Night comes, and today the chief talks to our Mother Gaia to bless us with a bountiful crop and sustainable blessing on the land. The Star Dance Festival — the night where we dance, party, and enjoy ourselves.
I wake up from my nap and go to the bathroom. I brush my short fur and teeth, put on my best attire, and walk into the kitchen to get the star festive basket. I pray to my mother and father's picture and leave a new flower I created. Walking out, I look at the big purple moon filled with strength and power, and walk down to the village.
The air glistens as I walk over the bridge, waving at the troll underneath it and throwing him a leg of cooked lamb for good tithing. As I reach the village, I see the lovely decorations for the festivity and all the people enjoying their time — taking pictures with their cell phones, dancing, drinking, and carrying on in the corners. The witches use their magic to tell their stories and give mysticism and wonder. The people, trying to look at the stars, turn off the lights in the village.
I place my basket with the rest of the gifts for Mother Gaia. As we stay in the dark and let the moon and stars be our light, the chief hisses to us. His voice brings forth command over all of us, breathing so much soul into everything around him. His secretary leads him to the center. He touches the offerings and smiles as he slithers forward to speak.
Babatunde: My children, friends, my fam. I thank you for coming to our 100th Star Festival. It was here at this very spot where I and my friend established this village. A bunch of gypsy kings founded this very place for the next generation to live. We fought terrible monsters in the war — ones who poisoned our waters, starved us, and called us filthy beasts. Yet after all that sorrow and pain, we are still standing. I want to tell the next generation to do better than us. Do not let hate guide you, but let exploration and peace bring you good fortune. Gaia has given us the strength and happiness to live this long and see this new present state. Now let's watch the stars and dance for Mother Gaia as she blesses us with her strength.
The beasts howl. The witches sparkle their magic. The shadows jump as we enjoy our moment. We drink and party as the moon and stars shine over us. I drink and dance with so much glee.
Carlos: Well, look at your ass, still out dancing those pixies as usual.
I am grabbed and kissed passionately by Carlos. He rubs my tails and touches my hips with such confidence. What do you expect from a Cerberus?
Benjamin: You are always so aggressive — never playful.
Davi: But I love it when Ricardo wags his tail fast. Gets me turned on. Oh, you remember that time?
Benjamin: You mean when we were in the back of the ice cream truck because it was 109 degrees that day? Man, the snowwoman was not happy with us. She almost froze us to death.
Carlos: Really, you two.
Ricardo: It has been a year since you left to work with the big wigs up north. Palace guard, you called it?
Carlos: Not just palace guard — lead commander of squad Halo.
Ricardo: I saw it on the news. You helped find those kids who had their souls snatched by the puppet demons.
Carlos: Yeah. I lost two people on my squad that day. Meka and Bruce were good people — you would have liked them.
Ricardo: So what brings you back? Miss the small country life?
Carlos: No. I am here to be the defender for the chief. He said he saw something in his vision — something that moved him to his core.
Ricardo pulls Carlos away from the crowd.
Benjamin: Hey, what is the big idea?
Davi: Oh no. Ricardo has that face. You know the face.
Ricardo: You bet your sweet ass. Now all three of you — out with it. What did the chief tell you? Because although everything feels nice tonight, your presence here makes more sense than you are letting on. Speak.
Carlos removes Ricardo's grip from his collar.
Carlos: Nothing much. The old man just said he saw a silent gray man with no face. Then those monsters — and one sitting on a throne. The old man was shaken, so he asked my commanding officer Hilda to let me come back. Nothing more, nothing less.
Before I can say anything further, the star shower begins. The scene is so beautiful that I forget to ask for more information.
Benjamin: What a lovely sight. It is nice to come back home.
Davi: The city could never beat country magic, you know.
Carlos: You are right about that.
As the star shower intensifies, the town dances with joy. The ground shakes and energy glistens us all with power. We are blessed — filled with Gaia's raw energy. Then a huge star falls into the dangerous section of the forest. Stars never fall in this area.
My vision begins to fade. I hear a voice saying — child, follow the star.
My vision returns. I hear the village losing their composure. The witches are using their magic to create a force field to protect the villagers from the falling stars. Panic ensues as they do their best to keep the stars from hitting the village.
Carlos, Benjamin, and Davi howl.
Carlos: Thanks, brothers.
Davi and Benjamin: No problem.
Carlos: Listen up, everyone. I need you all to calm down. I know the stars are falling around us — this has never happened before. But right now, try to stay calm and focus.
Davi: Yeah. We are Cerberus — Children of Gaia — and we will do everything to protect the village. Please try to calm down. Witches, converge your magic into one unified barrier. I love your quick creative minds, but I need you to focus your energy on strengthening the barrier. Use that creative flair to make it stronger.
Benjamin: Ladies, tend to the people with music and relaxation and get a head count of everyone here. Chief, how are you feeling?
Babatunde: No worries, child. The secretary and I are fine. I sense that Ricardo is—
I look around to see Ricardo is gone.
Barmaid: Carlos, we have accounted for everyone here except—
Carlos: Got it. Davi, you take control.
Davi: You sure?
Carlos: You are the hunter here. Use what Gaia has given you. Take control.
Davi: Oh cool — let me do my thing. Let's find our friend, shall we?
I take control and change our fur color from black and red to yellow and white. It has been a while since I led this body, but it is like riding a bicycle. I call forth my ability — Scent Bite. I close my eyes and chomp the air. There are so many scents, but Ricardo always smells like coming home.
