They talked for a long while, soon the Sumati was thirsty again. Just as he thought that, water rushed through his glass out of nowhere. “Now how did you do that?” asked Ananta. “I’m not sure.” replied Sumati. It began to get dark. The boy told the old man that his father was wondering where he was. “I’m sure he is.” replied Ananta. The loud bell sounded again, and he covered his ears and closed his eyes from the loud noise. When he opened them, he was under the white banyon tree alone.
Chapter 2
The morning sun once again shown boldly over the cane that surrounded the small hut. The birds ascended from the cane like a large wave over the golden crops. Sumati rose lazily from his sleep to Hari scratching at the door to be let out.
Since his father had raised much money in the city from his new business, he had enough money to send Sumati to a school of his choice. Sumati had wanted to take martial arts ever since he was very young. Every boy in the town knew at least a little. Today his father offered to take him into town to find a school that fit him.
He got up, and prepared breakfast. Soon after, they were on their way to town. The first school they went to was amazing, it had golden gates and stunning arches. But, it was too expensive. When they arrived at the second, it was very large, but still barely out of range. Finally, they arrived at the last school in town. It was very traditional, it had wooden floors, and thin walls. But the master of the small school refused to teach Sumati because of the little talent he had.
As they were on the way home, Sumati spotted an old man under a banyon tree practicing kungfu. He was as graceful as a crane, yet powerful as a tiger stalking prey. His hands sliced the air, and he moved with the branches of the old tree. Sumati’s father offered $50 dollars if the man could teach him some of what he had learned. Sumati recognised him as the elderly man he met under the banyon tree the day before.
The old man said he would teach him a few days from now. He had some things he needed to attend to. Sumati waited eagerly for the next few days. He would soon learn the art of nature, the art of kungfu.
Chapter 3
Sumati and the old man practiced every day for many hours. Sometimes the boy would get very tired, but he kept going. Sumati slowly got stronger, and quicker, and more agile. The old man was very impressed with him and said that they should rest for a day, so they did.
The day they rested, they sat under the banyan tree together. In the cool shade they played a game of checkers. Sumati saw that the old man was very good at the game.
As the sun was going down, the old man told him he wouldn’t be able to see him for a while. There would be no more lessons for now. Sumati understood. He said goodbye and began to walk back to the village. The old man was standing under the tree. As Sumati took one look back, the old man was gone once more.
His life returned back to the way it had been for a while. He wondered when he would see the man again.
Chapter 4
The luminous moon shone brightly down on a small castle fort, guarded by ten warriors on it’s roof, each one holding a silver long sword. Inside the castle walls was Ananta sitting at a small table with one other man that had a bright silver beard. “What has this boy shone?” asked the man with the silver beard.
“He has shone much potential, and he has shone signs of great skill within him.” replied Ananta.
“We must know soon. We need more recruits if it is to happen.” said the man with the silver beard. “The dark one does not know of this camp just yet. You must bring him here, or another place that is safe to train.”
“I will” replied Ananta.
He then got up and bowed to the man with the silver beard. And just as he was about to leave, the earth below them shook with great ferocity. The warriors above got into a battle stance. “Ananta, the dark one is here! You must go, if he truly is to be the next warrior, you must take him to the temple!”
The man with the silver beard ran upstairs to fight with the others. Ananta vanished from the castle in a split second and was back in the small town once more. Up above, the men stood ready to face the threat. A large shadow rose over the castle. Two of the men leaped off the castle walls and onto the dirt ground.
A hundred feet away, a man cloaked in black and red stood. He held a sword with flames dancing on the tip. The two warriors charged at the cloaked man who dogged their attack. In one swift movement, he jumped into midair and from the arm of his cloak came a blast of fire that immediately turned one of the men to ash. The other man charged for one last slash, but the cloaked man counter-attacked and hit the warrior with his flaming sword, turning him to ash as well.
