The Black-winged man

We were from different world, different dimensions, two beings that should not and cannot cross each other. But fate brought us together and thus, the day we met…

His looks so terrifying and monstrous, with long skinny arms that touched the ground, white skin colour with black jet hair, emerald eyes, scaly skin, skinny and bended legs and also a crucifix necklace that hung loosely around his neck. That was his real form and how he looked when we first met.

The first time I saw him, the wings he had on his back and his looks and shocked me the most. Who is this creature? Why had he fallen right in front of my yard? What is he?

Even though I asked myself the last question for numerous times, I already had the answer myself. He is an Extraterrestrial, an alien.

I touched him gently and heard him whining and groaning about something. I helped him up, just to realize his abnormally tall height (2 meters) and the blue liquid left behind by him every step he takes. He had sparkling blue blood like sapphires, like the surface of a lake when shone brightly by the moonlight. He was nothing else except a being stranger to me.

The more I thought about it, the more I cared for him.

I took care of him for several days, helped him with his bandage and feeding him with food. It’s rather amusing to know how much he had taken a liking towards strawberry flavored sweets.

But for the past month I had taken care of him, he had never talked to me once.

“Hey, can’t you talk?” I asked.

He didn’t respond but just stared at me with his emerald eyes.

“Mum and Dad are coming back in a week’s time. By then, I can’t take care of you. They will be terrified by how you look…”

He sat upright immediately. Even under moonlight, no lights, no nothing, only darkness, I could see his 

appearance and expressions as clear as in daylight. He was glaring at me and frowning.

He snarled and hissed, and grabbed me by my wrist.

“Please, let go of me! It’s hurting! Please!” I exclaimed as I felt his nails piercing through my skin, ruby blood trickling out from the deep wound. He immediately let go off me and turned away to look at the window.

He looked lonely when I saw his longing eyes looking towards the sky. A hundred thousands and thousands and millions and millions kilometers above ground level is his home, where he belongs and where his friends and family are.

“You want to go back?” I asked, sitting on the edge of the bed he was on.

He nodded, pearls of tears trickling down from his eyes. His tears did not have a regular water droplet shape, but instead they were spherical, really rounded.

“Do you know the way to go back?” I asked.

He shook his head. His stare at the navy blue sky had clearly shown his loneliness. This is not where he should be in.

“Don’t worry, I will think of ways to help you,” I said.

He turned around to look at me with wide eyes and a look of confusion.

I smiled and hugged him gently.

“I promise I wouldn’t leave you alone.”

With that, I fell into a deep slumber, dreaming about someone hugging me tightly and telling me “I know you wouldn’t…”

A few days later… 

“RING ring! RING ring!!!” the phone rang.

I was in the kitchen cooking breakfast for myself and him. I didn’t have an extra leg to help me with the call.

“Hmmm…” I heard a deep growl behind me.

I turned around to see him at my kitchen door.

“What do you want?” I asked with a sweet voice. He seems to look better and better each day.

He pointed to the phone in his hand.

“Wow! Thx!” I took the phone from him and answered the call while cooking.

“Jane, is that you?”

“Mum?”

“Did something happen to you? I thought I heard some weird growling sounds…”

Did mum hear his deep growls? This is bad…

“No, I guessed you heard wrongly… Everything is perfectly fine here!”

“If that’s what you say… Anyway, Jason and I will be coming back tomorrow! I called to tell you this!”

Mum is coming back TOMORROW?!

 I thought I felt my knees turning jelly when I fell to the floor.

“Jane, are you alright? Jane?” Mum’s worried voice rang over the phone.

“Erm…. Yeah, I am alright, mum. I am looking forward to your arrival home with dad tomorrow,” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

I hung up the phone abruptly as I couldn’t let mum hear my sobs.

What should I do next? I promised him that I wouldn’t leave him behind but…

“I’ll be alright…” I heard someone speaking.

“Don’t go saying that! You can’t be alright!” I exclaimed and stopped immediately.

Did he just spoke?

I looked up to the owner of the deep velvet voice.

My tears stopped flowing, my heart stopped thumping. My voice… can’t be projected out.

