Chimes
By Naomi Pond
It was a warm day when the wind first came. Weaving through the town, it carefully ran its hands along each plank of the homes, through the freshly planted flower beds, across the colorful curtains. The townspeople didn't notice it at first—its voice was only a whisper then.
Then, the wind got courageous. As it grew, so did its effects on the land. It found joy in creating deep furrows in the ground and pushing tiles off roofs—sometimes directly down onto their occupants. Often, the townspeople woke to their newly planted crops destroyed and their windows rattling with the wind's force.
As you can imagine, the townspeople quickly tired of the wind's games, and one night, they plotted to end its tricks.
"Why not banish it?" asked a plucky warrior. "It never had a home here; why can't we force it to leave?"
The town's leader shook her head, sighing deeply. "We have tried that already. Every time, the wind slips through our grasp and hides somewhere. It's impossible to stop."
From the other side of the licking flames, huddled in a blanket, a girl spoke up. "What if we just asked the wind to leave?" she said in a small voice.
"Asked it?" The leader turned on her. "Are you mad? Whenever we try to speak to it, it carries our voices away on its invisible wings."
Curling deeper into her blanket, the girl fell silent. She listened as the conversation twisted and turned before her, before finally quieting into an uneasy silence.
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The next morning, the girl woke to a tap on her shoulder. She pushed her eyes open to see the leader standing above her.
Scrambling backward on the dirt, she asked, "What do you want?"
The leader sighed, reaching a hand out to pull the girl up. "Your plan was the best we had. Are you willing to carry it out?'
The girl nodded quickly, her mind already filled with possibilities of how to tame the wind. She took the leader's hand and stood up.
Bidding the girl farewell, the leader left her to her task.
My book is called Bridge of Starlight. It’s a book about a normal girl, Charlie, a bit paranoid, whose whole world is thrown into a frenzy in one afternoon. As if the people she loves being abducted isn’t enough already, she finds herself in a secret magical organization that reveals hidden information to her. And her whole life changes. Just like that. Soon, she finds herself thrown into a conflict that she didn’t know about until that one fateful afternoon. And the question is: Will she succeed alongside her friends? Or will she suffer the consequences? My book is called Bridge of Starlight. It’s a book about a normal girl, Charlie, a bit paranoid, whose whole world is thrown into a frenzy in one afternoon. As if the people she loves being abducted isn’t enough already, she finds herself in a secret magical organization that reveals hidden information to her. And her whole life changes. Just like that. Soon, she finds herself thrown into a conflict that she didn’t know about until that one fateful afternoon. And the question is: Will she succeed alongside her friends? Or will she suffer the consequences?
That afternoon, the girl began her plan. She had spent most of the early morning hidden between the crowded houses, and the sun had finally climbed to its highest point in the sky. Though the sun was hiding behind a cloud, fragments of its warmth still hovered in the air, comforting the girl.
She stared up at the tall oaks surrounding the homes, watching carefully until, suddenly, a leaf trembled. It drifted slowly toward the ground, and the girl tracked it with her eyes. As she watched, it began to float up.
"There's the wind," she whispered, squinting at the leaf as it bounced in the breeze.
Stealthily, the girl pressed her back to the wall, scooting towards the trees. Her foot crunched into a pile of leaves, and she flinched, her body going perfectly still. Daring a glance upward, she saw the leaf, hovering directly above her head. She gulped, quietly reaching her hand down into her pocket.
We are thrilled to introduce you to our newest published author, Sloka Edara! Sloka recently published her book, Bridge of Starlight, through our Fresh Ink publishing program. In Fresh Ink, youth authors with a completed draft of a novel are mentored through a chapter-by-chapter revision process. At the end of the program, the author is guided through the publication process resulting in an ink-and-paper book they can hold in their hands and share with other readers!
The leaf floated towards the ground, landing unsuspectingly at her feet.
Scanning the tree line, she realized that the wind could be anywhere.
There!
A rustle sounded from a bush, a single branch bending sideways.
The girl pulled a rope from next to her, hurling it over the bush. She gasped when it held, then rushed upwards, pulling tightly around the edges of the invisible force. She held tight, digging her feet into the ground when the wind tried to escape her grasp.
