the bare minimum.

Weltun groaned.

“Weltun, would you stop complaining,” said Folia This job should pay well.”

“When have these jobs ever paid well?”

“They’ve given us enough to eat. And we’re still alive. Can’t that be enough for now?”

“The only problem with ‘for now’ is that no one cares to say when things will get better. They always say stuff like ‘soon’ or ‘one day’.

“Just be patient.”

“Patience without a payoff is just you getting played,” Weltun grumbled under his breath.

The two of them had certainly been played. First, their dad turned out to be a swindler and took off with all the family’s money. Then their mom got sick, and without any money, there was nothing to do to save her. Ever since then, he and Folia had been on their own living off whatever job they could get. 

Now, they were hired by a mage to collect his precious magical ore. It was a common job among homeless orphans, and they had done it plenty of times. The last time they did this job, the mage paid a fraction of what was promised. Weltun guessed part of getting to live in a mansion like all the mages was paying as little as possible for labor. 

Weltun looked back and saw all signs of daylight had vanished. Weltun was getting a bit worried by the growing distance to the surface. This bag wasn’t that big, meaning they’d have to keep going back and forth to unload the ore they collected. That would eat up a lot of time, and time was definitely money.

After a few more minutes, they were just able to make out a light-blue glow coming from up ahead. They finally arrived. The end of the tunnel was covered with large crystals. Each one gave off light and was colored like a clear day sky.

“Wow!” Folia exclaimed. “I just love how beautiful magical ore is.”

Weltun chuckled. “Maybe one day we’ll have enough to buy you a necklace covered in the stuff.”

“That would be amazing!”

“Yeah, it would. But for now, all this goes to our greedy employer of a mage.”

“Come on, Weltun. They all can’t be bad.”

As she said that, Weltun reached into the bag to see if there was anything else the mage had given them. He was shocked to find his arm sunk in all the way up to his shoulder. He quickly pulled it out and studied the bag. He reached in once again and sure enough his arm went in way too far for a bag this size. 

“This bag has a pocket dimension!”

He dug around the open air inside the bag for a second and then found two boxed lunches with the sibling’s names on each.

“You see! Not all mages are bad.” She grabbed one of the pick axes. “Come on, we have work to do.” She went over and started hacking at the wall.

Weltun paused still staring at the bag. These things were worth a small fortune. He had never heard of a mage letting hirelings use one. This one had never even spoken to them. They woke up this morning in one of the safer alleys the city had to offer and found a note saying to come to this cave and mine ore.

This wasn’t unusual in terms of how mages hired commoners. Most didn’t want to be seen with such rabble, so they would magic away a message to them with a time and place. There was never a written promise on what you’d be paid.

Part of him was tempted to just take the bag. It had to be worth a lot more than whatever this mage was going to scrape out for them. He looked at his sister and knew she would never go along with it. Her heart was too pure for this life. Even though they had so little, she always helped out anyone who appeared to need it.

He quietly sighed to himself. He grabbed his pick axe, left the bag on the ground, and started working.

Hours went by and the siblings kept shoving more and more of the ore into the bag. It never showed any sign of getting full. Weltun guessed there was no reason to worry about having to make round trips to empty the bag at the entrance.

Eventually, they started to get hungry. Without any sun, or money for a timepiece, they could only guess it was around lunchtime. They took a break and ate their lunch. The food was far better than what they expected. It wasn’t quality fit for a king, but it was certainly better than the stale bread and questionable water they were used to.

“Mmm. This chicken is delicious!” Folia cheered.

“Don’t get too attached. After this, it’s right back to eating garbage.”

“You don’t know that. This guy has been quite generous with us. Maybe he’ll pay us enough to get our own place.”

Weltun rolled his eyes. “Come on, Fol. There are plenty of mages who use hirelings not just for labor but also for amusement. He’s probably trying to get our hopes up so he can watch our disappointment when he shows his true colors.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“I’ve heard it happen before.”

“Oh yeah, from who?”

“Ya know, around.”

“’ Around’, huh? Is that their first name or their surname?”

“Shut up.”

Folia giggled.

They finished their lunch and returned to work. Another couple of hours went by, and the sibling steadily filled the pack. At one point Weltun shouted, “Ow!” as a piece of ore dropped from the ceiling and smacked him on the head.

Folia stopped her picking. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, it just really smarts.” 

As Weltun finished speaking they both felt the ground and walls begin to quake. Soon the siblings found they were unable to stand as the ground was too unstable. More loose ore and rock fell from above. One of the falling rocks landed on their lantern, and the light went out.

