The Child Of Verdeth

A mischievous breeze playfully blew the leaves of a towering oak tree. Trees encircle away from this mighty giant, giving off an aloof aura of serenity on the beautiful flower field in its vicinity.

The wind blew down its aged bark, carrying the earthy scent of oak to its roots where a boy slumbers.

The boy grumbled as the wind caress his face, his light brown hair frames his soft slumbering expression, contorting with his grumble.

Stirring restlessly under the tree’s foliage till comfort found the boy as he slipped further back into his slumber.

“Got you!!!” a voice shrilled in his ear, the boy bolted up screaming.

“Stay away!”

To his confusion, he found himself alone, yet he felt terror shook him to the core and muddled his mind, misting his hazel eyes with tears, perplexing him.

‘I’m scared?!’

The boy thought as tears continued to fall. Hand resting on his chest, cold sweat dripped down on his forehead as he composed himself, the emotion still lingering in his thumping heart.

He doesn’t understand why… why he’s feeling helpless, crippling him as if he was drowning in cold depths, alone and miserable.

“What happened?” the boy raised his head.

His hazel eyes widen upon where he awoke at. The fear within them was now forgotten as they glistened with the vibrance of the sight before him.

Flowers of the shades of blue and purple vibrantly welcome their beholder, as they showed their intricate curvy petals blooming in the midday sky.

The ever so playful wind sways the petal of the flowers, like dancers moving with their swerving dresses to allure the beholders with their grace.

The gentle breeze blew at him, carrying the tempting somnolent scent of the flowers that made him want to return to his slumber.

But a realization struck him, taking the drowsiness from him.

“Where am I?!”

His high-pitched voice disrupted the peace of the field. Panic rose in his mind again, vision muddling yet again as his composure shook.

Grasping his head as tried his hardest to remember any semblance of a memory of himself. To his dismay, his mind’s wiped clean. His endeavor resulted in a headache, groaning from the ache as he still tries his hardest to remember.

The oblivion frightened him by the second, worsening the state he’s experiencing.

The heart in his chest kept pounding louder to the point he could only hear his pulse, deafening the birds’ melodious songs. He grasped his chest once again to placate his heart but felt an object underneath his loose white shirt.

The boy grabbed onto the object.

In his palm was a golden pendant tied to a simple linen string. He looked at the trinket closely.

The outer cover was designed meticulously, the edges were designed with small fancy patterns that curve and edges every so often like intertwining vines would. Embedded at the center was a blue gem that changes color whenever he tilts the object.

“Whoa…” the boy awed at the gem.

Staring at it too long, a thought bloomed within his mind. That this object holds the answers to why he’s here.

The trinket creaks when he fondled it with his fingers.

Fussing as he presumingly broke the object that could’ve been his only means of identity. But calmed down eventually, when he realized that it was just opening.

There was something inside, the moment he glanced at it was forever etched to the boy’s memory.

Inside was a tiny blue crystal, emitting a yellow tip. Floating on some black liquid substance that refuses to settle even if he stood still.

The object made his curiosity rose when the needle starts rotating and stop, pointing east as the tip glowed yellow. As if his panic never happened, the boy gave the item his undivided attention.

He saw a message etched inside.

‘Beware!’

Normally an ordinary person would follow the warning out of fear. But the boy was even more curious when he read the message. He took an interest in the thing and didn’t heed to the message, rather his thoughts were musing at the significance of the object was pointing at.

‘What if I follow? What will I find? Treasure?’

The boy mused as he stare at the crystal. Constantly pointing in the same direction, unhindered by the stirring fluid.

His curiosity and naivety brought his brain into thinking the possibility of following it would yield him answers, which made the thought of following it appealing.

‘But what if someone’s looking for me? Should I stay?’ the rational part of the boy’s brain argue.

Frowning as he contemplated, he weigh his options.

Logically he should stay, not because he has to wait for someone to find him, but because it is much safer to stay here than explore the unknown forest ahead.

But the thought of finding out what’s waiting for him was tempting, and for some reason, he feels compelled to follow it. He was like a moth would to a flame, he knows it’s dangerous out there, but the temptation was pulling him.

The sound of his stomach rumbled, silencing his rumination.

‘I’ll starve if I stay.’ the boy thought as he held in his hunger.

Standing up, he opened the trinket again and heads east. Deciding to leave to look for food, and see where the object’s pointing at.

He left the trees safe foilage, ignorant of the sight of a gashing claw mark that scarred the bark of the mighty tree above his head.