Shin
1985
The sound was so loud and clear, yet I don’t know what it was or which way to go. As a young boy hurdling my way through the empty unnamed streets, it was the scariest thing I have ever encountered. I could feel the weight behind my shoulders, and the gut feeling that something is wrong. My stomach rumbled. I am hungry; I wonder what Grandma cooked for today. I could feel the heat in my shorts, so I went to the forest to pee.
The roaring laughter now blasted through my ears, and I couldn’t find a way to stop it; so, I hid under the tree beside me and sat for a moment.
There was an unbearable stillness and I felt sick to my stomach.
I searched in my pockets for a biscuit, and luckily, I found one.
For a moment I fell asleep
When I open my eyes, everything was still silent, and I could feel somebody watching me.
I sat silently, while I try my best to hear the sound- footsteps.
I can hear shoes walking here and there.
I raised my knees in front of me, my mood switching to another scary episode and for a while, I thought of a flashback memory.
After school, we went to Ben's house in his dad's garage. There was me, Ben, Jerry, and Phil. We were playing snakes and ladders while talking about girls at school, ghost stories, and how one day a giant man followed Phil, our other friend on the way home.
"It was nuts!"
He spoke.
"...so, I bought a coke from the store, and when I look behind me there was that rugged man following me. He was dressed all in black clothes and his hair was spiked up."
"...then what happened?" We all asked.
Jerry kicked an empty milk carton, filled with excitement while we listen intently to Phil's story.
... From what I remembered," He went on. "He was covered in tattoos and his face was all red. His muscles were so bulky, and he was very tall.
So basically, I was walking and then I heard heavy footsteps behind me. When I looked back, I saw him.
He looked furious like he was going to haunt a wild deer, with a gun in his hand. I'm lucky he didn't bring anything with him.
"So how did you escape?"
I asked him.
"I ran off to a river nearby, and when he got closer I hid under a tree, and after that, it was like a hide-and-seek game.
To be fair he was looking for me let's say, for about an hour. And when he found me in that tree, I ran again as fast as possible until I reached the water. I drowned myself in the river for a while, and I thank heavens he was too stupid to even hear me dive in. When it got too dark, that's when I escaped and used the shortcut to home.
"... So, you went the route through Sandhill town," Jerry said.
We were all in awe with Phil after that, and then Ben brought out an icebox with more coke and gave us each peanut butter chocolates while we watched scary movies inside their house.
I look up to see if anyone in the woods is waiting to do hide and seek with me, but there's no river nearby.
I don't even know what place this is because I was only pushed in.
How can I even get escape?
Circling the corner, I saw a black figure coming out.
It had a shadowy, long-form but I can't see its face.
The laughter sounds came again.
Far ahead, I saw two hyenas rambling on and about the forest.
I could almost scream, but I didn't budge. Quietly I stood up from the tree, seeing them getting closer.
I quickly thought of a way to escape from them. Since I did not have any weapons with me, I immediately thought about climbing the tree from where I stood.
"Climb up," says the voice.
"You're a fighter, Shin. You got this."
I spotted a soft hollow in the bark and from there I landed my feet and climbed my way up until I reach the tip. I'm thankful enough that I got there in time. I sat there for a moment while looking down and watching over myself.
The hyenas are approaching, wildly hunting for their prey.
Like wild dogs, they continued to laugh out of excitement.
I watched them in fear from below as they screech and dig their paws into the tree where I climbed.
Closing my eyes, I drifted for a moment. When I woke up, the hyenas were gone; probably they'd given up since they couldn't climb trees and they caught another prey to bear interest with.
Then they vanished, their howling storms drifting to the west that kept following them, and I briefly lingered in their trail before waking
and putting myself to work and taking action. I stumbled after and I pursued with all the delight I could manage, knowing they were gone.
Upon instantly reaching the ground, I breathe a sigh of relief.
The voices that I heard saved me.
Slowly I begin to feel the ground shake before me.
"Here, Shin. Here"
And as if I heard my mother's voice,
I quickly ran to follow her. I went east and walked through mountains and caves after that, and surprisingly, when I fell from exhaustion something pushed me out again from that black door.
Shin1995I work at a local coffee shop downtown at Barry's. I knew I had to step up because my father was always away, and grandma Wida is getting older and older by the day.I finished high school, but I could not put myself through college, considering the reality that I do not have much support."You are a warrior, my child." she would always say."You are born to be a fighter."Now by then, I didn't know what she was talking about, but as time goes by; I realized she was right.Deep within me is a surging power no one should ever know.Growing up after that memory in the forest was both a blessing and a curse. I immediately felt a power developing inside of me that is very unnerving. I remember this one moment when I sent my work application to Barry’s. After the interview, I saw a huge truck and there came out three guys, five steps behind their target who is an old man with grey hair holding a suitcase, and those guys began staring and nodding at each other. They planned it at
“What do you want?” asked the old man.“Please, I beg you.” Set us free.I wondered as my stomach grumbled and my throat dried up, how I had gotten myself into this situation. The hard, chilly floor echoed with a faraway thump that rang in my ear. Someone was approaching.I recalled slowly the night came. Had I fallen or was I the victim of a blow from him? As I see the figure moving closer to me, my tongue became firmly attached to the roof of my mouth. The streetlight that shined from behind the faceless, bulky man wearing the grey hoodie guaranteed a sense of security. He was now approaching. It was gloomy. How much time had I spent here? I was having trouble determining my surroundings as my head hurt. It was agonizing to be tortured. Stab. Smash. Bruise. As our attacker approached, I tried to filter out his terrifying thoughts and come up with a strategy. I looked around the blank space. Every object was tarnished by dust, which merely added to the already excessive clutter in t
"Hey!"He shouted; and quickly I blew a fist at him, knocking him out.The other guards came at me while I punched the first guy in the face while elbowing the other one in his stomach."Stop right there!"Coming out of the dark is the woman again, wearing another flowing outfit.The other guys flocked in beside her as if there was a huge commotion."Let this old man go, or I'll kill each one of you," I said.They all busted into laughter, while the guards winced in pain."On one condition."The woman looked me up and down."This man will only leave if you fought all these guys and you have shown me what you got."I smirked. "That's alright with me."The bald guy stepped in closer.He threw a fist at me.I raised my head, striking back to his chin and punching his stomach.He flew back."Ow!"He whined."Is that all you got?"says the other one.Goodness, if they want me dead, they could have shot me right now.The other guy even undressed his coat and started playing punch gestures.