The siblings were left in darkness, say for the faint glow of the ore sticking out of the wall. The shaking grew more and more violent. The falling rocks became bigger and bigger. Weltun leaned against the wall and shuffled his way over to Folia. He found her crouched and covering her head. He wrapped his body over hers and felt more and more rocks pelting his back.

Either a few seconds or an eternity went by, Weltun couldn’t tell, and the shaking would not stop. He looked around for anything, any hope of surviving. His eyes eventually found a brighter glow of magical ore on the ground just a few feet away from them.

“Come on!” Weltun shouted as he guided his sister over while still covering her.

They made it to their pack. “Get in!” He opened the pack as wide as he could. Folia managed to squeeze her tiny frame through the hole.

Weltun followed after her, trying to crawl his way in. Folia grabbed his arm and pulled him in.

They could no longer feel the quaking from inside. The once loud rumbling was very muted. After a few long seconds, the opening they just crawled through closed with the seem still present, and shortly after the quaking stopped.

When everything seemed to finally settle, the kids took the chance to breathe.

“Are you okay?” Weltun asked.

“Yeah, but you’re bleeding.”

Weltun put a hand to where the first rock hit him and winced. He looked at his finger and saw there was a little blood. Looking down he saw his whole body was covered in bruises. Folia was similarly injured.

“Nothing serious. Should stop on its own in a minute.”

They sat there, finally taking the chance to look at their surroundings. It was just a large rectangular room with perfectly black walls. The wall with the entrance was warped to form the pack’s opening. On the far side of the space was the giant pile of ore they had collected. From what they could tell they hadn’t even filled the bag halfway.

“Think it’s safe to go out?” Folia asked. 

“Let’s find out.” Weltun grabbed the edges of the opening, but they wouldn’t budge. He pulled harder. No movement. He put all his strength into it. Nothing. He found one part of the opening he could squeeze a finger through. He was immediately met with a cold, stone surface.

He stepped away. All the color drained from his face.

“What is it?” Folia asked with much trepidation.

Weltun paused a moment, not wanting to say it out loud. “I think the tunnel has completely caved in.”

The color now drained from Folia’s face. “No. No, that can’t be right. It’s probably just a big boulder fell on the bag. Maybe if we work together we c— ow!” Folia tried to get up but immediately fell again.

Weltun went over and looked at her feet. Her left ankle was badly bruised. One of the rocks must have landed on it. He ripped off one of his sleeves and wrapped it around her ankle gently but firmly.

“Thank you,” she said with a soft smile.

“Not sure if there’s really a point to it, though.”

“Don’t say that. We’ll get out of here.”

“I would love to hear how you think we’re going to get out of this.”

“You just have to have hope.”

Weltun let out a deep sigh. Hope was not something he thought of often. All these years had shown him no reason to believe hope did you any good. It only ever set you up to knock you down hard. What’s more, all the other bad stuff that had happened weren’t nearly as bad as their current situation. Where in this magical pack were they going to find hope?

Weltun sat down beside his sister. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “Try not to talk. Don’t want to waste air.”

“You’re the one talking, doofus.”

Hour after hour went by with no sign the rocks outside would move or help would ever arrive. Weltun started to feel his thoughts get a bit hazy. It would seem the air was starting to run low.

“Folia.”

“Shh. No talking, remember?”

“I don’t think it matters anymore.”

“Yes, it does. We just need to wait a little longer. Someone will come and get us.”

At this moment, Weltun was faced with a choice; give his sister a happy lie or say what was on his heart before he died.

“That’s it.” Weltun stood up. “No one is coming for us!” He shouted. “We’re orphans! Our only value was our cheap manual labor. Replacing us is the easiest thing in the world. You think because you helped a kitten out of a tree, or you picked up and returned a necklace an old guy dropped, or gave what little money we have to feed other orphans means people care about you? It doesn’t!”

Weltun paused and Folia didn’t say anything.

“We are going to die down here. No one is going to remember us or even notice we’re gone. I did want to say a sweet goodbye to my only sister before I went, but at least I get to die having finally spoken the truth!” 

He struggled with panting for air but managed to catch his breath after a moment.

“So, you think I wasted my life being kind to others?”

Weltun didn’t respond. He never heard Folia talk in a such serious tone.

“You think people either believe everything is terrible and they’re realistic or they believe in better things and they’re delusional?!” Folia stood up and hobbled closer to Weltun, getting right in his face. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe there is nothing good in this world. Maybe I have just been fooling myself this entire time. But the way you see things sounds like the most miserable way to live, so I’m going to stick with my happy delusions until my dying breath!”

