Crown of Inferno & Blood

Once upon a time, a princess bargained for a wish to a demon.

***

“I wish for the power to protect my kingdom and shower it with boundless fortunes.”

The demon raised an animated eyebrow. “Are you willing to pay the price, if you make that wish?”

“If it helps me to save my kingdom from war, then yes.”

A smirk crawled onto the demon’s disfigured face, and he gave her a wishbone. “You can wish for anything you’d like. But beware that your wishing days will come to an end.”

***

“My dear Solene, you have an incredible power. One that can bring boundless fortunes to your kingdom. But it can bring destruction and chaos to it as well.”

“How do I control it?”

“Use it with great care. Until you reach the age of twenty-one, you will be able to control your power. But once you turn said age, you will never be the same princess as you were before.”

***

It had been seven years of showering Acordia in heavenly fortunes, and since the war she had won. However, those seven years of wishing had taken its toll on the young Princess Solene.

She must choose between staying with her family and risking their lives in peril, or isolate herself and win a battle inside herself.

The frost-crusted and snow-plowed gravel crunched softly beneath the sole of Solene’s lace-up boots. Her hands, freezing cold and ghostly pale from lack of sunlight were tucked inside the scarlet coat she had draped on. She hadn’t bothered to put on a pair of gloves; her body was able to withstand the weather far longer than the average of a normal human’s.

            Despite the sharp, raw weather, soldiers were wandering across the frosted streets – their occasional barks of orders cutting through the hushed air. Acordia, even though powdered by mounds of snow and crusted by frost, obtained its own beauty even in the iciest conditions that would have aroused aversions in other countries. Winter captured Acordia in an ink black-and-white way, yet with light hints of winter-ish blues and mild floods of soft tawny emitting from streetlights. 

            Cast by pools of ghostly light and wintry atmosphere wrapping around Solene’s quivering figure, a feather of cooling warm air left her breathing lips and her hair – loose, curled, and inferno red – collected a lace of snowflakes. With both hands pulling the edge of her coat together, her mundane thoughts couldn’t help but wander to the recent flashes of fire, smoke, collapsing shards of glass and ceramic and wood, and so much crimson stained everywhere.

            She had lost control of her power. And she knew it wasn’t safe anymore for her kingdom if she were to remain here.

            One of her hands peeked out of the sleeves and trailed its fingers across a bush of silver roses – one of the wishes she had used her wishbone for. They looked mesmerizing under the feathers of snow and patterned frost. She held onto a rose, staring at it longingly – if only she had a second. Before she could even scrutinize the shape of its flawless, yet dangerous beauty, a spark of fire blossomed from the mere touch of her fingertip and instantly ravaged the entire bud of rose, reducing it into nothing but ashes. 

            Solene watched – a horrified and pained expression etched on her pale face – the ashes scatter from her fingers and soar in the wind.

            It was time for her to go.  

***

Fog crept into the kingdom. Threads of translucent grey and white rippled across the gentle waves of Acordia. An opaque bank of clouds formed above the vacant sea, rolling closer toward the land of silver roses. The mist grew and rose higher as it crawled under an old bridge, blossoming and swallowing it whole.

            The dark mist obscured lit torches and bonfires, leaving feeble spots of red-orange floating amid the grey clouds.

            Parents ushered their children into their straw-made cottages they called home. Arriving sea fishermen scampered from their once colorful boats, each carrying a bag of krill they could only provide for their families’ hunger.

            The palace garden was blanketed with silver roses that shone brightly regardless of the thick fog that became a nuisance to many eyes. Stable keepers guided frightened horses to their stables. Soldiers exited the courtyard as the fog swept everything under their bone-chilling wisps of thick grey.    

            Beyond the castle walls, the King and Queen of Acordia were pacing around in the throne room. The three-month pregnant Princess Faye watched her parents tread in haste and anxiety, as she nestled in her vibrant violet throne, concern swimming in her emerald eyes. Her husband, Prince Wesfall, caressed her shoulder, giving her a touch of needed comfort.

