Beneath the starlit sky, which not only had that dark blue shade but also a purple tone, with stars lying flat on the vivid plain, was the cavern he chose to spend the night. The hillside was riskier in the dark and that was the only thought that made him take cover in the cavern on the narrow ridge.
The crest was a hazardous spot to spend under the wicked stars. Those superstitions came long before he was born, and came to earth. No! Why should anyone blame him or the earth for it? The village beneath the Thalleus Mountains was the only world he and his folks knew about. Their scriptures, the old and rotten scriptures, blamed the stars for anyone’s awful fate. They said, “Those who spend under the stars, those who are afraid of darkness, will perish, will be cursed by it, by the stars!”
Although, this kid inside the cavern never believed in those, but then, why is this insomniac pretending to sleep inside it, like a wimp, a coward who is scared of the stars? Indeed, it was not his choice. It was his inner mind. His inner mind dragged him to the cave, commanding him to take cover, teaching him that the stars are not dependable, never trust them!
He retrieved his eyes from the flimsy fire, which was burning the dry twigs he gathered from the crest.
A sound of patter echoed through the long, large cave. A dark lake was there beside him. Above it, there was no cover. The sky was clear. The lake reflected that splendid scene. The pattering sound was from there. Tiny droplets falling into the water, disturbing it, rupturing the illustration it made. That sound had its own rhyme and style. It won over every single natural music like the chirping of birds and the roaring of thunder. That natural rhyme he was hearing, produced a foremost melody, a memorable one.
After a long time, staring at the top, lying on that rocky surface, he turned to the side and gave a weak shriek as the rocks were obsessing his back for an hour. After a long adventure to the ridge, finally, he had found the creature he was looking for. He glanced at the chipmunk. That mythical creature was one of the most ironic ones he had ever witnessed. His eyes sparkled, looking at it as the tiny being had a shiny, golden tone and the whole body dotted with foggy, hazel spots. People believed that these creatures never existed but now, it was proved. The boy was going to prove it. Always, he had thoughts about it. His folk believed that the stars were wicked and evil. If they can be so superstitious, this kid also can be a little, but this kid was not only just superstitious but also had an adventurous little mind inside him. Maybe, that was the reason why he defied his folk, his parents and came to the Thalleus Mountains. The Thalleus Mountains, which were according to the legend, cursed by a noble wizard called Thalleus the High-born.
The chipmunk. The golden chipmunk. The kid, at last, found it. The days he spent, staring at the mountains, hours he spent, studying the scriptures. Nothing went worthless. Everything just made his journey easier. With all these thoughts entering and re-entering his head, he slowly fell into a deep sleep for the first time in years.
Sometimes, things won’t happen in our ways. It wanders through different directions, hard ways and then, it will end forever. It will either give us a good outcome or a bad outcome. Or sometimes, it will give us neither. It will go according to our plans and thoughts, and at last, it abruptly changes its direction, leading us to failure. The same would happen to him. No doubts about that. A small flaw or no flaw can fail him. Fail him forever and no one would be able to save him from that as his fate was already written and he could never master his destiny. The only fact he knew was a vague ending for his tale. That tale will have conflicts and troubles but at last, he will surpass all these and win. Or the stars will betray him and fail him at the last moment. They will curse him and manipulate him. They will build confusion in his mind. They will do the darkest of magic like a nobleman did to a mountain. And the kid would never bear the pain. It'll be too hard for him.
The moment he woke up, his eyes rushed back to that single spot. Goodness, gracious! Where did it go? No! No! Why me? He thought, I avoided the stars, I hid from the dark, I begged you for it, and at last, you provided me with a way dotted with rocks and thorns, dirt and nails, but I gathered patience and accepted it. Always, always, I trusted you, my lord! I knew you will not fail me but all those were some wrong thoughts. You, the Supreme Being, handed me to the stars. You betrayed me! His eyes were widened, brows raised, and tears were rolling down his cheeks.
“Damn it! Where is the chipmunk?” Exclaimed the kid.
As moments passed he got madder and madder. Now, he should repeat the adventures he took hours before. A stick was there, lying under his feet. He took off his dirty robe and tied it on the stick’s end. Then, he lit it on fire. That was the only cloth he had and now, he was naked.
I’ll defend myself from the stars. He walked out, holding the torch tight.
The landscape welcomed him with a splendid ambience. It was not dark there. The purple sky, which had an infinite number of stars, stared at him, smiling. He, with terror on his face, walked, keeping a low profile. His naked body began to shiver in the cold. The only source of relief he had was the fire torch, which he held in his left hand.
He slowly walked through the wet, narrow land. When viewed from a distance, the shadow of a tiny, feeble human being can be seen, walking through the ridge with the purple sky, glowing behind him. His figure was well-defined as he was naked, with not a single piece of cloth on his body.
He saw a pit before him. Inside it was a golden light, glowing to his face. He smiled and looked back to the cavern.
The shocking scene was similar to a thousand needles piercing through his body. The cavern he was in was not there, now. It faded in the thin air.
Terror ran all over his face, his heart pounding faster and faster, and with no choice, he made an abrupt jump into the pit. In a few seconds, his vision went blurry and then, dark.
His blurry visions turned clearer and clearer. Now, he was seeing three human beings before him. His father, mother and the village patriarch. The patriarch had a divine glow in his eyes and a stainless smile on his face. He looked like he saw some demigod.
He was now on the track. The chair he was sitting on was inside the wooden hut, which his father owned. There were candles around the cabin and a vessel was there on the hearth with something in it.
“Father, all those stories, the tales in the scriptures, were true,” he exclaimed. “I saw that golden creature. It was glowing before me but,” he lowered his head, “I was betrayed by the stars.”
“No, my dear kid,” cried his father. “Those stars saved you. Their undisputable magic saved you from all the dangers that originated from the darkness. Not only you but also this poor creature.”
A sudden smile struck his face as he heard it. All his hard work didn’t get wasted. God made him fall at the last moment but that fall was for another resurrection. He looked to the light coming from the patriarch’s back. The Golden Chipmunk.
“I thought I lost it,” said the kid, smiling.
“You didn’t and you’ll not. You’re the first person to win in this quest. The quest in which even the greatest of men has failed. Henceforth, you’ll be there in the sagas of legends. Epics will praise your name. Poets will sing about you. I’m proud of you, kid,” the patriarch said, giving tears and goosebumps to the people around.
The tales he heard, the motivation he acquired, the obstacles he surpassed, times that made him weep, the darkness that tricked him, the frigid climate he endured and his father’s words were the factors that made his quest memorable. He thwarted the darkness. It was the poetic justice of time!