Chapter 2: Just Acquaintances
The salty air, the sound of waves, the gentle sound of oars in the water, ah, the joys of the sea! Gloshi stared emptily at the island now starting to come into view. He had noticed some things that he hadn’t before, like a large mountain, apparently a volcano, on the edge of the island nearly parallel to Yoshi’s Island. It was belching smoke, looking like it had just recently erupted. That was probably why it was so cold and why I smelled sulfur, thought Gloshi. He glanced back at Boshee, facing the opposite direction, and rowing. Boshee hadn’t said much of anything after they left, besides an occasional shout of “I’m hungry. What have we got?” or “Wow, is this a nice day or what?”. Needless to say, this meant that there was quite a bit of thinking going on. Gloshi started to thinking about Roshi. I sure hope he’s okay. He never was the self-defense type, thought Gloshi. This got him thinking about Roshi’s parents. He had really liked them. Then one day, they had mysteriously disappeared. They had gone out for a stroll on the beach, and never came back. The whole island had been combed for them, but they were simply not there. That was one year after his last adventure.
Four years ago…I want to find out what happened to them. Roshi hasn’t been quite the same since. And neither have I…
Boshee suddenly turned around. “Hey, Glo. I can call you Glo, right?”
Gloshi turned around. “Uh, sure. I don’t care.”
“It seems like you’ve been real quiet. What are ya thinking about?”
Gloshi sighed and looked out at the island. “Just wondering. Wondering about lots of things.”
“I guess this is why we’re out here, huh?” said Boshee knowingly before turning back around and resuming his rowing. Boshee seemed like he always understood.
Gloshi continued where he had left off. I wonder what happened to MY parents…who were they anyway? I WILL find out, Gloshi concluded to himself. He suddenly heard a laugh from his right. His head quickly turned to see the red, winged Yoshi floating over the water. “HEY!” said Gloshi, abruptly standing up and rocking the boat.
“Easy, now!” said Boshee as he steadied it.
“What are you doing here?!” said Gloshi.
The red Yoshi laughed again. “Just informing you of your doom,” said the red Yoshi.
“You won’t beat me again!” said Gloshi. The red Yoshi just smiled and shook his head.
“Me? Did you really think I would take the chance and mess with the one that we’ve been searching for, for years? Not me. Instead, I prefer to let nature do the work.”
Boshee made a disapproving face. “Who is this nut? You know him?”
Gloshi snarled. “Don’t remind me.”
The red Yoshi pointed to the smoking volcano. “You see that? That mountain erupts a small amount every day. Lava has been building up on the side of the mountain for centuries. So, when the load proves too much, half the mountain will careen into the water. And I’m sure you know what that means for you…” said the Yoshi as he snapped his fingers. He was right on time; at that instant, there was a rumble and some fireworks went shooting out of the volcano before some lava started to trickle over the side. The rumble now grew louder, then deafening, as the red Yoshi’s prediction came partially true. Instead of half the volcano, only about one-eighth of it cracked and slid down. It flew into the ocean and landed with a tremendous splash, creating a tsunami-like wave that started racing towards them. The red Yoshi frowned a bit.
“Hmm. Not as much as I expected, but it still should be more than enough to sink this trash heap you’re in.”
Boshee stood up as the roar of the waves started getting louder. “Won’t you get hit too?”
“Oh, no. I prefer to watch from a safer distance, as if watching a sport. As a matter of fact, this is almost as good. Catch you later, I mean never!”
The red Yoshi flew away towards the other side of the island and out of reach of the tidal wave as it continued to get louder and closer. Gloshi desperately looked in his pack for something that would save them, but found nothing. “ROW!” cried Gloshi desperately as he grabbed his sword in his hand, not wanting to lose it. Boshee sat down and they both hurriedly grabbed an oar and started rowing. The red Yoshi laughed at the terror of Gloshi and Boshee as the huge wave neared. The roar of the waves grew louder and louder as it came within half a mile of them.
