Lennie Waite
RLA D
November 15, 1999
Myths

Eagle carefully rubbed her sleepy eyes with her lethal talons, and drew open her curtains. She looked through her windows and attempted to see beyond the thick white layer of frost that coated them, but it was futile. She could not see the houses of the other creatures or the parks that surrounded them, not even the hills or the mountains. It was going to be another bitter arctic day. Animals were dying by the hundred as the arctic wind blasted through their dwellings, but no one had the power to prevent the long treacherous winter from exacting its toll. Eagle knew that she was the one they unswervingly depended upon for ending the suffering and pain that they were experiencing, but even she could not present her people with any hope for any future. Thinking fervently of a plan to defeat Omerscius, Eagle sat and pondered that day.
Omerscius, a horrible metal monster that lived in the center of the Earth had stolen the warm and toasty feelings derived from sitting in front of a fire on a bitterly cold, snowy day. He had greedily, selfishly and by evil means come to possess, and would not share, the only hope of survival for the animals in the long and bitter winter, fire. Eagle knew that it would be a daunting task to take the fire back from Omerscius, like trying to take food from a vicious and starving dog. That is when Eagle decided, no matter how terrible the consequences, she had to challenge the monster and attempt to become the hero the animals needed right now.
Eagle struggled to open the ice locked door, and then yelled furiously, like an enraged football player, to warn all the animals that she was going to try to steal back the fire from Omerscius. Within seconds birds flew, dogs ran and horse galloped towards her to say their good-byes to their all mighty strong leader before she sacrificed herself for the sake of the whole village. A tear trickled down Eagle’s eyes and then froze; this may be her last chance to see her loved ones. The animals were all crowded; surrounding Eagle before it was time for her departure. Eagle drew strength from their love, she knew that she must stay strong and focused, she knew that defeating Omerscius would be the most rigorous challenge of her life. In her commanding voice Eagle simply said good-bye, spread her wide and beautiful wings and soared through the frigid, open sky.
Flying high above all, Eagle searched for the entrance to Omersciu’s home. She spotted the dormant Volcano that lay no more than a mile ahead of her. She knew that the battle was about to begin. She perched herself on the top of the Volcano to catch her breath before she started the long descent towards Omerscius. Going over her plan in her head, Eagle began to gain more confidence, there was hope. It was time; she started the long downward flight towards Omerscius. The temperature slowly increased as she spiraled into the bowels of the Volcano until she felt as though she was flying into an oven. She was about to pass-out but her determination was resolute. She stopped to rest; the descent into the earth was longer and harder than she had expected. She knew now that she was not going to be able to defeat Omerscius by force, it was going to take cunning, but she had thought up a trick. When she started flying through the deep, cavernous earth, she began to feel fatigued. The feathers on her body were stiff with perspiration and her wings would not maneuver correctly. Suddenly, Eagle saw a dim light ahead of her. Hope ran through her, she had made it to the house of Omerscius. Once more she stopped and re-assured herself that if she stuck to the plan she would be successful. She knew that her plan would be enticing to the monster, his greed was legendary. Mustering up her entire strength Eagle found her brave side and she stealthily opened Omerscius’s door and crept in.
“Who goes there?” roared the Omerscius.
Eagle gave no reply. She kept crouched beneath the table, her heart was pounding so fast and loud deep in her chest, she was afraid that the monster would hear it.
“Hello!” Omerscius said in a deep and harsh voice
Eagle still did nothing. She just waited there, under the table shivering with fear. It was time for her plan to proceed. She pulled out the food from under her wing that she had brought with her. Fish stuffed with sweet red sleep-berries. By this time it would not be edible for anyone else, but she knew Omerscius was greedy and he particularly liked fish. She slyly placed the food on the table. Omerscius turned around at the sound of the splat on the table. He looked at the food and his first instinct was to eat it. He gobbled it down like a greedy, hungry bear and soon nodded off to sleep. Eagle was still hiding beneath his table. After he finished the food, he soon slipped into a deep sleep. Eagle hurried through the house searching. Suddenly she saw, right before her, the fireball locked in a transparent casket. Eagle knew that the effects of the sleep-berries were short lived and that Omerscius would soon awaken. She carefully snatched the casket containing the fireball with her claws. The feathers on the back of her neck began to prickle. Omerscius was standing behind Eagle, suddenly wide-awake. Eagle could feel him breathing. Thinking quickly Eagle turned around, flew above Omerscius’s head and out of the door, dislodging boulders from the walls of the Volcano shaft with her strong wings as she flew ever higher. The monster was screaming his horrible fingernail-on-chalkboard scream, trapped in his lair by the falling boulders.
“YES!” Eagle thought to herself.
She had saved the animals. The fire was now in their possession. She continued her flight up to the surface of Earth clutching the fireball. The flight home seemed to be easier; perhaps it was because she was overjoyed by the fact that she had won the battle. Eagle reached the top of the Volcano, and without a rest she flew directly back home. All the animals were waiting. She could hear their joyful roar as soon as they laid eyes on her. They knew that she had saved them. The arctic wind would no longer be a problem, and animals wouldn’t have to suffer, now that they had fire. Thanks to Eagle’s bravery the animals on earth would be warm again.
However, since the Omerscius was trapped at the center of the Earth and no longer possessed fire he was freezing and very angry. Every once in a while, when it becomes unbearably cold, lonely and dark at the center of the earth, he screams his terrible fingernails-on-chalkboard scream. His scream is sometimes so loud that it causes the surface of the earth to crack and move. This is the cause of the terrible earthquakes that we still have to this very day.

