Workshop Story (exerpt from a project titled Lowerland)

It was about one in the morning before I could be sure Marissa was asleep.  I had to be positive, or else my entire plan would go crashing to the ground. 

            I made my way across the creaky wooden floor, walking close to the walls where the boards are tighter as to make as little noise as possible. 

            I am still wearing my clothes from the day, jeans, a sweater, and my favorite old beat up riding boots.  I have my long brown hair pulled into a ponytail which is different; because I usually wear it down to hide my odd violet eyes. 

            Once I finally reach the closet, I close my hand around the old rusty knob.  It is cold and rough to the touch.  I am tempted to yank open the door quickly, but I pull slowly as to not make any noise. 

             It is completely black inside the closet as if there is no end, like a dark void.  I pick up my foot to take a step forward when all of a sudden a cool breeze comes from within the closet.  At first it was mild, but got stronger and stronger.  I tried to shut the doors but they would not budge.  It was if they had suddenly cemented into place.

            I stepped both feet into the closet and I could barely make out a long tube like tunnel.  It looked like one of those enclosed waterslides at the pool.  I heard footsteps behind me and I looked only to face a desperate Marissa.

            “You didn’t listen to me did you?” I could barely make out the wet lines of tears on her face in the darkness.  ‘I told you not to open those doors!  Why didn’t you listen to me Ava? I was trying to protect you!” 

            She was trying to protect me, but from what? 

            “Don’t go into the tube Ava!  Resist the Winds!”  With that last remark, a very strong gust knocked me off my feet, forcing me to twist and turn, vacuuming me down into the tube.

            “Marissa!” I screamed as I was sucked down into the black void

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The Winds were strong, twirling and whirling me in figure eight patterns as I went deeper and deeper into the tunnel.  I screamed for my life.  There was nothing I could do but yell “HELP!” as loud as I possibly could.  When you’re falling down a pit to your possible death, you scream. 

            The ride continued on for about ten minutes.  My lungs burned and my throat was dry as the desert.  I could no longer scream. Then I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, literally.  I shot out of the tunnel like a cannon ball, the Winds still guiding me.  It was beautiful and exhilarating, but I had only one question.  Where was I?

            The sky was a clear blue dotted with puffy white clouds.  I was soaring high enough I could have touched one.  The sun shone bright, casting various shadows on the ground below me.  The grass was green and lots of it looked to be farmland.  I was beginning to enjoy the view from up in the sky, looking down on the little cottages of the native peoples.  This had to be a dream, but it felt so real! I could smell the crisp cleanliness in the air, as if it had just rained and the sun was now shining.  I felt like Dorothy when she first arrived in Oz. 

            My view didn’t change much, just more farmland and the little villages full of tiny cottages.  I looked on towards the horizon.  There was a beautiful sight, thousands of trees with golden leaves.  They glittered brightly in the sun, and were impossible to miss!  The Winds started getting slower, and I started my decent.  I was expertly guided through the maze of trees and plopped safely on the ground. 

The grass beneath my feet was a healthy green color and the golden leafed trees created a canopy above my head.  Plants grew at the trunks of the trees, often having a special quality to them making the leaves look like they were embedded with crystals.  A bed of roses lay peacefully to my left, except these were no ordinary roses.  They were made of rubies, thousands on each rose.  You could feed a whole country off just one flower!  I walked over, the grass muffling the sound of my boots, and bent down to pick one. 

“Don’t touch!”  A boy’s voice behind me shouted.  I jerked my hand back immediately. 

“Sorry,” I apologized.

“Who are you?”  The boy emerged from the trees.  He was about twelve, but no older.  His blonde hair was cut short around his face and longer in the back.  His orange eyes darted as he sized me up.  He was not wearing very modern clothes, and in fact reminded me of Robin Hood.  He had a loaded bow in his hand with a full set of arrows on his back. “Do you know how rare those roses are? Do you even know how rare everything in this Forest is?” He paused, “Who are you?”

            “I’m Ava,” I answered plainly.  I didn’t bother to answer his questions about roses.

            The boy nodded.  “How did you get here?”

            “The Winds brought me,” I responded.

             “The Winds!  Oh yes The Winds!”  He said between his laughs.

            “I’m being serious!  I was opening a closet when all of a sudden The Winds sucked me down a dark tunnel and now I’m here!”  I didn’t want to deal with this guy right now.  I had no idea where I was and believe it or not, I just wanted to go back to Marissa’s.

            “Oh so now you’re serious?  I thought your name was Ava!”  The boy was cracking up now.

            “Please will you just help me? Or at least tell me where I am?”  I pleaded.

            “Fine,” he took a deep breath.  “You are in the Enchanted Forest in Alaoria.”

            “What?”

            “You are in the Enchanted Forest.  This part of it just happens to be in the kingdom of Alaoria,” he repeated.

            “OK,” I said plainly.

            “So here is what you’ve told me so far.  You came by the Winds and they somehow dumped you into the Enchanted Forest in the kingdom of Alaoria,” the boy said with a lot of sarcasm in his voice.

            “Yes!  That is exactly what happened!”  I pleaded my case.

            “Nonsense,” the boy spoke after a long pause.

            “It’s true!”  I screamed desperately.

            “It can’t be true because it’s impossible!”  He yelled back.

            “Fine, if you don’t want to believe me then fine.  I’ll find someone else who will,” I turned to go.

            “You won’t find anyone to help you because your story makes no sense.  It is against Fate that the Winds bring a… a… GIRL into the Enchanted Forest!  It’s impossible!”  The boy was pacing in circles trying to make sense of all this.

            “If it takes me until the day I die, I will find someone who believes my TRUE story!”  And with that last remark, I was off. 

At first I ran.  I ran hard and fast to put as much distance as possible between me and the boy.  I passed millions of golden trees, becoming a blur with my fast moving feet.  I tripped over a root of a tree, and rolled myself over.  That forced me to jog.  I hated jogging, it was just as much work as running, but without the speed.  I looked down at my legs, a hole in my jeans just over my knee had been ripped, but thankfully there was no blood.  I didn’t do well with blood.  After going on for what seemed like a million miles I slowed to a walk.  I walked forever.  I passed another bed of rubies and contemplated picking one just to make the boy cringe, but I decided against it. 

            After walking and walking, I stumbled upon a clearing.  Maybe it wasn’t just a clearing, maybe I had finally found a way out of the Enchanted Forest!  Then I could find someone who would help me. One foot after another, I discovered it was just another clearing like the millions of others I had seen on my run.

 I broke. 

            I didn’t know where I was. I was hungry, tired and thirsty.  I just wanted to be home in my bed with my Dad or even, Marissa.  I was done with all of this.

            I curled up into a ball, rested my head on a bed of moss and collapsed into a stress induced sleep.