Young Writers Society

“So, what would you give away to have magic?”

That was the question that changed everything. The question that millions wish to hear more than anything and the question that I, like so many people before me, wish that we had never heard.

I was sixteen at the time that I heard that question. If you were to ask one of our number where we had heard it, it differs with each of us. But one thing is always the same. No matter who asks us the Question always looks sad. They have shrunken eyes, like dark, never-ending pools of death. Their bodies are scarred and damaged, and their hair scarce and dark.

My foolish sixteen year old self peered at the horrible figure standing before me with a mixture of horror and disgust. What on earth had happened to this poor man? Heck, I wasn’t even sure if this WAS a man! The figure reached out to me, and I instinctively leapt back.

“A-are you ok?” I asked in a shaky voice.

Back then, I was built like a brick. I was six feet one, and nothing scared me. Except for creepy old figures that look like zombies from an old movie.

“So, what would you give away to have magic?” The figure wheezed in a broken voice.

I frowned. The poor thing was senile! However, I decided to play along. After all, this was how most books where the main character gains his magic and goes on an adventure start. I happened to be an avid reader, and often dreamed about gaining magic myself.

“Anything. I mean, with magic, just think about what I could do! I could cure cancer with a word! I could stop wars with a single spell! Why wouldn’t anyone want magic?”

The figure chuckled weakly. With inhumane speed, it suddenly stood before me, revealing a full view of the man-no; this was not a man. The creature that stood before me, dead eyes peering into my own. I found myself frozen in place, unable to move an inch.

“Then, have your magic. Have it all! I don’t want this damn curse! What is done shall be done, make way for the path of eternal darkness!” He screamed, and the lights in the small alley all shattered.

The darkness enveloped everything, and all I knew was pain. When I awoke, the alley and the creature were gone. I stood alone, staring in wonder at a majestic paradise. The glowing lands shone like warm honey drizzled over steaming pancakes in the morning, and the smell of fresh dew filled my nostrils.

I could dimly hear the sound of people laughing and giggling, and I knew that without a doubt, there was no other place I would rather be. I rushed towards it, a huge grin plastered on my face. Just before my foot was graced by the most wondrous land that I had ever, or would ever, see, an unseen force hurled me backwards.

I stared in confusion as a tall man stepped away from the beautiful land to speak with me. On his back were two mighty white wings and he shone with a silvery aura of light and love. He shook his head sadly. “Oh child. You poor, foolish child. You have accepted curse of darkness, and may never walk in the lands of light. You are eternally cursed to walk the earth, alone and decrepit, until some fool such as yourself takes this from you.”

I stared at him in confusion, tears beginning to stream down my face. Rage soon took over my sadness, and I leapt to my feet. “Who are you to tell me that I cannot go to that land? I will destroy you who attempts to cheat me of my rights!”

Darkness roared to life behind me. A ball of fire formed in my hand, and I hurled it at the glowing man. It slammed into his stomach, and he winced. Shrugging it off, he stepped towards me. The ground at my feet begun to darken. It started to crack, and pieces of it began falling away.

“It has begun. You have accepted your curse completely, and it will utterly consume you. However, I will offer you one last thing. Behold what you could have been, what you WOULD have been, had you followed the God's plan for you, and lived true. For the God's plan was there, for you to grasp! He gave you the blueprints to what you wanted, yet you rejected them. So see now, how you have truly betrayed not only yourself, but the very Earth!”

As the ground crumbled around me, a shimmering screen appeared before me. On it, I saw a proud figure, practically glowing with happiness. I knew that, without a doubt, this man was who I could have been. Who I should have been. He stood upon a podium, surrounded by a cheering crowd. He held up a vial with a lightly colored liquid. The crowd cheered around him as the ground under my feet continued to crumble away. Just as I begun to fall through the ground like the rest of the dirt, the screen zoomed out, and I read the writing on the banner above the man.

“…The Cure to Cancer found! Thousands of lives saved!”

Then I was gone, crashing back to earth, never again to see the glory of the holy lands.

I slammed into the ground, surrounded by others like me; those who had foolishly chosen the same path that I had. I instinctively knew that I looked just like the poor creature that had damned me to this fate in the first place.

So we looked up at the darkened sky, black clouds concealing the glory we all longed for. Then we were gone, dashed across the earth like salt. But we were separated, not dead. We still walk this wretched land, looking for a way to free ourselves from this curse. And sometimes, we find someone just like us; someone who can take this curse from us. So, I ask you, dear reader.

“What would you give away to have magic?”