Pieces of Knowledge

“Pieces of Knowledge”

There once was a village located in the Western part of Jamaica that was home to the Crush people. The Crush were known for their astonishing physical abilities. It has been rumored that they were very strong, swift, and their ferociousness rivaled that of a mother lioness protecting her young. They ruled the land of Crush for many years.

            The land of Crush was also home to many normal people who did not posses the physical prowess that the Crush did. They lived everyday lives under the laws set by the head of the Crush, who went by the name of Blue Widow. The ordinary people were not well respected by the Crush. They did not have to live in fear but they knew that they must not disobey the rules set by Blue Widow or they would face severe punishments.

            Among the commoners was a mystical healer who went by the name of Genie. He supplied the land of Crush with medicines and herbs to help heal any ailment that they may have. Despite being such fierce warriors, the Crush were not immortal and did succumb to injuries and illness. What they possessed in physical capabilities, they lacked in knowledge, so they often would pay a visit to Genie so he could heal them.

            Genie was the wisest man in the land and everybody respected him for his healing powers. As he grew older, he knew his time on the planet would come to a close eventually. Luckily one day a young boy came rushing into his hut, feeling very weak and bleeding profusely from his leg, he pleaded for Genie to heal him. In a rush Genie ran to his supply cabinet and retrieved the materials he needed and quickly went to work on his patient. After many long hours of work and remedy, Genie managed to seal the boy’s wound and bring him back to full strength.

            After all was done, the boy introduced himself as Abu and gave many thanks and praises to Genie. Being an orphan, Abu did not have anything to pay Genie with and was on a stray path that would surely lead him to more trouble. As the light bulb went off in his head, Genie began to smile and formulate a plan. Seeing as he was the only healer in the village, he must pass on his knowledge and secrets so that when he leaves the world behind, somebody can continue to heal the village of Crush.

            So upon his agreement, Abu became Genie’s understudy. He worked along side of Genie for years as he treated many different people who sought the use of his powers. Abu slowly learned many different techniques and gained a great deal of knowledge.

After many years of peace an intense battle broke out, a Crush warrior was severely wounded and on the verge of death, was brought to Genie in hopes he could be saved. Genie said to the other Crush warriors, “Leave him with me for the night, return after the sun sets tomorrow and he will be as good as new.” He then turned to Abu and said, “Tonight is very important, if all goes well you will have completed your training and will be ready for a quest.”

            Thanks to the many years of peace, Genie did not have to work on a Crush warrior in quite some time and Abu had never even seen one. Filled with infinite questions about this astounding specimen, Abu was quite anxious for this assignment. As they worked through the night, Genie lectured Abu on the Crush warriors. He told them how the warriors feared nobody and did not respect the other people who lived in Crush. As all this information poured into his head, Abu asked Genie, “If the Crush do not respect anybody, why do they respect you?” Genie simply replied, “Now you are asking the right questions. However it is late you must get to bed and we will continue our work on this fallen warrior in the morning.” Despite wanting to ask more questions, Abu complied with Genie’s request. As he laid in bed, his thoughts were running as if a train had been derailed from its tracks and the brakes did not function.

            He woke in the morning to a breakfast platter that would feed a mammoth. Genie said to him, “Eat up, you have a very big day ahead of you.” After he finished his breakfast, Abu went to work with Genie on the warrior. They worked in silence for quite sometime, and out of nowhere Genie asked, “So would you like to know the answer to your question from last night?” Trying to hold back his excitement, Abu replied, “Yes Genie, I would like to know why you are the only one respected by the Crush Warriors.”

            Genie told a story of how he became the village healer. Just like Abu, he himself was an orphan growing up and studied under the legendary healer known as Hitz. Hitz was a very wise man and passed on a great wealth of knowledge to Genie. After many years of study, Hitz had sent Genie on a quest and upon his return, Hitz was nowhere to be found and never to be seen again.

            They two finished their work on the warrior but kept him sedated while they ate dinner. It was during this time that Genie decided that Abu was finally ready. He said, “Abu, out of all the healing knowledge that I was taught, do you know what the most important thing I learned was?” Abu replied, “What is that Genie?” Genie continued, “You must never think that you are smarter or more cunning than you actually are because then you will find yourself in grave danger.” Then without warning, Genie announced he was tired and would lay down until the Crush warriors returned for their brother. As Abu had some free time while Genie was resting, he tried to grapple with the information that Genie had given him.

            Genie woke from his rest just a few short minutes before the Crush were supposed to arrive. He walked outside of the hut to see Abu starring up at the sky. He sat down next to him and asked if he was ready. Confused Abu asked, “What for?” Genie began to describe a quest that would lead Abu to face many challenges and great dangers.

            It was as if time stood still as Genie described to Abu the life changing adventure he was about to begin. The knowledge that great healers such as Genie and his mentor Hitz possessed could only be accessed through the mythical Purple Star. Ancient Tales tell a story of one magical evening in which the sky lit up in different shades of purple while a bright purple streak soared through the sky and crashed somewhere around the area that is home to the Crush people. It is said that this streak is the cherished Purple Star that provides great knowledge and wisdom. Being as valuable and rare as it is, the Purple Star is kept under heavy security through order of Blue Widow.

            As a whirlwind of unanswered questions spun around Abu’s head, Genie heard the Crush warriors approaching and quickly rushed into the hut. He came back out with a small vile of liquid and gave it Abu. He said, “My son, hurry up and drink this for it will make you invisible to the naked eye for long enough so you can follow the Crush people back to their palace. From this point on I will be no help to you. I assure you that you have learned a great deal as you have grown and are prepared for this journey. My last piece of advice is that you must use your mind and logic to defeat the challenges you will face, however you must always remember that you must never think you are smarter or more cunning than you actually are because then you will find yourself in grave danger.” As the Crush warriors approached Genie hugged Abu and went to show the warriors to their brother. Listening to the orders of his mentor, Abu drank the potion and prepared himself for the night he had ahead of him.

