1 Alone

A lone child, in the middle of a white desert, cries. His cries echo, filling the desert with his moans. Without a person in sight, the child's fate seems almost decided. Yet he continues to walk, in hopes of an impossible salvation.

The boy doesn't know his name nor where he is. A lost soul wandering the world. No possessions of his own except for a pair of ragged pants spoiled with sweat and dirt.

The boy's walk seems never-ending, his thirst empowered by the heat that swarms his body. It was as if the sun was determined to strangle him, holding his throat in its blistering palms.

After hours of walking, the boy falls. No ounce of strength left in his small body, scrapped by the harsh white desert sand. Slowly the desert heat disappears, replaced by a cool chill. The boy feels an ever waking urge for rest overtaking him, but he resists. He knows that if he falls asleep here, that he would never wake up.

As the boy slowly musters up the strength to stand up, falling on his knees more times than one can count, he catches a small glimpse of a puddle. Crystal clear like that of a finely crafted mirror, the small puddle was the salvation he was looking for.

The boy pushes every exhausted ounce of his body, pushing himself to the puddle's feet. The puddle represented far more than a small amount of water, it represented life.

Cupping his hands in the puddle, the boy tried to satisfy his thirst as he brought the water to cracked lips, but the moment he came in contact with it something unexpected occurred.

His entire body was pulled into the small puddle, which resembles more of an ocean from the inside.

The boy tried to emerge from the ocean, but it was of no use as he slowly sank. The surprise had prevented him from taking a deep breath, leading to his almost instantaneous loss of oxygen.

Water rushed through the boy's throat, replacing the air like a storming flood dragon. The boy continued to struggle, wrestling in the water like a wild mongoose but he passed out within the next few moments.

…

Darkness. That was all that he saw. That was all that surrounded him. That was all that was left.

The boy felt terribly alone as if he was destined to spend eternity in the darkness. No matter how much he searched, all he found was more darkness. Everlasting.

That was until…

That was until he finally came across something. An object in his path. A wooden box with lines that seemed to converge in the shape of a screaming face.

The boy didn't know why, but he was deathly afraid of the box. Not the kind of fear one feels when they meet a predator or at the risk of losing something important. No, this fear was indescribable. The kind of fear that hurt him to the core. A deep, powerful ache that overtime withered his very soul.

He didn't know why, but he was drawn to the box. He felt like no matter his fear he needed to touch the box. To possess it. A type of greed that made him go mad with excitement.

But the moment the excitement rises it was counteracted by the fear again.

The boy felt conflicted. On one side he felt, no he knew that the box was wrong. An object he should avoid at any costs. On the other hand, he desired the box like nothing before. Something at the back of his mind told him that if he owned the box his dreams would be within his grasp.

Just as the boy was about to make his decisions, a shocking realization came to his mind. What were his dreams? What was the cause for his overwhelming lust towards obtaining the box? Why was he even faced with the box?

The boy decided to leave the box, to let it go. Not because of his nerve-shattering fear towards the mysterious object, but rather because he didn't understand the feelings he felt towards the box.

His inner-turmoil made no sense, so there was no point in involving himself with the box.

Turned away from the box, the boy took small, slow steps away from the box. Each step slowly gained a bit more strength than the last, a bit more power. Without even realizing it, the boy was running with his very last breath away from the box.

He felt as if he could just get away, he would be alright. That he would be fine. But it was of no use, since when the boy looked back to see if he could still see the box in his trail, he saw the box a few feet away from himself.

He was right where he started.

Streams of tears started to fall down the boy's eyes as he resigned himself to his fate. He fell onto his knees, all the strength in his body depleted. As empty as the darkness surrounding him.

The stream continued as he tried to crawl away, but without even looking he know he was where he began.

His fate had shackled him to that spot, destined alone with that box. Forever in isolation with its dismay.

The screaming face on the wooden box slowly morphed to resemble the boy's crying one. It was ridiculing the boy, laughing at him.

Or maybe not. Maybe the box was sympathetic with the boy, trying to make him feel as if he wasn't alone.

It was impossible to know the box's true intentions.

The box slowly floated to the boy's front. Without a lock, it was ready to be opened.

The boy had no strength to open the box, but thinking about it was enough to power the box.

Lights starts to sprawl from the box's light opening, replacing the darkness in the world. It gave the world light.

But for some reason the boy wasn't happy, missing the darkness that he once so feared. Just as the boy was about to see the contents of the wooden box, two orbs pierced through the sky.

The two orbs, one black while the other white, suppressed the box. As the wooden box was forced to close, the white dessert reemerged in the boy's surrounding.

The boy stared at the two orbs. His saviors. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that the orbs wanted him to pick between them. Unsure of his decision, the boy turned to the sky.

"Oh wondrous Sky, which should I pick?"

The sky above the boy rumbled and scattered as the clouds within it gathered and diverged. The sky gave the boy a generous smile, "I cannot decide for you little one."

Disappointed by his answer, the little boy frowned. He was on the verge of crying as tears started gather around doll-like eyes. "But why Sky? What if I regret my decision."

This time the Sky remained silent, with Earth taking its turns to speak. The nearly endless desert sand flustered up and down like a roaring ocean wave as the Earth spoke, "This is your choice to make my dear. If we were to decide for you, you would end up resenting heavens no matter the conclusion."

Left with no other choice, the boy turned his vision to the two orbs. The orbs shocked the boy the longer he looked at them. Each spectacular in their own right.

The dark orb was blistering storm of darkness that seemed capable of swallowing the world whole. It contained within it the past. The light orb on the other hand, was a gentle wave of tranquility. It contained within the future.

Contemplating his own decision, the boy remembered the wooden box beneath. Compared to its past terrifying nature, the now suppressed monstrosity, seemed more pathetic than anything else. It had failed its purpose and was now nothing more than a lie.

The boy sympathized with. The reason remained a mystery to him even many years in the future when he reflected back on the situation. Why did he feel so connected to the being that had so horribly tormented him moments ago? What was its purpose?

The boy felt inclined to pick the box, even though he knew it wasn't an option. Picking the wooden box would surely anger the Sky and the Earth, something that he didn't want to do. He had just awakened from what seemed like a long slumber or perhaps even the beginning of his life, but he felt connected to the Sky and Earth like nothing before. Like all offsprings, the boy wanted for his creators to feel proud of him. Yet he still knew that if at that moment he didn't pick the box, take the risk, he would surely regret it.

Picking up the box, its power returned to it. The moments the wooden box regained its powers, the two orbs quickly fled, but it was of no use. Colossus black chains that seemed larger than the box itself escaped from within the box, latching on to and strangling the two orbs.

Slowly, with great difficulty the chains pulled the orbs inside the box. The orbs resisted with all their might, releasing horrible screeches that made streams of blood drip down the boy's eyes, but again it was of no use. Two more screaming faces appeared on the wooden box, carvings that represented a true nightmare. The box had an relentless greed. Had the boy made the wrong choice?

It was too late to regret his decision, since the Sky and Earth were angered without bounds. The Earth's dessert sound surrounded the boy to swallow him, while lightning pierced from within the Sky.

Unsure about what to do, the boy surrendered himself to his own fate. Prepared to meet his maker, every inch of his blood and bones regretting his decision.