When Beautiful Things End. (Alternate Title: A Boy Named Sky)

A short story I wrote for my Creative Writing class and my teacher said that I should publish it. Be warned that it's a childrens story.

 

When Beautiful Things End

 

One dark day there lived a little boy who lived on his own. He was always happy when it came to being alone. He loved to imagine all sorts of things. He normally lived in places like old abandoned buildings or usually the woods. He would dig himself a little foxhole or find a hole in a tree big enough for him to crawl into. “Why do I always see happy things?” He would question to no one in particular. Now this little boy wasn’t mean or cruel or anything; he just didn’t like bright colors or anything to do with joy.

One day as he lay dreaming inside of a little knothole in a tree he had a most horrifying dream. He dreamed of a little boy. He wasn’t much older than himself. He had blondish gold hair with fair glittering skin. He had eyes the color of deep rich forests. The thing that was most astonishing was his wings on his back. They were multicolored with reds, blues, greens, yellows, and violets of many colors. As the little boy was dreaming this he shivered like a little animal caught in the cold. The boy he was dreaming of was always happily singing even when he was alone.

“These wings on my back, they shine with wonder, which is why I sing and ponder.” He chimed as he sat making a wreath out of meadow of flowers. “I wonder if there is anyone with wings as brilliant as mine.” He commented suddenly, looking away from his task as hand to look up into the sky. The little boy who was dreaming felt like the little dream boy was looking at him.

“I’ll call him Sky because he wears the colors of the sky on his wings,” the little boy said into his thoughts. So Sky leapt into the air and flew straight up suddenly, only to be brought down to the ground again. “I wonder what happened,” Sky croaked shakily as he sat up. He looked once more to the sky and then started gliding down and out of the meadow to a little village off in the distance. This little village was populated by every kind of creature imaginable; from elvish creatures to dryads, or tree people. As Sky descended into the village a small crowd came to gather around him and marvel at his wings. “Your wings are truly a blessing to our village,” one small elvish girl stated.

“Think nothing of the sort. They are mine to flash about freely.” Sky stated as he drifted through the crowd. He walked towards the biggest building in the middle of the village. Then the door opened and an elderly centaur came out to greet Sky.

“Hello Sky. Long time no see, and how’s your journeying been?” the elder convened. As the conversation went on and on the little boy looked at Sky with fright for he hadn’t seen so many colors of the sort in one place. He knew that this was a dream, or so it seemed so he imagined a bunch of dull and colorless creatures that wielded little swords and clubs.

“We have come for the winged one.” Stated one of the little gob creatures.

“Who are you to come into my place of residence so freely?” bellowed the elder centaur.

“We were summoned here by the Great Dreaming. The Great Dreaming wishes for all of the beautiful things in this world to be eradicated,” droned the steely voice of the lead gob creature. They advanced menacingly towards the frightened creatures of color. Sky backed away a step and then stepped in between the creatures of color and the gob creatures.

“You have no right to be here. The Great Dreaming has no rule in our lands,” Sky yelled as he held his hands out for the gob creatures to stop. They didn’t. When they saw his multi-colored wings they stopped. As Sky unfurled his wings he lifted off the ground a little bit. The little boy was so frightened that he cried out in his sleep, “NO!”

Sky heard that dreadful scream and looked to the skies again. One of the gob creatures raised its blow gun, and all of a sudden Sky felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down to see a barbed needle buried in his abdomen. “Why? Why do you despise colors so much?” Sky implored as he drifted back down to the ground and lay there. The creatures of both color and gob gathered around the dying man. They noticed that his wings were starting to curl and the color was fading bit by bit.

“Wait….can you hear me?” asked the little boy as he looked down upon the spectacle.

“As clearly as you can see all of this,” Sky sputtered weakly; the poison working slowly in his system. “Why? Is color not meant to bring happiness? Everyone has it in there imagination and even their own hearts.”

The little boy cried out to Sky, “Not me. I like dark colors but I don’t see any dark colors around here besides the gob creatures that I created.” He appeared before Sky.

“You don’t have to worry about that. Everyone has absolute color in their hearts. Look,” demanded Sky as he reached his hand up to his heart. His hand and chest area around the heart became translucent and the child saw a multitude of colors that he thought he couldn’t even dream of. “That’s right. This isn’t a dream. It’s quite real. This is all happening in a different time period, and you are the one that can save them. Cast away your fears and doubts of being alone. Know that there are friends out there everywhere you go.”

“But I don’t know what to do. I’ve always been alone so I’m happy this way. I don’t even have beautiful colors in my world,” the little boy sobbed as he knelt down by Sky.

“Yes you do; you just can’t see it with your own eyes. You have to use your mind and heart,” Sky stated as he reached his other hand up to the heart of the little boy, which went translucent with Sky’s hand. “You are just like us, and we are just like you. Everyone has color in there being. That is what we are comprised of.” As Sky said this he looked down at his own heart to see that it had the same colors flowing through it as Sky’s.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” wailed the little boy as he threw himself down on Sky’s chest and started to cry. “Please. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

Sky looked at him for a moment and then said, “It’s already too late for me. Gob poison is very toxic and there is no antidote. But you can save the other villagers. All you have to do is use your mind and heart. It will come to you in this world,” Sky rasped as he started to breath heavily and shook violently.

“Sky, please, I don’t know what that means. Please help me Sky,” bawled the little boy as he started to shake Sky. The village chief cantered up to the little boy and put his hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay son. He gave his life to protect the ones he loved. Now it’s your turn to fulfill his last wish. I know that you can do it.”

The little boy stood up sobbing and then he slowly turned around to face the gob creatures and stopped sobbing. He looked up with tears in his eyes and then said shakily, “Go away!”

The gob creatures looked at him, confused of his wish, and pondered what to do. He was their creator, he told them what to do. They wondered why he would order them to destroy all the creatures of color, and then order them to go away. “GO AWAY!” the little boy shouted more commandingly, and the little gob creatures backed away frightened.
“You know, all creatures aren’t good or evil. We have the same flesh and blood inside of us that the Grand Creator gave us. He made us all the same with free will. Do not judge based on appearance. They were only following your commands. They are quite gentle creatures, but they are fierce when ordered to do something.”

The little boy heard this from the village chief, and then knew what to do. “Help these villagers bury Sky. He was the one who opened my eyes to the truth. Please, do this last command and then return to your home.” The little boy said this and then disappeared.

The little boy woke up to find that it was morning. There was a fine mist hanging in the air, and the sunlight filtered through the leaves and trees to give an aura of awe and comfort in the forest. “That was strange,” said the little boy sleepily. He started to climb down from the knothole, and then noticed a strange carving in the wall of the hole. He examined it more closely to discover it was a picture of a winged being with a heart where it should be. Then colors flashed into the carving and he heard a faint whisper through the air, “Thank you.” He climbed back down tree and then headed for home.

 

Brian Hardy

Author's Note

Ignore the misplaced here and there's. ^.^