            Abu followed the Crush warriors for what seemed like hours before they arrived to the palace. He crouched slowly behind the walls of the palace, awaiting his opportunity to gain entry. Outside the gate was one lonely guard. Abu, remembering the lessons of his mentor Genie and the fact that the Crush people were not as smart as he was, he approached the guard and struck up conversation. The guard was on the defense, but still relaxed seeing as Abu was just an ordinary person and of no physical threat to him. As they talked briefly, the guard introduced himself as Yaba, and Abu waited for the signal. Yaba went on to tell Abu how he is the fastest of the warriors and can run for the longest. This was music to Abu’s ears as he quickly devised a plan to get rid of Yaba. He challenged Yaba to a race. Abu cunningly made up a secret tower in the middle of the forest that was supposedly filled with treasure, if Yaba could beat Abu in a race to the tower, he would be able to indulge in the riches that Abu spoke of. Thinking to himself, there is no way that this puny human could beat him in this race, Yaba quickly accepted the challenge and took off running into the forest. As he jumped over the gate into the palace, Abu chuckled to himself and said aloud, “If only this whole quest goes that easy.”

            Abu did not realize but Genie had planned for him to go at night because all of the Crush warriors were fast asleep during the wee hours of the morning. As Abu snuck around the palace looking for any corridors or secret paths that would lead him to the inner chambers he stumbled across a room with three large pillars in it. The intricately designed pillars were plated with gold and Abu decided that this was the correct way to get to where he needed to be.

            As he entered the golden room he was suddenly grabbed by two large hands and he found himself hanging by his feet as the culprit starred at him. Thinking quickly, Abu struck up a conversation with this brute of a Crush warrior. After a few moments of talking the Crush Warrior set him down and Abu marveled at his size. The warrior stood atleast 9 feet tall and was as wide as a small boat, but he had the intelligence of a bag of rocks. He introduced himself as Oz and told Abu how he guarded the room they were in which was known as Goldilocks. Confused at the name, Abu continued to talk to Oz and soon learned what he must do. Being the guardian of Goldilocks and its 3 pillars, Oz carried with him three separate keys that unlocked stairs to get to each different gold pillar and eventually out of the room.

            Abu realized that there was no way he could take a Crush warrior by pure physical strength, especially one of Oz’s size. He thought back to his youth when he would play hide and seek with kids around the village. He remembered how he would always be able to sneak away from the bigger kids because they were unable to move as quickly in tight spaces. As the plan came together, Abu asked Oz if he cared to play a game of hide and seek. With a little bit of coaxing, Oz agreed and Abu said that he would hide first. As Oz counted and walked around Goldilocks, Abu snuck behind him and was able to snatch two of the keys. When Oz approached the magic number of 50 and yelled out, “ready or not here I come!” Abu ducked into his hiding spot and waited until Oz found him.

            When he was found they both chuckled about the tiny spot that Abu fit into. Abu said to Oz, “go ahead, take a look in there and see how tiny it was.” When Oz poked his head in the small space, Abu gathered up as much strength as he could and drop kicked Oz in the back. This was a hit or miss plan and thankfully for Abu, it worked! Oz’s head and shoulders got jammed in the small hole and he could not get himself out. Abu quickly grabbed the last key and headed up the pillars to continue on his quest.

            As he exited Goldilocks, he walked into a dark room only to see under a ray of light, a small stone sitting on a table in the middle of the room. He thought to himself, it must be the Purple Star! He looked around and when he felt safe that there was nobody in the room with him, he went for the Purple Star. Before he could take more than two steps he was knocked to the floor with one swift blow to the chest. Stunned, he looked up to see Blue Widow, the leader of the Crush warriors. As Abu’s mind raced to try and figure a way out, Blue Widow mocked him for even trying to get close to the Purple Star. Feeling a bit confident from his past two endeavors with Crush warriors, Abu began to try and trick Blue Widow with riddles and even games. After a few tries with no success, Abu grew fearful for his life as Blue Widow yelled out, “Puny human, why do you waste my time with these silly games?”

 Seeing no way out other than a hopeful dash to the door, Abu sprang up and ran as quick as he could. When he was just in reach of his only escape route, Blue Widow pounced on him. Pinned to the floor under the mighty Crush leader, Abu began to panic. He thought back to Genie’s wise words and wished that his mentor were there to help him out. As Blue Widow raised his massive hand to deliver what would surely be a life-ending blow, with a flash of light and a cloud of smoke, Genie appeared in the room!

With great speed as if he were still in his youth, Genie yelled out words in a foreign tongue and a fireball shot from his hand striking Blue Widow square in the chest, setting him ablaze. The room then filled with smoke and Abu passed out.

When he woke still in a daze, he found himself back in Genie’s hut with the Purple Star sitting on their kitchen table. He went to get up and take a look at it but Genie told him to lie back down. Genie said to him, “Abu, did you not remember my words before you left?” Hanging his head, Abu said, “I am sorry Genie, I felt as if I always remembered them but when I had a bit of success, I did not think that anybody could out smart me.” Genie replied, “I know you are very smart and have learned a great deal throughout your studies, but you must know your limits.” Abu responded, “I know Genie, I understand now and appreciate you looking out for me and saving my life.” After a minute of silence Genie walked to the Purple Star and picked it up. With many questions running through his mind and anxious to get his hands on the Purple Star and its knowledge, Abu asked, “Genie how will I learn to know when I am not smart enough to get out of a situation I am stuck in?” Genie chuckled and simply replied, “Abu, when you know the answer to that question, you will truly be ready for the Purple Star.”