The one standing in front of me isn’t an alien. He is a human. A male human with looks so perfect and beautiful like how a fallen angel should look like, with the black wings still attached to his back. His black jeans hung loosely on him. That pair of jeans must have belonged to dad.

“You’re…” I heard my voice breaking.

“I am a human… Under a curse by a witch,” he replied.

I swallowed my spit and stared at him with my hazel eyes. It was him. Those green eyes and black jet hair… Such an unique combination… It got to be him.

“You’re lying right? You’re an outer space alien right?” I asked. I can’t stand up for my knees forbid me to. My brain is telling me that I am dreaming. I must be. I have to be.

Human turning into an alien under a curse by a witch… Does he think that this is a fairytale? And what’s the ending? That we’ll be living happily ever after?

…happily ever after…

I repeated those lines again and again in my head.

That’s just the ending I wanted it to end up to be like. Him living with me, the two of us falling in love, living in a world nobody cares… I am contradicting myself.

He crouched down and looked at me at eye level.

“I am not, Jaclyn,” he said, calling me by my full name.

His eyes seemed so honest like he had always been for the past month. He had never lied about him being an alien. I was always the one jumping into conclusions.

My tears trickled down on their own. Strange, what’s there for me to cry about? If he is a human, then there’s nothing I should be worrying about?

But… If he had turned back into a human, he would certainly go back to his house right?

He wiped away my tears with his thumbs and hugged me tightly.

“Don’t cry, Jaclyn, don’t cry,” he cooed.

Under his smoothing voice, warm body, consistent patting on my back, I finally stopped crying.

“You promise you will never leave me alone?” I asked.

“I promise,” he said.

“But what about your family and friends?” I asked. “Wouldn’t you miss them?”

He stopped and hesitated, leaving a tense and heavy atmosphere between us, so heavy that I found difficulty in breathing.

“My family died a few years ago. My friends? I have none… Only you,” he said, fingers touching my face, caressing my cheeks. They felt warm at the frist touch but gradually turned freezing cold.

He looked at me with those eyes he looked at the windows again.

He must have been lonely since then, the day his family died.

I smiled and hugged him.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked suddenly.

I pulled apart from the comfortable hug and looked at him.

“Erm… Sorry for the sudden request but…”

I shut up him by kissing his cheek.

“You can but before you kiss me, can you at least tell me your name?” I asked.

“Death, Jaclyn. It’s Death.”

And before I know it, his icy lips were touching my warm ones, as I was unknowingly brought into another dimension, another world, a world where the afterlife live…

“Yet another victim,” Death’s crooked smile was etched in my head forever.

Mr Tummyflop Wigglebum

Game of concentration

iConcentration
Ability to focus
Praying mantis eyes

Philosophy behind this awesome haiku.
Big eyes = concentrating abilities high

The time for death

A day is a year for me, dreadful and long. There is never a time when I am thinking of the future. The ticking of the clock reminds me of the time I am left with. The chirping of the birds is something I hate. Sunrise and sunset is never beautiful. My body growing taller is never a good sign.

I never wished for a single thing, except for time to stop.

Tick. Tock.

I silently pleaded for the death god to tell me how much time I am left with. Not to let me live another day not knowing. Not to let me cling on to false hope.

Brother had died. Aunt had died. Mum is lying on the opposite sickbed, unconscious. Grandma had died. All of them suffered from the same cardiac illness as me.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Every throb in my heart makes me wonder if that's a signal for my death as I clench to the fabric covering my chest and stare at the white ceiling above. Everyday, for an entire month, I stared at the little crack at the ceiling. The same patch of  dried paint. When had I ever stepped out of the boundary of this sickening hospital?

Slowly, I climb out of the bed and saunter to the window with a heart full of dread and courage. The window is my enemy. Through it I saw things I hated to see. The healthy children playing around in the playground and the elderly brisk walking in the park nearby. Would I live for long?