The Battle

She is my love; I had to have her so that I would be complete. For countless days I just sat and contemplated her beauty. She reminds me of a freshly blooming rose, so perfect and pure. Her name is Lindra; she is faultless in every way. Her long golden hair cascades down to the floor, her eyes sparkle like stars, and her mind is full of interesting conversation. I have loved her since the first day we met. My father was going to her castle to drop off the bread that he had made especially for them. I went with him; there was nothing else that was occupying my time. Outside the castle stood Lindra, playing, wearing her beautiful dress. My eyes froze when they saw her. I waved to her and she waved back, but then it was time to go, my father did not want to take up any more of her father’s time, he is a very important man in England, and my father wanted to show a good impression.
I sat and ponder ways that I could have her as my own, but why would she choose me, Jonathan, over the rich and mighty Gavroche? He loves her, but so do I, even though he has the money and the name and I have so little, I mean I am just the bread-boy’s son. She knows of my love for her. I wrote her letters every day, she wrote back once. She said that she would love to meet me and by the way I convey that I love her, she knows that she would love me back, had she the chance. But there were rumors around that she was to marry Gavroche. My heart would break in two and be forever torn if this was true. I wrote her concerning the matter. I knew if she was given the chance that she would love me more than Gavroche, but when would she ever have the chance to know me? Her father only wants her to marry the richest, and most handsome man in town, Gavroche, he is all that plus a diamond ring. Her father will arrange her marriage. I wonder what Lindra really wants in a man? Perhaps I am ideal for her. Who am I kidding, I am just the bread-boys son. I wandered down the street with loss of all hope; my life would never be what I wanted it to be without Lindra.
Walking, I saw the grocery delivery boy, he handed me a package silently, and then kept walking on so fast that I couldn’t even say hello. I opened the package and my heart almost exploded with joy. It was from my beloved Lindra. I scrolled my eyes down the page. It told me that I must meet her, she did not know whom she wanted more, Gavroche or myself. She said that when she read my letters her heart yearned for me. At the bottom of the page it said that she wanted to meet me, there was a map, she did not quite know how do describe the far away place. She also told me to come equipped with armor and to meet her on the 22nd day of November, it was already the 19th. I knew that I must journey off straightaway.
Running home so fast, I fumbled into a million people. Once I arrived home I gathered my belongings, which were very few, and then headed off. The journey was a treacherous one; a man must be strong and passionate about his destination to survive. The nights were cold. However, the thought of Lindra made me carry on throughout the cold. Finally I was there, I had never seen such a view, or been in such surroundings. It was unexplainable and overpowering. I was just on time, and standing waiting for me was Lindra with Gavroche. What could this mean? Her letter to me had made no mention of him. With an anguished look she quickly explained.
“My father has decreed that he will only give my hand to the one most worthy. You both profess to love me, and I find it impossible to choose between you. The last resort is for you to fight. The winner will get my hand.”
It all came as a shock to me. It was not what I was expecting. Still, I pulled out my sword and commenced to battle the rich Gavroche and prove my love for Lindra. He set to with equal determination.
We are still fighting over lovely Lindra, and when our swords clash, because of the strength of our love for Lindra, it causes the powerful lighting that occurs all over the Earth.