Then the man thrust his sword into the earth, and lifted his hands into the sky. A large flaming ball of rock rose from the earth and began to hurtle towards the castle. The man with the silver beard and three other warriors were able to jump from the castle wall before the flaming ball hit. It completely obliterated the castle and the other 5 men inside.
The man with the silver beard ordered two of the other men to charge at the man while he and the other warrior flanked him from the side. The two warriors kept the man busy while the man in the silver beard and the other warrior caught him by surprise. The warrior and the silver bearded man were able to hit him. The silver bearded man slashed the dark one’s arm off. He stumbled back, dropped his flaming sword and held his shoulder. Slowly a black substance covered his shoulder and regenerated an arm where it had been.
The man then picked up his flaming sword and slashed the air. The air he had slashed became engulfed in flame and headed towards the two warriors burning them to dust. The other warrior that was with the silver bearded man became filled with rage and charged at the cloaked figure who punched him with his free hand and sent him flying into the ruble of the castle. The castle then burst into flame. “You are a monster.” said the silver bearded man.
He collided swords with the dark one a few times before he was struck down. The silver bearded man fell to the ground wounded. The dark one looked at the man, then turned his head to the sky and disappeared. A second after he vanished the place where he had been turned into a massive explosion. The sky filled with lights. The place where he had stood turned to glass.
Chapter 5
Sumati woke to the sound of knocking on the door. The dog immediately started barking. When he answered the door it was Ananta. “I must speak with you on the hill.” said Ananta.
They journeyed to the hill and sat under the banyan tree. “I must tell you why I have trained you. I believe that you have certain blood, the blood of a warrior. There is a man, he is coming to this town because he knows I am here, he will destroy this town and the next, and the next, and so on until I am gone.”
“But why?” asked Sumati.
“There will be a time for questions later.” said Ananta. “Now I must ask you one question. Will you train to be a warrior?”
“Yes” replied Sumati.
Ananta pulled out a staff from the cloak he was wearing. Sumati was amazed at how the cloak was as dark as ink. “Take hold of my staff.” said Ananta.
He did so and suddenly felt the sensation of whipping wind on his face and then he noticed he was standing at the bottom of a tall mountain. On the top of the mountain was a small temple made of stone. He and Ananta began their journey. It took most of the day to reach the top. When they arrived a man in a brown cloak greeted them. “Hello master Ananta” he said.
They bowed to each other and then the man let them in. They trained with the other warriors for many days, they ran up and down the mountain many times, and Ananta taught him ancient techniques, Sumati would be ready when the dark one arrived.
Chapter 6
They trained for many days and nights. Never taking time to stop, he grew faster and stronger every day. One day Ananta told him they were going to make a journey today, “We are going to the mount of stars,” said Ananta.
They walked all the way there. It took all the
day. They reached it in the afternoon when the sun was just setting over the bamboo. It was surprisingly warm on the journey up.
When they reached the top he saw that there was a tall round building, it was the tallest mountain around. There was a door with many gears on it. There was one key hole. Ananta took his staff and said a few words that Sumati could not understand, then the tip of the staff molded into a perfect key. He fit it into the key hole, turned it, and then the door creaked open. They walked in.
Inside was one large room with a golden rod in the ground. On the top of the golden rod, 5 feet high, was a perfect golden replica of a human hand. It was in a gripping position. The ceiling was littered with stars of all different colors. Windows went all around the circular building. Ananta did not say a word.
They watched the sun go down. When the moon reached the peak of it’s accession, and it was aligned with the building, Sumati gazed up at the painted stars and watched as they lit up, purple, green, gold, and every other bright color. Then they came from the wall and began to swirl around the room and they rushed over Sumati like a strong wind. They swirled higher and higher until they formed a funnel shape over the hand. They then all rushed into the palm of the hand, and for a second all was completely silent and dark. Then the hand lit up and appearing in it was a dark blue sword, shining very brightly.
