The Red Rose

Chapter X

I rose as the sun's rays emerged, and I was exhausted. Gradually, the water was running out, and I was getting desperate, but seeing the flower in front of me made me feel calmer. Somehow, that single flower that seemed to sprout in the middle of nowhere reminded me of how amazing nature can be and how, even in the darkest moments and inhospitable places, the most beautiful and admirable things are forged.

"Damm, I'm becoming like dad," I thought as I smiled.

I gave a little water to that unique plant, and I remembered I had to get up; I had to find that bird that seemed to have trapped me in a magical loop.

"How the heck am I going to get out of here? Can I endure without water?"

I decided that running was already an energy drain; many days had passed, and I was really rationing what I could of water and food to avoid dehydration. Although the sun didn't bother me much, it annoyed me that even with all my great speed, I wasn't going to get out of here. I had the impression that this bird was going to punish me until I died, or learned the lesson.

"And what lesson am I supposed to learn?" I wondered.

I looked at all the gold and silver I had gathered and thought, "What good will all this do me if I might die?" So I grabbed the bags and emptied them. Anyone would think I was crazy, but I thought it could be a distraction, unnecessary weight and space for whatever I find on my journey to the Alicanto.

Sometimes I think about the reasons why I do all this, and how I became what I am. At first, I thought I was mainly the result of a wim from mom, which partially was, but I wasn't going to judge, not knowing how true life is in the place where she is from.

"Look, now bloodthirsty creatures are chasing after me, damn it," I muttered as I continued walking aimlessly through the desert.

Although my childhood wasn't the worst, it could always be worse. Many things bothered me. I just wished to be normal, go to school, hop on the PC to play with my friends, and do my homework.

Killing creatures wasn't my thing; it didn't give me the slightest bit of pleasure to do all this. But "What am I going to do? Cry? Run in circles until I get tired?"

I had to defend myself, learn to fight, and deal with all of this.

Other legendary heroes like Hercules, Beowulf, and even King Arthur started with quite epic lives, but also ended up pretty messed up.

From what I've read, Hercules went crazy and killed his family. To redeem himself, he had to kill a bunch of creatures and do stupid things like I do. Beowuf killed a monster and a dragon messed up his kingdom and died.

Achilles was practically dragged into a war he didn't give a damn about, won, suffered, and ended up dying.

"Theseus?" I thought.

The guy was a genius. Using a thread, he managed to hack practically the entire labyrinth and kill the Minotaur.

"Why give human flesh to a being that's half bull? Wasn't he supposed to be vegan? Bulls are vegans!" I laughed and joked about the absurdity of it all.

"Do gods exist? Were all those guys like me, or nothing more than legends? Why the heck didn't my mom told me more about it?"

Anyway, reflecting on all of this, I thought I should be grateful that I have my dad, my grandparents are okay, and the "divine" side of my family at least deigned to show up.

I looked at my sword and thought, "I still remember the vision of the man and the dragon. Could dragons also exist? It would be epic to have one as a pet; I'd name mine Spike."