The night FIRE first ravaged the Village, it came with such ferocity that everything in its path was consumed.
And just like that, FIRE left as soon as the brink of morn began. The villagers were left with questions, "Why did it suddenly destroy our once peaceful Village," they said, frustration lacing their words.
"Let's carry the wounded to the infirmary," a Nurturer Forager of the Village instructed the Hunters and added, "Let's identify also the remaining Lost Villagers and lead them to their families."
We can see that some of the villagers are somewhat dumbfounded, lost in thoughts as if they had lived a long dream, a nightmare rather.
"One calamity after another," the LADY CHIEF of the Village uttered to herself.
The villagers gathered around the remains of their once-thriving community.
"That beast came into our Village, and suddenly brought its wrath upon her, all her beauty was corrupted," says LADY CHIEF as she gazed at the charred ruins in disbelief.
A Planner Builder nodded in agreement. "The houses were well-built for rains, storms, and floods, but not for fire."
"That's it. The beast is like a fire, it is FIRE, for it is like an all-consuming flame, wild when it gets loose," LADY CHIEF replied grimly. That's the time when all the villagers named the beast, FIRE.
After the first attack, almost a third of the village was left in ruins. Many homes, attractions, and Sanctuaries were destroyed. The villagers were left to pick up the pieces.
"What are we going to do now?" a Budgeter Overseer cried.
"We'll rebuild, of course," said the Carpenter Builder. "We'll help each other, and we'll make our village stronger than ever."
---~~~~o~~~---
Three nights and three days passed. As the villagers toiled under the hot sun, sweat dripping down their faces, almost a third of the Village was rebuilt.
"Ma', ma', FI-E, FIrE," a toddler villager bugged her Harvester Forager mother, pointing at a distant hill. The mother's face turned white.
Little did they know, there was a second wave. It came all too soon. As they saw FIRE walking down the same hill it had retreated from before, fear gripped their hearts. They knew they had little to defend themselves with.
"What can we do against such a force? We're just a village of hunters and foragers." asked a young Archer Hunter.
"We have our bows and arrows, our sticks and ropes, our slings and stones," said the LADY CHIEF Overseer. "We'll use what we have and fight for our village."
As FIRE approached again, they stood their ground, determined to protect their homes and families. But their makeshift weapons were no match for the raging flames. The village was reduced to rubble once again.
The villagers fought bravely, but they were ultimately defeated as the brink of morn approached and FIRE retreated again to the hill.
The most devastating thing that happened was the fall of their enchanting centennial tree, Centree, located at the center of the Village. Many mourned for the Village's symbol, being pessimistic that it will never be born again.
"We can't keep doing this," said the Budgeter Overseer. "I think this will not be the first and the last FIRE will consume our village. We'll never survive another attack."
"We have to keep trying," LADY CHIEF responded. "This is our home, and we can't just abandon it."
Her words were met with murmurs of skepticism. How could they possibly defeat something so powerful and unpredictable?
---~~~~o~~~---
Let's jump back to the present, the third attack. After another three nights, the villagers believed that FIRE had had enough after two consecutive attacks, but they couldn't have been more mistaken.
The pessimistic attitude draws them into chaos, deceived by the rampage, each of the villagers was just fighting for their own safety. I will not repeat the painful narratives when I first introduced to you the Village, for it may make us sadder than before.
Let's just continue and recall our last scene, in that dark, crimson night with the rain pouring down relentlessly, behind the fallen Centree...
"Go now and search for your mother and li'l sister in our Sanctuary," the father turned to his son and said, "I'll attack the hideous monster and act as a decoy for you to run to safety."
"But FATHER, I..." the teenage boy began before his father cut him off and dashed toward FIRE's rear side.
"HE! Go now! Run and don't look back! Make haste!" his father shouted from afar.
With no other option, the teenage boy ran. He sprinted through the rain, his clothes drenched and heavy, passing all the fallen fiery debris, other fleeing villagers, two newlywed couples he didn't know, and the old villager still shouting. He didn't stop until he faced the wooden door on the floor, beneath their Sanctuary.
"Mother! Mother!" he frantically pounded on the door.
"HE? HE, my son, is that you?" the woman behind the door asked before quickly opening it.
He rushed inside and straight into his mother's embrace, holding on as though she'd been gone for years overseas.
His mother quickly shut the door above him, and they entered the small room, where she gazed in amazement at her son.
"I have scratches and wounds all over, Mom, but I'm not dead!" HE exclaimed.
"I can clearly see that. Come here," his mother said, tending to his scratches. "Where's your father?" she asked.
He explained the situation, describing how dreadful it was, how he escaped, and how his father saved him.
"If only I hadn't been so afraid and shocked by that giant beast, I could have helped FATHER," he said, clasping his hand tightly in frustration.
"It's gonna be okay. At least, we're all safe," his mother said, embracing her children. It was difficult for her to say those words as she was deeply concerned about her beloved husband, but she didn't want to burden her children with any more worries. The last thing they needed is an additional burden for them to carry. "Let's just hope and pray that FATHER will join us soon."
