Final - Gustavo Flores
This
is a documentary-style story with a strong theme of nihilism. The story
is about a servant. It takes place in a god-touched dukedom on a world
that has all but forgotten its magical past. The crux of the story
involves a journey.
-------
Sunyol and the Walls of Elements
Graceland is not the land it used to be. A glorious past, when all the people were happy and laughed, when everyone helped each other and everybody had confidence and trust on each other. All of that cannot be seen anymore. Graceland was blessed by the gods. Crops never failed and a big river of crystalline, pure water surrounded the land. People were never hungry nor thirsty, all of them had enough services and their life quality was very good. But of course, all of that cannot be seen anymore. Everything is gone. People don’t fight and they don’t argue, but worse, they don’t get along with each other at all. Everyone is stuck in their own world, depressed and without desires and objectives in their lifes. Graceland was now a gloom land and the splendor of its golden years was long gone, not even remembered, totally forgotten. The old beauty of Graceland was buried in the past.
In the darkest chamber of the largest castle, a little servant lived. His name was Sunyol. He was very thin and short. No one took him seriously, and unlike the rest of the people in Graceland, he wanted more of his life. One good night, he dreamed a voice, a profound, solemn voice calling his name: “Sunyol…Sunyol…beyond the wind and above the sky…Sunyol…Sunyol”, the voice became weaker and softer, then a golden flash of light appeared, and Sunyol woke up. Anxious, Sunyol started thinking about his dream. Whose voice was that, calling his name? Beyond the wind and above the sky? What could that possibly mean? Somehow, Sunyol was feeling tired, and after a while he fell asleep again.
Next morning, Sunyol woke up very early. His sleep had been uneasy and he couldn’t stop thinking about his dream. Longing for an answer, he went to see Danya, a woman who was said to have special powers. Maybe she could help him. Sunyol told his dream to Danya, who woke up in a terrible mood. “High above, beyond what your sight can see, resides the old temple of creation, where the father god lives. There’s no use going there kid. It’s not worth it. You’re not worth it. Nothing is worth it. Don’t waste your time kid and stop wasting mine, although time is worth nothing. Go away”, and with those words Danya fell back into her slumber.
Now, the journey of Sunyol had begun. For 15 days and 15 nights he travelled all around Graceland. After 15 years leaving with that community, he should be used to the indifference of the people but it still pained him to see everyone not caring about anything. He climbed mountains and crossed rivers until he finally arrive to the Temple of Creation. It was a solemn place. A big squared room, each wall decorated with one of the four elements of life: earth, fire, air, and water. At the center, where all the elements merged, a big statue of Waefair, the father god, could be found. When Sunyol entered the room a sudden chill travelled all around his body, the candles that lit the room were extinguished and everything was left in darkness, except for the statue, that continued glowing in the dark and started talking.
“Dear Sunyol, the bravest of my child, I called you and you came, defeating all kind of dangers you arrived, and for that I shall be eternally grateful. Listen carefully my son because I have a petition for you. Graceland has fallen in a black hole of depression, indifference and misery. It hasn’t been like that always. Before you were born, Graceland was a land of richness and happiness, but then, one of my brothers, Nihyin, the god of moods, fought with me. He has always been the black ship of the family. Because of his powers he has a very explosive character and he is, I am not afraid to confess it, bipolar. Despite that, we got along quite well but one day he got mad because I ate his special edition cherry pizza pretzel (it tasted awful by the way, and I regret that I ate it). The truth is that he was always happier when everyone was suffering, and he hated to see all my people happy. He decided to take revenge and he stole the memory of my people. That is why they don’t remember anything about their glorious past and now they are living that gloomy life, a life without dreams and desires. But you were different. You never succumbed to that strange power and grew with your head held high, ambitioning more of your life. I waited for the right time, 15 years, now you are ready to complete this quest. Enter the room of Nihyin and recover the lost memory of my people. But it won’t be that easy. Before you will have to pass three chambers that will help you to know yourself better and that will give you the clues to defeat my brother. You are brave Sunyol, and I don’t doubt that you will be victorious.”
When Waefair stopped talking, the room illuminated and he was a death statue again. At the bottom, a golden collar, shaped like a sun, appeared. Sunyol grabbed it and saw with surprise that it had his name written on it. He wore the collar and he felt a pleasant warm in his body, a vigorous warm that recovered all his force. He felt braver than ever. He looked around and stared at the four walls: earth, air, water, and fire were surrounding him. Where should he head first? He looked at his collar again. It was very pretty. A ruby on the center with the rays of the sun made of gold. The sun. He had always liked the sun. In the gloomy Graceland the sun only lasted for two hours, but he treasured those two hours, the only time where he could play in the park and in the green grass…The green grass? Of course! The answer was in front of him! He headed to the earth wall, and as he was coming closer his collar shone brighter and a door appeared.
