MIXED SHORT STORIES

Lines of Love Publishing Home (LLP) Contest THEME: TALE NOT AS OLD AS TIME Date Submitted: July 23, 2021 Award: 2nd place Language: English THE RAINBOW: EIGHT COLORS OF HOPE by Tintin Cares ONCE upon a time, a lovely goddess named Iris—who brought news from above, had to find eight unique humans to help her make the world at peace. They will be her bridge from heaven to earth. Iris first met Pink as she descended from heaven. Pink is a paid woman. She uses her body in exchange for money or food just to survive—something against her will, but she doesn’t have options. Their family was poor, and she had no education. The skinned Iris approached her one day while Pink was arranging things on the side of the road to ask for the leftover bread that would have been for her dinner. She hesitates to give the bread, but she is sorry to see her almost fall with extreme hunger. Pinky can still notice her hollow cheeks and deep eyes; even Iris covered her face with her hair. Her lips also dry out, and she also seems to have difficulty breathing. She looked at the bread she was holding and narrowed her eyes as she handed it to Iris. “All right! Here’s the bread,” Pink handed the bread to her. Iris immediately took it. “Thank you, but how about you? Do you still have food?” Pink shook her head and smiled at her sparingly. “Don’t worry about me. Think of yourself,” she also took a glass of water and gave it to Iris. “You have a good heart, young lady. Thank you so much for the bread and water you shared. ” “You’re welcome,” she quickly replied. Pink left Iris to find a random man who would take her service for that night. A beautiful chariot stopped in front of her. An older man came down while carrying a bag of gold. He is looking for something because he roams his sight around. She followed him with a look wishing he would take her service, but he just passed her by; she was alarmed to see him grabbed his chest and fell on the road. He releases the bag of gold. It was late at night, so there weren’t many people in the area., But she was tempted to get the gold to change her miserable life when she approached to rescue him She took the bag of gold and hid it inside her dress. “I am sorry, I have to do this!” She couldn’t help but feel guilty for what she had done while running away. She stopped crying. How did she do such a thing? How was she able to steal and left the poor older man? She began questioning God. “Why did you torture me like this? What did I do wrong to you?” as she pointed above. “I just want a simple life! I don’t aspire big! I just want to get out of the calvary I’m in. Do you blame me now? I always pray! I always ask for your forgiveness! Are you real? If you are real, then God, please take my life! I am so tired. I just made another sin! I am sorry!” her tears begun falling from her cheeks. Suddenly the sky roared, and the strange pink light was coming from the gold she had taken. She got on her knees as she couldn’t explain what was happening, but she knew God heard her, that he always listened to her agony. Iris’s voice rang out from above. “You are the chosen one. I will give you the freedom that you are praying for and be the hope to others. You will help me to make the world at peace. Are you willing to sacrifice your life to give hope to people?” Pink bowed and held out her palms upwards. “Lord, I don’t deserve this because I am a sinner, but I believe in you. I offer you my life. Use me as an instrument to people who’s in lost. My heart, body, and soul are always yours, my Lord!” “All your suffering has equal comfort if you just keep on fighting. You faced the test with making you stronger. Today, you are the symbol for s*x/sexuality because you did not stop believing that you could get out of this misery one day. It becomes misery as you are left no choice to survive and considered a sin. You always ask for forgiveness every single day. Now, you will be the guide to those who cannot accept their true selves. To show them that they are loved, equal to others, and are the son of God no matter what their sexuality is. “You will be the hope for those who suffer from an abusive partner, who suffers from s****l harassment, hope for teenagers who feel ashamed for having pre-marital s*x unwillingly. You will be their guide to pick up each piece of themselves to move on with their lives.” Her body suddenly heated up, and she gradually turned into a Pink stone—a stunning one. Iris showed up and picked up the pink stone and placed it in an extraordinary place.   