‘The Hooded Ones’
Prologue: It was a dark and stormy night, the environment that surrounded me was covered in a dark, sinister blue hue. There was lightning striking from the angry, dark sky and on the ground lie bodies of brave people that fought alongside me. The only thing that stood out to me was the willow tree, still alive, still reminding me of why I’m here. My body was filled with excruciating pain, pinned to a rock behind me, I heard the sounds of fighting and struggling coming from the other side of the rock and began to stand up. My body was in pain, fighting against me, telling me to “sit back down” but I refused. I limped over to the edge of the rock and saw my friends all using their willow magic to hold him back. But his staff full of power was stronger, it had blasted them all back, causing them to tumble to the ground. I started to feel this boost of energy and determination enter my mind, it was if I was being pushed into the battlefield. I’d started limping towards him, powering up my magic. “This ends tonight.” I said to myself.
Present Day: “MR WILLIAMS!” The teacher shouted, waking me from my nap. “Huh?” I said, as my vision slowly became clear, showing an angry old lady staring at me. “Oh I’m sorry, am I boring you?” She said, sarcastically. “Well, this class is pretty boring.” I mumbled. “What was that?” She said with annoyance in her voice. “Uh nothing, sorry, what did I miss?” I said, speaking up. “As I was saying, class. This short story can be about anything, as long as it contains a rising action, a climax, a falling action, and a resolution and it can be however many pages you need it to be. It is due at the end of the week, no exceptions.” She said, walking back to her desk as the bell rang. Everyone jumped up and rushed out of the classroom, when I finished packing up my stuff, I started walking towards the doorway. But before I could even exit the room, Mrs Smith had stopped me in my tracks. “Mr Williams, a moment please.” She said to me, still sitting at her desk, I walked over to her desk with an irritated expression on my face. “Yeah.” I said with an annoyed tone. “What is up with you lately? Are you not enjoying the class? Are you having a rough time at home?” She said with concern. “Look, I love writing, it’s the only way I can express myself. But, I just haven’t felt motivated lately, I’m sorry for falling asleep and I promise I’ll get that short story in by the end of the week.” I said, reassuring her. “Ok, I expect big things from you, I believe in you and I want to see you grow as a student and as a writer. Now, good day Mr Williams.” She said with a smile. I nodded and left her classroom, I put my headphones on and started listening to music. But as I walked down the hallway, I passed by an empty classroom and noticed something in the corner of my eye. I backed up and looked inside the empty classroom and there it was, a mysterious hooded figure standing in the room. I could only see their mouth, because the rest of their face was covered by the shadows of the hood. They didn’t do anything, they just stared at me with a blank expression. “What the hell?” I said to myself with confusion. Then a whisper started to echo in my ear, ringing like tinnitus. “Your life is not what it seems.” I was so zoned into the whispers and the mysterious hooded figure still standing in the room, I started to walk forwards, only to get startled by someone. “Ezra, are you okay?” A voice said from behind me, I gasped as I jumped up out of my skin. I turned to them, only to see Cole Meyers, my crush since the fifth grade. “Hey Cole!” I said, elongating the words in my sentences with a nervous smile. “Hey, seriously, are you alright?” He said with concern. I turned back to the empty classroom to see if the hooded figure was still there, but they were gone, just like that. Then I turned back to Cole. “Y-Yeah, I’m fine. I was just lost in my thoughts.” I said with a nervous giggle as he giggled with me. “So, what brings you to the Language & Literature Wing?” I said, trying to start a conversation. “Oh, well, I just got done reading “The Day My Life Ended” by Quinn B Scott and I was just heading to the library to return it and probably check out something else.” He said with a smile, showing me the book. “Oh my gosh! I just got done reading that, I love Quinn B Scott’s work. So, what was your favorite part? Mine was when Eliza stood up against that piece of crap boyfriend Jerry.” I said, sharing my thoughts. “Yeah, that was a great scene. My favorite part was when Eliza was opening up to her sister about the bullying and losing her best friend due to suicide. It was just very emotional and relatable to me as a person… Um, I gotta head to the library, see ya’ around.” He said as he began to walk away. “Hey Cole!” I said as he stopped. “Yeah?” He said. “I’ll come with you!” I said as I walked over to him. “Wait, are you sure?” He said with concern. “It’s fine, I’ve got study hall this period, I can skip it. I mean, I’d rather hang out with you and talk about books.” I said smiling as I walked with him.
