Author's Note: Alright, call me crazy, but I wanted to write a fairy tale. It turned out more like a myth, but well, I'm satisfied. I took part in Writer's Challenge in FWAR and I came up with this *grins*. So this is how Writer's Challenge worked like. There was a list of pictures and quotes and you would pick one and write a story inspired from it. I picked one of the Aurora. Yeah, big surprise there, huh? I have a thing for Auroras, I admit that. And foxes. Oh well, that story has nothing to do with Eshe. It was some sort of supernatural element in it, but in a different sort of way than my other stories. My point was, that an old tale is the kind of thing people of every age can read. I didn't want it to be too childish and dull for grown people, so I hope I made it. I noticed that everyone who left reviews for the story was surprised by things different than I wanted to emphasize, but oh well... *smiles* And by now I must be boring you to death with this about-nothing-specific speech. Without further ado, you may proceed to the actual story... (Bah! That sounded so official! LOLOL!)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“In the frosty wilderness of the North, somewhere past crowded cities and warm seas, lay a land eternally sleeping under the heavy veil of winter. This land stretched for miles, but few dared to travel that far north. Time passed slowly and uneventfully for the villages there. The people had to fight for their survival through the cruel blizzards and the angry wind.
“After they finished with their daily chores, hunting, shopping and everything else, they returned home, searching for warmth and shelter near the fire the spirits gave them.
“The fire was a big gift indeed. All villages knew how blessed they were to be trusted with something such as fire by the spirits and therefore, they showed great respect for them. What they anticipated most through the year though, was the Lights.
“Every time the Lights showed in the sky, spreading across this frosty desert, the villagers threw big festivals in honor of the spirits. In exchange, the spirits renewed the gift of trust and love they had decided to share with the villagers.
“In a narrow cavern in the exact center of this land of mysteries was where the fire burned. Every time the Lights filled the sky, a foxy figure enveloped in red light came down to the snow-covered ground and carried the new flame to the cave. A young warrior from each village was sent to retrieve some of the flame for his people; an honor and great responsibility to whoever was chosen. It was a time of peace and all conflict and wars were placed aside. This way, the humans always had warmth to make it through the winter…” The old man stopped talking and looked at his grandchildren.
They squirmed, eagerly waiting for the rest of the story. They were sitting on the thick rug, feet crossed, mouths hanging open on every word spoken. Eventually, the youngest girl, Sophie, tugged at her grandpa’s pajama. “More, gramps, more!”
The old man shut the heavy book. “Not now, dear ones. It’s late. Tomorrow, we can continue.” He slowly stood up and stretched his back. After a few groans and pleads, the children were all tucked in their beds and their grandfather turned the light switch off. “Sleep tight,” he said before softly closing the door behind him.
“I wanna know what happened next!” Sophie whispered, and sat up on her bed, fisting her tiny hands stubbornly.
“Me too…” her older brother, Jack said, his voice laced with melancholy. “But we have to wait until tomorrow night. That’s what grandpa said.”
“Not necessarily,” said the third child, Lisa, who was older than both of them. “Wait here,” she whispered and tiptoed to the closed door.
As quiet as a church mouse, she slipped out of their room and past her grandfather’s bedroom, sneaking into the living room. The burning ashes still warmed the space near grandpa’s armchair. On it rested the thick, leather-bound storybook. The girl’s face lit up, and she carefully picked it up and went back to her siblings.
“I need your flashlight,” she told Jack, and he handed it over to her. She sat next to her little sister and motioned for her brother to join them. They both curled up next to Sophie, and Lisa opened the heavy tome back to the page where her grandpa had left off. She started reading out loud, as she was the only one who had learned how to read yet of the three of them.
