Young Writers Society

“Why” Part one (ch.1-5)


Ch.1

Nothing. There was absolutely nothing- a vast and unending void, so still with no noise and nothing that could break the silence.

Maybe every now and then a small, incomprehensible whisper could be heard, but after that silence reigned again. How such a place could exist, is unimaginable. Does it even exist? For what what is existing in the first place? But whatever the nothingness was, or whether it existed it or not, it was there.

Silence and Nothing went hand in hand to create this "place", if you could call it that. It seemed like a gap in reality, a stretch of the imagination.

It had no order, no structure. What was up and what was down was irrelevant in a place like this. But something was there, although one could not say if it was living. It was like a haze, the kind you see on a hot day. It was there, though it didn't move.

Suddenly the silence broke, by a small humming that came from somewhere near. The haze seemed to stretch, as if in answer to the humming. The humming became nearer and nearer, though you could not tell from which direction it was coming from.

Then all at once a very small, white ball appeared in front of the haze. It spun there near the haze for some time, all the while humming its monotonous buzz. Finally it spoke.

"I have come to ask you something," said the white ball. Its form spun, then stopped, then spun in another direction every time it uttered a word.

"What is it?" said the haze. Its form seemed to stretch and twist as it spoke.

"I have come to ask if you want knowledge," The white ball replied. The haze expanded.

"What is knowledge?" said the haze. It form began to swim around the white ball.

"It is something I cannot explain, and it is something you must experience for yourself," Hummed the ball. "It is something I have discovered."

"What will I gain from knowledge?" questioned the haze, still swimming around the ball. "Everything I need is here, nothing more, nothing less. Why should I want something that I do not need?"

"I am merely asking you," said the ball. "You do not have to agree. Although I have found a way to somewhere else, somewhere much different from here. I only wanted to ask if you wanted to go there."

"As I said before, everything I need is here. This place is where I am, and I want to stay and continue on as I have. Why should I care," the haze remarked, "About somewhere else?"

"They have knowledge." stated the ball. The haze began to twist into various shapes, and swam around very spontaneously, quickly moving from one part of the nothingness to another.It flew fantastically around the white ball.

"Why am I doing this?" said the haze.

"You are curious," said the ball. "I'm not sure, but it means that you want to know something, that you want to gain knowledge." The haze seemed to consider this, and began to swim very rapidly again in the nothingness. The white ball stayed still. And the humming grew louder. "There is nothing to lose. If you want to know about things beyond this place, it is waiting for you."

The haze stopped abruptly. It settled back to where it originally was, and it could hardly be seen. The only evidence of it being there is that the white ball appeared distorted because the haze was standing in front of it.

"Maybe I do."







Ch.2

"Are you sure?" The white ball said. "Do you really want to go?"

The haze stayed still, and after a few minutes it replied. "What if I don't like it?"

"You can come back at anytime, you only have to say so," the ball reassured.

"Then I will do it," the haze declared.

"Fine. Now you must come with me," ordered the white ball. The haze obeyed and stayed close to the ball as it began to zoom through the nothingness. "I'm not sure I can find it again," said the ball as they were traveling along, "but let's hope it turns up." The nothing stayed consistent throughout the whole of the trip, and the haze wondered how the ball was going to find anything here.

After what seemed like an eternity, the haze spotted something.

"Look over there!" it shouted. A bright light could be seen in the distance that seemed to take the shape of a rectangle. The ball immediately headed towards it.

When they had finally reached it, the haze floated their, apparently perplexed by what it was seeing.
"What is this?" it questioned.

"It is a door," replied the white ball. "It is used by the creatures of the other world for entering and exiting."

"Will I use it to enter the world?" the haze asked. He floated to the other side of the door, finding nothing there.

"Yes you will," said the ball. "that is precisely what you will do. But first we must change your appearance."

"Why?" questioned the haze. "Can I not survive in this form?"

