Kinard Mythology Anthology

by Kinard Middle School

  Keramine and the angry Cyclops

  By Ting-Hsuan Hsu

  Keramine Hunters was just like any typical girl, she went to school, hung out with her friends, and lived life like a teenager. Keramine had faint brown hair like her mother and her father’s threatening blue eyes. She went to one of the best schools in the heart of Manhattan. She lived a normal and dull life taking the subway to school every morning at exactly 6:00 for it took her a whole hour to get to school. After school, she took the subway home at exactly 4:00 in the afternoon, went home, bathed, and did her homework. The rest of the time she spent her time lying around munching on food, watching TV, on her phone, or messed around. Keramine was often neglected by her mother and her father was a busy businessman who spent his time in his office till late at night. And this how boring and unpleasant Keramine Hunter’s life was.

  Keramine was normal until one afternoon when she found a huge cave behind the field that she went to everyday behind her house to do her homework. She first found that cave because she ran into the field spinning around and fell into the dark cave. She thought it was a trap made from the neighborhood boys so Keramine rummaged around the cave for a stick for she wanted to scare the aggravating little brats. The cave was dark and musty and had a smell of dead animals shivers went down Keramine’s back, she was starting to sense like this wasn’t a joke. Keramine took a deep breath and thought of how mad her mother would be finding her in a ditch. She gathered her courage and ascended deeper into the cave, she hid behind a corner her heart rate increased and she heard soft roars, loud snorts, and grumbling. She was getting really crept out now and Keramine thought to herself, I shouldn’t be so freaked out by some silly thing. She was thinking whether this was real or not. Keramine stepped out from behind the corner and screamed what she saw was horrifying. Keramine saw Cyclops with one eye.

  “Ignorant mortal,” one said.

  “Let’s eat it,” another one said. By now, every Cyclops in the cave had been awoken and they buzzed with excitement about how they should cook Keramine. She thought, oops, and she dashed for the entrance of the cave the Cyclops trampled after her some of them hopelessly tripping over others. When Keramine got out, she ran to her garage and grabbed her bike when she was about to ride out the Cyclops had already caught up with her, she was cornered. Keramine saw a golf club in the corner she knew she needed a distraction to get the Cyclops to look away and give her some little time.

  “Hey look its Athena!” she screamed and she dove for the golf club. It worked, she bought just enough time and Keramine didn’t know it but when she screamed, Athena heard her. Athena knew she must help this poor mortal, she got her army to help her and she prepared them for battle. While on earth, Keramine started hitting the Cyclops in the head to make her way to where her bike was. She struggled but at last she broke through the wall of Cyclops she got on her bike and paddled harder than she ever did before. Keramine was filled with fear, she didn’t know where she was going all she knew was that there was a herd of Cyclops coming at her from behind. Keramine knew she wouldn’t last long, she paddled until she couldn’t anymore and she let the swarm of Cyclops have her she gave up and closed her eyes. All she could hear was Cyclops until BOOM! All the Cyclops flew back but her, she opened her eyes and saw Athena staring down at her. Athena carried her onto her chariot, Keramine couldn’t believe it they were having a war with Cyclops and chariots in the center of Manhattan. She had always admired Athena but Keramine didn’t know Athena really existed. Keramine laid there just thinking about what happened and she slowly drifted off to sleep. She dreamt that she was in schools and it was a normal day. When Keramine opened her eyes again she woke up in a cramped small hut, “Go get this girl some water,” Athena shouted to her soldiers when Keramine woke up. Athena first led Keramine into a small room and she sat on in a pile of dusty dry grass.

  “You are a very brave girl,” Athena said.

  “And I grant you the armor of a hero,” she touched Keramine with her index finger and golden bronze armor appeared. “It only appears when you are in danger and only you and I can see it,” Athena continued. Keramine gasp when she saw the armor shining a beautiful tint of bronze when she stepped out into the sun. “Thanks,” Keramine stuttered. Suddenly, Keramine hugged Athena tight, the goddess was very surprised and she hugged back. “Unfortunately, the Cyclops are still coming after us,” Athena said, her face turned sad for a second.

