The crackling sound of the fire filled the silence as they waited in anticipation for the evening’s story. Dry leaves crunched under shuffling feet as the last few hurriedly found a seat near the storyteller and squeezed in as close to him as they could get.
Slowly, as if every move caused him great pain, the storyteller gently lowered himself onto the sacred stone and gestured for their attention. He needn’t have worried. Every set of eyes were trained on him and every breath hushed as they waited for him to speak.
“What story shall I tell you tonight?” the storyteller half whispered into the dark. “Shall I tell you once again of how we began?”
One look at the faces crowded around the fire told him what he needed to know.
“I can see this is a story which must be told again so the old can remember it, and the young can learn to never forget it.
Many moons ago…on such a night not unlike this one…the great Creator came to us. He was known as the first of our kind. The first born with the ability to shapeshift.
The elders of his time feared his coming for it was foretold one such as he might bring with him the dark times. So they tried to end a life before it had a chance to begin. But the love of a mother was far greater than any threat to one born of her body.”
The storyteller paused to catch his breath. Feeling a faint stirring beginning deep within him, the storyteller paused a moment to savor the moon’s calling before forcing himself to turn back to the faces so patiently waiting.
His whispered voice reached out to caress the group as he continued, “A mother’s blood was the sacrifice given in order that the baby might live. And with her last breath, the Creator’s mother cursed the people of the village, swearing there would come a day when our race would rule this land. From that day forward, the elders swore to hunt down and kill the thing they now called a monster.”
“But what ever happened to the Creator?” One of the youngest in the group howled.
He could feel the calling rising stronger within him. It had been many moons since he felt it heat his blood.
Many moons since he ran through these woods to keep ahead of the hate chasing him. Ignorance of the unknown too often led some to strike out at him in fear. If only they had given him a chance to prove the prophecy wrong. If only they hadn’t torn the most treasured thing from his life so long ago.
If only things had been different.
Giving into the calling now beginning to race through his veins, the storyteller slowly stood up and looked up at the full moon peaking through the treetops before answering, “That, my young friend, is a story for another time. But for now, it’s time to hunt!”
Okay, it’s your turn! What do you think happened to their Creator? Put your creative cap on and continue my story or start one of your own in the comments below…
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International best selling, award-winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy), is now available in eBook and print form from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, and other online retailers.