“There came a time though, when this peaceful epoch was to be disrupted.” A gasp escaped from Sophie’s lips. Lisa looked at her for a second and then continued reading. “A young thief, nothing more than a pitiful shoplifter, began plotting one night. If they didn’t pay attention to him any other way, he would plan the perfect theft and finally attract their attention. There would be such talk about him, that nobody would forget his presence anymore. He sat and thought it through for hours until content with his dastardly deed, then he lay low, biding his time until the next moment the Lights would fill the sky…”
This day regretfully came and the thief was ready. While everyone had been gathered in the square of the village, waiting to see the foxy spirit come down from the sky to rejuvenate the flame, he was already near the cavern. He was clutching tightly to his warm, fur coat, hidden in the snow. He stared as the foxy form reached the rear of the cavern and quickly stepped inside. From his hiding spot, he had full view of the cavern’s inside as well. The flame inside was glowing faintly, almost out. The legend said that as the Lights neared, the flame was beginning to die out, waiting for the fox spirit to reignite it again. And so it happened. The fox breathed life once again into the small flame and steam rose, melting all the snow surrounding it. The fire grew big and proud, burning gloriously into the dark cave. The spirit stepped back morphing into a thin line of red smoke and rising back into the sky to join the other spirits until it slowly disappeared from sight.
A small spark of doubt showed in the thief’s mind, but he shook it away quickly. He had already decided he was going to do it and there was no turning back.
Knowing the warriors would not start their journey to the cave until after the spirit emerged back into the sky, he saw his chance and grabbed it. He ran into the cave and stood there for a second, mesmerized by the dancing of the flames. He shot a worried look at the heavens, the red and green Lights mesmerizing while swirling around each other like skillful dancers. He refused to let the peaceful image touch his heart though. He shook his head and focused at the task at hand.
The fire burned on wide green leaves, leaves that never grew in these parts. All the warriors honored to bring the flame to their village described them with enthusiasm, saying they must be from some exotic land in the South, where the sea was warm and grass grew abundantly.
The thief took a deep breath and outstretched his hand. He reached for the leaves, which the fire burned on and picked them up. Surprised that the fire burned brilliantly, but yet didn’t scorch him, instead it simply warmed him. He took it and ran outside. He had done it. He had stolen the fire, and now nobody would ever ignore him again. He ran in the darkness, trying not to think of the Lights above his head, tracking his every move as he ran and ran, grinning widely at his accomplishment...
A few hours later, the first warriors began to arrive. On the way, they smiled and talked with the ones sent from the other villages, sharing stories to make the journey into the cold more tolerable.
When they reached the cavern though, they had an unpleasant surprise waiting for them. They circled the cavern, wondering if they got confused in the snow and ended up on the wrong side. They checked the maps the elders had given to them, wondering if they got the wrong cavern altogether. Nobody could find an answer. After a while, all twelve village representatives had gathered, and nobody knew the answer to this horrible mystery. The cold was becoming unbearable, gnawing at their already frail nerves causing them turn on each other.
They began blaming each other. They yelled insults and the most hot-tempered fellow even tried to land a few punches on the others. He accused the others, saying that one of them was the thief, and he had hidden away the fire to take it all for his village. Eventually, the calmest of them reasoned with the others, and convinced them to go back to their homelands to explain the predicament upon their arrival. They had to let the elders know and inform the village that there was no fire this time. They agreed, and started walking back home, cold and empty handed…
A little girl, hidden away into the depths of the cave, had been looking with sadness as the warriors fought over something that wasn’t their fault. When the wisest of them advised them to go home, she came out, stomping her bare feet on the cold stone floor of the cave, trying to warm herself up. Then, she ran into the wilderness…
The thief, in the meantime, was struggling to walk through the blizzard that was raging with the fire in his hands. His fire. The flame didn’t go out from the wind or the snow. The Lights had made it this way, so that the young warriors could carry it home safely. The thief was getting tired. He had been travelling for hours, and had found no place to spend the night. Nothing but flat, cold snow surrounded him.
All of a sudden, in the distance he noticed a waving figure, something orange, moving. He sped up, wondering what it could be. He thought of fire… But no. He had all the fire. That thing could be anything, but a flame. As he came closer, he realized that it was alive. The figure started taking form in front of his eyes as he approached.
A girl. A small girl with vibrant red hair was sitting in the snow, curled up around herself in the fetal position as if to keep herself warm. Her skin was pale as the snow itself and her eyes a deep orange, like the sun at sunrise. At first, the thief thought she was not alive. He took a few cautious steps back, but then the girl waved at him and smiled faintly.
