Storytelling Week 7 : The Ogre

The Ogre 

This is the story of my life. I had for much time been very misunderstood. The village people thought that I was extinct but they were wrong. They  were happy because they thought we were gone since they defeated my ancestors. My last encounter with the villagers was completely misunderstood and that is why I am here telling you what really happened that day. 

First, let me tell you about my ancestors and their history with the village. My ancestors were very territorial and protective. They didn't want to harm anyone but if they felt that they were being attacked they would lash out without thinking of the consequences. One day, Raiko a general of Rashomon came into our village and at the sight of my ancestors he immediately attacked. It wasn't his fault that he reacted that way. His ancestors had told stories about how horrible we were. He thought that my ancestors were going to eat him because the myths said that ogres would kill and eat their victim. That was all a lie. We did kill and eat our prey but we only ate animals. Not humans. Nevertheless, Raiko attacked and he defeated everyone in my village. He came back to Rashomon and told his story of victory and his village praised him. They gifted him with the army of the most elite warriors who were the named the most brave of them all. They were assigned the tasks that most men were to coward to confront. 

You see when Raiko came to my village I was out by the stream trying to catch some fish. He missed me. He didn't even know my friends and I existed. Our parents were killed that day but we were not mad at the humans. We knew it was all a misunderstanding and all we wanted was peace. As the time went by my friends stayed away from the village the most they could because they knew if the humans ever saw them again they would be killed. I however had hope. I had hope that maybe if only maybe I could talk to them they would realize that we are friendly and harmless. While I was out in the forest I heard one of Raiko's men "The ogres do not exist. I will bet with you!". The other warrior answered, "Yes, they do. They are far away and hidden but it is impossible for Raiko to have killed all of them. One must have gotten away". The other responded, "I will go past the gate into the forest to prove to you that I am not afraid because they do not exist". 

I then knew that it was the perfect time to show the men that I came in peace, or so I thought. I waited for the sunset to come as that was when one of the warriors would come to the gate. When I saw him approach the gate I walked behind him. Instantly he felt me behind him and he stretched his hand out just enough to touch my arm. I knew he knew that I was an ogre because he immediately drew his sword and swung it against my arm. The pain was horrible and I immediately yelled out. I ran for my life and he was not able to catch up to me. Now I look down at my mutilated arm everyday and am constantly reminded that peace is just as impossible as my parents being alive again. 

The warriors sword 

Image found through Google at Dark World Wiki 

Author's Note: 

This week I did my storytelling based on the story The Ogre of Rashomon  . This story is a three part story and the first story lets the reader know that Raiko was known to be a local hero because of his actions against the ogres. The story is from the perspective of the warriors and the state of mind of the people of Rashomon. I wanted to keep the plot the same except I wanted to change the perspective of the story and add a dimension to the ogre's intentions since we were not told if the ogre wanted to attack or not. I really enjoyed the original story and hopefully you'll enjoy my take on it too.