"Aaaah..."
HE yawned, taking a deep breath and stretching his arm as far as it could reach. It's evident that he's on the west side of the Village, not too far away, after he ran away from home.…
---~~~o~~~---
If we were to describe HE, he's like a shadow of a young hero-in-the-making - similar to those action adventure stories where the hero starts as a young lad without powers or anything. That's HE, but in looks only (again, in looks only). He only looks like one.
He talks valiantly but sometimes spurts out lame jokes at the wrong moment.
With a well-proportioned face and a fearsome eyebrow, his dark green hair is reminiscent of an anime hero. His dark green eyes, which resemble his hair, are so alive that they seem to speak. However, don't be deceived by the looks, for yet again, he only looks like a hero-in-the-making.
But one thing is for sure, though his strength is not like that of a hero, his heart is like one, a heart full of care and justice. Truly, he is a good jolly fellow that none will be in denial.
He wears a tucked-in simple dark moss green camesa-de-tsino, not too wide, but not too tight either. His small muscles can still be noticed (again, his well-built body is for looks only; it's not even enough to give him significant strength at all).
Beige bandages cover his hands and feet like gloves and socks, and his footwear is just a plain enclosed dark brown shoe without laces or soles.
A small bole brown backpack, as big as his torso, sits snugly on his back, with its handles buckled up around his arms.
He also wears simple bistre brown pants that are folded below the knees. A rope serves as the belt, tied in an embroidery-like emblem of three circles with embedded icons. Everyone in the Village has these Rope Emblems which determine their family.
Now, let us first talk about these significant emblems of the Village. Think of it as your ID's in school. It determines a Villager's Family, Class, and School.
There are three circles in an Emblem. First is the big circle which determines their family's symbol. At the bottom right, a small symbol of their Class. And at the bottom left, an even smaller symbol of their School.
His emblem is embroidered with a sheep's face in the big circle, a hand in the bottom right, and a plain circle in the bottom left.
But the most curious feature he has, besides the Emblem, is his necklace with three odd stone pendants, each dangling: a dead black one, a transparent one, and a bloody-colored one. It's not so noticeable, but you'll get curious looking at it when you adeptly focused.
But HE, it seems, is the nuisance from the lot. For he can't do anything right. Always fails to finish the task at hand and is always called by the Overseers, like when a student is called in the guidance office.
After that wide yawn, HE rested from a tree beside a puddle as he drifted to a dream, a flashback…
---~~~o~~~---
One day, while they were playing tag, HE, who was just a little kid back then (and was currently the 'It' in the tag), caught a glint of something unusual beside a puddle (it was rainy last night). "Hey, guys, look over there! I think I see something!" he exclaimed.
SHE and I looked in the direction HE was pointing and saw a strange object in the distance. "Umm… what could it be?" SHE wondered aloud.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," HE said as he ran towards the object. When he got closer, he realized that it was a strange ebony metal that he had never seen before.
HE picked up the metal and almost let go of it because he was surprised to find out that it was cool and smooth to touch, with a weight that feels satisfying in his palm and was no bigger than his still-small fist.
HE examined it closely. "Whoa! What do you think it does?" he asked his friends.
"See, I have no idea," I replied. "But it looks like it could be useful. We should bring it back to the village and show it to the Overseers."
SHE nodded in agreement.
HE, I, and SHE were childhood friends, and they had grown up together in the Village. HE was known to be the mischievous one, always getting into trouble but was very friendly and meant well (but not that "too friendly" with SHE). SHE was very shy and soft-spoken, preferring to listen more than she speaks (but not whenever HE is involved). On the other hand, I was the exact opposite, she was the extrovert from the group, always the cheerful one, and somehow the bonds that made the group attract each other.
As they made their way back to the village, the three friends brainstormed about what the curious metal could be used for. "Hmm… maybe it's some kind of… tool?... that the Builders could use," SHE suggested.
"Yeah right," HE teased SHE, "I doubt."
