Rijuta Gohil
POWERS
If people had a special power…
Hi, I am Celeste Kivanda. I am 13 years old. Just a few months ago, I was living in the town, Youngsterville. All kids live there until they can properly demonstrate their special power. Usually, that happens at the age 12 but not for me. If you get your special power at the age of 12 (you’re lucky), you will be sent to the town or city where everybody there shares the same or similar power as you. There are many towns and cities: Mindreaderville, Baker’s Land, Villain Palace, Hero Sanctuary, Athleteville, Thieving Society, Farmer’s Garden, Hunter’s Site, Government Land and last but not least, Knowledge World. Knowledge World was the biggest city ever. Of course, I hadn’t visited there so I could only take the word of other people like my best friend, Chloe. She’s 13 and is from Mindreaderville. She is only my friend because she can understand me. After all, she can mind read. My other friend is Sara. She is 20 and acts very strangely. She is from Farmer’s Garden yet she kills every plant she touches. She can’t grow anything. Not tomatoes, potatoes, carrots or lettuce. She is mostly very mad and hostile. But once you get to know her she is quite nice…I guess. While everybody turned against me, Chloe and Sara stood by my side. When they both weren’t with me, I only had little kids for company. There was Alice, Matthew, Gabriel, Marco, and last of all, Baby Kate. They were nice, but sometimes they didn’t understand me. And all of them kept pestering me with the same question: Why don’t you have a special power? I would always answer I don’t know. It was true. Anyways, you have to have a special power to go to any of those cities or towns if you don’t live there. I didn’t have as you already know. People knew me as the girl with no power. I was miserable. It was as simple as that. I always told everybody that I was happy and always got what I wanted. But the truth was I wanted a place I could call home and be happy there. I would have real friends and wouldn’t have to be so sad. I wanted to live in a place where people would appreciate me and be nice to me, a place where I was welcome. I thought my life would always be like that. I thought everything would be the same. I thought I would live in the same town; same home, and have the same friends. I really, truly did. But then my whole miserable life changed. It all started on that dark, stormy night…
I was taking a stroll when I heard these weird noises. There was a bang, a flash of green light and someone screamed. Arghh, it looked like Villain Zachary (most accomplished villain ever) broke out of jail again. He hated me because I had no power. He was constantly trying to kick me out of Youngsterville, into the wild. It was so annoying. I decided to go to the safety of my home. I started to walk back home but someone blocked my path. I turned around and someone else blocked my way. I was surrounded. I knew I had to act and quick. I kicked one of the guards and punched the other. I then ran like I was running for my life. Actually, I guess I was running for my life. One of the people yelled and the others came running after me. I knew that soon I would get tired and caught. I just imagined the thought of me escaping and suddenly I was running faster than before. I could escape.
I zigzagged around buildings and jumped over benches. I crossed our town’s borders and was still going at full speed. I let out a cry of freedom and I turned back to see the people yelling and stomping around in anger. I could tell they were guards, Villain Zachary’s guards to be precise. I saw a tree up ahead, yet I couldn’t stop. Finally, I crashed into the tree and blacked out.
When I awoke, I stood up and looked around. I could tell I was out of town. The trees were green with leaves and the grass was green as well. There was no one in sight. I needed a plan and fast. I wasn’t sure how long it would take the guards to find me and haul me off to the dungeon. I decided to run north, for some reason I had a compass. I would have to. But then two rough hands grabbed me and I couldn’t breathe so I blacked out…for the second time.
I was in a dungeon cell. This cell was so small I could only move around while crawling. There was a small bar window at the door of this cell and I crawled towards it. As I looked out of the window, I saw a vast room. It had a high ceiling and huge halls. For a minute I thought I had committed a crime. Then I thought about something even scarier. The guards who were chasing me could have found me and thrown me in the dungeon. And I was right. There were two guards were on duty.
“Oh, look, Hal,” said one of them. “She’s awake. That little loser. Does she even know that we are gonna execute ‘er?” Hal laughed. I couldn’t breathe.
“You are going to WHAT? I don’t want to die! I DON’T WANT TO DIE! I DON’T WANT TO DIE!! ARE YOU SURE HE IS GOING TO KILL ME?” I yelled. I was yelling my head off. I couldn’t die. I was way too young to die.
“Lord Zachary?” said Jon. “Well little princess, Lord Zachary took over your town! And it was awesome.”
