The Heart

By Andrew Xue

Samuel walked wearily on the torrid earth. The hot arid air hung all around him and the
blazing sun was beating on him ruthlessly. It’s been 12 days since he left Kamereshika and he
had to put up with the thirst for 3 days. He only had a vague idea of what he would face in
Tumanku. He unscrewed his canteen, placed the bottle in his mouth, and as usual, nothing
came out. Not even one drop of water. The canteen was dry long ago and Samuel knew that.
He just wants to deceive himself, but the thirst is not disappearing. He had a fervour for water
but oh where is spring when you need it? He wanted to take a hiatus from the mission.
However, he can’t do that, the people are waiting for him, and so is mother nature.
Within the midst of a large temperate rainforest, a small village lay in the center.
Legends said that the place where the village lay is beside the heart of mother nature. A hidden
cave festooned with tangled creepers interspersed within a network of vines holds a dark red
stone in the stone wall, sort of like a ruby. The place was so well-hidden that you couldn’t tell the
cave at all. The only difference was the conspicuous fragrance emitted from the efflorescent
from the sepal of a special type of flower grown nearby. The villagers knew about it and had
kept it a secret for thousands of years. The village was called Kamereshika, which means
nature’s heart. In other places, there were sometimes storms, famine, and other disasters. But
in Kamereshika, it was different. The weather was perfect, the soil was fertile, and the
temperature was always warm and mild. “Perhaps,” a villager once said, “it’s mother nature.”
One night, during a rare storm, through the drum of thunder, something unexpected
happened. Crying sounds came in from a widow’s front door. The widow opened her front door
and saw two babies on the stairs. She picked them up and decided to adopt them, seeing that
they were left intentionally. She decided to name them: Samuel and Daniel.
“Quickly! Daniel, the old man next door is not watching, let’s steal his raisins! You too,
Samuel!” one of the village kids shouted, “Do not worry! If we got caught, we would only have to
give it back! Adults don’t become angry with us! Remember, we’re only eight years old!” “Let’s
join them, Samuel, it’s exciting and fun!” Daniel pleaded. Samuel thought for a minute. Although
he was only eight, he knew that it was wrong to steal someone else’s stuff and hesitated.
Daniel, on the other hand, couldn’t resist the temptation and went with the other kids, leaving
Samuel alone sitting on a rock.
Samuel stopped walking and felt indignant. He looked behind him and thought, “Why did
you betray Kamereshika? Is Tumanku the place you originated? Why did you take the heart of
mother nature, Daniel?” Suddenly, he heard the sound of water flowing. He jerked his head and
saw a small mountain. Under the small mountain, there was a stream of water flowing out of a
crack in the mountain. The water formed a small pond under it but somehow, the pond never
gets filled. There is also a hut beside the pond. Samuel rushed to the pond, drank to his heart’s
content, and filled the canteen. After he quenched his thirst, he realized that he was hungry. He
bravely walked to the hut and went inside. There was an old man inside. The old man greeted
Samuel and said, “Hello Samuel, I am Gary.”
 Peaceful times do not last long. Daniel got interested in the village Tumanku when he
was older. Often, Daniel spent days in Tumanku without coming back. The time that he spent
outside only got longer and longer. One day, he disappeared completely. The people in
Kamereshika gradually forgot about him. On a rainy, dark, night, a dark shadow showed up. The
anonymous figure swiftly went past the houses that were so familiar to him. The figure went in
front of a lump of tangled vines and creepers. He lightly knocked on a stone surface hidden
under the vines and it slid open. It was a cave wall. The figure went in and felt his way through
the cave. His hand felt something and picked it up. He sniggered. The red ruby heart that
glowed faintly was grasped tightly in his fist. He was in a hurry to go back to Tumanku. He
rushed out of the cave and one of the dangling vines caught his long hair. He shook violently
and freed himself, but the thorns tore his forehead deeply. He cursed and ran into the darkness.
A man in the village woke up sweating all over. He dreamed about a leviathan crawling
out of the sea, going on an outcrop, whirling up in the air, and becoming a contour in the sky.
Then, it broke out of its gyration and engulfed the heart of mother nature. He glanced out the
window and saw that it was early morning. He got up from bed and leaned on his window sill.
There was no one out yet, it was too early. He quietly went out from the door and headed to the
cave. The cave was opened and a vine dangling down with a blatant trace of blood. An empty
feeling formed in his stomach. He then rushed into the cave and saw the place where the heart
was supposed to be."It's missing alright," He thought. He ran out of the cave and examined the
blood. It was brownish and dry. They had no chance of catching the thief. The thief was long
gone. The man lay down and was crestfallen. He wanted to tell everyone in the village what
happened. However, a thought came to him, "If I do not say anything about the stolen heart, the
village won't panic. Besides, there was no proof of the heart of mother nature being relevant to
the weather and the environment." Therefore, he decided to be quiet and not say anything.