The thief stared, clutching onto the fire, pondering on what he should do. He turned around and started walking away, willing himself to not look back at the little girl.
He walked in silence for many hours, being surrounded only by the blizzard and his random thoughts. To his relief, he finally found a small, secluded spot, secure from the blizzard’s fury by tall trees. He found a corner where he felt comfortable and curled himself up, placing the fire before him. The warmth of it caused the snow to melt away and even the trees seemed as if they were trying to squeeze themselves closer, to get as much of the warmth as they could. Soon, the thief sunk into deep, but uneasy sleep.
When he started stirring into awareness, he had the impression he was seeing the little girl in front of him. It wasn’t until she talked to him that he realized this was really happening.
The girl was sitting cross-legged before the fire, observing the thief. ‘Why are you out here alone?’ she asked him.
The thief flinched at the sound of her voice. It was soft and ethereal, not like any child’s he had ever heard before. ‘Because that’s what I want,’ he said back through gritted teeth.
The girl frowned. ‘Why?’
‘Because!’ the thief said angrily and stood up, brushing away the dirt and pine needles that had been caught on his damp, fur coat. ‘What do you want?’
‘Company,’ she said simply. ‘Can I stay with you? It’s nice and warm here.’
‘No. You’ll die out in the cold. Go home, little girl.’
‘Ikkuma,’ the girl said. ‘My name is Ikkuma.’
‘Fine. Now get lost, Ikkuma,’ the thief ordered. He didn’t want anyone with him. He was a lone wolf and intended to keep it that way.
The girl did not move an inch though. She stood there patiently and observed him. ‘People are upset that the fire is missing. They are sad.’
‘And what can I do about that? That’s my problem because?’ the thief snapped.
‘Because, you can give them some of your own. Why don’t you share it? It will make them happy.’
‘No! It belongs to me now.’ After that, he shot the girl a cold look and picked up the fire. He turned his back to her and left.
He didn’t get rid of the little girl that easily though. Ikkuma’s stubborn will caused her to follow the thief. He heard her little toes digging holes through the deep mattress of snow as she tried to keep up with him. He rolled his eyes and quickened his pace. A while later, the steps faded into the distance. Satisfied, he rested for a while, enjoying the warmth of the flame. When he felt ready, he decided to head south. He would get somewhere warmer, away from this cold prison. With the fire as his own, he knew he could make it.
He walked for a few miles, and the waving red figure was again in front him. He wearily approached it to find Ikkuma sitting on the snow cross-legged, waiting for him. ‘I told you not to follow me,’ he muttered.
‘I’m just walking. I have nowhere else to go.’
The thief shrugged and kept walking. Ikkuma followed him, skipping happily. ‘So, what is your name?’ she asked cheerfully.
‘Olik.’
‘Nice to meet you, Olik.’ She held out her hand to shake his, but he didn’t even turn to look at her. She sighed, but didn’t complain. ‘And why are you travelling on your own?’
‘Because nobody cares for me. So, I don’t have to stay with anyone.’
‘Are you sure? There must be someone who cares,’ the girl insisted.
Olik thought for a while. His parents and brother came to his mind for a second. Then he shook his head. ‘No. There’s no one. No one will care that I am gone.’
They walked in silence, until Ikkuma decided to speak again. ‘Where are you from?’
‘A small village north of here.’
‘Were you going to bring some of the flame to your village yesterday?’ Ikkuma asked curiously.
‘No.’ He laughed darkly. ‘They wouldn’t send me. They hardly know I exist.’
‘I don’t think that’s true.’
‘You’re just a child. You don’t understand. People aren’t nice to everyone.’
‘Is that why you aren’t nice? Are you trying to show them that they were mean to you?’
Olik opened his mouth to say something and then decided against it. He made a small nod. ‘Something like that.’
‘But doesn’t that make you mean too? Kind of like the pot calling the kettle black so to speak.’ I heard her giggle and then sigh.
