4. From Despair to Hope: The Transformation of a Brother’s Love.
After finishing all the preparations and taking care of his crow’s nest, making it into a decent ponytail, yes, short one, but at least the hair did not disturb him. He wore a bandana around his hair, pushing the remaining hair back. The train was slowly stopping at Lasden station. It was time to go out, and he needed to try to get some help in getting to the mountain’s feet. There was also the ticket checker. He smiled and waved to Amer and wished him good luck. Amer also smiled back and headed towards the horse stand near the station. Here, knowing horse riding was always a must because the train does not go to the village, and with the weather conditions here, also not every vehicle will come so deep.
He paid the horse keeper and took the horse. He secured all his belongings on the horse’s seat and got on it. It was a bit awkward after so long in the horse’s seat. The horse wiggled her body because of the dog that ran near them.
“Oh girl, careful, don’t drop me, hah.” he laughed slightly.
Now when he was heading towards the forest. It will be a long journey and a lot of back pain in the end.
Amerdin was thinking too much about the horse owner who was looking too nervous.
“Why was he worried!? Why did he not chat as always with me? It doesn’t happen like that normally.” That was bothering him the whole time till he came close to the forest. This small town normally had a lot of people on the streets and loud voices, especially at the market area, but today it was different. No people were out. Just one or two merchants doing their job.
He was already approaching the mountain range, and strangely, there was not much bird chirping, which normally was like a melody in these woods because more than 100 species lived here. As he came closer to the mountain, the path went higher and higher, and he reached the height where there were fewer trees and a lot of greenery and bushes. Just a bit more, and he will see his village. His heart was fluttering, and he felt butterflies in his stomach rising and going down; these were his stable feelings whenever he saw his village from the top to see the whole beauty.
After 200 meters in height, he felt a strange smell of burning. This time, the wind was blowing from the village side. His heart shrank and missed a couple of beats, and when he realized what kind of smell it was, his panic rose. Not many chemical elements could produce such a smell. That was the smell of clean bromine, “100% bromine that is almost impossible,” he thought, and made the horse speed up, but still tried to remember all the landslides and rocks that could cause sliding down.
It was the first time in his life when fear was on his feet, licking them and making shivers from inside. He was completely pale. This was animal fear that was yelling, “run, run, run! War came here! All dead!” This was his wildest nightmare of all since the war started. He was begging all the gods to hear him out. Unfortunately, gods have a different game to play, showing the outcome today. When he reached the place where he could see his whole village. At the moment he could see the village, the horse stopped suddenly, and because of that motion, he flew out of the saddle, falling on the ground. He felt pain, but that animal fear was still prevailing among all the emotions. He shot up to see the view of what was always in his memory, and right after that, dropped down to his knees. His Hazel eyes were looking foggy and uncertain. He lost all his feelings in one moment. Silent tears were dripping from his eyes slowly, and everything seemed to be in slow motion. His lips were trembling. He was shocked and numb; his feelings did not exist anymore. Just one silent phrase came out from his mouth,” It can’t be true.” An animal scream came out of his mouth, taking complete air and life from his lungs as if he wanted to die right away. “aaagghhhhaaaaaaa” he was devastated. In front of his eyes was a black mess.
The snow was in coal and bloodstains. In some places, there were signs of melting on the ground and trees. He was still in shock. The horse was somewhere near him, but it was also scared to come close. Amer tried to stand up on his shaking legs. He collected himself and, forgetting about all his belongings, looked around for the first time. He just realized that no flower was blooming now, no flower was even visible now, just the grass, short grass. When he was looking around, he noticed a slight light from the west side of the mountain. There should be the so-called “oasis in the snow” from the book. It was already getting dark, and he needed to move if he wanted to get anywhere without a problem. He headed towards the light but first took hold of his hand, trying to keep her on the side so that she would not get scared. After 300 meters, he came to the lakeside, where the water, as always, was crystal clear. It was believed that this lake was the same lake from the tales, but no one ever saw irises growing here, not even the normal ones. He bent down to the water and drank from it, taking some water in the palms, and washing his face to relax. After he did that, he looked across the lake, noticing a piece of ground that was covered in black flowers and a big white deer with emerald thorns that looked like oak trees. He saw some slight movement next to the deer and shot up and ran towards him.
“Muneria! munny! Munny!” he saw his sister; he believed it was her, his little sister. When he was reaching the spot, the deer looked at him and stood up. It was a deer at least three meters tall, but with the tail of a horse, legs of a snow leopard, and a bear’s mouth. Amer felt that this animal would not touch him. He felt it somewhere in the heart. He did not even think about what this animal is because he was concerned about something else. His little sister, who was lying pale in between black flowers. She was not breathing. “Munny, wake up! I am back! Your big brother is back! Please Munny! Don’t leave me!” he cried like he didn’t before. His life was finished; there is no life after this.