After school was over, I met up with my little brother Matt and began walking home. “Ezra!” Matt said as we walked through the neighborhood. “Yeah?” I said, ready to listen. “So, there’s this girl at my school, her name is Maya. She has short blonde hair and hazel green eyes, she’s always wearing cropped tank tops and cargo pants, and she has the cutest little laugh. I think I’m in love, but I just don’t know how to tell her or even ask her out on a date, like our conversations start off smooth and then they slowly get awkward. I really do like her, h-how did you handle your first crush?” He said, desperately asking for advice as we were walking through the neighborhood. “I… Well… I’m gay, so it’s kinda different in a way. I have had a crush on this guy Cole since the fifth grade, still haven’t talked to him and we’re sophomores now. It’s just like your situation, our conversations are going great and then all of a sudden, I say something cringy or stupid or random and then the whole conversation is just awkward now. But I do have some advice for you, don’t wait too long to make your move, do it now. Ask her out, get her number, and have the courage that I never had, don’t be a coward like me, be better.” I said, patting him on the back. He looked at me and smiled. “You’re not a coward, you’re just you and that’s ok.” He said, trying to make me feel better. Then we continued walking home, talking about school, video games, and new music that was released this year. Like that one guy, Jon Adams, he released his debut album “PROJECT: JON”.
We finally made it inside our house, which was a couple blocks away from our school Evermore High School. As soon as we came inside, we smelled a delicious aroma in the air. “MOM’S SPECIAL CREAM PUFFS!” Matt and I shouted in sync. We sprinted into the kitchen and saw two pans full of cream puffs. I tried to reach for one, but she smacked my hand away. “Ow!” I shouted in pain. “These are for the fall festival tomorrow night, all the moms are bringing something. Don’t worry, I’m baking you guys a special batch of cream puffs.” She said to us, smiling. Matt and I got excited and fist bumped each other. “So, how was school? boys.” She said, curiously. “Well, I have to write a short story in English, but I don’t know what I want to write about yet. She said it’s due at the end of the week, I’ll try and come up with some ideas tonight.” I said, feeling a little down. Mom walked over to me and started rubbing the side of my head. “Hey baby, don’t beat yourself up over this, you’re my son and you’re a very talented writer. I know you’ll come up with something brilliant to write about, don’t think too hard about, ok.” She said, giving me a hug. Matt stayed downstairs to play video games in the living room, I went to my room to have some time to myself, which was basically me stalking Cole on instagram. I scrolled through pictures of him and his dog, him with his family, and just him. I just laid in my bed, replaying the same scenario in my head, where I told Cole the truth and everything turned out ok in the end. But then I start to think. “That’ll never happen.” After I was done thinking about Cole, I sat down at my desk and stared at my blank document on my computer screen. Trying to figure out what to write about for my short story, but after a while of thinking and empty thoughts, I went to my book. The one I’ve been writing since freshman year, it’s called “The Misfits vs The World” . It’s about a group of teens that all come from different backgrounds that meet because of one thing, zombie apocalypse. Now they must work together, to survive in this new world of threats both alive and dead. Right now, I’m working on chapter five and it’s crazy. So, after an hour of typing, mom called me downstairs for dinner and let me tell you, she cooked. As I rushed downstairs, chasing the delicious aroma in the air, I was greeted with a plate of baked chicken, a pot of macaroni and cheese, a pot of green beans, a pitcher of sweet tea, and a plate of cream puffs. All laid out on the dining table, Matt and I had sat down at the table ready to eat, but before we could mom wanted to pray. “Dear god, thank you for this food, thank you for this house, thank you for my job, and thank you for these two beautiful boys. They are smart, talented, sweet, innocent boys and I’m glad to have them in my life. I wish nothing but the best for them and for me, and we will not take your gift for granted… Amen.” She said as we all