The Gift of The Lost Tribe
Once upon a time, nestled in the heart of an impenetrable forest, there existed an ancient tribe known as the 'Unseen'. The members of the tribe had discovered the secret of invisibility generations ago, a secret they guarded fiercely against all outsiders.
Dr Norman, a renowned archaeologist, once heard tales of the 'Unseen'. Fascinated, he decided to embark on what he knew was a dangerous and challenging journey into the forest, propelled by a fiery curiosity that burned brighter than his fear.
Equipped with only what could be carried on his tired back, Norman set foot in the dense wilderness. The forest was thick with anxiety, its very silence a heart pounding drum. Each step resonated with excitement and trepidation. Even as the ethereal spectacular beauty of the forest left him breathless, a sense of unease kept gnawing at his consciousness.
Days turned into restless nights. Twigs snapped, leaves rustled and shadows danced. Norman's mind grasped at threads of whispering wind, trying to make sense of the eerie symphony that surrounded him. He felt eyes watching him, perceived shapes forming and dissolving in the shadows of twilight, but found nothing.
Halfway through the journey, Norman encountered an old, deserted shrine submerged in a crimson cloak of fallen leaves. Cautious but desperate, he decided to take shelter for the night. As the downpour started, wrapping the forest in a gossamer grey veil, Norman drifted into an uneasy slumber.
A knock on the shrine door jerked him awake. Swallowed by darkness, he saw no one. The knocking persisted. Gathering his courage, he creaked open the door. All he found was a rough-barked, curious looking stick lying on the wet earth.
Spontaneously, he picked it up. To his astonishment, the stick glowed, pulsing with a soft, alien yet comforting azure light. A tribal mark etched at the center of the stick flared briefly, invoking an instinctive recognition.
Norman realized that he was holding an artifact of the 'Unseen'. Who had left it for him? Was it a threat, a warning, or a gift?
Days passed, and the glow of the stick never faded. Surprisingly, he also started noticing faint, shifting silhouettes in the forest. Shadows whispered of unseen trails. The beautifully dangerous maze of the forest seemed to open itself to him, as if guided by the transcendent glow of the unseen tribe's artifact.
Finally, he reached the heart of the forest and stood face-to-face with the invisible tribe, inhabitants latticing in and out of visibility, their eyes reflecting the azure light in the sacred stick he held. A sense of peace washed over them, and over Norman.
The Unseen granted him safe passage through their realm, guided by the Gift of Seeing. In return, they only asked for the archaeologist's promise not to reveal their existence to the outside world.
Basking in the tribe's wisdom and their affinity towards Mother Nature, Norman agreed, respecting their wish to remain veiled from an invading world. He returned to his world with fascinating knowledge and a tale that could only be told in silence.
The Gift of The Lost Tribe awakened within him a new understanding: some secrets are meant to be kept, some mysteries never meant to be demystified, some phenomena best left unseen.
To the world, he became a man who had ventured into the forest and returned empty-handed. But to the tribe and Norman himself, he was a man who went seeking treasures and emerged enriched with the priceless wealth of wisdom and trust from the 'Unseen'.