Pinnikle: The Lost Truth

4: Of bravery, captivation, and love

Recorded by Finnegan Lionhartt,
Of magical events which took place between the 14th-21st of Radia, year of Pinnikle: 1,216.

"Daring things are accomplished in daunting times, making me into the stuff of stories that may never be told to many, but only to the few who are deemed worthy."

— Words from a magic bed-time story book mother would read from.

After a night of fond dreams, I woke up to the sound of gentle wind. The sun peeked through the little hut and I stretched, covering my eyes. As I wriggled about, I heard the crumpling of a note tucked under me.

"Sophie," I called out to my sister.

"Wh- whaaaat!?" She said through a yawn as she woke.

"Mom n' dad left us a letter! Maybe it will tell us last night was only a wild dream!"

She crawled out of her bed, scuffled over to crawl on my mine, and leaned on me. I read the letter to her:

"The outside says, 'procured from the forest by Jack - these are your parent's last thoughts. I penned them for you, because I felt you should have them,'".

A tear dropped from my eye, and I open the tri-fold letter to continued reading:

Finnegan & Sophia Lionhart,

Beautiful children, we've gone to a place we cannot come back from... Do these things with all your might: guard your bravery, be captivated by every small thing that stirs gratitude, and never, ever cease to love. We love you. Even though we've had to be leaving, you'll find that when you close your eyes on a starry night - that's every night - we'll be there.
P.S. Don't forget about the hourglass.
— Jack

I looked about our little hut, lit by rays of sunlight through the stick walls. Untidy stardust and strange fine sand was scattered all about the place! My eyes were drawn to the hourglass on its side by Sophie's bed. She had already been staring at it since the "P.S." of Jack's letter.

"Big brother... do you think it still works?" she asked.

"We'll try it," I replied.

The two of us slipped off my bed, and sat on the floor beside the hourglass. I turned it, and... nothing. Sophie tried as well, and there was no apparition of our parents. The sandman had only left us alone with a paper weight (the hourglass) and a mess of sand which had dusted off his body!

Sophie and I began to feel burdens no one should carry, especially not children. We were alone. There was no giant guardian star at the door, and Tryn was nowhere to be found. The sandman was not there to cheer us up or explain what to do next. We had been abandoned.

Overwhelmed by sorrow, we began to cry. I shed the first tear, not knowing how to hold in such sorrow. Then Sophie leaned into my chest, and wailed. For a long week, we stayed  in our parent's home and grieved. The village hadn't the slightest idea that our parents had gone missing. Meanwhile,  every other inhabitant of Luca celebrated the quick coming and ceasing of nightmares with music, dancing and feasting! All the while, my sweet sister and I wept and began to wither. We did not have food. Even if we had: we were not in the right mind to feed ourselves.

After a week of going on like this, I woke up early one morning before dawn to find Sophie on the ground... She was hardly breathing. Her eyes were closed, and she was weak. I nudged her shoulder, and lifted her little wrist, but it just fell on the floor where she lay. My sister was dying! Though some believe it was starvation, I perceived it as certainty that Sophie was dying of a broken heart. Love is a thing meant to be cherished always: When it is suddenly gone, even the bravest are left to wither - let alone children.