The rope cut into her hands, but still, she held on.
Suddenly, the wind began to spin. The rope wrapped tighter around it, then ripped out of the girl's hands as the wind rotated faster and faster, coiling itself into a frenzied spiral of floating leaves, flying dust, and furious air. The wind funnel rose upwards, its thin body easily squeezing out of the loosely knotted rope.
"How dare you…" the spinning storm growled at the girl.
She took a step back, pressing herself to the wooden plank walls. "I-I only wanted to talk."
"Why have you done this?" the wind screamed, buffeting the girl with its icy breath.
She winced. "Hear me out. Please."
The wind kept spinning angrily but quieted down.
"You are destroying my village," she began. "Just look around you. We put so much work into making this place home, and then you blow it all away." She gestured around her, at the ripped-up plants, the barren trees, the toppled signposts. "You need to stop."
The wind whirled faster, as if considering. "What are you to do in return?"
The girl had come prepared. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a long, straight piece of driftwood. Hanging from it were several shorter pieces, carefully tied on with string.
Curious, the wind faded back into its calmer form, blowing carefully toward the wood. The girl flinched when the frigid breeze hit her face but managed to hold still as the wind explored the object in her hand. When it hit the sticks, they knocked into each other, creating a cheerful clink. Muttering in pleasure, the wind circled the toy.
My book is called Bridge of Starlight. It’s a book about a normal girl, Charlie, a bit paranoid, whose whole world is thrown into a frenzy in one afternoon. As if the people she loves being abducted isn’t enough already, she finds herself in a secret magical organization that reveals hidden information to her. And her whole life changes. Just like that. Soon, she finds herself thrown into a conflict that she didn’t know about until that one fateful afternoon. And the question is: Will she succeed alongside her friends? Or will she suffer the consequences? My book is called Bridge of Starlight. It’s a book about a normal girl, Charlie, a bit paranoid, whose whole world is thrown into a frenzy in one afternoon. As if the people she loves being abducted isn’t enough already, she finds herself in a secret magical organization that reveals hidden information to her. And her whole life changes. Just like that. Soon, she finds herself thrown into a conflict that she didn’t know about until that one fateful afternoon. And the question is: Will she succeed alongside her friends? Or will she suffer the consequences?
Gathering her courage, the girl quickly shoved the chimes back into her pocket. "If you want these, you must calm down. You must stay away from our village, our people. I will hang the chimes from homes, but only if you promise to play with them instead of hurting us."
The wind grumbled and groaned, lifting a thin layer of leaves off of the ground and letting them float gently back. "Fine," it said curtly. "I will agree. But if I cannot find my toys, I will turn my back on your village, I will spin away from you and take all you love with me."
Carefully, the girl backed away, dipping her head to the wind. The agreement was made. The town would be safe.
That night, the girl spoke up at the fireside meeting.
"I talked to the wind," she began, barely holding back a shudder at the thought of the wind spiraling ever higher, bearing down on her with its frigid breath.
Murmurs echoed through the circle.
"We have an agreement," she continued, heart pounding as the entire town stared at her. "The wind will stop tormenting us as long as we leave these out every night." She held up the chimes, showing them to her people.
The leader nodded sagely. "Thank you for your service."
With a smile, the girl sat back, staring at the licking flames of the fire, listening to the soft clack of the wind playing with the chimes in the distance.
Though the chimes kept the wind busy for months, there came a day when they fell into disrepair. Shiny metal rusted over, and their once pure tinkles faded into sharp clanks and crashes. With no other choice, the girl took them down for repairs. She thought that the wind would take no notice, but it did. Just as it had happened months before, the wind worked itself into a frenzy, sweeping across her village, electric fingers sparking down from the sky in search of their toys.
Rushing out her door with the repaired chimes, the girl shielded her face from the rain. The thick shield of droplets obscured her view of the village, but the girl knew its paths well.
She skidded through the streets, mud splattering onto her skirt, until reaching the chimes' tree. Wrapping the chimes around its branches with trembling fingers, she pushed them together. Sharp and clear, sound penetrated the storm. The wind’s spinning slowed, the dark clouds cleared, and the village was safe again.