opened our eyes. “We’re happy to have you too mom, you’re the best mom we could’ve asked for.” Matt said, smiling. “Yeah mom, you’re the best and I love you so much.” I said, smiling as her face lit up with joy. “I love you boys.” She said in a soft tone. Then we began to eat dinner, but as we ate, something had startled me to my core. I was talking to Matt when a beam of light had caught my attention, it’d come from the window. So I looked at the window and saw the same hooded figure from earlier, standing outside the window, staring at me. I jumped with fear, catching the attention of my mom and brother. “What’s wrong honey?” Mom said with concern. I looked back at the window, only to see nothing, once again they’d disappeared without a trace. “S-Sorry, thought I saw something.” I said, confused. After dinner, we were in the living room watching a movie, Matt and Mom had fallen asleep and I stayed awake. But while I was watching the movie without them, I heard something outside and decided to go investigate. I got my slippers on, grabbed a flashlight out of the kitchen, and headed outside. First, I went to the front yard, but there was nothing there, so I moved to the side of the house, still nothing there. But as I walked towards the backyard I heard a noise, it sounded like something in the shed. So I rushed over to it, when I got to the shed, the door wasn’t locked. There were no signs of forced entry but I wanted to be sure, so I opened the door, but when I opened the door, a surprise was waiting for me. It was a cute little puppy, its fur was white with brown spots, and it had the cutest green eyes. “Hey little guy, how’d you get in here?” I said, bending down to pick up the little puppy. I held it in my arms, rubbing its soft fur, but I was startled by Matt. “What are you doing?” He said as I jumped, turning towards him. “Nothing, I just found this cute little puppy in the shed.” I said, smiling as I snuggled the puppy in my arms. “Well, do you want to let it inside? Maybe mom’ll let us keep it.” He said as we headed back inside the house. We let mom sleep on the couch, covering her in a blanket to keep her warm throughout the night, then we went upstairs and bunked together in my room with the puppy. “Goodnight Ezra.” Matt said in a soft and tired voice. “Goodnight Matt.” I said with a yawn. After a couple of minutes we were out and so was the puppy, cuddled up in my arms.
The Dream: My eyes suddenly opened and as my vision dilated to the environment around me one thing became clear, a glowing willow tree. Then I sat up and saw that I was laying in a field of red grass, I was so lost and slightly amazed. I got up and stood there for a second, then I heard a noise from behind me. I turned slightly, only to see more hooded figures standing behind me, I began to run towards the glowing tree. Screaming “HELP!” but no one was around to help me, I’d finally made it to the tree, seeing candles lit at the foot of the tree and pictures of men and women nailed to the tree. “What is this place?” I said to myself. I looked up and saw these beautiful purple and blue leaves hanging from the branches, this place felt different, it felt… Magical. But I didn’t have enough time to explore the tree, because the hooded figures caught up with me. I saw their shadows lingering over me, so I turned around to see them standing right in front of me with a blank stare. “What is this place? Where am I? Who are you?” I asked, but they gave me silence. “WHY AM I HERE?” I shouted, but still, silence. Then something amazing happened, the person in the middle pulled down their hood. Revealing an elderly lady, then she spoke. “Young Fallener, your life is not what it seems, you are different and you are special. Please don’t fear us child, for we are “The Hooded Ones” protectors of the—” She said, before everything became muffled and my eyes slowly shut. “Of “the” what?” I asked, before it was too late.
Reality: I gasped, as I jumped up in my bed, then I felt a very weird texture in my mouth. I opened my mouth and reached my hand inside, pulling out a pink flower. “What the hell?” I said, confusingly as I stared at the flower in my hand. Then I got out of bed and went to the bathroom, splashed my face with some water and started thinking about my weird dream. “What was that? What did she mean? Who’s Young Fallener?” I thought to myself out loud. After a while, I just thought I was going insane or that I had too many cream puffs and went back to sleep.
