SHORT STORY: Into A Perfect World

by Emma Jenks

Editor’s Note: This section of the EPIC News Network features poetry, short stories and other literary works by the students of EPIC Charter Schools.

Stop and think about a time with no city lights to disrupt the shining of the stars and moon above. Nor the loud noises coming from the highway disturbing the beautiful humm of mother nature. Many moons ago, it was possible to sit in the peaceful song of the wind and enjoy the beautiful sights that mother nature has granted us. Imagine the sun is setting with brilliant colors painted over the sky without flaw. As you watch the sky’s colors grow darker, you can feel the cool evening breeze washing over like a gentle wave from the ocean.

As you are peacefully watching the colors of the sky fade into darkness, a welcoming light catches your eye. As you walk closer to this mysterious light, you can hear people singing with joy in their hearts, and a great drum booming with such pride. Eventually, you can see people dancing around a great fire with drums beating almost the same rhythm as your heart. It was as if the roaring of the drums were calling to your soul. Seeing how content these people are, urges you to join them. As the men are proudly dancing with great feathers upon their backs, the women begin to join them with their brightly colored shawls elegantly twirling around the fire.

As you walk closer, a beautiful Creek woman approaches you. Her face is not only full of bravery and pride but with loving care towards all spirits. Hair as black as night flowed in the pleasant breeze, as she began to talk to you in her tongue. Her voice was as soothing as the morning robin singing a love song for all to hear. The creek woman had told you of the celebration of the harvest of corn and beans. She tells you of the hard work she and the other women of her clan have gone through to accomplish this great work. As she begins to explain the wonders of her homeland, you notice a small light glowing in the distance. You are not scared but excited to see what comes next.

When the light finally fades, you can see that it is daytime. You are no longer surrounded by the perfect melody of the singers. Now You stand gaping at the sight of a perfect little town, alone. You see children going in and out of their homes made of hay and bark from trees. As you look beyond the huts, you can see a magnificent field of flourishing crops with women working them. You glance to your left and gaze at a great blue ocean still as a picture waiting to be taken. In the ocean you could see the men throwing nets into the water, awaiting their prize they can pridefully take home. 

You turn around once more to completely capture this wonderful moment, for you never want to leave. But, when you turned around, you noticed you were in a new land. All around you are homes similar to the Creek’s, but different people went in and out of them. You begin to realize it is dark once more, but you can see the sun peeking behind the mountains in the distance. A few feet from you there was a Choctaw man wearing long beautifully beaded necklaces and had his long black hair pulled into a neat low braid in the back. You note that he came out of his hut with hunting materials. This man noticed when you were looking his way, so he walked over to you carrying himself with such pride. He had begun to tell you about his last hunting trip. His voice was deep, telling you the great stories of this man better than he could tell you himself. You could hear in his voice that he had great patience and a caring heart for others. He told of the reverence he had for the forest and it’s living creatures within. He told you of the spirits that lived in everything you could see that came of mother nature herself. He bid you goodbye, as he walked into the welcoming woods. The sky began to change once more, as it had done the other two times.

One quick blink and you could see you were in a new land surrounded by countless huts. A small girl walks up to you, and tugs on your arm. This little Cherokee girl looks like she is five years old. She has beautiful dark skin and her hair is pulled together in the back with leather string with a bead attached to it. As you look into her eyes you can see the hard work she has done to help her single father. On her hands are sores and cuts from tending to the crops a few miles from here. When she talks to you, her voice is light and happy. She tells you how she is now living with her father’s sister and her children. She talks about how when she lived with her father she had to work for their family of seven. When she was given to her father’s sister she no longer had to work as much. Her father was also given plenty of crops by his neighbors to sustain him for weeks. She tells you of the upcoming celebration and invites you to come along with her and her family.

Before you know it, it was dark and you could hear the beating of the drums once more. Your heart urged you to dance but when you saw the little girl you had met before, dancing around the heartwarming fire, you froze in awe. You watched as her beautiful dress with many little bells dangling off the side, creating the most soothing music. As you watch her dance your mind traveled toward all the wonderful people you had met throughout your journey. You remembered the beauty of the Creek woman, the reverence of the Choctaw man, and the hope of the Cherokee girl. The little girl tugs on your arm once more and beckons for you to come and dance with her around the fire. Wishing you could join her in her dancing, you are held back by your reality of city lights and highways. With one blink you are dragged back to your own world of bright lights drowning out the beautiful spirit of mother nature.

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