Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Invisible City

The fighting still goes on between the faithful and the rebels. The inhabitants of the city of Zaira have grown accustom to war in the town. The Brotherhood of the Black Keys have defended the castle for thousands of years. Through countless battles they have survived and stayed faithful, but times are changing and people are revolting. A man sleeps inside a small shack in the cramped and crowded town below the fortress of Zaira. The room cooled by the zinc roofs that use to be but now covered by the tarps over the rickety frame work and ruined stone houses. The young guy a member of The Raven Rebels have been fighting for freedom from the ruthless grip of the rulers in the citadel on the hill. He grabs a can of spray paint and tosses it into his bag with an assortment of other things needed for a day in the lawless city of Zaira. He pulls a hood over his head to help hide his face and straps his bag on his back. As he walks he navigates through the haphazard buildings stacked on one another carelessly. He finds a secluded spot and pulls out a spray can. Kids run by the end of the street where he is, they laugh and scream as they kick a ball between them. He starts to move as he sprays writing the phrase FIGHT with a guy holding up his fist next to it. He steps back and looks to the right to see a man in a robe staring at him. Fear hits the boy as he runs the opposite way from the robed man. His robe flies open as he lifts a gun from the holster and aims it at the young rebel. The kid sees he stuck in a corner so he runs up the wall and jumps over to the roof of another home as gun fire explodes and bullets dig into the stone wall where he was. The kid runs to a street as a car explodes and he ducks into another ally. He quickly climbs on the roof and pulls a small automatic gun from his bag. He screams as he joins in the fight, he squeezes the trigger and the gun ignites and fire burst from the tips rapidly. Men in robes blast guns at young men and boys as they shout and fire back. In the distance you see the Castle of Zaira surrounded by the massive wall daring any to challenge.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

The Legend of The Panda

According to legend, giant pandas were once pure white. Perhaps this is why the story’s heroine – a young Chinese shepherd girl – occasionally encountered friendly pandas among her white sheep. Disaster struck one day: a marauding leopard attacked one of the girl’s panda friends. The girl rushed into the fray to try to save the panda, who escaped with his life. The girl was not so lucky. When the panda told the others of the girl’s death, they were devastated. As a symbol of their mourning, the pandas coated their front legs with ashes. As they dried their tears, the ashes stained their eyes black. As they held each other close, the ashes colored their shoulders. As their keening wails of grief grew too loud to bear, the pandas raised their paws to their ears, turning them black, too. Ever since, giant pandas have borne the black stains.