Months went by, and the man did not mention a thing. Everything that used to be
beautiful gradually became gaudy in the vicissitudes of the weather. The weather eventually
became abnormal, and later became extreme. There was no rain for a long time, and lakes had
dried up or almost dried up. The village went into a panic anyway and everyone decided to
check if the heart of mother nature was fine. The man wanted to say it out loud but hesitated
when he saw the potential implications that he would face. The people were becoming a bit
demented out of panic. If he said that he saw the situation months ago, the villagers would all go
berserk.
The meeting happened quickly after the event. They had three conclusions in the end.
The first conclusion was that it was almost definitely that Daniel was the thief. The reason
behind this is that Daniel was the only one who was not in the village and knew where the heart
was. He was interested in Tumanku, and by stealing the heart and gifting it to the dictator there,
he was propitiating the dictator. The second conclusion is that they must get the heart of mother
nature back for the sake of the world. The third conclusion was only one person should go. The
reason behind this was that in the middle of the journey, they must go past a large sub-arid
plain. Since there is a worldwide drought, the sub-arid plain should already become a large
desert. Water is already scarce in the village and will not be enough for everyone on the
journey. When they arrived at Tumanku, the inimical people living in Tumanku will think it was a
threat and waged war. By that time, everyone will be too thirsty and tired to fight. They will lose
the war and will all be captured. Therefore, one man shall go by himself to the village. "I
volunteer to go to the village all by myself," Samuel said. A convulsion took place among the
people in the meeting. "You can't go ‘cause Daniel and you are good friends, and who knows if
you also turned on us!” Everyone was infuriated by Daniel’s action. In an effort not to sound
ludicrous, he went on, “It might be surprising for me to volunteer, but I volunteer out of gratitude
for all that you did for me. So please, please let me go on this hard journey.” Some people
agreed and some people balked, but eventually, everyone decided to allow Samuel on this
journey. However, they warned Samuel to not accuse the people there because they will
recriminate him and possibly keep him hostage. He would also need to be pliant and go
according to circumstances when dealing with those officious people. Before Samuel left the
village, people prepared three sacks of water, and his adoptive mother gave him a red stone. It
is the colour of a ruby and it glowed ever so faintly. “It was mixed with powders that are
phosphorescent, and it might protect you from danger,” she said. Samuel carefully put the stone
in a pendant and hung it around his neck. He bid farewell and started his hard journey.
Samuel was so hungry, he was not inquisitive of the whole weirdness of a man named
Gary knowing his name. He had a feast with Gary and Samuel told Gary everything, from the
time in Kamereshika to the hardship of the journey. He told him about the uncertainty of the
future and the doubts about the chance of ever getting the heart of Mother Nature back. Gary
listened carefully and encouraged him greatly. After the feast, Samuel thanked Gary for his
hospitality and continued his journey.
Samuel spent another three days in the middle of the trip enduring hardship and despair,
but on the fourth day, after traversing through the desert, and going down a declivity, he finally
saw the infamous village, Tamanku. When Samuel got there, he was shocked by what he found
out. The weather is perfectly normal and was exactly what he remember when he visit Tumanku
6 months ago. The only difference is the population. More poor people were doing labour than
he expected. And more people lived in places so unclean that guano are all over the place. It
finally hit him. The village used taxed labour and head taxes to support the dictator. The heart
was responsible for all the weather and even had a bit of power itself. Therefore, Kamereshika
had perfect weather and climate. By taking away the heart, the weather had gone into a series
of disruptions and will only get worse. Tumanku will be the only place with good weather thanks
to the power of the heart, and refugees will stay there, forced to accept the high taxes there. It
benefited the people there, by putting suffering on us. Samuel clenched his teeth in hate and
wanted to march straight into the dictator’s hut and shows who’s boss, but he sagged a little due
to his ability. His clothes had frayed edges and were dun due to the journey, giving him a not-
so-demure appearance. He was extremely tired and his muscles were constrained. Also, he
was starving and craved for food. He went to a nearby house and asked for a meal. After a
quick meal, Samuel walked around and went to find the heart.
He realized the village was huge, no smaller than a medium-sized city. He got lost thrice
and he spent 4 hours trying to get through everything. He finally found the heart in a bastion and
many people surrounding and protecting the heart, each with a belligerent appearance. He
thought for a while and decided to find a place to live and get used to the surroundings. Then,
he won’t be lost while fleeing. He found a place in the rural part of the village and lay down.
While planning his plan, he closed his eyes and rested for a few minutes before he woke up
from someone aggressive.
 “What are you doing in the No Man area? You are coming with me,” a man shouted.
Samuel stumbled up and was handcuffed. After going through some corners and houses, he
arrived at a mansion with sculptured pillars. Before long, he met the infamous, elephantine,
dictator, Magnus Valdez. While he was playing with crickets, Magnus told the man beside
Samuel, “ Is he a woman or a man?” “Man, sir” “Take him to zone W space no.14.” “Yes, sir”.
