The Harp
The eerie glow of the moonlight illuminated the face of a boy fast asleep. His name was Alex; a teenaged boy who had dark, tousled hair, an oval face, and had a slightly pale complexion. In deep sleep, Alex’s mind swirled with images. He dreamed of himself running to reach an object, but he could never get there. The more he ran, the farther he was from the object.
The dream suddenly shifted to an old woman, her face lined with wrinkles of wisdom, and started to recite: long ago, in a time when wonders, miracles, and powers beyond imagination existed, immortals, whom we call gods, emerged from mists of newborn galaxies. From their powerful innate skills, they created our world and established a thriving human civilization She paused, and then continued, this time a hint of steel in her voice however, this once prosperous world took a drastic turn when a tyrant of our ancestors, Sasparas, came into throne through usurpation. He fulfilled his cruel intentions of taking over this world by setting the world ablaze, and destroying all who opposed his actions. The gods immediately sensed a selfish act against nature and decided to punish them for violating human morality. The immortals decided to cease their interaction with the people and to surround them with a forest filled with hideous creatures.
Suddenly, the eyes of the old woman glowed bright green and stared straight into Alex’s presence. A raspy voice, not her own, warned the end is near. After the eclipse undergoes, the town of Bosnia will crumble into nothingness unless one of Sasparas’ kin finds a harp possessing magical powers. That one shall go into the Woods of Doom to bring hope and light to the devastated world. ” The image dissolved and Alex plunged into darkness.
Alex woke up sweating trying to take in what he had just seen in his dreams. He slid off his wooden bed and paced back and forth on the dirt covered ground of his small, but useful room. He vividly remembered an old woman who talked about the appalling past of his town of Bosnia. The piercing eyes of the woman had stared straight into his eyes, as though she was trying to tell him something. An uneasy feeling crept up his spine, but then afterwards thinking how unreasonable it was to be frightened by only an illusion in his brain, Alex said aloud, “This is just a dream. There’s nothing to worry about.” However, deep in his subconsciousness, Alex was bothered.
By the time Alex walked into his father’s office, his father, the only local doctor in the town, grinded up medicine to be poured into bowls of hot soup.
“Son, could you please get me the remaining batch of herbs that I keep in my garden?” Alex’s father said urgently while he walked over to a male patient.
The doctor had recently lost his wife to the terrible plague epidemic that had swept through the village. In his house, he kept and tended the victims of the flu in serious need of his help. Based on his theory, the disease was caused by a lack of fresh, running water and a shortage of nutritious food, the major cause of a weaken immune system.
“No problem father,” Alex replied faithfully as he swung open the front door hanging on its broken hinges and ran across the dirt ground into the trail that he had been through many times.
All around him were old rundown shacks, with a few scraggly bushes that dotted the solid ground; the only hardy plants that could live through such harsh climates in the rocky soil. Alex’s mind went astray as he peered sideways at a scorched beetle that lay dead on the sidewalk, when suddenly his foot caught onto something and he lurched forward, losing his balance, the ground zooming in on him before he hit his face. A few seconds passed, and Alex slowly rose from the impact as he spit the dirt that had gotten into his mouth, and looked behind him to see what caused him to fall.
“It can’t be a -,” Alex stopped mid-sentence.
His eyebrows knitted together as he walked closer to what looked like a corner of a book protruding out of the ground. He quickly dug around it soon pulling the book out of the ground. Using his sleeves, he wiped off the dirt and dust.
An ancient leather book was revealed wrapped with a thin strand of linen forming a cross. As he inspected the cover closely, he saw the letters A.M. etched in illuminated manuscript on the front cover. Those are my initials! Alex thought, his mind did a backflip. Interested by his discovery, he tried to untie the knot the silk strands had made, but his attempts were futile; the book could not open. Alex gave up, and brought the book with him as he went off to the garden.
“Father Look! I found a book lying on the trail to the garden,” Alex exclaimed breathlessly showing his dad the book after placing the bag full of herbs on a small table in the center of the room, “It has my initials on the front cover. Do you think it’s a coincidence?”
His dad quickly looked up from a sickly pale patient who was coughing up spurts of blood.
“Well, son, a lot of people have your initials. Maybe someone dropped it a few years ago and never picked it up. That may be a possibility.” Alex’s father stated.
“Why don’t you bring the book back to your room, so I take care of these patients.” he said firmly wiping all of his patients’ heads with cold water he had kept in his storage.
“Yes dad,” Alex said dejectedly seeing that his father took no interest in his discovery. Shoulders hunched, Alex slumped back to his room. Once in his room, Alex used his scissors to cut the linen immediately opening the black leathered book to the first page. Suddenly, words appeared on the fragile blank page, illuminating Alex’s face like a strong beam of sunlight.
