The Shazelleth - Part 3: Be Careful What You Wish For
Catch up with The Shazelleth here
The story of the “Lost Ancestor” leads to many other stories.
But, since those stories are not relevant to the storyline I am creating with these articles, I shall skip 56 years of many stories, until we get to the summer holidays 2013, when Thomas Leboutoia was staying over his grandfather and late grandmother’s house.
Thomas was nine-years-old at the time, and a big fan of history and mythology. The historical event he found most interesting was the sinking of the Titanic, and his favourite myth was the story of the Sphinx. Whilst he was on holiday over his grandparent’s, his grandfather led him to a cupboard in their house. Tom, being an inquisitive and occasionally rude boy, asked what they were doing, and if his granddad was a “bad guy”, and was going to lock him in the cupboard.
His granddad just laughed, not unkindly, looked his grandson in the eye and said, “You remind me of myself when I was a boy, Tommy.”
So, Tom’s granddad opened the door of the cupboard, and pulled out a newspaper, upon which was printed the headline: “MYTHICAL CREATURE SUPPOSEDLY FOUND IN SNOWDONIA.”
“I have here something that a boy with interests like you might find… enjoyable,” said the granddad with a cheery smile.
“Wow! When was it from? How did you get it? What is a Shazelleth? Do you know the myth!?” exploded Tom, getting more and more excited every second.
“Woah, hold your horses, cowboy!” said Tom’s granddad, of whom you must have guessed the name by now: David. “It was from 1947, I will tell you the relatively exciting tale of how I got it after you have read it, and the answer to the rest of the questions you shall find within the article.”
He gently pushed the newspaper into the boy’s hands, and Tom stared at it with awe. Then, carrying it as if it were a sleeping baby, he walked over to the sofa, and began to read…
When he had got home from his grandparent’s house, without even helping to carry the bags in from the car, he rushed upstairs and into the study. As soon as he had got the computer running, he googled “the Shazelleth”. He found the whole myth there: How Arabacus summoned the Shazelleth, how it had escaped, and how the last time it, or at least one of its race, had supposedly been seen was only in 1947.
Tom was as fascinated by the story as his grandfather had been, many, many years ago. Whilst in bed that night, he swore that someday, he would go and see this massive beast himself. But little did he know that this wish had the potential of coming true…
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