Sumati looked at Ananta, who nodded for him to go and grab it. When he got about 5 feet away from it the stars appeared a rushing circle around the perimeter like a barrier, but Sumati just walked through it. He then grabbed the sword from the golden hand that let go when he took it. Then it lit up even brighter and through the tip of the tip of the sword came beams of light that flew out of the windows and over the mountains, and a great wind swept over the forest covering the mountains. There was a great flash and then all was like it once was. Then Ananta said with a smile, “You are the next great warrior.”
Chapter 7
The morning sun was blazing hot when Sumati and Ananta stood on the hill in front of the round temple. It rose above the hills and mountains as cranes and smaller birds flew from the undergrowth and into the sun. They returned to the small building where they had been staying for the past few days at around late morning. They were standing along with the other warriors in front of the fort. The sky began to turn black. The sun was soon completely covered. A figure stood on a mountain far away. “I will hold him off, you get ready for the attack.”
Ananta then stood straight, dropped his cane, and leaped high into the air. He jumped from mountain to mountain until he was one mountain away from the figure. He pulled out a long sword from under his cloak. It began to rain very hard. He made his hands into a pushing motion, then the rain turned to ice and flew in a large wave towards the dark man. He made a clapping motion with his hands and a sphere of fire swirled around him turning all the ice balls into steam. Ananta blocked himself by doing the same, but the surrounding rain protected him. Then Ananta made a kicking motion and wind came towards the cloaked figure who did the same thing. The two winds collided, making a large wall of wind going straight up and down from the center. The dark one raised his hands and lightning began to strike all around them, starting fires in the forest below.
The dark one pointed towards Ananta, then the fire flew fast from the forest towards Ananta who didn’t block it in time and fell into the fire. Sumati then ran towards the dark one and stuck him with his sword. His wound did not regenerate, and he screamed in horror and pain. “The sword!” screamed the dark one. Then he fell into the fire as well. But it didn’t kill him, instead it made him stronger. He threw fire at Sumati who raised his sword and remembered the water in the cup that first day, then blasts of water from the sky and jetted themselves onto the dark one who was turned to dust. The fire ceased and the rain stopped. All went back. Then a warrior walked next to him and said, “Come, we have much to tell you.”
Ruby Gonzales - Dreams Do Come True
Chapter 1
He was talented.
He was a good person.
He came from nothing.
He believed he could touch the sky.
Now, he’s one of the world’s richest 17 year old boys.
His name?
Justin Bieber.
I was sitting in my room, trying to focus on homework. I wasn’t getting very far at all. I was just sitting there, day-dreaming and staring at the 56 pictures of Justin Bieber on my wall. I wondered if one day, I would get to meet JB. It had been my dream for years. I always told myself that I would meet him one day. The time hasn't come yet but it will. I could just feel it in my bones.
"Jo!" My mom called.
"Yeah?"
"Are you doing your homework," She asked impatiently.
"Yes! I’m almost done!"
"Alright keep it up I don't want to find you just sitting there staring at your Justin Bieber posters again!"
"ALRIGHT!" I screamed. I knew it wouldn't help anything but she was really annoying me. I kept on staring at my posters and dreaming. I’d never been to one of his concerts but I wanted to more than almost anything. It would make me the happiest girl in the word. In the meantime, it was time to start homework. I wrote Jo Boocman on the top of my math homework. Me and Justin Bieber had a lot in common, I thought, drifting away from my homework again. We’re both left handed, we both got detentions for talking in class, and our initials are both JDB. The only downside to being a Belieber is knowing that millions of girls love Justin Bieber just as much as you do. You aren’t that special you’re just another girl with Bieber Fever trying to convert hater after hater every single day. Justin once said that the haters don’t bother him that much. In fact, they inspire him. I was thinking about this as I fell asleep on my math book, dreaming about being at a Justin Bieber concert.