“Ahhhhh!” Alex yelled, almost dropping the book. As soon as the light had subsided, a voice boomed across the room.
Alex, you are the very person we have been searching for centuries. The oracle had communicated to you an important prophecy that was created since the beginning of the mankind. With the guide of your book, you will enter the Woods of Doom, to find the magical harp held within. If you succeed, congratulations, you will have saved this world from eternal destruction. If bad luck comes to you, and you never make it back, the life-line of the world will be cut. My only advice for you is to use your wisdom, wits, and follow your instincts throughout your journey. Be prepared to face the unexpected. You have until two night-falls when the eclipse ends. Get started as soon as possible. The hourglass is running…
Alex’s mouth hung open. For a second he forgot how to close it. The voice rang in his ears after a few seconds, digesting everything that has been addressed to him.
“No! I am not ready!” Alex shouted, “You have picked the wrong person!”
Expecting something to happen, Alex looked around, but everything remained stone still.
He looked out the window to see people dressed in black mourning over their loved ones’ death. The air was stale and sense of dread hung in the atmosphere. He looked on his table at a picture of his mother hugging him and laughing. Sadness flooded his heart as he looked back in nostalgia in the joyous moments he had with his mother before she died to the flu.
A sudden determination sparked up in his mind. He was the one chosen to save the village that he loved so much. The people depended on him to bring happiness and peace to the world, and to erase the Dark Ages. Alex believed he could do it. He would do whatever it would take for the sake of his villagers and for their future generations.
Alex knew his time was short. But the only problem was; how would he tell his father that he had been chosen to save the world? He would simply think that his son was talking nonsense. However, if he had went secretly without telling his father, his father would be worried. What if his father had went into the dangerous woods alone, thinking that his son had probably wandered into the dark forest? What if his father…. Alex’s brain swirled with worries. Eventually, Alex made up his mind to briefly tell his father about the circumstances. Taking the book with him, Alex gingerly walked up to his father. The conversation began like this:
“Um Dad, I have something important I want to tell you,” Alex said.
“Well what is it son?” His father questioned.
“You know about the book that I told you. It happens to contain magical powers. I know you might not believe it, but just listen. It told me that I was…” Alex blurted out his whole story to his startled father and told his dad that wanted to save the village from extinction.
From time to time, Alex’s father questioned, but in the end, he knew how much burden his son was facing. Alex’s father didn’t want to lose his only son like he had lost his wife. He faced a forced trade-off between letting his son go and obtain a possibility to save the village from being destroyed forever, or not letting him go and destroying any chances of living.
After a lot of sadness between a father and son, Alex’s father opted to let Alex go on his quest to the Woods of Doom. He handed Alex a bag filled with food he kept in tins, a flashlight, a pouch to carry the book, and supplies his son would need along the journey. When Alex was about to leave, his father wished him the best of luck, and gave him a locket with a family photo. Just in case if Alex ever lost hope, his parents would always there to support him.
Alex soon found himself well on his way to the Woods of Doom. As he looked around, he saw that the sky was still a light shade of blue, and the sun was a little over midway. He still had only one and a half more days until fate would come to the village. Alex stopped by a small hut, and quickly opened the book to the second page.
Suddenly, a sheet of paper fell out of the back pocket of the book. Snatching the sheet before it fell to the ground, Alex saw that it was a map of his small village. Shown in dotted red lines were different paths to get to the mouth of the Woods of Doom. After Alex traced the closest route, he gathered all of his supplies, and resumed his journey.
The scorching sun shone down on Alex, burning his back. The bag seemed to get heavier and heavier as he continued to walk. Sweat dripped down from his hair, and Alex’s skin began to sting from being exposed directly to the rays of sun. Squinting in the distance, Alex saw dark lines. As he approached the dark specks, he discovered that they were the trees preserved in the dark forest. His heart pounded for a few seconds as he stared up at the menacing trees which towered above him. The gaps between them were occupied by hollow blackness, showing no signs of existence as if the land he was standing on was a totally separate world from the place in the dark woods. He got his book ready in one hand and a flashlight on the other. He braced himself for the dangerous journey ahead and wondered what evil awaited him in the forest. Taking a deep breath, Alex stepped into the Woods of Doom.
Alex quickly looked behind him to see if he could still see his village, but what he saw made his heart skip a beat. Instead of seeing bare land, he saw trees surrounding him. It was as if he was led into a trap and was being kept prisoner of the vast forest. When he looked up, he could no longer see the blue sky but a layer of darkness, and he was enveloped in a pitch black surrounding. Suddenly, for the first time in Alex’s life he felt what it was like to be truly scared.
He remembered that in his hands he held the leather book, but he was blinded by the darkness. Using his flashlight, he shone it on the book, but the page was blank! Alex ruffled through the book but the pages were all empty. Suddenly, the book vibrated in his hands, and blasted upwards. The pages of the book disappeared into space and only one piece of paper floated back down into Alex’s hands. Large bold words appeared on the paper which read Find the nearest pathway. Follow it. Search for x’s.