Boshee’s mind hatched a desperate idea. “Gloshi! In the water!” shouted Boshee as he hopped out of the boat and dove into the water. Gloshi, not following yet, obeyed. Boshee then started whispering to him. Gloshi nodded.
The wave neared within 100 feet. The red Yoshi laughed as he watched the boat get demolished and the wave sweep over the two in the water. The red Yoshi flew away, satisfied with himself. He didn’t notice a white figure watching him from the island as he flew in. The white figure clenched its teeth and ran off towards the beach nearest to the sunken boat.
***
There was a rumble. The rumble then turned into a roar, which in turn became a deafening rush of cacophony. This awoke the other senses. A brownish-red speck could be seen in the distance. It got larger, and slight ripples and black specks could be seen on it. Now, it occupied the whole view. The scene shifted slightly right. A yellow Yoshi was unconscious, laying on a hard rocky ground. It was hot. For the first time, the observer noticed it. He looked around more. He was in some sort of room. There were some crude bars made out of the same material as the room. They almost looked as if they couldn’t be opened. There was no one on the other side of them. Suddenly, the observer realized who the yellow Yoshi was.
“Doshi!” cried out Roshi as he ran over. Doshi was out cold. He noticed a gash in Doshi’s arm. Roshi looked around the room again. Yoshi was out also. Roshi looked on the side of the bars. Everyone’s packs were lying close by the bars. Roshi recognized one as his. Whoever had captured them wasn’t too smart. Roshi walked over to the bars and stretched his hand out. He could just barely reach his pack, the closest one to the bars. He pulled it over close.
Before he could take anything out, he heard voices. He quickly found something useful and ran over to the wall, pretending he was still unconscious, but keeping an eye partially open. He saw shadows coming down the hall, and sat perfectly still. He watched as two Yoshis came into view, one purple, one green. The purple one started talking. “I’ll bet ‘ol Zoshi had a fit when he saw that sword,” said one.
The other laughed. “Yeah, he’s lucky that the other one couldn’t use it right. He might have been killed.”
“Well, at least he found him. I can’t understand why he would let him go, though…”
“I can’t understand why he wasn’t captured with the rest.
The green Yoshi pointed in the general direction of Roshi. His heart pumped. The green Yoshi continued.
“It’s just his luck that the guy he was looking for was away while he captured the rest.”
Roshi guessed that they were talking about Gloshi. At least he was away finding Doshi while we got captured. I hope he’s okay…
“Well, I guess all that matters is that he should be taken care of by now.”
Oh, no!
“Personally, I hope that he doesn’t get killed yet. I’d like to let him discover himself. It’ll make the defeat all the more satisfying.”
“I don’t think Zoshi wants to take the chance. Almost his whole life has been spent searching for this guy, and now Zoshi has a chance to end it. I agree with you, but I think Zoshi will just do away with him before he could possibly cause trouble.”
“Speaking of which, why don’t you check on them?”
The green Yoshi once again pointed at the Yoshis in the cell. The purple Yoshi nodded. He walked over to a wall and pressed a hidden switch, ready to get the key. The green Yoshi walked away. Roshi fingered what he had in his hand: his beam that he had meant for Goonies. Roshi made turned it a tiny bit, then slowly aimed at the purple Yoshi. He pressed the bottom in. Apparently, it worked, because the purple Yoshi dropped the keys and fingered his hand. He muttered something incoherent, then bent down to pick them up again. Roshi fired again. The purple Yoshi backed up, cursed, and said something about a spasm. Then he walked out and closed the door, forgetting the keys.
Perfect. I’d better get out of here quick, thought Roshi. He dropped the act, picked up the keys, and unlocked the door. He started to go back and grab Yoshi, but then thought better of it. No one would notice him gone as long as the rest of the Yoshis were there. Roshi slipped out the door, then began to walk in the opposite direction of where the other yoshis had gone. Soon, he walked past a hallway, and was gone.
