By: Amanda

Amanda — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 00:19:47 +0000

This is really great! I love it!

By: Lucas Petersen

Lucas Petersen — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:16:05 +0000

Vanishing Village
It was a brilliant and sunny day. The sun was shining high in the center of the sky, as if reaching the peak of its progress during the day. Wind was calm and all was ordinary in the small village of Biscayne deep in the forest of trees with no name. Unid, the village shaman, had been hard at work all day healing unique injuries and speaking with the earth spirits over the problems with farming and hunting. The village is having a shortage on food due to crop spoils and unsuccessful hunting missions due to disruptive noises. Unid was on the clock working all hours attempting to communicate with the earth spirits over the dilemma.
Unid was a simple man of forty moons and was the youngest shaman in the history of their small village. He had come into the position at the end of the last full moon when the past shaman disappeared in a tree healing ceremony. Unid had a large family with a wife Eunit with five boys and girls. He was a big family man before he took on the job of shaman and got washed away in the workload. His family life then began to suffer and his wife and children were left out like garbage in the rain. As family life took the back seat Unid moved forward in his daily job and after one hard day at work went to take a light nap out under the poonta tree just outside the village boundaries. Mother earth had told him it was time to refuel and renew his bond with the spirits.
During his nap the skies grew dark and the wind grew fierce, yet still Unid slept. All around him the earth was preparing something great; all whilst her messenger is napping. At the signs of his awaking all stopped, as if commanded by the hand of God, and Unid’s eyes opened to reveal the peaceful landscape in which he had left to journey into the dream realm. He had very tantalizing dreams of his greatness through the powers of the earth and becoming the greatest shaman ever. As he walked groggily back to the village he saw that no one was out and about so they must be in a community meeting in the circle of trees at the center of the village. As he made his way there, still a little sleepy, he began to observe that there was really no one anywhere. He looked inside a few house and could not find a single soul. Making his way faster and faster to the circle of trees he arrives and the place is a crypt of silence. His worry grows and grow, as he runs home to find his wife and children. At his hut nothing can be found no sign of a struggle or an evacuation it looks as if everyone has just vanished.
Unid’s mind seemed like a baby bird in mid-flight falling on its first attempt. He could think of nothing but of how this might affect his look to the people as his job as shaman. The disappearances could be from his lack of skill as a shaman, and the earth could be punishing him for his incompetence. As Unid went and searched through the village for any signs of life he found a trail of leaves blown in place by the wind and they seemed as if to lead somewhere. Following his instincts he followed the trail on an on through the forest until he came upon a clearing filled with blood red trees with the sparkle of dew on there tips. This filled Unid with fear of the worst seeing the leaves as a sign of the death of his people. He dropped to the floor doing anything in attempt to speak with the earth about the signs, but he could get no response. As fear flooded his thoughts and emotion clouded his mind his body started to freak out. He began to shiver like crazy, and his left eye would twitch to an unknown rhythm of the forest breeze. He began to think about curling up and dying right there in the circle of trees, but his mind immediately changed subjects.
From thoughts of self-pity and depression images of good and life appeared within the confines of his head. Pictures of his family formed in his mind, and out of his sadness grew a small ball of warmth deep inside him. The shivering subsided and his eye began to blink in rhythm with his own body. With every happy thought Unid began to grow warm with the fervor of a raging lion. Memories of time spent with family and friends within the village fueled his internal fire and his flame grew to compare to none other that the sun. The wave of emotion began to fade, and a clear minded man stepped out not into a clearing surrounded by red but by trees of a vibrant green. His fear was now over and he could speak with the spirits of the earth in an attempt to find the truth. Instead of a search to protect his position, he was now on a mission to find his family and those that had loved him before he gained he power. His eyes began to grow heavy and the canopy began to spin in hues of green and red and yellow. His family flashed before his eyes as he fell to the soft, moss laden floor, and all went black.
A few moments later Unid awoke under the same poonta tree in which he had awoken hours before. With new thoughts on his mind he raced back to the village like a rhino in its charge, looking for a sight of his people. He gets back to the village and yet again no one to be found. He walks into the center of the village and screams to the heavens, “Where are they and why have you taken them?” At the sound of his screaming out of the side trees emerges his youngest son Emite. He looks at his father and tears fill his eyes as he runs to his father and jumps into his arms. His wife soon follows and the rest of his children, as the whole village emerges from within the trees looking for their lost member. His family runs to him and he begins to cry. He kneels and his wife kneels with him helps him to his feet and says, “ You shall never be alone. We are always here and we shall love you forever,” Happiness spreads through out his body and he hugs his wife in a grip so tight nothing could break it. He then hugs each of his children in turn and whispers in their ears, “I love you so much and never will work come first.” As he tells them this smiles break out over their faces and they slowly walk back to the hut as one big family. A man steps from the crowd and grabs Unid by the arm and asks, “Where have you been we’ve been searching for you for three hours?” Unid replies in a clam and understanding tone, “I have been in the presence of important spirits who taught me that I have not know what I was missing until it vanished. Now I truly know what is important.” He looks back at his family and smiles.

Comments on: Short Story Topics – Vanishing Village

By: Amanda

By: Lucas Petersen