"Or maybe it's a weapon! You see, Hunters could use it to take down bigger prey," I added.
"Yes, yes, you're right! A-ha! That must be it, I!" HE replied, with a smile that would almost reach his two ears.
When they finally reached the village, they brought the ebony metal to the Overseers, who examined it carefully.
"This is a magnet," one of the Overseers said. As the cute & chubby Overseer turned it over in her fingers and examined it with her loupe, she noticed the lines and ridges that mark its surface, evidence of the magnetic field that it generates.
"Come, kids. Come and watch this." The Overseer held it up to the light and we watched in amazement as iron filings that were scattered on the ground began to move, as if by magic, forming a perfect circle around the magnet.
The children were mesmerized as we saw the Overseer's demonstration. The closer she brings the magnet to the ground, the stronger the attraction becomes, as more and more iron filings jump to join the circle.
"It can help us find valuable metals and minerals that we can use to improve our infrastructure." The Overseer added with a sincere smile, "Thank you, little ones, you were such a great help, allow me to present this to the Council later."
The children were very happy to know that they were able to contribute even though they were still young. Nope, they were not bothered at all by the fact that the Overseers took it. Because it is innate to their culture the equal sharing of loot. Every Class happily works together and everything they gain; they happily equally share.
As the Overseer continued to examine the magnet, her loupe seems almost a part of her, she saw a small pellet stuck on one of its sides. "Oh, this one's a Crux, a Crimson Ocean Crux."
They saw a small ocean-blue stone-like pellet that seems to flare dim red light when reflected by the sun. All the children were mesmerized at its iridescent feature as the Overseer wiped it clean. But SHE was more infatuated with its beauty than the two.
"Ahmm… Crux?" asked SHE.
"They are rare items that do not have much use to the Village," the Overseer replied, "so let me give it back to you HE since you were the one who collected it. Some craft them as pieces of jewelry."
In his mind, HE really wanted to keep it as a keepsake as one of his first rare finds, but he caught a glimpse of SHE's shimmering eyes as she sternly stared at it.
"I don't really need it." Here you go, you can have it." says HE as he handed the pellet to SHE.
We can see that I was a bit jealous and was about to react, but she just tamed her tongue as soon as she saw the joy all written in the face of her best friend. For I, SHE's happiness makes her happier than the joy of having rare stones as accessories.
"Wh-what's the catch?" SHE's smiling face suddenly turned into a doubting face, realizing that 'their HE' was the one who freely handed it to her, knowing fully well that the two of them always tease each other and don't get along that very well (although they are friends).
HE suddenly raised his hand, pointed his forefinger at the top, and posed as if he was a detective who finally knows the culprit and is about to point out who it is. "A-ha! Of course, there's always a catch!"
Then he tagged SHE to her forehead using his forefinger, ran, and shouted, "Tag! You're it!"
The Overseer just laughed while watching the three children bolt out of his prism-like wooden home.
HE wasn't really bothered that much; he was just thrilled that he had found something that could be of help to the village…
---~~~o~~~---
The next morning, the day of their coming-of-age ceremony had finally arrived, and the three friends were excited and nervous at the same time. They knew that they had to choose their permanent Class, but HE was more focused on playing pranks.
The children, their families, and the Overseers of each Class gathered around the majestic Centree tree to receive their special fruit. Its cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and white fruits are all ready for the taking.
HE faced Centree and rested his palm on the bark of the tree as if feeling its heartbeat. Then he opened his eyes, reached for a fruit, hesitated at first but quickly plucked the black one. The Collectors in the crowd happily cheered.
While both SHE and I plucked the yellow fruits then the Hunters went wild in their applause.
As the Lady Chief Overseer made the announcement to the audience, HE whispered to SHE and I, "Hey, what if we switched fruits? Imagine the look on the Village elders' faces if SHE got a Collector's ability instead of a Hunter's!"