Alex stared at the paper baffled by the last sentence, but he had no second to waste. He used his flashlight and started to search for the hard and solid pathway. Suddenly he heard a snap of a twig, and whirled around but nothing was there. Alex’s breathing quickened, and he tightened his grip on the flashlight. When Alex slowly turned his head forward, he uttered a scream. He was confronted by a growling creature snapping its jaws. Saliva drooled down from two hawk heads sharing a black winged body which smelled strongly of dung. It opened its jaws wide to show Alex that it was hungry. Its eyes stared straight at its prey. The creature advanced a step, and Alex took a step back. Suddenly Alex felt his foot step onto hard ground. The crow-hawk pounced toward him menacingly.
Alex fell onto his arms and started inching backwards. He could feel the sour breath on his arms. He wanted to scream, but that would make the crow-hark more alert. Feeling for an apple in his bag, he took it out let it roll as far as it can away from him, trying to make as little motion as possible. The apple made a soft thud, and the ears of the hawk creature turned in that direction suddenly interested with the object. Yes! his plan worked.
Grabbing this chance, Alex sprinted through the pathway as fast as he could, his footsteps echoed loudly against the stones. While running, he thought he saw a shadow in the peripheral vision of his eyes, but he kept on running. His legs became tired and the path seemed to go on indefinitely. Finally, his flashlight shone on a series of X’s on the ground before him, and he slowed down his pace. He expected something to be there, but it was just a little clearing. He thought wildly for a second, what if this was a trick? Alex questioned himself. What if there wasn’t a magical harp after all? But no, that couldn't be possible can’t it?
He tentatively walked forward and saw that two lines of solid writing were written on the ground. It told him to make a crack on the ground powerful enough to kill all of the creatures in the forest. He would be confronted by a spirit that he had to kill it in order unlock the staircase to the boundary. The instructions were vague, where would he get a tool as powerful enough to make a crack the ground? Suddenly, Alex searched through his memory and remembered when he was little; he dreamed many times that he was walking into a dark forest... A smile formed in Alex’s lips, and he said out loud three times “Sasparas. Release the evil spirit.”
Suddenly, the whole forest seemed to tremble as a sound of the slithering of a snake ascended. Alex raised his voice until it was louder than the slithering and said, “Sasparas, you have betrayed your people. I know you are hiding in the forest. Come out. You aren’t afraid of a boy aren't you? I will fight you face to face. I am afterall your descendant. You took my mother away. You brought the plague to our town, you angered the gods. What a shame.” Suddenly Alex’s face went slack and stretched his arms exposing his chest. A dark whirlwind hurled itself toward Alex, and growled, “Never!”
Alex’s body illuminated with light while Sasparas became darker than the shadows. It all happened in a mere second. The two forces clashed together. The light lit the surroundings, penetrating Sasparas’ dark evil heart. The piercing brightness formed a huge crack as it split the forest into two. The trees tumbled down like an avalanche followed by a group of creatures screeching into the night as they were being pulled into the pit. Sasparas wailed “No! No! You can’t do this to me!” his arms flailed helplessly as he tried to cling on to the remaining bits of land. The last of Sasparas was seen as the ground swallowed its victims. Alex was suspended into the air safe from harm his arms were still outstretched. As soon as the light abated, he fell to his knees and the world dissolved around him.
When Alex woke up, he found himself lying on a rock. He saw a slow trickle of water next to him reflecting a blue-ish glow. When he looked up he couldn’t believe his eyes. He saw his mother floating above him holding a harp!
“Alex, you were very brave,” his mother said as she floated down, putting the harp next to her son.
“Mother!” Alex said his face shone with joy, “how did you get here?” Alex said. Thousands of questions popped up in his mind.
“Well, it’s a long story Alex. What I want you to do is to play the harp, and tell your father that I came down to visit.” his mother said smiling.
“Mother, wait, before you leave, I want to give you something.” Alex said as he reached in his pocket and took out the locket, “I want you to keep it as a memento of your family.”
“Alex, thank you so much, you are such a wonderful son. I can see a bright future ahead of you.” his mother said as she embraced her son.
But before he even got to touch her, she went through his body. Alex felt a sudden strength of love and warmth as it radiated through him. He laid his hands on the harp and plucked a tune, and suddenly his hands couldn't stop playing. He played faster and faster as a wonderful melodious tune prevailed the environment filling his ears with excitement. The surroundings around him transformed as fresh grass filled the landscape and evergreen trees sprouted up from the ground. A trickle of water slowly grew into a waterfall, and the chirps of the birds could be heard once more. Alex opened his eyes and smiled, “This is just the beginning.”