A Story of a Lost Boy
The fires raged as my mother took hold of me. "Go Aldo!"
"Momma!"
Only my mother survived the fire as I was crushed by the burning pillar. I feel so light. Are you okay mother?
I was floating in a light blue space. Streams of small lights danced around me as I drifted.
Where am I? I was brought closer to brighter light I headed towards. Where's my mother?
Engulfed by the light I only felt a tickling sensation as a voice called out to me.
I fell hard onto a stone floor. I was basked in warmth from the torch near me as it flickered.
A steam of loose cloth caught my attention. It was a man who hanged up the torches in their holders. I felt confused as he waved me over. "Come with me." He marched off in rapid pace as I struggled to catch up to him. My small feet traveled behind him as he turned again and again into different corridors.
He won't slow down as he walked into a barely lit room. He gave me a cup as he pulled up chairs from behind a rustic table. He stared into my eyes when he turned around to face me.
"Sit." His hardened eyes pierced through me as he poured from a crimson pitcher.
The splinters in the chair pricked me. "Aldo." He had the deepest voice I've ever heard.
My throat felt parched while looking down into my cup. I drank as he sat down. When I felt ready to speak he stopped me.
"You can no longer serve as a mortal any longer my child." Shock fell over my face. But I'm...
"But I'm only..." He stopped me again.
"You're only transitioning. Once your terms are settled you can leave here all you want." His hardened eyes looked at me as if I was some animal.
"What do you mean?", my voice shook as he kept his hardened stare.
He motioned for me to follow him. "Come."
I set down my cup as he threaded far ahead into the winding hallways.
Why does he refuse to answer me?
I finally caught up to him as he slowed down. "Our fates are decided by the hands that which leads us. We cannot slow down to catch them and they cannot speed up to reach us...We find our ways once everything is settled...Though the hands tick away as we stick our hands into our cards, the old and unaged become withered and the fate of our own is brought to justice. It is undetermined by our feats of passion, my child, but our sin and morality." It was if his voice reached inside my mind.
"Come here." He opened a black door that seemingly led to nowhere. Seeing my hesitation he gripped my hand and led me through.
I was blinded by sunlight while he stood unaffected by the piercing sun. "We meet our ends at the foot of madness." His hand points to the dying man on the ground.
"He tried whatever he can to save himself, but ultimately the cactus's poison stripped him of any way he could possibly find help." He led me again to another door leading to nowhere beside the rotting man's corpse.
It didn't look like he would stop even if I asked him.
I was brought to a scene with a storm filled sky, I heard a woman's scream from nearby as the man who brought me here barely flinched while gripping my arm.
"Please someone help me! Help me!" We traveled towards her screams.
He just stood there as he watched another man hold a knife to her throat. "Keep quiet and I'll let you off Scott-free. Just let me have a little taste." His hands roamed her clothed figure as tears streamed down her face.
"Please someone help!-" She was beat down by the man holding her as his face gnashed.
"Will you just shut up! I just told you I will let you go after I've had my fun!" She struggled as he tried to pull apart her coat.
Why isn't he helping her? I looked up at the man as he stood unmoved from the whole ordeal.
I tried to rip my arm away from him, but he still held me in place as it continued.
Why won't you let me help?
"No!" Blood gushed from her neck as she slumped over. The man who held her scoffed.
"Damn. She was a pretty one too. Such a waste." He walked away as the rain continued to pour.
Tears poured from my eyes. What are you trying to show me?
"Our needs and wants can further delve into selfishness and greed..." His mouth was never quenched from the rain.
"We cannot control what we find immoral. And even if we could, we cannot save the countless lives experiencing the same pain." He held me tighter, slicking back his hair as he led me through another door.
Where are you leading me?
The sky grew darker, it was filled with smoke. countless lives were running from what seems to be debris falling from a volcano.
"Help!" "My child!" "It's coming closer we cannot take him." "I don't care! He doesn't need to be left behind regardless if it's almost here."
A woman rummaged through her house as the storm of grayness took out half of the town.
Just as she walked out the guy she was with was already gone. She held an infant in her arms, eventually she was smothered by the grayness that covered most of the town. My body lurched out to her. "No!" I cannot bare to watch. The man beside me didn't even do anything as her muffled cries soon vanished. Seemingly me and him were the only ones unaffected by the grayness.
He only pursed his lips before leading me off again. "And even if we could, we cannot save the countless lives experiencing the same pain."
No! No! I don't want to watch anymore...
