"In the eternal darkness, light will appear and rule over the forgotten land."
Eldonia village lay in the shadow of Dragon's Horn Mountain. Its peak pierced the sky, giving a colossal and extraordinary sensation. The village was surrounded by large forests, resembling great wolves towering over 20 feet high. Beneath one of these giants, a shadow of a young boy could be seen chasing another, while a third person lay watching the sky.
“Aryk, if you can’t catch Ragner in twenty seconds, you’ll lose and we’ll be his slaves for the day. Can you try harder?” Lilya’s voice carried a playful smile.
Aryk began to breathe deeply, increasing his speed to catch up with his brother Ragner.
“You can’t catch me, Aryk, not with that weak body of yours. You look like a snail,” He laughed, keeping his distance from his brother.
“You know, Ragner, even though you have a much stronger body than mine, you lack something.”
Ragner asked, looking at Aryk, “And what is it that I’m missing, Mr. Snail?”
Aryk whispered, “Your brain,” and then started running faster.
Ragner turned and prepared to run but froze when he heard his brother’s shout: “Ragner, watch out! A snake!”
He froze, holding his breath and looking around for the snake. Then Aryk touched his brother’s back, laughing, “I told you, you’re missing your mind. We’re on the east side of the forest, and there are no snakes here.”
Ragner’s face reddened with embarrassment as he turned toward his sister Lilya.
“Lilya, that’s cheating, right?” He said in an exasperated tone.
“Not exactly. You’re just dumb, and Aryk took advantage of that. I guess there will be no wrestling today. We’ll go to the market to buy Aryk a gift.”
“That’s not fair. It’s our birthday today, but we’ll only buy one gift. We made this silly game to decide who gets it.” He angrily complained
“It’s okay, Ragner, you’ll have your chance next year. Now, with the thirty gold coins Mom gave us, we’ll buy me a gift.”
Then the three siblings left the forest and headed to the village.
---
Eldonia was a small but crowded village. Thanks to the great Dragon’s Horn Mountain, other tribes couldn’t attack this village, leading many people to seek shelter there, and over time, the shelters turned into homes.
As they entered the western side of the village, the smell of earth and meat was evident. Loud noises could be heard. As always, the market section of the village was packed with people trying to sell their goods. Despite the narrow roads and lack of security, the three children managed to reach the center of the market in search of a gift.
The market center was the busiest area. Many people brought their goods there to sell because most of the wealthy residents of the village lived there. With almost modern homes, repaired roads, and security everywhere, it was very different from other parts of the village.
“We won’t find anything good or exciting for Aryk; he simply doesn’t like anything,” Ragner said in a frustrated tone, looking to his sister for suggestions.
“Don’t worry, Ragner, you have Lilya today. I’ll make sure you don’t bring a dead chicken as a gift like last year,” Lilya responded, laughing. “I think Ragner thought that saying ‘I haven’t had chicken in a long time’ gave him an idea.”
With tears of laughter in his eyes, Aryk spotted the fortune teller’s shop from the corner of his eye.
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Pointing to the shop with a smile, he said, “Guys, I have the perfect gift idea.”
“If we go there and see our fortune, I’ll give up the thirty gold coins and buy the famous chocolate cake that costs fifteen gold. What do you think?”
Imagining the taste of chocolate cream on his tastebuds, Ragner agreed, but Lilya objected.
“Mom always tells us not to trust those people, Aryk. There’s no such thing as fortune-telling; it’s a scam. It’s better to use the gold for something good.”
Knowing his sister would object, Aryk played his trump card.
“I’ll give you 5 gold if you agree.”
Lilya looked at her brother with a calm face. “Make it seven, and you’ve got my approval.”
Then Aryk gave Lilya seven gold coins and started laughing.
“I guess money can buy you anything in this world, huh?”
Ragner then turned to his brother and asked for a gold coin as well.
Aryk gave Ragner one gold coin. “I still haven’t told Mom how you stole 5 gold coins to buy that soda.”
