This story is by Neku Onoja and won the Readers’ Choice Award in our 2021 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.
Seventeen-year-old Neku Onoja has loved to write since she was eight and has a wealth of unpublished stories. Originally from Nigeria, she’s currently studying at Weil Tennis Academy in California, and has been accepted into George Fox University in Oregon. You can find her on Instagram (@nekuonoja) and TikTok (@btsarmy1015).
All alone with nothing left is Kekoa, the brave one who nearly escaped and also escaped being eaten by the piranhas. He is forced to go on a terrible journey as a punishment for his stubbornness, but before we get to that let’s step back in time to see how all of this happened.
To a small village located somewhere on an island known for its peace and unity with the people. But not everyone thought of the village this way because they were jealous of a prince called Kekoa. He is not only the heir to the throne, but he is also a spoiled child, who is believed to bring destruction rather than peace to the village. Well, at least that’s what they think.
One instance that proves his demise is when he was walking in the market one day as people looked with both fear and disgust, as Kekoa stopped and looked around with a smirk. As soon as he smirked, everyone disappeared but his next victim. As he approached his next victim, shaking in fear, he opened his mouth. His teeth were that of a shark, and from his throat to his mouth came a glowing bright light which was sucking the soul out of his victim, every single drop out of him.
“Ha!” rejoiced Kekoa. “Now who could dare stop me now, for yet I have another victim and there is no one here who can stop me. Hahaha!”
He rejoiced like he was invincible, but unknowingly to him, the angels heard of this and had enough. They went to tell God of his doing before he would torture more innocent people’s souls.
“Ancient One!” exclaimed Angel Micheal.
“What is it, Angel Michael?” asked God.
“Father, it is Kekoa. He . . .” explained Michael.
“I know,” God interrupted with a look on his face.
“So what do we do, Father?” asked Micheal.
“I shall go down there and talk to him myself,” replied God.
“But Father . . .” complained Michael.
“Do not worry, for he is my child whom I shall not touch or harm, but I shall punish him for his selfishness,” explained God. “Now that we know the plan, we shall go.”
“Yes, King!” exclaimed both angels.
“Open the gate!” God commanded.
As the gates of heaven opened under His command, and as the angels prepared with their weapons and armor, they went through the gate which led to heaven. As they arrived, the Earth began to shake like that of an earthquake, the animals hiding in fear as they heard the footsteps of the Lord getting bigger. Even the birds scattered into the air as they felt His presence. The village people too could feel His presence and fled to hide, but the Lord only came for Seiko.
“Prince Kekoa, why art thou hiding from me?” God questioned.
“My, my, my Lord!” Prince Kekoa exclaimed. “I have not forsaken thee, my Lord.”
“Then why are you torturing and killing innocent blood?” God demanded.
“I, I . . .” Prince Kekoa stammered, putting his head down in shame.
“For you have not changed, Kekoa, and as such I shall punish for eternity,” God decided.
“No, my Lord! Anything but eternal punishment, I beg of you,” pleaded Prince Kekoa.
“You should have thought of that before killing my people. From now on, as part of your punishment, you shall not be human anymore, for I shall turn you into a werewolf who shall wander into the wilderness of the Forbidden Forest for eternity, and you will not eat or drink as you do your punishment,” God declared.
Just as God commanded, his body began to change. His hands and legs turned into a werewolf, his ears as long and hairy as a werewolf, his nose long and wet, his teeth sharp and long, his eyes glowing as bright as a star, his face and body full of hair. With despair and shame, he could not carry all these burdens. So He decided to lighten the burden he carried.
“I know all this burden may seem too much for you, but since you are still my child, I shall let no one nor nothing harm you, for you are anointed,” God explained. “Now go, and begone from me, and face your punishment.”
“Yes, my Lord.” Prince Kekoa obeyed as he proceeded into the Forbidden Forest.
“My Lord, why did you not just kill him and get over with it?” Angel Michael asked.
“Why would I? For he is still one of my children, and I love all my children whether bad or good. I still love them especially when they seem to be non-perfect,” explained God.
“But Abba, Kekoa has killed so many people. Why do you forgive so easily when the cries of the innocent people are pleading for mercy?” Angel Micheal questioned.
“I am aware of the people he killed, but he is still my child and I still love him. Now is there anything you still want me to explain?” God asked.
“No . . .” replied Angel Michael.
“Look,” God said, as he put his hand on his shoulder. “I know you are angry, and you have every right to be, but that is my child, and deserves to live, for it is not yet his time to die,” God explained.
“Alright, Father. For I trust you and have no right to doubt you because you always tell the truth and everything you say always has a reason for it.” Angel Michael obeyed.
So God and Angel Michael prepared to go back to heaven, while Kekoa, who was a werewolf, began to wander in the forest: hoping to please God, but when he thought he could he found two creatures who looked like mermaids, only this time they had legs.
Note the conversation going on is between Keiko and Seiko. Seiko is the first to speak followed by Keiko.
“Well hello there,” said one of the mermaids. “Are you lost, little one? If you are, you could come with us.”
“Stop it, Keiko.”
“Why, Seiko? You always love to spoil the fun. Hmph.”
“Well, because this is an anointed one, and we are not allowed to touch.”
“You mean . . .”
“Yes, he’s one of them. Besides, no normal person would come here unless they have a reason to.”
“Well, I guess that explains it. Come on, Seiko, let’s get out of here.”
“Hold on!”
“What?”
“He looks lost shouldn’t we help him.”
“What?! Are you crazy? Do you know He belongs to God, and we are not allowed to touch him or go near him for whatever reason at all?”
“I know already, but we still have to help him.”
“Oh please. Don’t you remember when God abandoned us when we needed Him most?”
“Abandoned? He didn’t abandon us; we betrayed Him, remember? We fell for the devil’s trap and it disappointed Him a lot, but we still have a chance to change and go back to Him.”
“But what if He doesn’t want us back?”
“Well, I hope that won’t happen.”
“See! Even if you are not sure about it, how do you know?”
“Because He is a good God who will always be there for us, for He loves us. Now come on, let’s go.”
As Kekoa watched the interaction between these two creatures, he noticed something about Seiko which he had never known before. He saw the humility and loyalty in which Keiko showed how much she loved God by displaying just how much she really loved God. All this left him speechless and made him realize he needed to drop his pride, so he could change to please both himself and God.
Kekoa knew he could not do this alone, so he decided to ask for Keiko and Seiko’s help, but to tell them was impossible because he could not talk which was part of the punishment he got as a werewolf. So now he knew he was doomed, for he did not know any other way to tell him. So in order to get their action, he decided to act like a werewolf.
“What is it? You can’t talk because it is part of your punishment for pride and selfishness, isn’t it? Oh wow, that’s sad, but you want to make it up to God by restoring yourself,” Seiko interpreted.
“Wow! That’s a lot to understand for an animal interpreter,” Keiko exclaimed.
“Why thank you,” Seiko replied sarcastically.
They both looked at each other and just laughed. This made Kekoa’s heart filled with warmth, for he had never had this feeling for a while. Just when everything seemed to be perfect, the ground began to shake and the ground opened which swallowed both Keiko and Seiko. Kekoa, left alone, ran and ran thinking he escaped only to be found in the river where the piranhas were eating him alive.
Kekoa tried to fight so much and struggled, but luckily for him, he managed to survive his death as God promised. Left all alone, Kekoa was left to walk all alone in despair, and continue to go on his journey on his own, for he had learned the consequences of his actions. What will happen next? Who will be his next helper? Are Keiko and Seiko still alive? These questions are to be answered in the next story.
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