‘Why do you have to ask so many questions? Leave me alone,’ he growled at her and walked faster.
Ikkuma hurried to reach him. Her little bare toes sunk in the snow, and she had to keep moving in order not to freeze. She was fine when she was near Olik and the fire, but away from them…
When they stopped for the night again, it was Olik’s turn to start asking questions. ‘What did you mean when you said you have nowhere to go? Are you lost?’
Ikkuma shook her head. She was sitting away from the fire, curled into herself. ‘I know where my home is.’
‘Then? Why don’t you go?’
‘It’s not time yet.’
Not being able to make sense of the little girl’s words, Olik gave up conversation. Tired, he settled down on the hard ground and fell asleep.
The two of them travelled like this for many days. In the meantime, the fire had started shrinking. Olik had noticed it too. It was almost half as big and half as warm as well. He was beginning to wonder if it would last until he could get somewhere warm. He was beginning to wonder about his choice and what he had done, though he would never say it out loud.
‘It is not made to be kept by a single person,’ Ikkuma explained. ‘My mother told me once. The fire is meant to be shared between people.’
Olik snorted and turned his back to her. ‘That’s a stupid peasant story.’
‘Then so is the myth that the fox spirit comes down from the lights and helps the flame grow strong again. But you saw that as it happened, didn’t you?’
Olik’s eyes widened. ‘How do you know?’
‘I saw the warriors going in the cavern. There was nothing when they arrived. Therefore, you must have been there earlier. You saw the fox spirit?’
He nodded. ‘I did… at least, I think so...’ Olik felt confused, unsure if he had really seen any spirit or if he had been hallucinating out of the cold. Before he had time to think it further, Ikkuma spoke again.
‘Why do you hate the villagers so much? They must have done something really terrible if you decided to steal all the fire… and risk their survival.’
He pushed his lips together, deciding to keep them shut. ‘I’m not telling you any of this. It’s none of your business.’
‘Alright,’ Ikkuma said and left him alone. She stood up and left into the darkness, as before, barefoot and pale like the snow.
Olik started growing lonely as he continued travelling on his own. He wondered where Ikkuma was. Had she managed to survive all alone in the cold? He was also getting the feeling that he was lost. He wasn’t sure if he was heading east or west anymore, or which way was north and which way was south. He had begun asking himself if he should try to go back. But there was no way he could…
“Aaah!” Sophie shrieked, as the bedroom’s light switched on. She looked at the door, to find her grandma standing at the doorstep.
“You should be in bed asleep by now,” she said softly.
“But we wanted to see what happened with the Lights and the fire! Grandpa stopped before the good part even started!” Jack complained and flashed an adorable smile at his grandma.
“Owww, I can’t understand how that old man managed to resist those puppy eyes!” grandma said and came to sit by them at the edge of the bed. “Let me read the rest to you…”
That was when Ikkuma showed up again.
‘What are you doing here? I thought you went home,’ Olik said, his voice laced with sarcasm. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was glad she was there. The loneliness subsided for a moment.
‘But I told you it was not the right time yet,’ she explained and came closer. ‘I thought you wanted company.’
Olik lifted his shoulders. ‘A little.’
‘Do you want us to go to your village? You can take the fire back to them and not be lonely anymore.’
‘I’m not going back there.’
Ikkuma looked at the flame in his hands with sad eyes. ‘It will grow even smaller.’
‘I’ll be far from here by then. I will get somewhere so warm, that I won’t need any flames that stupid fox spirits make!’
‘But you’re lost,’ she observed. ‘You don’t know which way is the warm land that you seek, and which way will get you back to where you started from.’
He examined the small redhead head to toe. She was barefoot still, and wearing the same thin white dress. Her skin was pale as the ice surrounding them and her eyes were sparkling more than ever. ‘But you do, don’t you? You always know which way to go. When I was with you, I was heading right, wasn’t I?’
Ikkuma nodded. ‘I can show you the way. But I can’t do anything for the cold after the flame goes out.’
‘If I know the way, I will be south before this happens,’ Olik said confidently.