Sunyol arrived to the Forest of Silence. It was a vast space of green land, but the complete silence of the land made him feel trapped. He tried to shout but no sound came out of his mouth. Not knowing what to do, Sunyol sat down and began reflecting. He thought about how sad he felt while being rejected and working as a servant. He had always wanted more. He wanted to travel the world; he wanted to become a researcher since he had always been very curious. He remembered how good he had felt when, after his dream, he decided to risk, take all chances and go into an adventure. He was smiling, and then he realized that what Graceland needed was motivation, motivation to pursue their dreams and reach happiness. In that instant a big tree appeared and a golden apple fell. Sunyol’s collar started shining and when he took the apple another door appeared. Sunyol took the apple with him and left.
He was back in the squared room with the walls of elements. His next stop was the Air wall. He entered and he saw a big platform. Beyond the platform there was nothing but clouds. It was a beautiful sight. He had discovered the Winds of Hope. He started walking in the great platform, until he found a sign that read “The fall is near. Brave is not enough if you don’t behave. Keep your heart up if you don’t want to meet your grave.” Sunyol thought about the inscription for a moment. He didn’t understand it but in the room there was nothing else except for the platform where he was standing and the clouds beyond him. Fearing that he was making a big mistake, he continued walking until he reached the clouds. He doubted for a moment but then he made his mind up and left the platform. What he suspected happened. Sunyol was falling! He felt lost, he was going to die. Sunyol noticed that with every negative thought that crossed his mind he started falling faster and he could now see the cement floor beneath him. He managed to calm down and thought about the inscription: “Keep your heart up if you don’t want to meet your grave”, and then he realized it! As silly as it may sound, he just had to wait for someone to help him. Hope and faith was all he needed. And help came! A beautiful bird, a quetzal, came to the rescue. Sunyol had learned the lesson. The quetzal put Sunyol safely on the floor, and before leaving gifted him one of his feathers. Sunyol’s collar and the feather glowed and another door appeared. He crossed the door.
Once again, Sunyol arrived to the squared room. This time he headed to the Water Wall. He wasn’t sure why but he had a strong feeling that it was the right way to go. When he entered to the other chamber he saw a very savage river, the River of Trust. He was scared by just looking at it. The current was furious and very sharp rocks were surrounding the river. Just thinking about crossing the river would be crazy. Then at the other side he saw a light and his collar starting shining as well. He knew what he had to do now, but he didn’t dare to do it. Why it was so difficult for him? He didn’t felt he was capable of crossing that river. He was too young. Only a true hero would be able to cross that. Sunyol felt so insecure. He remembered how he was falling in the last chamber and how he had faith that someone would help him. And now everything was on his hands. Why couldn’t he do it? He had to trust himself as much as he had trusted that someone would save him in the other chamber. And then he felt it. He wasn’t scare anymore. He felt powerful and confident. He felt he was capable of doing anything, and he did! He crossed the river and found a beautiful stone. His collar shone even brighter and a door appeared. He took the stone and left the room.
In the squared room he was again. The only door left to visit was the Fire Wall, and he knew what he was going to find there: Nihyin. Sunyol, entered the last door. He started feeling strange, different. A sudden desperation invaded him. He started feeling worthless and indifferent to everything. He was there to defeat Nihyin, but who cared about that? A terrible laugh interrupted his thoughts. It was Nihyin, who was coming closer and closer in a menacing way. He knew his task but which was the point of it? Why should he defeat Nihyin? Was he even able to defeat it? And if he was, why should he? No one would ever thank him. Graceland had always been indifferent to him. Graceland never did anything for him, why should he do anything for them? It wasn’t worth it. It was not worth the try.
With every negative thought, Nihyin grew bigger and bigger, but then, when he was feeling more desperate than ever with those tormenting thoughts, a shiny light started clearing his mind. His four treasures: the collar, the apple, the feather, and the stone were helping him. He started feeling better. The powers of happiness, motivation, faith, hope, trust and self confidence were acting and shining like never before. Blinded by the light, Nihyin retreated and became smaller and smaller. The light hurt him, so he was screaming in pain. Hihyin was weaker but Sunyol felt stronger. Using his sun collar as a shuriken (that pretty cool ninja tool!), Sunyol threw it at Nihyin, who screamed louder than ever and disappeared. Nihyin was gone!
Sunyol took the lost memory of Graceland and returned to the squared room. There, Waefair was waiting for him. He thanked him and congratulated Sunyol for his victory. The lost memory was recovered and with that the happiness, grace and glory of Graceland. Sunyol returned to his land and was received and greeted by all the people of Graceland. Sunyol was happy. No more servant jobs. He had finally found his place, a true hero he was!
