“Aye, don’t waste your time! I know a place where we can get you a shard,” Moe scurried off towards the staircase. “Follow me!”
Without hesitating, the trio followed Moe up the stairs and down a street of metal shacks. A musty fog rose high in the air with every puff of steam that escaped the pipe vents. The space grew dark and narrow, and Cherry felt afraid. He was reminded of his home, his bed, and his loving family. They didn’t have much, but he was happiest at home.
Moe whirled around and grabbed ahold of Cherry’s shoulders and pleaded. “Before I show you this, you’ll help me, won’t you?” His eyes grew wide with sorrowful tears. “Please, you’ll help me win that wish and heal us all, right?!”
“Hey, get off him!” Candy yanked Moe off Cherry. “Show us the way, Moe.”
Moe broke down into tears and begged on his knees. “But I can’t! I need to know I have your support. I can’t go on living like this, knowing I might have a chance to return to normal!”
Cherry felt overwhelmed, he thought his path was clear. He’d play until he won and then win his wish. It sounded like a simple plan, but he hadn’t taken the time to think about others. With everything happening so quickly he hadn’t stopped to think how he could help someone else. He felt grief-stricken and started to tear up when he remembered how his mother taught him to be kind and helpful to others. If only others would be just as kind to him. “I want to go home.” He rubbed his eyes. “I—I don’t belong here.”
“No, you can’t say that!” Moe said.
Staralla and Candy immediately stopped and kneeled before Cherry.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” Candy said.
Cherry clung onto his tail and buried his face in the fluffy fur. “I…I want to go home. I don’t know what I’m doing here. No one will cheer me on because I’m no use to them or to myself.”
Staralla sat on Cherry’s shoulder and brushed his cheek. “Hey, that’s not true.”
Moe wobbled over. “Hey, now, you’re an amazing kid. You’ve got an amazing throw in that arm. You can use the wind to your advantage. If you try one of my shards, I’m sure it’ll make you successful.”
Candy shoved Moe away and stood over him with a stern glare. “Enough, you blithering fool. Cherry doesn’t belong here; we need to get him back to the surface where he belongs. He can go back and live his life as if nothing ever happened.” Moe’s face contorted with a gasp of horror.
Cherry rubbed his face and looked up at Candy. “Do you think I can do it?” He took Candy’s words to heart and realized, if he goes home things will be the same. He didn’t want to return to a life where he’s the only wolf-boy. He wanted to see what’s out there and if it comes at the cost of helping others, then he’s happy to do it. “I want to help.”
“What?” Candy scowled with disgust across his face. “You can’t be serious. You can’t make a choice like that so quickly! Don’t let Moe guilt you—their problems are not yours.”
Staralla nuzzled her squishy cheek against Cherry’s. “He’s right. We don’t know what a shard could do to you. It’s not worth changing who you are.”
Cherry shook his head, took a deep breath, and stamped his foot down. He stood tall and firm in his stance. He looked up at Candy with a straight face. “I don’t want to go back to how things were. I want to change my life for the better.” He waved his hands around as if he were pointing. “I never knew there were other people like me in the world. Do you know how alone I’ve felt? Mother, Father, and my three siblings all love me and make me feel wanted.” Cherry drew a fist and held it against his chest. “Do—do you know what it feels like to be the only one, though? To feel alone in a world where no one wants you and you don’t know what to do?”
Candy’s mouth eyes were agape with awe, then he clenched his teeth shut and looked away. “If that’s how you feel. I won’t stop you, but I won’t let you go at this alone.”
“What’s in it for you, Candy? He’s just a stranger to you,” Staralla said.
Candy looked up and clenched his fists against his side. “I have my reasons. I’m out to help those in need, you may think of me as a priest. So, it is my duty to make sure Cherry goes unharmed. Love and peace, am I right?” He shrugged.
Staralla narrowed her eyes, and her face was filled with doubt. “Then, I’m sticking with Cherry too. You two owe me for nearly killing me back there. I want to regain my memory, and something tells me I need to stick with you two.”
