Hope in the ashes

As the Eagle soar through the skies, a thick blanket of clouds covered the horrors beneath like a loving mother's hands on her child's eyes. The Eagle gently passed through the clouds , descending into the lower atmosphere. A dark gray color painted the earth below and puffs of smoke choked the air, the Eagle flew over the war zone that was splattered with blood and lifeless bodies. In the distance, The Eagle saw movement like an out-of-place puzzle piece, a pale-skinned boy was running towards something.

***

The boy's movements were sluggish, and his body looked like it was about to give in as he ran into a ravaged town with blacked burnt buildings that seemed like they were lost souls roaming the underworld. Charcoal colored trees with outstretched arms and hands to the heavens, seeking salvation from their pain. The boy made his way into the town as the Eagle swooped down and planted his feet on one tree's black finger. The boy struggled through the streets of this once cheerful town but now a scavenger's paradise, cinematic flashes of happier times entered his mind as his feet puffed up black dust. His eyes saw something, a small flickering light blinking through a heap of gray stones, curiosity pulled him towards the anomaly.

Dirty hair, stained clothes and his pale skin smeared with the dark soil, trails of sadness were visible down the boy's cheeks. Tears filled his eyes again as he looked at his jacket his mother gave him before hiding him and his brother. Screams and swords clashing painted his imagination when the fighting started, fear and a promise to his father restrained him to their hiding place. Now digging through the stones, he found it.

***

A white glowing light came from the pile. The boy's eyes widened with astonishment as he saw the stone. He carefully lifted the egged shaped globe and pulled it closer to his face. She smiled at him, swirling around inside the bright light in his hands. When she moved, her clothes flashed in different colors. The boy has never seen a more enchanting and beautiful creature in his life. Her smile was a blessing to the world, she moved around the stone like a fish playing in the sea.

The boy's heart reacted every time his eyes met hers, a tingling feeling came over him as he drew the stone closer. He swore to himself that he will not let any harm fall upon her in any way. A cracking sound jerked the boy's head back to see what it was, it was his brother. The girl in the stone did another swirl and smiled, the boy tried to hide her from him. A few more children emerged from the safety of their hiding places, pale white faces stained with the black soil, slowly descended on the boy.

Like the walking dead, they dragged their feet, slowly making their way to him and the glowing light in his hands. He knew all the children of the small village and called them all friends, but today their faces looked like those of enemies. The boy held the stone closer to him, not wanting to let his enemies near her, they could harm her or just use her for their twisted pleasures. He could not let them have the stone. The other children surrounded the boy as he bear-hug the stone, all of them pulling and pushing him. Their greedy eyes and heavy hands grabbed at the stone as the boy was holding on to it with his life. A blood-red light burst from the boy's hands, and the smell of burned flesh filled the air around the group as the boy released the red stone with shock in his eyes.

A few layers of skin were burned off, and the sizzling sound warned you not to touch the stone as it lay still on the ground. All the children's eyes were wide with interest, and their steps mindful of the sizzling stone. The boy's brother came closer and smiled at the stone, he smiled at the other children, and they started smiling with each other. The brother started to laugh and one by one all of them started to laugh. The stone became a bright pink and the children stopped laughing.

The brother gently took one of the little girl's hands and they both touched the stone. An angelic sound rose from the stone and boomed into the ears of the children. The white glowing again returned from the stone, and the beautiful colorful creature returned and smiled at the boy and the little girl touching it. The other children smiled and looked at each other, their faces, and eyes filled with hope.

Their laughter started to sing across the mute sky. The children moved to the smiling creature in the brightening stone. All of them got a chance to touch it. They slowly lifted the stone, and those that could not touch it held the one standing in front of them on the shoulder.

The boy got back up to his feet and stood behind his brother, his brother smiled at him and the boy's face filled up with hope and held his brother's shoulder. The fairy-like creature made a few swirls in her stone, and an explosion of light and colors rained on the children.

The boy looked to the skies and saw an Eagle flying overhead. The Eagle saw the dancing colors above the circle of children as it flapped its wings and returned to the heavens.