As I got back home, I saw Mama at the front door, waiting for me to come home. "Mai-bebi, why are you so late?" She cried.“I just visited some new library, Mama.” There's really strange stuff there, I thought; but of course, I never said it."How's your sleepover Hotu?""It was good, Mama. The girls are terrific.""I'm also hungry," I whined."Sure, baby. I prepared some sushi in the kitchen," she said.I look at our dining table, my mouth watering in hunger.The okazu looks so yummy.The primary okazu is typically a protein-based meal, such as grilled fish or a beef dish. A vegetable dish or one with more protein, like a bean dish, may be served as the secondary okazu. Typically, each item is presented in its container. Particularly the secondary okazu are frequently served family style, with each diner taking their share. Typically, when we eat our normal Japanese dinner, we take the rice bowl in our hands and then nibble on bits of various okazu. On occasion, we put the rice bowl
I quickly became aware that my eyes were open and saw very unfamiliar things.I stared at the boy. He appeared to be physically weak from the way his head moved.I wonder how he had slept, and for how long? Were there any voices and if so; how did the voices sound like? And the ups and downs, like the sound of breaking waves on pebbles? I watched him as he stretched out a clumsy hand to get his bread from his pocket where he always kept it and touched something slick and hard, perhaps glass. He was very surprised by this because it was so unexpected. He suddenly rolled over, gave me a brief momentary gaze, and then fought to sit up. I see that he was surprised by how challenging the effort was, which made him thrilled, weak, and dizzy.I helped him stand up as he rubbed his eyes. The puzzle of our surroundings was confusing to both of us but his mind was very clear, it was obvious that his sleep had helped him. He was not in a bed at all and I guess he will never know what a bed is-as
The scenery around me was stunning: On my right, in front of a crystal temple, high rocks surround a turquoise waterfall with a narrow river that wound through it. There lay masses of dark brown stone, with the river glistening in the sunlight such as the lustrous shine of diamonds. On my left, the calm, emerald sea reflected a massive sun rising above violet-hued volcanoes in the distance, amid a canopy of flame. White bird flocks were taking off in the air. Almond trees in full bloom with thick limbs crowned the singular panorama. I exhaled a sigh of relaxation since I knew I was at the ideal location, considering there was no land anywhere else in the universe as real and enchanting as this scene in my head.My one and only friend, Gubimu, was also present and, unbelievably, ruler of this semi-material planet, appealing as usual. He seems so naive and unpredictable, active, and restless sitting on a cliff, perhaps in a dream as we admired the magnificent daybreak. I walked up to hi
All the monsters then collapsed into heaps of ashes or fried jelly that had once been their flesh. Nevertheless, for a brief period, their queen was still alive. She said, having reclaimed half the mermaid's form, "You should do the same to the witch who sold the world and you, Hotaru." Before it was too late and all the force was lost, I closed my eyes in a daze. I tried to picture this in every detail since I wanted to leave that place quickly and desperately wished I was back in my spacecraft, far from that planet. The world started to disappear and shift quickly in front of my eyes, as if in a magical vision, but I knew it was much more than that. Then, a loud hum rang deafeningly inside my skull.Even though it was leaving its solar system, I continued to perceive the rising sun as being surrounded by enormous sea waves, creating the appearance of an unsettling cosmic vortex outside my window to the cosmos. Gubimu was also present, standing next to me. I'm not sure why; perhaps
"So, this time, what do you want? “At first, I had my doubts about your ability to find the Lotus, let alone take it; however, now that you have succeeded, I desire it for myself. Am I being understood? "I guess so," I replied after pausing to look him in the eyes directly, temporarily diverting his attention.He hesitated before continuing, "As for you." I'm all right. "At the first sign of resistance, I'll kill you! In a low, somewhat sexy voice, I replied, "I don't mean to oppose at all. My right hand slid to the side of my pocket at the same time, thinking to myself that it could conceal a laser gun. Before anyone could know what was occurring, I shoved the prince away from me and fired twice. Two of the troops dropped on the ground dead after being taken off guard by my sudden onslaught.The soldier seized the chance right away, and with a swift motion of his arms, he was able to escape the people who were holding him captive. As the remaining soldiers quickly moved to the side a