Now she was the one trying to catch her breath. Weltun stood there in stunned silence. Folia then made her way back to the wall and sat down.

Weltun had nothing to say. He went and sat against the wall opposite his sister. He sat there and thought about what just happened, what he just did. It didn’t matter which one of them was right and which was wrong. All that mattered was that he chose to use his last minutes of life to yell at the one person who was always there for him.

A few more minutes went by in even greater silence than before. Weltun and Folia were struggling to keep their eyes open. Folia then used what little strength she had to crawl over to Weltun. She sat beside her and rested her head on his shoulder once more.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“I’m sorry.”

Weltun felt a great relief. At least he could go to sleep with no regrets. He closed his eyes and the glow of the ore grew dimmer and dimmer until there was only darkness.

A new, bright light broke through the darkness. Weltun could feel a cool breeze brush against his body. He opened his eyes and found he was still in the pack’s pocket dimension with Folia. He looked over to where the bright light was coming from. The pack’s mouth was opening and an old man with a long white beard was sticking his head inside. A small ball of light was hovering over him.

“My, my. Aren’t you two rather clever?”

Weltun didn’t know how to respond to this weird old man or this situation. He shook Folia awake. She came to and found herself seeing the same thing as her brother.

“Who are you?”

“Me? Why, I am the great wizard, Mergace!” The old man dropped the bag’s opening in the middle of his sentence. Judging by the muffled echo, it sounded like he made a grand declaration to a supposed large audience.

“Whoops.” He opened the bag again. “Sorry. I got a little carried away.”

The siblings stared at him, not knowing what to make of him.

“Well, please come out. I’m sure you’ve been stuck here for far too long.”

The two children crawled out to discover the tunnel was free of any rubble. In fact, the sides were now perfectly cylindrical, without any rough spots to be found.

The two looked at the old man. He must have used magic to carve his way down.

Weltun finally spoke up. “Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but why are you down here?”

“Why, to rescue my hirelings, of course!”

Weltun gave him an incredulous look. “Rescue us? Your hirelings?”

“Yes. Although truth be told, I wasn’t sure there was anything I could do at this point. However, you came up with a rather brilliant idea, hiding inside the bag. I’m very impressed.”

“But why would a mage bother saving hirelings?”

Mergace considered the boy for a second. “You’ve had some rather unfortunate dealings with others in my field. Well, I have two reasons. The first is that I do not agree with how those in your circumstance are treated. I wish to do my part in changing that.”

Weltun couldn’t believe what he was hearing. A mage that actually cared about someone other than himself?

“The second reason is that you showed me great kindness the other day.”

 Folia and Weltun looked at each other confused. Then, Folia’s eyes shot open, and she pointed at Mergace.

“You’re the old man who dropped the necklace!”

Mergace nodded. “That is correct.” He pulled out the necklace out of his robe. “This is a gift from my late sister, whom I miss very dearly. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I lost it. So, I wished to repay you by eventually hiring you to live and work at my mansion.”

The siblings couldn’t believe what they were hearing. They wouldn’t have to sleep another night in a cold alley? They wouldn’t wonder where their next meal would come from or if it would make them sick? Before Weltun went too far down that thought, he realized something.

“Wait. If you were going have us work at your mansion, why send us down here to mine ore?”

“Ah, good question. Unfortunately, when I made this offer before with other orphans, they were skeptical. They thought I would use them in some magical experiment or what have you. I don’t know where they got that idea. So, I thought I would try to earn your trust gradually with steady work until it seemed you were ready to hear me out.”

Folia turned to Weltun. “So, you could say if some people didn’t always assume the worst in others, the two of us would never have been in danger in the first place.”

Weltun face drained of color once more.

“Hmm.” Mergace stroked his beard. “What an odd way of looking at it. But, I suppose that isn’t inaccurate.”

“You know what?” Weltun cut in with extra energy. “How about we get out of this place, and talk over job details in your mansion, Great Wizard, Mergace?”

“Splendid idea!” With that, the wizard marched forward. 

Folia gave Weltun the stink eye as she passed him. Weltun followed behind sheepishly.

A few minutes went by with only the wizard’s magical light guiding them. But, sooner than Weltun expected, the orange light of the setting sun became visible, guiding them to their new home.

A Time for Every Matter

    The large bell rang through the halls of the Seiwon Magical Academy as the Spring sun was leaning to the west. The halls were then filled with the chattering and footsteps of hundreds of dark-green-robed students off towards their next class. One student’s movement was a bit slower than the others.