The red Yoshi landed on a remote side of the island. He could still see the smoking volcano in the distance. He walked into a cave that was well hidden, but obviously well known to the winged Yoshi. He sat down in his private abode, lying on his bed. Despite the apparent victory, he could not set aside the fact that he had just killed two innocent people. Why did I do this? asked his better side.
You know full well why. You did the right thing. You have completed your revenge on him and his kind, argued his other half.
Yes, but he didn’t deserve that. He himself didn’t do anything.
His father did.
The red Yoshi grit his teeth. He remembered all too well what had happened…
***
A yellow sky Yoshi sat on a chair. “Zoshi, time for dinner!” a voice rang out. A Yoshi boy of 4 came running down. He sat at the table and admired his new wings. They had just started growing, and he was glad that he had gotten his father’s trait instead of his mother’s. A white, female yoshi then came into the room, holding a piping hot meal. She set it on the table.
The sky Yoshi sighed as he looked at his son. He was growing up to be a fine boy. He had also inherited a pair of white, fluffy wings. He also thought about the other sibling, a girl. He had never told Zoshi, because it was his and Loshi’s first child, and was despised by the village. So, they had hidden her, sending her away, and promised to come and see her someday. Zoshi was 2 when that happened, and didn’t remember a thing.
The yellow Yoshi pondered these things when suddenly there was a knock on the door. The female Yoshi answered the door. A group of Yoshis stood there. “Loshi, where is your husband?” they said forcefully. Loshi gasped and tried to shut the door, but they forced it open. “All right, if she won’t tell us, we’ll have to find him ourselves,” said the leader of the group as they split up through the house.
Loshi ran back down to the table. “Zoshi, go to the cave,” whispered Loshi.
“What?”
“Just do it!”
Zoshi fearfully obeyed. He ran out the back door and towards a hidden cave near the back of the house.
Loshi ran back up and into another room to warn her husband. However, the leader of the Yoshi group was there already. Loshi cried out and ran in front of her husband, glowing brightly. The green Yoshi also glowed. “I’m sorry, Loshi. This is for your own good,” said the green Yoshi as he took out a sword with a jade egg in the middle.
The egg glowed brightly as the green Yoshi pushed Loshi to the ground and attempted to stab the yellow Yoshi with it. He dodged and ran out the back door. He then took to the skies. The green yoshi, still glowing, heaved his sword up. It struck the sky Yoshi square on the back and he fell to the ground with a cry of pain. The green Yoshi, with a rage inside of him like a volcano, walked to the spot where the yellow sky Yoshi had fallen. Then, with one swoop, he delivered the final blow.
Loshi flew out the door too late. Seeing her husband lying dead on the forested ground, she dropped to her knees and sobbed. “It was for your own good, Loshi…” said the green Yoshi as he touched her shoulder. Suddenly, her hand came up and grabbed the sword from him. “No, Loshi!” shouted the green Yoshi.
But there was no stopping her. She took her own life. The green Yoshi stared in disbelief, then fell to the ground and gave a shout that seemed to shake the ground. He wept many hours, until all of his companions had left to go back to the village, then grabbed his sword, wiped it clean of the blood, and somberly proceed back. But he didn’t know about Zoshi…
At sunset, Zoshi finally had the courage to journey outside after not hearing from his mother or father to come back out. When he came out, he was confronted by the awful sight of his mother and father both dead. He cried himself to sleep that night.
***
Zoshi sat, pondering the awful memory that had driven his actions for 14 years. “Yes, this was for the better. All of his race is gone now,” said the red Yoshi to himself.
A green hand surfaced above the water, soon followed by a blue one. Soon, Gloshi and Boshee both were treading water and coughing. Gloshi saw the island, closer than ever. The current created by the wave had swept them closer to the island. Gloshi immediately started swimming for it. Boshee saw him and followed. Gloshi considered the ingenious plan that had been thought of by Boshee. By simply ducking under the wave, they were severely shaken, but not killed by the wave as it washed over their heads. They had resurfaced within 20 seconds.