The Gift

It had been raining forever, at least that is how it felt. Wishing it would stop, I would stare out my window and curse at the rain, but nothing would happen. My family is made up of farmers, flood is just about as good for crops as chocolate is for dogs. We were loosing money and food, I knew that I was going to have to cut back on my rations soon, even though my looks already resembled those of a skeleton. I attempted to get a job, I mean a real desk job, but no one wanted to employ an uneducated farmer who grew up in Louisiana. Our town is made up of so many poor people that no one really cares about us, we are like a piece of lint in a haystack.
My mom was five months pregnant with a baby boy. I felt sorry for the little fellow already, my dad went out everyday to do some day jobs for the businessmen in the city, so that the baby could survive after birth. He would make a few bucks a day some for us to eat off of and some towards the baby. Our house was falling apart, the wood was rotting and weak due to the vast amount of rain. Our neighbors were suffering just as much, but it seemed as if they didn’t care. I guess they thought their life was worthless already. One neighbor said “ We’re only poor white trash, it don’t matter”. I would walk outside and smell the wet soil, I would open my mouth and the humid air would rush into it. Everyday I felt tired, I couldn’t do anything, my life was just wasting away. The rain was eroding my very spirit.
I needed to put an end to the rain before it put an end to me, I went to the village priest. My family was on the verge of having no money, the baby was due in two months, and his life was looking hopeless. I sat and explained my problems to the priest, he was the only one that would care. He seemed to have a little magic in him too, if ever someone came to him with a problem, he would fix it if the person believed in him strongly enough. When I went to the priest I told him about our crops, and my mother having a baby. At the end of out long discussion, he told me if I brought him a gift, a gift that was non living, that could lift the spirits and make a person feel the opposite to the way this spirit sapping deluge was making me feel. The most lively, non-living gift of all, that would stop the rain. Walking home through the rain, I was puzzled, I pondered over the possibilities for gifts, but I did not have much time. I needed the rain to stop now.
I went to bed that night, I thought that if I slept on it something would enter my mind. I woke up that morning my mind afire, like the salivary glands of a starving dog that smells bacon cooking. The solution, I had it, colors! Bright beautiful colors they make people happy and lively, yet they are nonliving. Still, I had one more problem to solve. How many colors should I give the priest? I knew that just one color wouldn’t do the trick, so I went to all my friends, and got them each to pick a color to give as a gift to the priest. I counted the colors after making my trip around the village to my friends. I had seven colors, I hoped it was enough.
It was late, so I decided to wait till morning to give the gift. I woke in the morning, I was a cheetah, on alert and ready to go. I disparately wanted to reach the priest before his service started. I jumped out of bed, placed my shoes on my feet and sprinted out the door without saying a word to my family. I was in a hurry. I arrived at the church just prior to the first service. I went and presented the gift to the priest, hoping that I had saved my poor family. He said nothing, and then walked away. I hoped that it would with all my heart. I started walking home down the dirt road, kicking the pebbles, wishing and hoping that the rain would stop. I entered the house, took of my shoes and squeezed the water out of my socks. Thinking to myself, why hasn’t the rain stopped? I must have had the wrong gift.
I gazed out of the window through the rivulets of rainwater. Suddenly the seven colors I had given to the priest sprouted in a large curved arc across the sky and slowly, oh so slowly the rain lessened and lessened till it finally stopped and the sun shone again at last. A thrill of joy entered my heart, it had worked, and we were saved. My neighbors all ran into the streets to see the wonder that had occurred. From that moment onwards whenever it rains the colored arc, or rainbow as we call it appears in the heavens as a promise that the rain will stop and the sun will shine again.