"Ughh" Michael woke up with a splitting headache. He slowly began to sit up gently massaged his temples. Taking a moment to make sure he was still in one piece, he noticed that aside from a giant lump and a small cut on his head he was largely uninjured. Whether it was due to his wiry frame or the fact he was unconscious and therefore limp, the actual fall left him with no damage at all.
"How long was I out for?" he murmured "Shit, it's night-time". Glancing around frantically he noticed the sun had long set behind the mountains and been replaced by an eerie moon.
A sense of dread creeped into his bones at the thought of his Father's reaction upon his late return. Instinctively his bottom started throbbing, perhaps from PTSD.
"I'm dead…." He cried "The last time I came home after dark I got the flogging of a lifetime".
A look of desperation creeped onto his face "I have to make it back before he comes out looking for me, that will only make it worse".
Michael leaped onto his feet and grabbed all his belongings before running as fast as he could toward the valley entrance. All thoughts of laziness had disappeared from his mind as if he were the hardest-working youth in the entire village.
After 2 hours of intense running, he finally arrived at the top of the hill that overlooked Rigante Village. What greeted his eyes was not the usual scenery of the bustling village.
"Oh my god…"
The first thing that Michael felt was the heat from a raging inferno, as the whole village was engulfed by flames. The usual bustling city-centre was now like a funeral pyre as it entered the last vestiges of its life. Thundering noises could be heard as the fire roared and buildings collapsed in on themselves after losing their supports.
"Father, Mother, Rosa!!" shock gripped Michael as he witnessed this phenomena for only a fraction of a second before he screamed out the names of his loved ones. As if he had not been running for 2 hours straight already, he reached new speeds as he sprinted toward his house.
"Please be okay, please be okay" he chanted in desperation.
Upon reaching the back of his house, he saw the greenhouse which had already been turned to embers. Clenching his fists Michael yelled out "FATHER, MOTHER, ROSA!! WHERE ARE YOU?".
Unlike the greenhouse, his house had yet to fully be burnt to the ground. Michael frantically made his way around the perimeter and continued to shout out to his family. It wasn't until he'd reached the front of his house that he finally saw something.
Laying on the ground near the pathway was a person, or what used to be a person. All skin tissue had been severely burnt until all that was left could be described as a ball of meat. A sickly smell wafted over to Michael as he approached the person.
"No… no, it can't be" he kept repeating in his head as he walked closer and closer. But instinctively he knew. The size and shape of that body was too similar for it to be a coincidence. The smell of burnt meat assailed his nostrils as the realisation finally dawned on him.
"Father…" he said almost inaudibly.
As if reacting to the sound of his voice, the person started to move ever so slightly.
"Father!" Michael rushed over to where his father lay and quickly sat next to him.
"Ginseng!" As if he had a sudden stroke of realisation, he pulled his satchel in front of him and dug into it to retrieve the ginseng he had harvested earlier that day.
"What the f***???" now panicked, Michael turned his satchel upside down to empty the contents onto the ground. After shaking a few times, he found that it was empty. "Where is it??" He rummaged around and patted his pockets in desperation.
"Ugh…" his father made a noise as if to get his attention and held out his hand. His hand was grasped tightly around something and motioned as if he were handing it over.
Michael reached out toward his fathers outstretched hand. As if it was his last will, his father placed an item into his hand before going limp. He stared at the item now firmly grasped in his hand. It was a luxurious looking token that depicted a winding dragon dancing in the clouds, it seemed like it would jump out of the token and soar into the clouds the next moment. The words "Soaring Dragon Palace" were written exquisitely on the reverse side of the token.
"Father…" Michael gripped the token in his hand with all the force he could muster. The pain and grief he felt was immeasurable, while they were often at odds with each other due to his laziness, it was clear that they both loved each other dearly.
"Why, why is this happening"
"WHO THE F*** DID THIS?" Michael screamed at the top of his lungs. Rage and indignation seemed to rush in and replace the grief. Gritting his teeth he made his way toward the town centre, the fire still raging around him seemed to further ignite the hatred and rage in his heart.
Around 300 metres from where he found his father, he saw two more corpses with the same type of burns on their bodies. Michael glanced at them before continuing forward, it wasn't until he was within 5 metres of them that he saw a glint from an item. He quickly made his way forward to inspect the bodies, they looked like two women, one big and one small. By the looks of how the bodies were positioned it was clear that the bigger one was trying to protect the smaller.
He walked closer and was met with the same smell of burnt meat. He glanced around momentarily and found the item that shined a reflection toward him, it was a brooch with a lotus design. Instantly Michael dropped to his knees and started sobbing. This was the brooch that he and his sister had got for his mother for her last birthday, any hope that he had held for finding his mother and sister was now crushed.
"Mother… Rosa" his head in his hands he wept like a baby.
"Maybe if I made it back in time, I could have…" Overcome by grief Michael started blaming himself. If he wasn't so lazy or if he wasn't so selfish to harvest herbs for himself, he might have made it back in time.
Whether it was due to his exhaustion from running, his concussion or tumultuous grief; Michael fainted by the feet of his mother and sister.