The Beginning

My story started out as one of tragedy and disaster. My mother had started a small town with big hopes before I was born. The settlers who came to inhabit the town depended on her for everything at first. It took awhile, but the town started to be self-sufficient. My mother finally got a tiny bit of breathing room then... enough to start a family. I was born in my family's home, a big farm house with lots of room and a wonderful kitchen. My earliest memories are of wanting to help my mom cook. We loved to make cakes together. I grew up under the care of my mom and the other women of the town, but when I was 10, my mom went out to deal with something that was threatening our town. She never came back. After that, the town voted to have one of the upper class citizens take over managing the town until I was of age. The day I turned 16, I was to take my mother's place, but that never happened. The week of my 16^th birthday, I was on duty as the defender of our town. I inherited my armor from my mom, and it was the best. I wasn't scared of the creatures of the night anymore, but fear and caution would have saved many more lives.

They came out of nowhere, silent and deadly. We had dealt with creepers before but never anything like this. There were at least ten of them that converged on the town. I had just enough time to shout a warning before it happened. Creepers, the kamikazes of chaos and unholiness, destroyed my town beyond all repair. Some of the older kids and teenagers like me were the only ones able to get away fast enough. We looked around at the devastation, the smoking ruins of our homes, businesses and town hall, and we could not process the loss. No one called out for parents who would not answer. We were all familiar with the dangers of our world even if this was unthinkable. For a few weeks, the survivors camped on the beach a short way from the former town. None of us knew what to do or where to go. Some of the teenagers wanted to rebuild where the town had once stood. Some wanted to journey far away, never to return to this cursed place marked by pain and grief. At first, they wanted to look towards me to make the decision, to be the leader I was days away from becoming. They soon came to understand that I was locked away in a prison of despair and guilt. I had been on watch. I had failed to protect my beloved town. How could I lead anyone? The group split into groups of those wanting to stay and those wanting to leave. I was still lost inside myself when one of the other girls my age took me under her wing. She was leaving the past behind, and she was taking me with her.

Her name was Karen Robinson. She was the daughter of our first farmer, Christopher Robinson. He was the one chosen to run the town when my mother died. He was wise but spoke little. The people made him a noble. His wife died not long after my mom disappeared. She was shot by a poisoned arrow and suffered from delusions. The poor woman became a recluse. She stopped eating and withered away. I always admired the way Mr. Robinson dealt with the loss, unafraid to cry for her, but glad she finally had peace. He was forced to marry another soon after to help take care of Karen. Her step-mother helped take care of me as well. Karen and I weren't friends exactly. I was being groomed to run the town while Karen was being taught the duties of being a good wife. She was to be married right after her 16^th birthday. Our society encouraged arranged marriages. Most women were treated a step above livestock, but in my life up to that point, I had not thought of how different I was from the rest of the townswomen. It was extraordinary, when I thought of all of this much later, that Karen befriended me and took care of me when I could not take care of myself.

We finally broke camp after decisions and provisions had been made. 5 of the survivors were staying to try and rebuild the town. It was decided not to build over the ruins but to move the town into the forest beside our former home. The rest of us, Christopher Smith, Jennifer Williams, Steven Harris, Karen Robinson and myself, were setting sail after careful preparation to find a new home. We said tearful goodbyes, and put the past at our backs, sailing into the sunset.

Months of wandering, fishing, searching, healing, and sailing passed. Everywhere we stopped just didn't seem right. Some places were strikingly similar to home. We couldn't even stay for an hour before wanting to continue the search. Some lands were much too flat with nothing to see. Desert, snow, flat lands, mountains... Nothing seemed like what we needed to start over. Then one day, we anchored near a beach. I went ashore first. I always wanted the possibly dangerous duties. The beach was beautiful with pristine sand, seemingly untouched by any being. Beyond the beach there were some small hills that seemed to guard and boarder the land. Then, I laid eyes on one of the most beautiful forests I had ever seen. Oak and birch grew side by side. A natural, life giving, freshwater lake gleamed through the trees. It seemed like paradise. It felt like the land was welcoming me home. I pushed the emotions aside and looked for dangers. There were several steep drops and caverns filled with the dangers the unknown inevitably brings. Wild pigs, cows and chickens could be seen in the forest. There were wild dogs as well, but they seemed friendly enough. Hope. This land gave me hope. After doing a thorough sweep of the area, I went back to the ship. I didn't know what to tell the others. How could I describe the hope and promise of a future and all the unknown and known dangers? I faced them, and words failed me. Somehow, they knew. They could see it in my face that something was different about this place, that some of my former self was awakening.

Karen, Steven, Jennifer and I went ashore with the first load of our belongings. Christopher stayed on the ship to organize the rest of the possessions and to guard the boat. As soon as they got a better look at the lay of the land, Karen, Steven and Jennifer felt what I had felt. This was home and hope. We unloaded our supplies and began the work of turning this wondrous place into a town of our own. After several weeks, it began to take shape. Other travelers came and decided to stay in our town as well. The hope that sparked inside of me when we arrived continued to grow as I searched for my place among the people. My story started with tragedy, but hope and home have saved me. This is home.

~Fiona