Awaken

“She’s here,” whispered an ancient Brazil nut tree.
“Yes, I know. I can see her,” said the other tree.
“Can you guys be quiet? I’m trying to hear what she’s saying,” snapped the rubber tree.
“I really need to show them this jungle, Papaya,” I said as I watched my marmoset monkey swing from branch to branch. 
I am a twelve-year-old girl who lives in a small village in Brazil with my aunt. I climbed up one of the trees.
“I just love it here,” I said as I bit into a juicy mango.
I climbed back down, gripping the vines and ridges of the bark . “Papaya, come. We need to go home!” I shouted.
The marmoset came down and climbed onto my shoulder. I stroked its soft fur as we walked back home.
I opened the woven door and sat down on the mustard yellow chair. Papaya crawled off my shoulder and sat on the light fixture made of rope and shells.
“Shea, you're late again,” chuckled my aunt as she handed me a bowl of chicken and rice soup.
“I know. I can’t help it, and neither can Papaya,” I said as Papaya hung upside down and chirped.
“Did you go past the mango tree?” asked Aunt Mia.
“No,” I replied.
“Good,” said Aunt Mia.
I had never worked out why I couldn't go past it, but I followed the rule every time.


“Aunt, what is past the mango tree?” I asked nervously.
My aunt never liked me asking questions about the mango tree, but I needed to know.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Aunt Mia.
“But it does matter because you won’t let me—”
“I said it doesn’t matter!” she interrupted.
I walked to my room with Papaya and shut the door.
“She is definitely hiding something,” I muttered.

That night, I went to bed thinking about the mango tree. I started to dream. I could see dark silhouettes in the grey cloudy sky. They were chanting something. Something in a different language. The only word I recognised was Masia but I had no clue what it meant.
In the morning, I woke up and walked into the living room. For breakfast, I made a mixture of seeds, fruit, and yogurt. Once I had gotten dressed into my red T-shirt and skirt, I headed outside and into the village.
It was Miji Day, and I was getting ready to compete against the Jaguars.
Miji was a sport where you raced through underground tunnels and surfaced through different holes to collect fruit. Members of your team guarded the fruit so the other team couldn’t steal it. Whichever team collected the most fruit won.
The Jaguars had never lost, but this year we were going to change that. 
I gathered my team (Jade and Sevia )then walked through the village to the starting line.
“I’ll see you at the finish line,” said a girl from the Jaguars with a grin.
“We’ll see about that,” I replied.
“Three, two, one!” shouted the referee as he blew his whistle.
I jumped into the Miji hole and began to run. The tunnel was cold and dark, but that made it easier to spot the beams of light coming from the Miji holes ahead.

I spotted a Miji hole and stuck my head out of it. I could see one of the other team's players guarding a fruit tree.
How am I going to get that fruit? I wondered.
Then an idea popped into my head.
“Yes! I have a plan.”
I picked up a rock and ran to the other Miji hole and threw it up the hole. Then I quickly ran back to the hole closest to the tree. As the player peered down the other hole to investigate the noise, I climbed out and raced toward the tree.
I scrambled up the trunk and picked as much fruit as I could carry. Then I carefully climbed back down, trying not to drop any,and sprinted toward the nearest Miji hole.
“Hey!” shouted the player as he spotted me and started running in my direction.
My heart pounded with excitement, as if someone were playing a bongo inside my chest.
I jumped into the tunnel and stuck my tongue out at her before disappearing into the darkness.
I kept running(the dirt spraying up from behind me)until I found another Miji hole. I looked up. There wasn't a player guarding it. I felt a small wave of relief 
I climbed out and glanced around, just to be sure.
I was past the mango tree.
My stomach tightened.
Ruins were surrounding me. Crumbling stone walls poked through the jungle vines, and broken paths wound between them. It looked as though a village had once stood here. I heard a small rustle.
“Hello?” I called.
“Hello?” replied a voice exactly like mine.
I spun around.
“Show yourself!” I shouted.
“Show yourself!” the voice echoed.

A beautiful girl stepped out from behind a ruined wall.
Her piercing blue eyes seemed to glow in the sunlight, and her blonde hair sparkled like gold. She looked at me.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I am Akita,” the girl replied, inching closer.
She wore torn clothes and what looked like a strange black furry scarf around her neck. But as she stepped forward, I noticed the scarf was moving.
My eyes widened.
The furry shape untied itself and climbed down from her shoulders.
It wasn't a scarf at all.
It was a binturong.
I stared in amazement. Binturongs were extremely rare, and for some reason they were never seen in our jungle.
Akita and I sat down among the ruins and began to talk. 
“Were you mimicking me?” I asked 
“Yes, I’m quite good at mimicking other creatures,” she answered.
She made a call that sounded like a monkey.
“Wow,” I exclaimed while laughing.
“How did you get here?” I asked.
“I can't remember.”
“Where are you from?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” said Akita.
“Where are your parents?”
She paused for a moment and looked down at the ground.
“Oh,” I said quietly.
In her hand, she was holding a charm shaped like a swallow, with tiny pearls in a nest beneath it like eggs.
Then she started singing a song.
It was the same song my mum used to sing to me when I was younger.
I joined in.
“Soon you'll fly like swallows in the sky,” Akita and I sang together.
She looked at me in surprise.
“How do you know that song?” asked Akita.
“My mum used to sing it to me. Then she would say...” I began.
“You will fly one day,” we both said at the same time.
My eyes widened.

