Dragonica (Part 1)

The three of them never expected to meet a body sprawled face down on their way to school. It was raining quite generously that morning, and the body was wet and muddy. It looked like a man wearing a heavy black coat, and not far ahead they could see a cap and a scarf soaked in puddle. The three of them grasped their umbrella in a nervous manner. This was certainly a shock. For a few seconds, they just stood there staring at the cold body.

"So is it dead?" asked Carlos, trying to sound calm and sort the situation out. The idea of death made his body shiver. Aileen, who suddenly snapped out of her suprised state, edged away towards Carlos. "Wh...what should we do? I think I'm going to be sick!" she shrieked. She closed her eyes and began to chant some comforting words to herself over and over again. "This must be a dream. This must be a dream."

Val who was the tallest took a look aroud the area. No one else was in sight. It was usually only the three of them who cut through the park early in the morning "Damn, there's no one around too," he sighed. "Can't get help either." The three of them continued to stare back at the body in front of them. Val gulped and began to take a few steps closer towards it. "I'm gonna try and check." As he held out his hand to touch the damp clothing, the body gave a shudder.

Aileen shrieked louder and went behind Carlos for cover. She had let her umbrella go and grasped the back of Carlos' shirt. Carlos held tightly on his umbrella, ready to make use of it as a weapon if anything were to happen. Val on the other hand was the most surprised among them and took a sudden jump to the back. A body who was assumed to be lifeless had suddenly made a move.

The three of them froze as the body began to move more dramatically. At first the hands were trying to support the body up. But whether it was due to the rain or the weak condition of the person, the hands slipped and the body fell again. There was hard grunt and a yelp of pain. Slowly the hands began to push again, and this time the person was able to kneel weakly. The stranger's body was shuddering rather violently, and blood mixed with mud was flowing out from the mouth.

"Geh!" the mysterious man spat to the ground, leaving trails of bloody liquid in front of him. He looked up to see three frightened teenagers huddled together looking scared and confused. The man gave a hearthy laugh. "Haha just my luck to stumble into kids the moment I set foot here." The weak hands began to push even harder for the body to stand up, swaying from left to right as if it was following the blows of the chilly wind. The three of them just gulped at what seemed like a zombie being raised up from the dead.

"Sir," Carlos managed to utter a speech. He looked carefully at the man. "Who are you? And are you okay? Do you need help?" A lot of questions were racing through his head, and he wanted to let it all out in one go. A cold loud laugh from the man made his questioning stop midway. "Hahahaha! Kids! Always asking the obvious," the man exclaimed excitedly. One of his hand was holding his chest rather tight as if bearing the immense pain he was feeling from the good laugh. "Ah, can't waste energy...with my laugh...anymore.." The man coughed and more blood splattered on the ground. Aileen couldn't bear to watch and shoved her face on Carlos' back.

"Come here you," said the man as he pointed towards Val. The three clenched their hands tighter. What does this man want? "Don't worry kid," the man smiled. "I'm in no condition...to bite...geh!" He let out another painful laugh. Val was hesistant at first and exchanged glances with his friends. Carlos and Aileen were uncertain themselves. Val took another look at the man, and inched slowly towards him. The man smiled again and took out something from his pocket.

"Careful, yet brave aren't you?" the man held out his hand forward. "Take this, and keep it safe. And whatever you do, avoid the person called Drake." Seeing that Val was not getting any closer, the man threw an item towards him. Surprised, Val caught it. It was some sort of flat metallic pendant. It was covered in mud, but Val noticed that it had engravings on it. Confused, Val asked, "What is this?"

The man gave another laugh. "So little time, kids," he exclaimed. This time his body was beginning to emit a weird black smoke. Seeing this Val took another leap backwards. The three of them were horrified at what they were looking at. The man just smiled. In an instant, the mysterious person began to crumble and disappeared, leaving trails of ashes with the rainy wind.

Poetic :: I Believe

I believe with my eyes
The beauty of wonder
Splashed and dashed
With the most amazing of colours
The artistry of space
Arranged and sorted
With the most dynamic of positions

I believe with my ears
The melody of nature
Hummed and whistled
With the most harmonious of sounds
The words of wisdom
Uttered and cried
With the most intelligent of voices

I believe with my mind
Of the plans that are laid out
Of the choices that have been made
And I believe with my heart
Of the life I am living
That everything will be just fine.


AUTHOR'S NOTE: One of the ways people move forward is to believe in yourself. The actions and the future may scare us, but you and I know that we did our best. So get ready to reap the most amazing of rewards. It's been a while readers. Take care and believe in yourself everyone. If you won't, then who will?