Empath: The Luckiest Smurf (novel)/Prologue

It was morning on a day that happened many years ago, when a figure sat at the top of a mountain, looking down upon a forest that stood for centuries untouched by human hands...a forest that was home to a group of beings he would call his family.

He wasn't human, but by his very stature he was the closest thing to being human. His skin was a shade of blue that stood him out against the lightest blue of the sky or the darkest blue of the sea. His body was rounded like a pear, yet it showed the slight presence of muscles even in his unassuming arms and legs. His face was oval-shaped with big ears and a big nose, but through the comical look of his face could be seen an actual serious expression of sadness.

Heaving a sigh, the being looked down upon the forest and thought about that place that he called home, the happy times his own people were having, and of how he wished he could be there living the carefree life that they were living. He had spent most of his life in another place, with another group of people who were so much unlike his own, and the fact that he wasn't allowed to go back to his own people whenever he wanted to made the longing that much painful.

In the distance this being could imagine seeing another like him, only older and wearing a beard, watching over him like an angel coming down from heaven to deliver him from the torment of this life. He knew somehow that this other being, who was real and who did live in this place called home, had the power to bring him back home, but he wondered when he was ever going to use that power. Each day that this being waited, having to live with people who never wanted to know the joy of living, who never dared to know what was beyond their home, was torturous. Hours with these people were long and hard, unlike the time that passes being with his own people, where even days were like minutes and yet were filled with something new and exciting to do. His people were always celebrating and they never seemed to be unhappy with their lives. It made him feel alone and isolated that he couldn't be with them at this time. He wondered how much longer he had to wait until he could see his own people again, and if anyone is still thinking of him not being there.

The being was then joined by two others who were much different from him in appearance. "You must return with us immediately or you will be punished," said one of the newcomers as he and the other one grabbed the being by his arms.

As much as he wanted to struggle and make a run for it, the being knew better than to do so because these two others could easily catch him. So he surrendered himself as his two captors lifted him into the air and flew with him away from the mountain.

This being wasn't supposed to show his emotions to anyone, even to his captors, but he couldn't keep himself from crying as he was taken back to the place he so wanted to leave behind for over a century.

Someday, he knew, it will happen.

He will leave and never return there again.

Smurf to Part 1