Forgiveness (Under revision)

Preface

This is a story inspired by Hunger Games and Divergent.

Warning!

Do not Enter!

A bold, rusted sign read.

I skillfully slipped under the opening in the fence, and into the forest, not bothered by the fact that I was breaking the law.

Looking behind me every so often as to confirm that nobody could see me, I ran through the tall grasses and dark starry sky. Slipping behind the blanket of trees. Birds chirped and scattered as I lept through the woods, disrupting the serene night.

Crunch.

I pulled my long wooden bow from my back and redied it with an arrow. I looked around, ready to shoot whatever, or whoever had made that sound.

After a few moments of rustling leaves, I spotted a harmless rabbit scurry across the floor. Lowering my bow, I tucked away my arrow. I consistently brought my bow and arrow with me. My father had taught me how to hunt when I was small. I had perfect aim, but could never kill anything. I wasn't like him, no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't deal with murder, even if it was as small as an ant. I couldn't kill. I couldn't deal with the guilt. The blood.

I continued past the familiar towering trees. I came here every week to clear my mind. To be in the wilderness. Here I felt at home, at peace. In truth, the main reason I came out here was to escape my village. Syra.

My village was village five. The village of the unchosen. The last village, which meant we always got the least money. We had to work super hard if we were going to survive. Luckily, Liam had found me a job at the antique store before he got married. Moved with his wife to village one, Aurum. The rich village with all the selfish arrogant people. He was one of them now.

I had been alone ever since. My mother and father had sacrificed themselves to the military to keep us safe. Every family from each village had to sacrifice two members to the war. They didn't want to make us go into war so they sacrificed themselves.

That year...Syra lost.

They died.

Liam and I were forced to fend for ourselves. At that time Liam would hunt for us like our father used to. He would go into these woods and provide us food. We promised each other we would be in this together. Forever.

He broke the promise in less than a month. Soon enough, he had fallen for a rich girl named Jessica. I hated her with all I had. She was so... so... rich. So self-centered. She was overall a typical Aurum resident. She shared her money with Liam, but I could tell she disliked me. Most likely because I was the only other girl in Liam's life. The only other person he loved. That's when she bartered with Liam. It was either her or me.

Liam chose her.

I was heartbroken.

Liam found me a job as an assistant to the manager of the antique shop. It didn't pay well, but it was something. I almost never had to work anyway. People in Syra were far too poor to bother buying expensive antiques. Buying food on a daily basis was a struggle for most citizens. The only time I'd ever get customers was during the testing season. When people from the other villages would come by to see their friends and family go off and take the test.

I ventured around the woods, taking my normal refreshing hike. On the way, I picked a few berries and ate them. It was one of the only sources of food I had. I would eat berries once a week, besides that I always ate small pastries that I bought with my little money. Sometimes on weekends, I had a decent amount of meat, provided by my friend, Everest. But still, I was surprised I hadn't died of starvation yet.

That's when I heard it. The soft sound of a waterfall. There were no waterfalls in Syra. No waterfalls in the forest. The only place with actual waterfalls was village one. The village of water. Here in village five, there were no waterfalls. If there were, the water in them would be gone in days due to all the dehydrated villagers. I followed the sound, suddenly growing thirsty. I hadn't drunk clean, fresh water in weeks.

The soil here was moist. The plants thrived a bright green, unlike the other dull plants in the woods. I wondered how I didn't notice a waterfall in the woods before. I had been going here for over a year. I knew I was coming closer and closer to water because the plants here were so vivid green they were hard to look at. The sun shined much brighter here, and the scene was almost magical as if out of a dream.

The sound of water was incredibly loud now, and I could feel the moist air on my face, as I fanned away some leaves, revealing the water source. Unlike I thought, the water was coming from a fountain. But it wasn't one of those big high tech fountains you would find in village one. The fountain looked like ancient ruins. In front was a big circle with water. Crystal clear water. I longed to drink from it, but I decided to examine more; who knew where the source of the water was?

In the center of the fountain was a large statue of a butterfly. A monarch. With its wings spread open. From the center of the butterfly came beautiful streaks of water that landed in the fountain. Fire burned from the top of the butterfly, and precisely placed plants lined the fountain. Windchimes hung from somewhere up high, placed so it seemed as if it was floating. It was obvious that every piece of the fountain was crafted to create the scene of the four elements coming together. The only thing that confused me was the butterfly that sat in the midst of it. Seemingly the main part of the fountain. What could it mean? Did it somehow represent the air element? I couldn't stop staring in awe. The whole scene was impossibly mesmerizing. Like nothing, I'd ever seen before.

As questions swirled in my head I noticed a monarch butterfly fly above me. There was a tiny white slip of paper under its wing. As it flew over the fountain, it dropped the paper.

It landed gently in the water. I stared at it. At the words.

In neat cursive writing were the words that changed my life forever:

Beware of the curse