"It isn't that," answered the ball. "In order for you to gain any knowledge, you must be able to interact with the creatures, and the only way that is possible is for you to look like one of them. Otherwise they will not accept you."

"What are the creatures exactly?" asked the haze. It already had many questions to ask, when it hadn't even entered the other world yet.

"They are called humans," replied the ball. "They are the intelligent beings of this world, which is called Earth."

"I see," the haze said softly, taking all this in. "Is this the only other world?"

"I don't know," the ball admitted, "There could be more, but this is the only one I have found."

"Ok then, I'm ready," the haze said. "Change my appearance, so I may go to the other world."

"Alright. But the humans of this world are not all friendly. Some are evil with no knowledge to give. But to ensure that you will face the minimum amount of evil in the other world, I will turn you into a being less prone to it; A human child."

The white ball's humming grew louder than ever. It began to give off a light, and spun very rapidly. The haze began to ball up, and soon became a mass of glowing jelly.

"What is happening to me?" it asked.

"Nothing, I am just changing your form, it will be over soon," the ball said, it's humming getting louder still.

The jelly started to glow brighter and brighter, and when the ball spun in another direction, it began to change.

First a limb extended out of the mass, and began to take shape of an arm. The ball switched directions again, which caused a leg to protrude, while the arm's hand was being sculpted.

The ball changed directions again and again, each time a new body part being made. This process went on for quite some time, until finally the mass stopped glowing.

All that was left was a small boy, kneeling on the floor. He had brown hair and could not have looked more than seven years old. He slowly lifted his hands up, with an incredulous look on his face.

He seemed to be struggling, for he was forming strange facial expressions.

"You must open your mouth to speak," said the ball. The boy slowly opened his mouth, and then let out a small cough.

"What am I?" he asked. He began to flex his fingers and move his arms, amazed at his new form.

"You are now a human boy," said the white ball. "This is how you will be during your stay on Earth."

The boy, now aware of his other limbs, began to stand up. When he had risen he started to wiggle his toes.
"I think I will be okay in this form," the boy said happily. But then he looked down between his legs."But what is that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I almost forgot to put clothes on you," the ball said quickly. He started humming louldy again, and a pair of jeans appeared on the boy. He spun in another direction, and then a plain black t-shirt appeared.

"What are these for?" asked the boy.

"On Earth you must be covered, for it is not proper to be seen in your natural form in there society." the ball replied.

"How strange," the boy remarked.

"I know." agreed the ball. "Are you ready to step through the door?"

"Yes. But first what is this strange senstation in my "feet". Are those what they are called?" the boy questioned.

"Oh, yes, you need shoes." the ball said. And with another spin a pair of shoes were put on the boy's feet. "and yes, they are called feet, and the sensation you were feeling was cold. I will arm you with a basic knowledge of your form before you go."

The ball then proceeded to explain the boy's various body parts and such, until the boy undertood the functions of most of his body.

"Now open the door and go," said the ball. "On Earth you also need names to Identify yourself. From now on you will adress yourself as "Max". Anytime someone asks you your name you will respond with that."

"I understand," said Max. "I will go now." Max then heaved a heavy sigh, and turned toward the door. He Stood in front of it and extended his arm. He put his hand on the doorknob and slowly grasped it.

"Now turn it." the ball instructed. Max then turned the knob to the left, and it opened. He stepped back to let it open fully, and then was blinded for a moment by the bright light.

Max then took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and stepped through.


Ch.3

Max had just stepped through the door, and was now spiraling down through white light, being blinded the entire time.

He felt as if swimming through water, and was unable to breathe. He kept falling, and began losing consiousness for his lungs were not recieving any air.

Soon the light began to fade, and an opening could be seen below Max. But he had alreadly slipped away from conciousness, and fell through the opening.

Max landed in a grass field, unconcious, but alive.

***

"Give my your best throw!" shouted Joe, a teenage boy with blonde hair. He was holding a baseball bat, ready to hit any incoming balls.

