_Part 03_

Pigeons swirl in abundance above that gray cloudy sky of that closed-bordered place.

A new day has begun in that small village with an ill-fated name, "Western Bow" Village. Where its residents spent their night in the main square until late in order to see the firecrackers and fireworks and enjoy a little the voices of singers emanating from the neighboring village of "Eastern Arch". While some took advantage of that gathering and the preoccupation of the people in the sequence there despite all the warnings and dangers on the way there.

Adam Rumah, the son of the village chief, was wiping the sweat from his brown skin and wet, raven hair. He bends the length of his skinny body to strike the hammer he holds in his hand on that old chair, his sharp, honey eyes focused sharply, while his childhood friend Talan sits on the floor writing in his book of poetry, his sea eyes wandering in his own world and his inspiration as the few rays of the sun make their way across Clouds settled over his pale white skin glistening.

So Adam sighed, interrupting his thoughts, saying:

-(I need extra wood to fix this chair and I can't find more).

Talan said:

-(This is because we no longer have it. All the rest of what we have been saving in the village store for all these years has ended, and most of the trees have been cut down and its wood is used in building commercial ships).

Adam was turning around thinking for a few moments, until he turned around to meet Talan, saying:

_(I know a place with lots of wood, but I'll need you to help me carry it).

Talan raised his eyebrows in surprise.

_ (Don't tell me that you are thinking of that forbidden place?) .

-(Do you still believe that after last night? It has been many years and this superstition runs through the generations. It is just a hoax invented by the ancestors of this village to scare us when we were children. Now we are sixteen years old and we can differentiate between what is true And what is a myth).

_( are you mad !? And why would the ancestors lie to us when they basically wouldn't do evil to us? Their only endeavor was to protect us from those witches or whatever those flaming, evil beings that lived around ).

-(Flaming beings and witches?? Stop your nonsense. If they really existed, they would have destroyed us a long time ago, and we wouldn't be here wandering around looking for wood. We also entered that place yesterday for the first time, if your memory does not betray you, and we didn't come across any dangerous being. On our way, even animals and do not inhabit it).

_ (We were just lucky yesterday. Like I wasn't even supposed to go with you. I followed you there just to make sure you were safe. I regret it now).

-( Whatever the reason.....).

Adam was about to complete his sentence, but Talan interrupted him, saying:

(Whatever the reason is, surely our ancestors concluded a peace truce with them or something similar, and it is our duty to preserve it as residents and the future of this village).

Talan was silent for a while, sighing, and then added:

-(You know about the painful experience that one of the elders of our village had in the past while trying to pass through the forest. He was just like you blind and obsessed with the idea of ​​getting out of here and discovering the forest. So I advise you to learn the lesson from his experience as everyone did before us).

Adam replied :

_(You are free to believe what you want, but I am tired of being trapped inside this village while all the other villages are enjoying their freedom. Wouldn't you like to leave this prison and go around the world?) .

Talan scratched his head and looked at Adam in astonishment. He doubted for a few seconds, then said:

-(What's wrong with you today? Did you hit your head while you were sleeping? Why are you thinking like this now?) .

Adam laughed lightly at his friend's joke, then replied:

-(It is the call of freedom, my friend, calling me. The entire universe is waiting for me to break the chains and wander it).

_(I know you're a wild boy, but you have to control your wings or they'll be cut off ).

Adam rolled his eyes with boredom, then started laughing like a fool at his friend's threat, so that Talan, too, started laughing like a fool.

The sky darkened, announcing the onset of night, and as people entered their homes, it was time for bed.

However, their sleep did not last long.

After one o'clock after midnight, a strong storm hit the village and its vicinity.

Some fragile homes were shaken and many of the stock carts were destroyed.

The storm was so strong that it terrified the villagers as never before.

Morning came, and all the people went out to check the conditions of the village, and they found chaos filling every corner and every place around them.

The cattle were lying on the ground, and many new insects, which they had never seen before, were curled up and feasting on them.

The dirt and rocks were everywhere on the fields and agricultural lands, and dust filled the air, in addition to the stench that emanated from the corpses of dead animals.

In view of this, Adam did not move a finger, as if he was waiting for this to happen and actually expecting it.

While everyone was living with the tragedy, they did not know what to do next, when they heard the screams of the village elders coming from the direction of the large ocean that surrounded them.

Adam and Talan moved quickly in the midst of that large crowd to see what was happening, and they were shocked by the horror of the scene.

All their ships and boats were wrecked and sunk in the waters of the ocean.

Some of them lying in front of the beach and the rest have no trace. And now that their only means of transportation has been destroyed, it has become almost impossible to bring goods and supplies or to move outside the village, which means that they have no way to trade either.

Conversations and whispers spread in the center of the village, and the people expressed their fear of the coming.

The leader of the village, Tamer Rumah, had nothing but to speak and propose solutions in a loud and audible voice to everyone:

-[Be quiet, everyone. We're going to start cleaning up this mess now and then start planting more to resupply. And later, unfortunately, we will have to demolish some houses in order to build factories in their place, but in order not to add to your concern, we will only demolish the fragile ones that were eroded by the storm... Every crisis and pass, right? ].

Everyone nodded to him despite their fears and applauded him, expressing their respect to him as their leader.

However, Adam's anger at this moment was greater than last night's storm.

He left the crowd quickly, followed by Talan and five of their fellow youths, who seemed worried about the state in which he had left. As soon as they were far from the crowd, Talan grabbed his wrist so tightly that he turned to face him.

_ (Where are you going in this state !?).

_( You know exactly where, Talan. I'm going to stop this farce that our people are doing and get them proof. Something useful instead of sitting here and just watching everything we have disappear ).

_ (Don't tell me you're still thinking of going to the forest and getting wood, because if you're really that stupid to go there you're only giving your life for nothing ).

The other boys opened their mouths in shock, and one of them with orange hair, pale skin, and medium height, spoke:

_ (I am with Adam. I do not believe in the myth about witches or whatever they are. I am ready to do anything to save this village whose people do not accept salvation).

Adam smiled and then said:

- (Good, so whoever wants to change and come with us, let him line up in front of me, and whoever is afraid and does not want, let him stay next to Talan).

Talan looked at him in disbelief then said:

_(Are you really going to do this to us? We don't even know what we're up against in that forest. There is only evil out there ).

Adam said:

-(And what if it is good? What if what you claim is true and they exist but are good? We did not even meet them before to judge them).

The boys began to nod their heads in support of Adam's words, and even those who were afraid of them lined up next to him.

Talan stood there in disbelief at what his comrades were doing, while Adam carried the ax with which he would cut the trees and the others followed him.

Then he turned around and asked for the last time directing his words to the one standing in front of him in disappointment:

-(This is the last time I will ask you Talan. Will you come with us to make a new history for this village, or not?) .

Talan thought carefully about the little time he had, and then replied:

(Of course not... I won't let you go without me. Live together or die together, remember?)

The comrades laughed at him and gave him an ax as well and headed to the forest while their parents were busy cleaning.

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