The Riddle of Life

Luka races to save his newborn as mysterious dreams and a magical shrine guide him.

The Riddle of Life

It was past midnight when Luka woke up from a strange dream. In the dream, he had seen his wife, Violet, running away from the village they were living in because of the war. She was barefoot, holding her swollen belly with one hand and with the other one holding Luka's hand. Their eyes were wide with fear and desperation, but they didn't look back, not even once
After a while, they got into the forest which was dark, silent and wind could be felt and occasionally the sound of an owl hoots. They found a massive tree with a hollow big enough for two people to fit inside. But Luka decided to stand guard near the tree letting his pregnant wife rest. Thinking of the last dream he had and how he could change the fate of his unborn baby.
Somehow, he fell asleep, and the same voice whispered in his ear "When the child is born, the breath won't come."
Luka was begging the voice in the dream to tell him how to save his baby and the voice replied:
I stay in silence.
In dark woods where no one stays,
No waves I make, neither a sound,
Yet, many secrets I keep.
I mirror the stars when the night is near,
And hold truths you hold dear.
Step too close and look at me.
Luka woke up confused and went into the hollow, holding his wife tightly and touching her belly and thinking of the riddle he heard. He didn't have the courage to tell Violet yet. Not because he thought his wife was going to think he went mad but because something was feeling odd and deep down... he believed it.
The next morning, he finally decided to tell her everything he dreamed about and surprisingly Violet wasn't making fun of him or anything like that. She was listening to Luka's riddle trying to understand it but with no results.
They knew it wasn't safe for them to stay in the same spot for too long, although they needed to eat and drink water, so they left the path and began heading north hoping to find a good place to stay.
Hours passed, the forest seemed much bigger than before and their bodies where aching from walking but neither of them were crying about it.
The silence between the married couple was broken by Violet who grabbed his husband's arm.
"Hm? What happened? Are you alright?"
The baby kicked harder than ever. It was a sharp movement, and Luka was still holding her, staring and trying to gently rub the belly.
Luka looked around when he noticed a shrine, moss covered much of the stone with a good shape with symbols of water next to a small house and there was a tree full of apples, but nothing to drink, unfortunately.
The baby started to kick again and that was the moment when Luka heard again the riddle in his head.
"A lake! That's the correct answer! Our baby is a special little one, he is the one who brought us here." said Luka excitedly.
Violet was happy that they finally had their answer, that was a relief for them for now.
Time passed, they ate, and the night came again but this time they had a place to sleep. But in the middle of the night his wife started to feel bad and went into labor.
"Stay with me. We're almost there Violet. Hold on" he said to his wife while holding her hand.
Violet was crying, screaming, she was in agony and Luka was trying to comfort her and then one last time she gave a loud scream, the baby was born.
Luke looked down at him, holding the little boy who was crying for some moments until he stopped breathing, in that moment, their true fear showed.
"Please... no. Come on. This can't happen." he said while he started crying
But the baby remained still.
Violet's eyes met Luke's eyes, a true fear was shown.
Luka desperately run outside, crawled to the shrine
"Please... save him" He begged holding the baby in front of the shrine, tears falling on his cold skin.
He looked one more time up to the shrine and felt his legs wet, he looked down and he saw a lake under the shrine.
Luka quickly dipped his hand in the water and gently lifted a few drops of water on the baby's lips. He closed his eyes and prayed for his baby and Violet.
And then, the baby started to move and cry. The baby was alive. Luka thanked the shrine and went quickly to his wife with the baby. Violet was confused and her husband started to explain everything that happened while she was holding the baby and kissing him, she listened to the story while she was holding Luka's hand.
Days passed, and the three of them had to leave in search of a village but before they left, they went again to the shrine and noticed that the lake had disappeared, like it was never there.
"One day, when the time is right, the shrine will no longer be forgotten. The lake would flourish again, and the voices of the spirits would speak once more." Luka promised that.
The End.
Personally, I used the circular narrative because it fit perfectly to my story, working very well with these as faith, the importance of promises, and the connection between humans and nature.
I used the emotional weight that the characters are fighting are combinate with the mystery of the vivid dreams to make the story even deeper.
Also, the idea that Luka and Violet will return to the shrine to "bring it back to life" feels like a beautiful commitment not just to the place, but to each other and their child. It ties into the circular narrative structure in a way that leaves the reader with a feeling of hopeful anticipation.
The ending, with its promise of return and renewal is leaving space for the reader to reflect on the deeper meaning of life, death, and spiritual connection.