Blue moonlight coming from the lightwell of a dungeon traced an outline of a woman sitting on the cold floor behind the bars. Suddenly, a faint warm glow grew stronger as a man appeared into the scene. Roaches and rodents  sensed the upcoming light and sneaked away. He knelt as they reached for each other. The torch on his hand revealed their youthful faces: a man in crown and cape; a woman wrapped in wool. Even the bars cannot separate their love.

          "How's my baby Brigid?" The man asked worrisomely with his sweat dripping the floor.

          The woman delighted with a smile and a hand gesture, "Shshsh!" She hushed as she showed to him the angelic face of their little one whose body was wrapped in wool attached to her. "She is dreaming. You might wake her up with that tone of yours."

          The parents rose above the dusts and stood on their feet. Using the key from his waistline, he unlocked the cell to free his family. The heavy steel lock descended to the dusts. Its clangor disturbed their daughter in deep sleep.

          The bearn opened her eyes and began to cry. She wriggled until her wool was unwrapped. Her mother gently and carefully restrained her, but her uncontrollable movement caused her to lose her mother's grip. Her father's reflex caught her and the torch fell to the floor. His people who were waiting outside came to see what's going on inside. Some of them were clothed in rags and broken chains either on the arm, foot or neck while others wore metal armors and carried steel weapons.

          "Tonight, we'll step out of this land," the father announced and then he placed her daughter on his nape to sit. His people rejoiced about the news. 

          "You've just become the new king. The whole kingdom looks up on you," the mother said to test him.

          "I can't let our daughter grew up in this withered land...just like me," he replied. He removed his golden crown and silently stared at it. The mother, convinced by his reply, picked up the torch and it lighted up the reflection of their daughter on the surface of the crown. Their daughter curiously enjoyed playing with her image. 

          The father began singing to court his wife. His people grouped in perfect pairs as they listened to his romantic song. Though, not all had perfect pair. The baby dropped the crown for she could not sustain its weight. 

"I can give up my royal throne

Golds and treasure

Everything I own

For I cannot carry these things

On my journey with you..."

          The family and followers emerged from a mound above the ground. From there, they could see the great towers of the palace almost reaching the cloudy starless sky. For the last time, they gazed at their homeland with memories in drops of tears.

"I can abandon my palace

Because I assure 

That we'll find a place

A green world filled with living beings

To start a life with you..."

          The crownless king turned aside and walk away to lead his royal family and loyal followers. The palace gradually shrank as they move farther. The torch on the woman's hand lighted their way through the low-tide mangrove forest. The water of the forest floor rinsed their dusty feet as they ran freely like the creatures in the wild. Some even dropped their weapons and armors to increase their speed. Holding hands, they bravely faced every scary but harmless illusions they encountered. The parents sang in duet with the music of their synchronized heartbeat. 

{Father and Mother}      "If we step out of this land

{Father}     Let's leave behind the life we know

{Father and Mother}     And step into a new land

{Father}     Like rabbits our family will grow

{Father and Mother}     No boulders may block our way

{Father}     out of this land..."

          They slowed down when they were threatened from the distant smog, an army in fighting position wearing the same metal armor and symbol. The king borrowed the torch and recognized their leader as the palace druid.

          "I command you to step out of our way," the king calmly but firmly negotiated.

          "I respectfully obey orders from a king," the druid replied with duping delight. He signaled his warriors and they shifted to neutral form.

          "Good, now, prove your loyalty to me," the king pointed his torch at an angle down and it lighted his face.

          "But a king wearing no crown has no power over the crowd," the druid coughed.

          A crow carrying a crown glided through the king's face and landed onto the druid's shoulder. The armored people at the king's back ambushed them in surprise as the druid's army marched for attack.

          "How dare you betray us! You let your withered mind control you!" The king had no weapons other than his torch to defend his family. His loyal followers would sacrifice their lives for the royal family. 

          When they found a chance, the king asked his queen to escape, "Quick, step out of this land."

          "You promised we'll leave this place together," the mother held her partner's face. 

          "You and Brigid must go first," the father stared at his love one's eyes and touched her hand on his face. "My heart will follow you wherever you go...for you are my queen---" 

          "And you are my servant." The mother continued his words and they slightly laughed. With one tight grip, they let go of each other's hand. "See you soon, there's a church out of this land."

          The father went the other direction and waved his torch to bait the enemies. The mother hugged her daughter as they ran away from the battlefield. The crows watching from the branches flew and followed her. 

