The Valley

A light shone dimly from the dishevelled cabin into the valley. The water splashed soundlessly against the rocky banks reflecting the moon that shone in the starless night. Sitting on the veranda of the house, was an old wrinkly man who was watching the sky as a candle flickered weakly beside him. For years, he had been taking care of the valley ensuring that there was no one to destroy the nature that had been preserved for centuries.

He slowly stood up and walked into the carefully maintained house to his bedroom. Putting on some soft music, he laid down on his bed and soon fell asleep. Walking up in the early morning, he heard a ship’s horn blast as workers were lowered down and deported into the valley.

Many young men saw many opportunities to turn the valley into a tourist destination not knowing that it already belonged to someone else. Gathering their supplies, they started setting out their camps on the shore. “ Hey, look! The old man is coming!” One of the men called out to the others as the old caretaker approached them, shouting at them to go. Instead, they all laughed at the old man and continued.

As days passed endlessly, they continued to destroy the old man’s valley. Soon, more and more people came to "help" with the destruction. Since the old man was weak and had no one on his side, his efforts were useless against them as they proceeded on with their task. Within a few days, the place was almost bare, stripped from the beauty it once held.

Trees were cut and burnt for warmth during the nights and land was cleared for the trees. Turning to madness, the old man burnt the whole valley down, transforming the land deserted for the next few decades. Even now, there have been stories that the old man’s grandson still lives there, looking after the place with the ghost of his granddad, carrying on his legacy.

FOLLOW US


25

Write4Fun.net was established in 1997, and since then we have successfully completed numerous short story and poetry competitions and publications.
We receive an overwhelming positive feedback each year from the teachers, parents and students who have involvement in these competitions and publications, and we will continue to strive to attain this level of excellence with each competition we hold.

KEEP IN TOUCH

Stay informed about the latest competitions, competition winners and latest news!