            Queen Aeda remembered those 6205 days when her oldest daughter would come home every dawn with abnormal scars and bruises painting her face, arms, abdomen, and legs, or the occasional scorch marks on her back and chest. Most of those dawns, she would carry more than a thousand pounds of fresh meat for their subjects to feed on.

            The Queen remembered how relentlessly she, her husband King Orion, or the royal doctors asked if she had gotten hurt, and her forced joyful answer would be the constant “I’m fine.” or “It’s nothing.”

            She couldn’t help but wonder what her daughter had been hiding from them for such a long time.

            It had been seventeen years since their oldest daughter, Princess Solene, disappeared.

            It had been seventeen years since the guards began their endless perilous search throughout archipelagos and kingdoms from near and far.

            It had been seventeen years since Acordia’s subjects suffered from starvation and desired decent meals. Something other than their daily krill and salted grain.

            No one knew for sure where their dear Princess had gone. And they were beginning to lose hope.

***

A distant archipelago traveler arrived at the Acordia palace. He asked for the King and Queen’s attention. “I have brought both wonderful and devastating news!” he exclaimed as he knelt on one knee before the royal couple. “The Princess Solene is alive! She is imprisoned in a tower on a remote island on the far side of the globe, by a dragon!”

            The King and Queen were delighted to hear that their daughter was alive, yet were beyond horrified of the dragon. So, to save Princess Solene’s life and bring her back home, they challenged the Prince Kais from a nearby kingdom to travel distant lengths to the island where the Princess had been held captive, alone. If he succeeds, he will be wedded to the Princess and stand as King of Acordia.

            The thirty-five-year-old Prince Kais, who was eager to rule her beautiful kingdom, accepted the challenge and set off.

***

It took Kais five years to reach the island. By the time he set foot on land, the moonlight flooded his ailing features that he had obtained from five years of endless journey. His skin had folded into wrinkles. His once bright blue eyes had dulled into a drab shade of blue-grey. His once athletic, muscular figure had turned frail and limp.

            He rubbed his exhausted, ailing eyes with the back of his hand. His blurred vision cleared and a lofty tower loomed in the middle of the island. Just the mere sight of it encouraged him to drag his feet toward it.

            The white-bricked tower shadowed over him as he stood right in front of the heavy-looking door. He was disgusted and terrified to see dried stains of blood splattered across the walls and valley near. The skeletons of numerous animal corpses sat still as swarms of flies and insects decomposed what was left of its flesh and organs. Some of them were still fresh, as if they were hunted a while ago. 

            He cringed in fear. He knew slaying this dragon was definitely not an easy task.

            His hand reluctantly pushed the colossal wooden door open. Its hinges creaked as it swung open, curdling his ears.

            The inside of the tower was dim, only a few strands of moonlight fought their way in through the apertures of the dwelling. The spiraling staircase appeared fragile; the wood of the stairs were beginning to crack and fall off. Cobwebs blanketed every part and corner of the room, prompting him to crinkle his nose in disgust even more so.

            Slowly and cautiously, he crept up the seemingly endless stairs. He made his way up to the highest and only room in the tower. He guessed that the place might have been where the Princess was imprisoned in.

            A lashing sound came from behind him; like the sound of the wind or a blade cutting swiftly through the air. Another lash resonated through the room. Then, he felt heavy, warm, relentless breaths heaving a weight upon his shoulders and back. A tingle of scorching heat poked his neck and he jumped and shrieked.

            He swiveled around in an instant and came face to face with a dragon.  

      

            However, this dragon was unlike any other dragon he had ever battled. The dragon was, surprisingly, appealing and elegant. Its scales were the color of scarlet, with hints of blood red. The horns protruding from its head entwined and curve into a unique shape resembling a crown. Its vivid green eyes lit up the entire room. They felt as if they were piercing into his soul, reading his thoughts and learning his past.

            What caught his attention the most was the large necklace twined around its scaly neck. The necklace seemed to be made out of pure white gold, and a hand-sized rose-shaped ruby gemstone embedded into the center of the necklace glimmered in the dark. Elaborate swirling details were carved into the gold piece, replicating a rose’s stem. Dark pink diamonds dotted along the details, accenting it beautifully.

