About a year ago, a rumor began to spread through the town that a famous hero of the Great War was living in the forest. During the school's lunch break, some of the boys huddled together to talk about it. Some expressed disbelief while others were hyped to try and go find the hero.
"Just imagine how cool it would be to meet him?!" One of the boys said.
"Yeah, imagine becoming one of his disciples!" Another boy exclaimed.
"Why would a hero of the Great War want to meet any of you fools, let alone take you on as disciples?" Bhran dismissively asked.
"Who is to say he won't just kill you on the spot for simply disturbing him?" Rogan asked.
"He is said to have defeated countless enemies, sometimes only using his bare hands… or so I heard," Keagan chimed in.
"That's right, this guy might be a crazy killer! Why would you want to meet him?" A boy in the back raised the premise and question.
"For the prestige of course," Bhran replied. "He is a famous hero after all. This is why you peasants have no business getting acquainted with him. Though I am sure he would gladly welcome meeting me, the son of a noble."
Bodhi had to stop himself from visibly cringing. "What a douchebag," he thought.
"Well if you are so confident, do you have the guts to go and look for him then Mr. big shot." Raj taunted Bhran.
"How dare you question him?!" Rogan fired back.
"Relax Rogan, no need to bark. I was just teasing your master." Raj dissed him to the sound of laughter from the group.
"I swear I will..." Rogan began moving towards Raj as Bodhi stepped forward in front of him. Bhran stopped Rogan by extending his arm.
"Don't worry Rogan, I will put this peasant in his place myself. I will find the hero this very day. Not only that, I will have him take me on as a disciple." Bhran declared.
"Ahaha, as if. And even if you do or do not, it is not like we can trust you to tell the truth anyway," Raj objected.
"Are you implying I am a liar?"
"You do like to exaggerate things," one of the boys in the back said.
"Who said that?!" Rogan barked.
"I do no such thing! And I am not taking any of you peasants with me. It would be a disgrace to meet the hero alongside your ilk."
"Yeah just as I thought. You are not gonna do it." Raj said.
"Raj, say one more word and I will…" Rogan began his threat.
"Fiiine. I will allow some of you to accompany us." Bhran declared.
"Some of us were already thinking of going into the forest in the first place. So how about we allow you to tag along with us?" Bodhi interjected with the proposal.
"That's it! I am smashing some heads!" Rogan burst into anger.
"Stop! Their arrogance is a result of their ignorance. No need to be mad at them Rogan, best to just pity them." Bhran said.
"Aaaargh... Alright Bhran, if you say so. I will just pity them then." Rogan said as he spit on the ground.
Later that afternoon, they all set out to find the hero living in the forest.
"Did every single one of you had to tag along?" Bhran asked.
"Remember, you are tagging along with us." Bodhi retorted.
"Shut up Bodhi!" Rogan barked.
"Don't mind the peasant Rogan. Just treat him like a petulant fly buzzing around."
"Yeah, that's right, he is just a fly, buzz buzz buzz." Keagan chimed in.
"These guys are hopeless." Bodhi thought to himself.
They walked into the forest for about an hour after speaking to one of the villagers who told them the rumor was that the hero had been seen on the eastern side of the forest. It was a pretty remote area with lots of wildlife. Most villagers avoided it lest they come face to face with a predator. The group's determination began waning as the sun began its descent down the horizon and fear began to creep into their bodies as the darkness grew.
"Maybe we should call it a day for now," Rogan said.
"You may be right," Bhran replied, relieved he did not have to be the one to suggest it.
"Yeah, we better turn back now before nightfall," Bodhi said as Raj nodded in agreement.
"Wait! There is someone there!" one of the kids shouted.
They all caught a glimpse of a figure roaming behind the trees a stone throw's away before it disappeared without a trace.
"Holy... could it be him?!" Keagan said as his face turned pale. It seems he believed his own claim that the hero might just kill them on the spot for simply disturbing him.
"Where did he go?!" Rogan asked as his face began contorting in fear. "What if he actually died and that is his ghost?!"
"A ghost?!" Raj asked with trepidation.
"Relax Raj, it is not a ghost," Bodhi said.
"There he is!" Another kid yelled out as the silhouette appeared and disappeared once again amongst the trees.
"I think." Bodhi amended his previous statement.
"What I think is that we need to get out of here. It must be a vengeful ghost!" Raj exclaimed as his imagination began to run wild.
"Yes! I agree!" many yelled out in agreement.