"Always keep my words in your mind..."

          Upon hearing her man's unclear song, she remembered the line he used to sing for her and sang it. She noticed the crowing crows racing with her:

"Murmurs you hear behind your back..."

          She could hear her sweetheart singing in disharmony with the clashes of wood and steel:

"No matter what, never look behind..."

          She could feel her leg muscles tightening in the marathon. She continued singing to motivate herself in every blind sprint and hurdle:

"Won't affect your path. Stay focus on track..."

          Then, she heard her lover's song rising above the music of pain as she dodged every crow's aerial ace:

"The path to your destination is straight ahead of you..."

          The king's loyal soldiers and servants joined the song as they rallied. Their battlecry reverberated throughout forest. The mother kept running determinedly towards the bright lights she tracked. They kept singing until the last man standing was the king:

{Father and Mother}     "Take a step out of this land

{Father}     Away from the dark surroundings

{Father and Mother}     A step into a new land

{Mother}     It's freedom from sufferings

{Father and Mother}     Open your eyes, look, there's sunrise

{Mother}     out of this land."

          In one blow, the king fatally weak and wounded, dropped his torch on the watery forest floor. He was not able to finish the last line of his song. 

          At the end of the mangroves, the mother found the country of Kildare. The village lights repelled the nocturnal crows away. But her destination, the church, was still a long way up the tallest mountain. Passing by the town's square, a nun sensed the needy mother and offered help. The nun instantly recognized who the mother was through her Roman features. They rented a stallion to ride on their way to the church of Kildare. 

WW

          Less than a week later, earthquake and storm rocked the Withered Land. Every high towers and man-made structures crumbled into dusts. When the shaking subsided, survivors gathered at the palace square---a huge open space with nothing but bricks pavements.

          "Pagan one, your son cannot handle his royal duties and eloped with his family," the old druid said as he presented to the former queen, the crown at the crow's feet. "The end of the world is near. You are all our kingdom has left."

          The crows encircled above her hair and surmounted the crown on her head. The queen's eyes rolled inside her skull and turned like the serpents.'

          "Drink while we live for tomorrow, we all will die," the queen drank the cup offered by the druid.

          "All hail the queen!" The crowds cheered as they showered and drowned themselves with wine.

          Meanwhile in the country of Kildare, tremors and storms also happened. The giant waves of the sea devoured every settlement. The high-tide made the mangroves forest unpassable. The hinterlanders had nothing left in their mind but the last frontier, landmarked for its giant vanes:

"People think they can save their lives

Away from hell

Of nature's revenge

By evacuating there

At the church of Kildare..."

          The queen prepared the whole kingdom composed of wizards, warriors, armored creatures, noblemen and commoners. They marched on their way to the land called Kildare. But aside from the mangroves, the other way would be through the mountain ranges but months away to Kildare. Instead, they shortcut through a mining site that tunneled transverse the mountain ranges. The queen went out first followed by the druid and so forth. But before everyone could get out, an aftershock collapsed the tunnel, trapping thousands of lives. Others who safely went out of the tunnel were either hurled by the rockslides or buried alive by the landslides. Underneath the earth, they could still hear some survivors crying for help. But they ignored and continued their route march.

"The land where seedling thrives

Is under the spell

Of Spirit's avenge

Every grass that crosses their path,

Withers aftermath..."

          The queen and her army reached the foot of the mountain. Below, they could see the whole settlements being drowned by the sea. There was a continuous flow of people with their families and children rushing up the highest mountain where the megalithic monastery was.

          "Oak one, we confirmed an intelligence report that the Key to Heaven we were looking for is hidden in that monastery," the old druid pointed its direction up the highest mountain.

          A shepherd in his dirty white and green cotton clothes counterflowed the crowd who were going up to the monastery. He was alerted about the Pagans trail. Holding a staff, he used his other hand to gesture 'stop.' Although the queen understood the body language, still, they continued to march closer. So, the shepherd started the peace talk poetically:

{Shepherd}     "Quercus, step out of this land!"

{Quercus}     "Is that how you should welcome me,

A queen from other land?"

{Shepherd}     "This country belongs to the free."

{Quercus}     "Just give me the Key and we'll leave immediately

out of this land."

{Shepherd}     "If it's the Key you demand

Same tragedy I foresee

You do not need to understand

You just have to agree

The Tree of Eternity is the Key to eternity

untouched offhand."

          This time, only the queen tried to walk closer to the shepherd.

{Shepherd}     "Quercus, step out of this land!"