  “What about my parents?” Keramine asked.

  Athena’s face turned pale, “Honey, your parents are dead, sorry.”

  “Oh,” Keramine said. Keramine wasn’t super sad though she never really got to know her parents that much, but a little sadness hung over her. Athena got up and held her hand for Keramine to get up she led Keramine into an artillery base and she got a sword and a scabbard something that sheaths the swords. Athena strapped the scabbard onto Keramine’s waist and they were on their way. Athena led Keramine to her chariot, at first she thought Athena was going to make one of her soldier drive her home but when she realized Athena was letting her ride her chariot and she wasn’t going home she literally fainted.

  “We are headed for Mount Olympus, I usually don’t bring mortals but in this case, I have to.

  They started going higher and higher and the view was so amazing it blew Keramine’s mind she saw the high buildings and lights that started to light up as dawn crept up the rolling hills by her elementary schools, where her father worked, the subway system, buses, cars, and people everywhere. When they arrived at Mount Olympus the sun had risen and shone over the chariot. Athena dragged Keramine into the throne room where all the gods were meddling with human lives. The moment Keramine and Athena stepped in the whole room was quiet.

  Finally a voice boomed, “What are you doing, sister?” Ares said angrily.

  “I’m here for Poseidon, not you,” she said angrily.

  “Let’s take a walk. “Poseidon’s voice boomed from the back of the room. So Athena, Keramine, and Poseidon took a walk around the orchard garden. Keramine touched one and its beautiful thorns and it wrapped around Keramine’s and started wrapping her body around and around up her body down her legs and quickly Keramine’s scream was muffled by the orchards stems. Athena was devastated but she and Poseidon had to kill the Cyclops so quickly they headed off to the Manhattan Bridge so Poseidon could drown the Cyclops. When Athena and Poseidon got there realized that it was too late the Cyclops had already gone into the river and was taking the bridge apart in frustration. Suddenly……. a hole in the water opened up all the monsters fell into eternal darkness and who sucked them down……..Keramine Hunters.

         To be continued………...

                                              (Next time we have to write a story)

 

  The Sweetest Ingredient

  By Sydney Kerschen

  The large body of ocean water glistened as waves crashed onto the warm shores of the sandy beaches of Costa Rica. It was around midday, about the year 1000 A.D. Demeter was in a field nearby, tending her wheat and corn. Demeter was tall and thin, like her corn, with wispy, long, hair, the color of corn silk. Cane, a simple, humble, mortal, lived in the nearby village. He helped his father, Haruki, an older, well-seasoned craftsman, with their building, fixing, and palm tree trimming business. Far away, up in the clouds, Hera and Zeus, the king and queen of Mount Olympus, looked down on the mortals of the miniature coastal town.

  Cane was working in the city, mending the broken oven in the bakers’ bakery. The baker was a poor man although his bread was costly.

  “I’m sorry, but I cannot afford to pay you in money. May I perhaps pay in bread instead?”

  “I suppose,” Cane replied with a sigh. “Are you sure this is all you can pay me in? I really need the gold right now.”

  “I wish I could, but bread is all I have,” the baker replied with an expression of sadness and stress showing on the
wrinkles in his tan face.

  Cane felt bad for the baker, and he was hungry, so he thought the bread would be good to give him some nourishment before he went to do his next task. Cane had one taste of the delicious baked good and instantly fell in love with the food. This was terrible, for his family had little money, less than a poor man with a big family after Christmas, and couldn’t afford the luxury of the scrumptious food. Cane went back to the baker with all the money he possessed and bought as much bread as he could buy with the small sum. His money got him two loafs, which he devoured nearly instantly, surprising and scaring the baker.

  “Please, good sir, I must have more!” Cane pleaded to the baker.