The next day, I woke up cuddled up with the puppy and with the memories of an unforgettable dream. I got out of bed and went downstairs to eat breakfast and surprise mom with the puppy. “Hey mom, look what I found last night.” I said as I approached the kitchen. “Aw, where did you find it?” She said, smiling. “Uh, in the shed actually.”I said, rubbing my hands through his soft fur. “Oh really, that’s odd.” She said, focusing on the food she was cooking. “Yeah, hey, you think we can keep it? I promise I’ll feed it, wash it, and clean up after it. You can trust me.” I said, desperately. “Ok, ok, as long as you take care of it and maybe Matt can help.” She said, smiling. “Yeah, I don’t mind helping out with Freddy.” Matt said as came down the stairs. “Freddy? When did you name the dog?” I said, confused. “This morning, he actually gets really happy when I call him Freddy, see it’s already sticking.” Matt said, pointing at one excited puppy in my arms. “Ugh, fine, Freddy it is.” I said, finally giving in. “Yes!” Matt said with excitement. After breakfast, I got ready for school, still thinking about my weird dream last night, I went to Matt about it. As soon as we left the house, as we walked through the neighborhood I asked him. “So, any idea what the willow tree symbolizes?” I asked. “Well… Hey Siri, any idea what the willow tree symbolizes?” Matt said, pulling out his phone. “Really dude?” I scoffed. “Look, I found something. “It symbolizes our capability to handle hardship, loss, and difficult emotions. Why’d you ask?” Matt said, curiously. “Uh, well I had a dream with a willow tree in it. I just don’t know what it means.” I said, sparing him the rest of the details. “Well, we haven’t had the best life. Your dad died in a car accident when you were four, my dad was a cheating, deadbeat, bastard, and mom has been in therapy for years, she’s finally out and she’s happy. But maybe, this is your own inner conflict.” Matt said. “What inner conflict? I’m not going through any hardships.” I said in confusion. “Well, you still haven’t told mom your secret.” He said as I gave him a look of confusion. “Oh my god, you’re gay, you still haven’t told mom you’re gay and now your unconscious thoughts are telling you “it’s time” I mean, it’s the only inner conflict that I know you have.” Matt said. “Oh, maybe you’re right. But, I’m still not ready, I need to find the right moment to tell her. I can’t do it right now, she’s finally in a good place, she’s finally happy and I don’t want to ruin that for her.” I said. “Well, you’ll have to tell her eventually or she’ll just find out.” Matt said. Then we continued walking through the neighborhood until we finally got to school. Matt and I stood at the front entrance talking for a bit. But then his friends showed up and he was off, I went inside and headed to my locker. As I unpacked my backpack and organized my stuff in my locker, someone had startled me, again. “Hey Ezra.” A deep and mellow voice said from behind me. I jumped, repositioning my whole body. Revealing none other than Cole. “Hey Cole.” I said, elongating the words in my sentence again. “I just wanted to thank you for your book suggestion yesterday. “The Shadow” by Greg Barnstein is a great horror novel. I started reading it last night and I’m hooked.” He said, smiling. “You’re welcome, glad you’re enjoying it.” I said, smiling back at him. “So, see you in third period.” He said. “Yep.” I said, smiling as he walked off. Then a boy and girl with brown hair, green eyes, and opposite personalities. “Oh my god!” One of them said with excitement. Meet the twins, Jack and Jenna Thompson, my best friends since kindergarten and the only other people I trust with my life. Jack is a straight white guy that plays basketball and Jenna is a lesbian with a passion for journalism, they’re the best, they’ve been there for me all my life and have always had my back through everything. Anyways, back to the story. “Hey guys.” I said, smiling. “Was that Cole Meyers I saw talking to you Mr Williams?” Jenna said, teasing me. “Who? I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.” I said, playing along. “You know, hot, hunky, basketball player with golden retriever smile, and a love for literature. That Cole Meyers.” She said, playing along with the joke as well. “Oh, wow, ok!” I said, breaking character. Then we all started laughing. “Bro, should I just ask him if he’s gay? To finally end your suffering.” Jack said. “No, I’m not that desperate, I’ll tell him soon.” I said, lying. “Mhm, you’re not gonna tell him anything, I just read the lie behind your voice, you can’t fool me.” Jenna said with a clever expression on her face. “How do you do that? Are you an empath or a psychic?” I said in shock. “Yeah, that’s scary sis, she literally does that to me all the time.” Jack said. “Here’s what you’re gonna do, tonight at the fall festival, since all of Gemstone Bay will be there. You’re gonna pull Cole aside and tell him how you feel, ok.” Jenna said with a demanding tone. “Seriously?” I said. “Yeah, you’ve been holding this in for too long, now it’s time to let it out.” She said with a serious tone. “Ugh, fine.” I groaned as we heard the bell’s five minute warning ring and rushed off to first period. Then it was third period, which was art class, our teacher Mrs Wendle told us to paint an embodiment of our personality. Cole and I’s canvases were right next to each other, I was painting the outline of a butterfly that I would eventually fill in with paint splatters. The painting was based off of a drawing I made in my journal. Once I finished the outline, I went over to Cole’s canvas. Where I saw him painting the outline of a lion, I stood there in silence and watched him paint. A couple seconds later, he turned around to get some more black paint and was startled by me. “Hey.” He said, smiling as he settled down. “Hey, nice lion, so what does it mean?” I asked, curiously. “Well, lions are big and scary and they protect their family. I am very protective of the one’s I love and I’ll fight if I need to.” He said, smiling. “Wow, you thought that out huh?” I said, interested in his painting as he chuckled. After school had ended, Matt and I walked home from school, as we walked through the neighborhood. Matt was telling me more about Maya and I was listening for a moment, until a voice whispered in my ear distracting me from Matt’s story. The voice kept repeating the phrase “WILLOW” over and over and again, the voice gradually got louder, causing pain to ear drums. I’d finally had enough and began to yell “SHUT UP!” as the voices faded away, I was brought back to reality. Still standing on the sidewalk, seeing Matt a couple steps away from me. “Ez, you good?” He said, concerned. “Y-Yeah?” I said, hesitantly. “Ok?” He said, confused as we kept walking. We finally got home and still terrified by the creepy whispers, I rushed to my room and started researching willow trees and hooded figures. But after not getting anything from my research, I sat at my desk in confusion, after a while of thinking deep in my thoughts about something that probably didn’t exist, I fell asleep resting my head in my arms on my desk.