Gloshi now reached water that he could stand in. It was odd, because he was still at least 150 feet from the shore. Boshee soon reached the same level and they waded up the shore before dropping onto the hot sand, exhausted. They both lay there for a while until there was a slight rustle in the bushes nearby. Gloshi sat up and turned around. Boshee was about to say something, but he didn’t have enough time before a white blur flashed out of the bush and held a sword to his throat (in fact, the same sword as he and the red Yoshi had). Gloshi groaned. Boshee sighed. “Not again…” muttered Gloshi before the grip got tighter.
“All right, you two,” a slightly feminine voice said, “who are you and what are you doing here?”
“Let go of me first!” shouted Gloshi. Surprisingly, the figure obeyed. Gloshi rubbed his neck and stood up, turning around. It was a white, female Yoshi. Gloshi was stunned.
“Either of you try anything, you’ll be dead before you realize your mistake. Now, spill!” said the white Yoshi.
Gloshi stuttered a bit. “Uh, we just had an attempt on our lives by…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I saw the whole thing from this island. Tell me what you’re doing here in the first place.”
Boshee shifted around uncomfortably before Gloshi began talking again.
“It’s… kind of a long story, but I and him,” said Gloshi, pointing to Boshee, ”are following a red Yoshi. You probably saw him out over the water.”
“You mean Zoshi? Why would he be interested in you?”
“Well, um, Zoshi (I guess that’s his name) seems like he’s searching for me so he can kill me.”
“Right. Why would he want to kill you?”
“I think he might be interested in my ability.”
The white Yoshi put her hands on her hips, expectantly. Gloshi smiled weakly and glowed. The white Yoshi’s mouth dropped, as well as her sword. “I can’t believe it. I never thought it would actually happen,” said the white Yoshi, still stunned.
She quickly pulled him and Boshee into some of the overgrowth she had been hiding in. “Be very careful. If Zoshi sees that you survived, he’ll kill you on the spot. If he knew about me, he’d kill me too, but that’s beside the point. Now, I want to know what’s going on,” said the white Yoshi.
“Actually, I think that might a better suited question for you,” said Boshee. The white yoshi smiled sarcastically.
“All right, fine. My name is Closhi. Nobody’s called me that for years, though, so you can just call me Chloe, or Clo, if you want. I’m 20, and I’ve lived on this island all my life, so you might want to stick with me if you hope to survive here. Now, your turn.”
“My name is Gloshi. I’m 17. I live on Yoshi’s Island, the one about 5 miles away from here. My village was having some festivities, I left, and when I came back they were all gone. Then your Zoshi showed up, said he kidnapped them, fought me and won, and then took off. Before I knew it, I ended up here. We’re stranded here now, since our boat sunk.”
“You mean that old thing you were in was a boat? Looked like driftwood to me. What a junkyard. And who’s this?” said Clo, pointing to Boshee.
“I’m Boshee. I owned the, ahem, junkyard. I don’t really know how I got tangled up in this mess.”
Closhi shook her head. “Well, I guess there’s a lot you don’t know. You didn’t live on Yoshi’s Island your whole life, you know. Your dad and mom used to live on this island. Of course, you wouldn’t remember, because you were just a baby.”
“How do you know that?”
“What do you mean? Everyone on the island knows that story. Not everyone thinks it’s true, though. I guess Zoshi was right.”
“Whoa, whoa, back up,” said Boshee. “How in the world does everyone on the island know the story?”
“Honestly, I imagine some of the Yoshis on the island witnessed it, then they told others, who told others, and so on. Of course, now that the story has been filtered so many times, it’s not always completely correct, so I just dismissed it. Zoshi knew it was true, though. That’s why, when he finally found out, he made the trip to your island. He was after you. He probably kidnapped your village to be safe and make sure he got you. Of course, you were somewhere else, so you didn’t fall in line. When he saw you, he thought that he might as well kill you, until he saw that you were the one he was looking for. So, he decided to just grab the rest of the village, and use it as bait to lure you here so that he could kill you and nobody would ever live to tell about it.”