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

A tap on the door. The door creaks open, breaking the silence of the room. Has Death come for me? I whisk my head around, almost in anticipation. The man in a white coat called 'Doctor' comes in with my medical report. He comes for a check up and sighs. Walking out again, he reminds himself to close the door and talks to my father about my condition. Had he even heard of the phrase 'ears behind the walls'?

The last thing I want to hear came out from 'Doctor's' mouth. 

Tick.

I am dying.

Tock.

But when? How long am I going to live this life of preparing-for-death?

Tick.

When would it be my turn?

Haiku from Mr Tummyflop Wigglebum

The Potato of Life

Cycle continues
Phagocytosis is real
You wants potatoes

Philosophy:
Phagocytosis comes before potatoes after which, phagocytosis comes (don't question my advanced understandings of science)

The adventures of Lewix the Rabbit

(Based on the lyrics of Friday is Forever—We the Kings)

On most mornings, Lewix would wake up with tired, sleepy eyes, inclined to snuggling back into the cozy comforts of his thick blanket, hugging his soft fur coat and lulling himself back into sleep. Friday was different,though. This Friday morning, Lewix woke up, fresh and energetic, literally bouncing as he got ready to meet the new day. Yay!

Everyday was a big day for Lewix, but Friday was the best! He absolutely loved the little forest near his home and enjoyed exploring the wonders of the truly enchanting forest. He was bouncing to the invisible tune that played in his mind, when he noticed the sullen blue pixie that lived in a mushroom close to his home.

The pixie had fair blue skin, bright blue hair. Her eyes were oceans and her dress was the evening sky. She was a pixie to others, but to Lewix she was an imp. An ugly imp. He remembered the time when she broke his favourite toy at a party he held. She didn't apologise, and if she didn't, he wasn't about to forgive her either. As if she cared. This brought their argument to a deadlock and other disagreements made their whole relationship as convoluted as a tangled jumble of yarn.

Lewix stopped in his tracks and looked on at the blue pixie. She was sitting alone, gazing out the window, staring at nothing at all. A desolate figure that was waiting, as though for someone to guide her out of her own darkness. He sighed, and headed towards her home.

The forest would have to wait. As he hopped, Lewix muttered to himself," I must be a fool."

*****

"Tap-tap." A rhythmic knock on the door.

Lewix put his paws in his pockets and waited.

The imp answered the door. "Hey, Lewix." A voice almost gentle. She must have been brain washed.

"Yo. Just wondering if you wanna go explore the forest with me. You look very very lonely."

The imp scratched her head. Puzzled too. It was obvious that she didn't get such requests often. Nobody really liked her. Lewix probably hated her the most.

"Sure."

Soon, they were off, and they walked into the forest together. Personally, Lewix had a mission, which was to collect flowers to brighten up his home in December. In Autumn they were scarce and few, but it would be worse in December so he thought it best to collect them now. The blue imp could help.

"Would you like to help me collect flowers for winter?"

"Do you eat the flowers?" She scoffed.

"Haha. Maybe."

Thus, they went foraging, laughing at the silly conversations of talking mushrooms, playing with the newborn ducklings near the pond, and soon Lewix saw a new side of the blue pixie. She was really friendly, though her tone could be a little caustic at times and she could be quite obstinate at certain times. It was as if Lewix had met a total stranger. A new friend.

As her laughter chimed through the forest, he realised that the blue pixie was not a cold catalina blue, but really a gentle cyan.

In the cool autumn breeze that made the whole forest shiver, Lewix felt a fuzzy warm flame in his heart. Friendship.

As Lewix and the pixie strolled and searched the forest, they had collected a substantial amount of asters. Their soft petals were of a bright purple, they were long and narrow, but at its heart, it was wide, and yellow, fit for a fat bee.

The pixie looked up and urged," We better hurry off, the sky looks sullen today."

Lewix leaped off clutching the stems of his flowers, and the pixie dashed by his side. Gentle rain began to trickle off the clouds, dropping softly on the ground.
Lewix passed an Aster to the pixie," the centre makes for a great umbrella."

Soon, they went their separate ways and Lewix went home. As he arranged the flowers in a clear vase, he looked through the window and up at the sky. The rain had cleared quite quickly, and through a veil of wispy grey clouds, the warmth of the late afternoon sun prevailed.