            The dragon’s pupils were slit, aggression burning in its intense eyes. It opened its jaws. Electric blue light mixed with vivid red at the mouth of its throat. Acetylene and oxygen-shaped plasma began to form into a ball as it assessed for the right time to strike its ball of fire.

            Prince Kais’s eyes bled tears, crouching down with both his arms shielding his head, as if it would protect him from the searing plasma. “Please, I beg you. Don’t kill me!” he cried, yet he was smirking in malice under the cover of his arms.

            Recognition flashed across the scarlet dragon’s eyes for a brief moment. Its once slit pupils widened as the aggression in its orbs melted into wonder and curiosity. The dragon closed its gaping jaws, swallowing the fire within it. The creature tilted its head to the side, both of its eyes appearing rather cat-like.

            Prince Kais noticed the dragon ceasing its assault and took this moment as an opportunity to unsheathe his sword, pointing the tip of his blade dangerously close to the creature.

            The dragon’s former cat-like eyes transformed back into their aggressive and slit state. Its clamped jaws curled into a deadly snarl, baring its razor-edged teeth and keen fangs.

            Kais penetrated his sword into the dragon’s right front leg, creating a noticeable gash. Silver blood poured out of the wound like a river. The dragon whimpered as it stared at the slash painfully. It whipped its slender head at the one responsible for its wound and growled stridently. The sound could compete with the booming rumbling of thunder. Its jaws enlarged. And with a strong, quick lash of its tail, Kais’s sword was knocked out of his grasp. 

            Prince Kais collapsed to the cemented floor defenselessly – his sword clattering and skidding across the room. The winged creature strode closer to the Prince, cornering him onto a balcony. It gave out a penetrating roar, making his limbs go limp.

            Its teeth lengthened further. The Prince quivered. Before he could process what it was about to do, the dragon swooped down its head and chopped his head off with one clean bite.

            Prince Kais’s head rolled across the ground, the petrified look still etched on his still face. The fresh meat and blood spilled from the chopped-off neck; the mere sight of it building a river of rich red provoking the dragon to lick its fangs, thirsty for the presence and taste of blood everywhere in its throat and tongue and lips.

            The colossal, yet slender figure of the scarlet-scaled dragon was replaced with a lovely young woman. Her inferno red hair cascaded down her back, a few stray strands dancing over her moonlit features. Fire rose in her keen green eyes under the soft pools of light the stars and moon created, and they scorched a path through the air. Her pale skin mirrored the moon’s delicate color. A white-gold crown on her head wavered in white flames like millions of scattered searing stardust that had been pieced back together through the flames of inferno and the seas of blood she had created. Oddly, the crown didn’t burn through her head like it should have done; it eradicated into actual white fire.

            Even after twenty years living in the middle of nowhere, she didn’t gain a single wrinkle or strand of silver in her hair, or any other changes an average human would have gained throughout their adult years. The beauty she possessed at the age of twenty-one stayed true to her features. 

            Grinning maliciously, she watched the dead Prince’s skin pale. Then a pair of fangs bore from her mouth. She knelt down and pierced her fangs into his neck. Blood surged through her throat, the thick and salty taste of it sending satisfying tingles through her taste buds. Her pupils grew into slits as hunger took the best of her. She continued to devour every ounce of blood streaming through the corpse’s veins.

            Her blazing crown and red hair gathered the crimson liquid from his beheaded self.

            Satisfied and full, she removed her fangs from the impaled spot. More blood from the wound streamed as one with the blood that was flowing from where the Prince’s head had been. The blood made its way across the balcony and rained down the ledge, forming a waterfall that would terrorize every person or thing witnessing the sight.

            The sight of Princess Solene who turned into a blood-thirsty beast, and the blood that rained from the tower.

Dedicated to my fiery little sister, Asha.
Fairuza Hanun, 24/09/2016 

Cerebral Palsy

What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral Palsy (CP) refers to neurological disorders that appear in infancy or childhood.
Cerebral Palsy affects the muscle movements, preventing people with such disorder to be unable to move their muscles to do certain activities properly.