“But why does he want to kill me in the first place?”
Clo shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I said I don’t know. I’m not Zoshi’s secretary. All I know is that he’s after you for some kind of revenge.”
Everybody was silent. Boshee finally barged in.
“So, let me get this straight. We have to find this Zoshi, all the while not being killed by him-”
“Or his cronies. He has some Yoshis working for him.”
“…force the truth out of him, and then erase these events from history.”
Clo nodded.
“But first, you guys will need some training. Zoshi is very skilled with his sword. He must have trained for years with it. If you have any hope of beating him, you’ll need to perfect your swordplay. You can use mine for the time being,” said Clo as she offered them her sword.
“Actually, he already has one of those,” said Boshee, pointing to Gloshi’s sword, which was lying on the beach.
Clo gasped and rushed out to get it, then dashed back in. “How long have you had this?” said Clo.
“Actually, only about two days. I won it in a contest on our island. They supposedly found it in a boat wreck on a far side of the beach,” responded Gloshi.
“So, I’m guessing you don’t know how to use it…?”
“Oh, sure I do. It seems to be just like any other-”
“No, I mean really use it.”
“Uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Clo held up both of the swords. “These are specifically designed to make use of our specific reflexes. They were made by your kind, for your kind. You just have to learn how to use that to your advantage, like Zoshi does.”
“We?”
“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I am from the same race as you are. Zoshi just doesn’t know about me.”
Closhi made a faint light, much like Gloshi. Gloshi was taken aback. “Well, we’d better start training, right?”
Gloshi nodded.
Chapter 3: The Search Begins
Clang! Chink!
“Come on, now, you have to want it!”
Clang! Hack!
“Good! A little faster!”
Bang! Whack!
“Yes! Perfect!”
Gloshi dropped his sword and sat down on a log, exhausted. He had been training ever since Clo had found a hidden spot to practice in. Clo set down her sword also and cocked an eyebrow. “Come on now, you’re not done,” lectured Clo.
“I’ve been training all afternoon. It must be sunset by now!” replied Gloshi.
“Yes, I think you’ve mastered regular swordplay, but you still haven’t learned to use this sword’s true power, like Zoshi and I. We’ll have to have that down by nightfall if you want a chance to save your village and yourself,” said Clo, breathing slightly heavily herself.
“What about shelter?” said Gloshi, still trying to catch his breath. Clo slapped her head.
“Shoot, I forgot all about that! We’re going to have to make shelter if we want to survive tonight!” rambled Clo as she started gathering some branches nearby. “First, we’ll need a fire. There’s plenty of wood around here for that. The tricky part is gonna be making temporary huts.”
Gloshi wiped his brow and stood up. He looked around. He pointed towards a cove in the trees. “There. That would be perfect for one of them. What do you think we should use to build the tents?”
“Well, animal hide would be best, but there are no animals that we could catch on this side of the island that would be good for that. We’ll have to use either tree branches or leaves.”
“Leaves? Wouldn’t we have to sew those together?”
“No.”
“Then how would we get them to stand upright?”
Clo sighed, then remembered that Gloshi had never been on the island before. She grabbed her sword and started walking, motioning for Gloshi to follow her. Gloshi looked back at Boshee, who was examining some plants, trying to find something edible. “I’ll be right back!” shouted Gloshi to Boshee. Boshee nodded without even looking. Gloshi was a bit worried, but he followed Clo after getting his sword.
They walked a ways, and ended up back at the beach. Closhi stopped and turned around. “Now, tell me, what do you see?” questioned Clo as she looked around.
“Uh, I see sand, water, my island off in the distance, and tree trunks behind us,” said Gloshi.
“And what is above the tree trunks?” asked Clo with a smirk.
Gloshi looked up. His mouth dropped. “Holy...” said Gloshi as he saw gigantic leaves on the top of the giant trees. “But how do we get up there?” asked Gloshi.