PAWN - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Adorned with twinkling jewels, the night sky drew an ebony art, signaling that midnight was on its way. Howling of alphas calling out to its fellow members rang throughout the thick forest. Four good friends were out in a forest. To amateurs, they seems like they were venturing but for those who knew better that it was Adventure searching for them.

A long night with quiet whispers of the nocturnals and the ticking of the second hand of Yellow's watch was enough to make the four feel ghastly and weak in their stomachs. But the enigmatic, dark and gloomy forest seems to threaten them with the soft howls of wind every now and then, making them too scared to even move. Green had her sweaty palms gripped to the ends of her unkempt hair and the diabolic Red was just waiting for a chance to hunt for food.

"Sleeping?" Yellow asked. He sat leaning against a trunk with his bag pack beside him.

"Not really... Can't sleep with the eerie sounds..." Green's quivering voice was heard by all.

"Eerie? It's more than eerie! It's more like a scene from some random ghost movie!" Blue cried. 

"Shhh! Can you guys quiet down? I am trying to catch a rabbit here!" Red exclaimed. But  to his unfortunate, the rabbit heard his voice and skedaddled to its hole at the roots of a gargantuan Angsana tree. He waited for a moment and caught the rabbit when it popped its head out again.

"Great! What a feast!" He smirked and started a fire with his Scouts' skills. A barbecued rabbit barbecued with the spiking fire of natural twigs... A feast, indeed, fit for a king.

"I want one too!" Blue cried. 

"Me too!" Green followed.

"I'm famished..." Yellow said. His stomach growled, an evidence to prove his statement.

"Catch one too, you lazy bums. It's not like I could share with you right? There are partition walls between us," Red explained while munching hungrily on his barbecued rabbit's thigh.

"Oh come on... Don't be so selfish. Share with us!" 

"No!!! Get your food yourselves!" Red said and continued on with his scrumptious meal of barbecued rabbit.

A streak of white light slashed the navy sky like a blade, emitting out blinding light, momentarily blinding the four's eyes. They squinted their eyes and forced them open when they got used to the light.

"What happened?" Green asked.

"You mean what's going to happen. A white light in the middle of the night coming from a night sky... What the heck is with this forest?!" Red vociferated. 

Red, Blue, Green and Yellow waited with uneased hearts, expecting for a rampaging ogre or beast to appear. Nothing happened. No ghosts, no zombies, no walking trees (like what Blue had imagined), no anything!

But isn't it just too weird? Is it safe for them to conclude that today would be a safe night?

The gloves in the air looming towards them had proved them wrong. A night of the unexpected had dawned upon them when the mischievous Adventure seeks for them. 

Days

Friday is when the party starts
Saturday is a dream
Sunday is another reality check
And then Monday crashes upon me.
Tuesday ends in just a blink
Wednesday, when I begin to long
The end of Thursday is a joyful one
For Friday is to come.

Picnic under the moonlight

The Experience.



AUTUMN

It has a luscious buttery pastry base that melts in the mouth and a fluffy, vanilla-drenched sponge layer that oozes the flavor. But the real surprise is the unctuous, wickedly indulgent chocolate sauce layer sandwiched cheekily between the cake and the pie shell... The rice sauce simply oozes decadence and its scrummy, bitter-sweet taste combination is utterly, utterly sinful. Trust me my friends, this is a sensual experience not to be missed



VIOLET

Laughing silently to myself, I reached out for another slice of the soft, juicy fruit. The chilled slice of kiwi lay in its bowl, a green disc with a white centre, and tiny black seeds around its centre like dancing ants rejoicing in a circle. Bringing it to my mouth, I inhaled its scent, like a fruity perfume, and I bit into it, tasting first its sweetness and finally its bitter aftertaste. The bitterness like a longing, my mouth wishing for yet another slice.

I picked up an apple wedge this time. Unlike the kiwi, this was crunchy, hard. It smelt sweeter, more tempting. As I took a bite, the saccharine taste of its juice played coyly with my taste buds. In that single moment, I understood why Snow White was so tempted by a glorious red apple.