‘I really wish I could talk you out of it, Olik,’ the child said disappointed, but showed him which way they should go with her little hand. Ikkuma agreed to go with Olik as far as their feet could get them. In the meantime, she tried making small talk to fill the silence. She didn’t like thinking she was failing to convince Olik going back home. ‘My name means ‘fire’. My mother said I am someone who can light up people’s hopes, like a small flame… Where is your family?’
Olik sighed as he thought of his own people. He could picture them clearly, as if he had seen them just yesterday. His brother and parents together, and he sitting away from them. ‘Do you really want to know why I don’t want to share anything with anyone?’
The child nodded, staring at the little prints her feet left in the snow.
‘I was the second child of a small and poor family. My parents never paid any attention to me. They congratulated my brother on everything he did. The day he swore loyalty to our tribe and joined the warriors, he was sent to get some of the flame from the Lights. Mom and dad were really proud. But they never saw anything I did. So after a while, I stopped doing things for them. I left to live on my own. Most people in the village forgot I existed. Even the few, who knew me, pretended they didn’t. And now, they will see how wrong they were to ignore me that way.’
‘But with what you’re doing, they still won’t like you,” Ikkuma murmured.
‘It doesn’t matter anymore.’
‘If you went back now, if you shared the fire with others, they would change their mind about you. You would seem like a hero in their eyes.’
‘No, they wouldn’t. I’d never be a hero to them for any reason.’
‘Why don’t you do it for all the others then? Your family isn’t the only villagers. People died because they didn’t have fire. Everyone is sad.’
‘Good,’ Olik said coldly. ‘It’s time they see what it’s like for once.’
Ikkuma fell silent, unable to change his mind. Olik had grown more impatient with the passing of time and was hurrying to get to his destination. The flame had grown so small that it fit into the palm of his one hand. It could hardy warm him anymore and winter’s frosty grip was obvious to him. He shivered occasionally, and tried to get warmed up in his soaked coat.
‘Will you please think about it a little more?’ Ikkuma pleaded with him. ‘Maybe, even if your family doesn’t care, others will. They will be so happy if someone brings some of the fire back and save their loved ones.’
Olik laughed. He lifted the hand where he held the fire. ‘Does this look enough to warm another person? Let alone, a whole village?’
The girl pushed her lips together in disappointment. ‘If you go back and decide to share, it will grow bigger…that is its purpose.’
Olik laughed loudly again, brushing the idea off. “You’re so naïve… Such a child… Listening to folklore like that…” He wouldn’t listen. Ikkuma had no choice but to simply lead the way now…
Two days later, the flame was nothing but a tiny spark. Olik had stopped walking, he was too tired and too cold to go on; the blizzard was keeping him from taking another step. Ikkuma sat by his side, looking at him. Sadness filled her eyes as she felt as if she had failed him, and the others.
‘You can still change your mind,’ she said softly.
Olik’s teeth chattered, and he clutched onto his coat more tightly, trying to keep himself warm. He couldn’t. And he couldn’t rely on the flame anymore. It was about to go out.
‘I can’t go back… I… I can’t share it. I don’t want to. Not with them…’ He coughed, and started shivering even more.
‘Why? What is so bad with sharing? Olik, if it goes out… there’s nothing I can do anymore. I told you.’
‘You showed me the way. Even if we didn’t get there… You showed me. Thank you.’ At first he smiled, but then he grimaced as he started coughing even worse than before.
‘I can show you the way back too,’ Ikkuma insisted once more.
‘No. I cannot. No.’
The little girl remained silent, observing the young thief. It only took a few minutes after he last spoke for the flame to vanish. Olik’s cheeks had lost all color and his skin turned really pale, almost blue. The cold had won. A single warm tear slipped down her cheek and fell on Olik’s cold forehead. With her little hands, she covered his body with snow, like a soft blanket and stood up. She whispered a last goodbye to her stubborn friend and ran.
