A story I wrote

The Harp

 

PART I: The Beginning

disturbing facts

“Did you know that every minute,

100 trees are cut down in the world?

Every 10 minutes, a thousand are cut down?

Every hour, 6 thousand are disappearing?

And every day,

144,000 trees are cut down?”

 

a thought on a rainy day

You set down your current book

“A Thousand Disturbing Facts You Don’t Want to Know”.

* SIGHHH….*

Seriously!

We must protect our country better,

you think.

The Earth is precious, so why destroy a planet so majestic?

The rain poured as you stand

in your poor house,

the beautiful garden drenched.

with colorful petals reaching up to the sky,

stretching their leaves towards the sun,

begging for sunshine and warmth.

and the forest also drenched and dripping outside the house.

 

face the weather

You’re alone as you huddle in a corner,

the only dry corner, wood surrounding you.

Your house is creaky, though in shape

(even though the wood’s beginning to rotten),

but you stand up,

wander over to the door,

turn the knob,

and step out,

where the lush, tropical rain forest awaits you,

the sun’s light rays

blinding your

eyes, making it a sunny and rainy morning.

 

a crow

You breathe in the air,

relishing the boasting of a proud black crow puffing its chest out,

That could sing a song and tell a tale;

but you aren’t thinking of that now.

 

you

You’re 12 years old,

name of Archer Magic Galen.

short hair

wonderful blue eyes

light skin

a passion for reading

a way with nature.

 

you, home

You know every bird name

that flies by,

every type of tree that surrounds

your lonely, isolated house

and every schedule of every animal.

You live in a single house,

far away from any other house in the area

(Or at least you think so…)

in Blossoming Falls, Magic.

Everyone’s

middle name

is named after the country they live in.

You love your name,

so why even think of changing it?

 

time of year, a forest with hail

It’s early spring of the year 2023.

Well, it’s actually the first day of spring

this year, March 20.

Anyway, the forest seems to beckon you,

the birds making

a welcoming passageway of

leaves and trees, chirping away

their happiness. Suddenly, hail starts to

rain down from the sky,.

And the black dark grey storm clouds had been

Coming in, forming, their presence unnoticed by you.

You go back into your house,retreat, ducking into your house,

but rain still drips down from the ceiling.

 

a living palace

A raindrop lands on your arm,

uncovered from the light green

t-shirt you’re wearing

(with mud splattered from the wet days in the jungle)

and you shiver with disgust.

It’s spring,

you know, but why couldn’t the

rain showers

have waited until later?

Raindrops continue to fall, their cold,

damp feel unrefreshing,

your corner now wet.

You start to fidget and decide to go back to the

magical, blooming, tropical palace of nature

you consider home.

 

paranoid.

You step back out and trod through

the little path between the tree trunks,

filled with your footprints,

marked by the many times you’ve walked

this beautiful, mystical forest.

Once again, you feel

a stab of anxiousness touch your bones,

like always.

You’re always paranoid about everything.

Every worry

every question

every problem

every what-if

I wonder if anyone has ever

walked this forest besides me, you wonder

speaking out loud.

You’ve never seen anyone, of course…

 

psychic powers, what-ifs

And there goes another worry.

It always goes back to your worries.

In fact, you have one right now;

you’ve been having these weird dreams,

and you feel as though something bad is happening.

You’re psychic

always having dreams,

and they always predict what’s going to

happen the next day (and it works, of course),

but they were never bad.

This one was bad.

As you pad through the forest,

you realize none of the usual animals were there or making a sound.

Must be the precipitation, you decide aloud.

Another thick, fat raindrop plops down onto your skin and pops.

You sigh.

 

PART II: The Backstory

 

alone

There were downsides about living away from anyone else;

you want an umbrella

but there are no stores around,

you want to read about a person

but there are no libraries around;

you have to travel far and wide.

And you know you’ve never traveled to

find somewhere else because it was risky.

Also, sigh, there are no airports around.

You have to either walk to an airport

(because you have no bike),

or just travel by foot the whole way.

No fun,

you think.

The only reason you had gotten your hands on a copy of

“A Thousand Disturbing Facts You Don’t Want to Know”

was because you had packed that before you had

needed to leave.

