I had to write a short fiction story for my class.  I am super excited about it and wanted to post it. So here it is. (By the way, it still needs a title. Suggestions are welcome!!)

“Another day like this one and I might go crazy,” Aasia said, tiredly, rubbing her emerald-colored eyes.  It had been long and trying, and she was ready for bed.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t time for that yet.  She used her scarf to pull her curly, red hair back and out of her face. 

“It’s better not to dwell on it,” the old witch called Beccalynn told her.  Her grayed hair was mostly hidden by a brown, hooded cloak.  Her back hunched over so much that her head only reached Aasia’s waist and she relied on a wooden crooked cane to help her walk. 

“Could we take a break tomorrow?” Aasia asked her, hopefully.  She may have agreed to train with the old witch, but she didn’t realize it would be so challenging and it took all of her strength to keep going through with it.

The old witch was silent for a few long moments.  She finally said, “Garrett would not be pleased.”

“He’s not here for us to please or displease!” Asia protested.  “I promise, after one day’s break, I won’t complain again.”

“Just one day, then,” the old witch said, sighing.

“Thank you, Beccalynn.  Thank you so much!” Aasia said.  She wanted to hug her, but knew it would only cause the old witch more pain.

“Light the fire,” Beccalynn told her.

“Kiro!” Aasia said, pointing both hands toward the branches and sticks they had piled in the middle of their camp.  Instantly they ignited in a warm blaze.

“Hotter, please.”

Aasia pointed her hands at the fire again.  After a moment, the fire burned much hotter, the branches crackling loudly in the silence of the night.  The light danced off of Aasia’s pale, milky white skin.

“Better,” Beccalynn said, absentmindedly.  Her gnarled hands worked quickly at a knot in the rope they had stolen from the old man earlier that day.  “Move on to dinner, please.”  They thought they were in no danger of being caught now that the sun had set below the horizon.  The first moon was already high in the sky; the second would soon rise above the mountains, opposite where the sun had set.  Only the owls that could fly away were brave enough to move around in the open at night.

Aasia moved the large, black pot onto the fire and began preparing the porridge.  It was all they had to eat and all that they’d had on this trip.  Quietly and without complaint, Aasia spooned the porridge into their bowls and handed one to Beccalynn.  They each sat down on a log and began to eat.  “We should try to catch a rabbit or something one of these days,” she said.

“Snakes make delicious stew,” Beccalynn replied.  “That’s only if you have other things to put in with them, though.”

“You can find carrots and potatoes in the ground in the forest,” Aasia said, looking toward the blackness of the trees.

“Very unlikely around here.”

“We could at least try to find some,” Aasia pushed.

“Codroots are more likely,” Beccalynn continued as though Aasia hadn’t interrupted.  “You could find those and add them instead of carrots, since they taste similar.”

Aasia suddenly stood up from the log, dropping her bowl to the ground and spilling the remainder of the porridge.  “Zola is near,” she said, panicked. 

A sharp screech pierced the quietness of the night.  Zola came thundering past them on her horse.  The charms they set around the camp must have been working because she didn’t react to them or their fire.  She did slower her horse to a walk, though.

“Come!” Zola shouted, her white teeth nearly luminescent against her dark skin.  “Don’t hide from me any longer!”

“Get out your bow,” Beccalynn told Aasia.  “Follow carefully and shoot her.  Do not injure her.  You must kill her.”

Aasia pulled back on the bow and aimed the arrow at Zola.  “Higher,” Beccalynn told her.  “Remember, it will curve back.”  This bow was a special one, built only to work for Aasia. 

Just as she released the arrow, Zola yelled, “Kiro!”  The arrow ignited in flames and fell to the ground in ash.  “Let’s not play games, anymore.  Magic can’t hide you for long.”

Never in her two-hundred and sixty-three years had Beccalynn seen anything be able to penetrate her magic.  Of course, Zola was special and Beccalynn had trained her herself.  Zola was moving her horse slowly toward them, although she still wasn’t looking at them. 

“Push!” Beccalynn shouted to Aasia.

Aasia pushed with her mind, convincing the animal he was supposed to be elsewhere, causing him to turn and run, taking Zola with him.  Recently Aasia had learned to communicate with animals, after being led to Beccalynn by Garrett.

“What do we do now?” Aasia asked.

“We need to move,” Beccalynn said.  “Clearly she figured a way past some of the charms meant to keep her away.  It helps that she knows my magic.”

“Now?  But night has fallen,” Aasia said, looking at the stars that were starting to shine. 

“We will move to the shelter of the forest,” Beccalynn told her.  “The trees will protect us from any dangers, including Zola.”

“How?” Aasia asked.

“The trees are my friends,” came the simple reply.  With a wave of her hand, Beccalynn had their camp packed and they moved on.

