Temple Bell my new story....

[SuburbanalCuts 0]

TEMPLE BELL: The distant sound of the temple bell?Azul continued along the pebble road. Every few seconds he would kick the pebbles and stones. He was approaching the marketplace. A dog was licking his bloody leg near a large, grey pile of stones. It looked nice enough. Azul scratched the dog?s head. It didn?t respond at all. It just kept licking the leg. Azul shrugged and kept walking. ?What a strange dog,? he thought to himself, ?I wonder how it hurt it?s leg.? He looked back, but could not see the dog. It was sitting silently aside the rock, probably in deep pain. ?Funny thing about animals,? Azul said aloud, ?they don?t feel any pain.? He remembered his grandma said that. Must?ve got stuck in his mind. He knew plenty of animals who showed pain. He reached the highest point on the path. Something feels funny on his arm. Pulling his toga away from his arm, he found the cause of the itch. His sunburned skin was peeling off slowly. He scratched it, and watched the white flakes fall down to the pebbles. It was addicting. The whole way to the market he scratched and rubbed the flakes off. The temple bell rang once more. It was an hour since he met that dog, and there were still flakes peeling off his arm, after the constant scratching. Perhaps some water would relieve the annoying itch for a while. He waved to a friend passing by, then sat down next to the fountain, sighing. The water was bluish green, and thick. Azul put his arm into the pool surrounding the statue fountain. It was freezing cold. The shock from the water soon disappeared, but it remained cold. He tried to think of something to black out the ?pain,? but trying just made him think of the coldness more. Alas, he couldn?t take it anymore. After drying his arm, the itch returned immediately. Oh well. SSSHARABA! --- An arrow whizzed by and shot an old man in the back. Down he went. Then another arrow appeared from behind Azul and went straight through a lady?s side. Azul sat there, dumbfounded. All the arrows going by sounded like a weird musical symphony. WHIZ. After about a couple 100 people had died, Azul made up his mind to leave his village. He may not make it out alive, but that wouldn?t matter much. Now that his whole family was dead. Most likely. Ahhh. After stretching for a minute among the catastrophe, he strolled nonchalantly to the Corot Lake, the town?s water source. Hmmmmm. Something across the water on the other side? What?s that? Azul grabbed his boat that was resting near the lake and started to paddle with his hands. He began to whistle an old tune his grandma taught him. He whistled it to the pink ostriches and sloths in the forest. There were Three Logs lined upAgainst the Morning BackgroundThey were cut last NightFor Display in the private yardRow Towards the LandIn the DawnOn your Finished Cherry-wood BoatThe last verse repeated two times. The memory of his grandma singing it made him shiver violently?The cool morning breeze before death. Yeah his grandma told him that too. Now he could see clearly what was at the other side of the lake. It was the leader of the Army, accompanied by five men. One aimed his bow and arrow and shot Azul in the shoulder. The shooter had a weak, fatigued, but happy expression on his face. Azul continued rowing, with blood pouring from his right shoulder. Slowly, it filled his small boat. The general and his five men stared at him, waiting for him to reach the land. Finally, Azul stepped off the boat, pushed it aside, and approached the men. While staring into their eyes, he quickly removed the arrow and handed it to the general, never blinking. ?I know what will happen next,? said Azul. ?You are going to point an arrow into my face, build up enough suspense, then release it into my pale skin?.Yes? That is what you are going to do, right?? Azul scratched his ear. ?Yes,? spoke the general. ?Mm. So why are you attacking my village?? ?Don?t know.? Azul stared at him. The general looked down, trying to avoid his glance. ?Aahem.? The general gave one of the men a nudge. ?Beeeegin.? Azul?s little black pupils were reflecting the light of the sun. ?Shoot him.? The mist behind Azul made the village hardly visible. Sweet smell of lavender. But how did he know what lavender smelled like? ?Kill him you son of a *BLEEP*.? The soldier raised the bow and arrow. ?Yeah, I was just wondering, before I die, why did you attack my village?? ?Why are ya getting so nervous, sir?? the solider asked the General. ?I don?t know, happens?sometimes.? His hands began to sweat. ?Take him over there and kill him.? ?Wait, I ant to see what he has to say first.? After a brief period of awkward silence, Azul restated the question. ?So why did you attack the village?? Finally the general responded, ?Gold.? ?Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah,? said Azul. ?OK.? He nodded slightly. Both the general and the men had nearly forgotten that pale young man in front of them had been shot with an arrow. His whole toga was soaked in blood. ?So, what are you going to use the gold for?? ??? The general?s eyes widened. ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??S..? ?What?? mumbled the soldier. ?Shoot him.? ?SHHHRRABA!? The arrow went threw his thigh. ?What did you shoot him there for?? ?Sorry sir. Thought you liked when they die slower.? Azul attempted to pull it out, but only snapped it in half. Standing up straight, he walked to his boat, pushed it forward, and rowed slowly toward the opposite end. Eventually, the winds took his place, so he lay down, facing the standing figures of the six men. His future killer waved and smiled, and Azul managed a weak smiled back. The BLUE SKY. The FLAMING BIRDS. FALLING DOWN. DISSAPEARED. MORE COME. SURREAL IRREAL. He was hardly alive. The sky was blue, and the sun bright. It hurt his eyes, but he could not look away. Perhaps he could have if he wanted to, though. He closed his eyes and the image of the injured dog came to his mind. The queer dog licking his gashed leg. The pain of his two wounds now began to become much more apparent. Aside the rock, the maroon colored dog licked the gash repeatedly in his mind. Yes, there was pain. And the sky was blue. And the water was green with his weak reflection. And the water shimmered when the blood from his shoulder dripped into the lake. And all animals show no pain. By two hours poor Azul was still alive, stuck in the middle of the small lake, with no wind pushing him on.--- When his grandma used to sing the old tune she played a oddly shaped circular instrument. You went ?pluck? on the three strings with your thumbs, and the vibrations echoed in the hole. It was so beautiful it made goosebumps shudder his face. -- It was all right dying in the boat. It was all right. THE END.