THE YOUNG ADVENTURER
The young adventurer had heard stories about it. “The biggest thing you’ve ever seen.” the elders had said. There were tales about creatures, those that lived in it, and on top of it, and tales of its mighty force. But she had yet to see it with her own eyes. Until one day, after days of storms, the young adventurer was packed up to go in search of the Almighty Big Thing.
The young adventurer climbed aboard a pregnant mule with her bag of necessities. Grunting and huffing, the mule slowly carried the young adventurer, clip-clopping over hills and bridges. The young adventurer sat patiently, swaying with the pregnant mule, waving occasionally at passer-bys, and watching the landscape change from lush green, to rocky grey, to dusty beige. Suddenly, the young adventurer asked the mule to stop. The young adventurer had spotted something peculiar on the ground upon which they had been treading. A soft beige powder had started kicking up beneath the pregnant mule, and the young adventurer wanted a closer look. The young adventurer hopped onto the ground, and sat down to inspect the curious terrain. She picked up a handful of the beige powder, and watched as it blew away gently, scattering into the wind. She looked around. The powder was everywhere, as far as the eye could see. The young adventurer removed her shoes, and showered some powder onto her feet. It felt soft and cold. She rolled in it, and delighted in the softness. She threw it. She tasted it. It wasn’t for eating, the young adventurer decided.
The pregnant mule huffed and snorted. “Let’s keep going,” the mule seemed to say. The young adventurer obliged, as she had been told there was much more to be seen. They shuffled their way over stretches and stretches of more beige powder. Strange giant white birds walked about. Sometimes taking off, sometimes settling down into the big beige bed below. The young adventurer called out to the birds in an attempt to communicate with the fine species, but they did not reciprocate.
A rhythmic swishing sound seemed to get louder and louder. The pregnant mule perked up and walked faster towards the noise. The swishing grew into roaring. The pregnant mule stopped. And there in front of them was something very big. Could this be it, the Almighty Big Thing? The young adventurer shifted uneasily in her seat, as this was unlike anything she had ever seen, or heard. Giant crests of white came rolling in and tumbling down with a loud CRASH. And another. And another. The young adventurer watched the Almighty Big Thing cautiously from her perch, pointing, and exclaiming in her native language. It was big. It was loud. And the young adventurer wasn’t sure if she liked it.
The pregnant mule shook the young adventurer off her back, as if nudging the young adventurer to take a closer look. The young adventurer immediately began to scurry away from the Almighty Big Thing, shaking her head, looking back only once. The young adventurer paused momentarily to pick up a smooth grey stone, a souvenir of her travels. She held it in tightly in her hand as she mounted the pregnant mule once again, this time to journey back home.