B – Brightly

This story, “Destiny,” was written for the 2025 April A to Z Blog Challenge. Twenty-six words, one for each letter of the alphabet, were preselected by a random word generator (MacChatGPT). Each selected word is included in the section of the appropriate letter in the Challenge. The chosen word is highlighted within the text.  

To start the story from the beginning, go to https://www.hdhstory.net/Storyblog/?p=4443.

When we last met in Part 1 – Apple:

Adriana has turned 19. On her nineteenth birthday, she has to choose her destiny. Once chosen, she can’t change it. Her decision is not supported by her family or culture. She chooses to be a princess. There is no royalty in her land. Taking a bite out of an apple that has fallen at her feet. There is a flash of light, and Adriana disappears. 

———-

Destiny – Part 2 (brightly)

Adriana saw the flash of light. All went black before her eyes. It took a few seconds until the darkness cleared, and she discovered that she was not in her garden anymore, nor were any of the people attending her ceremony there.

As she looked around, all she could see was emptiness. There were no trees or bushes and no obvious paths to follow. She looked down at her hand and saw that she still held the apple she had picked up. Funny, though, she knew that before she saw the flash of light and appeared here in this desolate place, she had taken a bite out of the apple, but the apple in her hand remained whole. How could that be?

Could this be the place where she was supposed to become a princess? If so, how would that happen? Too many questions with no answers came to mind. 

Add to all this, it was late in the day, for the sun had already dipped below the horizon, and the moon was beginning to rise.

As time passed, the moon shone brightly upon the barren landscape. She chose to move forward in the direction from where the moon had risen. Adriana wasn’t sure how long she had been walking when a grumbling sound emitted from her stomach. She asked herself, “I wish there were someone who could help me.” She was getting hungry. All she had was that apple. She lifted it to her lips and took a bite. 

Again, she saw a flash, and the next thing she saw was an animal approaching her, the likes of which she had ever seen before. Its head was shaped like a cat. Its body was that of a horse. Its legs and feet looked like springs with talons attached at the bottom. Anyone else seeing such a beast approaching them might run in fear for their life. However, she knew instinctively that it meant no harm.

It stopped before her and bowed its head. Adriana heard a voice in her mind, “Welcome, Adriana, the Foreseen. We have been waiting for you for nineteen years.” 

She asked out loud, “Where am I? What or who are you? How do I hear what you are saying? What do you mean ‘the foreseen’?”

Its reply was, “I understand you have lots of questions. I can answer a few, but after that, you must seek out the answers yourself. You are in the land called Glandisol. I am called Springbounder. My task is to start you in the right direction to achieve your destiny.”

“How did I get here? All I see is flat land with nothing around me. Where am I supposed to go, and what am I supposed to do?” Adriana asked.

The voice in her head became impatient, “You need to stop with the asking and start with the doing! You should have figured out answers to some of your questions already. The Queen will tell you more if you reach her. As to how to get there, the answer is in your hand. You must go high to reach the next marker; from there, you must look to the sky to find the ones to follow. Now, be off! Till next we meet.”

On saying all that, Springbounder turned and hopped off in a different direction from where it had come from. 

Adriana didn’t know what to do. All this was too confusing to her. Her stomach grumbled again. She needed to find food. She looked at the apple in her hand again, which was whole, and a thought occurred to her. “I wish to find food,” she said to no one in particular and took a bite of the apple.

There was a flash of light.

To be continued in C – Climb