“Easy,” came the reply. Clo walked up to the tree and started climbing it, using the bark as a foothold. When she got to one of the leaves, she hopped onto it. It easily supported her weight. She chipped of a piece of bark and started sawing the stem of the leaf. Soon the connection broke, and the leaf went hurtling towards the ground. Clo got a good foothold on it and pushed on it, making it turn and fall more slowly. She then rode it almost like a surfboard all the way to the ground. She smiled and hopped off. Gloshi could only say one thing.
“Sweet!”
Clo smiled. “Now, you try.”
Gloshi made a serious face, then hopped onto the tree. He climbed it slowly, not sure of his footing, but it held steady. Finally, he got to a leaf. He sawed it off, and was surprised at how quickly he dropped. He then steadied himself and stood on it as it floated to the ground and landed. Clo repeated and they then had one leaf for each of them.
They started to grab the leaves and tug them back when a red blur flashed by Gloshi’s head. It landed in the sand. Gloshi quickly saw that it was a flaming arrow. Another whizzed past his face. “TAKE COVER!” shouted Clo as another almost hit her. She dove under a leaf, and Gloshi did the same. They could hear a few arrows hit the leaves. However, they were too thick to be pierced and too wet to catch on fire.
After a few arrows, Clo started getting on her knees, ready to spring out. Gloshi (who could see her because the leaves were resting next to each other) whispered “Are you crazy?” to her, but she ignored it. In a white flash, she jumped out. An arrow whizzed in her direction. To Gloshi’s amazement, she landed, grabbed her sword, and held it up. The arrow hit the sword and bounced off at a 90-degree angle, hitting something among the trees. There was an “umph” and a brown Yoshi fell out of the overgrowth onto the sand, arrow in his chest, dead.
Another arrow whizzed by. She blocked it again, this time hitting a tree. Gloshi peeked out from under the leaf, only to duck back in as an arrow hit what would have been his head. Closhi ran over to Gloshi’s sword, and tossed it right next to his leaf. Gloshi reached in and grabbed it. He sprang out from under the leaf, dodging an arrow, and ran close to the spot where the arrow had come from. There was a rustling as a yellow Yoshi sprang away. However, Gloshi saw him and cut his bow in two. The Yoshi panicked, grabbing his arrows and running away before Gloshi could take another swing at him.
Meanwhile, Closhi’s feats had whittled down the spots where arrows were flying down to two. Closhi ran forward and swung at the area, missing as a green Yoshi jumped out and whacked Closhi on the head. She reeled back and hit the ground. The Yoshi turned his attention to Gloshi. Gloshi backed up and dashed across the beach. A flaming arrow brushed against his face, scorching it for a brief moment. Gloshi cried out and fell to the ground. He saw another Yoshi, purple, come out from his hiding spot and walk towards Gloshi. He quickly got up, only to find that he was backed into a corner formed by the leaves and the ocean. He walked backwards until the water was up to his waist. The green and purple Yoshis followed him menacingly. Gloshi suddenly tripped and fell backwards into the water. He panicked and barely got back up in time to see the purple Yoshi pull out an arrow and put it in his bow.
Closhi cried out. “Gloshi! Let go of your senses! Just swing! You can do it!”
Gloshi hesitated as the purple Yoshi took aim from ten feet away. Could he really do this? This would be his first step towards beating Zoshi if he succeeded, and his last seconds if he didn’t. The purple Yoshi smiled and steadied his bow, loosening his grip.
“Gloshi! You can do it! I know you can!”
Gloshi closed his eyes. He felt the ocean spray, the waves pounding the beach, the creaking of the bow. This was it. He felt himself relax. He clenched his teeth and let out a yell as he swung the sword. He heard the bow twang as the arrow was released, then a clink. Finally, a splash. He opened his eyes. The purple Yoshi was lying motionless under the waves, red blood mixing with white water, arrow protruding from his chest. The green Yoshi was running away. He started towards Closhi, but she stood up with her sword. The green Yoshi backed away and finally ran for his life back into the forest.
