how weird it is that in the middle of a dessert my home is, but weirder still how there was mud
and rain. I guess I never thought of that. When I was young Father always told me things, facts
were facts and not to be questioned. I was a good young lad, never getting into any mischief.
Father held me back from the badness and told Mother not to interfere and that naughty boys
should be taught a lesson. I was held back and protected from the dark side of life, and now I am
running with the scared little boy that never experienced the wicked ideas that other boys had.
Hours have passed and I feel night coming. I feel the gentle breeze and the sun finally dying,
dying as it does every night as the moon conquers, just for the sun to retake the throne and so it
continues throughout the life time of the world.
It slithers with strength
Passes with fury
Kills it prey with one mighty strike
Its emerald mighty scales
Shifting the sand
Twirling, twisting, turning
Never ending monster
Of majestic killers
Or Protectors of sand and carriers of the prey
They are the animals of the night
Here them talk, hear their sound
But do not worry
I recite the old poem my Mother once read and told to me. I wonder what made me think
of that. Maybe its the soft wind like slithering snakes. More like snakes than wind. I sit up on
my rags of blankets and look slowly around. There’s nothing, nothing at all. I squint, look more
precisely, I see a shadow. Its moving closer, closer. I jump up quickly take my rags and run. The
snake moves quicker than me. It could sense me jumping around. It was me being stupid and
going to sleep in the middle of nowhere. The snake is catching up. I throw the dirty and old rags
on him. It just made it worse. I could see the anger in that anger more than any thing I had ever
seen before. I staggered further, faster but the snake was faster than me. It bit me ferociously on
the left leg and I collapsed on the floor and the snake knew I was just bones and slithered away.
“Your name son.” - I look up at the man standing above me. His clothing ruby and clean. Blue
like the sky, a twinkling crystal. I knew that jacket all too well. He was the enemy in the great
war to come
“Your name son, sign up and fight or stay here and die.”
“Guo, Guo Strand.”