    Sebius made his way through the crowd of students. His thin frame, even compared to most apprentice mages, made it easier to fit through the small gaps between the various social groups. He made it to his locker and was greeted with a ‘friendly message’ enchanted on the door.

    ‘Prodigy to mediocrity.’

    His eyes paused as he reread the first word. Every mage could learn to be good at any type of magic they chose. However, each one was born with a weakness that was unique to them and them alone. Sebius’s didn’t rear its ugly head until the start of his junior year. 

    He shook himself out of going down the rabbit hole. He waved his hand over the locker and the text vanished. At least he could still do that much. He placed his ‘History of Magic’ textbook inside with a heavy heart. The one class he was still good at was over and was now time for his worst one. He picked up the ‘Art of Spellcasting’ textbook and closed the locker, heading toward his final class of the day.

    He made his way to the classroom. It was already half full of students all chatting amongst themselves. No sign of Professor Rulphor. Sebius went straight to his seat and buried his head in his arms over his desk. He ignored all the other students and kept reminding himself he would be going home soon. That only brought so much comfort as he knew he would be doing this all over again tomorrow. 

    A quiet moan left him. He hated this class. It pretty much only served to add fuel to other students mocking him. The thing he hated most about it was the fact it used to be his favorite. 

    Sebius then realized his feet were no longer resting on the floor. He lifted his head and saw the room from too high a viewpoint. 

    “Look everyone!” said an all too familiar voice. They all turned and looked up at Sebius helpless in the air along with his desk and chair. “Sebius is making himself float!” A wave of laughter swept over them as Sebius kept his eyes locked on Dilenk.

    “Oh, wait.” Sebius and his desk crashed on the floor. “I did that.” The laughter continued even harder. 

    Sebius ignored them again and set his desk and chair back.

    “I didn’t realize this was play time,” an older woman’s voice chimed in.

    The laughter stopped as they turned to find Professor Rulphor at the door. They immediately scrambled to their desks. “Good afternoon, Professor Rulphor,” they said in unison.

    “Good afternoon, class.” She moved to the desk at the front of the room. “Well, we are approaching the final days of the school year, and you all know what that means.”

    The entire class groaned.

    “That’s right; final exams. Now, I know all of you are more than ready for it. I have every confidence in you.”

    Sebius lowered his head.

    “But, let’s go over a brief review, because why not?”

    For the next 15 minutes Professor Rulphor went over the basic principles of spellcasting; picture the effect you wish, enunciate the incantation clearly, and will your spell into the world. She then said Sebius’s least favorite words.

    “Let’s have you all do some demonstrations.” She gestured with her hand and spoke a few arcane words. The side of the room started to shift. The wall folded in on itself like origami until it was gone and revealed a small greenhouse. Professor Rulphor went over and conjured a large pot, each with rich soil inside.

    “Now, for this demonstration, I would like for you all to come up one at a time and produce a tree from this pot. The tree can be as lush and as wide as you wish, the only requirement is it must be as tall as you. Everyone understand?”

    Everyone said “yes” together.

    “Excellent, now form a line around the classroom.”

    The students did as instructed. Each one tried to get as close to the front as possible. They were very eager to show off their magical skills. Sebius made it a point to be last.

    One by one, the students stepped up to cast the spell, be graded, and then disintegrate the tree before the next student stepped up. Each tree passed the required height. Some had many leaves on them. Some were as thick as a desk. Some just barely made the height requirement while others went above and beyond. Dilenk’s was among the latter, and he decided to remove it with a flash fire spell, of course. As Sebius watched he was hoping against hope the bell would ring before it was his turn.

    He was now standing in front of the class with the pot before him and all the students and the professor looking at him. He took a deep breath. There was no way around it now. He closed his eyes, pictured the tree he wanted, recited the arcane words, and put as much will as he could into the spell.

    He heard the soil break open. He dared not open his eyes until he had completed the spell. The sound of the tree growing continued for what felt like an eternity until it finally stopped. There was nothing more Sebius could do except behold the result.

    Forcing his eyes open, he saw the tree in front of him was barely taller than his shoulder. If he remembered correctly this one was about an inch taller than the one he made to barely pass junior year. His ears were met with another roar of laughter. He hung his head, not able to look at anyone. Of course, now the bell rang to end class. The students’ laughter trailed off as they left the room.

    Sebius stood where he was. He knew class wasn’t over for him yet.

    “Come have a seat, Sebius,” said Professor Rulphor as she sat at her desk.

    Sebius went over and sat at the desk in front of her rather than his own.

