The Horn

The Horn

“Come on, Tian, let’s go!” Elam called out to me. I sprinted across the grassy meadows, trying to catch up with my much taller friend. His long strides seemed to carry him almost effortlessly over the dandelions, gliding across the earth with seemingly inhuman speed. Well, maybe not that fast, but way too fast for me.
“Slow down!” I panted, bent double over my knees, sucking air into my chubby little lungs. “You know I can’t keep up with you!”
“You’re right!” Elam teased, cart-wheeling away from me. “I’m trying to get you whipped into shape!”
I caught my second wind, and took off again. Elam let me get within two meters of him before he blew me out again. I stopped, exhausted and angered. “What’s wrong?” he called out.
“What kind of a sick game do you think this is? Some friend you are, making fun of me.” I yelled back. Elam slapped his head in that over-exaggerated way of his. It would have annoyed me more if it weren’t so funny to see the big doofus hit himself in the face.
“You know I’m just messin’ with you, Tian. I’ll wait for you to catch up.”
“Thank you.” I casually strode the rest of the distance, taking my sweet time. Elam was standing there, arms folded across his chest, tapping his foot.
“Are you happy now?” he asked.
“Yes.” I answered smugly, skipping a little bit.
“Then race me to that cave!” he said, breaking into a full sprint again.
“You’re not getting away this time!” I yelled, and took off. For a moment, I was able to match his speed. The look on his face when he looked over and saw little ol’ me was one of astonishment and disbelief. I was about to shock him to the very core.
I ran hard, harder than I’d ever run in my life. I pulled ahead of Elam, and I swear I heard him gasp as I took the lead. The opening of the cave was in sight. It was more like a mouth, as jagged teeth jutted from the ceiling, and a winding dirt path coiled its way down into the bowels of the cave, like a forked tongue. The threshold to victory was getting closer and closer, and I was almost there.
And I lost it.
I hit the wall. In less than a second, I went from a sprint to a wheezing jog. All the while Elam kept his pace, and easily passed me on the last leg of the race. I nearly collapsed ten meters away from the cave, dropping to one knee to even breathe. When I looked up, I couldn’t see the cave or the teeth or the path. All I could see was Elam, and his smile. His big, stupid smile.
“You surprised me, Tian. You almost had me there. Not bad, old friend. Not bad at all.”
I spat off to the side in disgust. So close…but in the end, I couldn’t do it. Just like everything else, when it came down to it, I failed.
After what seemed like an hour, the grassy field around me stopped spinning, and I’d regained my composure enough to stand. My head low in defeat, I walked over to the cave, and Elam.
“One of these days, you’re gonna beat me.” he said.
“Shut up Elam. Leave me alone.” I said back, suddenly in an incredibly bad mood.
“What’s wrong Tian? Can’t handle the agony of defeat?” he playfully slapped me on the back.
“I said LEAVE ME ALONE!!” I snapped, throwing his arm off me. He took a step back, a look of puzzlement and concern in his eyes. I looked straight ahead, I didn’t even want to be around my friend at the moment.
“Really, Tian, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“Elam, for the last time-”
“Alright, Alright, I’ll leave you alone.” He put his hands up as if to say ‘I give up’. I thanked him silently by not hitting him in the jaw.
We entered slowly into the cave, with no particular destination. Our parents had both told us never to enter this cave from the time we were babies. As all kids did, we’d been going to the cave weekly since we discovered it.
I walked quietly, straining my ears for the moment that Elam even opened his mouth to breathe so that I could strike. He walked at my side, as inconspicuous as the shadows that surrounded us. He wouldn’t give me a reason to fight him, and that made me even angrier.
Eventually we came to Creaker’s Rock, so named for the strange noise it always made when someone walked near it, as if it was about to get up and chase the intruders. That was usually enough to scare of the new kids that had never been in here before. The rest of us seasoned adventurer’s barely noticed it.
On we continued down the dirt path, until we reached the part of the cave where the light of the sun couldn’t illuminate. No one had ever been brave enough to go into the darkness, and for good reason. Our parents told us that evil itself lived in this cave, and that anyone who entered into the darkness would never return. The way I was feeling, I hoped that they were right. I took a deep breath, and stepped out of the reach of the sun.