The kids hurriedly began making their way back to town. Bodhi was the only one that remained. "Hmm... I don't feel threatened. Even if it is the ghost of the hero, I wouldn't mind meeting it anyway."
"What is that fool doing? Has he spotted something he is not telling us? No way I will let you meet the hero on your own." Bhran thought to himself as he walked back to Bodhi.
"What are you doing Bodhi?!" Bhran asked.
"We came all the way here and actually found him. Ghost or not, I still want to meet him." Bodhi said.
"You what?! You want to meet a ghost?!" Bhran replied in disbelief.
"You don't have to come along, just leave with the others."
"As if I would let you meet the hero without me."
"Even if it is a ghost?" Bodhi asked as he slowly turned his head towards him, with eyes wide open.
"Hmmm... ye... yes even if it is a ghost! Of course!" Bhran replied as he feigned resolve.
Bodhi laughed on the inside watching Bhran's petrified expression betray his boast. Though, in all honesty, he was also starting to feel a bit hesitant by now.
They timidly walked towards the area where they had spotted the figure.
"Hey boys."
"Aaaaah!" Bhran shrieked. "Don't kill us!" He yelled out covering his face with his arms.
"Don't worry, I would never do such a thing." The old woman replied.
"What?... Who are you?!"
"I am myself of course."
"What? You old hag, how dare you pull such a prank and scare me like that? Do you know who I am?"
"Should I?"
"You most certainly should," Bhran said defiantly, still reeling from the scare. "You know what, I am outta here. The hero is not here and this old hag is pissing me off."
"A hero you say?"
"Yeah that's right mam, we are looking for a hero of the Great War. He is rumored to be living around here." Bodhi said.
"Ooooh, I think I might know of whom you speak."
"You do?!" Bhran asked.
"Yeah, you could say we are acquainted. I could let him know you are looking for him, maybe even set up a meeting for you if you like."
"You could?!" Bhran exclaimed in excitement before calming down and playing it cool. "Hmm, I guess I could let you, to make up for the prank you just pulled."
"Sure. And how about you my dear boy, do you want to meet the hero as well?" The old woman asked Bodhi.
"Well... I..."
"Of course he does," Bhran interjected as he grabbed Bodhi's arm. "Just tell the hero to meet us tomorrow at midday at the eastern side of the village."
"I can do that."
"Okay, let's go back Bodhi." Bhran said as he pulled on Bodhi's arm towards the town, anxiously doing everything he could to get out of there as soon as possible as nightfall was now upon them. "And old hag, don't go dying on me by getting eaten by something out here, make sure to let the hero know."
"Not to worry young man, I know my way around."
Bodhi knew Bhran was highly agitated because of the dimming light, and in truth, so was he. He decided to oblige him and go along with him even though he wanted to ask the old woman some questions. He turned around to at least say thank you but she was already gone.
"I don't think anything out here could harm her." Bodhi thought to himself.
The next day, Bhran and Bodhi waited at the southeast corner of the village where only a scant number of people lived. All the other boys gathered to spectate behind a shed a few feet away.
"I swear, that old hag better not have been lying. I will make her pay if I am humiliated in front of everyone."
"Actually..." Bodhi began speaking but was interrupted by Bhran. "Shut up Bodhi, I think I see someone coming. Look at the tree line..." he pointed several feet in front of them where something was clearly making its way through the heavy foliage. Though that something was no hero. It wasn't even a man. A huge beast stepped into view.
"Holy crap! A dire wolf!" Bhran yelled as his skin turned pale.
"Aaaaaah." All the other boys joined in the frenzy. "Let's get out of here! Ruuuun...."
Bodhi's instinct was to also make a run for it, but the thought of the villagers that lived in the area stopped him. Most had already fled into their homes having been alerted by the screams of the group, but not all of them.
"Oliveeeer..." An old woman screamed from inside her home as she looked through the window at her deaf young grandson who was sitting and throwing a ball against the wall of a neighboring house, directly in the line of sight of the wolf.
Bodhi's stomach sank as the wolf began moving towards the child. Then it was as if a ton of bricks had fallen on him when the wolf quickened its pace. Bodhi couldn't move. He felt paralyzed. But an unconscious urge to protect the child surged within him, and with every ounce of will he could muster he forced his legs into motion. And so he ran, not away from the incoming beast, but towards it.
"Bodhi! What are you doing?!" Raj yelled out.
"Get out of here Raj!" Bodhi replied while running towards the boy.
"Are you crazy?!"
Raj had to fight all his instincts in order to stop and turn around to run after Bodhi.