Gloshi and Clo stood there. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Clo let out a shout of joy as she jumped up and down. Gloshi finally realized that he had done it. He had learned how to use the sword, and he had saved both of their lives. He smiled, then laughed as he walked back up to the shore. Closhi met him there and patted him on the back. “I knew you could do it!” she exclaimed jubilantly as they walked back to the forest. “You are now a dangerous weapon. You have everything you need to defeat Zoshi, except maybe a pair of wings,” said Closhi with a smile.
They grabbed their leaves and tugged them back to their camp. They quickly set them up. “Well, there we go. We’re all set. A tent for you, me, and Boshee,” explained Closhi. Her expression suddenly turned bad. “Where’s Boshee?” she asked.
Gloshi suddenly panicked. They hadn’t seen him since they had gone off to the beach. He marched around the area, searching. Boshee was not there. “Boshee’s gone,” said Gloshi, panicking.
“Oh, no! That search party must have captured him.”
“What are we going to do?!”
“We’ll have to find him, of course.”
“How? This island is huge!”
“Don’t worry. I know this island backwards and forwards. We’ll find him.”
“What about Zoshi? Doesn’t he have other Yoshis patrolling the island?”
“Of course. That’s why we have to be extra careful.”
That was not a comforting thought for Gloshi. Closhi looked back as if to reassure him.
“Don’t worry. You know your sword now. If we get any trouble, we can take care of it.”
Gloshi felt slightly better. He solemnly walked to his leaf. He sat down on a log as he watched the glow in the sky fade. The stars started coming out from hiding. Finally, it was night. He looked down as he saw a fire going, courtesy of Closhi. He noticed that Closhi was already asleep inside her leaf. He smothered the fire and crawled under his leaf. He began thinking the night carried him away in his thoughts as time started passing. The moon steadily watched over the camp.
Roshi finally stepped out and into the night air. He had no idea how long he had been navigating the labyrinth inside wherever he had been, but it felt like at least seven hours. He looked back and saw the brown cave he had stepped out of, lit by torches. His attention was directed upwards. A volcano’s looming presence was there. Smoke lazily drifted from the top of the mountain. Roshi observed his surroundings. He was in a jungle, but not too far from the ocean, because he could hear the faint sound of waves. He could see where things had been disturbed by whatever had happened earlier that had woke him up. Plus, the ground was muddy, as if water had crashed down onto that spot. He sniffed the air. A slight sulfur smell answered him. He looked back at his pack to make sure it was still there, then trudged off into the unknown.
***
Gloshi still sat, thinking. If I would have known this was what I would get, I wouldn’t have wanted adventure, Gloshi told himself. Part of himself knew that wasn’t true, but he dismissed the thought and continued.
So many mysteries…Why does Zoshi want to kill me? What did happen to Roshi’s parents? Who am I?
Gloshi stopped himself. That really was the great question, wasn’t it? Who was he? According to Closhi, everyone on the island knew his story, even though he didn’t know it himself. Closhi… I like the name Clo better, thought Gloshi. He smiled. He had had a thing for Closhi from the moment he had met her. He admired her courage. She was tough on the outside, but soft at heart.
I wonder what happened to her? She doesn’t seem to want to tell her past…
Gloshi liked her color, too: pure white. Her smile was also nice, along with her deep blue eyes. If only she would tell her past. Gloshi could tell she had grown up with a nice family, but harsh conditions.
He wondered on. Zoshi suddenly crept into his thoughts. Zoshi seemed much like Clo, but seemed as if he had seen too much, and been forced to make decisions that he regretted. Now that he thought about it, Zoshi didn’t seem like a bad person to him, only a person with too much regret. Zoshi couldn’t be evil at heart: something must have driven him to that persona.
He suddenly noticed that the night was getting cold. It was probably time for sleep. He would need as much as he could get for tomorrow. He continued thinking about Closhi until he finally drifted off into the dream world. The night became completely still as the island settled itself in, trying to gather as much peace as it could before the next day.
To Be Continued...
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