Myth Land (unedited)

XXXIII

The Baboon and his whom I assumed teacher's pet lost their smiles. Hyena and I had no idea how to react. Nobody loves anybody's confidence. Most creatures want you to be scared. They want you to feel threatened. They want to gain power by making others feel small and worthless so that they either bow down or be gone forever.

But Decorus was just being himself.

Hyena stepped forward with now her chin high and mind seemed to know what to do.

'Your name?'

'Rude must I have been for forgetting to introduce you to my number one winning candidate: Insulsus.'

Insulsus threw her biggest wicked smile. Specifically at me. Then said, 'Pleasure!'

'And dearest wolf, hyena, and hopeless, pathetic, tiny, powerless mouse, if I may know at what time your appointment with death is, I would like to directly send you to this person. Let's waste no more time.'

Decorus walked towards the Baboon and Insulsus.

'Dearest King. I think I forget to tell you. The one who has the appointment with death isn't me. It's you.'

He kept walking. Keeping his pace slow yet steady. The Baboon, however, was frozen. No fear was shown from his face, only emotionless stare. He stood still like a castle made of ice, or he might be trying to control his superiority complex and keep behave. Decorus didn't stop. He sneered even wider. It was between them, but I was the one who couldn't breathe. What should I do? Stop them? Do what Decorus was doing? Run? The only answer I could find was to make sure that I wouldn't make everything worse. Thus I stood far... Then without a warning, although predictable, when he was to jump into the Baboon with his horrendous teeth shown—glistening and sharp...

'DECORUS!!!'

Insulsus hurdled from his side, but Hyena was the best feline I had ever met. She leaped and hit Insulsus with her head. Insulsus' much tinier body than Heyna's fell on her back. Hyena landed on her body.

In a glimpse, Hyena stomped her paw onto that small body. Flatted yet turned it into small cubes of flesh. Becoming one with the ground. Then she ran alongside the stream which connected to the sea as we planned.

At the same time, Decorus managed to strike the Baboon down. He planted his sharp teeth on the Baboon's chest and eyes a couple times. Taking away his left eyesight for the rest of his life.

Decorus left with a jump and ran to follow Hyena.

'Pearl! Run! Now!'

My feet were shaking without me knowing the reason why. But I ran anyway. I passed the two bleeding bodies, and then ran even faster. I breathed snow, but the sun was madly shining above our heads. My lungs was tied with thorns. I didn't know what happened. At that point I heard footsteps, so I turned my head to see. To see. To see that the Baboon came back to live and ran after me.

So I ran.

I ran quicker.

I couldn't feel my tail whipping.

I couldn't feel my paws.

I couldn't see anything but an abstract realistic visions.

Faster...

But my feet were too small to run faster than the Baboon.

But what do I deserve? What do I deserve to get out from this land? The ones who had been fighting and surviving, wasting all of their energies, not having enough sleep, obeying the mentors, faking attitude and smiles, bending their neck to show respects; are Decorus and Hyena. So what do I deserve? And why did I keep on running?

I could hear the footsteps. The running steps.

Louder... And louder... And clearer...

The drumming sound of him running was pinching and stabbing my eardrums...

Wounding my chest.

Disabling my breath...

So I looked behind me to countdown the seconds of my death.

He was near. Indeed.

But someone was running fast like a flash behind him. A familiar gesture. An acquainted figure.

'SPHYNX!!!'

'KEEP RUNNING! PEARL!'

Thus I ran faster. It was as if the wind lifted me up and pushed me forward. My body felt lighter than ever. Just a few steps. A few more steps to reach Decorus and Hyena.

But why do I feel like there were more animals present than us...

Why do I feel like someone is watching...

'Pearl! Hurry up! Twenty seconds until the whales arrives! They never miss the schedule!' Hyena's voice dragged my soul to the front, but not my body.

I can't...

I'm not going to make it...

I can still sense the warmth his furry huge body getting closer to my tail...

To say good bye, I lift my chin to see my last two friends staring at me with hopes. With the invisible clocks surround us ticking offensively. With their paws trying to reach me as they stepped backwards to the now no longer hidden sea.

I could see a huge round-like figure coming close.

I stopped my step to surrender.

I took a long, deep breath.....

Suddenly someone bit me hard on the neck, but gentle enough not to stick the fangs into my flesh. Then threw me like a Frisbee to the sea.

Whilst spinning I could see. It was she. With her eyes swollen and red. With her feet thinner than a dandelion's stem. With her ears bleeding. Yet she smiled at me. She was a withered willow tree saving me with its last strongest feeble branch.

Sphynx threw me to the sea, and my tears finally fell and washed away by the wind as I kept spinning. And I cried harder even I saw... in a blur... the Baboon crushed her with his fists. Breaking her already weakened bones. But the shape of her body was still visible. How. How can a person who had spent twenty days with me died in front of my eyes twice?

-tsl

­Much love,
The Sunflower Lady