I show my brothers a vision of what happened. We watch ourselves move through the townspeople. We see Ricardo — ear twitching, hands over his eyes — as if he were about to faint. He is running on all fours toward the forest's dangerous zone. Where the star fell.
Davi: Hmm. Why is he—
Carlos forces me out and takes back control of our main body.
Carlos: Sorry, brother. We need to go now.
I run on all fours and hope Ricardo's curiosity does not get him killed.
As we pursue him deeper into the forest, I pray he is not in any danger — because in that forest, there are no jokes.
As I go deeper into the forest zone, I see the lake of kelpie horses swimming and lurking, but they dare not challenge a Child of Gaia. I use my Gaia gift of flora support to ask the forest for guidance. Connecting with the trees, they reveal the location of the star through their roots bound with the others. I ask whether it is organic or inorganic — friend or foe. They cannot answer. They tell me to go see for myself. I thank the tree and kiss its branch.
Walking through the forest, I witness a beast kill for dominance and watch an unsuspecting person fall to a ghoul. I pause as the ghoul sniffs the air — then backs away.
You have your prey. Leave my sight, I say in my head.
It drags the poor soul back to its den where I see twenty green eyes glowing through the shadows.
Going deeper into the forest, doom and gloom slowly give way to something bright and glorious — a field of gorgeous flowers in every color and design I have never seen before. At the center, a bundle of flowers covers something curled in a ball. It must be the star.
I ask the flowers if they will allow me to see what fell. They shake with such vigor, repeating one word — protect. I ask from what, and they bellow — as I block an attack and throw the creature far. It lands and pops its neck. A grave robber — the second form of the ghoul — one that enjoys collecting anything buried.
Why are they here? The way these flowers are wrapped resembles a buried corpse.
I ask the flowers to release the star. They yell no — that it will be attacked. Gaia said protect. We protect.
Gaia commanded it. The star is important. All right — I am game. It is just one grave digger. Easy enough to—
Well. More start popping from the ground. This will be a workout.
One throws a shovel. I summon a root to catch it and launch it back, impaling the creature to the ground and killing it. That pisses the rest of them off.
Two more attack from the side. I call forth mini tree sprouts to deliver two haymakers and a body slam — snapping one neck while the other hits the dirt. I summon a giant root to grab the sprout and swing it like a club, knocking the rest out cold. The sound of bones breaking is satisfying. Especially when their kind killed my mother. All of them can go to hell.
I pluck flowers from the ground and throw them like ninja stars — cutting through the wave as they fall. So many keep coming. Then I hear a massive horn blast. It does not affect me, but it explodes the grave diggers' heads clean off.
I turn around. It is Carlos. He rushes to me and pulls me into a hug.
Carlos: Dude, are you okay? When I saw the grave diggers I got worried.
I push Carlos off me.
Ricardo: I did not ask for your help. I can take care of myself. The flora gift is mine, after all.
Carlos: Right. Sorry. I was just worried—
He is growling with fury. His brothers are doing everything to hold him back — but from what? I hear the voice from the flowers.
They are gone. Please protect the star. Please protect it.
I look back — and smell it. That wondrous smell. My fears and joy are creeping in together. The monster is back. The smell of a human is back. And this is not good.
I hear his brothers yelling.
Davi and Benjamin: Please calm down. Please.
Carlos: Get off me.
He breaks free and lunges straight at the creature. He summons a hammer to smash it. I block him by summoning a tree. The look of pure rage on his face. He swings the hammer at me — then grabs me by the throat. He is quick, and he is far bigger than me.
Carlos: Have you lost your mind? This infectious beast needs to die. You know what his kind is. Monsters. They hunted us. Called us weak. They tried to wipe us out. Why are you protecting it?
Ricardo: The chief told us to let go of our hatred and move forward as the next generation.
He throws me and impales both my arms with tridents. I can hear his brothers screaming at him.
Davi: You hurt Ricardo — have you lost your mind?
Benjamin: Come on, brother. This is not okay. We understand what happened that day, but this creature has nothing to do with—
Carlos: Shut up. If one of their kind is here, who knows how many came through the stars? These monsters need to stay nothing more than stories.
I watch him pull out a cannon and aim it at the creature's head. His brothers fight to take control but his will is too strong. A smirk spreads across Carlos's face as the cannon charges.
Then he is struck by a massive flower punch from out of nowhere. An explosion of petals knocks him down — but he lands on his feet. The petals swirl around him, delivering tiny cuts — enough to make the brothers bleed out and lose consciousness.
A woman pulls the tridents from my arms and lifts the young man gently into my arms. He is so tiny. Like cradling a baby. She flicks her hands and Carlos disappears — transported somewhere I do not know. Then she transports me, to my amazement, inside my own home.
I lay the tiny creature in my bed and clean my wounds. I climb to my top shelf and pull out my best alcohol. And drink.
What the hell is going on?
The creature was the star. Does that mean humans are still alive? How many more are out there? And what is he here for? And why does he smell so good and look so damn — stop. Stop thinking like that. He is a creature and we need to know what he is here for. We keep this quiet.
I walk up to him and finish my mini bottle of Hades. I lay right beside him, my tail wagging without permission. This creature gives off an energy I have never felt in my life since Mother was alive. My eyes grow heavy.
Hey. You — good or bad? Because I would rather not kill you.
I close my eyes and dream a delightful dream about a man gardening. He walks up to me, pats me on the head, and says — here is your treat, good boy. I eat it and wag my tail with such joy. He pats me again and says —
Time for you to grow up.