Creative Story – Hero’s Journey
Adam | Silverton Primary School
Primary English | Term 1 2021
Japan was in its technological age, there was activity everywhere, the streets buzzing with cars, shops opening left and right and the economy was booming. That is when Akira was born, under Benjiro Kamado and Ichika Kamado, of the wealthy family of the Kamado. Akira didn’t have many problems, although having lots of trouble and stress with school, despite all the extensions/tutoring her parents gave her, which Akira declined and continued to endure it for the rest of middle school. If there was any ‘eventful day’ this would probably be it. On her first day of high school, Akira went out to the shop to buy a coat, despite it being quite a warm day. When she put it on, she noticed some strange kanji sewn into it. 真夜中の西郷隆盛銅像に行かなければならない彼女は、犬の左耳を3回軽くたたき、通路が開くのを待ちます。通路を通り抜け、地図を入手し、地図に従って動物の精神を解き放ちます。
Adam | Silverton Primary School
Which roughly translates to:
“Having to go to the statue of Saigo Takamori in the middle of the night, she taps the dog’s left ear three times and waits for the passage to open. Go through the aisles, get a map and follow the map to unleash the Dōbutsu no seishin, or Spirit of the animal.” Akira, sceptical at first, overlooked it. However, she was also looking for any excuse to skip school.
After Akira packed all of her clothes, food, and everything she would need for this journey, she realized one indisputable fact. She was just a high school student, with no licence or money. But that didn’t stop her, as she set off on one of the bicycles that her parents gave her on her 7th birthday. When she arrived at the statue however, things started to get a little bit difficult. Akira’s first trial was to figure out a way to get the guards of the statue away from the statue. Akira didn’t have many choices. Literally being a middle school student 2 months ago didn’t help either. The attributes of a monkey, as you may know, are that they are quite agile, with their ability to swing from branch to branch and have clever and fine use of their tail. They say that a monkey, in terms of intelligence, cannot surpass a human. However, when it comes to physical ability, it is the human, who cannot surpass the assumed inferior monkey. With that in mind, Akira used that to her advantage, by first catching the guards off guard (hmph, guess they failed at their job), with the stupidity visible from a monkey. Then, when they calmly approached, she jumped them, pinning them to the ground, one after another, and using tape and rope from her bag, she successfully subdued the guards. As Akira was instructed, she tapped the dog’s ear 3 times, walked down the aisles, and obtained the map. However, bad news struck, as the final location of the map was Mount Sagiri, home to the Akuma no dōbutsu, or ‘demon’s animals’. Regardless, Akira had that strange feeling in her body, a strange feeling that made her sure that this was right, and that she must press on.
After a stop in the city, and devouring the meat buns in the nearest bakery, she wasted no time, making her way to Mount Sagiri. The path to Mount Sagiri wasn’t that populated, as most people feared it for having the Akuma no dōbutsu inhabiting the mountain. However, yet another problem arose on Akira’s journey. Her bicycle tire had popped, and lost all air from the tire. So she had spent nearly 2 days just trying to find a pump to rent for her bicycle. She had finally found a pump for rent, but the owner (who reeked of onigiri) and Akira had some issues. The owner had said the pump was no longer for hire, and she must pay at least 1000 yen. In minor annoyance, she wasn’t all that fazed, as being in a wealthy family can get you to a lot of places. As Akira gave the 1000 yen to the owner, the owner hastily swiped the 1000 yen, ripping both the notes, from Akira’s hand. When Akira stood back up, she no longer saw a human, but a bloodthirsty, demonic wolf, with its eyes red as blood itself. In less time than it takes to blink, the wolf landed another deadly swipe at Akira, not only did it leave her unconscious, but summoned another wolf! When someone’s life flashes before their eyes, it isn’t just some phrase people say when they’re about to die, it is actually more than that. It is when someone is about to die, and their body is going through all his/her past memories, in order for that person to find a memory that can help them survive. In this case, Akira slowly started to remember a time, when she was 6 years old. Her parents had taken her to a statue of the Buddhist. “Doesn’t it look lovely, Akira?” Ichika said in such a gentle voice. “We owe all of our fortune, the food we eat and drink, the clothes we wear, the intelligence we have, we owe it all to the gods. Without them, we would all be lost. I’m sure you are already aware of all of the gods, and their names, but I am sure you have never heard, of Yasei dōbutsu no megami, or just Megami, she was the goddess of the wild animal, every living animal obeyed her without question, and she had the power to manipulate the animals in any way she wanted, she could give life to animals, she could give them sickness, she could cure them, she could take their life,” Benjiro explained. “Then why have I never heard of her?” Akira questioned. “Well, the answer to that is simple. She was cast out by all the other gods, forsaken and forgotten. However, her legacy was never forgotten, as our ancestors passed on her story all the way down to us; your mother and I were not able to take in the spirit of Megami, but we believe that you, our sweet daughter, can inherit her legacy.” Benjiro explained. And with that knowledge, Akira awoke, and with a swift wave of her hand, the demonic look in the wolves eyes vanished. Just as Akira was about to enter the mountain she heard a desperate cry, broken, yet hauntingly angelic. Akira knew something wasn’t right, and that strange feeling in her body vanished, and she had lost all hope for this journey.