Chapter 2
“THIS IS THE THIRD DAY IN A ROW MISS BOOCMAN!” My math teacher screamed. I sank back in my seat and tried hard not to cry. I had forgotten to finish my math homework last night and now I was getting the consequences.
“You are going to fail this class for the quarter if you don’t start completing your work, how many times do I have to tell you?”
“I’m sorry Mrs. Crapft, I promise I will do my homework,” I muttered. Why did teachers have to tell you things over and over again? It bothered me so much and I could just imagine some purple turtle coming by and biting her face off. I started giggling at the thought. Oops. Bad choice, Mrs. Crapft fired up again. “Oh, you think it’s funny do you? I never met a student who thought failing was funny. When I was in school…” Oh great, More about her past. I watched as the class simultaneously put their heads on their desks and fall asleep.
I got off the bus and started walking towards my house. The walk was about half a mile so I put my IPod ear buds in. I went to “Genres”, selected “Pop” and scrolled down to “Justin Bieber”. The whole walk I was so happy. JB had that effect on me. I was always looking for an opportunity to meet him or at least see one of his concerts. I stopped dead in my tracks. That was it! I ran the rest of the half mile to my house to the beat of “One Time” and burst through the door not even bothering to take my shoes off. My mom stared at me like I just came from space. I felt my head and realized my hair was a mess. But that didn’t matter now.
“Mom,” I said firmly.
“What is it?” She seemed uneasy.
“I need to go to dad’s house. Now.”
“Honey…”
I woke up from my dream about Justin to my IPod playing him on my purple IHome. It was another one of those dreams that the only reason it was a nightmare is because you woke up and it didn’t happen. I shook it off and got out of bed. Then I remembered my mom’s promise. Next weekend and I was staying there for two weeks! I barley ever went to my dad’s house because it was in New York City. I don’t like the city; neither does my mom and we live in Alabama so I don’t exactly go there every other weekend. But I wasn’t going there for my dad. Yeah that’
s kind of mean but my dad would do anything for me. He never sees me so I think that’s the reason. And Justin Bieber just happens to be playing there during those two weeks… This could be my chance. And with my dad, I could probably get back stage passes. I tried to tell myself not to get my hopes up. That lasted for about a day. I couldn’t think about anything else but going to that concert. If I could just make it until then…
Chapter 3
I was listening to the announcements in homeroom when suddenly I heard my name being called, “And will Jo Boocman please come to the office after these morning announcements.”
This can’t be good. I walked down to the office, wide-eyed wondering what I had done. I racked my brain but could only think of the good things I had done. I had tried being extra good so my mom would let me go see Justin Bieber…and my dad too. I walked into the office and they told me to go to Mrs. Crapft’s room. I walked there thinking about what she was going to say to me and if I was going to have to talk my way out of anything.
“Jo! I was hoping you’d stop by,” She said happily.
I never understood why teachers said that. As if we had a choice to see them after being called to the office and told to go see them.
“Yes ma’am, the office people told me you wanted to speak with me,” I replied with my best manners.
“Yes I was going to tell you how happy I was that you’re making such an improvement on your math grade it has brought your GPA up by 5 points! Great job keeping up with the homework assignments and keep up the good work,” She said, knowing it really made me happy.
“Thankyousomuch!” I blurted out, thankful that no one else was there. I left her classroom in a hurry not expecting to see Alissa in the hallway…
Alissa was pretty evil, to sum it up. She also had Bieber Fever and I was afraid of why she was looking at me like that. Two can play at that game, I thought. I looked down at her dress and was thankful it was last year’s style. I scanned her outfit again and gave her a slight look that said, Really? You’re seriously wearing that?! She tried not to look defeated and walked off and I knew I was safe at least for a little while. I knew that I only had her dress and her own taste to thank for that. I knew she wanted to force me into taking her to see Justin Bieber in concert and I figured I had better stay out of her way until I got on the plane and was safe.
The Meandering Mind - Creative Musings of 7th Graders Page 19
