First chapter of Chasing Rainbows

CHAPTER ONE-A LESSON IN MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS

Joshua Ball had the unfortunate misfortune of being born smack dab in the middle of his two older brothers and two younger sisters. I'm not saying being the middle child is a curse. Oh, no, had he been born any other time or place there would be a seventy-five percent chance that Joshua might have a somewhat successful childhood. Had he been born to another family his odds of a normal childhood would increase significantly. However, poor Joshua was not born in another time or place; he was born here and now. He was not born to a different family. Unfortunately he was born the middle child of a family where middle children are forgotten and ignored. He couldn't blame his parents. They were loving doting parents, well at least as far as his brothers and sisters were concerned. Mother had her hands full, primping and spoiling his younger sisters. He could appreciate the time and effort his mother spent with his sisters. That time along with whatever household chores she needed to complete left no time for him. His father spent his time tutoring his brothers in the fine art of junior sports. Be it little league baseball, football, soccer or sword play, his brothers were involved and excelled. That, along with his father's day job as night-shift janitor at the local mall left no time for Joshua. Joshua accepted his fate with reserved dignity well, as dignified as a young lad of eight could muster.
Joshua lived in Subance, a large city nestled in a valley between two mighty mountains. The Oak Mountains was west of the Subance valley and was inhabited by snakes, ghosts and the unspeakables. The dreaded Copper Mines of Toolareia occupied the Northern reaches of the mountain range, and the southernmost edges of the Great Sand Lake. Nobody in their right mind would ever venture into the Oak Mountains.
. The Whatsat Mountains to the east of the valley were magnificent snow capped peaks. No one and I mean no one went into the Whatsat Mountains without an armed escort. This was a pity, because the only way out of the valley was through the many trails which crisscrossed through the snowy peaks. Not that anybody would ever try leaving the valley; it was widely known that a marvelous world lay in store for anyone foolish enough to leave. It was not known what kind of horrendous creatures lived in the eastern mountains as nobody ever took the time to categorize them. There were rumors, but since it is not polite to spread rumors, I won't write them here. You can plead and beg all you want; it will do you no good. My mind is made up, at least for now.
The eastern mountains ran from the valley all the way to the frigid glaciers of the uninhabitable tundra to the north and the equally uninhabitable heat of Red Rock Desert to the south. Well it was well assumed that was the case, as no one had ever explored the glaciers or the dessert for the proof it was uninhabitable. The town fathers decided millennia ago that the facts to any question need not be scientifically proven.
The town fathers lived in the Temple of Gard. The Temple sat in the middle of town. Not only was it in the middle of town, it was also the center of town. All streets were named in relationship to the temple. The finer restaurants were the ones closest to the temple. The better schools were the schools closest to the temple. You get the picture, nearer the temple good, the farther away from the temple not so good. You guessed it; the Balls lived in the last house, on the last street east of the temple. It was not possible to be any farther from the temple and still live in the valley. Of course the mall that Joshua's father worked at was the farthest mall from the temple, so it was the worst mall in the valley.
The best leaders lived nearest the temple, so-on and so-forth. In the beginning those behind the temple and its teachings truly loved the people in the valley and had their spiritual wellbeing at heart. However, not even the eldest of the eldest remember that long ago. Any historical data to show the temple ever thought about the well-being of its followers has been stricken from the records. Don't ask me why, I am not a historian. I am but one story teller among many. If I was to hazard a guess, I would guess that the leaders were just downright mean and thought only of themselves. The current temple leader, Smithfield Bottomhugger is by far the meanest leader in the long history of cruel leaders. He has three vice-leaders whose main duties were to grovel at his feet and fourteen semi-vice leaders whose main purpose in life is to grovel at their feet, and make life miserable for the remaining people in the valley not lucky enough to be counted as a Temple Leader. Of course the degree your life became miserable was dependent on how far you lived from the temple. You might have guessed that Joshua's family's life would be among the most miserable. You would be wrong. Joshua's brothers were far too busy excelling in sports to notice how miserable their lives were. Joshua's sisters were far too busy primping for non-existent pageants and pageantry to see how miserable their lives had actually become. Joshua's mother and father were far too busy ignoring him to see how miserable they were. They were one big, happy, miserable family, they just didn't know it. Have you noticed I have not given the age or names of his brothers and sisters? Oh, maybe someday they will be named, but not today. This is not their story. This is the story about Joshua Ball, the misfortunate middle son of the mall janitor and his wife, who live in a valley too far away from the center of town to even be noticed by a tyrannical leader and his quorum of minions. All of that is about to change.
I think you are now ready for the story. Oh by the way I neglected to tell you, Joshua was far too busy with his magical imagination to be miserable or care that he was ignored. After all he is a middle child, and middle children are to be ignored. Or are they?