“What are you doing?” Elam asked me after a half hour of silence. I had almost forgot that he was there.
“I’m exploring. No one’s ever been this far down into the cave.”
“There’s a reason for that.” he said.
I turned and looked at him incredulously. All his size did was make him look like a big kid. “Don’t tell me you believe the fairy tales our parents tell us about this place.”
“You did the last time we were here.”
I shook my head. “No I didn’t.” I lied. “But you did, and I just didn’t want to go down there by myself. But now…I don’t care if you go with me or not. I’m gonna find out what’s down there.”
“Please, Tian.” Elam grabbed me by the shoulders, and I could tell that he was genuinely scared. I didn’t care, I was still angry. “Even if the stories aren’t true, its still pitch black in there. You could trip and hurt yourself, and we’d never be able to find you.”
“Then you’d just have one less person to pick on, wouldn’t you?” I said matter-of-factly.
“What are you talking about?”
“Forget it, I’m going in.” I prepared myself to step into the shroud of darkness.
“I’m not gonna let you do this alone.” Elam stepped up next to me. Then he smiled. “But if I die, I’m going to kill you.”
I replied with a simple “Hmph,” and we both walked forward.
It felt like walking through a fog. A completely black fog that was thicker than the air at the mouth of the cave, and that permeated everything, seeming to flow around and through you. It pushed and pulled at me, tugging and yanking at my arms and my legs. I tried to struggle against it, but the more I did, the more it pushed me forward. I heard a muffled noise to my right, coming from Elam’s direction.
“Are you alright?” I moved my lips, but heard nothing. I tried again, and the same thing. I screamed until my throat gave out. No sound at all. After that I panicked. I tried to turn around, but I couldn’t. The fog had me, and I was powerless against it. I felt my heels dragging as I tried to stop going forward, but the fog pushed harder. I was sinking, sinking into something that felt, wrong. It was constricting me, squeezing me, crushing me. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe. It was over, and my parents had been right. I was ready to give up, and succumb to the fog-
-and I fell onto the dirt. Fortunately, I put my hands down fast enough to break my fall a little bit. When I looked over, Elam was there too, gasping for air.
“What…what just happened?” I asked him.
Elam stood up, and shook his head. “I have no idea.” he said, helping me to my feet. I looked around. We were in some sort of small underground cavern, and it was somehow lit by itself. There were strange etchings and carvings on the wall, and a small wooden sign that stood mysteriously in the center of the room.
“What’s that?” Elam asked, pointing. I walked over to the sign, trying to decipher its text.
“It’s written in some ancient language. I can’t read it.” I said. Elam came over and took a look at it.
“My grandmother was teaching me how to read this language. She said it used to be a requirement when she was in school.”
I sucked my teeth. It figured that Elam would know how to read it. He knew how to do everything else. “Well, what does it say?”
“Hold on, I think it says, ‘One will play, two will fall, and three will undo it all.’ What does that mean?” he wondered aloud.
“It means that your grandmother didn’t do a good job, because you have no idea what you’re saying.” I walked away.
“Yeah, whatever.” Elam replied. I walked over to the wall to investigate the carvings. It looked like carvings of hunters throwing spears at some kind of animal. The animal had horns, but it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. What kind of animal with horns stood on two legs…
“Tian, come look at this?” Elam called to me. I glanced at the carvings one more time, and saw that the same strange writing was near the pictures. Then I went to see what Elam had found.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know, it looks like some kind of musical instrument. A horn or something.” he said. When I reached him, I saw it sitting on a rock. It was long, maybe three and a half meters in total. It was a straight horn, at one end was the mouthpiece and at the other was the bell. It looked worn and beaten, as old as the caves we found it in. But it still shined magnificently. The light gleaming off its sliver brass body was almost blinding. “Maybe they used it for hunting or something.”
“Yeah, maybe. Speaking of which, I saw some more of that writing on the wall over there near the etchings. Could you check it out for me?” I asked, pointing in its direction.