I giggled nervously, "I don't think that's a good idea, HE. You see, what if we get caught?"
SHE chimed in, "Uhmm, I don't think it's worth the risk. Besides we should take this ceremony seriously."
HE shrugged, "Suit yourselves. I'm just saying it would be funny."
As they ate the fruit and received their abilities, HE's disappointment was evident. He received the common skill of a Collector, but SHE got the Tricycle Ability and I got the Eagle's Eye Ability.
HE grumbled, "This is not fair. Why didn't I get the rare special abilities like yours and SHE's?"
I tried to console him, "Don't worry, HE. See, we know that you'll be of great help in the village, with or without any abilities. You always do." she added, "Though, with all your weaknesses, you do indeed have the tenacity of a Forager, the courage of a Hunter, the creativity of a Builder, the justice of an Overseer, and the mind of a Collector."
SHE teased and butted while giggling, "But, let us not forget, I, that he is not that strong physically and he has no mastery in anything. Not even a jack of all trades, but more of a master of none."
HE just ignored SHE (because he also knew it about himself) and just adorably smiled at I…
HE decided to become a Collector. He was convinced that with his mischievous nature, he could find a way to gather everything that the village needed. SHE chose to become an Archer Hunter, while I became a Slinger Hunter.
After a few weeks, they settled into their Schools, and HE'S mischievous nature did come in handy. He found himself collecting not just what the village needed but also some extra things that he found amusing, like shiny ores or colorful plants.
And they realized that even though they had chosen different classes, they could still work together to make their village a better place...
---~~~o~~~---
HE can still see the smoke and feel the grief of his Village. Don't look at him as a bad guy, 'cause his cause is just the same as his people. They were just deceived by the chaos; their village and their family.
He just looked back and tighten his grip, for he has already a plan to be of help to his people.
He jumped up off his newfound friend and shouted, "A-ha! I found a free ride!" while mounted on a maroon-colored horse with gory colored hairs.
How come he has a horse all of a sudden, you ask? Let's go further back to what happened a while ago...
---~~~o~~~---
"May I help you, boy?" says a horse who's drinking from a puddle.
"You can talk?!" HE stammered.
"Of course, certainly I can! Did you hit your head or something, boy?" replied the horse.
"Now, that was unheard of... a talking horse?!" continued HE, bewildered.
"You're weird, boy," says the horse...
"Yeah, I sure am weird. Imagining that that horse can talk. Pfft!" HE came back to his senses.
"If only that beast can actually talk, then I can surely just reason out to it to help me on my journey," He whispered to himself, while hiding on a log, looking at the horse that's drinking on a puddle from afar.
The horse is sort of scary and fierce with its shades of maroons and bloody reds. If a young girl would see it, she would surely run behind her mother. HE noticed that the beast was a her. Though fearsome in color, if you closely look at her, her face is so tender, with fine soft hairs, and with that well-built gentle stature of a body.
"Hmm... I wonder... shall I collect?" He suddenly jumps up from the log and quickly dashed towards the horse.
"WAAAAAH!" charge HE, hoping to catch the beast by the neck.
The horse just stepped aside, then HE was not able to control his momentum, thus he came crashing to the puddle, face down, on his knees.
Then, the horse just sniffed HE's bottom. He faced the beast, then the horse licked his face all over.
"What do you know, the beast is friendly," giggled He, 'cause he was tickled by the horse's long tongue...
---~~~o~~~---
"Here you go, friend. Eat up," He offered an apple, which was happily chewed by the horse. Then he pets its nose...
"Aha! I got a free ride! I shall call thee, PUDDLE. Let's go, my friend. Hi-ho, PUDDLE!" They ride further to the west... (notice the multiple puns?) ...
---~~~o~~~--- ---~~~o~~~--- ---~~~o~~~---
THE PSALMIST now, didn't sing another song with his powerful voice. Rather, he just told the story by galloping strums of his guitar. Melodies of excitement, such bliss.