Coming of Light

Aadya Bakshi

 James lived in a perfect community. Everyone was kind and resources were plentiful.  There was just one thing that was worrying. Many years ago, a famous seer had predicted that all these good times would come to an end and there will be a 13-year-old boy, who will emerge as the saviour and lead the society to a new dawn. That night, the seer mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again. People, at large, treated his prophecy scornfully, claiming that the seer was senile. 

“Mum, who was the great seer?” asked James. “Why do you want to know?” she asked. The great seer was a painful topic for everybody, so she didn’t want to delve further. “I heard some stories about him in school so I wanted to know more,” he replied casually. 

James had never really believed that the great seer had simply vanished. Now and then, he would think about the great seer. He couldn’t have just left the community. But asking would be considered unacceptable so he let it be. However, the day arrived that would change his life forever. 

Whilst playing hide and seek with his friends, James ended up near the greenhouse on the school field. Nobody ever went in there. James noticed a very well-hidden wooden trapdoor in a small corner. It was time to go under.

At first, James could not see anything. Going in deeper and deeper, he found himself in a big room. There was a bed, a table and a chair. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. James quickly hid underneath the bed. When he thought there was silence, he sprang up only to ram straight into an elderly man’s body. Before James had time to process things, the old man snapped his fingers and the world turned black.

James was back in his house. He was hovering and levitating above the ground. He could hear shouting, screaming, fighting and people wailing. What was going on? Was this a nightmare? Suddenly a raspy voice chimed through the air. “ Thisssss will sssssoon be their fate, little one. Only you can prevent it. But for now, wake up. Wake up.”

James sat up groaning and coughing. The old man passed him a bowl of soup. “Take it, you need to build your strength.”

“Are you the great seer who had made the doomsday prophecy?” James asked in astonishment. The seer nodded. 

“Yes, but there is more to it. I’d also said that there will be a young boy who will emerge as the new leader!” 

“Who is out to get you and who is this young boy, sir?” James queried. The great seer looked solemnly at him, wondering how much to share. “It is your government, the people who lead your so-called perfect community, who campaigned for my death. And you, my boy, are the chosen one to rebuild the society. I have been waiting for you for so many years to lift the curse on me.” James looked at the ageing man in front of him with a face of horror. 

“It’s time for me to come out of hiding and present you to the council but it’s not that easy,” stated the seer.

“That’s where I can help,” said an unfamiliar voice. The great seer and James turned around to see member of the elderly council, Arthur. 

“I have known the great seer for a long time, and I believe him. Together we will show the government the certitude they will be forced to cede,” exclaimed Arthur.  

The seer strode to a corner of the room and revealed a hidden door and strutted through. Arthur followed suit and James hesitated for a moment before running after Arthur. The final chapter of the story is about to unravel.  

The trio journeyed through the catacomb wading through waterlogged areas, at times having to crawl on their hands. Eventually, they stumbled upon an iron door. One final step and there would be no turning back.
 “Where to now?” asked James. 

“The city,” replied the great seer promptly, “It’s where the council meets.” The weather suddenly became stormy and rainy. It was as if the skies were wreaking their anger. And the closer they got to the city, the worse the weather became. 

The trio finally reached the government building. Arthur knocked on the door while the great seer hid behind a bush. An assistant came and recognising Arthur, let them in. The great seer came out and together, they stepped towards the council room. 

When the council members saw the great seer, they stared at each other in stupefaction. 

“How, when, where…?” spluttered one of the men. 

“How did you survive?” asked their astonished leader. 

“Oh, you mean when you tried to kill me?” said the great seer casually, “I had almost fallen for your devious plot, but thankfully, an insider alerted me to the conspiracy.” he explained. “How have you managed to convince the townsfolk that this is the real world?” he asked. 

“This is the real world, foolish man!” shouted the leader in rage, “This is exactly why we tried to dispose you off all those years ago.” Just then, the assistant came running into the room yelling, “Sir, there is a massive hurricane heading this way!” 

Everyone started running towards the exit, but the hurricane hit the building and smashed everything to smithereens. Everyone, except James, started to get sucked in. The hurricane would simply not touch him. 

“This is all your fault!” the great seer yelled at the council members, “This will be the end for all of us!” The great seer held hands with Arthur and hollered to James, “Aim, Believe, Achieve!” And with that, the hurricane sucked everyone up and disappeared from the premises. James stared in shock and fear but remembered what the great seer had told him: He would rebuild, better than before because this darkness had given him light.