Deer were looking at him. “Humans feel so much pain for this little human girl… Hmm… They forget about everything when it is comfortable and right for them. Selfish people. So pathetic… Why is he wasting his energy doing this? Are these two people related or not? His eyes, hazel eyes. Her brother?” These were the thoughts of this mighty deer. Amer was hugging his sister’s body so hard, hoping that this was just a bad dream.
” Who was she to you boy? ” Amer shot his head to the side from where he heard this sound and he froze at his point. He could not believe that it was him. Deer spoke to him.
“She is my sister. My dear little sister, who loves this place more than anyone else. She is my life,” he said in a low voice with a shadow of terrible pain in his voice.
” Is it? She does not breathe anymore, her soul is not in her body anymore, boy. She sacrificed her life. “The deer was confused.
“Sacrificed? What do you mean? And how… How is it possible that you speak?? Who are you?? What are you??” Amer felt rage and screamed up to the deer, waiting for an answer. He wanted all the answers to kill this pain, or to numb it.
” Me? Don’t you know me? You have so many times complained to me and asked me to protect her and the village? You really do not know who I am?? Whenever you came to that big oak and asked all that stuff, complaining that everyone is stupid, young Orso.” The animal laughed and looked at the kid softly. ” What? What do you… Mean… I k..know… It can’t be.” Amer was in prostration; he could not process all this in his head. This deer was the one who was the protector of his clan and the one whose anger could destroy everything.
“Meredis the one who protects our clan, the destroyer and snow deity. It can’t be true, can it be?” The guy doubted himself. He could not believe what he saw and heard. This was unreal.
“If it’s true then tell me what happened to Mureina, please!” Amer almost cried it out.
Meredis felt his pain and could see the broken heart of a poor guy. “Indeed, they are brother and sister. Hmmm, then it is the right thing. They both are the same.”
Deer sighed and spoke:” She protected me from people who came to take me and wanted to use me for the war, to get the eternal life, and that I was a weapon to destroy other countries. Together with another woman, they protected me in my child appearance. I knew that you needed protection right now, and that’s why I came to you people, but you just betrayed me.” Meredis was furious, his eyes were shining in dark red. His mouth opened in a grin.
” I came to you down in South and protected from intruders because you asked, but you humans just chased me down and chained me to use as a weapon,” he cried in vain, making animalistic sounds that were not heard before. “I, the one you ask, and worship were trapped as a small animal to be used for your selfish needs. I killed everyone who wanted to hurt me there and went to the North, knowing that there were fewer people and no war. An older woman found and fed me, cared for me, and loved me, together with this little girl. They just took me in and took care of my wounds. Even if anyone advised to kill me for meat or sell me for good money, they just drove them away and told me that everything will be good.” His blue eyes were watering because of tears; he felt so much love towards them, and he felt that he was in debt, but he could not give it back anymore.
“She had so much courage to stand up to them. When they came in, military people with weapons and some strange chains, they pointed guns at me, but Muneira hugged me at the same time, covering me with her body. First, they killed an older woman when she tried to push them out of the house, but one of them just fired the gun.” He grunted, and his eyes went to the blood-red again, showing his agony,” Muneira just took me and ran away. She was running through the woods, but someone shot her, and even after she fell with me, she still tried to cover me and protect me. They fired at least fifty times more, making sure that she is dead.” This gigantic deer was shedding tears over the unfairness of the world where he is god. Amer was shocked and disgusted by the actions of the army, people who should be protecting them.
” Only because of that, I didn’t destroy everything completely, but just the village. “Deer was looking in those Hazel eyes, waiting for compassion and understanding. Even Amer felt guilt and hatred. ” Sorry for everything, people are good and bad, and that’s the reality,” he stood up, taking his sister in his arms, and came close to the deer and rested his head on the long neck of the animal God. ” People are scared and stupid; just a few have courage and love without conditions. They will only learn when you destroy them completely. Sorry for all the pain.”He was too confused about what to feel and what to do, but he knew that apologizing was the smallest but important thing for him to do.” Why did you keep Munny with you? ” That was the only question that was important for Amer. He wanted to believe that everything is not lost.
” Do you know why this place is special and considered holy?” deer asked and turned his head towards the already starry sky waiting when the clouds would unravel the truth.
“This is the place where all the animals come and it was mentioned as the sacred place in the story of the valley but I still don’t understand why?” Amer could not understand.
“Hmm… You are right and wrong. Animals come here only during the full moon in the months from May to September when it’s summer here because of the magic that happens here” Meredis seemed relaxed and looked at the boy. Amer could swear that the eyes of the deer were showing unlimited space.
“Magic?” Amer could not believe this.
