Young Writers Society

Brand

The iridescent glow of the sun leaked into my room the day of The Gathering. The Gathering is when each family in our village travels to the Cavern of Life. The cavern holds our sustenance for living, the trees that are planted the day of our birth control our lives. They are what dictates how long our lives last, as they are our life force. We are connected to our trees, they become a part of us from the moment we are born and the tree is planted.

As the trees die so do we. The way the trees die are still unknown. Sometimes they wither naturally and there are other times where their beauty diminishes earlier that expected due to some unexplainable circumstances. We as a society, as a people have yet to figure out why or understnad fully the extent of these tragedies. It also seems that more and more each year have been withering sooner, and that frightens me. My family's trees have always been stronger than other lineages, but my generation has had more than ever before. For every ten people in a family line, three of those people will diminish their life supply before their time, and two will die of unknown circumstances with no warning. My family is one of the rare occurences where this has only happened once out of our entire family. Even though my family is large, larger than most, we still had better luck than the majority.

My mother whom was very strong-willed and independent was the first to die before their time. Her name was Tyrah, pronounced Tier-ah, and she was the loveliest woman I have ever met. She worked inside the caretaking unit inside of the Cavern of Life which is one of the highest respected jobs in our society. She, however, was not as respected as her title was due to the lowliness of her husband, my father, Midas.

My father is a farmer by nature which was never respected because most people did not believe in containing animals and holding them against their will. He was good at what he did but we are so set in our ways, unwilling to change, that he was overlooked. He had a burden cast down upon him so deeply enrooted into our beliefs that my mother couldn't bring him out of the hole.

Each and every family line has a specific type of tree that represents the life they will live, where we must live, the type of magic we possess, and more. My family's tree is a maple tree. Along with the tree we also have a family crest, or seal. Our crest has a maple leaf and in the center a barn owl looks to have hollowed out the maple leaf to live inside of it. This is very significant to my family because the owl represents the wisdom of my lineage and the leaf represents the simplicity of that all falling apart quickly. I always loved our crest because it was so elegant and yet so frightening. It didn't hide the truth from us and instead taught us a great lot.

This morning was especially beautiful in comparison to all of the other beautiful days. The Special Days always were brighter and allowed hope to seep into our minds. Out of all the Special Days, this was the most important, we get to see our trees, ours. This is only the second time I have gotten to make this journey, not that I would remember the first one, because after mother passed we couldn't really afford the trip.

The Council finally gave us some money so we would be able to take this trip. It makes me really happy that a few years after mothers death they decided they can finally give us what we were owed. This gives me the opportunity to learn and actually see the Cavern, and remember it. I might even be able to get a job inside which would be a dream come true. I could follow in my mothers footsteps and regain respect for my family. Just thinking about this made me anxious, and I just couldn't wait to go so I went and grabbed the rest of the family.

My father didn't want to leave yet because there were still a bunch of crops to be harvested as it was that time of the year. So I went and grabbed my brother and my sister. My brother's name is Kai, and my sisters is Vera. Kai is 21 rings and Vera is 17 rings leaving me the middle child at 19.

Although I'm the middle child, I was always in charge of waking up my siblings. I had always been more punctual and was more of a morning person than pretty much anyone I had ever met. I moved quickly over to where Kai sleeps as he takes longer to wake than Vera and Vera is more crabby the earlier I wake her. "KAI! WAKE UP! IT'S THE DAY OF THE GATHERING.", I yell at him as I shake his body hoping to wake him up out of the slumber he is constantly in.

"What do you want?" Kai mumbles in response, not even half-awake at this point.

"I need you to wake up. We need to help Dad finish harvesting the crops real quick so we can get moving towards The Gathering!" I hastily reply.

The covers rustle and Kai slowly picks himself up out of his bed and heads over to his dresser. Immediately when I am sure he will get himself ready, I make my way ot Vera's room. The house we live in is completely made out of anything but wood. We make it our mission to preserve the trees as much as possible because of the importance they hold to us and our lives. Vera's room is very large, as the youngest she was given some special treatment, mostly because she was theonly girl, and less to do with her age.

Because we live very minimilistic lifestyles her room is her bed a small bookshelf that is enchanted. The only exception we have to ourhatred of things made of wood is when it is an object such as these. Verahas her bookshelf, I have my owl, and Kai has a wolf figurine. We all believe that there is a significant reason that this is what was made out of our mothers tree.

