Why don't they ever start stories off with telling about themselves? It's always what's going on at the moment, or how something is always the same, and than a change happens. You end up figuring out their personality later in the story. Well, I'll tell you right from the start who I am. My name is Briana Melika. I'm 13 years old and I don't say much, though the elders say I wander off too much or say something out of my place. They also say I'm a very imaginative child, I don't know if this is good or bad, so I just try to act like the other village kids. In my village, it's small and only for the clan which is carefully guarded with powerful ninjas. I told Mama that I wanted to be a ninja and she smiled and told me I could be anything I wanted to be, but Auntie Margie says that it's nonsense, and it's no life for a young lady.
Auntie Margie is just mad she can't be a ninja cause she's too old. Anyways, the village has strict rules everyone has to follow and things they're expected to do each day based on age and gender. Since it's summer, all the girls around my age have to work more since theirs no school. I get up at 7, eat breakfast, wash up, brush my teeth, get dressed and head outside to collect berries. Or catch fish, or tend to the garden. Sometimes I work with the farmer and he gives me odd jobs around. I don't like him much, he just barks orders and bosses everyone around. And if he thinks you didn't do something right he makes you start all over, it takes usually all day to finish just one thing right with him! I like his wife Lisa, she brings out her fresh lemonade to us to cool off. She's nice and everyone loves her lemonade and pies.
Mama's pies are good, too, but there nothing like Ms. Lisa's pies. Right now I'm picking berries. It's one of my least favorite chores, but I enjoy it. I don't like it because I can't tell which ones are poisons, "Are you trying to kill us?" the elders would yell at me. I'd flinch away, and they'd thrust the berries into the fire to burn. But I payed more attention at school, and even talked to my teacher so now I know. After this, I'd go home and make the table. Eat dinner, take a shower (I like to go to bed clean after being in the hot sun, I don't like sleeping in sweat), and go to bed. On weekends I can go out to play with the other kids, but they're so snobby to each other. Somehow they see me as the quiet girl who gets into trouble a lot.
Today sure was hot. The air was thick and hardly any breeze came by. I'm glad I have to pick berries on days like these, I can lay under the bushes and take a nap until the bell chimes for dinner if I finish early. No one would see me, sometimes I run off here when I wanna be alone. I set the basket full of different berries next to me, I had a few in a smaller bag for Ms. Lisa, knowing she would need some for her next pie. I pushed them off to the side and layed underneath a big blueberry bush. I put my hair up in one big ponytail when I did chores, it kept my hair out of my face and it was less noticeable when I wanted to take a nap in the berry bushes. I yawned and layed on my side, the shade would keep me cool until later...
Screaming, my nose scrunched up. Who would be screaming now? Explosions? My eyes opened wide at the closeness of the noise. I was wide awake now. I abandoned my berries, and crawled closer to the pathway, keeping my body and face close to the ground. The screaming came from the distance as people ran with fear in their eyes towards the path leading away from the village. More explosions went off, one right behind them, setting off in a beautiful mixture of orange, yellow, and tan. Somehow it seemed beautiful to me despite the villagers were about to lose their lives. Five of them got away, two of them crawling, one limping, the others looking back and stumbling over things they wouldn't had they not been afraid.
It reminded me of a scary movie, just at daytime. An explosion went off close to my face, and I jumped as my heart raced. I held it, now noticing how fast it was going and how much I was trembling.
I was afraid.
When the dust cleared I saw only one man still crawling with one leg bleeding badly. My eyes watered, I wanted to run away but I couldn't move. I saw the footsteps of a stranger. He wore sandals, they were different then what the clan made. I saw the ends of blonde hair, but I didn't dare look up at his or her face. They might see me, then they would see the fear in my eyes and kill me for sure. "How pitiful," the unfamiliar voice said, "You stand there and cower at my art when you should be appreciating it." "No, please, spare me, please!" The voice sighed, "You insult my art now, I'll have to show you what my true art can really do." The man continued to yell and plead and beg for mercy while a small spider crawled onto his face. It wasn't any regular spider I've ever seen, the shape of it was strange, almost like it was sculpted, and it was white.
"Katsu!" An explosion went off, smaller then the others before. There was a scream but it got cut off. "Hm" I imagined a smirk on the killer's face, I watched as the killer's feet moved past, down the road and out of sight. It was quiet now, not a sound. It was over. I scanned over the ground. Over at the dead people, the man with the blown off head and missing leg, I had never seen so much blood in all my life. I started hyperventilating, and it occurred to me that I had been holding my breath to the point where my head spinned. Everything spinned, the world semed to shake and all I could see were the dead bodies with missing limbs. It was too much my eyes shook and I couldn't see straight.
"STOP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I layed on my side hugging myself, looking away from the bloody path. And I cried, I cried for my Mama and screamed at the top of my lungs.
Because I now know what true fear is.