“Sure.” I didn’t really care what the wall said, I just wanted to be left alone with the horn. It was beautiful, as ancient as man himself, and as powerful as the beasts he used to hunt to survive. I reached out to touch it, and a cold shiver instantly went down my spine. But I enjoyed it.
“This is weird…all it says is ‘Maha’, over and over again. Why does that word sound so familiar…” I heard Elam babbling to himself. I wasn’t listening, because I could hear another sound. The horn was calling me. Its silvery, nondescript body seemed to be beckoning to me, asking for me by name. I couldn’t refuse it.
“I’m gonna give this old baby a whirl!” I called out to Elam.
“Hm?” He was so absorbed by the inscription that he hadn’t heard me. He was about to hear me in a second.
I stood up the horn so that the bell rested on the rock, and I brought the mouthpiece up to my lips. Elam glanced back at me, then at the wall again. His eyes widened in horror and his mouth dropped open in speechless fear. I took a deep breath.
“NO! Tian, DON’T PLAY THAT HORN! Maha means-”
I blew into the horn, and created the most perfect musical note I’d ever heard. It absorbed me; for the moment, I seemed to be living in the music. I didn’t hear Elam’s screams of agony, or see him cover his ears as blood ran out of them. I didn’t even notice how the whole cavern was shuddering, shaking from the vibrations and threatening to collapse at any moment. All I could see, hear, taste, smell or feel was the horn, and the music I was making. For the first time in my life, I didn’t feel like a short, fat kid who couldn’t measure up to his best friend or his older sister, and that was always getting picked on. For the first time, I was happy.
But my lungs wouldn’t let me stay happy. Eventually I ran out of breath, and I stepped back from the horn. The sound was still ringing in my ears, and it was wonderful. I glanced over at Elam, smiling broadly.
But he wasn’t there.
I scanned the cavern for him. “Elam?” I called out. The cavern wasn’t that big, so there wasn’t anywhere he could hide. Did he leave me in here by myself? I felt an irrational surge of rage pulse through my veins. That jerk! When I found him, I’d let him have the worst beating of his life. I slowly lowered the horn and headed towards the exit of the cavern. I stopped in my tracks when I remembered the fog I’d come through to get here. I turned to play the horn one more time for encouragement, but it was gone too.
“Wait a second,” I said to myself. I’d just put it down a minute ago. A three and a half meter horn doesn’t get up and walk away, and if it did, I’d have noticed it. Now I was worried about Elam. Fog or no fog, I had to find him.
I gathered myself, and ran into the darkness. But to my surprise, there was no fog. As soon as I stepped out of the cavern, I was right back outside. “What the-” I shook my head. I can’t worry about that now, I have to find Elam. I ran across the field, calling his name.
“Elam!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. The field extended for miles around us. It usually took us half the day just to get to the cave, so there was no way he could have got off it so fast. And it was completely flat, so I would be able to see him no matter how far he went. Yet there was no sign of him.
My heart started pounding. Where did he go? I started running towards the end of the field, to the road that led back home. My mind was racing faster than I was. What was the last thing that Elam said to me? Something about mana, or hana, I couldn’t remember.
I reached the road in record time, although my friend was nowhere to confirm it. He must have went home, I thought. I rested for only as long as I had to, then took off top speed towards his home.
Hama, Mahan, what was it?! I tried to remember, but all that filled my head was the sound of the horn. It was so beautiful…No! Must find Elam! The horn can wait, I told myself.
I jumped completely over Elam’s fence, nearly falling on the loose gravel that made up his walkway. I crashed into his burgundy door, banging as hard as I could and yelling his name.
“Elam! Elam, are you here? This isn’t funny. You left me in there all by myself!” I yelled. I could see through the blinds that someone had been summoned by all the commotion I was causing. I stood back as I heard the locks being undone. When the door opened, my jaw hit the floor.
An older man, easily in his early sixties, opened the door wearing an emerald colored robe. He ran his hands through his sparse, slivery white hair. I’d never seen this man before in my life, and instantly I felt a deep sense of foreboding. “What’s all the noise about, young man? Is everything alright?”
“Is…is Elam in?” I managed to stammer out. The old man looked at me with a look that mixed concern and puzzlement.
“I’m sorry son, but you have the wrong house. There’s no one here by that name.” he informed me.