And why did you have to leave to become an orphan?

Well, you flash back to the time when you were

6,

7,

clueless about what was going on…

 

an old home, flashbacks

{Well, it was a light, cloudy day, with sun shining on the front lawn in Hawaii, America. A perfect day, you thought it was, as though nothing could stop the beautiful flowers from dancing and swaying in the wind. Well, you were wrong. You decided to take a break and go in the house, but then you heard a voice sounding as soon as the doorknob was in your reach. You turn, realizing it was your neighbors, and they appeared with sadness in their eyes.}

You remember how they walked up to you and how they told you how… well, how…

{Your father died, Archer. Your mother died, too. Your neighbors stand in front of you. You stand in terror as your brain processes the thought of what you just heard. Suddenly, it started to rain. And it seemed as though the wind did stop, leaving the flowers to stop dancing and start drooping down, down towards the ground, now soggy because of the rain… You feel your eyelids close slowly, and you thankfully let the blackness surround you.}

 

bitter pain

Bitterly, you close your eyes once more

and speak to the sky,

bright as though nothing had gone wrong.

How dare you, sun,

shine as though nothing had happened!

I hate you, I hate my life.

What else could go wrong?

You’re snarling now, your anger fuming as you growl

to the gods.

Why couldn’t you have saved me from this miserable life?

The birds from the wet forest flutter onto your shoulder,

and you greet them with your usual joy and genial feeling.

At least you have the companionship of animals, right?

They’re not of your species,

so they don’t know your pain and suffering.

Suddenly, wet white bird poop lands on your shoulder, and you shake your head in disgust.

That’s one of the downsides, you guess. But you love the animals, still.

 

evil dreams

You still feel as though something evil,

something mysterious

is lurking in the depths,

approaching; you pray you’re wrong for once,

but you’re still getting goosebumps.

At times like this do you wish you had a companion,

or just some sort of human to

confide your worries in.

But no.

Only the people with the worst luck could have

these sort of events happening to themself,

you mumble aloud.

But you guess it would be better to

simply enjoy the fresh breeze than constantly fuss

about your dreams… about…

ALIENS.

 

terror.

The word flashes in your mind like a lightning bolt

against a dark, tranquil night sky.

You pull out your

cell phone, glad to have SOME sort of entertainment.

It was the last thing you had received - and

the one thing you could use to

stay in contact with

your friends, if your stupid phone doesn’t die and crash in the first place.

But honestly, your friends live about 4000 miles away!

 

they come to destroy

Suddenly, a huge rrrruuummmmblleeeee shook the ground

and pounding filled your ears.

A huge green figure with an expressionless face

descends before you

with others of his kind,

knocking down the whole forest,

slamming trees

and destroying everything in their paths.

You stare in amazement

as you realize these were aliens,

the ones who were in your dreams.

They spot you and run after you as you flee in terror.

 

hide, help

You bolt forward, as fast as you can,

but no, they are faster.

You go to the only spot you can think of;

the forest. The aliens,

though,

are closing in on you.

You dive into the undergrowth

and the birds

screech out loud.

However, the aliens casted spells

with their wands and

destroyed the birds with explosions.

Aliens are taking over my home, you think with mixed disgust. And I can’t stop them.

 

depression, misery

You feel as though

the whole world had crashed down on you.

And your heart

drops from your chest

to your feet almost immediately.

NOW I’ve experienced everything, you moan.

Nothing may ever go right again.

Suddenly, you remember

advice from your best friend

you had before you moved away and became an orphan.

I hear that near where you will move,

there is a golden harp in a lush forest

who can do anything at all.

But who knows if the story was true or not?

 

run.

You swerve in the forest,

your legs burning,

your head pulsing

and spinning with thoughts

of what exactly just happened,

and duck into a ditch underground.

The aliens run right above you without noticing,

and, after a long while,

you realize it’s safe to come out.

But, your heart sinking,

you realize the green monstrous invaders had

torn down the entire forest,

and you weep away tears.

 

encounter

Suddenly, the rumble came again.

The aliens were coming back!

You decide to make a run

straight for the edge

of the forest,

where aliens possibly would not go.

You make it,

but then run right into

a bamboo hut,

your body stinging

where you had slammed

into the abandoned hut.

