The Dark Secret

The project is for the expedition “What the Phenomena,” where we explore natural and social phenomena explained in ancient Greek and Roman myths, focusing on the clues these stories provide about these ancient civilizations.

I incorporated global warming into my writing and attended 4 office hours with my expert, Lauren, to make revisions and get the best possible result for my work. 

The Dark Secret 

On one sunny day, two children were playing in the streets of Mistica. Mistica was a sprawling city with thousands of people but it held a dark secret. A secret so well hidden that only the most unlikely of heroes could figure it out. Those two heroes were the children playing in the side streets. Their names were Rain, a tall boy with stark white skin and black beautiful lush hair. Instead of having small round ears, he had long pointy ones that looked like elf ears. The other child, Sheela was a small but strong girl with blue eyes with brown hair. Unlike Rain, she had blue webbed feet. After an hour or so of playing tag, both Rain and Sheela went inside to eat with their family and friends.

Everyone was kind and had a sort of close family lifestyle. They all linked hands and heard the voice of their lion-faced President, Roar. His voice boomed over the giant City of Mistica, “Let us thank the gods for this food.” They said a silent prayer and dug in.

Both Rain and Sheela changed out of their play clothes (which for Sheela were yoga pants and a tank top, while Rain wore black jeans with a powder white sweatshirt). Sheela now wore a sleeveless violet and indigo dress, whereas Rain wore an olive green collared shirt and nice gray shorts. The food was fabulous. As meals appeared out of thin air, plates would float down slowly to the table and rest there to be devoured. After dinner, the friends and family said good night and parted to sleep. 

In the morning Rain went to Sheela’s house ready for another day to play and have fun! Neither of them knew the terrors they were going to face. As they played tag and hide and seek throughout the streets they were met by a strange man who had burns everywhere, even on his tail. He spoke in a raspy voice, “The things we have done can never be forgiven.” Both Rain and Sheela looked at each other and bolted. They mutually agreed the man was obviously senile.

As the day ended and they both went to bed, Rain could not shake those words. “The things we have done can never be forgiven.” As he thought about that, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

The morning had come quickly. As Rain got up, he yawned. It felt like he had got no sleep at all. After he got dressed he went to the streets to find Sheela. She jogged over to him, said good morning, and tagged him. As they were playing, a merchant with lion paws approached them. He looked side to side as if to see if anyone was listening and spoke softly, “Your whole life is an illusion, make sure not to lose it.” Then the lion-man briskly walked away. 

As Rain and Sheela pondered what the man had said, Sheela spoke quietly, “Our whole life is an illusion. What does that mean?” They were quiet for a few moments until Rain tagged Sheela and ran off. Sheela in hot pursuit of Rain ran into a cave that they had never seen before. Catching their breath they looked at the tunnel which had a faint glow to it. They plunged into the glow tripping over roots and soil until they were exhausted. 

When they woke up they realized that the tunnel looked different and had a bit of light coming out of the darkness. Rain and Sheela were curious, so they ran toward the light. As they got closer they realized it had a red shimmer to it and that instead of one beam of light, there were two. They approached the red light and when it came into view they knew they were in trouble.

A silhouette of a giant snake with bat wings and piercing red eyes came into view. Rain and Sheela looked at each other and laughed. The animal looked hilarious. Then, it lunged at them and started shooting lasers out of its eyes! They both dodged in different directions but Sheela’s foot got caught on a tree branch and she fell in agony. Rain realized that the animal was really dangerous. He ran toward the snake-bat hybrid and slipped through its long scaley body. The animal was so focused on killing Rain that it burned part of its long scarlet body. As soon as the lasers hit its skin the animal fell to the ground dead. 

Rain was stunned his plan had worked. As the wound kept steaming, Rain went to check on Sheela. “You good?” he asked with worry in his eyes. Sheela nodded in response. 

Both of the kids got up and saw a little golden light ahead. They ran toward it getting closer and closer to the light until they saw where it was coming from. A little glass porthole was up in the ceiling with a little ladder in front of it. Almost bursting with excitement they opened it and crawled out of the top. Instantly they were both burned to death. 

Luckily, the gods Aphrodite and Ares took pity on their children and rebore them with clothes that gave them the ability to survive in the scorched wasteland (the threads of the fates themselves). When they were reborn, the gods gave their children powers: Sheela got an unbreakable shield, and Rain got the legendary power of charm speak (the ability of godly persuasion). The gods wished their children good luck, and parted flying up toward the clouds. 

When Rain and Sheela turned around to go back inside the tunnel it was not there. In its place was a one-person tall sand mound. As they were digging a soft voice came from behind them, “Do you need any help?” Sheela and Rain turned around to find a small cactus jumping toward them. “Sure! What's your name?” Sheela replied. “Pokey,” the cacti said shyly. As they dug, Rain realized how wilted Pokey looked. He spoke worryingly, “Are you thirsty? My godly parent gave me some water.” Pokey nodded and took the canteen in her spiky hands. “Thanks!” she replied, handing the empty bottle back to Rain. 

As they reached the porthole Sheela told Pokey “Thank you so much! Hope to see you again!” Pokey said, “Of course! I also hope to see you soon!” with tears in her eyes. 

Then down Rain and Sheela went. When they hit the ground they saw lights that looked like the lights of Mistica. They sprinted toward it and found themselves in the side street where they found the tunnel. They raced to confront Roar, their president. 

When they got to his small house Rain knocked on the door. Their president was surprised to see them. “Hello, Rain and Sheela. What brings you here today?” Roar said in a deep voice. “We want answers,” replied Rain. Roar looked like a cloud had taken over his face as the children told him what they knew. 

Roar spoke in a solemn voice, “If I'm going to tell the truth, I'm going to tell everybody.” As his voice amplified to the city, he told the story. “Years and years ago we had a wonderful life. Rivers, lakes, forests, oceans, but because of mortals’ mistakes our world was punished. People did horrible things and only the humans who survived were the good ones. The ones with a pure heart and soul went underground and built Mistica. The founders put up magical barriers to make it seem as if we were living regularly when we really weren't. They also needed someone to watch over the remaining people. So the gods voted and sent me to watch over you. That's right, I am a god. To be specific I am Apollo, god of archery, the sun, and much more. I am the one who set your upper world in flames and almost nothing can save it. That is unless all of you fall into a circle holding hands and using all of your magical power to save your upper world.”

At once, all the citizens held hands and began the ritual. Everyone was using their magic to set back what they had done wrong in the past. As Apollo led the way, they walked into the tunnel Rain and Sheela had previously stumbled upon. When everybody had reached the top, they realized how pristine the upper world was. It was no longer a wasteland. Now it was pristine rivers, lakes, and forests. 

As everyone stared in awe at their new future Roar broke the silence “All of this is because of two small children who were curious.” He gestured to Rain and Sheela. Everyone exploded in applause. After the standing ovation, Rain saw his godly mother Aphrodite who whispered “You did amazing!” in his ear and flew back to the heavens. Rain walked over to Sheela and said “Well I'm ready to sleep.” Sheela laughed and punched his arm. “You can wait lazy.” Then spoke the magical word “tag” and ran away with Rain in pursuit.   

The End