Narrated by Natalie Gadeikis, Staff Writer
Written by Kat Mann, Opinion Editor
My name is Steve.
There’s not much to it, but there really can’t be in a world like this. There’s no time for the complications of last names. Only time for mining.
*dab dab dab*
Emeralds. I sighed in frustration as my repeated attempts to mine diamonds failed me once again. I picked up the shiny green gems with a pop, and put them in my pocket alongside the numerous stacks of coal I accumulated.
“I guess I can trade them with the village by the jungle… The village in the desert will never take them…” I muttered to myself, collecting my torches and the remaining stone blocks.
Hanging my head in a diamond-less sorrow, I turned around and started to head back up the dark depths of the seemingly bottomless cave. I knew I should return home, since my sword broke because of the spawner I had come across earlier.
As I turned the stone corner, I suddenly found myself face to face with a skeleton. A bow clutched tightly between it’s boney fingers. The sight was horrific. I panicked and froze in place. I watched as the pile of bones raised it’s ragged bow and pulled back an arrow. I held my breath and closed my eyes, knowing I was without a sword. This was my end.
The meatless monster released the arrow with a *FWACK*.
My blocky heart froze as a throaty growl filled the darkness of the cave. I opened my eyes just as an angry wolf emerged from the darkness behind me, its eyes glowing red. It quickly made its way towards the skeleton as the monster raised its bow once again.
The first arrow had miraculously missed me and hit the wild animal.
The wolf attacked the monster before it had the chance to fire the second arrow, and finished it off with a final chomp. The skeleton vanished with a puff. All that remained was a single bone.
The wolf’s eyes returned to normal as it stared at me and I at it, thankful that he had just saved my life. My legs felt weak as I slowly approached the animal. I held the rigid wall to keep my balance. I picked up the bone that the mob had dropped, and held it tightly in my square hand.
I turned towards the beautiful creature, its head tilted in curiosity. I held out the bone to it, and waited anxiously as it crept towards me. The animal sniffed my friendship offering. I was nervous that it would reject the remaining fragment of the monster and return back into the darkness from which it had come… But the wolf accepted the bone from my hand, hearts raising around it as it enjoyed the taste.
From that day on, the wolf wore a beautiful collar of deep ruby red, and an everlasting friendship was born.