Out in the sandy desert in the land of Minecraft, Steve was roaming in paghahanap of pagkain and water. He looked around him only to see a few trees and a cactus. He continued walking until he started feeling too weak to keep going.
It's hopeless, Steve thought. I'll just die out here, in the middle of nowhere.
Steve lay on his back, thoughts running through his mind, each one a scenario of what could happen next.
Finally, Steve closed his eyes and fainted away.
***********************************************
Steve opened his eyes slowly.
Am I still alive?
He looked around. Same desert. Still quiet. And still hot.
He stood up. Sand fell from his sun-faded sando and onto his worn down grey shoes. He sighed and looked up. The sun was disappearing. Was he ever going to find a place to-
Grrr...
Steve's heartbeat jumped into an adrenaline rush and he broke into a cold sweat. He turned around and stared in front of him.
Eight hungry zombies stared back.
Crap!!
Steve ran as quickly as he could. It was a life-threatening obstacle race of monsters, but Steve had his mind focused on one thing. He stopped, pulled out his diamond sword, turned around, and began swinging away at the zombies.
GRRR!!!
Every time a zombie was killed, it made the other zombies angrier. One of them finally pushed at Steve, knocking him into a cactus.
"Ow!!" Steve yelped. His lack of armor caused a deep cut in his arm. But that wasn't enough to stop him. He ran for the angry mob of mobs and slashed at them once again. His arm was bleeding heavily and he was low on energy, but he managed to kill the last zombie before collapsing into a heap of exhaustion.
Steve opened his eyes an oras later. His head hurt. He had a gnawing feeling in his stomach. His throat was dry. His arm was in bad shape. A red patch in the sand sat beneath his elbow. He stood up and trudged away in paghahanap of something - anything - that would give him comfort. He finally saw a couple of trees. They were old and their leaves were brown, but it was something.
Steve made it to the trees. He reached up weakly and grabbed a few leaves, quickly wove them together, and tied them around the wound in his arm. He curled up beneath the tree, hoping that he would make it until morning.
And he closed his eyes.
"Hmm."
Steve awoke to bright morning light, sand, hunger, thirst, and noise.
"Hm?"
"Hmph."
"Hrmm."
Steve looked around. He was underneath the same puno he was last night.
And he was surrounded sa pamamagitan ng villagers.
"Hrrmm."
A buzz of murmurs swarmed around Steve. He stood up and looked around.
"Humph!"
"Oh!" Steve turned around to see a villager staring at him. "Hi there. I'm Steve."
"Hrmm," the villager grumbled. He looked at Steve up and down before walking to another villager and talking with it.
Steve came up to him. "Hello? Can you hear me? Hello? Hey!"
The villager paid no attention until he turned back to Steve.
"I'd kind of...like to trade with you. I haven't eaten anything for a couple of days and..."
"Hrmph," the villager mumbled. He turned and walked away with the rest of the villagers behind him.
"Hey!" Steve called. "Where are you going?"
They didn't answer.
Steve groaned. "Great. Now they won't even talk to me. They came over here for nothing and..."
Suddenly, he paused. He ran after the villagers. "Wait! I'm coming with you!"
After a short trip, the villagers stopped at what looked like a tumawid between a mini village and a sand sculpture.
Cool.
Steve walked by, brushing his hand against one of the houses. It was made of smooth sandstone.
Steve looked around. The entire village was made of sandstone, except for the garden and a well. He walked into one of the houses. A bed, a furnace. and a chest sat inside.
Steve opened the chest. Inside it was a leather tunic, six pieces of raw beef, one glass bottle, one pail, and a carrot. Steve took the tunic and slipped it on. Suddenly, he remembered his injury.
He looked down at his arm. The leaf bandage had chipped down to nearly nothing, and his skin looked irritated. His arm had stopped bleeding, but it was still painful. He looked around for some water.
The well!
Steve rushed over to the well. He scooped up some water with his hand and rinsed off his arm. A villager rushed over.
"Hmm."
Steve looked up. "Oh! Hi. I was just rinsing off my-"
The villager ran off. Steve grumbled. He continued rinsing his wound until the villager came back.
