Everywhere, the atmosphere was one of unease, as fathers now lied to their sons and called it protection, while mothers turned cold and called it strength.
Everyone was vigilant as neighbors envied one another and called it ambition.
Chaos did not need to invade Kekedoke. It was born within it.
People's eyes grew heavy with greed and
Their words sharpened like razor blades in anger.
Their hearts hardened into stone-cold, and they became aggressive towards trivial things.
Children of Kekedoke learned not from wisdom again, but from wounds and pain.
“Trust no one,” they were told every time in any given significance.
“Take before you are taken.” some will tell their siblings.
Feel nothing and hold on to revenge are common slogans used by everyone and so the cycle feeds itself.
The land itself has begun to reflect its people and the waterfalls that beautify the land have darkened in color like charcoal and no visitor dared to pay them a visit.
“They are not humans anymore,” the people outskirt kekedoke would say.
“They are monsters wearing familiar faces.” Some will complement them.
“This chaos must not spread to the next generation” Gan told his colleagues, whom he had been researching with for years now, and all their arrow points at the Pandora Pandemic and the lost Citadel. It has been a situation in which all hands are on deck and fate smiles at them on this finding.
“The lost Citadel is found after the unclimbed mountain” Steven said pointing at a location he had asterisked on his map and after they all confirmed the location, the venture there.
And getting there in the present time in the city of Kekedoke and the sun is smiling bright up in the sky. They moved slowly along the mountain path as each of them carried a heavy pack filled with tools needed for the journey. The air grew thinner as they climbed as the wind tugged their clothes.
The team paused to study a worn map Cynthia brought out of a notebook she held which served as a clue. As they reached the crest and the world opened on the other side, a vast and untouched valley stretched in the distance. The journey had been exhausting but their eyes carried quite excitement and as everyone stepped down the mountain and walked closer to uncovering a piece of history that had been hidden for centuries.
Sinclair stated, “The bolds are the ones outside saying that they await what comes out of this journey even if it brings death. Few of the timid will be indoor depriving themselves of the privilege because of fear and the indifferent will always go on their activities as if nothing happened while the land is dying and now here we are” She smiled after a sip of water from her water bottle and before she concluded, the cloud stopped smiling.
The cloud changed its color to a thicker grey and the sun hid its light as if an eclipse was about to happen. Thunderous lightning displays vividly on the dark sky and its sounds echoed heavily as if there was a being or something that hid in the sky and screamed in anger.
All of a sudden, a golden chain was dropped down from the sky as if something or someone wanted to climb down to the earth from the center point of the troubled cloud. A silver structure was observed shining and dangling and descending down the sky as it was wrapped with a golden chain around its length and breadth.
Getting down, they saw that it was a coffin and looked extremely large. Everyone moved backwards apart from Gan. He looked closer and saw Pandora Pandemic inscribed on the center of the coffin.
“ Pandora Pandemic” he uttered loudly looking aback at others who trembled to the phrase they all heard in their mythical tale.
“ Do not touch it” Ken warned.
“ Whereas it is not what we are in search of” he continued.
Gan took his camera and snapped what was lying in front of him.
“ Even though we couldn't find the lost Citadel, this one is a mystery that must be known” Gan replied.
Others walked closer and they saw a book chained to the coffin which started, “ it's not about what is in the coffin”. The title captivated them and they looked at each other then broke the chain and took the book. Steven read its content to others who sat around the coffin.
The book stated,
“ They always said it began with Pandora Pandemic and the crack. They pointed at it as the source of the chaos and the creation of monsters without reckoning about what gave birth to it and what raised it up as a child. The unattended grass that grew wild, the lackadaisical ways that grew without mercy.
When laughter grew scarce and was replaced by suspicion and the environment ruled with force while corruption wasn't shocking. Then the collapse that took kindness and integrity as strange and foolish things.
Yes, Pandora Pandemic had been opened long ago.
Not by one person but by many people through pain passed down instead to heal.
Yes, there was one thing that the old tale never forget and it was that when chaos had escaped, hope remained.
Stopping the growth of chaos and monsters' creation is knowing that;
From failed parenting was born a failed vicinity.
And failed vicinity born failed environment.
While a failed environment born failed society.
So failed society born a failed nation, the one that created chaos and monsters.
Steven stopped reading knowing the book was the cure they were searching for and the team did nothing but give the coffin a befitting burial without trying to open it. They took the book back home to prove their research and drop the copy in their museum for it is noted in the book by their ancestors of Kekedoke that parents are the ones that born the chaos and monsters and they are the solution.