Fact or Fiction

Onice, in the far off land of Saision, lived a young man named David. David enjoyed entertaining people by telling stories, although sometimes he got so caught up in his story telling that he couldn't tell what was reality from fiction. His parents tried to tell him before to limit his story telling times, but David didn't listen.

One day, David started telling a story to some neighborhood kids.

"Did you know that before our ancestors came here to Saision, it was inhabited by a wide variety of monsters. Some had tusks, claws, wings, feathers, fur, and they came in all kinds of colors. Some were greenish blue, or grey. No matter what kind of colors they had or what they looked like, they were all extremely fierce. One day, some of our ancestors came to the island and saw these fierce beasts roaming the land. When they saw them, our ancestors decided to try trapping the creatures in a cage inside a cave by the sea. For whatever reason, the monsters stayed away from the sea. The plan was to ambush the monsters and force them into a retreat inside a cave. Things seemed to go as planned. But it came at a cost. Some of our ancestors died in the attack. The monsters were trapped. Some were very wounded and had blood pouring out, only it wasn't red like our blood is, it was a bright green. At first, some of our ancestors took turns feeding these creatures until no one could remember whose turn it was to feed them. Due to the confusion, the monsters went quite a while without eating and went into a deep sleep. They slept through more than a thousand years, until quite recently, they woke up, hungry and very angry about being imprisoned. I know this because I accidentally stumbled upon the cave where they were trapped two days ago."

David finished his story to a stunned silence, when suddenly, Cameron, a heavyset boy around twelve asked, "How did you come across the monsters if they were asleep for so long?"

David replied, "I went out for a walk, when I heard the unearthly shrieking coming from the caves. I went to explore to see what was going on. I found them and they told me about it." Suddenly, there was a fierce howl in the wind. David said, "That's one of the creatures now. Let's go see what's going on."

The neighborhood kids made excuses not to go with.

Later that evening, David decided to go for a walk. He heard that shriek again and decided to go explore. He followed the shrieks to a cave. Thinking quickly, David pulled out a small flashlight and turned it on and entered the cave. Once he got far into the cave, he saw the creatures just like the ones in his fictional story he told the kids earlier that same day. The creatures saw him and said in a high pitched, raspy voice, "So, you have come to rescue all of us. This land belongs to us. Your kind of monsters are the real intruders here!"

David stood with his mouth opened in shock, fear coursing through him. He couldn't move even though he had wanted to. With a great effort, David managed to turn around and run out of the cave. Once he got close to his home, he stopped, panting for breath, and needing to slow down his rapid heartbeat. "No one will believe my last story was true, but I should try telling people," he said to himself.

The next day, David tried to gather the kids together to tell them more about the story. However, the kids and their parents wouldn't believe a word he said. "Stop trying to scare the kids," Mrs. Timber said angrily. "My kids are having nightmares because of you and the nonsense you have been telling them."

"You need a new hobby," Mr. Linesman said angrily. Your storytelling is getting out of hand. No one knows what to believe anymore."

Other adults would say similar things to David.

Feeling blue, David walked sadly towards the beach thinking to himself, "What am I to do? No one believes me because I have confused fact for fiction for too long. Maybe it's time for a brand new me." As he walked along, David was starting to think of how he can show people this discovery he had made, but to no success. For the townspeople, seeing is believing because of the story that he had told. He couldn't release the beasts without endangering everyone, but maybe if he brought some people with him they could help him. But first, he had to go back to the cave where they were locked up. If he saw them there again he would bring some people back with him to see the creatures for themselves. The question became, who to bring back with him? Suddenly, David had an answer. He would bring Mrs. Timber and Mr. Linesman with him. If they back up his claims, others would too.

David set off at once to find the creatures. Since he had a camera with him this time, it was easier to get the evidence he needed. And finding the right cave was easier because the creatures were shrieking. After a few minutes, David found the right place and entered the cave a second time. Once inside, he crept along and found the creatures, shrieking, grabbing the bars of the cage, and rattling it hard. The creatures had a small fire going from the driftwood found there. David took out his camera and took a few pictures. Then as quietly as he could, he went out and went to find Mrs. Timber and Mr. Linesman.

Once he found them, he asked if they could go on a walk. He said he had something to show them and led them to the cave. Once inside, both the adults were shocked by the creatures and promised to help alert the rest of the community as long as David promised to keep his storytelling under control and not let it get out of hand again. David promised, and said, "I have learned my lesson. I will keep fact from fiction separate from now on."

The town was alerted to everything going on and they had the creatures rounded up and transported to a laboratory far far away to be studied at length by the scientists. David kept his promise and became a more honest person, and learned to keep his storytelling under control.