Let me take you on a journey through the thick jungle, past the mossy vines, across the river of dreams, to a valley where lies a village, a village that bore evil.
The villagers lived peacefully in the valley. There was abundance of fruits and vegetables, everyone was housed and fed, the children played among the bed of daisies, and the older villagers often gathered, smiled, laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. When it came nighttime, the families would hustle back into their homes, and sit by a fire, eat their dinner and talk about their day’s work. The villagers tended to stick to their valley, comfortable with knowing what they know there. After all, things are good, everything flowed and ran smoothly, so why question it?
However, there was one family in particular who had very curious children, there names were Lia, Tom and Jake. Tom and Jake were the older twin brothers to Lia, who is 5 years younger. They often played together amongst the grassy hill in their backyard. And while this may be the story of creation of evil, it is also this family’s story.
“You know what I think? What if we went to the river! The sight must be beautiful! Jake exclaimed loudly to his siblings.
“Maybe, buts it fun here too isn’t it?” Said Tom.
“I bet there are pretty mermaids by that river,” Lia said with wonder in her eyes. Tom and Jake both looked at her, and while didn’t believe in mermaids, they knew with no doubt in their minds, if it made their sister happy, they would do it. They were going to the river, by the forest edge. They all clumsily ran through the daisy bed, the colours of the grass became darker longer, everything around them became more unruly. Tom nervously grabbed Jake’s hand, “Are you sure about this?” Jake looked back, and said, “Its something we never have done before, so why not do it?” They both looked ahead and continued towards the river.
As they approached the river, they took it all in, the luminescence of the river mist, the sparkles of water droplets on tree leaves running along the river. As they approached the river and looked down on it, something began to form. A distorted image formed in the water, it seemed to show something. What was formed, did not make sense to the three of them, as it was something they have never seen before let alone its existence. But for the readers (you) sake, I will explain it. It was images of war, blood and death, of a past that was long forgotten. The river of dreams was showing history of a past lifetime. The children looked up wide -eyed, not understanding, and took it all in. While they did not understand what was going on, the negative energy swirled around the three kids, almost as if it clung to them. They left the river, with the negative aura that continued swirling in and out of the kids.
They went home and spoke nothing of it. But as days went on, things began to change. Their play fights became more violent, there were more arguments, and their hatred towards one another grew, until one day, the worst came to happen. Tom had killed Jake in a fight.
The village soon began to dissipate of what it once was. People had to lock their doors at night, in case of thieves and worry if there was enough food on the table due to greed from some more than others. Before long, evil had taken root and suffocated the village. Evil was born.
Now this story, saw the village changing after a couple children were exposed to an image in the river. The horrible story told in the image had out powered what was already there, and took a hold. People started behaving like the story, and had turned into the image. What I learned about a story telling is, that they have the power to influence the thoughts and behaviours of its reader. Chimamandu Adichie had explained it in her Ted Talk, about the “Dangers of a Single Story. Stories are powerful, they have the capability of making people as one thing, a stereotype. What is unfortunate is, those who are economically and socially powerful (the West) have the ability to overcome all other stories, meaning their story would become reality. We are what we see in the media. How we overcome our ignorance is by rejecting the story of the masses, and opening up to others as well. As Chimamandu says, “When we reject the single story, we regain a kind of paradise.”
In terms of the story I had shared with you, the children’s live became this bad story they had seen, and it consumed them. They believed and became the story. The reason the witches believed the scariest thing was the story, is because stories have the power to change our world. They can be real or false, but regardless energy invoked is real.
Works Cited
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story.” TED, Ted Talk, www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en.
King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. House of Anansi,
Satell, Greg. “The Power Of Story.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 30 Aug. 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2015/08/22/the-power-of-story/#344540b73635.