The Blind Wanderers

For this story to make sense, I need to start from the beginning and not just the beginning of when things went bad but my beginning and how I got sucked into this in the first place.

-

I believe I was about Rhyne’s age when I became sick. A child doesn’t grasp the fragility of life even when it’s their life that’s in danger. Most people have memories from childhood that they look back on fondly. Sadly, I have none of those. It wasn’t that my parents were abusive or neglectful. They were quite doting. I just never had the chance to have a normal childhood. There were no sleepovers, birthday parties, family trips because of my illness. It was very easy for me to get sick and when I got sick, regardless of the severity, it was always life-threatening.

When I wasn’t hooked up to a machine or being cut open, I was laying around in too much pain and too tired to do anything. I probably spent a lot of time asleep but when I wasn’t, I listened to the stories my grandmother told to pass the time, which they did. And it seemed like as my imagination grew, I got stronger each day until the only thing that was left of my illness was a limp, a colorful imagination, and a few of becoming ill.

I remember many of my grandmother’s stories but there was always one that stood out to me the most. I would often beg to hear this story again and again. As I recall, I can still hear her voice as clear as day in my memory.

-

“Granny, can you tell me a story?” A young Carrie Martin asked as her grandmother pulled the layer of thin hospital sheets up over Carrie’s top half. The chemo always made her body temperature fluctuate so she was constantly pulling the blankets on and off.

“Sure, my love. What would you like to hear?” Her grandmother asked while pulling a seat up closer to the hospital bed. She sat down with a huff.

“The one about the Nox Caelum!” Carrie exclaimed, clearly excited. Besides watching tv or reading, listening to her grandmother’s stories was the highlight of her day.

“Alright, alright! Calm down before you make yourself sick.” Her grandmother chuckled a little and cleared her voice before starting.

“Once upon a time, a very long time ago, fearsome winged beasts called the Alatum terrorized the earth’s inhabitants. Their efforts to fight back were in vain. In distress, they called to the heavens for help. Suddenly, from the sky came a tribe of beings.”

“Like aliens, right granny?” Carrie asked.

“Something like that but they weren’t naked or green. They had skin as black as night and their eyes shined a fiery gold and their height was massive. They were as tall as…”

“The tallest tree in the forest!” Carrie finished the sentence.

“Yes! They were called the Nox Caelum and they were far more advanced than we were, and they were fierce warriors. Among them was their leader. His name was Manju. He was not known to be soft-hearted but when he saw the condition of the humans, he took pity on them and decided to help. So, they made a deal. The Nox Caelum would fight off the Alatum and protect them, but the humans needed to treat each other well, take care of the planet and never take the Nox Caelum’s efforts for granted. The deal was accepted, war was waged, and the Cox Caelum were victorious. Before ascending into the sky, Manju reminded them of their deal and that there would be terrible consequences should the deal be broken. “

“What were the consequences?” Carrie asked. She knew the answer, she just wanted to hear it again.

“Well at first people held up their part of the deal but as time went on, they began forgetting. The Nox Caelum sent them warning after warning, but they did not head them. They sent war, famine and disease time and time again. In frustration, the Nox Caelum turned their backs on them altogether, leaving them in their ungrateful ways.”

“But if we are still here then the punishments must not have been that bad. Right?” Carrie’s brown eyes searched her granny’s face.

Her grandmother sat quietly for a while staring out of the window before speaking again. “You know what I think? I think that if this story was real and Manju warned them of the punishment he had for them. I don’t think it happened yet and we should all be very worried. It may not be that we are all safe. It might be that this is just the quiet before the storm.”

-

My grandmother passed away years ago, but this story has always stuck in my head. Little did I know what would happen. I would have my own story to tell and it would begin with some misfortunate hikers…

To be continued…