"There is no time!" Bodhi thought as he jumped on top of the boy to shield him with his own body. A couple of seconds later Raj reached them and stood between both of them and the beast with arms stretched wide open. He closed his eyes tight and braced himself.
"Are we going to die Bodhi?!"
"I think we are Raj!"
"Aaaaaaaah.... aaaaah.... aaah.... Huh?"
Raj's screams from the visuals fluttering in his mind of being torn to pieces by the ravenous wolf gave way to confusion as the bites never came.
"What? What is going on?"
"Raj, what is it?! Where is the wolf?!"
"It... it is just standing there."
Bodhi turned and peeked around Raj's body to see that the wolf was standing still, with its long white fur swaying in the breeze. Then with a soft motion, it lowered its head ever so slightly as if bowing. It then slowly turned around and made its way back to the forest, disappearing behind the treeline.
"What the…?"
"Hi there."
"Aaaaah." they were both startled.
"We meet once again my dear boy, and hello to you loyal friend". The old woman said while standing behind them.
"Oh, hi." Bodhi replied. "Did you see that? What happened? Why did it do that?"
"Do what?"
"It stopped and went away."
"Maybe it had done what it came here to do?"
"What do you mean? Didn't it come here to eat?"
"Maybe it did, maybe it didn't."
"Ok, you are not making any sense."
"I get that a lot."
"By the way, you are him aren't you? I mean her."
"As I said, I am simply myself."
"I mean you are the hero aren't you?"
"I would not go as far as to call myself a hero. But if you mean if I am the rumored person living around these parts then yes, I am."
"I knew it!"
"Bodhi you mean she is the one we were looking for?"
"Yes Raj, she is."
"Hello great hero, it is nice to meet you."
"And you as well Raj."
The screaming grandmother finally reached them and grabbed her confused grandson.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." She said repeatedly while sobbing.
"No mam, we didn't do anything. The wolf just went back to the forest." Bodhi said.
"Of course you did! You risked your life for my grandson! You are both brave heroes! I will make sure the council leaders hear of your heroic act. I hope they can find a way to repay you for your courage as I don't have much to repay you with."
"Please there is no need for that," Bodhi said.
"To be honest I was really petrified the whole time and I am just glad we are still alive, hahaha." Raj added.
"Young men even I know courage doesn't mean you have no fear, it just means you don't let your fear stop you. And for that, I am eternally grateful to both of you." The crying woman said as she bowed before picking up her grandson to walk back home.
"Now we know who the real heroes are don't we?" The old lady said.
"We are no heroes. Anyone would have done the same." Bodhi replied.
"Hmmm... I don't see anyone else here." The old woman said as she swiveled her head from side to side.
"Well..."
"So shall we?"
"Shall we what?"
"Follow me."
Bhran watched from a distance as Bodhi and Raj followed the old woman into the forest.
"Where are they going with the old hag? Are they looking to steal all the glory? Damn them," Bhran said. But by the time Bhran, Rogan, and Keagan made it to the forest, they had already disappeared.
"Where are we going?" Raj asked.
"It is not much further. You will recognize the place."
After a little while, they began hearing the familiar sound of water crashing down. She had led them to the Sacred Waterfall.
"This brings back memories right Bodhi?"
"It sure does. So you are living around here?"
"Yes, just behind the waterfall?
"Behind the waterfall?!"
"Yes, there is a cozy cave behind it."
"I didn't think there was such a thing as a cozy cave," Raj said with a puzzled look on his face.
"As with all things, coziness is relative."
As they made their way to the waterfall, the old woman showed them a small gap they could squeeze through to get to the cave hidden behind the falling waters.
"Great hero…"
"Just call me Audra."
"Ok... Audra, if you fought in the Great War that would make you kinda old by now. How come you don't look thaaat old? I mean you look old, but not thaaat old." Raj said.
"Raj! Don't be rude!"
"Age is but a number isn't it?" She replied.
"Hmmm... very strange. Have you found the mythical fountain of youth or something?"
"I guess you can say I have found my share of mythical things in this life."
"Aha, I knew it had to be something like that."
"Raj… stop pestering her."
"No worries young Bodhi, Raj has a sharp and inquisitive mind. It will serve him well in the future."
"Hehe." Raj smiled from ear to ear.
"If you say so. I think it will just get him in trouble."
"And if it does you will be there to help him out won't you?"
"I will."
"And so will I for you Bodhi!"
"I am glad I can witness your loyal friendship once again."
"Once again?" Bodhi asked perplexed.
"Oh, it's nothing, I am just rambling."