The Death of the Father of Daniel | Teen Ink

The Death of the Father of Daniel

June 27, 2011
By Fritz17236 SILVER, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
Fritz17236 SILVER, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
9 articles 0 photos 0 comments

A son. Born into the wealth of love, shown nothing but the pure joy of family throughout his life. Daniel is the son of a highly respected nobleman, who fought valiantly against the savages in the first confrontation war. His father is solely responsible for the victory of Terrus, and earned medals from the three high chiefs of the court. He has published several books of scientific theory and has gained vast recognition as such. Few men have ever lived with such achievements as Daniel’s father has. He is truly a bastion of all that is good in the world. Daniel, son of his father, is a young, naïve, and ambitious lad, who wish to outshine his father by becoming the most famous man in all of history. However, a debilitation with his eyes prevents him from enlisting. Discouraged, but nevertheless, driven on the eve March The 3rd, 1633, Daniel is visited by an ethereal being, whose intentions are unknown.

Whilst sleeping, Daniel finds himself, visited by a breathless apparition, its eyes cold and dark as the empty void of a lightless sky. This apparition spoke in words that seemed little more than wisps of air gently blowing on a calm night. It said “Find for me the body of a warrior, the mind of a scholar, and the soul of a saint and I will grant you the everlasting glory, which you so vehemently desire”. In awe by the supernatural spectacle, Daniel found himself at a loss for words. Could this be simply a dream? Or is it something more real? Calling out into the darkness, Daniel received no reply. Assuming it was a dream, he ignored the encounter for the time being.

Another night came, and Daniel found himself again visited by the apparition. This time, however it was clear that the being was real, for it lit a flame upon its finger and seared Daniels chest with a bloodcurdling touch. The apparition said no words, however and evaporated in to a mist. With his painful wound, Daniel realized that this was no dream.
“The body of a warrior”, thought Daniel. “Where would I find such a corporeality?”. After contemplating, he finally realized that the graveyard would be the most suitable place to search. He dug up the grave of a fallen war hero, and in the midst of night, drug it back to his home, secretly hiding it in the old abandoned shed next to his house. Next was the mind of a scholar. Daniel was puzzled by this concept, but eventually came to the conclusion that the mind is in the brain, therefore, he would the brain of an intelligent fellow.

Dagger in hand, Daniel snuck into the local library, the candles softly lighting the small room just enough to reveal a shrewd figure. A frail old teacher of the ancient ways of astronomy, the old man’s withered skin showed years of age and a long, fruitful life. Entangled with fear, Daniel can hear the apparition’s words rippling through his mind. In a frustration of horror, he grabs the dagger and proceeds to sever the head of the old teacher, storing it in the old shack.
Stricken with horror by his deeds, Daniel begins to find himself struggling to maintain his calm. The thoughts are racing through his head as a swarm of wild bees to the defense of their nest. Overwhelmed, Daniel rests the night. When he awoke he saw a headless body of the teacher standing over him, along with the limp carrion-ridden corpse of the warrior. Horrified and shocked by the grotesque image of his awakening, Daniel grabs the still bloody dagger and in a violent rage of terror, viciously stabs and attacks the seemingly undead aA son. Born into the wealth of love, shown nothing but the pure joy of family throughout his life. Daniel is the son of a highly respected nobleman, who fought valiantly against the savages in the first confrontation war. His father is solely responsible for the victory of Terrus, and earned medals from the three high chiefs of the court. He has published several books of scientific theory and has gained vast recognition as such. Few men have ever lived with such achievements as Daniel’s father has. He is truly a bastion of all that is good in the world. Daniel, son of his father, is a young, naïve, and ambitious lad, who wish to outshine his father by becoming the most famous man in all of history. However, a debilitation with his eyes prevents him from enlisting. Discouraged, but nevertheless, driven on the eve March The 3rd, 1633, Daniel is visited by an ethereal being, whose intentions are unknown.

Whilst sleeping, Daniel finds himself, visited by a breathless apparition, its eyes cold and dark as the empty void of a lightless sky. This apparition spoke in words that seemed little more than wisps of air gently blowing on a calm night. It said “Find for me the body of a warrior, the mind of a scholar, and the soul of a saint and I will grant you the everlasting glory, which you so vehemently desire”. In awe by the supernatural spectacle, Daniel found himself at a loss for words. Could this be simply a dream? Or is it something more real? Calling out into the darkness, Daniel received no reply. Assuming it was a dream, he ignored the encounter for the time being.

Another night came, and Daniel found himself again visited by the apparition. This time, however it was clear that the being was real, for it lit a flame upon its finger and seared Daniels chest with a bloodcurdling touch. The apparition said no words, however and evaporated in to a mist. With his painful wound, Daniel realized that this was no dream.
“The body of a warrior”, thought Daniel. “Where would I find such a corporeality?”. After contemplating, he finally realized that the graveyard would be the most suitable place to search. He dug up the grave of a fallen war hero, and in the midst of night, drug it back to his home, secretly hiding it in the old abandoned shed next to his house. Next was the mind of a scholar. Daniel was puzzled by this concept, but eventually came to the conclusion that the mind is in the brain, therefore, he would the brain of an intelligent fellow.

Dagger in hand, Daniel snuck into the local library, the candles softly lighting the small room just enough to reveal a shrewd figure. A frail old teacher of the ancient ways of astronomy, the old man’s withered skin showed years of age and a long, fruitful life. Entangled with fear, Daniel can hear the apparition’s words rippling through his mind. In a frustration of horror, he grabs the dagger and proceeds to sever the head of the old teacher, storing it in the old shack.
Stricken with horror by his deeds, Daniel begins to find himself struggling to maintain his calm. The thoughts are racing through his head as a swarm of wild bees to the defense of their nest. Overwhelmed, Daniel rests the night. When he awoke he saw a headless body of the teacher standing over him, along with the limp carrion-ridden corpse of the warrior. Horrified and shocked by the grotesque image of his awakening, Daniel grabs the still bloody dagger and in a violent rage of terror, viciously stabs and attacks the seemingly undead apparitions. It is only after the bloodshed, does Daniel realize that the corpses were not corpses at all, but were now the brutally murdered bodies of his own mother and father. They had been worried, as Daniel had been ill with a fever in the past night.

Daniel no longer had any sense of comprehension of emotion; his violent atrocities completely isolated him from the pain he would sense. Instead, all he could think about was the soul of the saint, his final goal in his self-consuming quest for glory. Just then, he could hear a loud rumbling tremor, and from below the floor rose the apparition, this time in full physical form, as it had left a sizable hole filled with dirt in the floor. It said “You have brought me these three things, and as such, I will grant you the fame in which you seek. As your father was well known for his accomplishments, you will be even more well known for yours”
“But I have done nothing to earn the glory of man”. Daniel asserted
“indeed you have, in fact, you will be even more well known as the butcher of one of the finest men who ever lived, you will join the graces of Judas, and Brutus, as the betrayer of the good, and with that I bid you farewell”. As if he was never there, the apparition disappeared, back into its hole, and as if it were reversed, the chasm left by the entrance of the apparition, shrank away into null.
After being arrested, and convicted for his crimes, Daniel was sentenced to death. Before his execution he cried out in shame, to apologize to his father, and repent his sins. As the life left him, the apparition slowly appeared to consume the soul escaping Daniel’s body, as it originally had intended.


The author's comments:
The short story was an assignment meant incorporate the themes of Shakespeare's Macbeth into a new work of fiction.

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