Humor | Short fiction

The Two Guardians

Short Fiction — About an unexpected ‘trial’

The warrior finally reached the light of day again, as he climbed over the rocks towards an exit of the cave. Soon he will arrive at Elysium. His torch started to flicker, its fire slowly extinguishing against the draft of wind coming from outside.

He is exhausted. The last trial, the cave troll, was stronger and had more wits than expected. Slaying him was by far the toughest challenge so far. The monks warned him about the challenges on this path. But now he mastered the last one. Coming out of the cave, a strange sight reveals itself to him: An autumn forest, leaves littering the ground. Even though it is still spring, this forest appears odd. A lone path winds away from the cave.

“This must be the road to Elysium,” he mumbles. “Just a little further.”

In the distance, a wooden gate blocks the path. In front of it, two statues looking like women kneel on either side of it. As he comes closer, a thunder cracks through the sky, and a loud voice echoes from one of the statues.

“Halt, wanderer.”

The warrior is confused. The monks never mentioned another challenge after the troll. This was not expected.

The second statue mutters “Please, don’t.” under a desperate breath. The first one continues to speak with a resolute voice.

“You have traveled far and wide to enter Elysium. But before you can enter, you will have to face one final trial.”

“Mirva, please. Just don’t.” The second statue seems to beg. What is going on?

“Be quiet, Cheron. See, wanderer, in order to pass the gate to Elysium, you will have to solve our riddle. One of us only tells the truth. While the other one only tells lies.”

Before the warrior can utter a word, the second statue starts to cry.

“I told you, Mirva. I’m sorry!”

Kevin is an editor and writer for the ILLUMINATION and Polyglot Poetry publications. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.