From the places she passed, no man was left oblivious to a fox running through the wilderness in the heart of the winter. But more remarkable than that, was the appearance of a young girl to each village afterwards. A small child, with vivid red hair like flames and foxy yellow eyes showed everyone how to make fire. It wasn’t the same as the one the fox spirit used to give, long-lasting and safe to touch. Instead, one could get burned if he got too close, and it was dangerous if one didn’t know how to use it. Still, it offered warmth and once again, survival. The word of the mysterious girl spread, and she was welcomed in each village with joy. At the center of the village, they made a feast in her honor. She humbly thanked them each time, and left, saying it was late and that she should be heading home soon.
And so she did. Ikkuma, after she finally taught the people of all twelve villages how to create fire, went back into the cavern, where it all had started. She walked to the depths of it, blending into the darkness. The glowing figure of a fox emerged soon after the girl’s disappearance. It leapt into the sky, and as if performing a peculiar dance only it knew, it went up and up. The colorful Lights burst across the heavens with no warning, welcoming the young spirit.
‘Now it is time to go home, Olik. I’m sorry for what happened to you. Thanks to you, people now know to light a fire on their own. So nothing like what happened to you will happen ever again…’
“The end…” grandma announced, and placed the book on the end table next to where she was sitting.
Her youngest granddaughter was now crying. “Olik died…” she mumbled, wiping her face.
“Olik was bad!” Jack objected.
Lisa rolled her eyes. “Duh, he was too stubborn to listen to the spirit!”
Grandma touched Lisa’s shoulder. “Your sister is right, to some extent,” she told the other children. “Olik was a stubborn young man indeed. But he wasn’t bad. His actions were bad, but he was simply confused and angry at the world for the unfair way he felt he was treated. In the end, he made a choice of his own, and decided he didn’t want to share and he couldn’t forgive them. The spirit couldn’t force him, because all humans are gifted with something called free will. They can do what they want, and dependently, whatever those choices may be, whether good or bad, they will always have to face consequences.”
“So is that what the story’s trying to teach us?” Sophie asked, feeling somewhat better. She rubbed her eyes again and whipped away the last tears. She cracked a smile to her grandma.
“No, silly, it wanted to show that you can’t be happy, even if you have the best thing in the whole world, if you keep it just for yourself!” Jack said, sticking out his tongue and feeling much smarter instantly.
Grandma gave him a strict look and tsked a couple of times. Then she ruffled her grandson’s hair. “That andthat people should not be mean or ignore the presence of others, because it hurts them. Like Olik. If his family cared more, he may have never tried stealing the fire in the first place. Same way you have to be kind and loving to your sister.”
An impish grin showed on the boy’s face. “So that means I shouldn’t do this?” he inquired and pulled Sophie’s braided hair.
“Ouch!” she yelled. “Grandma! Tell him to stop!”
“You most definitely shouldn’t do that,” grandma said seriously.
“I liked the story,” Lisa said, who had been looking at her siblings amused by now.
“Yeah… Me too,” Sophie and Jack said together.
“I am glad you did children… Now off you go! Time to sleep! Grandma’s tired.”
The children split up, each curling under their own covers. Their grandmother walked towards the door and flipped off the light switch.
“Grams?” Sophie said, peeking over her quilt.
“Yes, sweetie?”
“Don’t tell grandpa we read the story tonight. I want him to read it to us again tomorrow.”
Grandma chuckled. “Of course you do. Sweet dreams.”
“Sweet dreams,” the children said back and their door clicked back in place.
“Do you think Ikkuma is real?” Sophie asked after silence filled the room.
“Sleep, she’s just a spirit from a fairytale,” her brother mumbled, covering his face with his pillow.
Sophie got out of bed and pulled a stool in front of the window, so that she could see outside. It was a peaceful night and the sky was filled with stars. “She exists, I just know it,” she whispered, her warm breath fogging up the glass. A flash of red and green lights spread through the sky, like colorful ribbons being wrapped around each other. A big smile broke across Sophie’s face. The small fox made of pure red light danced, lighting up the sky above and an ethereal girlish laugh echoed in the young girl’s ears as if confirming what she already knew.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
If you want to, share your thoughts with me guys! I'd really love to hear what you have to say about it!
Hugs!
Nessie