APPLES

I dipped my chopsticks into the creamy soup, locating the long pale noodles laying in the pool of whiteness. The noodles seemed to dance, rejoicing in its milky sweetness. The smooth long noodles slide in my mouth like a cool afternoon..... I sucked them up, savouring each and every bite, till the very last drop. Ah yes, the soup... The soup is nevertheless the best in the world, warming my cold death heart as I savoured the light, silky slices of fish.The cloudiness of the soup hid the chunks of savoury meat, as though hiding them from my prying eyes, though they just compelled me to search even harder for that thick piece of heaven. Ah.....the thick watering mouthful pieces of meat.....

PAWN—part 10

( Blue's perspective)

I glanced nervously at the sky. I was the only one had not moved yet. It had to be my turn soon. Looking back at the adventures—or misadventures more like— that Green, Red and Yellow had experienced, I had a sense of foreboding.

Wringing my hands on the hem of my skirt, I bit my lower lip. We all watched the dice with dread. Once again, it was someone's luck being tested, another person would have to move. That person would be me.

The dice moved as though there was an invisible force manipulating it. As it tumbled about the trees and bushes, its dots seemed to dance and mock us. We were the little pieces in a game. I glanced at Yellow and Red, as I asked Green," Are you able to see the die? "

"Yeah, it's right in front of me, why?"

"It's in front of us too."Yellow piped.

Red just stared at it with scorn. He must have felt like I did. I didn't like this game one bit.

"That's strange. I can't see you guys." Green pointed out.

Neither could we see her.

Finally it stopped. "Five dots. Is that the face you are looking at too?"

"Sure is." Yellow replied, he was obviously perplexed.

I looked back to the clouds, and I saw it arrive, the gloved hand. Gently it lay by my side, like a tame beast, its blue satin beckoning to me, welcoming me with an open palm. I stepped in, I had to go with it anyway. It was probably better not to mess with the hand. I sat in the middle of the palm, and it lifted me off, to a patch of concrete land next to Yellow. Square 5.

Like the rest, I received my task.

"Blue blue blue
Don't feel so blue blue blue.

Calm calm calm
Keep calm calm calm

Oceans oceans oceans
They will come."

"What does that even mean?!" I shouted incredulously.

"Now remember, the clue is in the poem somewhere...maybe it's something to do with the repetition?" Yellow thought aloud.

As he talked, the scenery around me changed. A small platform seemed to appear out of thin air. It was made out if wood, and it was not very colourful, but what striked me the most was the blood stained ground in front of it, and the loose noose that swayed in the gentle breeze. On the platform stood five totem poles, with flat tops. As though, one was supposed to put something there.

Yellow could see everything, and his jaw dropped slightly.

In front of the totem poles was a trough, where there was barely enough space for me to squeeze between the totem poles and the trough. I peered inside. It reeked of rotting, moulding wood. Reaching in, I fished out something wooden. A wooden letter, "K". On it, it was carved, "Are you ready for a game of Hangman?"

"Guys, it's hangman." I told them," help me out here."

"How many blank spaces are there?" Red spoke for the first time in quite a while. I looked at the totem poles. "Five, I think."

"Will I die if I get it wrong?" I glanced at the noose. The tears were coming back again. I couldn't help myself every time...

"Don't be silly, Blue. Lets focus on completing this, ok?" Green tried to comfort me.

"Now, I've been thinking, the poem must have something to do with the answer, and its five letters. If it has to do with repetition, it must be —" Yellow deduced, but then he was cut off.
I saw his lips moving but he was just cut off.

"Wait, I'm sorry what did you say? It must be...?" I tried to get his answer again.

"I said it must be —. Can't you hear me? You should be able to.."

Once again it was blocked out, like a gap in between teeth, an empty space. A hindrance.

"Blue, I think Yellow is on to something. It's —! It's definitely —!" Green gushed excitedly.

I burst into tears. "I can't hear it! I mean..I can hear you guys, but whatever Yellow's answer is I can't hear it!" I began to wail about the hopeless situation I was in.