I couldn’t believe it. Then I got really angry. Zachary had no privilege whatsoever on taking over the town I grew up in. He had no permission whatsoever on taking over the town HE grew up in. I was dreadfully mad. I started shouting at the guards. I screamed and shouted and yelled at them. Soon, they both were cowering in the corner.
“LET ME OUT!” I yelled. “Wait till I get a hold of you. I am going to kick you, bite you and punch you until you beg for mercy!” But at that moment, Zachary himself came down the stairs. I nearly got sick. He had long black hair, down to his shoulders. His eyes now were a murky green. They had already been the colors blue, red and a mad guy black. A wicked smile was creeping up his lips. His face was pale white. He looked like the world’s most ill villain but I knew he wasn’t sick at all. He was evil, plain evil. Suddenly, he laughed so wickedly that I flinched and backed up against the wall.
“Don’t try to escape, girl with no power. You cannot escape. You will be caught even if you try.” He said and then left. ‘Wow, what a great encounter. He nearly said five sentences,’ I thought as I sat down dejected. I couldn’t think of a plan.
That night, I was staring out the tiny bar window when I thought of a good plan. The bad news was that in that good plan, I would have to be as small as an ant. That wasn’t possible. I was wishing I could shrink in height and become the size of an ant. I thought, ‘Get smaller! Smallez!’ I didn’t know where that word came from. It sounded like those magic spells in the fantasy world I read about. Then I heard a whooshing sound (faintly, but clearly) and experienced a weird feeling. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, I was as small as an ANT!
I scrambled up the door and jumped through the window. I landed on my feet, thankfully. I crept past Hal and Jon. I changed back into my normal form. Then I raced up the dungeon stairs, and out the door, into the cold, night air. I saw a forest ahead and raced towards it. Suddenly, I heard a shout and turned around to see Hal and Jon outside, pointing my way. I groaned and did what I did the first time the guards were chasing me. I went back into super-fast mode.
I was sobbing by the time I sat down to rest. Why me? Why couldn’t somebody else be in my place?? I had been wandering around for ages. There was no one in sight. I was scared out of my wits. I was going to give up when I saw a light up ahead. Light should equal people. I stumbled towards it, thinking someone nice would be there. Maybe they would help me. ‘Maybe they would give me some food,’ I thought as I realized just how hungry I was. Boy was I ever wrong.
When I reached the place with light, I couldn’t see anyone around. Then I heard a faint thumping noise behind me. I turned around to see someone push me against a tree and tie me.
Someone else walked to me and said, “Tell her to give us her money, Jasper!” Jasper was tall, easily seven feet. He had a long dark hair with a few gray streaks. He had long arms and thin fingers. He had a face that had a permanent scowl.
“Why should I? Can’t you do that by yourself, Vincent?” Jasper replied. “I asked last time.” I could tell these guys were from Thieving Society.
“No you didn’t, I did!” Vincent said.
“I did!” shouted Jasper. Pretty soon, they were arguing their heads off.
“Fine, I’ll ask her!” said Jasper. “Girl, give us your money. You better because we are from the one and only Thieving Society, the best place in the world. Give us your money!” I shook my head, which was a bad thing to do. I was just trying to tell them that I had no money. They probably thought of it as ‘I don’t want to give you my money.’ They looked at me threateningly and glared. I wished they both would go far away. Then I heard shouts. I looked up to see Vincent and Jasper in the air upside as if someone was holding them by their feet and were lifting them off the ground. I willed my bounds to be cut (they obeyed), jumped up and started to run. Vincent and Jasper screamed for me to stop and help them down but I didn’t give in. I had already spent enough time listening to them argue.
When, I was far away from Vincent and Jasper, I snuggled against a tree and drifted off to sleep. I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping. I stood up, stretched and looked into the horizon. Then I did a double take. Zachary’s guards, Hal and Jon were right in front of me. They were RIGHT in front of me.
I picked up a twig to defend myself. They just laughed. I decided to show off some of my baseball skills. I swung the twig in a circle like I was throwing a baseball, like I was the pitcher. All of a sudden, there was this strange yellow light around me. Hal and Jon were just as confused as me. But they got over their confusion quickly and started to step towards me. They approached me menacingly until they couldn’t walk anymore. The yellow light was blocking them. It acted as a barrier. They tried to get past the barrier but no luck. I didn’t waste time and jumped up and raced away. I could feel my barrier getting weaker as I started to get more tired. Then I tripped stumbled and the barrier was totally gone.
