The Path (part 1)

Nothing is left.

Not a single trace of life could be found. Ruins lie on the deserted ground, abandoned by all its life forces. Even the trees refused to hold on to their remains and allowed it to rot under the scorching sun.

"What…What happened here?" A young boy fell onto his knees. A place that should be filled with joy and happiness is now lifeless. Skeletons that lie without a grave could be able to understand the boy’s feelings. They are only as empty as he is.

"The war… It’s real. The military ordered everyone from our tribe to be terminated. Heaven knows what they are thinking. " An elderly lady muttered to the boy, moving towards the skeletons. She showed no tenderness to the boy, only to leave him alone to dry his tears. An entire tribe being wiped out, no home for them to return to, how could anyone withstand this pain?

The boy grasped a handful of sand and tossed it at the old lady. His furious eyes behind the tears are full of hate for her.

"Why must everyone be killed? How many families must the military kill in order to satisfy their greed? Tell me!" The boy screamed.

"They’ll never stop killing. Soon, they will rebel against each other, making the same foolish decision that would mark their end." The old lady sighed.

"So that was why you left the military! Came back to be one of us, and flee from those murderers to avoid being killed yourself! Now you did not even bother to save this tribe!" The boy cursed the old lady.

She grew silent. She knew that she did not have enough time to quarrel with the boy. He was too young to understand anything. She watched the tribe grew and now, it is dead, lying in front of her without a reason.
****************

The old lady dug her spade into the dried sand. It was only her first grave, but the boy had already dug four. He marked each of the graves with a wooden stick, or anything that he can find on the ground. So much for the old age that wears people out.

"Let’s retire for today." The old lady sighed, but the boy did not even respond. She gazed at the moon and guessed that it was about midnight.

"If you continue on, there will be no end. We did not even build a tent for ourselves. There will be no way to stand through the cold night…" Before she could finish her sentence, the boy cut in, "Then you stop and make a tent."

She sighed, but left. She shuffled to a cliff nearby, where a tunnel could be seen under the dim moonlight. Even if there were no light, she would still know that there was one. With a snap of her fingers, the tunnel instantly disappeared. In its place is now a structure of a house made of stone. She touched the doorframe, allowing plants to sprout leaves, branching out to form a door. The young leaves suddenly turned brown and hardened to become wood. A complete wooden door with a handle is formed.

"Complete." The old lady went into the house, leaving the boy to continue the tedious work. Drops of hot perspiration dripped from his face. He kneeled on the ground; it was now impossible to hold on anymore. How long is this going to continue?

The boy opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground, with a quilt made of leaves providing warmth for him. The air was crisp although the sun could be seen in the north. The boy got up and looked around him. There were smoke coming from the nearby tunnel, and it smelt of roasted meat. That was enough to make his stomach groan with hunger. Left with no choice, he went to have breakfast.

The old lady sat beside a roasted pig. The skin of the boar had turned to a delicious-looking golden-brown. The old lady took the boar away from the tip of the fire, putting it beside her.

"You really need to regain your strength after collapsing yesterday. The cold would have killed…" The old lady began.

"I just wanted to take a break and thanks for the blanket." The boy said sarcastically, knowing that the old lady was right.

"Fine, eat up." The old lady twisted a leg and gave it to him. He immediately gobbled it down without any hesitation.

"A boy is still a boy," The old lady teased, laughing it off as a joke. The boy glared at her, muttering, "At least I am not as heartless." She sighed.

"But you can do after finishing the graves? This tribe is still gone…And there is no way you can bring it back. Even if you do, the military will have it eliminated. They have their reasons for doing certain things too. " The old lady said out of a blue.

"…Then the military shall fall. I’ll revive my tribe and you, stay out."

"How are you going to do that?"

"…"

The boy was speechless. Creating a tribe is no easy matter. Although it once existed, but all its remains were destroyed by the military.

At this thought, he cursed the military. But there must be some way… At least… Suddenly, his eyes brightened up. The boy remembered that there is a way.

"So?" The old lady asked, sensing that he figured out something.

"The oracle! The one in the legends! He will gave me a wish if I went to him…" The boy almost yelled out of excitement.

The old lady bit her lips with those remaining yellow teeth.

"That…Will never work." It was all that she managed to speak.

"But…"

"What you are asking for is against the laws of this world! Asking for the return of something that is dead… It’s a crime that is unforgivable!"

"The laws of this world? Who cares? As long as I get what I want… It will be fine with me!"

The old lady tried to make him change his ideas.

"How can one brat like you… Who can’t even his name… Do something so foolish!" The old lady turned angry.

"I only have to go to the oracle and make a wish! That’s simple! My memory will come back some day… I must have parents who are waiting for me… Loving parents…" Tears whelmed up in his eyes; he felt so foolish to forget his family. Now he could not even feel their love… But soon they will return to him, he was sure.

"You… remember… The place where I found you? It was all ruins when I came, and it was a miracle that you survived… So please… At least bring back the tribe without the Oracle’s powers…" The old lady begged him.

"I survived… And that’s why I must revive our tribe! Going to the Oracle is the only way!" The boy exclaimed.

"Fool! Do you know how many people died on their way to find him… How many tortures they have to go through? All they can get is one wish, a wish that will be the greatest crime!"

"Crime! The military is the one who does all these crimes! There is no such thing as the laws of this world!"

The old lady could only stare at him. She knew that his determination was too great for her to convince him. He was a goner now.

"Fine. Leave at once. Go to the oracle and revive the tribe. You must make sure that everything comes back to normal. Then the laws of this world will show you. They will turn their back towards you and abandon you."

"Who needs those laws to follow me!" The boy stomped away, taking all his unpacked belongings along.

The old lady did not even try to stop him.

"They’ll abandon you like how they abandoned me, Ven." The old lady muttered, as a gust of wind turned her into sand and carried it away.
(To be continued)