"You asked for it," his skinny friend Tim shouted back. He was fingering the baseball with his right hand, and stayed focused on Joe. "Try to hit this one!" He got ready to hurl it at Joe.

Joe was taking deep breaths to calm himself so he could focus on hitting the ball.

Okay, so I haven't hit one all day, he thought to himself, but that's not going to stop me from hitting this one.

Joe was very bad at baseball, but kept playing it everyday, insisting that sooner or later he would get better. His friends seriously doubted that, since he'd been practicing for 2 years and still hadn't improved.

Today was no different for Joe. Him and Tim had been been practicing for 3 hours now, and Joe had completely missed every shot. But Joe didn't want to give up. He'd made a promise to himself that he would make at least one shot today, which would be setting a record for him.

"I'm gonna hit it this time," he said to Tim. Joe's friend then rolled his eyes.

"Sure you are, Joe," he replied sarcastically, but then laughed. He really didn't care whether or not Joe was any good at baseball, he just liked spending time with his friend.

Tim now was ready to throw the ball. He held it firmly, pulled his arm back behind his head, and threw it with all his might.

The ball flew through the air, heading straigh for Joe. But he was ready for it.

This time I'm not gonna miss, he told himself firmly.

The ball spiraled through the air, and Joe readied his bat. He swung with all his might, closing his eyes and hoping that he would at least graze the thing. Then something strange happened. Joe felt something make contact with his bat, and it wasn't any of his body parts.

He opened his eyes, and with a gasp he saw the baseball soaring high into the air.

He had made a home run.

"WOOOOHOOOOOOOO!" he screamed, and ran across the grass to his friend Tim who was also overjoyed.

They ran up to each other and shared a big high five.

"Joe, I can't believe it, you actually hit the ball!" he exclaimed, hardly believing it. "Wait till the rest of the guys hear about this!"

"I know, It's so incredible!" cried Joe. Then Tim looked at his watch.

"Congratulations man, but I promised my mom I'd be back by three, and I'm alreadly late," he said dissapointed.

"That's okay," said Joe as his friend walked to the edge of the park and got on his bike. "Later!" Joe watched him get on it and ride away down the street.

***

Meanwhile, the ball soared way across the park, all the way to the far side of the field.

After a few moments it made contact with the floor, and began rolling.

It stopped inches from Max's head, who was still unconcious on the grass.


Ch.4
Joe picked up his bat and began trudging across the wet grass to find his baseball.

Usually, Joe would leave any missing baseballs behind, but since this was the only one he had ever actually hit, he wanted to keep it in his room so he could always remember his golden moment.

Seeing nothing on the grass, Joe started to check in some trees, thinking it must have gotten stuck in one of them. He moved branches aside, trying to find it, but found nothing after looking through five different trees. Joe concluded it must still be in the grass, he must have just not seen it.

Joe walked to the other side of the field hoping to find it over there.

That's when he spotted a small boy lying in the grass a few yards ahead of him. He had not seen him before because a bush had been blocking his view. Now on the other side of the field Joe could see the boy clearly.

That's weird, thought Joe, Every body's already left, what's a kid doing laying in the grass by himself?"

Curious, Joe made his way over to the boy, and spotted his baseball near him. He went over and picked it up, happy to have found it. But then he noticed the boy on the floor seemed to be sleeping.

"Hey, kid, wake up," he said to the boy. The kid didn't even stir. Joe laid his bat on the grass and bent down to shake him. He still didn't move.

Joe's heart dropped. He didn't think the boy was sleeping anymore.

Don't tell the first time I hit a ball I hurt someone!" he panicked. Joe shook him some more. He figured the kid must be unconscious. How was Joe going to explain this to his mom? He didn't think she'd be thrilled to find out he had knocked out a small boy at the park!

Joe began desperately shaking the boy again.

"Please wake up," he pleaded to the boy. Then to Joe's relief he saw the boy's eyes start to flicker open.
After opening them fully, Max was looking up at Joe's face.

