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by John Julius Candelaria (Illustrator), John Julius Candelaria (Author)
Sparrow is a tale about an epic confrontation between good versus evil. The story requires 6.5 hours to read at 225 words per minute. During one winter night long ago, an 18 year-old American Indian girl named Sparrow who is both human and spirit appears with the Creator of the universe inside a hogan at a village, where an old man named Soto and his daughter live. While in the hogan, the Creator exchanges Soto's daughter for Sparrow. He tells Soto to mentor and prepare Sparrow for a mission to exterminate a Phantom that is the pure embodiment of evil, thus resolve the paradox of good always being in balance with evil. The result will be a perfect universe, whereby evil will no longer exist. Sparrow does not know who or what she truly is. The story moves from Soto's village to an enchanted forest called the Peligro where a pristine valley and a mysterious labyrinth exist. The story unfolds while Sparrow is at the mysterious valley. The labyrinth is home to the Phantom; the labyrinth ironically contains a wooden chest that may hold the key to exterminate evil forever. Sparrow's task is to reach the wooden chest, thereupon resolve the paradox. The Phantom does not know what the chest contains, though he supposes it could hold a means for Sparrow to obliterate him. Hence, he must prevent her from reaching the chest. The story becomes an intense chess match between Sparrow and the Phantom. During every encounter with Sparrow, the Phantom grows more powerful. He is a master of illusion, but Sparrow also holds forces even she may not aware of. All the while, the Creator is never very far from the action; he does not know what any outcomes will be because freewill exists in Sparrow and the Phantom. Prior to undertaking her mission, Sparrow experiences human emotions which she does not fully understand when she meets a boy who comes to her village with his father on a wagon caravan to trade goods with the tribe. Sparrow's odyssey in the Peligro is wrought with many perplexing situations...the passage of time is skewed in all directions. Sparrow is much more than what she appears to be.