  “I’m sorry, son, but you can only have what you can pay for.”

  “Alright,” he said, an idea popping into his mind, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. “I’ll be right back.”

  Cane sprinted home to the shack he lived in with his parents. He divulged the hidden chest where the family stock piled all their money. He scooped up all of the riches and dashed back to the bakery, his pockets and arms jingling as he ran.

  “How much will this buy me?” he said, empting all the cash onto the counter.

  “This will get you three baskets, but I wouldn’t advise buying all the bread at once. It will be stale before you even-.” The baker was cut off by the astonishment as he watched Cane gorge through the first basket of bread.

  “Please, you’re doing something you will regret,” the baker said, worried about the miserly boy that kept stuffing his face with more and more bread. Meanwhile, on Mount Olympus, Hera was complaining to Zeus about a problem she was having.

  “Zeus, my husband, all these mortal foods taste so flavorless. Salt makes them taste better, but there must be another way I can change the taste of these drab foods,” Hera said with boredom present in her tone.

  “I will send Iris to give Demeter a message to create a crop that produces a sweet tasting spice that can be put into or on the boring mortal foods,” Zeus declared. He summoned Iris and sent her to deliver the message to Demeter.

  Back on earth before she had received the urgent message from Zeus, Demeter had just finished harvesting her ripe, golden wheat from the fields and was taking it to the baker, who was happier than a penguin that could fly to receive the valuable crop to be made into fresh bread. When she arrived at the bakery, she was greeted by the frazzled baker and the greedy Cane, whom had now sold all of his precious belongings and would not eat any other food except bread. Demeter saw the boy, and was transfixed by him, and instantly fell deeply in love with him. Demeter was sad to hear about what he was doing, but couldn’t help him any. She went into town to deliver her crop of sweet, yellow corn a week later and heard about the death of the young Cane.  Demeter was devastated when she heard he had starved to death, for she heard before he wouldn’t eat anything other than bread. Demeter went to back to her fields and mourned the loss of the sweet, sweet boy (at least, she thought he was sweet). She cried and tended her fields, but she was so upset about Cane’s death that she became distracted with mourning his death that the crops went rotten. Iris arrived shortly after this began to happen with the message from Zeus.

  “Demeter, goddess of harvest, Zeus has sent an important message that you must create a sweet crop to be put in and on mortal foods to please Queen Hera. Also, he needs you to stop crying over such an average mortal, for the world is being thrown into chaos because your crops are not being properly harvested and the mortals are starving. You must stop this at once!”

  “But Iris, he was more than just a normal mortal! My brother just does not get it,” she sobbed.

  “You are clever, Demeter. You will think of something shortly. Good bye.” With that, Iris vanished. Demeter thought about what Iris had said and thought of a way to solve both of her problems. She went up to Olympus to talk with her brother, Zeus.

  “Dearest brother, your wife is unhappy because of the flavorless taste of mortal food, right? And I am tremendously sad about the death of a mortal whom I loved.”

  “That is correct. Do you perhaps have an idea?” Zeus said, a little vexed with Demeter.

  “Indeed, I do. I propose that I could turn the dead mortal whom I love into a sweet plant called sugar cane that produces a sweet crystal called sugar, then both of our problems will be solved!” she said excitedly.

  “I suppose. Anything to stop Hera from vexing me anymore,” he said quietly, so as to not let Hera hear.

  “What was that, dear?” Hera said from an unknown location.

  “Nothing, dear,” Zeus replied hurriedly. “Please, get me some sugar cane as soon as it is grown. Now leave, there is more important business I have to attend to” Zeus said, clearly annoyed that Demeter was still there. And with that, Demeter left Olympus and went back to her farm in Costa Rica. She found where Plarius had been buried and turned him into a sugar cane seed. When she checked back on the plant a few days later, and it had grown into a beautiful plant. From that day forward, mortals and gods could make their foods sweet using the natural sweetener, sugar cane, thanks to an innocent mortal.