The Dream 2: I felt wind blowing at my face, blowing through my shirt sleeves, flowing into my ears, and running in between my fingers. I’d slowly opened my eyes, revealing a blue filled sky and soft white clouds getting further and further away from me, I began to realize that I was falling from the sky. I started screaming of fear as my body continued to fall, I was suddenly greeted by a bird like creature flying next to me. It had yellow feathers with blue tips, wide eyes, and a beak with two sharp teeth peeking out each side of it. “What the hell?” I said, confused as it stared at me. It squawked and flew away, all of sudden the speed of my fall started to increase and so did my screaming. Soon, I had touched the ground, lying on my back staring at the tops of trees now covering the blue filled sky. I sat up and release a sigh of relief, only to be started by a faint growl coming from behind me. I turned my body slowly towards the other direction and was greeted by a not so friendly face, it was wolf with fluffy black fur, sharp claws, long canines, and two blue glowing eyes. I jumped up and started running in a random direction of the woods, I could hear it’s loud snarls as it chased after me. But I didn’t stop, my fear had taken over and told me to just keep running, I was stopped by a pitch black cave in front of me and as I stopped to catch my breath. I heard the wolf’s howls in the distance and ran into the darkness of the cave as I entered, my paranoia got the best of me. I couldn’t see anything, not a rock, not a stick, nothing. I just felt a chilling sensation all throughout my body, that quickly was warmed up by the random torches on the cave walls that lit up in front of me. A golden hue had covered the inside of the cave, the torches were leading me down this long path and I wondered if there was an exit at the end. I’d finally made it to this weird entrance at the end of the path with a weird symbol above it, I walked in and was greeted by a glowing glass box encasing a weird looking book with some weird symbol engraved on the cover. “What the heck?” I said as I slowly approached it. But as I got closer to the glass box, I was greeted with another surprise, I heard a low growl coming from the darkness of the room. I thought that maybe the wolf had found me in the cave, but that thought was erased from my mind when I heard the creature’s footsteps thud loud on the ground causing the ground to shake. I had chills all through my body and fear was flowing through my breaths, I started taking steps back towards the way I came in and tripped on my foot. I fell on the ground as the creature stepped into the lit up part of the room, revealing its big, gray, furry body. It had no eyes, only a big mouth full of sharp teeth that showed as it growled and big, sharp claws coming out of the end of its arms and legs. It let out a big roar and began to charge towards me, I started sliding back towards the entrance, but it was too late. The creature got right to me and swung its sharp claw back, slashing my chest and everything faded to black.