The majority of children having Cerebral Palsy are born with it, although it may be detected a few months or years later.
The signs of Cerebral Palsy usually appear before a child reaches three years old. The most common is the lack of muscle coordination when performing voluntary movements (ataxia); stiff or tight muscles and exaggerated reflexes; walking with one foot or leg dragging; walking on the toes; crouched gait; 'scissored' gait; and muscle tone which is either too floppy or too stiff.

Other neurological symptoms that commonly occur in individuals with CP include seizures/convulsions, hearing loss and impaired vision, bladder and bowel control issues, and pain or abnormal sensations.

A small number of children have CP as the result of a brain damage within the first few months of years of life, brain infections such as bacterial meningitis or viral encephalitis, a motor vehicle accident, a fall, or child abuse.
The disorder isn't progressive, meaning the brain damage does not get worse over time. Risk factors related to CP do not cause the disorder, but could increase the chance in having a child with CP. Cerebral Palsy is not hereditary.

Is there any treatment?

Cerebral Palsy cannot be cured.
However, some treatments can improve a child's capabilities.
In general, the earlier treatment begins the better chance children have of overcoming developmental diseases or learning new ways to accomplish tasks that challenge them.
Early interventions, supportive treatments, medications, and surgery can help many individuals improve their muscle control.

Source: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_palsy/cerebral_palsy.htm
              gillettechildrens.org

To the Greatest Mom

Aku ingin bercerita tentang peran Mama-ku dalam mengajarkan dan membudayakan menulis dan membaca dalam hidupku.

Sejak aku beranjak umur empat tahun, Mama menyuguhkan aku banyak sekali buku-buku. Pada awal-awalnya, buku-buku tersebut hanya 5-7 halaman – sangat tipis dengan banyak ilustrasi berwarna-warni. Ada beberapa yang berbahasa Inggris dan ada yang berbahasa Indonesia. Setiap hari, setelah belajar dan sebelum tidur, Mama akan selalu duduk disampingku sambil membacakan salah satu buku yang ia telah beli.

Karena sering mendengarkan Mama membaca, aku menjadi terbiasa membaca kalimat-kalimat dan mengingat kata-kata dalam buku. Dan dari situ aku mulai bisa membaca sedikit demi sedikit, walaupun hanya bisa membaca satu buku cerita. Buku pertama yang kubaca adalah cerita mengenai perjalanan liburan seekor beruang bersama kudanya, dan seekor katak yang ternyata telah bersembunyi didalam ember pakan kuda. Tidak hanya itu, Mama juga membuat kalimat-kalimat yang di-print dan di-laminating untuk berlatih membaca. Meskipun awalnya aku agak lambat membaca, Mama tidak memaksa aku untuk belajar dengan cepat.

“Take your time,” kata Mama.

Ternyata membaca itu tidak semudah yang kupikirkan. Butuh hampir satu tahun untuk hanya belajar membaca buku cerita tersebut. Setelah aku mulai lancar membaca, Mama mengajarkan aku menulis. Dari kata ke kalimat dan akhirnya menjadi sebuah cerita pendek.

Karena aku senang membaca dan menulis, Mama membuat perjanjian bahwa satu bulan sekali, kita akan pergi ke toko buku. Biasanya kita bisa menghabiskan 1-2 jam di toko buku hanya untuk memilih buku tepat yang ingin kita baca.

Lama-lama aku mencintai menulis dan membaca, dan dari situ, aku suka membuat cerita-cerita pendek dan essay Sains. Aku latihan setiap hari, mengasah kemampuanku dalam menulis dan merangkum sub-subject Sains.

Sampai sekarang, Mama mengarahkan aku untuk menulis buku karena kesukaan menulisku.

Author's Note:

Hi, everyone! I know it's been a while, but I've been gathering up some stories and summaries for me to upload in my blog, so I hope it would be worth the wait. 

So, anyway, happy (late) International Mother's Day! (which is supposed to be on the 8th of May)

See you in more of my posts! 

Happy World Water Day 2016!

Water is an important part of our life. We use it to carry out our daily activities. If we use and treat it the wrong way, we might end up losing it, so we have to save it as best as we can.

