After watg my brother run, I returo the vilge, where I was severely puhough I didn’t care since me and my brother made a promise.

  To bee the person my brother saw me as I started training day and night. I also memorised all the knowledge we had about the outside world, so when my Drasil came back, I would be able to go with him. In no time, a year had passed, but my brother hadn’t returhis sent panic throughout the vilge. Everyone was worried about what had happeo him, still I wasn’t ed, because the star he pointed out has only shone brighter and brighter sihe day he left.

  So, to alleviate people’s worries, I went up te crows and said, “My brother was never oo keep track of time when he is enjoying himself, and without a doubt, I say he is enjoying himself.”

  The words I said to everyoh plete faith in my brother, little by little, won them over and calmed their worries, even my parents, and so as time tinued and the star shone brighter and brighter, he never returned; whenever people worries grew, I would ease them.

  Even after seven years, he never returned; my fate never wavered until one day, the star I would always look up to vanished from the sky. It’s not that the light grew dim. It simply disappeared from the night sky.

  The symbol I had been using to hope he was alive just vanished. I started to panic, trying to process this in my head. I had thought, what if my brother was dead, and if he was, that meant I killed him.

  I knew of the dangers of the outside world, yet I tio spur on his imagination. I knew I should have never agreed to leave the vilge with him, on the very day he left; I should have stopped him.

  As these thoughts flew through my mind, I almost threw up. What have I done? How could I have let this happen? This ’t be happening. This isn’t happening. No, he must still be alive. My brother isn’t oo die just like that. He probably got tired of that star and decided to move to a different one.

  So, I went on with what I was doing before: training and passioalking about my brother’s safety. It helped me ighe truth, by trying to vince everyone else, it allowed me to vince myself. I tio do this, and it worked. I persuaded people that my brother was alive, but over time, my words turned hollow. All the fidence I had when I spoke these words initially was gone, deep inside I had lost all hope that Drasil was alive, and one day, I was told.

  “Please stop.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We all know you don’t mean your words anymore. At this point, you’re just saying them to try and stop us from realising the truth.”

  “No, what I am saying is true. Just listen to me.”

  “I am sorry, but we won’t. Before trying to vince us, you should vince yourself.”

  As I was about to respond, I looked around and saw the faces of everyone. I could tell that no one believed my words anymore. They had all realised that I was the only one fooling himself, no longer able to run. The only thi for me was that my brother was gone, and I had killed him, so I ran as fast as I could.

  I am a monster. How could I have dohis to my brother, as I sit in my er uo hahe truth with tears flowing down my eyes, I want this all to be a dream, I want to wake up and realise my brother is still alive, but reality isn’t so kind to me. How will I be able to expin this to my parents at this moment? It feels like I have lost everything in the world that’s important to me.

  “Sequoia”

  I y head to the side to see who is calling me, and it’s my father with his face so close to mihat it spooks me into jumping back.

  “Sorry about that Sequoia, didn’t mean to scare you. I was looking for you, and remembered Drasil told me you would e here whenever you wao cry.”

  As I look up at my father, I freak out. The st person I wao see just appeared before my eyes. Has he already realised the truth, like everyone else? I don’t know what I am supposed to say to him. I stutter as I try to speak.

  “Sequoia, are you ok? I heard you ran off with a worrisome look on your face, so I came to look for you.”

  That means he has probably realised the truth.

  “I wao talk to you about something.”

  I dread nothing more than the following words that e out of his mouth.

  “Sequoia, I am sorry,” my father says with his head bowing to the ground.

  “Father, stop that. You shouldn’t be doing that to someone like me.”

  “No, this is overdue. I have been nothing but a coward for years now. The night you guys tried to escape as I was fighting Drasil, he told me something.”

  “I love everyone in this vilge, but it is simply too cramped for me. I want to live my life to its fullest as soon as possible, so after I kick your ass a out of here, I will start the story of my life.”

  “Hearing these words struck a chord with me. I had wao leave at one point in my life, but my obligation to the vilge stopped me from ever trying, so when we were fighting, I let him knock me out on purpose, letting you two escape and now I have let my son die and have left you suffering it was my fault.” As my father said this, for the first time in my life, I saw him cry.

  “No father, I was the one who urring his spirit to leave, if only I had tried to make him stay instead; it was my fault I am a horrible person who, for his own sake, told the vilgers something he didn’t believe.”

  “No sequoia, it isn’t. I knew what type of person Drasil was, yet I still gave him that photo, thinking nothing would happen. I was a fool; I khe look in his eyes because I had a simir one before, but I didn’t do anything, and when he didn’t return, I allowed you to keep giving the vilgers false hope. I knew how hard you would be on yourself if he never returned, but I tio let you do this because it forted me and allowed me to lie to myself. I am so sorry.”

