Book & Story

Radiant (Story Writing)

Kids love to play pretend. They can be anyone, anywhere and anytime. But as they grow up, their imagination slowly fades. Their world of make believe becomes no more. Except for one teen. His name is Fred and from the outside he's like any other guys his age. He goes to school, hangs out with friends and he loves music. But during his free time he would go to his local neighborhood park and just stare at the children playing there. He would stare for hours and hours.

In the age of modern technology, nobody really pays attention to Fred. Passerby's are usually so enticed by their phone that they don't notice the world around them.

Fred loves to watch the children because he loves to see their imaginations. Yes, their imaginations. He can see their make believe dragon, their pirate ship, their magic wand, etc. He could see what the children saw in their imagination. To him, it's like watching a movie except that he is in it.

He sometimes join the kids, when their parents aren't looking that is. Apparently parents aren't so keen about the idea of their children playing with an older guy. He especially loves to join this specific group of children. Their names are, Connor, Jacob and Eli. Together they are on a quest to find more about the legend of "The Fallen Star".

All they've found was a scroll hidden within a thousand year old tree. Connor, as an archeologist was able to decipher the old scroll. "Hotter than the Sun and Brighter than the Moon," it reads. The children, with the help of Fred of course searched high and low for its symbolism.

They've spent weeks in the wilderness not able to find a single clue. Killing 3 headed dragons, wrestling a buff penguin and riding unicorns and a pegasus in the process. They all wanted to give up, until they've met Claire in an abandon village. She was wearing a simple white dress, her face with flecks of gold, deep blue eyes shimmering, blond hair waving as the wind blows.

The boys found her sitting next to a fountain but something was off. She was sobbing. Eli mastered up all his courage to ask her if she was ok. She said that she was lost and wanted to get home but didn't know how. She was scared to go anywhere as people wanted to use her as a money maker.

Jacob, a kind-hearted mage decided to help her. He and Fred went out looking for ingredients needed for him to cast the spell to send her home while Eli and Connor guarded Claire. Fred and Jacob came back an hour later with the ingredients they needed to cast the spell.

They laid them down in a pattern in between Jacob and Claire. With a wave of his wand, he was able to make a portal to send Claire up in the clouds, home. Just like that, the kids adventure was completed. Their parents all took them home to rest and get ready for their next adventure. The boys waved Fred goodbye as their parents took their hands and leaded them away.

Fred was about to go home too when he heard someone called his name. He turned around to see Claire with a man who shares similar features with her.

"Thank you for finding my daughter and returning her safely," the man said. "And thank you for cheering Claire up today. She hasn't smiled since our family cat died weeks ago."

Fred could see Claire smiling behind her father's legs. "She has a very radiant smile, sir." Her father nodded in agreement before leading her home.

Written by: Master Moonlarkian