“Yes, magic, boy, she left a message for you. It’s in her hands, as you can see, and she wanted that at least you can gain happiness.” The giant deer pointed to the side, making the guy look there. The moon was coming out of the clouds, and with each light touched black flowers which seemed to be dead. Each flower started to glow and rise towards the moonlight. Amer could not believe his eyes. “It can’t be! The valley flowers! The magic aquamarine irises bloomed! That is insane! Is it a dream? ” All these thoughts in the guy’s head were interrupted by the deer. ” If it were a dream, you would be happier, but no, it is reality! You have the right to wish whatever you want, and you will get it, boy, but be wise. “Deer laughed and looked at Amer, who sat down on the iris and pulled his sister closer, now clearly seeing what she was holding in her hands.
There were blue and white irises, her favourite ones. “Really? Message for me? Hahaha,” Amer started to laugh hysterically because he knew what she wanted to say. He started to cry. Deer was confused by the guy’s reaction. Amer took off his bandana and wiped his sister’s face of the blood.
” I have a wish, right? Anything that I want, even if it’s impossible?” he asked softly, still was shedding tears.
” Yes, anything. I am in-depth with her for the rest of my life. You can ask whatever you want but I will not spare people who commit crime, start a war for their greed and hunt Gods like wild animals. ” Meredis looked seriously in boys’ eyes.
” I…. I … I want to have peace with Munny together in a better place, far away from the war. Nothing else, just that. Please! ” Amer looked with hope up to the tremendous god of woods and put his hands together, showing his respect and appreciation.
” Hah, you are a strange and pure human like your sister. I will give you more than that, no worries. Your mother and father will be there too. I will end your suffering. I would be happy to meet you earlier and in peaceful times, kid. Now just hold her tight and sleep. Just relax and sleep. ” Meredis sat down on the grass and gave Amer complete freedom to lie down on him with the baby girl in his arms. Amer just felt complete peace. He was falling asleep slowly. He was exhausted and just pulled closer to his Munny.” Thank you, Meredis ” he uttered softly.
Meredis looked at them both. Unfortunately, it was a rare moment in his life when he felt real love and affection for the human race without hating them. He wanted that everyone would love and cherish their lives like this because the time of this planet, time of each individual is limited to just 100 years while gods live for billions of years and observe them. He was happy to come down and violate the law of not interfering to see this kind of unconditional love for the world.
“People are strange and more interesting than that hah haha.” Meredis also fell asleep. He needed rest before he punishes all the people who started this silly war for greed.
Irises were lighting the mountain range for a longer time than in previous years because they met the real hope and needed to fulfil a completely selfless dream of a young boy who will not wake up in this cruel world again.
The next day, the king’s palace was drowned in bromine, which just burned down all the ministers and the King himself for his selfishness and gluttony. The capital was destroyed; all the flowers were erased by bromine rivers and gods’ paws. Humans are not gods and will not be ever if they seek power, bend knees to pride, and drench themselves in wrath; all that will destroy them, no matter what. Nature will destroy them, no matter what, shows the place to greedy creatures. Half of the country was smelling like bromine and burnt trees. This was the end of a selfish ruler and the time to begin a new era, which Meredis should control together with other gods to prevent this from happening again.
What about Amerdin and Mureina?
His wish was fulfilled to the fullest. Even if you voice your wish, flowers will look deep inside your heart, bringing up the one that matters the most. Amerdin’s wish was not just peace with his sister but complete peace for his entire family. They all were sent to a world where there are no wars or death, just eternal life in peace and love. The higher world where the chosen came after death was unstoppable. Their infinity started there.
White and blue shades made this place so peaceful and unreal. In between feathery trees was a small house where everyone could hear the loud shouting of a small girl with dark brown braids.
She was shaking her brother to wake him up.
“Brother! Wake up! Wake up! Ammmyyyyy! Wake up!” She shouted on the edge of her lungs.
Amer shoots up in shock. He could not believe his eyes. She was there, she was alive, smiling and loudly shouting at him, but alive.” Bro… Argh…! Let me gooo!! ” he took her in a tight hug, almost breaking her ribs. ” I won’t ever let you go, and I won’t ever go away,” he said, and he just hugged her harder. “Sorry that I wasn’t there when you needed me”, he cried on her shoulder.
“Stupid Amy, we are now together, you came to me,” she also hugged him tight. “Please get up, Mommy and Daddy are waiting for us with breakfast!” The girl announced it happily. Amer was even more shocked. He could not believe it was real, but he accepted it happily. He remembered about irises and looked at Munny, ” I got your message also, as my aunt told us to learn the meanings of flowers to be able to convey everything about our feelings. You were a better learner than I was. My small messenger.” He knew that what he thought was right, and she also smiled and nodded. This was their way of expression. She was his messenger of hope, faith, and purity of intentions that saved them both. They both were happy to just be at peace, no matter where it was and how, but they were here, dead in that world but together in this. Together with the complete family and with the whole world.
In a world where there is no war and no loss, where the body does not matter, and no materialistic values exist.
Just the soul and feelings.
Author remarks: Iris is the personification and goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. Blue irises symbolize faith and hope and white irises symbolize purity.
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