Reality: I woke up from my sleep with a panicked gasp, I was still sitting in my chair at my desk and still in a panic I pulled up my shirt, checking my chest for a claw mark or blood. But there was nothing there, everything seemed fine and unharmed. “What was that?” I said, confused and still a little in shock. All of a sudden, I felt the urge to vomit and ran straight to the bathroom, but what came out of me was surprising and abnormal. It was more colorful flowers identical to the one that I pulled out of my mouth the night before, after I was done vomiting. My body began to feel normal, but I was still stuck on the fact that I just puked flowers. “What’s wrong with me?” I thought to myself. I splashed my face with water from the sink and headed back to my room. I decided to progress in the book I was writing and distract myself from the creepy dream I had and the weird vomit flowers. A couple hours later, we’d gotten ready for the fall festival and now we’re on our way to Gemstone Bay Park where the Fall Festival is. The whole car ride there I just stared out the window, thinking about the dreams I was having. “Monsters, trees, hooded people. What does it mean?” I thought to myself as I continued to stare out the window. We finally arrived at the fall festival, there was music and flashing lights coming from the distance. Mom had grabbed her batch of cream puffs from the backseat and told us to head to the center of the park where the main event was. Then she rushed off down the path with her cream puffs, Matt and I started walking down the path and decided to just talk about life. “Matt.” I said, grabbing his attention. “Yeah.” He said, intrigued. “Do you ever feel like your life isn’t what you thought it was? Like you’re missing something?” I said desperate for some insight. “I mean, besides never meeting my dad, not much no. Why do you ask?” He said, concerned. “Well, I’ve been having these weird dreams where I’ve been in this weird world where I’ve seen hooded figures, been chased by wolves, and killed by a freakishly big monster. Then when I woke up I threw up these weird flowers but that’s not even the strangest part, the strangest part is that it all feels so familiar. Even though it’s not real and it’s all in my head, it feels like I’ve been there before, I’ve walked on that ground before, I’ve felt the air and the atmosphere of that place before. Even though I haven’t, I keep thinking there’s something wrong with me but I think it might be something bigger than that.” I said, pouring all my thoughts out onto him. “Wow, that’s a lot to process, are you sure you’re not putting too much thought into this? I mean, it is just a dream after all.” Matt said, trying to calm me down. “I don’t know, maybe, it just feels so real and so familiar, I wish I could just show you.” I said as the world around us warped into a large field of the same red grass from before and the same sky with planets and stars in the distance. “Ezra, what is this? Where are we?” Matt said, confused and concerned. “This is it, this is from my dream.” I said, mesmerized by its beauty. “Wait, it’s real?” He said in shock. “Yeah.” I said with relief. Then I heard whispers calling out to me again. “He’s coming for you.” The voices repeated over and over again, my ears started to ring and before we knew it, we were back at the park like nothing happened. “What the hell was that?” Matt said, still confused by what he’d just seen. “Did you hear that? Did you hear the voices?” I said. “What voices? Are you hearing voices in your head? Are you going crazy?” Matt said with concern. “No, it only happens with stuff like what we just saw.” I said, reassuring him. “Well, what did they say?” He said, curiously. “He’s coming for you?” That’s what the voices said, but who?” I said, spiraling with more questions. “Who? Who’s after you? Who or why would someone be after you?” Matt said, panicking. “I don’t know.” I said as chills went down my spine. “Ezra, is everything okay?” Matt said with concern. “L-Let’s just get to the festival.” I said, trying to forget about the ominous message from the creepy whispers. We got to the center of the festival where everyone was, they were dancing to the music being played by the DJ. We both tried to ignore what had happened by dancing in the crowd and letting the music drown out our thoughts but it only lasted for a while. But another surprise had happened to us, a better one. “Ezra!” A voice said from behind me. I turned around and saw the twins Jenny and Jack. “Hey guys!” I said, smiling. “Guess who’s here.” Jenny said with a michievious grin. “Oh no.” I said with resentment. “Yep, Mr Cole Meyers.” She said still grinning michieviously. “Where at?” I said. “Over at the hoops with his friends.” She said. “Do I really have to do this?” I sighed. “Do you want to live with these bottled up feelings for the rest of your life? I mean sure, go ahead.” She said, trying to do reverse psychology on me. Then I thought. “This could distract me from all the shit going on.” “Fine, I’ll do it.” I said as I marched back down the trail and headed over to the basketball court. But as soon as I arrived at the basketball court and heard the skid of the boy’s shoes and the bounce of the ball, all my confidence went away. “Ok Ez, just breathe, it’s like ripping off a bandaid, just pull him aside and tell him.” I said to myself. Then I entered the basketball court and before I could say anything Cole noticed me. “Hey Ez, what’s up? Wanna play ball?” He said with a big smile on his face. “Nah I’m good, can I just talk to you for a sec?” I said, nervously. “Sure!” He said as he passed the ball to one of his friends and ran over to me. “What’s