My heart dropped into my stomach. “No, that can’t be…that can’t be right…” I said in disbelief.
“There’s another blue house down a little ways, maybe your friend lives there. I’m sorry young man.”
“No, no” I just kept repeating it. I stepped backwards off the porch, falling onto the walkway.
“Are you okay, son? Do you need some help?” the old man asked. I just looked at him frantically, and scrambled to my feet. I ran all the way home, kicking in the door to get inside.
“Tian, what’s wrong with you? Why can’t you knock like a normal person?” my mother asked.
“Answer a question for me, mother.” I looked her straight in the eyes. She’d never lied to me before, but I wanted to make sure she didn’t start now. “Where does my best friend Elam live?”
“Who?”
“ELAM!” I screamed, stumbling backwards. “You know, he’s…he’s tall, um, he has dark hair, he’s better than me at everything….Elam! Where does he live?!” My father overheard the yelling and came into the kitchen.
“What’s going on in here?” he asked.
“Dad, who’s my best friend? Who did you build the model machine for two years ago?” I asked him, looking for any sign of hope.
“Oh, that was for Kile, right? He needed it for a science fair exhibit, didn’t he?”
I collapsed into a heap on the ground. Was I the only person who knew Elam? Who cared about him? “This isn’t right, this is wrong. This is all wrong, it’s all wrong.”
“Are you okay, sweetheart? Here, sit down, relax. Honey, go get your son some medicine.” my mother tried to comfort me.
“No! Where’s Tiana? She’ll know what’s going on. She’s smarter than me, she can figure this out.”
“Now who are you talking about?” my mother asked me.
I looked at her. I just looked at her. “You’re joking. You have to be joking. Please tell me this is one big joke.” I pleaded.
“Joking about what?” she asked.
“About Elam! And about Tiana, you daughter!! My older sister?! The one that can do no wrong and that I’ll never be half as good as?”
“I’ve never heard of those people before.” she said soothingly.
“No, no no no no no no…” I couldn’t say anything else. I was beyond words. I stood up, ready to bolt for the door. This couldn’t be happening. I had to find them, they had to be somewhere out there.
Then it hit me. It hit me like a bolt of lightning. Maha. That was the word. But what did it mean? Something told me that if I figured out what that was, I’d realize what was going on. “I have to find out.” I said to myself.
“Find out what?” my mother asked.
“Father?” I called, walking into the family room “Father!”
“Yes, Tian, what is it?” he answered. In one hand was medicine, in the other was a pillow.
“What does Maha mean?”
“Son, I really think you should take this medicine and get some rest. We can talk when you wake up, and-”
“WHAT DOES MAHA MEAN!” I yelled. I’d never yelled at my father before, mostly because he would have knocked my teeth down my throat. But he only sighed heavily, and motioned for me to sit down.
“Legends say that Maha means ‘the evil one’. Long ago, when man was first created, there were demons and spirits that walked the earth as well. Maha was their king, and used his power to harass and destroy the gods’ new creation, Man. However, there was only so much he could do from the spirit world. He needed a tool that could affect both the spiritual and physical worlds. So he made a pact with a man. This man was always being picked on, and hated everyone around him. So in exchange for Maha’s promise that he would be the best at everything that mattered, this man agreed to do Maha’s bidding in the physical realm.”
I gulped visibly. I didn’t like where this story was going, and I liked the fact that this man reminded me of myself even less.
“Back then, the strongest hunters were the most celebrated men in society. They held the seats of political power, had the finest dwellings and the most beautiful wives. The man who worked with Maha wanted all of that. So in exchange for his help, Maha created for the man the finest hunting horn in the land. It was a silver horn that was the length of an average man and one half. When the man blew into the horn, not only did it make his prey lay down and die for him, but it also granted his deepest desires. All the man had to do was play the horn. Whenever he did, he not only got what he desired, but he was also doing Maha’s work for him, for the horn was cursed and was destroying everything around it. This continued for a few years, until one man realized what was going on. He confronted the man and Maha at the same time. Using the powers of love and truth, he redeemed the man from the evil in his own heart, and imprisoned Maha in the horn. The redeemer was not powerful enough to destroy the horn and Maha’s evil, but he hid the horn in the caves that you play near, and he did bless it with a prophecy, that reads-”
“One will play, two will fall, and three will undo it all.” I finished the story for him, my entire being filled with dread
“I see you know a little of it.”