Cherry felt a sparkle of warmth growing in his chest. Was this what it felt like to be wanted by others? “I—I want to help you all. I want to be known and appreciated for who I am, but how can I do that if I don’t help others along the way? I want to make a name for myself.” He said with a smile.
Candy shook his head. “I don’t think it’s wise, but I’ll do whatever I can to help you. Shards can be finicky around people, but I think if we align our goals, we can do a lot of good.”
“Hey, don’t forget me!” Moe beckoned the trio. “Hurry up and follow me if you’re finished with your sentiments.”
Without another word, the trio followed Moe to a lone shack. It sat in the middle of the darkness like flickering flame all by itself. He scurried through the curtains and rummaged around, causing the metal walls to rattle.
“Where are we?” Cherry felt nervous and cowered behind Candy. Staralla sat on Cherry’s head and hid behind his ears.
“We’re in the outskirts, it’s the darkness of the underground. Where people of all types lurk. Moe is down on his luck because of his illness, others are here for crimes, runaways, or whatever their reason.” Candy looked around. “I can’t believe we let this old fool talk us into coming here. It’s best we stay on our guard.”
“I don’t like this, maybe we should leave,” Staralla said.
“Alright, here it is!” Moe came out with a golden treasure box in his hands. It glowed brightly when he opened its latch. The others craned over the edge when the light faded. Inside, were hundreds of shards untouched by others because they didn’t have an element eched upon them yet. “Come on, pick one.”
Cherry felt excited and didn’t know which shard to pick.
“Why do you have so many?” Candy asked.
“Just found it one day and started collecting,” Moe said.
“Why do you hold onto so many? What good are they to you?” Candy’s face grew tight with suspicion. It looked as if he were trying to deduce something. “Is this what you do to people you drag down here? Certainly, you don’t give shards away on a whim, right?”
“What’s it matter to you?”
“Well, Moe, the star only fell in the last few months. It was caught by a machine before it had time to shatter. You couldn’t have been planning to heal yourself before then.”
Moe snatched the box away. “Hey, hey, hey, what are you? A detective?”
A tension filled the air and Cherry was too stunned to move. It felt like a weight was pressing down on him, and he didn’t know what to say. The two’s eyes were locked tightly, until Moe relaxed and opened the box. He flung the box open and shoved it in Cherry’s face, startling him. “Woah, slow down.”
“Pick one. Let’s see if it draws out your natural ability. Ain’t never saw someone with a hold over the wind like yours,” Moe said.
Cherry nervously looked over the shards. He wanted to get this over with and return home. So, he grabbed the closest shard and it started to sparkle. They were in awe as a light radiated from the glass. Three lines swirled into a glowing symbol and the shard solidified like a block of mercury. They gasped when it clung onto Cherry’s hand, frightening him. It bubbled and morphed into an ornate mirror that reflected his face but no one else’s. “Is this how it’s supposed to work?” Cherry was confused and his body tingled.
“Are you alright?” Candy and Staralla asked.
Candy suddenly fell to his knees, gasping for breath. He was being choked by his necklace. It grew tight around his neck and tried floating towards Cherry’s mirror. In a panic, Cherry dropped the mirror and fell backwards. The necklace changed direction, loosened its grip, and swooped towards the mirror. It transformed into a decorative pendant with a glowing blue stone.
Candy heaved and coughed as he tried to catch his breath. He flattened out with exhaustion. “Wh-what was that?”
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Moe said.
The treasure box started to rattle, and he dropped it, causing the shards to spill out. Cherry’s mirror stood up on its own and let out a beam of light. It attracted all the shards and absorbed them in its glass. Then, both Cherry and Candy were engulfed in a starry shroud that changed the tone of their body.
Cherry felt weightless as he was lifted off the ground. The world around him started to spin and tiny stars pelted his body. A warmth filled his body and he felt overwhelmed with a sense of determination. His fears melted away, his body transformed with a new uniform, and a glowing baseball bat appeared in his hands.
When the light faded, Staralla’s eyes were wide with amazement. “I remember something! Cherry, are you one of the star children, I’ve been searching for?”
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