---~~~o~~~---
The noises above kept getting louder and louder. Cries, thumps, wrecks, sizzles, and crisps; those dreadful sounds that not even the rain could wash away. It felt as though time was slowing down by the second, the likes when you're waiting for class to end while staring at the clock hands. The wait felt longer and longer.
Finally, the long hand pointed to 12, and the bell rang. The moment they had been waiting for had arrived. The rain stopped, and so did the wrecking. FIRE suddenly went kaput with a loud thunder, jumped to the hill just as it had come and gone during its previous attacks. Perhaps it was taking a rest, but nobody knew for sure.
Although FIRE was gone, there were no cheers. Even they couldn't lift their heads and shout joyously at the outcome of this dreadful night.
---~~~o~~~---
Suddenly, the wooden door creaked open and a familiar silhouette appeared. The young girl's eyes lit up and she ran towards her father, giving him a tight hug that caused both of them to stumble on their Sanctuary's floor.
"FATHER's back!" she exclaimed with joy.
"Don't worry, my dear. It's just a scratch," said FATHER, hugging her back with his left arm, his right arm badly wounded.
The mother walked out of the cramped room, tears streaming down her face as she embraced her husband and kissed him on the forehead.
FATHER noticed his son, HE, slowly walking out of the room with an expressionless face.
"HE, my son, are you alright?" asked FATHER.
"It's not okay, FATHER. Look at our house, our village. Everything is destroyed. Everything is not okay," the teenage boy replied sadly.
FATHER was unable to answer his son, for the truth was inescapable.
"FATHER, let me help you face and stop FIRE once and for all!" exclaimed HE who's now on his feet, his eyes filled with rage.
But FATHER reacted, "No! That is out of the question, my son."
"But FATHER, I..." the teenage boy began but FATHER's voice grew louder and cut him off and lectured, "HE! Listen! You are not going to risk your life over this. You are still young and have so much to learn. I will gather some able men and finally make a plan to stop all of this carnage."
"But FATHER, I'm old enough for this," HE stubbornly protested.
FATHER saw the worried look on his wife and daughter's faces, so he gestured and stared into his wife's eyes as if conversing about something.
His wife got the message so she carried her daughter and said to her, "Come dear, let's go and wash now."
As soon as they were gone, the father and son locked eyes.
"I can do it! If everyone can, why can't I?" reasoned HE.
After that scene of chaos, that was not the right time to be stubborn and to be scolded. So FATHER was now furious for his son's adamant behavior, "HE! You're consumed with pride! If you say you're ready, then try to hit me just once!"
HE replied, "You know I can't hit my own father."
"If you can't even touch me, then you can never fight it!" provoked FATHER.
Caught up in the moment, HE ran towards FATHER and tried to tackle him.
He's down and out...
The impact was fierce. FATHER turned abruptly, twisting his body to avoid the full brunt of the blow, and HE collided with his father's left arm. The force of the impact and rebound sent him crashing to the ground, where he lay sprawled on his back, gazing up at the crimson moon through the gaping hole in their burnt roof. Meanwhile, his father stood firm, his feet planted solidly on the ground.
Then FATHER turned his back, unable to show that he was more hurt than HE was. You see, it's hard to hit your own son, but he just clasped his hands, gathered his composure, and said, "Go wash yourself, help your mother with the chores, go fetch some water or something..."
"Wha... why didn't you train me when I was just a li'l boy?" exclaimed HE angrily, then ran out of the Sanctuary.
"All of us are not trained for this, my dear son," At a distance we may not see the tears falling inside of him, but we can tell that the wound in his heart is hurting him more inside than the wound on his right arm.
You see, sometimes, a father must discipline his stubborn child through tough love for them to learn and remember. And that child will soon thank him for it when he gets older. But this process is hard for a child and even harder for a parent. Because it's tough to raise a rod to your own child whom you love so dear.
The rest of the Village's night was lost in deep silence, consumed by grief.
---~~~o~~~---
As the sun rose, the roosters raise their alarms, but the morning brought no joy. The smoldering ruins were a grim reminder of the previous night's destruction.
At a Sanctuary, a mother frantically searched for her husband. When she found him, she burst out in tears, crying, "My love, he's gone. HE ran away." She continued sobbing as she handed him a letter, "He left us this."
FATHER read the letter with a heavy heart and then turned to his wife, trying to console her, "It'll be alright, my dear. The prodigal always returns and finds their own strength renewed. And when that time comes, we'll eat together happily in our Sanctuary." But the truth was, he himself does not have the strength to say those words.
---~~~o~~~--- ---~~~o~~~--- ---~~~o~~~---
THE PSALMIST continued the second part of the song,
~~~
"As I run to this vill' that gazed the shadow of death
FATHER came to my rescue but I pry instead
I failed and pride came crushin'
So I say, goodbye
~~~
And I said goodbye
Aaah...
I said goodbye
Aaah...
~~~
We'll eat together when HE returns
His strength then oh sure will burn
~~~
It'll burn..."