 “How do you find codroots?” Aasia asked, continuing their conversation from earlier as they walked toward the trees. 

“You know them by the shape of the root that comes out of the ground.  I will help you find them,” Beccalynn told her. 

The old witch used her cane as support as they walked.  Aasia carried the pack that held all of their belongings, including the large black pot and all of their sleeping gear.  Beccalynn had enchanted it so it wasn’t too heavy for her to carry.

Aasia knew now that there would be no break tomorrow.  There probably wouldn’t be one for weeks to come.  They walked into the forest for most of the night before Beccalynn was satisfied.  She walked around in a large circle, disappearing out of view numerous times, muttering under her breath the whole time. 

When she came back, Aasia had a fire lit and the sleeping bags laid out.  “Let’s get some sleep,” Beccalynn said.  “In the morning we’ll find codroot and continue to the ruins.”

Aasia lied in her sleeping back on her back.  There was just enough of a break in the trees above her that she could see the stars.  She fell asleep with hope in her heart that they would find what they were looking for at the ruins.

I love this poem that my friend David wrote. So I had to share it.

Temperence

There is still some sunset left;
a sliver of undarkend sky.
Some glimmer of hope
that is, perhaps, a reminder
the sun will return.
(And, perhaps crisp the skin
and bleach the bones of the Earth.)

Especially here among the Rockies
where day and night are so precisely separated
and the seasons move ahead in jerks of temperature
there is some tendency to take sides
on this unending cycle beyond our control.

I think perhaps the ghost of temperance
now looks over my shoulder speaking
something between a whisper and a shout
looking for the ally I cannot be.

I am a product of the human race,
prone to my extremes of thought
and rash action, but I can strive.

So.  Today Noah and Ben were playing outside.  I thought Jeremy was outside with them, but apparently he wasn't.  He came upstairs and went to check on the kids.  They were not outside.  Noah has a friend in a cul-de-sac that's behind the house so Jeremy went to check there while I checked the house. No luck.  So I went to the front and went to a couple of his friends house.  Again, no luck.  I'm starting to panic.  I get on the scooter and go around the corner to another friends house...with no luck.  Bobbe (Jeremy's aunt) drove away to go look for them.  I know I'm too hysterical to get back on the scooter so I go to walk around the block while Jeremy hops on the scooter. 

 At this point it's been a good 20 minutes, maybe half an hour since they've been missing.  I talk to a few guys, one in his yard and one on a bike, to see if they'd seen the kids.  Nope.  So, I can't breathe, I'm crying hysterically.  I mean, they're only 4 and 2.  Where could they have gone?  All sorts of things are running through my head.  They wandered really far and are lost, got hit by cars, are hurt and scared, somebody took them.  I can't stop thinking this.  Then I see the park.  I wonder if they maybe had gone there.  On the way I call Jeremy.  I told him that if they weren't there, I was going to call the police.  When I get there...nothing.  I get even more hysterical and fall to my knees for a minute. 

Finally, I compose myself enough to dial 911 on my cell phone.  The lady answers and I'm so hysterical I don't even hear what she says so I have to make her repeat it.  I probably sound like an idiot.  But my kids are missing, so who cares?  So after she transfers me to the right place, the lady starts asking me questions.  I can barely talk because I can hardly breathe.  I've never been this hysterical or scared in my life.  Where are they? 

 The lady starts talking to dispatch just as Jeremy comes down the road on his scooter.  Did he find them?  Nope.  I can't help but picture poor little Ben so scared that he's crying and Noah holding his hand trying to comfort him.  I tell myself I have to calm down.  Doesn't help.  So I go to go back home.  I would have kept canvasing the neighborhood, but I figured a policeman was probably going to come to the house to talk to me.  So I go around the corner.  I'm still on the phone to dispatch.  Bobbe is coming up the opposite side of the road.  She starts honking her horns and flashing her lights.  Did she find them?  I think I see a kid in her front seat so I start running.  I get closer.  Yes!  Yes, she found them!  I'm even more hysterical now, because I'm so happy.  So the lady on the dispatch makes me stay on so she can find out where they were and if they're okay.  Apparently, they had gone to a lady's house who lives next door to one of Noah's friends because his friend couldn't play.  I THANK THE LORD AND ALL THAT IS HOLY for this woman.  She kept my babies safe when I didn't know where they were. 

I tell Bobbe she needs to go find Jeremy and let him know.  I can't stop hugging my kids.  They were gone for about 45 minutes.  Finally Jeremy shows up and I know he's mad.  The first thing he says to Noah is, "Where were you?" but the look on his face tells you how relieved he is, even though he's so mad. 

So that's my lovely drama of the day.  I have literally never been so hysterical that I couldn't breathe.  I have learned just how fast they can disappear.