    “What happened to you Sebius?”

    “I don’t know. Ever since junior year, my magic hasn’t-

    “I’m not talking about your magic.”

    He finally looked up at her with an incredulous expression.

    “I’m talking about your love of magic.”

    Sebius didn’t say anything, not knowing how to respond.

    “You used to love magic so much. Even when you were stunted in your growth you still wanted to study. The staff and your parents all agreed you should pause and wait for this time to pass and your phenomenal abilities to return, but you said ‘no’.”

    “I didn’t think it would last this long.”

    “No, I don’t believe any of us thought that either. However, you chose to continue studying, and for that, I look at you with much respect. Now, why don’t you love magic anymore?”

    “It’s not that I don’t love it, it’s just difficult to love something when it now brings you so much pain.”

    “Your magic didn’t cause you pain, your caring of what the others say about you did.”

    Sebius stood up. “Okay, so what if I do care about what others think about me. It’s not like that’s so uncommon. Besides, it’s not like they’re my only problem. We’ve got final exams coming up, the exams that are supposed to show we are ready to become full mages. And well…look!” He gestured to the failure of a tree.

    “Sebius,” Professor Rulphor responded. “You have a strong mind. And there are far more things a strong mind can do than simply cast strong spells.”

    Sebius paused. “So, you’re saying I should just give up on being a mage.”

    “That’s not-

    “No, no. I agree. Why pretend I can do something I clearly can’t?” Sebius grabbed his textbook and stormed out of the classroom.

    He exited the school and started running. He didn’t know why he was running or even where he was running to, he just ran. After a minute, he found himself in the middle of the park bent over and leaning on his knees trying to catch his breath.

    Why did this happen to him? Out of all the weaknesses he could have been born with, why did it have to be this one? Why did it have to happen right now? Almost everyone else has weaknesses that aren’t obvious, and they can avoid them while focusing on other areas. How was he supposed to avoid the fact his spells are just so pathetic?!

    Before he could find any answers, a small seed tumbled and landed at his feet. Sebius then found himself hanging from his school robe as it was caught on a large, newly sprouted tree. 

    “Ha ha ha!” Dilenk cackled. He came into view from behind the new tree and he was joined by his cronies. “You see, Sebius? That’s how you grow a tree.”

    “Well done,” Sebius retorted. “Full marks. I’m sure your parents, the teachers, and everyone you’ve ever met are the luckiest people in the world just for having known you. Now get me down.”

    “I could, but where’s the fun in that?” He turned to his friends. “You guys remember what a hotshot this guy was back in freshman and sophomore year, right?”

 

    They all nodded with stupid grins on their faces. 

    “Always the first to master a new spell. Aced every assignment he was given.” Dilenk’s words were now filled with venom. “I’m guessing at some point the professors just start putting ‘100’ on the parchment before they even gave it to you. Everyone called you a prodigy!”

    “I never called myself a prodigy!”

    “No, but I bet you thought it. You certainly weren’t against everyone else saying it. Now, why don’t you show us some of that prodigious magic?” Dilenk pulled a seed out of his pocket and tossed it up to Sebius.

    Sebius looked at the seed in his hand hating that it was completely useless to him.

    “Come on! I’m giving you a fair shot. I won’t even try to avoid it.” Dilenk held out his arms to the sides. “Show me what you’ve got, prodigy!”

    Sebius threw his head back and stared upward. What he had was nothing and everyone knew it. How was a ‘strong mind’ going to help now?

    Something caught his eye. He looked at one of the leaves and noticed it was starting to dry and change into its autumn colors rapidly. Sebius thought back to freshman year. It was revealed that Dilenk couldn’t sustain his magic for very long. That was why every time he was asked to conjure something he got rid of it as soon as his grade was marked. That was his weakness. He could cast magic better than most, but he couldn’t sustain it or control it for long.

    Right now, he probably didn’t think it mattered when dealing with someone he thought was inferior.

    Wait! This might work…

    Sebius threw the seed down at Dilenk’s feet and began his casting. He focused all his knowledge and energy into the spell and released it. Dilenk and his goons were standing around, their eyes fixed on the seed. It didn’t move.

    “Seriously? You couldn’t even-

    When Dilenk looked up he was greeted with a branch from his own tree wrapping itself around him and yanking him off the ground. He looked around confused and saw his friends were in the same situation.

    “What?! What is this?!” He looked over at Sebius who was also wrapped by a tree branch only this one was gently setting him on the ground. He looked up with a satisfied grin on his face. 

    “That. That is what I’ve got.”