A bookshelf, from what we know, represents a thirst for knowledge and that Vera will forever be scholarly and learn continuously. A wolf represents fierceness and strength.We believe Kai got this one because he has always been one to stand up fot the rest of us. He has always been protective of his family. I received the owl, which has been known to give wisdom to all near to it. There is another legend where an owl represents destruction but because I've always enjoyed the first one better, that's the one I choose to believe.

When I approach Vera's room I see that she is already awake which is completely surprising. Vera looks up from her bed where she was studying the patterns engraved on her bookshelf. "I'm up already Brand. You don;t have ot always check in on me you know. I can get myself out of bed." She says this partially to defend herself and also to hide her excitement that she also has on this day. She walks past me and goes to another part of the house.

This was her first time travelling to the Cavern of Life. The first time we went she was only a few years old and being as young as she was, we didn't think it was time for her to experience the gloriousness. I had been six at the time so they assumed I would be able to remember the trip vividly, but this was not the case, I don;t remember anything accept that this Cavern is a gigantic mesmerizing placeand I was so excited to be able to experience it yet again.

My heart beat faster and faster as the time approached for us to travel towards the Cavern. After I had woken up my siblings and ate some food and packed for the trip, I headed out to the field to help my dad out. He was getting older, in his late 50s now, his bones were beginning to falter and become more fragile. By the time I had managed to get out there after everything was prepared, I was too late, Kai had already made his way out there and helped him finish it. I felt slightly guilty but also relieved because that allowed me to exert my energy during the trip and not beforehand.

Kai carried the last of the crops to our storage compartment in our shed, which granted the entire shed was a storage compartment. Dad walking as slow as he did took a little longer to get back and get his things ready to go. But by eleven o'clock we were all ready to move out. We each gathered our bags and I led us all as we travelled amongst the rest of the village toward the Cavern of Life, for a Gathering that I would not soon forget.

The trek itself wasn't all that interesting, except for the fact that the scenery is just beautiful. It's much more aesthetically pleasing than where we live. The close we got to the cavern the more wonderful everything got. The trees that lined the path varied from five feet high upwards to sixty-five. Some of the trees bore fruit and others were beginning to change color. The beginning of change marked a month or so before our people would be weakest. As the leaves fall, our strength dwindles. It's part of our connectedness with the trees. The leaves protect the bark which protects the heart of the tree, and the less we have the harder it is.

Those with trees that don't shed their protective layerings have it easier in terms of protection. They don't usually have to worry about the cold killing their lifelines. There is always a downside to having an advantage such as that though; they don't live as long as other families. They have a lower life expectancy. It makes things more difficult. I ponder quite often whether I would rather live longer or live stronger. It's a difficult choice to make. Would I rather take no risk at all and get no reward or take a larger risk with the potential for more reward? I usually side with the latter.

The hordes of people that were making their way toward The Cavern of Life astounded me. It was amazing the diversity of those around me, yet all of us shared a common goal to reach the Cavern of Life and be present for the Gathering.

Truthfully, I don't know too much about what happens at the Gathering because my Dad doesn't like to discuss things that relate to closely to mother. They bring back painful memories. The way she died, the hurt we all felt, the tears that streamed down my fathers face.

It was something we weren't used to seeing,that hurt so apparant on his face. Midas had a heart of gold, one full of an immense love for Tyrah. He rarely shows this emotion, so when he does it's sort of miraculous.

She died because her tree began to die. Part of the job of working within the Cavern means certain obligations each person had. My mom was in charge of caring for three different families and that person for a few others and so on and so forth. She took immaculate care of those she was in charge of. She was in charge of the oak, pine, and fir trees, the normal ones, no specialty to them. The Pine tree was one of the Council members, the head chairperson. She was always verycareful with his tree, for if she did anything wrong to it she would be in danger.

One day my mother got sick with a cold, this was during the autumn season and with her leaves withering, it was a tough time. When someone is sick, they appoint another to care for their trees for that day. They try not to discuss it too much because you aren't supposed to pass your duty to anyone else, it should be yours and yours alone. She gave it to Rhys, a man who was a very trusted friend of Tyrah, as they grew up near each other. He promised to take care of the trees. He did not tell the truth. He lied to my mother. He is the reason she is dead.

He did not take care of the tree as he had promised. The next day my mother had come and was informed that the head chairpersons tree waswithering and the chairperson was sick, and it could be deadly. She was blamed, and my mothers tree was poisoned. She began to become very ill, increasingly so as it neared her death date. The closer it got, the more sickshe became, and the more horrible she looked. She couldn't handle it anymore and begged to be set free from this atrocity. She begged and begged and eventually, they listened. The pain my mother endured ended, they burned her tree to ashes, her tree was no more. Her life was no more.

