English assignments

Story 3, Flum (my D&D character)

I remember it so clearly. Now I associate that day with grief and loss. The only things I established at that moment were emotions I've never experienced before. Now I realize that the moment that acted as the resource for the past years of pain was required for me to gather and earn the strength I am equipped with now.

I was out in the backyard, I remember. If I was to obtain some of the animals' companionship or to monitor our food supply, I allowed myself to forget. After I had finished my oh-so important operation, I went on re-entry back into the house we shared.

The house wasn't inhospitable, but we weren't the richest of elves either. I had always attributed the cause to myself. People spoke ugly of me. Consequently, they spoke ugly of my mother. I had made it my mission to help her advance on her work experience.

We were happy. We loved each other, despite our differences. We always pulled towards each other. Like an orbit, her the earth, me the moon. Nothing could have prepared me for the change of atmosphere that radiated from my home.

When I had walked past the curtains that hung in front of the doorway, I called for her. Approximately the time it took for a single drop of water to descend later, my smile had dropped onto a frown. A shiver ran down my spine, a quiet yelp had escaped me.

I had grabbed the lid of a cooking pan, still dirty from last night's dinner, to shield myself from the upcoming danger. I made my voyage a game, looking for her. Leaping over cracks in the floor and rolling past potted plants as if they were about to slay me any moment. Nothing could have prepared me.

I had hidden myself. I had shielded myself from the responsibility of the situation. I only left the comfort of my hiding spot for emergencies. I never dared to look into her room.
Shortly after I had persuaded myself to leave my spot for the first time, fear converted into anger.

I blamed myself, still do. I considered myself a failure in her life. The cause of her demise. She hated me, I told myself. I hated me, my dad would have hated me, the entire universe hated me.

After I descended down the stairs that day, I had decided to leave. I told myself I would become an explorer, to avenge my mothers death! I quickly gave up on that and ended up crying at the side of a pond in the forest.

I sat on the surface of the Earth's waterlogged dirt as tears streamed down my face and yells for help echoed over the lake. The ripples in the water calmed my nerves and distracted me from the chill that dawned over me.

I felt less frightened as I lay in the grass near the water. The galaxy wrapped around my mind as the cold vanished from my worry. I felt my eyelids touch down when the lunar sight faded from view.

I was woken up by a stick being thrust into my side. I see now how irresponsible it was for me to lie in the middle of the forest. I woke up with a jolt and lifted myself off the ground.

"Hello there young one," a soft spoken voice said. "You're one-of-a-kind!" He looked rather old, in human years. He wore loose drapery and held the staff he poked me with in his left hand.

"What are you doing here, my boy?"

I didn't speak. I I had yet to advance my sense of identity and self pride. What was I doing there? I ran towards adventure! Or did I scurry away to escape confrontation?

The man noticed my hesitance, but questioned me further. "What's your name, then?"

I knew the answer to this one! My mother had always said that she liked my child's name, that she had chosen it with careful consideration.

"Flum,"  I answered rapidly, making sure he heard I had nothing else to say.

He stared at me, puzzled but excited. "What in mankind! You are the boy we are looking for!" He grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me around. I had no idea what was going on.

Upon his mention of being with others, I noticed the girl my age standing near a tree, picking at its bark. I found she looked rather picturesque. As I continued to gaze at her, the man continued.

"I know your father-" I didn't- "he sent us here!" He let go of my shoulders and gestured to a group of people I had not noticed before.

"He assigned me to take you with us to our camp," He continued when he focussed on me.

"Where we ration our supplies and tell folklore about our solar system and cosmic wonders." The sound of a gentle but shrill voice drew my attention. It came from the tree that was missing its bark. She had said more with that sentence than I could with an entire book. She described something I had longed for so long.

She described a home.