New Dawn Festival

"Five comets rained down that night. No one saw them coming-it was like they came from the heavens themselves. Like the points on a star, they shot out in all directions. It was like they came down to grant the wishes of the people, but the truth was more confusing. Tales from multiple continents, worlds away, all had the same story to tell. It was anything but a comet-it was a giant leg, it was a giant hand, it was the chest of a man. These pieces were so massive, you'd think they came from another world. No man could hope to move them, so they stayed and they rested. But instead of decaying they changed and grew into massive trees, all with the same origin."
"And then they chopped them down! And it fell and tumbled over, crushed half a continent!" yelled a boy with bright orange hair.


He waved his hands, mimicking the crashing motion of a tree falling down. The two other kids looked away from the woman holding the book. They had a look of confusion as he slammed his hand on the ground with a big "WOOOSH" as he pressed his palm against the ground.
"That's not what they did, Cole. I heard they climbed it then reached the moon. Isn't that right, Mom?" A dark-skinned boy looked back with a smile, expecting confirmation.
"That's not how the story goes at all. I've told it a hundred times. How do you think it ends, Cellia?" She looks down at the girl with snow-white skin and hair.
"When the leaves fell down, they used them to make paper. Then they spread their knowledge all across the land."


"That's right. I guess you're the smartest out of the bunch."


"Don't say that! I'm pretty smart too!"


"Well, I guess you're the third smartest, Alex, 'cause I'm number two."


"Why do I have to be number three? I should be number one and you can be two, Cole."


"That's not how it works. I would have to move down-it's called order of operations!"


"That's not how that works, Cole."


Cellia let out a sigh as the two boys began pulling on each other's clothes. Why they would always resort to grabbing and pushing to make their point was something she didn't understand. And they would do the same thing again and again, like they didn't remember they were arguing the day before. But it didn't bother her because she knew when it came to being right, no one could argue with her.


An ear-piercing bell began to ring out across the island. It was so loud even the birds flew away the second they heard the sound. Everyone watched as the fish tried to fly away too, but their wings were too small. Alex, even though he had earmuffs, continued to block his ears from the sound even after it stopped ringing.


"I hate that sound. It's always so loud," Alex said, his face wincing from the sound.


"I know, but at least it's over now." His mother began rubbing his head, as if to soothe the pain. "Cellia, grab the book. It's time for the festival." She pointed at the comically large book, signaling her to grab it.


"Okay, I'll try..." She looked down a bit overwhelmed.


"Is it really that time already!" Alex said with a big grin on his face.


"It's always the same time every year. This is why you're number three."


"Well they ring that thing so often, how should I know?"


"Because they only ring it once this month."


"This month?"


"Do you even know what month it is?" Cole said, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder with a depressed look on his face.


"I know it's a Friday!"
* * *

Many people can be seen gathering outside a small colosseum. It looked old and decayed with vines and trees growing all around it. The New Dawn festival was hosted on the first month of every year. It was a way to honor every young man, and to honor those just born. Everyone across the island came to watch as the young would wrangle Snouts. They were called that because of their peculiar noses and the funny oink sounds they made. Besides their sounds, they were rather harmless other than the squeal when you caught them. Boys were allowed to bring anything in to help catch the animals as long as it didn't harm them. It was tradition to craft their own tools as a sign of individuality.

"And what do we have here, little guy? Is that your spear?" he says, smiling down at the boy with earmuffs and face paint.

"Yeah, my mom said I couldn't bring a real spear, so I had to wrap up the tip."

"That's okay, we're not hunting, just catching."

"But they won't roll over scared if it's not a real one."

"It's okay to not be scary. Maybe you could add a little more paint to your face. That could be a way to frighten them."

"I'm not wearing any paint, that's just my face."

"Oh dear, I guess you didn't know-your friends must have painted whiskers on your face. But that's okay, it kinda gives you a tribal look."

"Yeah, okay..."

Alex grabbed the spear, stepping out of the line. He looked a little disappointed as he walked away with his shoulders lowered and his head down. The tip of the spear dragging across the grass as he made his way into the colosseum side entrance.

"I hope he's not getting bullied. Alright, who's next in line?"

The cheers of many people in the stadium can be heard. Everyone from every corner came to this one spot. It was almost impossible to tell who was there in a sea of people. But Alex could immediately tell where his mother was. It wasn't like he could spot her at a glance-it was more like a sixth sense. And it wasn't hard to tell she was waving right at him, like she already knew he was there even though he looked like a speck in the grass. What was weird was even though Cellia was carrying her book, she wasn't with her.