A bear emerged and looked around,

then spotted you.

You open your eyes wide in terror

as the bear approached.

You see compassion in the eyes you are looking at, though,

so you stay put.

 

PART III: The Journey

 

gyana

“Well, who are you?”

says the bear.

You introduce yourself,

and the bear speaks.

“I’m Gyana,” said the mysterious bear.

“I’m the ‘wise bear of the jungle’.

Now, what brings you here?”

You reply with sadness,

and spill out words describing the aliens

and how you were a child with no family and so on.

“Ah, yes, I’ve heard the aliens.

Well, I’ll tell you, I’ve been expecting you,

and I believe you have a long future yet.

I have read a prophecy about you, so…….

good luck.”

You can’t think.

“A prophecy? About what?”

“Only time will tell,” came the reply. m

“But I’m afraid I can’t come with you.

I’ll tell you,

Follow the stream

In a world like a dream,

where the harp is placed upon.”

And Gyana left.

 

truth revealed

So it’s true,

you murmur muse,

the golden harp is true.

So you leave.

Your nerves tingle as you realize what a hard journey

It would be.

Hunger, thirst, and exhaustion fatigue settle over you

as you settle down for your first night.

You wake up the next morning early,

and set out determinedly

Towards your destination.

You realize you hadn’t seen any animals

for so long.

Just as you were standing still,

thinking,

a hiss erupted behind you.

You jump in shock

and a rattlesnake slithers towards you,

still hissing.

“Why are you here?” it asks,

still hissing. “I’m looking for the golden harp”, you reply simply,

curiosity pricking you.

“Well then, why are you here?

This is my place, and I’m warning you to get off here. Or else.”

You feel quite a mystical touch in the air,

and you wonder what the snake was doing.

“Well, I had to retreat from the aliens

who are tearing down this beautiful forest.

And, I ended up here.

I have to plan a route

as to where to go so that I can-”

 

recognition

“Ah, yes, the aliens,”

the rattlesnake’s voice was

suddenly filled with sadness.

“I’ll admit, I’ve seen you a few times in the forest.

I’m not sure we’ll survive.”

Both you and the rattlesnake lay still for a

little while in silence.

Then you break it.

“Do you want to come with me?”

The rattlesnake argues a bit,

but then says,

“Fine. I guess it’s about time to make a change. Let’s go right away.”

You look straight into the rattlesnake’s eyes and confirm.

“Are you sure?”

You mention the starvation,

the thirst,

the aliens, the hostile animals, so on, so on.

“It’s hard, really.

And you’ll be weak, tired,

dehydrated without water,

but still having to go on.

Finding enough food is real hard.

One time I almost got killed by a bear!”

But Manduru wouldn’t budge.

 

excitement

Then, just then, as you finish,

Manduru gives a big hiss of excitement

and starts to slither away quickly.

“What are you doing?” you ask.

Manduru just goes a full speed.

And suddenly, you remember Gyana’s words;

 

“Follow the stream

In a world like a dream,

where the harp is placed upon.”

So you go,

Following the stream

And Manduru

Until you see a beautiful sight.

 

destination, a wonder to behold

You found it.

Your destination.

Your way to save the world.

And you stand there, stunned,

with the world blurring in front of you.

You clear your eyes and your eyes stretch wide.

“So it’s true,” you think. “It’s really true”.

The harp is placed upon a rock

at the edge of the stream,

The water rippling around it.

the end?

You think.

Back.

Last night, your harp

Well, not your harp

Had killed the aliens.

How, you might wonder

And how, oh I wonder

Did it do so?

You feel sad.

Manduru left, a sad goodbye it was.

Never had you felt

So sad before.

 

the final farewell poem

“Follow the stream

In a world like a dream,

where the harp is placed upon.”

Manduru’s gone,

From dusk to dawn

And you cry, you weep

A broken relationship once so deep

Gyana’s wisdom ablaze,

Making spirits and hope raise,

And you…

Your neverending courage and determination,

Your most prized creations,

All in one…

And your life shall go on…

Forever.

Until the end of the world.

Destruction will begin again,

Wreaking havoc between men

Where no one is trusted

People have been busted

People hurt, people grieve

People trick and deceive…