Story Night #2

The Place

Altrumist Story Submission:
The Place

Besides the richest and most beautiful river in the area there was a valley.
It was fruitful, with many plants and trees.
Simply there was talented nature in that place.
In that place, you will find a city that was waged in a way of a civilized rural life, with strange creatures to live within.
There weren’t people, though it seemed like them, and they were not angels though so relate.
They for themselves weren’t given any specific name so I will not even name them.

Life in this place was calm, not very complicated and beautiful.
Anyone care for themselves, but helping the others.
Citizens often were busy with simple agricultural works and fed exclusively from vegetable and fruit.
They did not use meat.
But the biggest and most interesting characteristic of this people was that they were all good.
Actually not even one knew what an evil is, evil nor was any citizen.
Apparently this place reminded of a clue – heaven, a word which for this folk was just some kind of word-archaism that remained from their ancestors.

In terms of their culture that was closely associated with nature and the treasures that she gave,
every four months in the not very numerous city was holding an event.
It was some kind of contest in which citizens nominated forty from their own,
and one of them was elected like person that in the last four months was most kind and most good-hearted.
So very soon it was drawing such an event.

Layman was a lad from this town who was nominated in those forty.
According to many he was one of the main contenders this time to win the honorary title.
Coincidentally or not the day before the event in the hands of Layman was found a very old book.
While most people were illiterate Layman knew how to read so primarily
because of the time his grandfather was a member of the High Council and had taught him.
He sat down and opened the book with thick covers of which had no title.
Leafed through several pages and began to read.
He read a story in which it was something like murder, anger and jealousy,
things that were connected with something called fratricide.
Conceived Layman do not understand these words as in their official language they do not existed.
Story curiosity irritated him and he fell asleep thinking about it.

The next day came and the contest voting with it too.
Every citizen had the right to vote.
People votes were counted by High Council and they named the winner.
It was not Layman, but a person who no one believed there is a chance to win.
All of the people felt strange vibrations of surprise when find out who is it, but they forgot about this feelings very fast.
Although Layman was amazed, with indifference receive this news and congratulate the winner.
But that night when he came home nothing was whatever.
He felt unfamiliarity, a condition that had never previously experienced.

He could not sleep and was thinking again about that strange story that he read the previous day.
As more he was laying and thinking the thoughts became clear
and he gradually began to understand some things from the story
and they completely poured his mind and body.
So jealousy was born in this city!

This situation was something quite new for him, and actually it would be new for every resident of this place.
So a week after the contest was hold
while he was working something in the yard
beside it passed the best resident winner for the preceding four months.
All around praised him and talked about him, while on Layman’s calm no one in general was pointing any attention.
But it didn’t meant that somebody was not-good with Layman.
Or at least they believed so.
Seeing this, Layman in all of the winners behavior started to see something awkward, unnatural.
He felt anger.
So anger was born!

Layman felt it deep inside.
Anger burned his mind, giving him a strong energy that he has not known before.
Not being able to control it and in some sort of trance
he took the rake which was at hand,
ran against the winner,
swung and almost beheaded him.
Layman savored the hot blood on his skin
which splashed from dead man flesh
and before fainting single image sprang in his mind –
the head of the dead person that was barely hung on the torn neck.
Thus in affect way, the murder was born!

When consciousness again came to Layman,
he was in downtown sprawled and surrounded by all of the citizens who watched him on some confused and staggering way.
Only one thing he felt.
He was the only one who felt he should be punished.
But how to be punished when they had no idea what a fine is.
He got shook up and went with quick step in the thick woods nearby.
People move away from him and they did not know why.
They were not aware that they feel fear,
from him or from the dead rotten body!

After many months, maybe years
from a random wandering man I learned that the city no longer exists.
From rumours the man have heard,
all of the citizens started to change and resort to the mountain forest
until one day there were hundreds of people who looked more like resembled beasts
which downloaded and demolished this place from the ground,
first eating all of its most good-hearted and then burning all of the buildings.

Today in this place the color of the river water is red,
earth and plants are dried,
and I heard that in every four months occurred some strange rituals
associated somehow with those same animals that we have mentioned earlier.
The only difference is name that now is heard when there is strong wind blowing
That is Slayman.