Stones of the Diamonds

The moment I heard the elder exclaim, I almost fainted, paralyzed in shock. Well, I think I actually kind of did, because everything went black one minute and the next minute I was shaking anxiously on the ground, surrounded with screams of hopelessness as well as chaotic catastrophe of people and animals trying to evade the treacherous fury of flames approaching. I could also smell the heavy smoke of the fire, thick and stuffy, embracing our village in a sinister grasp. Shattered pieces of my two jars lay at my feet, the water had splashed everywhere, and my backpack was sitting, forgotten, next to me.

That minute, all I wanted to do was to stay there, in front of my home forever, until the fire burned me down to the remains of only ashes. I didn't care at all; in fact, I couldn't care less. What was the point of fleeing when our village would be burnt down any minute? Why was it so crucial to flee now, when the fire would destroy what I’ve known forever? Surely the elder… surely Roundel didn’t believe it was a blessing in disguise? What good could this horrid mass of flames conceal? After the fire, after its remarkable strength and power, evilly clutching onto whatever in its way, would there possibly be a small light of hope? Would the enemy actually cause something much more wonderful?

However, I didn’t have time to be lost in thought; suddenly, the voices of the elders came back to me. I knew, deep inside my heart, that they were right, and the only way to avoid the fire was to flee, and if disobeyed their orders, a lot of villagers could seriously get injured or even get murdered by its inauspicious flares. Surely, when in hazardous situations, it was best to listen to the wisest.

I swiftly jumped up to my feet, collected the glass pieces and removed them aside so no one would get hurt, slung the bag over my shoulders, and hurried over to the opposite side of the wildfire, where everyone was heading as they fled. In what seemed like about a million hours, I finally caught up to the crowd of people racing away in front of me. Relieved, I saw Carine somewhere along the group with her parents and my mom, gasping and crying with them, and - thank goodness! - Aero and Kori trailing behind as well.

I jogged over to my friends, let out a huge sigh of relief and spoke to them.

"Kori... Aero... you guys are okay?" I cried, concerned, still gasping for air; I had ran as fast as I could to catch up to the group, and I was exhausted. What made it worse was that the fire was getting even closer to the village, and the thick, suffocating smoke had finally beaten us in our race."I can't... the fire... I can't believe it... we're... we're going to... lose... our... home..."

Aero nodded sadly while Kori stared down at his sneakers, tears slowly falling down his cheeks. Carine joined us then, and pretty soon all of us were weeping, crying because of our unfortunate luck, the wildfire, and losing our wonderful homes. Our parents joined us too, and in a while the whole group of villagers surrounded us, and we all hugged, cried, and tried to comfort those in need.

All of a sudden, the elders came to join in our group hug as well. They prayed for our village and us villagers, our family, friends, and neighbors. For a moment everyone was quiet, and only the sounds of villagers shuffling around could be heard, along with occasional bursts of tears and reassuring voices.

When we were done, the oldest and wisest elder, who had also announced the wildfire, spoke so everyone could listen to him. "Everyone, all the people of this village, please listen. I know that before the fire, there were about a hundred people living in this clan, but now, because of the fire, we have lost many loved ones, and I can say we have approximately seventy people."

There was a moment of silence for those we had lost in the fire. I was afraid to look around the crowd, scared to see if anyone was missing, if anyone had died. Was Mrs. Mason, the generous lady who worked at the jewelry shop, who gave Carine and me her newest rock necklaces safe? What about Mr. Cameron, the math teacher known for "Funky Friday", when he would wear the most ridiculous ties he owned to school? Was he all right? Who had lost their lives at the wrath of the furious fire?

The elder cleared his throat and began once more, "We have come a long way to escape our village, but we cannot go back. There will be burnt houses, ashes, and bodies of our loved ones; we simply cannot live there again. Even if we find another place to stay, we do not have the money for food, new clothing, or even shelter."

There were a lot of gasps in the crowd, all wondering what the elder would say next. Carine, Kori, Aero, and I exchanged nervous glances.

"So," the elder continued, "I will send four adventurous young people to go and fetch us the Stones of the Diamonds!"

This time, the crowd was silent. All the people of our clan knew that the Stones of the Diamonds were the four most important and fascinating stones of the Earth, each balancing on one end of the planet, north, east, south, and west. Legend also claims that centuries ago, a young boy found a diamond in a forest, without knowing of its incredible value. The boy loved his precious gem, and he carried it with him everywhere he went, knowing that there was something special about the stone. But one day, the boy dropped the diamond, and it shattered to pieces, leaving nothing but four small stones behind. The stones felt that the boy had believed in the diamond, trusted in it, and didn't use it to do evil, like some others would do for their selfish desires. So when the stones broke out of their shell, they all took place in one corner of the Earth, and made a promise to each other that they would help young people in need, but only if they had pure faith in them.

"The four young courageous people who will be going to search for the Stones will be," the elder paused for a dramatic effect, "Dalki, Carine, Kori, and Aero!"