While Samuel was being dragged down the stairs, he pointed an interrogative finger at the
dictator and demanded, “Why did you steal the heart?” There was silence. “Why should you
care?” Magnus asked, dangerously soft, Samuel did not trust himself to answer that. He silently
walked away. His room was in a faraway place. Although it was far away from the main villages,
it was packed with people. The place was dirty and smelly, and Detritus was scattered
everywhere. Guards stroll around and shout orders. He had a hard time falling asleep. In the
early dawn, the trumpets sounded like they were serenading to the rising sun. “Hurry, Hurry,
Hurry, go to work now! Go go go!” Samuel got up and realized he made himself a trap. He was
forced into slavery with everyone else. He groaned and sought an escape plan. He decided to
just leave. He walked out, looked around, and ran. “Hey, you, come back!” he heard someone
shout. He had become an outlaw.
Samuel ran and ducked, with fifteen people behind him, after hours of chasing and
nearly being caught, the people gave up. He wandered around cautiously and memorized every
nook and cranny of the city. He became so familiar with the place, he could almost walk around
blindfolded. On a windy night, he crawled into a bush near the bastion with a hammer in his
hand. He did not like this one bit, but he felt that he should muster his courage and do his best.
“Just pretend everyone is effigies and there is no one that will kill you,” He told himself. He
dashed across and leapt on a guard and used his body to jump again to the roof. It alarmed
everyone and instantly the alarm was raised. Torches appeared and gathered beneath the
bastion.
Samuel hammered the roof and jumped down, in the dark room, nothing was to be seen,
except for the faint glow of a red light. He sweated and his heart pounded faster than ever. He
was on the line of life or death, success or failure, hope or despair, and joy or suffering. He
grabbed the heart, jumped, and lifted himself through the hole in the bastion ceiling. He had
nowhere to go as the bastion was surrounded by warriors and ladders were leaning on the wall.
He was in a tumult and he didn’t know what to do. He decided to put his eggs in one basket and
jumped back into the bastion. It was dark inside and he could hear sounds all around him. The
door creaked open and people flooded in, with swords, spears, bows and arrows, and torches.
A person bumped him and shone the torch on him. “I FOUND HIM, HE’S BESIDE ME, GET
HIM!!!” Samuel snatched his torch and threw it on the floor. He then grabbed the man’s hand
and ran toward the door. A wave of people resisted and he pushed through. When he pushed
halfway, he let go and the man was taken down by the people. Samuel’s strategy had worked,
and everyone was pouncing down on the man. He walked past the guards and ran away. He
went to the nearest barn and seized a horse. Then, Samuel galloped outside the city. It started
to rain, and water filled the cracks in the ground. He had an exulting feeling about what he got.
The heart was glowing in his hand and he was bringing the good news back home. The rain
was soaking everything and he looked at the night sky, wondering what he would do in the
future, maybe doing something humble and down-to-earth…
 “Seize him!” He jerked his head and realized that the warriors were closing in on him.
His horse couldn’t keep up with the pace and was slowing down. An archer pulled a bowstring
back until it was taut and released his arrow. It shot the horse in the posterior and the horse fell,
furrowing the mud until the horse came to a halt. Samuel fell with the horse and the heart fell out
of his grip and into a puddle of mud. He injured his arm and scraped his knee. The other people
quickly caught up, splattering the mud on both Samuel and the horse. Torches shone on
Samuel and the warriors soon started to discuss. “Shall we take the horse back and finish this
thief?” someone said. “Let’s just kill the horse, we have plenty of horses there and it will be
troublesome to take this injured horse back. Just look at it, the horse is convulsively laying
there, half-dead,” another suggested. “Hey look, just kill both of them and take the heart and the
horse meat back for celebration, the rain is making me cold and hungry.” “Are you nuts? We
should get this dude to give us the heart first.” The leader gripped Samuel by the collar and
threatened, “Hey man, show us the heart or else you’ll not see daylight ever again.” Before
Samuel can reply, the leader spotted the pendant on Samuel’s neck and snatched it. The leader
opened it and saw the ruby-coloured stone. It glowed faintly in the leader’s palm. “Ah-Ha! It’s
here! You should hide things better than this, idiot!” he exclaimed derisively, “You three over
there, kill the horse and cut the meat to bring home. Also, break the kid’s legs. I will first leave to
bring the good news back home! Ha Ha Ha!” A group of people galloped away, leaving three
guards alone, killing the horse and cutting the meat. When they were done, they started walking
toward Samuel. Samuel ran into a forest nearby and hid somewhere. The guards desperately
wanted to go home and decided to leave this place. They got on their horses and galloped
away. As the sound of the horse throttling faded away, Samuel was almost delirious. He rubbed
his injured arm ruefully and went out of the forest. He went to the puddle of mud and picked up
the heart of mother nature.
“Hey look, it’s raining,” someone said. It hadn’t rained for a year and everyone was
thirsty. Just a month ago, a person named Samuel went on a quest to find the heart and bring it
back. The people in Kamereshika assumed that Samuel will never return. The rain could be a
sign that the heart was heading back home. In the far distance, they saw a figure walking
toward them. The people gathered around and waited. They had a feeling that it was Samuel
and he had the precious heart. Samuel excitedly ran up to them. Being inarticulate, Samuel
expressed his success by gesticulating excitedly while he spoke. Everyone was happy and led
Samuel to the cave. “Place the heart inside, Samuel, we have something to show you.”