The blue satin hand passed over me, and dropped a note that dilly-dallied its way down, like a calm dove flying over a stormy turbulent sea of emotions.

When it landed, I rushed over to pick it up, hoping to get an easy answer.

"Now, now, try it yourself. To know answers is no fun. ;)"

I breathed in deeply, only to exhale in short agitated breaths from sobbing. I had no choice but to try my luck. With no other clue other than the poem, I decided to jump to the first word of the poem. My name.

"B.."

"What are you doing? No, say—" Red urged. I began to ignore their futile attempts to pass on the answer to the puzzle.

A strong gust of wind threatened to throw me off balance. I could barely open my eyes. Thunder crashed and the sky turned an ominous grey. Then, it began to pour. I looked at the noose, trying to keep my eyes open against the wind. It swayed hard, but there was nothing else there. Just an empty coil of rope being thrashed about by the wind.

Well. Weather was always quite unpredictable.

"L"

Rain had begun to drench my clothing. I waited for something to happen, waited for the letters to appear. There was nothing at the noose, so maybe I had not gotten it wrong.; but if I got it right, where were the letters supposed to be? Just then I noticed that the water was at my ankle. I looked down. How could this be? I began to take my first look at the surroundings after rain had begun pouring. Water was rising at an alarming rate. The floor was concrete, it couldn't absorb water, but..but shouldn't the water flow out?

For a moment, I forgot about the game and focused on whether I was going to die. The water was about to touch my knee. How could I have forgotten about the invisible border my friends faced? I couldn't escape—and neither could water.

"Blue! What's happening? There's a storm overhead you but it's not over us. It just appeared, quite spontaneously.." Red yelled, over the sound of the wild winds blowing about me, chilling me to the bone.

"When? When did it appear?" I yelled back, shivering and wading my way through the water with much difficulty."

"After you said B!" Yellow cried.

"Are you okay?Perhaps it's the punishment, Blue! You have to get it right!" Green urged.

As if I wasn't trying. I really didn't know the answer.

"U!" I yelled, hoping it would be right. The rain poured even harder, it was nearly at my waist, and inching up on me as every minute passed. I thought hard about the poem.

"Oceans—they will come. This must be the ocean they were talking about. They told me to keep calm, and not to feel blue. So I should follow the poem right?"

I breathed in deeply, and thought hard about what the answer might be. I racked my brain and had searched it in all corners, twice. Nothing came to mind. The water reached my shoulder. I became flustered again. I didn't even bother to stop the tears of panic that streamed from my squinted eyes, adding to the choppy waters that had nearly submerged me. It was now at my neck. "E!" I shouted the last letter of my name, hoping for the best.

The rain stopped abruptly. 2 Es appeared at the last two totem poles. I was safe! I had to get it right this time.

A five letter word. With two Es at the back. Yellow had said that it had something to do with the poem. About repetition. Repetition. What did the poem repeat?

"Blue, blue,blue. Calm, calm, calm. Oceans, oceans, oceans." I whispered to myself. Hoping I would get some inspiration. The words. There were three of them. They were repeated three times consecutively. Three. Three!"

It was at that eureka moment, I shouted to the sky, to whom it may concern, hoping to stop this trial on me, " THE ANSWER IS THREE!"

"Yeah! You got it!" Yellow, Red and Green cheered, as the words, "T", "H" and "R" appeared. The water seemed to have been drained slowly by an invisible force, to a drain that nobody could see. The platform, the totem poles and the noose faded away slowly. The whole area seemed like nothing had happened before. The strong wind had reduced itself to a mere wisp of moving air, that played gently with my hair before disappearing altogether, the trial was over. The grey clouds swirled away and revealed a red sky it had been hiding, a rosy, happy blush, contrary to our fear and nervous emotions.

The sun was setting and soon it would be night.

Seed of Life

My heart is pumping, pulsating like the beats of thunder that roll across the clouds of Geheniss.
The fragrant smells from Tree of Life did little to calm me, but I liked her scent all the same. It is beginning to flower again.