    “But how? Your magic is weak!”

    “You’re right. My magic is weak. However, controlling something created by magic is much easier than creating it. You weren’t maintaining control over your own tree, so I took it over. What’s more, using magic on a few branches is much easier than using it on the whole tree.”

    “When we get out of here, you’re going to regret this!”

    Sebius paused for a moment. “No, I don’t think I will. You all sit there and reflect on today’s lesson. I’ve got some work to do.”

    He walked away with his head held high and many new ideas running through his mind.

———————————————————————————

    Professor Rulphor came in the following morning before the school opened to prepare her lessons for the day. When she opened the door to her classroom she was taken aback as she saw an enormous tree sitting in the center of her greenhouse. Upon closer inspection, she saw the tree was actually a collection of smaller trees woven together. The design more than made up for the weakness of the individual trees.

    She also discovered the vines wrapped around the trunk formed a pattern that spelled out ‘strong minds’.

See but Never Perceive

   

    The morning dew was starting to dry as the spring sun shined above with not a cloud in the sky. Chip sat at the edge of his cottage’s porch with an overstuffed backpack in front of him. He looked over his pack for the third time making sure he had everything they would need.

    Sun protection ointment, towels, extra clothes, emergency whistle. I think that is everything.

    “Hey, Bro! Ready to go?” His little sister called from behind.

    “I believe so,” he looked over his shoulder and saw she was also dressed in swim attire. “Amy, why do you look ready to go?”

    “Mama said I could come with you to the swimming hole.”

    “I never said it was okay.”

    “Well, too bad. Mama said it was and that’s all that matters.”

    “Mom!” Chip cried.

    A woman in her late 30s with auburn hair in a messy bun and wearing a dirty apron stepped out the door with a sigh. 

    “If you want to go swimming with your friends, you’re taking your little sister with you.”

    “But Mom…”

    “No ‘buts’. She’ll be fine and you’ll still have plenty of fun.”

    Except she won’t be fine. I doubt it will take her 10 minutes to find some way to hurt herself.

    “Now, run along. You don’t want to keep your friends waiting.”

    Chip turned around to hide his grimace, picked up his pack, and started walking. “Let’s get going,” he said with defeat in his voice. 

    “Awesome!”

———————————————————————————

    The siblings met up with Chip’s friends a few minutes into walking through the woods. They didn’t look nearly as displeased with seeing Amy as he was. 

    As the day was approaching noon they made it to the swimming hole. It was a small lake with a twenty-foot tall waterfall on one side and the water continuing down the hill on the other.

    The kids immediately dropped their stuff and jumped in, not caring that their clothes had become soaked.

    This is why Chip always brought extra clothes. He took his time to dress down to his swim trunks and reapply the sun ointment, just to be safe.

    “Come on, Chip!” one of the kids called out. “At this rate, it will be dark before you ever touch the water.”

    “A safe life—“

    “Is a long life,” all the kids said in annoyed unison.

    Chip felt his face become warmer. When he looked up, a large shadow moved behind a wall of trees off in the distance. It may have been his imagination, but Chip swore he felt the ground shake just slightly.

    “Uh, guys. I think we should go back.”

    The kids groaned. “What, did you forget your safety blanket?”

    “I’m being serious!” Chip shouted over their laughter. “I think I saw the Behemoth way off in the distance.”

    “The Behemoth?” Amy questioned. “Come on, Bro. That’s just a story parents tell their kids to keep them from wandering too far from home. It’s not real.”

    “Not true! There have been a few sightings, and some trees were torn down almost like something too large was making a path.”

    “We’re safe,” Amy insisted.

    “Maybe, but I should at least call for help.” Chip rummaged through his pack for his whistle. By the time he pulled it out, Amy was out of the water and snatched it out of his hand. 

    Before he could do anything, Amy threw the whistle into the middle of the swimming hole. 

    “Why did you do that!?”

    “I have been wanting to go swimming since the middle of winter. It finally gets warm enough, and you want to ruin it.”

    “I don’t want to ruin anything,” he insisted. “I just want to keep everyone safe.”

    Amy put her face uncomfortably close to his. “I’ll say this one more time; We are safe!” With that she jumped back into the water cannonball style and splashed the other kids, Chip's legs were caught in the splash zone.

    Chip scanned the area where he saw the shadow but didn’t see anything out there. With no one listening to him, he relented and went back to reapplying his ointment.

———————————————————————————

    A few hours went by of splashing, diving, and more cannonballing, Amy always being the leader of the next big stunt.  Chip had spent the better part of the first hour trying to find his whistle under the water, but it was too dark down there to see. By around afternoon almost everyone was starting to wind down.

