The Shadows
By Christina L.
August 12, 1887
My 15th birthday. The whole village was in celebration. Banners and flags danced in the air, creating a mural of colors, as if a painter had taken a paint brush and swiped it across the sky. Amid the ruckus and the parades planned in my honor, my parents, the rulers of the village, remained grim. I later found out why. As the sun dipped low in its throne, tainting the sky into a fiery red, my parents summoned me to their room. My mother held up a gold amulet, and draped it around my neck. “Son, this amulet has been passed down from our ancestors. Now it is your turn to protect it at all costs. Despite the dangers you may face, the amulet must never leave you.” I had often heard pieces of rumors about a gold amulet in existence that possessed a magical power. Never had I known that on my birthday, the rumored amulet would be hanging around my neck. However, on that day, I had no idea of knowing the calamities that would soon ensue.
August 13, 1887
Today my house and my village were destroyed. Red blazing monsters devoured everything in its path, leaving only a black sooty trail. All I can do now is run. Even now, as the ghostly pale moon hovers over the blazing city, the ruthless murderers are looking for me. As soon as they find me, they will kill me, just like they did to the rest of my family, and take away the gold amulet they covet so much. They had come, riding on the darkness of night. Only yesterday there was singing and joy. The day I had inherited the amulet. My mother’s dying words were “Son, do not let them have the amulet. Keep it with you at all times, the amulet must not fall into dangerous hands. Go to the monk’s temple. They will tell you what to do.” The gold amulet, passed down from my ancestors is believed to give the wearer strength in time of their greatest need. I do not believe in these myths, however, I must comply to my mother’s wish. It’s the least I can do now.
August 18, 1887
I have been fleeing to the mountains that hover over my now destroyed village. It will be a treacherous journey. My only hope lie in the wise monks who live in a temple shrouded by the clouds. If I can find them, they will likely provide me with the information I need to survive. Also, legends say that these monks are the only ones who know the real secret behind my amulet. Perhaps they can tell me why my amulet is wanted so much.
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