Indonesia has over 5,590 rivers, most of them short and steep. Yet, people treat them incorrectly. Even though Indonesia’s water source is about 21 percent total water resources in the Asia Pacific region, clean water is becoming a serious problem in the country. Recently, about 80 percent of 250 million people in Indonesia have no access to piped water. Due to the difficulties and limited access to clean water, a large number of people still rely on rivers to carry out their daily activities; washing, drinking, and bathing. And it is a huge problem that so many people rely on rivers and lakes while others keep trashing and polluting water.

Waste puking from sewers and large pipes connected to factories and homes cause a serious damage to water and the living organisms that live or rely on it. Garbage thrown into riversides, which is then carried by the waves into the water, is also causing water pollution. Oil shipped from country to country often leak, poisoning the organisms in water. Though, not only water pollution brings serious damage to our needs for water, the impact can also hit on the living organisms in need of water, such as fish and many different kinds of farm animals we consume. We would starve and thirst.

There was an indication that people in villages who use rivers as drinking water tend to decrease from 22.8 percent to 22.5 percent during period 1999 until 2002. There are several factors causing the degradation of water resources’ quality in Indonesia, such as domestic waste and pollution. About 56.15 percent of households dispose their domestic waste directly to the river body.  (http://www.wepa-db.net/policies/state/indonesia/indonesia.htm)

As of 2015, an average person in Indonesia can produce 0.7 kilogram of waste per day. With 250 million people, a staggering 175,000 tons of waste is produced each day, amounting 64 million tons per year, according to data from the ministry. This waste is mostly dumped into landfill.
These landfills are struggling to cope with the ever-increasing waste as the population grows and the people consume more and more. 

For example, South Tangerang, a 147-kilometer-square city with 1.4 million people, is lacking an adequate number of temporary trash disposal sites (TPS). Many of the existing TPS are not functioning properly, forcing a large number of residents to burn their trash and suffer through the negative effects of air pollution.

(http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/10/09/indonesia-state-waste-emergency.html)

If we don’t reduce the amount of waste we produce every day, we would very soon run out of landfills and instead dump our waste into the rivers, lakes, and seas! Think of all the pollution we might cause.

And think about all the lives of many other animals! Oil lingering on water birds’ feathers poisons them, preventing them to be able to fly or survive in winter. Fish, dolphins, migrating whales, and sea turtles that get tangled in plastic and garbage, driven into sea shores would have a hard time getting unstuck and returning to its natural habitat – especially if people never tried to help them out, only satisfying themselves with photographs of the animals.    

Water animals are not the only animals suffering through water pollution; land animals which need water to bathe in and drink would suffer through the same things as well, leading them to death!

This isn’t only important for Indonesia, it’s important for all countries in the world!

Don’t wait for other countries to make amends; start now. Stop saying in the social media that you have to save water and preserve nature; start doing what you’ve always said. Although, words can provoke the minds of other people, do what you think is right before telling others to them too. 

Remember, actions speak louder than words. Once you do something good, others may follow.  

And because of that, it is crucially important to save as much water as we can;

-         When it rains, place large buckets under your drain pipes. The buckets collect the rain water and you can use it to water your plants or wash your car; you won’t have to waste it then.

-         When you wash the dishes, don’t run the water out, fill it into a pail and wash your soapy dishes there. That way, you won’t have to waste too much water.

You see, there are a lot of ways to save water, and use your creativity to save it! Reduce the waste you produce every day and stop littering. Use eco-friendly items that might help protect the environment.

One small change can make a big difference, so start making one now.

That is why we celebrate Water World Day; to remind the world how important water is to us.

SAVE WATER and HAPPY WORLD WATER DAY 2016

To Reach the Cloud of My Dreams

Why do people need to have dreams? Having dreams is important. Sometimes, people do not know what are their dreams, what they want, and what will they do in their future. It is ironic! 

When people have many dreams about their future, sometimes it can last, and sometimes it can change. Dreams can be carried as a vision. A vision is what you see in the future and what you want it to be.