  “No, I am sorry.”

  “I am sorry.”

  “Please, it isn’t your fault. I am sorry.” My father and I tio apologise to each other until nightfall, wheuro the vilge with swollen eyes. Wheurned, my mged us both and said.

  “This loss falls on all of us. It will be something that we will have to face for the rest of our lives, but as long as we do it as a family, I am sure we will get through it, so it’s okay,” she says with tears in her eyes.

  “Mother, father, do you two not hate me for this?”

  In unison, they both say “No.”

  With that simple word, I felt like I could face the days to e, and when those days came, it was hard not only for us but everyohroughout the vilge who had lost Drasil. He was like the sun shining down on us, a bea of happiness, and we all had to let go of that, but just like all trials this vilge faces, we got through all of it by supp each other.

  “Earlier, I told you two that I disagree with Magnolia’s teag, and while that is correct, I believe the existence of this vilge is correct.

  This experience helped me open my eyes to the value of this vilge. Everyone has a role in this vilge that is essential to its survival. Everyone, regardless of their job, has a sense of fulfilment. We all rely on each other and thus grow closer.

  We must be in tuh nature to survive, so we have to make sure that all the species around us don’t go extinct. It gives us a greater uanding and appreciation of all the life around us. Our lives here are simple but wonderful.

  Magnolia said that the snow on this mountain never decreases or increases, gets dirty or melts, and stays the same no matter how many years pass. It is aernal beauty, and I think our vilge is very much like that. It is beautiful and eversting.

  I don’t know enough about the outside world, but the things I do know, such as the words of Magnolia, my experieh my brother and the truth behind all the dead bodies we have found, haven’t improved my opinion of it.

  I don’t know if happiness be found there, or if there is any meaning in living out there, but I guarahere is here. For that reason, I wanted you both to live here.

  But most importantly, I wao pass down the meaning of this vilge to my daughter, primarily since her mother could not raise her. I wanted her to find her lost happiness in this vilge.

  So, I educated her about all this vilge had to offer, but ever since she was a child, she has had the same look in her eyes as my brother, and it terrified me, especially when she found the photo. I started to panic. I o find some way to stop her, so I had to devise methods to crush her spirit. I began to punish her more and more, in ever-increasing ways, but it was no avail. The look never vanished.

  That’s why I don’t want you to tell her anything about the outside world, because all it does is increase her ever-growing want to leave this vilge”

  ΦSequoia bows his head and says, “Please, I beg you.

  As Sequoia bows his head to us, I uand his pain. The unknown be either good or bad, so oakes a ce when they veo it, and arent would ever want to take such a risk with their child?

  I hear Orb say, “I uand Sequoia. Trust me; I do the feeling of when you look at everything around you and realise this is perfect. This is the most excellent p earth. No p earth be better. I want this to remain the same forever. It makes me happy, and I know it makes others happy. I genuinely uand this from the bottom of my heart.

  But even though my friend Capti was happy in that pce with me, which I thought erfect, the truth of the matter is that there ce out in the world that made him happier it wasn’t with his parents or with me, but somepce he found all by himself and due to that he was able to die happy and fulfilled.

  So, I tried to do the same I left my pce of safety to ve, and I found you guys and this vilge and being here has made me beyond happy. The unknown be scary, but when I think about finding other pces like this for me, it makes my heartbeat incredibly fast to the point, I think it’s going to explode.”

  Orb says, “I am sorry, but I ’t keep that promise. If Maple wants to know, I will tell her, so I will go find Maple and Willow.”

  Sequoia looks frustrated and says, “So you to Orb.”

  As he walks to the door, he says, “I don’t know much about parents, but I think even if it is their job to protect their kids, it is also a parent’s job to ehey reach their full potential.” And with those words, Orb leaves.

  -Break-

  Now, where did those two is what I think as I head to the training grounds. But when I arrive, I see two people with bloody bodies? I ruo them, and other warriors around do as well.

  Buloke asks them, “What happened”

  “We were sent by Sequoia earlier today to scout out the forest because the king should be going back to sleep, and we wao see if we could get back to hunting, but to our surprise, not only was he active, he was angry and attacked us we barely escaped with our lives.”

  Aea says, “Guys, I saw Willow and Maple leave for the forest earlier.”

  Wait, then they’re in trouble. I run to grab a spear and start heading towards a marker.

  But I hear Buloke scream, “Aea, Alis, get these two to Oren, then tell Sequoia what has happened. Everyone else heads into the forest to look for Willow and Maple. GET GOING NOW.”