My mother, my loving mother had to beg to die because of Rhys, the man I blame for her death. I don't hate under normal circumstances, but this is unforgivable. If I ever see him, I will not hesitate to end his life. The only thing I know about him is that his tree is Cypress, a rarer tree in this area, so I may be able to find him easier than one would expect. Only time will tell when I will be able to exact my revenge.

I push away the thought of revenge as we continue our way towards the Cavern, our lifeforce. As we make our way closer and closer to the Cavern I grow increasingly anxious. I question everything. What if this isn't everything I have dreamed about. What if my family's trees start to die? What if MY tree starts to die. I begin to hyperventilate and we have to stop so I can catch my breath.

"Brand, are you alright?" Vera's voice has a twing of worry inside of it. She rushed towards me and checks my pulse. "You're heart is beating really fast. Have you been overthinking things again?"

Although I am older than her, Vera has always been more perceptive and observant. She sees things that nobody else does and is wise beyond her years. "Yeah, I'm fine. I have, but It'll be fine." I say this more to reassure myself than for her sake but she accepts this with open arms.

"You need to stop thinking for once Brand. Just let things happen, go with the flow."

"I know, bug. You know how difficult that is for me."

"Yeah, I do. You have an anxiety issue. And a worrying issue. Also a daydreaming issue." Vera continues on this rant of all the issues I have, which is long.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll learn to control myself. You don't have to worry about me. That's your problem. You need to worry about yourself some and not be so selfless."

"I'm far from selfless. But I don't feel like arguing with you today, so yes, I am so selfless." Vera's voice sings with sarcasm.

"Very funny, Vera. You are SO hilarious. Anyways, we should probably get going again. I don't want to be there too late and not get to see everything without the throngs of people. If we keep our pace as it was, we just may be there soon enough to see the important things." The more i talked about this, the more excited I became. I got up from where I had sat down to rest and we picked up our pace. We were all at a soft run, except for Midas who had continued on when we had stopped.

It didn't take very long to catch up to him, as he is still terribly slow. He had made it farther than we had anticipated and we were extremely exhausted by the time we made it to him. This was a good sign. His health had never been that great, but this showed ,any signs of improvement.

When we had a quarter of a mile left, I couldn't contain my excitement and sprinted the rest of the way there. The cavern was enormous, it towered over me. The oversized rock formation had beautiful nature growing around it. The stones were layered beautifully and it was overwhelming to take in. I was so anxious, and the rest of my family was in awe when they witnessed the beauty that was The Cavern of Life. I felt so much more alive here. It felt like something awoke inside of me and sprung out. Everything opened up, I could breathe better, the endorphins were released and I had the largest smile I have ever smiled upon my face.

We all walked into the Cavern together and it was just as magnificent inside as it was out. The trees of all shapes and sizes and types. It was beautiful. The breath was taken out of me. It was even more than I could have ever imagined. The Caretakers were spread throughout the cavern tending to the trees. A woman walked over to us after we had some time to adjust to this perfection. "Hello. Welcome to the Cavern of Life. My name is Gwen, and I am the Council Spokesperson. Have you all been here before?"

"I have been here many times, but this is the first time for my children Rhys and Vera. They have been here once before but were too young to remember too much of the trip." Midas replied.

"Oh, good. That means I don't have to continue with this facade. As you know, we must keep up our energy for the newcomers, because the Council wishes us to have make a good impression on the community." she speaks freely now. "When a family returns, we are allowed to speak more openly with them. You are the Maple family correct? We have all been expecting you."

"Have you?" Kai speaks strongly. "I wasn't aware of us being here for any reason except to learn more about our ancestry and our family trees."

"You are, but you do realize we paid for your trip here? You didn't actually think the Council did this out of the kindness of their hearts?" She pauses for a reaction. When she receives a blank stare from our family she chuckles, "You did? That's hilarious! What you will soon learn is that the Council isn't charitable unless it benefits them. Now come on, follow me."

She led us through the maze of the trees, weaving in and out of sections. We pass all types of trees from Poplar to Cedar to Willow to Sycamore. Endless trees, all holding immense beauty.

She continues to take us through the lovely forest, and turns a sharp corner. We follow as quickly as we can. She turns to us and says, "This person has been working for us for a long time. He will be showing you to the Council. He is in charge of that type of communications."

As Gwen is talking she continues to walk toward the man, I see him.