All of a sudden, it all came together. The fog, the inscription, the horn, and…myself. Right before I played the horn, I’d thought ‘At least I’m better than him at the horn. But it would be nice to be the best at everything’. I’d done it. I’d caused him and my sister to disappear. I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but this wasn’t the time for tears. It was time for action. So far the prophecy had come true. One had played, that was me. Two had fallen, Elam and Tiana. But the three still made no sense. Three what?
“What does the prophecy mean? Three whats will make it undone?” I asked.
My father shrugged. “No one knows. That’s why it’s a legend, it’s not real.”
I shook my head. “No, it is real. And I have to figure out what it means.”
“Actually,” he said standing up, “You have to take this medication and get in the bed. You’re not acting like yourself. I think there’s something wrong.”
“No, there’s nothing wrong. I have to go figure out what this means.” I said, heading for the door.
“You’re going to get some rest, whether you want to or not!” my father grabbed me by the arm.
“Let me go! You don’t understand! I have to save them! Let me GO!” I struggled against him, but it was no use. My father was even bigger than Elam, and much stronger. He grabbed me into a bear hug and carried me all the way upstairs. He threw me into my room, and placed the medication on my nightstand.
“We’ll talk in a few hours when you wake up. Get some rest.” he said before leaving. I heard him lock the door from the outside. Immediately I jumped up and started banging on the door.
“Let me out! I have to save them! Let me out…” I slid down the door, sobbing. They’re gone, they’re both gone, because of me. Because of my selfishness. It’s all my fault.
I curled up into a ball in the center of my room, crying hysterically. I hadn’t meant it. Sure Tiana was smarter than me and got better grades, but I loved her in spite of her genius. She was always trying to teach me, although I was a reluctant student.
And Elam…my best friend, who’d been there for everything my sister couldn’t be around for. All my triumphs, and the many failures…he’d helped and supported me through all of them. And how did I repay his kindness? With contempt and jealousy, all because he was simply stronger and faster than me. He never looked down on me. He was trying to help me to realize my own talents and strengths, but I never listened to him. And now…now I‘d done this.
“I’m sorry Tiana.” I said to her. That’s all I could say. There was nothing else I could do but apologize.
“I’m sorry Elam.” the tears rolled down my cheeks. It just didn’t seem like enough.
“I’m sorry!” I cried at the top of my lungs. I was so overcome with grief that I didn’t notice that the walls were shaking, and the roof was on the verge of caving in. I threw back my head and screamed, letting my cry echo all the way up to the heavens.
“Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh…..”
“……..aaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAHHH!” I felt s jarring shake on my shoulder.
“What’s wrong with you? Why are you screaming like a madman?” Elam asked me.
“What?! Elam, you’re-” I looked around. We were standing in the cave, just in front of the dark fog. He was looking at me as if I had gone crazy. Maybe I had, but I was smiling. What happened? How’d I get back here? Then I realized the answer: the blessing of the redeemer. Three apologies, that was the key. The redeeming power of forgiveness.
I looked at Elam, and gave him a hug. “I’m sorry Elam. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry I got mad at you, I’m sorry that I’m not the kind of friend to you that you are to me.” I said.
Elam laughed. “Well, okay. Where did all this come from?”
“I’ll tell you someday.” Then I glanced into the fog. It would consume anyone who went into there, and it wouldn’t be me this time. “Now let’s get out of here.”
“We’re not going in there?” Elam sounded relieved.
“No we’re not, old friend. It appears that our parents were actually right to warn us about this place. This cave is evil.” I said.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re not making much sense.” Elam said.
“I’m better than okay. I’m great. Now let’s go back to my house and see that beautiful sister of mine.” I’d never been so happy in my life. I was still short and chubby, but I was a short and chubby kid who had a family and a friend who really cared about me. What more did I need?
“You actually wanna go see your sister?” Elam laughed when we got outside. “Wow, what happened to you in that cave?”