Dreams and Visions are a bit different; Dreams are only a 50 percent positive, but Visions are 99 or 100 percent positive in a focus way; how unique you are in your profession, which university will you go to, what actions will you do to enter it and who will you collaborate with.                                          

As what I’ve said before, dreams can change any time. And that happened to me; I change my dreams for most of the time. When I was 6 years old, I wanted to be a Doctor. It was quite interesting, but a bit creepy – imagine if a dead body walks out of the hospital – that was my cousin’s silly tale. They used to tell me that learning how to be a doctor is fun, so I thought maybe I could be a doctor one day. 
Then, somehow it changed when I started to read many books and watch designing & science programs in TV channels.

From every knowledge that I’ve got, I want to be a great writer that writes cool stories and a great Animal Scientist with a hobby of interior designing. Time after time I’ve realized that this wasn’t  just a dream, but a vision. And I’m very sure about it.  

           
All that I did to reach those visions are my passion. A passion is something that you really love to do all the time. I’ve been reading lots of books like novels, encyclopedia, and biography, surfing the internet and watching some TV shows of knowledge to reach them. Those are my true passion.  

Doing those stuffs is my everyday life to fill in my spare time. I enjoy most of my time doing them. Sometimes I go with my Mom to the places I love most after she finishes her work in her office, like; the book store, the library, the movie theater, and go to the National park on holiday weekends.                              

I don’t really enjoy most of the libraries here, because they only have a few authors. The book store is my most sacred place. Without a book in this world, makes my world, and I think other people’s world narrow and dark. Books are the windows for us to see and travel many different and unique worlds without having to move our feet or go anywhere.

           
Books spread our imagination and dreams wider; they fill up the blank pieces of paper with ink which I’ve always imagined that each drop is a thought or memory that you share to the world. Writing a book is to write down your feelings and clear your full working mind into a calm one.                                                              

It’s like writing poetry and letters to your family or other loved ones.                         

You would share your feelings to your Mom, wouldn’t you?               

Well, writing a book is like that too. 

I hope you now know that reading and writing is an important thing…

Well, now, back to the topic.

           
A dream is like a cloud, a cloud that floats way up in the sky. And under that big cloud, there are some small clouds which form your life steps. You must walk step by step up the small clouds to reach the big cloud. Those steps can help you to reach it, like the stairs that leads to your favorite room in your house.  

           

What I’ve done in my life are my steps, like entering this speech contest is my opportunity to be a famous entrepreneur. And I’ll do my best to make my family proud of me.     

When I grow up, I want to have college in a foreign country. But I don’t know where, because I’m still considering it. I realized, I have to search some information

for a college. Some of those became my judgment; among others are University of IOWA, and University of Colorado. I think I’d prefer to go to IOWA, since I'm more into literature.  But, how can I get a scholarship to go to that university? I have to do that by doing actions.

           

My actions are searching information of each university, study hard and study smart on subjects that I love most, ask other people who has an experience of studying there for more information, surf the internet and read lots and lots of books.

Study hard is to focus on the subject that I love and that’s connected to my dreams. And Study smart is to find a way to reach my dreams faster. Choose an effective way and decide how creative/unique I am in that profession.

           
After I’ve done the three of them; vision, passion, and action, I think I’m already near my dream cloud. So when I go to college and then graduate from it, I need to collaborate with someone that has the same dream as I do, with a kind heart and someone truthful and loyal, because none of the professions can stand alone, but they need to synergy with each other.

           

Example, if you want to make a movie, you don’t just need an actor or actress to do it. You’ll also need a camera expert, anime/cartoon maker, sound man and some musicians, right? If they work together, they could make amazing movies, don’t you think?   

Who knows, maybe you and your partner can make a company together and make a success. Finally, you’re in the cloud of your dreams! 

QUOTES ABOUT DREAMS

“Go, live your dream” -Tangled

“I can live, I can fly. Chase the wind and touch the sky!” - Brave
"Go after your dream, no matter how unattainable others think it." - quotesgram.com
"The best dreams happen when you're awake." 
"A dream without ambition is like a car without gas...you're not going anywhere." - Sean Hampton
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." - C.S. Lewis