My mum had a charm just like Akita's. 
I stood up.
“I need to get back to the game. Bye,” I said.
I reached into my basket and handed her a dragon fruit.
“Here. You can have this.” She grabbed it and placed it at the bottom of the tree.
“Im giving it back to nature,”she said.
“Oh, ok. Bye,”I said as I started to walk away.
“Beware of the jaguars,” Akita said. I turned around.
“Thanks, but we're going to beat them this time,” I replied with a grin.
“No, I mean—” she started.
But before she could finish, I jumped back into the Miji hole and began running through the tunnel.
That was weird, I thought.
As I approached another Miji hole, something in my pocket began to glow red.
I stopped and pulled it out.
It was the shell my mum had given me.
The red light pulsed gently in my hand.
Then I heard a voice.
“Stop.”
I froze.
The voice was faint, almost like a whisper carried by the wind.
“Stop.”
I looked around, but there was no one there.
It's probably my imagination, I thought.
I shoved the shell back into my pocket and continued running.

When I reached the Miji hole, I looked up.
A row of enormous teeth hung above the opening.
My heart lurched.
I ducked just as a giant jaw snapped shut with tremendous force.

It was a jaguar. “So that’s what she meant,” I thought. The jaguar leaped into the hole and started chasing me. I ran as fast as I could. Every breath felt like sandpaper scraping my throat. I wanted to give up, but I kept running. 

Just as the jaguar was gaining on me, I heard that voice again. “Use the shell,” it said. I looked down. There was a symbol on the shell. I touched it. It glowed, and the jaguar bolted away. “I guess jaguars don’t like light,” I muttered. 

I sprinted to the finish line and scrambled out of the hole. The other player and I handed our baskets to the judge. 

“I have an unfortunate announcement,” the judge said. “Sevia from the hummingbird team is dead. There was a jaguar attack.” 

The crowd gasped. Sevia was my best friend. 

“Because the team lost a player, they’re awarded five extra fruits,” the judge continued. He counted up the baskets. “It was very close… but the winner is… The Hummingbirds.” 

I didn’t feel happy about the win. We won because Sevia was gone. 

I walked home in silence. “Did you—” Aunt started. 
I went to my room and slammed the door. I didn’t care about winning anymore. All I could think about was Sevia.

It was night. I slipped out of bed and tiptoed toward Aunt’s room. She was asleep, thankfully. 

I stepped closer and eased open the bedside drawer. The key was cold in my hand. I shut the door behind me as quietly as I could and crept into the living room. 

“Yes,” I whispered as the lock clicked open. 

I ran to the jungle with the papaya and pushed through to the ruins. “Akita? Are you here?” I called, stepping deeper into the ruined village. 

Akita sat on the ground, sketching the symbols carved into the walls. 
“What are you doing?” I asked. 
“Trying to decipher them,” she said without looking up. “I know this one means ‘spirit,’ but I don’t know the others.”

“That symbol means ‘Awaken,’” I said. 
“How do you know?” Akita frowned. 
“I just… know. I don’t know how,” I admitted. 

She wrote it down. I sat beside her, staring at the carvings until a word clicked. “I think I know what it says!” I grabbed a stick and scratched it into the dirt. “Two sisters will awaken us again and our spirits will be cured.” I looked up at her. “Do you think that’s us?”

We stared at each other. 
“Are we… sisters?” I whispered. 

A loud grinding noise rumbled from one of the walls.



“What was that?” I whispered. 

A huge opening had appeared in the wall, dark and cave-like. We stepped through carefully. 

“Wow,” Akita breathed as we looked around. Crystals covered every surface, like we were inside a giant geode. A beam of light hit them and shattered across the room, turning the walls into a web of rainbows. 

In the center stood a staff, symbols engraved down its length. 
“It looks like something should go here,” I said, running my finger over a hollow in the wood. 
“What is this place?” Akita asked. 

“Look, what’s this?” I picked up a butterfly carved from gold. It was light and warm in my palm. 
“Cool,” Akita said, eyes wide. 

“Wait— it’s almost morning. I have to go home,” I said. 
“Bye,” I whispered as I ducked back out.