Joe stepped back to give him some room. Slowly Max sat up.

"Who are you?" he asked. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, "and where am I?"

"I'm Joe," Joe replied, "And you really don't know where you are?"

"No, I don't," said Max.

"Well, you're at the park. And where are your parents?" Joe questioned.

Max gave him a confused look. Joe thought he must have not heard him.

"I said, where are your parents?" he questioned yet again. Finally Max replied, and made Joe really panic.

"What are parents?" Max said, perplexed.

"You don't know what parents are!" said Joe, a little more fearfully than he had intended.

Oh my GOD, I gave this kid amnesia! he thought to himself. Joe had no idea what to do.

"Don't you know where you live, or what school you go to?" he said hopefully. His hopes were dashed as Max shook his head.

"I don't know about any of that, I just got here." said Max.

Great! This kid doesn't even know what he's talking about!

Joe had been so happy a few minutes earlier, but now he was stuck with a kid that didn't remember a thing about his life.

And the worst part is, thought Joe, was that he had caused it.



Ch. 5
Kneeling next to Max, Joe had to figure out what he was going to do.

This kid must have a mom or dad, right? But then why did they leave him here? thought Joe.

It didn't make sense. Woudn't have someone came looking for him? Joe doubted a boy Max's age would be able to go out by himself. And there was no one in sight that Max could belong to.

Joe did not want to deal with this right now. But he had to.

He figured maybe he could do something to jog Max's memory.

"Max, do you remember anything at all? About today or yesterday or anything?" said Joe.

"No, I don't. Besides I already told you, I just got here," replied Max. Joe decided to play along, since he figured it was the only way he might be able to get somewhere.

"Ok, um, if you just got here, where did you come from?" Joe said.

Max thought very hard. He didn't know how to explain where he was from. He had been there all throughout his existence yet he never knew why or where exactly he was.

"I-I'm not sure," Max said. "But it's somewhere different from here."

"Like how?"questioned Joe.

Max strained for the words to describe it. He could think of none.

"I don't know," he finally admitted.

Joe gave a heavy sigh.

"I guess you'll just have to come with me then," he said. He saw no other option. He was responsible for giving Max amnesia. The least he could do was to find his family. But what if his family wanted to sue him for giving his son amnesia? After all Joe had no idea how long it would last. Days, weeks, or maybe even months.

Joe's head was swimming. He needed a drink.

"Come on, Max, let's go to that small store over there. I need a soda."

"What's a soda?" asked Max.

This is gonna be a long day, thought Joe.

"Just come on, they're good. I'll get you one, and then maybe you'll remember something." answered Joe, his spirits lifting a little.

Max thought about this.

"Alright, I'll come with you." Max thought that if he wanted to start gaining knowledge, this other boy would be the best place to start.

So Max got up and followed Max over to the other side of the street.

As they were walking Max had many questions.

"What's that on the floor." he said, gesturing below him.

"It's grass," replied Joe not taking his gaze off the mini-mart at the other side of the street. "It's a type of plant that grows in a lot of places."

"Oh. But what's a plant?" asked Max.

"It's a type of living thing, like us, except it's a different species," replied Joe.

"I see. But what are those big things over there!" Max exclaimed as he pointed to a truck.

"It's a car, Max," answered Joe. "People use it to move around to places that are too far."

"How does it move?" asked Max, fascinated.

Gosh this kid doesn't know anything! thought Joe, now realizing the full effects of amnesia.

But with another sigh he continued.

"It uses wheels, that turn around on the floor." he said. "When the wheel roll they cause forward or backward motion and the car moves. And the speed of the wheels determines the speed of the car."

"Wow." said Max.

"Well, it's not really that amazing. They're just cars." remarked Joe.

"No, not the cars." said Max. "I meant you. You must be the most intelligent guy in this whole world!"

Joe laughed.

I wish you'd tell that to my teachers.

Max really liked Joe. And his thirst for knowledge was just beginning.