I cannot describe my feelings from the images that flashed before me. Men willingly flung themselves into spears and swords as both sides clashed. The screams of several men came from either the wounded or the ones getting stabbed by the sharp weapons. Blood, guts, and body parts flew everywhere as the earth shook with the trampling of feet.
Blood splashed right through me as the man stood silent watching the whole thing play out.
Eventually no one was left standing only one man screamed in agonizing pain as his innards fell out.
Silence filled the field, with us watching the bodies stay motionless in their piles.
What does he even plan to show me out of all of this?
His mouth moved once the pungent smell of corpses filled our nose.
"We hold great loyalty to the ones we love and we fight to protect it. Though sometimes we don't fight for it. We fight to die in glory and in vain. People who hold themselves so closely to serve for such glory throw themselves to die for an unworthy cause." His feet shuffled over a pile of bodies as he gripped onto me leading me through the next door.
It was completely dark.
From the empty night sky a scream shot through the darkness. I was transported to a white room where blood pooled from the white sheets of a woman. She held her face as she hailed nurse after nurse.
"Is my baby going to be okay. Is he okay? Where's my baby!" The doctor walked in holding his head low while making his way over to her.
He paused for a few moments before looking into the desperate woman's eyes. "I'm sorry ma'am we did everything we can to save your child. But the extent of his deformities was too great. He tried the best he can to stay with us, but we've finally lost him half way into operating on him. I'm sorry we couldn't save him."
Her eyes never closed as her body shook. The sheer intensity of her cries filled the room as the doctor left to allow the nurses to comfort her.
I fell to the ground watching every minute of it pass by me. I bowed my head as I heard his deep voice from up above me.
"Loss is always a part of life whether or not we want it to snake in. Our choices decide our fate, it inevitably impacts everyone and everything around us. We fall to our fates, to the ones we choose to lead ourselves by. No matter what falls between."
His hold on me lessened as everything around me started to fade away.
I was suspended in a void waiting for something to happen to me.
"Aldo." My name echoed around the room.
I didn't care anymore.
"You are chosen." I wanted it to stop.
"You are to serve as this world's scapist." It rang in my ears.
Just let me leave.
"Stream the consciousness of unsettled minds and we will see if you are worthy to move on." I drove into my skull with its words.
"You are now released to fall in line with our own." Its voice receded and I fell to the ground with a heavy thud, my body plunged into the night of an unknown area.
I saw a child crying on the ground. I tried to walk towards it, but several children passed by me.
"You scared you little girl. You miss your momma? Huh? Do ya?", one kid jabbed at her while the others only snickered.
I wanted to march my ways towards them wanting to give them a piece of my mind.
Before I could do that a woman stormed over to the group.
"Humzah? What are you doing out here picking at her again?", her tone shrunk the small child.
"I was just playing momma." He scratched his cheek. She roughly grabbed him by the arms, leading the other kids away from her.
I looked down at her frail form. She continued crying. I tried to comfort her, but my hands passed through her.
I tried talking. "Are you okay?" She stopped and looked around, but to no avail she rested her head back down on her knees.
I wanted to understand so much of what is happening.
She resumed her muffled sobs.
Why can't I help her?
Why?
Centuries passed and I have already mastered my job. I drifted place to place helping everyone I can. Though there is one person who gave me trouble.
A girl with brown hair swung her legs back and forth looking at her hands, looking as if she was waiting for someone.
This is my target?
She continued to hummed while twisted her hair, and her mother walked in carrying a book. This is my chance. I used my powers to etch a story into wherever she opened the book. She continued to read as the girl squirmed in her bed. After her mother was done she drifted to sleep, my hands passed through the glass while she softly snored.
Time to make an appearance.
I walked in darkness before I happened upon a little girl handling a tea set.
She saw me.
"Oh, who might you be?", she continued to pour tea until every cup was filled; she handed one to me.
"I'm the man from your story, Aldo. It's nice meeting you." I put on my best smile. She smiled back.
It worked.
"So what are you doing if I may ask?" Her innocent eyes wandered back to me.
"I'm having tea with my friends." All I see were stuffed animals behind each cup.
"I see. Well can I join you?" She looked down to place down her teapot.
"Sure, I guess you can...But don't you dare say anything mean", she huffed while grabbing her cup.
"Why should I?" So she's the one that worries them.
"I don't know. Most of the kids I hanged around are a bit mean to me." She lowered her head staring into her cup.
I gotta do something.
"I won't be mean to you I promise." She perked up and donned the biggest grin she can give me.
"Thanks."
From that day forward our chase began.