{Quercus}     "But look below you, shepherd boy

The Key can save us from Hell and

Doomsday, death, destruction, ahoy!

If we open the gates, Heaven awaits

us to other land."

My ideals for mankind are grand:

New environment; new nature

Everlasting life---the reward for this errand

Forever lives each day, together we shall stay

out of this land."

{Shepherd}     "Quercus, step out of this land!

Persuade me not to believe you

I declare, from now on, you're banned!

One false step, Quercus, I'm warning you

Once you stepped forth, you can no longer step out

of this land

Alive."

          The shepherd placed his fingers on his mouth and whistled long. Up the mountains come along, a herd of bull, with their horns ready to fight by his side.

{Quercus}     "You only make the problem worse

My solution to the problem is force

Behold, an army of armored animals

The Key, they can tell where it is through smell

They know no friends or pals."

          The wizards released the armored animals from their chains and they wildly rampaged up the mountain. Upon whistle signal of the shepherd, the herd of bulls charged to defend the shepherd and their territory. The stronger earthquake aftershocks made the battle challenging.

{Shepherd}     "You try to copy intelligent life forms

Yet you call yourselves smarts

You try to silence intelligence through norms

Artificial are your plagiarized arts

But somewhere, sometime on earth

Intelligent life will continue to thrive

Deep inside the hearts you hurt

Their spirits will remain alive."

          The bulls' sharp horns and sturdy heads were no match to the armored animals. They fainted on the ground, no energy but still breathing. The armored animals semi-circled the shepherd and snarled at him. But deep inside the creepy roaring metals, the shepherd could hear the creatures crying for help.

{Quercus}     "Just give me the Key, and we'll leave immediately

out of this land."

{Shepherd}     "Do we all live to watch and wait for the world to end?

Is the suicide worthy for our Savior to defend?

Do we deserve to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven

If we can't take good care of the Garden of Eden?"

          The shepherd stomped his staff on the eroding soil. Roots magically spurt from that spot. Vines crawled radially until it reached the feet of the armored animals. They crawled all over the animals' coating and cracked open the rusting metals. The poor creatures, cattle of different kinds, were freed from encasement. They helped the fainted bulls to stand up. Then, they hooved away and hid in their home, the mountain.

{Shepherd}     "Your mind is like the desert sand

No green, no growth, no life can start

Faith, hope and love protect this land

From witherness that killed your heart

When combined, they are one. They prolong the lifespan

of Earth our land."

          The shepherd's fingers controlled the movement of the vines. It weaved on its own, a craft with square center. As he mentioned 'faith, hope and love,' four triangles emerged from the center and corner of each edge of the square center. Afterwards, it spins with the wind like the giant vanes on the roof of the monastery. It was blown by the wind and it fastened itself on the chest of the shepherd's shoulder cape. The queen was allured by the magic and realized what the craft was.

{Quercus}     "The Tree of Eternity is the Key to Eternity."

{Shepherd}     "Now look, Quercus, at where we stand 

There's green, there's growth, there's life that starts

Faith hope and love protect this land

From witherness that starts from our hearts

Feel the nature's wrath, divert your path

back to your land!"

          The queen glanced at her back and saw her people being washed away by the strong current of the rising sea level. A giant tsunami rose higher than the clouds and smashed the mountain. The shepherd tried to brace the torrent by firmly gripping his planted staff. Before everyone would be wiped away, the queen faced the shepherd and stated her final words:

"From dust we came, in rust we shall return!"

          When the weather returned to normal, the only structure that stood the test of time was the megalithic monastery with its giant vanes. The sun shone brightly again as the people went out of the church one by one. However, they all felt sad when they had only found the shepherd's staff rooted to the ground.

          "There he is," a child discovered him praying at the mountain's apex, surrounded by cattle of different kinds. They noticed something different---his hands were rough and hard like wood.

          "It's a miracle," the crowds agreed.

          After praying. the shepherd stood up and blessed the people, the land and the animals:

"As we step out of this land,

Use our right eye,

when we look up the stars

Keep your left eye

Down the environment wars

Humanity will eternally grow

If nature be part of religion's law

Why the trees try the sun to reach

They're the keys, they are the skybridge

Out of this land."

          The sunlight illuminated the stained-glass window of the monastery, depicting the new earth---a green, flowery and fruitful place where humans and animals live harmoniously. The living saint was portrayed with his right eye looking up and left eye looking down.

---to be continued---

---The Wicked Writch

Hee-hee-hee!