Scared, Ragner took the coin and headed for the door.
---
Knock Knock
An old woman’s voice responded to the knock. “You can come in.”
Aryk entered the shop, looking around. A dark room illuminated by a glass lamp in the center, skulls everywhere, and tarot cards on the table. The ceiling was covered with spider webs, and there were no windows or anything, just a back door behind the table at the back of the room.
A strange scent of roses emanated from the woman standing before them.
“Five gold for a fortune reading. Ten for the future. And two for a coin’s heart.”
Lilya frowned at the prices. “Madam, how can we trust your methods? Five gold is a lot.”
The old woman sensed Lilya’s doubt in her voice.
“Well, my dear, or should I say Lilya, I’m sure my methods are accurate and reliable. If you don’t find them satisfactory, you can get your money back.”
Lilya fell silent at the response. Despite their chaotic entry into the shop, the siblings had not used their names in front of the old woman. Aryk took five gold coins from his pocket and handed them over.
“I need all three of you to hold hands and touch the lamp without removing your hands, no matter what happens.”
After placing their hands on the cold lamp, the old woman examined it closely.
“I can see… I see a small tree growing over time. It has three branches. One branch grows faster and reaches the sky. One branch descends. It died but grew as a separate tree. The third branch twists and turns between the other two branches. Eventually, the three branches meet to form a flower.”
Unable to hold back their laughter, the three siblings began to laugh. Ragner was the loudest.
“So we’re branches and will form a flower when we grow up. Am I a lemon tree or maybe an orange tree?” He asked in a sarcastic voice
Aryk stood silent, and Lilya stopped smiling out of respect for the old lady. They thanked the old woman and left, carrying Ragner, who couldn’t stop laughing.
“I hope these children stay as they are now.”
The old woman watched the children with tears streaming from her eyes. “Fate is real, children.”
---
At home, Fatima was waiting for her children’s return. She was surprised to see the famous chocolate cake in Aryk’s hand and asked about it. He began to explain all the details of the day, but he didn’t mention the fortune-telling.
After that, they returned 12 gold coins to their mother and made up stories about the other 17.
Then the birthday celebration began.
Before eating the cake, the family put their hands together and began to pray.
“Today we thank Gods for this beautiful day and for keeping our family together. Let’s hope that the Tree of Life and the great Dragon grant us strength for a wonderful future and keep us safe.”
As they said this, Ragner wanted to take the biggest piece of cake, but Aryk beat him to it. Their mother and Lilya laughed while watching the brothers squabble.
---
After the birthday party ended, the three siblings went up to their room. Lilya and Ragner went to sleep immediately, but Aryk did not. He lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Then he got up and searched under his bed for his journal.
---
Day 90
Today, I won the annual forest race against Ragner. He looked so dumb after discovering there were no snakes in the area we were in.
Then we went to a fortune teller who tricked us for five gold coins.
I mean, I think she did.
She talked about the tree with three branches.
It was strange because part of me was laughing while another part felt a strange sensation... a feeling of familiarity? Like I’ve seen that tree before. But I think I’ve seen many trees in my life.
Today, I hope I can dream again of something simple and not that dream again. It’s been 90 days since I started dreaming of dreams I can’t remember what happened in. I’ll make sure to write down anything that happens as soon as I wake up. I don’t want to worry Mom.
I hope tomorrow will be a good day.
---
After closing his journal, Aryk placed it under his bed and prepared to sleep. After closing his eyes, Aryk opened them in a dark, misty place. In the intense darkness, a light could be seen moving by itself.
Aryk couldn’t move and had no choice but to watch the light dance across the dark space while a melody began to play. The light continued to move back and forth, leaving a trail of illumination that brightened the dark, enclosed space. With each blink, the light form drew closer until the light stopped moving and vanished.
In the quiet family home, Aryk stood staring into space with a blank expression, not blinking or breathing, his eyes fixed on a corner of the room as if looking into another room he could only say one word before falling asleep "tree"