    The kids stopped swimming at one point to eat the lunches they packed. After everyone had finished eating, they all felt tired and knew they still had to hike back home. Amy however showed no signs of stopping.

    “Come on, guys! We’re just getting started.”

    “Amy,” Chip groaned, “It’s time to head back. We all want to rest for the day.”

    The rest of the kids mumbled and nodded in agreement. 

    “No, what you need is an energy boost.” Amy looked back at the water. “And I know just what to do.” She ran back to the lake but didn’t jump in. She instead ran along the edge and started climbing the steep hill leading up to the waterfall.

    “Amy, stop! That’s dangerous!” Chip shouted while looking at the bottom of the waterfall littered with large sharp rocks.

    She showed no signs of stopping. She was either ignoring Chip or probably couldn’t hear him over the sounds of crashing water. 

    Chip wasn’t sure what to do. Knowing his sister, if he tried to climb after her she would jump more hastily. It was possible for her to jump passed the rocks and land safely in the water, but Chip still didn’t like it. He decided to post himself at the edge of the water as close to the waterfall as he could.

    Amy reached the top. She cupped her hands over her mouth to yell something, but no one could make out what she said. She crouched halfway and swung her arms behind her about to jump. Chip held his breath.

    Her foot slipped on mud. Before anyone could process what happened, Amy was now dangling off the side of the cliff clinging onto clumps of grass.

    “AMY!”

    Time slowed down. Chip tried to climb up the hill, but lost his footing every time the ground shook. He didn’t have time to be slipping. He had to get up there.

    Wait. The ground is shaking?

    He looked across the water and froze with fear. He watched tree after tree crash as a towering figure, much larger than the cliff he was climbing, ran through them like they weren’t even there. Chip couldn’t move or look away from it. All he could do was scream. The monster reached out its enormous, human-like hand. Chip forced his eyes closed as he waited to be crushed.

    Nothing happened. He slowly opened his eyes and saw the Behemoth with its fist partially closed around Amy as she still clung to a clump of grass. Her eyes were as wide as could be. All the color left her face. She screamed until her body went limp.

    Chip tried to look at its face, but it was shadowed by the afternoon sun behind it. Three rocks bounced off the Behemoth’s body, causing no damage. Chip looked back and saw the other kids gathering rocks for another volley. He shook himself out of his stupor, remembering he still had to save his sister. 

    He grabbed some loose rocks from the hill and started throwing, being careful not to hit Amy. “Let her go, you monster!”

    The Behemoth turned its back to the kids and ran off with giant strides. The second quake sent Chip tumbling over the edge and into the water. After a pause of lying underwater, he righted himself and swam back up. By the time he looked to where the Behemoth went it was gone.

    Chip swam as fast as he could to the water’s edge and clambered up. 

    “Come on!” He waved his friends over. 

    None of them moved. 

    “What are you doing? We have to go after it.”

    “Chip, that thing didn’t even flinch at us throwing rocks at it. What do you expect us to do against that?”

    “I expect us to save my sister!”

    “More like die alongside her. I’m sorry, Chip. But I don’t feel like dying today.” The kids each turned around, grabbed their things, and headed back to the village.

    “At least tell the villagers to send help!” He shouted. 

    No one responded.

    Well then. I guess it's just me. Hang on, Amy.

    He ran as best he could without completely exhausting himself. He wanted to save some stamina for it when it came time to run away. The Behemoth left very large and deep footprints that would be difficult not to track.

———————————————————————————

    The sun was starting to lean heavily to the west and Chip’s legs and feet burned like never before. He finally found the end of the trail. He was standing at the base of one of the mountains, where the largest cave entrance he had ever seen lay waiting in the dark for him to enter.

    Every fiber of Chip’s being told him to not go in, but he had to. He took a deep breath, punched some feeling back into his legs, and marched on. 

    All daylight faded away within seconds of walking inside. He hugged the cave wall as he tried to make as little noise as possible with his steps. He hadn’t known how long he had walked, but just as he questioned whether or not he would ever see light again, a warm glow came into view in the distance.

    He slowed down his pace and crouched trying to keep out of sight. This proved rather difficult as there were no rocks large enough for him to hide behind or depressions in the wall to press against.

    As he approached, he made out the bright orange glow of a large bonfire. He saw Amy sitting by it trying to warm herself. On the other side of the fire was the Behemoth standing with its back turned to her.

    Chip saw his chance and went for it. He got to about twenty feet from his sister. He cupped his hand over his mouth and tried to whisper.

