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by Kali Osakwe, age 13

It was early in the morning about 5 AM when Eros came back from the forest to the hidden village. She was wearing a silver cloak to camouflage herself with the early mist and dew on the leaves. Since it was early a lot of monocorns were out somewhere preparing to leave the village in search of food while some were just simply walking around or practicing their magic. Finally Eros arrived at her dome shaped hut and since she was the village’s oracle her house was a bit bigger. She slipped inside and shut the door quietly. “Hey kid, I’m home!” she shouted as she walked up the mussy spiral steps to Lucky’s room (Lucky’s her adopted daughter). “Good news kid. Since I got up so early I found a big batch of clover before anyone else could find and eat it,” Eros said as she put down the basket. But Lucky wasn’t listening. She was sitting on her bed with something in her hands. “Lucky … what do you have in your hands?” Eros asked cautiously. “A snake,” Lucky said as she lifted the tiny yellow and green snake in the air. Eros was shocked and used her magic to fling the small snake out of the window into a tree outside. “Lucky you know I’m deathly afraid of snakes!’’ Eros shouted. Lucky flinched. Eros’s face softened. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to raise my voice at you,” Eros said as she sat next to Lucky. “So how were you when I was gone? Did you make any friends?”

Lucky shook her head, “I didn’t go.”

“Why?’’

“I don’t like anyone here.”

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“How can you say you don’t like them if you haven’t met them?” Lucky shrugged her shoulders. “[Sigh] Listen kid I know you’re going through a hard time right now but you have to try to meet some people. Do you have any friends? Real ones? Not imagined or drawn or reptilian.” Lucky shook her head. “Look I know this is a hard chapter in your life and you’re too young to experience, but I do think you should get out of the hut more and at least try to take a few steps toward the better. It’s what your mother would have wanted.” Lucky’s golden eyes lit up, “That’s what my mother used to say to me.”

Eros gave Lucky a small smile. “Me and your mother were friends. Did I tell you that?” “Really?” “Yep, we did almost everything together. But then we sort of grew apart . . . You know the more I think about it, you look just like her. She had a dark skin tone just like you.’’ Lucky, for the first time in a very long time, smiled.

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