This time he was holding something. Steve leaned pasulong to get a closer look. A strip of leather and a bottle of potion. Steve pulled back with a confused look on his face.
The villager grumbled. He leaned over and wrapped the leather around Steve's arm. Then, he handed him the potion. It was bright red. The paper label on it read 'Potion of Healing'.
Steve opened the bottle and took a few sips. Suddenly the pain in his arm reduced to a few aches. Compared to what he'd gone through before, it was nothing.
"Hey, thanks, uh..." Steve scratched his head. Villagers don't have names, do they?
"...um, villager?"
"Hmph." The villager turned around, offended. Steve felt awkward. Suddenly, he stood up. "I'm sorry. Can I call you Joe?"
The villager turned to face Steve. "Hmm." His voice sounded happier.
"Okay. Thanks for the medicine, Joe."
"Hmm." Joe shuffled away.
Steve's throat began to hurt. He ran over to the chest he had seen and grabbed the glass bottle. He walked back to the well, scooped up some water, and gulped it down. He kept drinking water from the well until he'd had three bottles. Feeling somewhat satisfied, Steve walked over to one of the houses and leaned against the wall, watching the village quietly. A villager walked up susunod to him.
"Hey," Steve said, turning to face the villager. "I don't really live here. See, I'm kind of a backpacker and..."
"Hm?" the villager asked. Clearly, she was urging him to go on.
"...and I was wondering if you'd like to trade."
"Hmm," the villager mumbled in approval. Steve grinned. They began bidding on different items. He could give her paper for a carrot...fish for leather...two emeralds for a tunic...a helmet for a sword...
Steve considered his options. He had no food. He had two swords, a few emeralds, some walang tiyak na layunin materials, leather boots and a tunic. Not much. Finally, he handed the woman some paper. She handed him a carrot. He thanked her and walked away. He began harvesting potatoes from the garden. He took the beef from the chest and put it in his inventory. He was just about to set out when he saw the light on the sand dunes fading.
He spent a few minutos pondering whether to stay or to keep going. He had nearly died three times before coming to the village. But he was a backpacker, something he'd decided on since he had no house. He couldn't build a house until he found madami wood. There were no trees in sight. Steve sighed. He would sort this out later. Right now he had to decide; would he stay or would he-
"Grrrrr..."
"Hmm!" The villagers yelped. Panicked, they each ran into a house and slammed the doors shut. A zombie stood in the middle of the now empty gravel path. Steve pulled out his sword and attacked the zombie. When he had finally killed it, he walked inside one of the houses and flopped down on the bed.
This time, he fell asleep comfortably.
**********************************************************
The susunod morning...
Steve awoke with the comforting greet of sunlight and happy chatter. He stretched, jumped off of the bed, and walked outside. Glowing daylight warmed his skin. He felt happy in the village. But he knew he had to leave. He grabbed a carrot and ate it quickly. Then he turned to face the villagers. He cleared his throat. The villagers were quiet.
Steve locked his eyes on the crowd. "I'd like to thank you all for leading me here, and going through the effort of helping me. This village is great. But...I'm afraid I have to leave."
"Hmmm." a villager walked up to Steve in disappointment.
"I know. I would stay, if it weren't for the facts I have to face. I'm a traveler. I backpack. I explore. I have yet to find the right place for a house. But I definitely won't forget this village."
Everyone smiled, including Steve.
"And, just so you remember me, I want to give you this." Steve laid a slightly cracked stone sword down on the sand. Murmurs swelled up in the crowd, then stopped.
Steve looked at the villagers. "So, this is goodbye."
The villager in front walked up to Steve and shook his hand. "Hmm."
Just as Steve was about to turn around, the villager handed him something.
Steve looked down at a saddle, a carrot, stick, and string.
"Oink."
A pig walked up to Steve happily.
"Oh. Thank you."
The villager hmm'd in approval.
Steve assembled the carrot on a stick, put the saddle on the pig, and waved one final goodbye to the village. He sat on the pig and rode off to find a new land.
This time, he was hopeful. ✰