I opened my eyes as the sun started to shine. I guessed it was sunrise, really early in the morning. I was tired of running. I thought I could finally relax. I saw a forest and plunged into it. Soon, I decided to sleep for a little more time. And I drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, I was fresh and ready to go. Then I realized that I was in the middle of a forest. I was so angry at Zachary that I didn’t notice shouts until they were pretty close. I recognized the voices. It was Zachary’s guards and those two guys from Thieving Society. I guess they teamed up and were trying to find me. ‘Fantastic,’ I thought to myself. I started to run but then I heard a voice. And it sounded very familiar.
“In here, quick!” said a girl in a black cloak. I followed her as she led me into a small cave. The cave was small with hardly any place for me to turn. Then it led to a bigger room. There was food. The girl allowed me to eat. Soon, I was very full. I had a million questions to ask the girl but thought better of it. I didn’t want to be annoying. Then the girl took off her hood and I could see her face clearly.
It was Sara. I couldn’t believe it. I really didn’t think she would come to help me. Actually, I didn’t even think I’d meet her in a forest.
“Sara, what are you doing here?” I asked, surprised.
“You can do these weird sorts of things, right? Shrink yourself, protect yourself and stuff like that right?” Sara asked. I got startled and replied with a Yes. “You see, I can too. Long ago, there was this town called Magiville. The people who lived there had the same power as us now. But then in a few years, less people started getting this power. Finally, nobody had that power. So the government destroyed the town and forgot about it. But now, NOW, we have that power. The government knew that I have this power yet they put me in Farmer’s Garden. They put me in Farmer’s Garden because they didn’t know what to do with me. They thought if they rebuilt Magiville, the same thing would happen. Yet, you have this power so they must rebuild the town, Magiville, they must! They cannot ignore you as well. If they do not listen, then fight back, fight back, Celeste!” She looked angry now. I took a step away from her. So that is why she was mostly so mad and hostile.
“Wait, what is this power you’re talking about?” I asked a bit confused.
She sighed and replied, “Magic, you can do magic.” That was right! I had thought of that word but didn’t think it was my magic power until Sara told me. When I was small I used to read that people could do magic in the fantasy world. ‘Wow,’ I thought. ‘I can do magic.’ I was too happy to think about anything. Then we heard a growl. I turned to see a dog, and my 4 least favorite people, Hal, Jon, Vincent, and Jasper.
“Well, well, looks like we got you trapped, eh? We are working together, now. This doggy seemed to know exactly where you were! Lucky us, unlucky you.” said Vincent. The others laughed.
“Actually, you haven’t got us trapped!” Sara said. “Celeste, think of the Parliament Building in Government Land. Then wave your wand- twig in an arc. Concentrate on you reaching the parliament building.” I did as she told and out the corner, of my eye, I saw Sara do the same thing. I had this uncomfortable feeling and suddenly, I was standing in front of the Parliament Building. I looked around to see Sara smiling. We were free.
I was nervous and didn’t want to enter the building, but followed Sara as she did. I looked around at the huge hallways. Sara led me into one of them. The members of the Parliament were there and they looked surprised to see us. I stood there awkwardly, while Sara told them our story. The members of the Parliament nodded and said something. Then Sara told me to do what we did to get here except to go to the back of the room. I obeyed. The prime minister smiled at me.
Sara turned around and said to me, “They are going to rebuild the city! You and I are going to live there and anybody who happens to have the power, magic. They are also going to send guards to catch Zachary and bring him to jail” I cheered. Sara looked really happy. I was happy too. I would finally have a place to call home and so would Sara. I was very happy!
That is how I came to know my power. Zachary and his minions were caught and so were Vincent and Jasper, those two people from Thieving Society. They are in jail. Once, I moved to Magiville, I learned a lot of things. Sara taught me about spell (like) and about my wand. Now, I am a master at magic. I am happy. Chloe is happy to see me and Sara. Many people started moving to our town because they had this power. Turns out I was not as alone as I thought I was. Many kids had this power including my little kid friends, Alice, Matthew, Gabriel, Marco, and last of all, Baby Kate. I like my new home and now I am proud to say my name. I am Celeste Kivanda and I am a sorceress.
THE END