THE next day, Iris went to a small town where she found Doctor Orange. He is the only doctor in the city who heals at no charge. Iris pretended to be a sick person to visits Doctor Orange for treatment. A contagious disease that no one wants to treat her. She sat in a chair away from the crowd while waiting for him to notice her. A few more hours passed before Doctor Orange approached Iris to ask her purpose. “What can I do for you?” She suddenly coughed and vomited blood in front of him. Her blood clogs his clothes. She looked at him worriedly and tried to stand to wipe the blood on his clothes. “I am sorry... I didn’t mean to—” but she lost consciousness and fell before him. Doctor Orange caught everyone’s attention to stay away from them because of her unidentified condition. He picked up Iris without hesitation and ushered her into his little house. He carefully laid her on the pallet and took a cloth to wipe the blood from her lips. While asleep, he carefully checks her condition. But what he didn’t know was that Iris was wide awake all along. Doctor Orange is busy making medicine for her. She slowly got up and leaned over while watching what he was doing. “I’m sorry for what happened...” she bowed while rubbing her two palms. Doctor Orange approached her and held her hands. “That’s okay. I’m not afraid to get infected because I don’t have much time left,” he told her with a smile on his face. “Is this why you treat for free?” “Yes. Don’t be afraid to die. Do the things you want to do while you are still breathing and truly make you happy because life is short.” “Why are you not afraid to die?” He releases her hands and stares at his rectangular table. There were leaves and other treatments. “I know there is a reason why I am dying. Why we are dying— everyone dies in the end, right? It is just a matter of time and how you lived your life.” “That’s interesting! Do you want to continue treating people who are losing hope in life?” “If I had the chance, I would love to do that,” he looked at her again. “You are loved, don’t lose hope.” Iris handed a bag of gold to him. “Take this as my compensation for the kindness you have shown me and for the beautiful words I’ve heard.” Iris’s appearance gradually changed to her true form. Doctor Orange could not believe what he witnessed. A sick woman turns out to be a very healthy and beautiful creature. A true miracle just happened right in front of him. He accepted the bag of gold Iris had given him and immediately shone in his palms. His body started to heat up, and bright orange lights were coming out from his body. He could no longer feel the pain he was secretly suffering. “Starting today, you will be the hope of people in serious illness, a hope to continue living. Do you accept to dedicate your life to people?” “Yes, I do accept!” Doctor Orange closed his eyes, and gradually, he turned into an orange stone. Iris picked up the orange stone and placed it in a place only she knew. She erased people’s memory about Doctor Orange, who presently existed. She put everything he did in a book as if it happened a long time ago—to let them know that he was the person treating them without asking for any compensation. She made Doctor Orange an urban legend everyone talked about, and many wanted to follow in his embrace. It increased the number of Doctors who heals for free. Doctor Orange became their hero because of the book. “I just need six more stones to complete my task.”   ON her journey, she found herself in a place where the sun did not shine. Storms and darkness always enveloped that area. And no one wanted to leave that place out of sheer fear. Fear that they will not be able to cope if they go to that place. Their home is in the most remote part of the mountain, and they live in caves. Their livelihood is hunting wild animals in the forest. Only men could leave the caves to hunt animals. The elders, children, and women are not allowed to leave the caves. Yellow is a woman, but she was forced to be a man by her mother when she was born. They made her a man so she could get out of the cave one day and explore. There was not a day they did not tell her about the light they had discovered on their last journey. “It was spectacular! It was so big and bright, and it looks so good,” her mother was always excited and happy while telling her their experience. “I thought I could reach the light by my hand because it was just in front of us, but we couldn’t.” She asked them why they still came back to their place after they saw the light. At that time, her mother was already pregnant. They did not know how to live if they continued to tread the path to that light. They headed back to the cave where she was born and raised. Her mother died after being bitten by the snake when she tried to rescue her. Her father disappeared one day when he went out so they could have something to eat, but a big storm hit the mountain, and so she was left alone at a young age. Yellow moved to the other cave as a young man to help them with hunting. But she is doing it so she can go out legally and hoping to find the light, just like the story of her parents. She is so determined to find her missing father and hoping to get out of the darkness. Their arrows were ready for a wolf approaching them. Its fierce eyes can be seen ready to devour at any moment. Yellow took a deep breath