-------
Sunyol and the Walls of Elements
Graceland is not the land it used to be. A glorious past, when all the people were happy and laughed, when everyone helped each other and everybody had confidence and trust on each other. All of that cannot be seen anymore. Graceland was blessed by the gods. Crops never failed and a big river of crystalline, pure water surrounded the land. People were never hungry nor thirsty, all of them had enough services and their life quality was very good. But of course, all of that cannot be seen anymore. Everything is gone. People don’t fight and they don’t argue, but worse, they don’t get along with each other at all. Everyone is stuck in their own world, depressed and without desires and objectives in their lifes. Graceland was now a gloom land and the splendor of its golden years was long gone, not even remembered, totally forgotten. The old beauty of Graceland was buried in the past.
In the darkest chamber of the largest castle, a little servant lived. His name was Sunyol. He was very thin and short. No one took him seriously, and unlike the rest of the people in Graceland, he wanted more of his life. One good night, he dreamed a voice, a profound, solemn voice calling his name: “Sunyol…Sunyol…beyond the wind and above the sky…Sunyol…Sunyol”, the voice became weaker and softer, then a golden flash of light appeared, and Sunyol woke up. Anxious, Sunyol started thinking about his dream. Whose voice was that, calling his name? Beyond the wind and above the sky? What could that possibly mean? Somehow, Sunyol was feeling tired, and after a while he fell asleep again.
Next morning, Sunyol woke up very early. His sleep had been uneasy and he couldn’t stop thinking about his dream. Longing for an answer, he went to see Danya, a woman who was said to have special powers. Maybe she could help him. Sunyol told his dream to Danya, who woke up in a terrible mood. “High above, beyond what your sight can see, resides the old temple of creation, where the father god lives. There’s no use going there kid. It’s not worth it. You’re not worth it. Nothing is worth it. Don’t waste your time kid and stop wasting mine, although time is worth nothing. Go away”, and with those words Danya fell back into her slumber.
Now, the journey of Sunyol had begun. For 15 days and 15 nights he travelled all around Graceland. After 15 years leaving with that community, he should be used to the indifference of the people but it still pained him to see everyone not caring about anything. He climbed mountains and crossed rivers until he finally arrive to the Temple of Creation. It was a solemn place. A big squared room, each wall decorated with one of the four elements of life: earth, fire, air, and water. At the center, where all the elements merged, a big statue of Waefair, the father god, could be found. When Sunyol entered the room a sudden chill travelled all around his body, the candles that lit the room were extinguished and everything was left in darkness, except for the statue, that continued glowing in the dark and started talking.
“Dear Sunyol, the bravest of my child, I called you and you came, defeating all kind of dangers you arrived, and for that I shall be eternally grateful. Listen carefully my son because I have a petition for you. Graceland has fallen in a black hole of depression, indifference and misery. It hasn’t been like that always. Before you were born, Graceland was a land of richness and happiness, but then, one of my brothers, Nihyin, the god of moods, fought with me. He has always been the black ship of the family. Because of his powers he has a very explosive character and he is, I am not afraid to confess it, bipolar. Despite that, we got along quite well but one day he got mad because I ate his special edition cherry pizza pretzel (it tasted awful by the way, and I regret that I ate it). The truth is that he was always happier when everyone was suffering, and he hated to see all my people happy. He decided to take revenge and he stole the memory of my people. That is why they don’t remember anything about their glorious past and now they are living that gloomy life, a life without dreams and desires. But you were different. You never succumbed to that strange power and grew with your head held high, ambitioning more of your life. I waited for the right time, 15 years, now you are ready to complete this quest. Enter the room of Nihyin and recover the lost memory of my people. But it won’t be that easy. Before you will have to pass three chambers that will help you to know yourself better and that will give you the clues to defeat my brother. You are brave Sunyol, and I don’t doubt that you will be victorious.”
When Waefair stopped talking, the room illuminated and he was a death statue again. At the bottom, a golden collar, shaped like a sun, appeared. Sunyol grabbed it and saw with surprise that it had his name written on it. He wore the collar and he felt a pleasant warm in his body, a vigorous warm that recovered all his force. He felt braver than ever. He looked around and stared at the four walls: earth, air, water, and fire were surrounding him. Where should he head first? He looked at his collar again. It was very pretty. A ruby on the center with the rays of the sun made of gold. The sun. He had always liked the sun. In the gloomy Graceland the sun only lasted for two hours, but he treasured those two hours, the only time where he could play in the park and in the green grass…The green grass? Of course! The answer was in front of him! He headed to the earth wall, and as he was coming closer his collar shone brighter and a door appeared.
