Edward

• Jayden Vo, Grade 12
• Short Story
• 2018

The day had long bewildered Edward. It’d been a while since he’d seen it, the yolk of a sun framed in a canvas of blue. As he sheltered his eyes he couldn’t help but wonder: nothing about this was right. As far as he knew, the day was taboo, a sight his kind should never see.

He did not expect to encounter it beyond dreams; the underground’s safety was too valuable to entertain them. As a mole he was used to ignoring anything beyond his comfortable, soil-cushioned life, eating worms and digging tunnels, and desiring nothing beyond. There was plenty down below, and as a proud, patriotic mole, he gladly benefited from it. However, one’s thoughts often wander, and eventually, his mind turned to the skies. Ever since the spade incident—that glimpse of light—he’d wondered whether it was at least possible to visit.

Which was exactly what he did.

As he emerged, all went dark. Edward’s hope dwindled, but eventually, he saw his vision return. The light was… soft, and not harsh. It sunk in then: there he was, a mole above ground. Exposed, yet exuberant. Once he simmered, he decided to explore this land, that had only existed in dreams.

A sea of grass lay before him: good cover for a stroll. He shuffled on his way, pushing the blades aside as his voluminous rump shook about. Edward wandered nowhere, ending up far from home, he guessed, and yonder. His mind worried little of danger, focused only in taking in beauty. There were trees, higher than he could see. There was the wind, that caressed his fur. There were clouds, white wisps of the summer realm, something he’d heard of but never considered more than myth. It was all new to him, and therefore wonderful.

But this wonder was short-lived. The last hour was spent, and night fell. It was disturbing, even if its darkness was reminiscent of home. There was no cosiness. Danger appeared as if it’d waited for him, mocking him by rearing its head just as the day had ended. The wind’s cold fingers prodded him as he huddled. He could hear yelping in the distance, setting him on edge. There was no dirt surrounding him, no safety. There was only the world, open and frightening, enveloped in a darkness that was far too thick for even a mole. The night was a parody of the day, with no sun, no blue. Just a far-reaching black, dotted with lights made of tin foil. If there was beauty in it, he was not the mole to see it, not when terrified beyond wit.

Before long he came to regret his actions, wishing to be home back in his dirty world that lacked the day.

And that was when he found it. Edward’s senses blurred as he fell home, back to the day-less stasis of the norm. However, he would return to this norm forever changed, his dreams entertained yet enlightened, as a mole who’d seen the day.