I sprinted home and eased the door open. “Papaya, sshh,” I breathed as I tiptoed to my room. I closed the door and slipped into bed.

Morning came fast. I grabbed a slice of toast and told Aunt, “I’ll be back soon,” then bolted out the door. 

I ran back to the ruins. “I’m back!” I called, heading straight for Akita. 
“Hi,” she said. We hurried to the cave together. 

“What happened?” Akita asked as we stepped inside. 

I stopped. “The crystals… the staff… the gold. It’s all gone.” 

Akita frowned. “What did we do last time to make it open?”


“Are we sisters?” Akita said, shrugging. 
“Two sisters will awaken,” I said. 

The beam of light swept over the cave, and suddenly it was back to normal. We stepped inside. 

“I think I’m getting the hang of these symbols,” I said, walking toward the staff. “This one says ‘butterfly’ and ‘swift goes circles around the moon inside the sun.’” 
“What does that mean?” Akita asked. 
“Maybe it’s instructions for awakening whoever ‘us’ is,” I said, tracing the carvings with my finger. “Wait… what does this do?” I pressed a moon-shaped button. 

The staff slid out of the hole. I grabbed it. “Butterfly and swift. Your swift charm and this butterfly.” 

We placed them in the hollow of the staff. 
“They fit,” I said as we lifted it toward the sun. 
“Wait— swift and butterfly goes circles around the moon,” Akita said, turning the staff slowly. “Inside the sun,” she added, pointing to the sun shape at the top of the staff.
“Yes. But we’ll have to do it when the moon’s out,” I said, slotting the staff back into the hole. 
“We can wait,” Akita said. 

“What do you think will happen when we awaken the people?” Akita asked as we leaned against one of the mossy walls. 
“I don’t know,” I said. And for the first time, that scared me.

“Shea Fara!” Aunt shouted, arms crossed. “What are you doing here?” 
“Um, I just saw a girl and thought she was lost,” I lied. 

Aunt grabbed my arm and dragged me home. She slammed the door and forced me into a chair. 
“Why did you go past the mango tree?!” Aunt yelled. 
“Oh, did I?” 
“Shea,” Aunt said, her voice low and warning. 
“Fine. I sort of… ended up there,” I admitted, twisting my hands. “Are you gonna tell me why I can’t go past there, then?” I crossed my arms. 

Aunt sighed. “You have ancestors with great power, Shea. Magical ancestors. If you awaken them, they’ll unleash a curse over this world.” 
“Akita!” I gasped. I bolted out of the house.

I sprinted into the jungle, dodging vines and slapping leaves out of my face. “Akita!” I screamed. 

Akita was almost done turning the staff in a full circle. 
“Akita, NO!” I lunged and ripped the staff from her hands. 
“What are you doing, Shea!” Akita shouted, grabbing it back. 
“I’m stopping you from ending the world!” I yelled, yanking it away. 
“Well, I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that,” Akita said. She tripped me up and I crashed to the ground. She snatched the staff. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this moment, Princess.” 

“Princess?” I stuttered. 

Suddenly everything went dark and all the light faded away.

Have you ever felt like the fate of the world was in your hands? Like you wanted to give up, but you knew you had to keep fighting? When everything came down to just one last step?

I’m lying on the ground, not sure what’s real. I blinked and pushed myself up. Across the cave, Akita was circling the staff around the moon carved into the wall. 

I forced myself forward. Every inch felt like pushing through an invisible wall of air. 
“Just one last step,” I whispered to myself. I shoved through the forcefield and ripped the staff from Akita’s grasp. Then I ran. 

I burst into my house, scanning for somewhere to hide it. 
“Shea!” Aunt gasped, running toward me. 
“Where did you—” 
“Hide it,” I said, shoving the staff into her hands. My palms were sweaty. 
“But—” 
“Hide it,” I said again, voice shaking. 

Aunt crossed to an empty wall, pressed her palm against it, and a hidden cupboard clicked open. She placed the staff inside. “It should be safe for now,” she said. 

The door exploded open. 
“What do we have here?” Akita sneered. “A princess, her aunt, and a monkey.” 
“Why do you keep calling me princess?” I said. 
“Oh, you didn’t know?” Akita smiled. “Our mum was leader of the Masia tribe.”
 “The dream,” I whispered. “What,” Akita said, frowning. 
 “Nothing,” I said.
 She held out her hand.
 “Give me the staff.” 

Aunt opened the secret cupboard and handed the staff to Akita. 
“What are you doing?” I cried as the cupboard shut. 

“Look,” Aunt said quietly. She opened her hand. The gold butterfly gleamed in her palm. “You need to go to the animal realm and awaken them,” Aunt said. She pressed the shell into my hand. 

Light swallowed me. 

I was standing in a glowing jungle. A mysterious voice echoed around me: “Say ‘Awaken’ to awaken them.” 
“Awaken.”