The Boy and the Mountain and I Was Five

Hello everyone and happy holidays! Can you believe that it’s already the end of 2017? This has been a rough year for many people, including me, but one thing I love about December is that we can end a rough year with service, love, and friends/family, no matter what holiday you celebrate.

I’m definitely going to have a lot of changes for next year one of which will be focusing a bit more on my writing. I will have a new job that will be part time, which will allow me to have more time to myself that I really need.

I still have a few more stories that I had written for my creative writing class, and this post will have TWO instead of the usual ONE! I experimented a lot with these two, mainly because they are my first ever fable/legend and first ever poem.

I have always wanted to write a legend, so The Boy and the Mountain was created! My first draft was pretty rough, and a lot of my classmates didn’t recognize it as a legend so hopefully I have improved it.

There was once a village that sat at the base of a mountain. All of the buildings were built with the same stone, which made it seem as though the village had grown from the mountain itself like a living thing. Some of the elders claimed that this was so; that the goddess Cierra who ruled the mountain created the village and its people many years ago.
One day, a boy was born to the strongest warrior and fiercest huntress. They taught the boy their skills as he grew, which made him the most valued member of the community; second to the village leader of course. Unfortunately, his status and skills made him vain and conceited. He would only help others in the village if he knew there was some sort of reward in it for him, and would always do it in full view of everyone else.
As per tradition, when the boy turned 18 he prepared to take a journey up the mountain in order to be considered a man. Each boy and girl made this sacred journey in order to overcome their weaknesses and receive a special gift from the goddess. However, the boy boasted that he had no weaknesses and would return triumphant. Within days his mother packed for him her finest kills, his father gave him his sharpest knife, and he started up the mountain to begin his trial.
The boy climbed the mountain with little difficulty, coming across a few wild animals on his path. First, there was a bear that threatened to rip the boy to shreds with its giant claws. The boy used his father’s knife and his mother’s skills to fell the bear with ease, laughing triumphantly over its still form. Later, the boy came across a doe with an injured leg that had a small fawn curled up next to it. Without any hesitation, the boy walked past, thinking that he had plenty of meat from his mother’s kills.
Near his journey’s end, an old woman sat in the middle of the boy’s path. Her clothes were ragged and torn, and her hair was caked with dirt. She looked up at the boy with blind eyes and asked “dear child, would you please spare a bit to eat so that I may continue to the top of the mountain? I got lost on the way and did not bring enough to eat.”
The boy looked at the woman with disgust and scoffed “It’s your own fault that you got lost. I will not share my food with you, or else I will not have enough to return home.” Despite the woman’s pleas, the boy continued upwards until the woman’s cries faded.
The boy reached the top and saw that is was flat stone without any plant or animal life to be seen. In the center of this barren landscape was a pillar of stone, covered with elegant symbols and runes carved into it. The boy approached the pillar and knelt before it, offering his thanks out loud to the goddess for protecting him, but inwardly claiming all of his success for himself.
The wind instantly picked up and swirled around the boy, nearly knocking him over from the force of it. He looked up and saw the most beautiful maiden he had ever seen standing atop the pillar, slate gray robes and marbled white hair billowing in the wind. Her gray eyes stared down at him coldly and she held out a hand over him, saying “Child of stone, you dishonor me and your people with the vain things in your heart. You did not acknowledge the strength I provided for the bear, you did not save the doe, and you scorned the begging woman.” The goddess Cierra transformed into the bear, the doe and the woman as she spoke. “In order to become a man, you must learn to be charitable towards this land and its people, not just your own strength, for such a thing is fleeting.” With these words she took the strength and skill from the boy, leaving him weak and barely able to stand.
With much difficulty and shame the boy climbed back down the mountain. The food his mother provided him had turned to dust, his father’s knife grew dull, and no animal nor human came to assist him. The boy returned to the village a broken man, barely able to lift a bow or sword and unable to regain his strength no matter how hard he tried, and he lived the rest of his days relying on the help of others.

Here is my poem I was Five. I honestly struggled with this one because it was the first time I had to tell a story with minimal words and descriptions. I’m very happy with how it turned out, and I only had to fix a couple of words. Enjoy!

I was five when we first met

On an old and cracked sidewalk

Clothed in yellow and white

We went and saved the world

I was eight when you were drawn

In pencil on a white page

Wearing skates, mask, and cape

You lived high in the sky

I was fourteen when I left

To become more like my age

I had no need for you

You belonged in my past

I was gone for many years

Gave you no more than a glance

Kept you in my childhood

Rarely looking back

I was nineteen when I returned

Dusting you off from my neglect

I gave you a new name

But kept most things the same

I am twenty three this year

And you have always been with me

So here’s to many years more

Of us now saving the world