Sunyol arrived to the Forest of Silence. It was a vast space of green land, but the complete silence of the land made him feel trapped. He tried to shout but no sound came out of his mouth. Not knowing what to do, Sunyol sat down and began reflecting. He thought about how sad he felt while being rejected and working as a servant. He had always wanted more. He wanted to travel the world; he wanted to become a researcher since he had always been very curious. He remembered how good he had felt when, after his dream, he decided to risk, take all chances and go into an adventure. He was smiling, and then he realized that what Graceland needed was motivation, motivation to pursue their dreams and reach happiness. In that instant a big tree appeared and a golden apple fell. Sunyol’s collar started shining and when he took the apple another door appeared. Sunyol took the apple with him and left.
He was back in the squared room with the walls of elements. His next stop was the Air wall. He entered and he saw a big platform. Beyond the platform there was nothing but clouds. It was a beautiful sight. He had discovered the Winds of Hope. He started walking in the great platform, until he found a sign that read “The fall is near. Brave is not enough if you don’t behave. Keep your heart up if you don’t want to meet your grave.” Sunyol thought about the inscription for a moment. He didn’t understand it but in the room there was nothing else except for the platform where he was standing and the clouds beyond him. Fearing that he was making a big mistake, he continued walking until he reached the clouds. He doubted for a moment but then he made his mind up and left the platform. What he suspected happened. Sunyol was falling! He felt lost, he was going to die. Sunyol noticed that with every negative thought that crossed his mind he started falling faster and he could now see the cement floor beneath him. He managed to calm down and thought about the inscription: “Keep your heart up if you don’t want to meet your grave”, and then he realized it! As silly as it may sound, he just had to wait for someone to help him. Hope and faith was all he needed. And help came! A beautiful bird, a quetzal, came to the rescue. Sunyol had learned the lesson. The quetzal put Sunyol safely on the floor, and before leaving gifted him one of his feathers. Sunyol’s collar and the feather glowed and another door appeared. He crossed the door.
Once again, Sunyol arrived to the squared room. This time he headed to the Water Wall. He wasn’t sure why but he had a strong feeling that it was the right way to go. When he entered to the other chamber he saw a very savage river, the River of Trust. He was scared by just looking at it. The current was furious and very sharp rocks were surrounding the river. Just thinking about crossing the river would be crazy. Then at the other side he saw a light and his collar starting shining as well. He knew what he had to do now, but he didn’t dare to do it. Why it was so difficult for him? He didn’t felt he was capable of crossing that river. He was too young. Only a true hero would be able to cross that. Sunyol felt so insecure. He remembered how he was falling in the last chamber and how he had faith that someone would help him. And now everything was on his hands. Why couldn’t he do it? He had to trust himself as much as he had trusted that someone would save him in the other chamber. And then he felt it. He wasn’t scare anymore. He felt powerful and confident. He felt he was capable of doing anything, and he did! He crossed the river and found a beautiful stone. His collar shone even brighter and a door appeared. He took the stone and left the room.
In the squared room he was again. The only door left to visit was the Fire Wall, and he knew what he was going to find there: Nihyin. Sunyol, entered the last door. He started feeling strange, different. A sudden desperation invaded him. He started feeling worthless and indifferent to everything. He was there to defeat Nihyin, but who cared about that? A terrible laugh interrupted his thoughts. It was Nihyin, who was coming closer and closer in a menacing way. He knew his task but which was the point of it? Why should he defeat Nihyin? Was he even able to defeat it? And if he was, why should he? No one would ever thank him. Graceland had always been indifferent to him. Graceland never did anything for him, why should he do anything for them? It wasn’t worth it. It was not worth the try.
With every negative thought, Nihyin grew bigger and bigger, but then, when he was feeling more desperate than ever with those tormenting thoughts, a shiny light started clearing his mind. His four treasures: the collar, the apple, the feather, and the stone were helping him. He started feeling better. The powers of happiness, motivation, faith, hope, trust and self confidence were acting and shining like never before. Blinded by the light, Nihyin retreated and became smaller and smaller. The light hurt him, so he was screaming in pain. Hihyin was weaker but Sunyol felt stronger. Using his sun collar as a shuriken (that pretty cool ninja tool!), Sunyol threw it at Nihyin, who screamed louder than ever and disappeared. Nihyin was gone!
Sunyol took the lost memory of Graceland and returned to the squared room. There, Waefair was waiting for him. He thanked him and congratulated Sunyol for his victory. The lost memory was recovered and with that the happiness, grace and glory of Graceland. Sunyol returned to his land and was received and greeted by all the people of Graceland. Sunyol was happy. No more servant jobs. He had finally found his place, a true hero he was!