up?” He said, still a little out of breath from running. “Uh.” I tried to get my thoughts out, but I was so distracted by his golden retriever smile and the sweat dripping from his hair. “Uh, let’s take a walk shall we.” I said, trying to get back on track. As we walked down the path I started the conversation. “So, I heard you guys got a big game coming up soon.” I said, spiking his interests. “Yeah, coach says if we do really well and win we might get to state next.” He said with excitement. “Well that’s great, I’m happy for you and the team. So, are you still enjoying that book?” I said, curiously. “Yeah, it’s great, the best thing I love about murder mystery books is the misleading of who the killer is. It just makes me more excited to keep guessing and eventually find out who the killer was the whole time, right now my guess is Ricky. He’s been saying a lot of ominous things throughout the book which makes him look suspicious, but that could also be the author misleading me to believe that it’s Ricky when it might be Skylar or Davis.” Cole said as he continued to ramble on and on about the book. I started feeling all nervous and sweaty, running through all the scenarios in my head telling him how I feel. I started to panic and, and… “I like you!” I shouted as everything went silent. “Huh?” He said, confused. “I like you, I’ve always liked you since middle school, your blonde hair, your green eyes, your golden retriever smile, your soft, mellow, slightly deep voice, and your unbelievably hot body. I’ve always admired you, your kindness, your humor, your passion for art and literature, and even your basketball skills. Heck, why do you think I always want to be around you? Why do you think I wanted to be your friend? I’ve kept these feelings bottled up for years, but you deserve to know how I feel and I deserve closure.” I said, pouring all my feelings out. “Ezra, I—” He said as I cut him off. “No, I don’t need to hear your rejection, I’ll just get out of your hair, you don’t have to deal with me anymore.” I said as I began to walk away, but I guess that wasn’t the end. “Ezra, wait!” Cole shouted as I stopped in my tracks. He walked over to me and grabbed my hands, feeling his skin on mine. I felt so warm and comfortable, I felt loved and accepted. “I like you too.” He said as he leaned in and sank his lips into mine passionately. Once the kiss was over I was left in shock, I mean, I’d just kissed my middle school crush. “Wait, you’re gay? I’m so confused right now, I have so many questions.” I said, spiraling. “Okay, okay, I’m bi, like I’m attracted to girls but if a guy catches my attention or throws a look my way I wouldn’t hesitate to feel him out and see if he’s someone I could date.” He said so confidently. “Wait, so you would date me?” I said, curiously. “Of course, you’re a great guy and I love the energy you have, it’s so light and positive. I would love to try this out and see where it goes, but only if that’s okay with you.” He said, smiling. “Sure, let’s do it.” I said, smiling back with excitement. “Great.” He said as we giggled for a bit. “Okay, so um, I’m gonna let you get back to basketball, I bet your friends are wondering if you’re coming back or not.” I said, rushing the conversation to an end. “Uh, yeah, see you tomorrow.” He said as he ran off into the distance. “Let you get back to basketball” good one Ezra.” I said to myself. “I got a boyfriend.” I started chanting as I did a little victory dance all the way back to Jenny and Jack. I finally got back to the center of the festival and told Jenny and Jack the news. “Guys, Cole kissed me, he said he wants to try dating and see where it goes, I have a boyfriend. Isn’t this great? I won’t lame old single Ezra anymore.” I said, with excitement. “Oh my god Ez, this is great news, now we can have triple dates and stuff. You know, I could bring Mick, Jack could bring Sophie, and you could bring Cole, the possibilities are endless.” Jenny said also full of excitement. “Speaking of Jack, where is he?” I said, looking around. “Over there, making out with Sophie.” Jenny said, pointing over at Jack and Sophie passionately kissing. “Wow.” I said in shock. “Yeah, they’re in love.” Jenny said with a sigh. After the festival was over everyone was going home, mom, Matt, and I had loaded into the car, mom seemed very excited. “Guys guess what.” She said, smiling, “You won first place.” I said. “Yep, I sure did, taught Mrs Linda a lesson, only I can make the best cream puffs.” She said as she pulled out of the parking lot and onto the road. “That is true.” Matt said, smiling. “So, did you boys enjoy yourselves?” She said, curiously. “Yeah, just hung out with friends.” I said, thinking about Cole and the kiss we shared tonight. “How about you Matt?” She said, curiously. “Well I got my first girlfriend tonight.” He said, confidently. “Wait, you told Maya?” I said, with a surprised tone. “Yeah, we’re gonna have our first date at Bill’s Bowling & Arcade.” He said with excitement. “Well I’m proud of you bro.” I said, smiling. “I have to meet this Maya girl, she sounds like a lovely young lady.” Mom said, smiling. We finally made it home and all got ready for bed, Matt was in his room asleep and mom was laying in bed reading her cookbook. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth, as I stared at myself in the mirror brushing my teeth I couldn’t stop thinking about every strange encounter that has occurred lately. “What does it mean? Why me? Who’s coming for me?” I thought to myself. After I was done, I turned off my lamp and hopped into bed, then I grabbed my phone and texted the group chat with Jenny and Jack saying “Goodnight” and then I was off to bed.