I have been protecting Tree of Life for almost a decade now. A decade of arduous training to become a Pleximyst, the highest rank of all Guardians of Geheniss. This last, final test would be my last step to success. The test that would decide it all. It was either Pleximyst, or banishment. I guess the kingdom could not afford to let someone with so much knowledge stay in Geheniss.

Tree of life is a mystical being, like a goddess with connections with the mortal world below. Her sturdy trunk supported the rotation of Celeste Earthia, or Earth. The water running under her supported the diversity of life—the sap of the mortals.

As I sat below her, our hearts beat as one. I watched as leaves fell, and new ones were growing. A crumpled brown one fluttered down and lay gently next to me. Another mortal heart had stopped gushing life.

The fruits of Tree of Life lay scattered on the floor. The fruits were dry and brown, and they exploded with joy when they were ripe, and very occasionally, it contained Seed of Life, signifying a blessing to the mortals of Celeste Earthia.

I got up and poked around at the dried fruits. This was part of my role as the protector of Her, aside from weeding evil, checking for anything that ails Her, nourishing her with the blessings from the mortals of Celeste Earthia...and much, much more.

I approached yet another long, hazel case. As I peered into a small crack of the fruit, I noticed something smooth, like a brown pearl in a clam. Seed of life! A blessing! I pried open the fruit, and clasping it in my hands, I kneeled and prayed my gratitude to Tree of Life.

"Young adherent!" The strong, clear voice of the Pleximyst called from across the garden.

Finishing my prayers quickly, I slipped Seed of Life into my pocket.
***** *****
I followed the Pleximyst into the Hallway of Guardians. Tall, rock statues of the greatest Pleximysts seemed to support the ceiling of the large sanctuary. They were giants, watching down upon young aspirants, young mysts like me.

The silence was overbearing.

"Are you ready for your test, young Myst?"

I trembled in the cool hallway, partly due to the nervousness that gently shook my heart.

Taking a deep breath, my hand on Seed of Life, I nodded.

"Let's begin then, shall we?"

With that, my mentor the Pleximyst raised his white sceptre and yelled," Ancient Banana Peels! I unleash your true potential! "

There was a strong draft and a bright, pale blue light emitted from his sceptre, seeming to engulf the room in its glow.

I squinted against the light, and a strange shadowy figure was projected in the strong beam of light. All I could make out was his large wizard cap—the ancient master of all Pleximysts, his pseudonym was Banana Peels. A ridiculous sounding name, but definitely not someone you wanted to mess with. He held the greatest power, the greatest authority, and the art and strength of his magic made him someone deserving of respect.

Banana Peels bellowed:" Young myst, it's time for your final challenge. Answer this simple question, how Noodles are you?"

I was taken aback by the question. Never did I think that the question would be about me and my value as a Noodles, a type of sorcerer that performed Bright Magic in complicated spells, thus the name.

"I...I believe that I am equivalent..equivalent of the style..I..I mean...to the style of Ninjas." I tried to say it in a semblance of confidence, but my tongue was twisted in all directions and I stuttered like a fool. I clutched Seed of Life in my pocket even more tightly now, wishing for a blessing from Her. I truly did not know how to answer that question...and the stakes attached to it were high.

The fateful announcement hit me hard. Reality was harsh.

"YOU HAVE FAILED" The condemning voice echoed loudly.
"You shall now be banished to Earth! Your duties of protecting tree of life will be abolished! Step to the chamber now!"

The chamber. Tears brimmed in my eyes. It was where they would erase my memory and send my soul down to the mortal world.

"No! No! Don't make me leave, I'll do anything! ANYTHING!" I pleaded, dropping to my knees out of desperation. I couldn't leave, not after all these years, not after being so, so close.

"I can't survive without the Tree of Life!" I begged, my careless tongue slipping yet another darned error.

"You have failed in the simplest of areas. Basic rule number one: Its Tree of Life, not the Tree of Life! Now leave you worthless little soul."

My mentor glared at me disapprovingly,"Leave now, while He is still merciful!"

I continued to kneel, unflinching in my resolve.

"Please...just test me again..." I begged.

"Don't be silly, no one has ever taken a retest and you are not about to be an exception." My mentor urged, glaring at me from below the wide rim of his white wizard hat.