    “Amy.”

    Amy. Amy. Amy. Amy. Amy. 

    Chip was horrified as he heard his voice loudly echo throughout the cave. 

    Amy turned around to face him. The whole cave shook as the Behemoth turned to the intruder. Chip, out of instinct lunged forward and grabbed his sister’s arm. “Come on! We’ve got to run!”

    To his surprise, Amy pulled her arm away. “Wait, Chip. I don’t think he’s gonna hurt us.”

    He gave his sister an incredulous look. “What are you talking about? Look at the size of him! How can he not hurt us?”

    “Why don’t you actually look at him?”

    Chip reluctantly looked up. The Behemoth’s face was partially lit by the bonfire below. Its face was much like a human’s only much larger and puffier. The mix of light and shadow should have made it appear terrifying. But as he looked into its eyes, Chip saw only sadness.

    It let out a low groan, again making Chip feel more sad than scared. It didn’t move. It only held its gaze on the two siblings.

    “See?” Amy asked. “And look over here.” She was now the one pulling Chip over to the cave wall where there were crude drawings etched on it. 

    There were over a dozen drawings, each made by scratching the wall with a large rock. They were even colored. By the smell, Chip guessed the color came from crushed fruits. All the drawings showed a towering figure, presumably the Behemoth, at different locations and situations. The size of the behemoth seemed to grow gradually between each picture. Chip put it together this was a sort of sketch diary.

    Chip looked back at the Behemoth, still standing in place watching them. Chip returned his gaze to the drawings, the largest and most prominent one showing the Behemoth standing in front of a group of stick figures. It was hard to make out, but it looked like the figures were shouting and throwing rocks at the Behemoth; much like Chip and his friends did earlier.

    Amy pointed to this drawing. “I think he’s used to people being afraid of him.”

    Chip shook his head. “But why did he pull you from the cliff and kidnap you?”

    Amy was taken aback. “First off, he didn’t pull me from the cliff. He caught me when the grass I was holding onto broke off and I fell. Secondly, I tried to run as soon as I woke up, but he did nothing to stop me, so I stayed. As I sat with him, it became clear he never wanted to hurt me or keep me here. I think he believed you and the others weren’t just throwing rocks at him, you were throwing them at me too.”

    She walked over to the Behemoth. He crouched down and lowered his finger next to her. Amy placed her hand upon it, looked him in the eye, and smiled. “He was trying to protect me.”

    Chip stood there not sure what to make of what he was seeing. Was it possible the monster his parents and all the other villagers told him to fear wasn’t a monster at all?

    He slowly worked up the courage to approach the Behemoth where his sister was standing. Eventually, he managed to bring his hand up to touch the Behemoth’s finger. Chip looked him in the eye. 

    “Th-thank you… for saving my sister.”

    The Behemoth made a rumbling sound. Chip wasn’t sure if he understood his words, but he may have understood his meaning.

    “Do you have a name?” He asked.

    The Behemoth tilted his head looking confused at the question.

    “He hasn’t said a word since I woke up,” said Amy. “We should give him a name.”

    “Us give him a name? What would we even call him?”

    “How about Greg?”

    “Greg? Why Greg?”

    “It’s short for Gregarious. I heard Mom say it once, and she told me it means ‘friendly’.”

    “Huh. I guess Greg is as good a name as any.”

    “That settles it.” She pointed up at the Behemoth. “Your name is Greg.”

    “Grrr….grrrrreeeeegg.”

    “He can talk!” She exclaimed.

    “I don’t know about that just yet. But it seems he can learn to talk.”

    “Well, we’ll teach him,” she proudly proclaimed. “Hey, Greg! Want to play with us and our friends?”

    “Ppppplaaaay.”

    “That’s right. Come on. Let’s go back to the swimming hole.”

    Chip started walking back, but with the adrenaline now gone his legs finally gave out. Amy didn’t laugh this time and showed concern for her brother.

    Greg then picked up the two siblings with his fingers and placed them on his shoulders. He carried Chip and Amy back to the swimming hole. He even removed the rocks below the waterfall making it safe for jumping. 

———————————————————————————

    After a while, Chip and Amy convinced the other kids to return to the swimming hole. They even came around to liking Greg after much hesitation.

    The swimming hole became the go-to place for the kids whenever they had the time. Greg slowly but steadily grew in his understanding of words. Eventually, more kids were invited and some stumbled upon the gathering on their own.  From then on Greg always wore a smile on his face, and Chip didn’t pack his safety bag quite so full anymore.