The Dream Part 3: I woke up sitting in the same field of red grass, seeing the same sky full of planets and stars, but there was something new this time. Right in front of me sat a elderly man sitting with his legs crossed almost like a meditating position, his hand had a weird mystical glow. His left hand had a dark purplish glow and his right hand had a golden glow, I got up and looked around the field trying to find anything else out of place or different. “Come sit with me “Young Fallener”” The man said in a calm tone. So I listened and sat down next to him and just stared at him as he stayed in that same position. “What is this? Why is this happening to me? Who is coming for me? Why am I here? Who am I? I’m just so tired of seeing these things and leaving with open ended questions with zero answers, I need an explanation, tell me what’s going on, please?” I said, desperately trying to understand everything. “You are Dalluke Fallener of the Aurora, son of Darrud Fallener of the Aurora, you’re a crossbreed of a Willow, a mystical being possessing the powers of the willow tree and a human, a mortal being, and you’re the prophecy.” The elderly man said, looking up at the sky. “My real name is Dalluke? I have powers? Prophecy?” I said, curiously. “As you can see in my hands this is a form of dark magic and light magic, both two forms of willow magic, but one can cause total destruction and chaos while the other can create and expand. But both must counter each other out and keep the balance of the realm, without one or the other the whole realm would be doomed. Your father used a spell to transfer all dark magic and light magic flowing through the realm into you before he died. You’re the balance of dark and light, the balance of the realm, of all magic within the realm.” He said, projecting the story with the magic from his hands. “But why would he do that?” I said, curiously. “A very evil, and powerful willow called “Darrok the Destroyer” wants to destroy the balance completely, he wants to unleash chaos onto the Aurora Realm, he wants to take away magic from every willow that lives here. Your father thought he’d stopped him by transferring the balance into you, but you’ve come of age, you’ve been connecting with the Aurora Realm, you’ve awakened the balance and the magic within you. Darrok has probably sensed it by now and now he’s coming for you, you must come to the Aurora Realm, you must learn how to control your powers, you must defeat Darrok.” He said, still depicting the story with his magic. “How do I get there?” I asked as everything faded away into darkness.
Reality: I woke up from my sleep to a strong wind coming from inside the house blowing papers and other objects around the room, then the wind began to calm down and my vision became clearer. I could see a bunch of those hooded figures standing around my bed. “Uh, it’s you guys again.” I said as I slowly tried to get up off the bed, but one of the hooded figures blasted me back on the bed with their magic. “He must’ve spoken to Hologi, he must know the truth now.” One of them said, “The boy’s a legend and our savior.” Another one said. Then I heard loud grunts of struggle coming from the hallway, it sounded like mom and Matt. “Hey, what are you doing to them? Let them go!” I shouted as they blasted me back against the wall. Then my door opened and I saw two hooded figures walk in carrying mom and Matt as they aggressively threw them to the floor. “Dalluke, did the old man help you?” One of the hooded figures asked me. “I mean, he gave me a lot of information, but I still have questions. Like, what happened to my dad? And who am I?” I said, curiously. “Get up Esmay, tell your son the truth.” The hooded figure said as they forced mom to her feet. “No! I won’t let you take my son away, please, don’t do this, I can’t lose him too!” Mom cried and shouted. “You kept him hidden for years, you took him away from his own people, it’s time to tell him the truth.” The hooded figure said. “Sweetie, before I tell you everything, please understand I wanted to protect you okay.” She said as she began to talk. “Your father was at war with an evil man “Darrok the Destroyer” he left us to defeat Darrok and give you a better life, he always wanted to bring you to his world and let you be around your own people. But he didn’t come back, Darrok killed him, he took away the love of my life, so I decided to raise you as a normal human boy and hid that part of you from you your whole life. But I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep that part of you from coming out and connecting with the Aurora Realm, now they’re here to take you away, to take you back to the world you came from.” Mom said, crying. “Mom, I love you, but you have to let me go. There’s a whole other world out there and a whole other version of me that I need to explore, please don’t get in my way okay.” I said, wiping the tears from her face. She nodded. “Okay, I want to learn how to master my powers.” I said, smiling.