and aimed his arrow at it, counting to five before releasing it. It hit the wolf’s stomach, so it fell. They killed three wolves while some of them disappeared. Carrying the slain wolves, their group happily made their way back to the cave. She changed herself into a ten-year-old girl and began to cry when Irish heard footsteps approaching. Yellow caught her attention and was distracted by her. “Shh!” she scolded his colleagues. “Do you hear that? Someone is crying!” Her companion stopped and listened to what she heard. Yellow is correct—they listened to the cry of a child. “I’ll take care of whoever the crying child is. Go home first, and it may suddenly rain heavily. “Be careful, Yellow!” Her companion left because the road up to the cave where they lived was rough. It is dangerous because heavy rain or wind may hit them. Maybe that’s what happened to her father. But she believes that her father is still alive, and she will continue to believe until she sees his corpse. “Hello? Where are you?” Yellow began to search the place. The area is covered with towering trees, and wild animals are scattered around. “It’s dangerous here in the forest. We have to go back to the cave,” she kept on searching. Little Irish continued to cry louder and louder until Yellow found her. Her face crouched between her knees. Full of pity Yellow approached her and immediately hugged her because she was already shivering in the cold. “That’s okay. I am here; you are safe now.” Iris lifted her finger, and the surroundings began to change. The tall and big trees around suddenly disappeared and were replaced by farmland. There were crops of various plants, and there were huts for their home. There is a clean stream for their drink and the magnificent and vast clouds in the sky where the birds fly freely. Yellow’s tears fell while she witnessed the beautiful scenery because that was precisely her long-held dream. She cried even more when she saw the sunshine as if playing hide-and-seek in the clouds. “Do you want to stay here?” Iris asked Yellow as they watched the birds above. “Yes, this is the life I want for my people. To see them happy and at ease, to see our children run freely in the fields. This is exactly my dream, and I wish we could stay here for real.” “What if I can grant your wish in exchange for your life?” “I am willing to give my life but not until I find my father,” Yellow looked at her. “I don’t know who you are, but thank you for showing me exactly what I wished for my people. Being here brings so much joy to my heart. You give me hope that someday we will find this place to live. I know this is real as I can feel the wind, smell the scent from the fields, the warm light from above. They are all real!” Irish pointed above. “That light is called the sun. It shines to give light to the world—with the sun, we have our day, and it will change into a moon by night to give us rest.” “Sun...” she murmured. “What a beautiful creature.” “Humans are the most beautiful creature made by our Almighty. You take the lead at a young age for your people, and you pretend to be someone to find the light. Because of that, I’ll reward you.” The door of a hut opened, and her missing father came out. Yellow ran towards her father, but she could not reach the house no matter how much she ran. She sees her father happily waving as she watches the approaching child. She was the child she saw happily embraced by her father. Then her mother came from the stream carrying a tub while humming. “How to keep this world for my family? For my people?” “Be the hope for them. Be the sunlight not just for your people but for all the world. Because of you, the flowers will bloom, the plans will grow, and the animals and humans will live longer.” “Then please take me with you. I am willing to offer you my life and be their sunlight. I am happy knowing they can live in a field.” From a ten-year-old girl, Iris uncovers her true self then hands Yellow a bag of gold. Yellow couldn’t help but stare as she accepted the bag of gold. She couldn’t believe Iris was such a beautiful woman and a magical one. They returned to the forest. And the bag of gold she was carrying shone onto bright light and up to her whole body. She made her way back to the cave, and everyone there admired her. She encouraged them to follow her out of their place. They had courage because that was the first time they had seen an overflowing light. They began to go out into the cave. They followed her even though they had traveled very long, and it was all paid off because they could gradually see sunlight. That was the place Iris showed her. She saw her parents and herself waited for their arrival. There is no room for the sheer pleasure Yellow feels at that moment. The people kneel while gazing at the vast orchard of assorted vegetables and fruits. Iris picked her up when she transformed onto a yellow stone and placed it in a particular place with orange and pink stones.