UNDER THE NORTH STAR GLOW
Gavin Walker — Grade 8
There was once an old man . He was a farmer . He raised all types of animals , pigs , sheep , cows . One day , he looked around , and realized , where is he ? He doesn ’ t remember coming to this farm , nor does he remember anything before . All of a sudden , he felt very distressed . He went on a tractor to clear his mind . Nothing . He now felt terrified . Where was he ? Who was he ? He ’ d only known himself as ‘ Old Man ’ he didn ’ t have a name , a wife , children , nothing except him , his tractor , and his pigs . The sheep and cows are long gone at this point , or , did they even exist ? Were they a trick of his mind ? Yes , he never raised cows or sheep . In fact , did he raise pigs ? Did he even live as a farmer ? At this point , he doesn ’ t think he is . Maybe he ’ s a train conductor ? Then why is the farm here , and why is there still pigs ? He looked around again . He remembered a road . An old , dilapidated road . But nothing was there . He tried to remember , something , anything . But nothing came . Was something running him ? No , that ’ s preposterous . How can someone run no one ?
Why did he say that ? He ’ s not no one , he ’ s someone . He had a life outside of this . He had a wife , he had children and- “ Then why aren ’ t they here ?” A voice called out from the darkness that now enveloped the old man . He hadn ’ t realized it was night . He could see the North Star . “ W-who said that !” The old man , now frightened , had called out . No answer . Maybe it was apart of his imagination too , just like those sheep ’ s and cows . But , now he could hear them calling . All Their ‘ moos ’ and ‘ baas ’ and ‘ oinks ’ he could hear them crystal clear , like it was his ear receiving the terrible noise . They grew louder , and louder . More animals joined in the mix , horses neighing , chickens clucking , cats meowing , dogs barking , bees buzzing , spiders crawling , donkeys heehawing . He could hear things that aren ’ t barn animals . Whales calling , bears roaring , hell he could hear dragons roaring , somehow , he could even hear the North Star glowing . “ STOP IT !” The old man screamed . But no one could hear him .
The old man awoke to a white room . There , reality struck him . There was no wife , there was no children , at least not anymore . Did you know ? 106 people die every minute . That night , it was more .