I could feel the statues towering over me, glaring over me. It was like my whole world had self-destructed within a span of a minute.

"LEAVE. LEAVE BEFORE I CALL MY FIRE EAGLES UPON YOU." Banana Peels said with much irritation in his voice.

He continued to slam reality into my face,"You have failed and are no longer worthy of being the protector of Tree of Life. This is fate. This was Her decision."

"No. I don't believe Tree of Life made the decision. I'm not going to move until you give me another chance!" I shouted with more conviction than I expected. Deep within me, new-found confidence and determination took root and was on its way to a full blossom.

"No! I will not leave! Your fire eagles can scorch my skin, can burn me to the fiery depths, but I will stay by Tree of Life! Until the very end! That was part of my oath as tree protector, and I will stay loyal to the oath, till the very end! What worth is there in life if I'm not by the side of Tree of Life, not protecting her!?"

The two seniors were obviously irritated. The glow had turned from a serene blue light to a harsh and fiery red.

"GUARDS!" He yelled with much fury, his livid voice echoing throughout the hallway. I could hear an ominous beating of wings, and the cry of an eagle. The Hallway of Guardians was getting warmer and warmer, like a fiery inferno.

I ran. What else could I do? Nothing. But it wasn't over. I would be back. Taking off away from the chamber, away from the Hallway, I was not going to be banished without a fight. Clutching Seed of Life in my hands, holding back the tears of shame and disappointment, I willed my legs to take me somewhere, anywhere but here and Celeste Earthia.

"Until next time, Tree of Life..."

PAWN—part 9

(In Green's perspective)

My head hurt and my body ached. My heart was still palpitating in shock, as though it was banging, pleading to jump out and escape my chest.

All I remembered was the house, I was trying to escape, and then the floor below me gave way, and almost immediately, I fell. Gravity, pulling me down like a vacuum, sucking nearly the life out of me.

And now I was here. My head was still groggy from the fall. I opened my eyes.

Sunlight?

The ceiling of the house was now a canopy of trees. The eerie creaking of the floorboards in the old mansion, replaced by the violins of cicadas and crickets. Had the mansion really existed? Was it all a dream? It sure felt like it, now.

"GREEN! GREEN!!" I heard someone shouting, as though right into my ear, even though around me there was no one in sight.

A girly, choked voice. Blue? Was she crying?

"Blue?"

"Green!""We thought you were dead""Thank god! You're alive!"The voices of Blue, Yellow and Red came through to me. My vision was getting blurred by my tears of joy. They're voices were a sweet melody. Music, music to my ears!

"Where are you?"Yellow asked.

"I..I don't know... I was at a mansion just now..but I think it was a dream... I think I am in a different part of the forest..." As I looked around me, I noticed the number "13"drawn crudely on the ground.

If this was really a game, could this be square 13? But how did I jump so far? I guess I would never know...

"I think I'm on square 13.."

"I don't care where you are, Green! All that matters is that you're safe!" Blue's voice chirped, and I noted a sigh of relief.

"How long was I gone?"

"About half an hour..we were worried sick! You disappeared without a trace." Red said, relieved too.

"It seemed like a whole day, to me! I'm surprised, you were worried about me, Red?" I teased. No response. Blue and Yellow laughed.

"It's nice to have you back, Green," Yellow chuckled.

I was relieved to be away from the mansion. As wonderful as it may have been in the beginning, it had turned out to be quite a nightmare.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed a black moth on the floor, resting on something. I turned, just in time to catch it fly away, out of sight.

As it fluttered away with a gentle beat of its black wings, I turned my attention to the thing on the ground, only to realise that it was a paper doll, flapping a little from a cool, gentle breeze. Only the doll was dressed in a green dress, and had no legs. For some weird reason the creator must have forgotten its legs and left it lying around carelessly... ...

As I stared at it a pang of familiarity hit me, the face, the dress, like somebody that I used to know, or maybe just saw before, like the young girl in that dream..Lynette. That was her name, I think.

Then I began to wonder, was it really a dream, after all?