"Welcome everyone to the New Dawn Festival!" a bright-eyed woman yelled. She had a microphone in her hand as she talked. She seemed overly ecstatic to be in front of a crowd.
"Every year we celebrate the young boys as they walk this world. Let's celebrate them as we see who can catch the most Snouts. But always remember, don't be discouraged if you can't catch any. That just means you have more to learn in life! So be proud that you still have a long journey full of lessons."

"You hear that? They're talking about you, Alex." A brown-haired boy with a small scar grinned, looking at the boy.

"Shut up, Hector. You only caught one."

"Well, you never caught any."

"That's because they're so loud, but now I have these earmuffs. Fifteen, maybe thirty-five if I'm feeling it today."

"I don't want to hear that until you catch at least two. That is why they call me number two anyways."

"No one calls you that. That isn't even a badge of honor, Cole."

"Spoken like a guy in third place."

"I'll show you third place... I mean I'll show you first place!"

"Haha, it's on. I'll be the first one to catch the biggest Snout here."

"I'm already going for the smallest one here."

"Do you know the bigger the better?"

"Yeah, but the smaller ones are the hardest to catch 'cause they're so fast. So it's worth like, I don't know, twenty points in my eyes!"

"That's not how it works. They're all worth the same."

"I said in my eyes, Cole. What do you think, Hector?"

"I, ummm, I didn't really think about what to get first," he faintly says, scratching his face, a little embarrassed.

At this point all three of them had tuned out the lady talking in the background. And it seemed like the crowd was getting ready to tune her out too. But before they could react, the sound of metal hitting the ground could be heard. And immediately after, the light sound of marching and squealing was getting farther and farther away. Half of the stadium was covered with trees and bushes, creating a big area for animals to hide. But everyone knew that sound-for most it wasn't their first time. But when one person started running, the others followed, and then others followed them. Not paying attention to his surroundings, Alex stumbled over before getting up, allowing Cole and Hector to pass him.

"AND BEGIN!" She shouted, but everyone was already running. It was to be expected-it was hard to keep a kid still, let alone an excited one.

"HEY, NO HEAD START! Whatever..."

The crowd was cheering, kids were running, and the Snouts only added to the confusion of where they were. The kids in the front of the pack were already able to grab them. Most Snouts were so small a four-year-old could probably lift a big one. And carrying them was only easier with age. That was why the older kids usually got bigger scores. Throughout the confusion and noise, the younger kids were struggling to find the animals. But for Alex it was different. He had always had sensitive ears, so picking out the smallest footsteps in a sea of noise was easy for him.
"There you are!" he screamed menacingly, holding a spear above his head.
He was right about the smaller ones being fast, but he forgot the fact that he was pretty slow. But the regret of saying which one he was going to capture fueled his persistence. It was the only thing that kept him going as he began to sweat buckets. "Come here, I got you," he would say over and over, struggling to speak the words.

Before even realizing it, they were at the edge of the colosseum. The other half had become rubble-the only thing stopping them was a short metal fence no higher than a man. But the snout was small and it squeezed through a broken part of the fence. Alex hopped over it, completely ignoring the boundary.

"I finally caught you! You almost got away from me, little guy-" He paused as he heard cries of help coming from the woods.

"My mother always told me when you hear calls in the woods, you walk the other direction." He stopped as he realized it sounded like his friend Cellia. "I was also told to always help your friends, with anything but money," he said, staring the animal in the eyes as he ran toward the sound.

"Help, somebody please."

"What are you doing up there?" he yelled to his friend. She looked different-she had tied her hair in a ponytail and was wearing brown dusty shorts. She no longer had the bright white dress she had earlier that day.

"I couldn't get back down."

"Why did you even go up?"

"I wanted to jump the fence and get inside."

"You're not even near the fence, Cellia."

"Well, I had to do a test first, to see if I could make it. I didn't want to hit my head on the fence. But I got cold feet. Can you help me get down?"

"Just climb down."

"I can't. I'm afraid to get a splinter again."

"But... I have a spear in one hand and a Snout in the other... Fine." Alex placed the spear next to a tree before staring down the animal. "You don't go anywhere, okay?" After placing the animal on the ground, it bolts off faster than it did before, cutting through the bushes.
"Zero for another year," he said, weeping with his eyes closed.
"Hurry up, my legs are getting tired."

"Don't rush me. I just lost my pride and joy."

"It was really small though."

"It's not about the size, it's about the effort-" Before he could finish, something flew across like a bullet. Was it a bird? Did someone throw a rock? It was only when he noticed the blood splashed on his shirt, and the gaping hole left in the tree, that he realized what it was.