- Story by Abigail Slack, Grade 6

 

House after house, building after building flew by and a soft drizzle lingered in the air. How could my parents do this to me, Jennifer Lantaly, the cheerleader, an A+ student? Make me move away from everything I loved, everything I had ever cared

about!

 

"All because of his stupid job," I huffed.

 

"Honey," Mom said, "this is it."

 

I glanced out the window and a beautiful redbrick house stared back at me. I had to admit it was spectacular. Every inch of the yard was green. Grass spread out all along the yard, the bushes were slightly overgrown, and the large pine trees were dense. There it was, my new home, right there, nestled in the trees, just sitting there, waiting to be opened.

 

Dad pulled into the driveway and the large, rumbling moving truck screeched to a stop on the street. I climbed out of my father's silver Volvo, slamming the door and making my parents jump. Even though I was disappointed because of the move, I was overwhelmed with curiosity. I had the strangest feeling that a secret was hidden somewhere in there, just waiting to be discovered. I hurried up the front steps and slowly, I turned the handle and the door creaked open.

 

I gasped. I had never seen anything so beautiful. An old brown staircase sneaked up a wall and the kitchen was bright with many windows. There were counters and old brown cupboards. I walked into the kitchen and reached out my hand and touched the glassy, brown counter. It felt cold, like the window of a car on a winter day. I took in

every detail. Inside a nook, surrounded by windows, I gathered, was the place to put a table. It was cute and homey. I advanced up the creaky stairs, running my hand along the smooth railing. I walked down the hallway and peered into a bedroom. I could tell that this was my room. No master bathroom or giant closet. There were just a few windows on a soft yellow wall.

 

"My bed will go perfect with these walls," I thought. Just then, I noticed something shimmering on the white carpet. I knelt down and saw a locket with a note. The sun danced upon the golden locket. I reached down and picked up the note. A strange riddle was written on it. It said, O lucky one who finds this locket, a place beyond your dreams awaits you, a magical world and just one simple word, wear the locket and simply say 'open', to discover the amazing world of Anazora.

 

"What is this?" I asked myself. Was this some sort of trick? Could I really wear this locket, say "open", and discover a new land?

     

Even though I should have told someone, I was dying with excitement. I slipped on the locket and fastened the clasp. Shivering with anticipation, I said in a loud, clear voice, "open." My brown golden locks swished behind me and the room around me became unclear. Just like that, the room disappeared and a burst of light surrounded me.

Colors flew by and I felt as though I were flying. All my worries about the move and friends were gone. Suddenly, my feet hit something solid, and everything around me came into focus. I was standing in a beautiful meadow. Wild flowers swayed lazily in the light breeze and overgrown grass swished behind it. Old, oak trees lined a large

forest and paths lined the rooted floor. I saw something ahead of me grazing in the field. It was a... no... I caught myself. They weren't real. They couldn't be. I just saw them in fairy tales. I gingerly took a few steps forward.

 

The creature yelped in surprise and started talking in English. It talked in a soothing voice and said, "It's okay, it's just I haven't seen your kind in ages."

 

"My kind?" I asked, taken aback by the fact that this white, horse-like figure was talking, like nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

 

"Yes," he said. "The last time I saw a human was 30 years ago, when Angela was young. Now I see she has passed her necklace onto you. My name is Tanza. I am a unicorn. I noticed your puzzled expression the second I saw you. Let me explain to you about Anazora."

 

"My name is Jenny," I told Tanza. Tanza was a bold white, with a long, silver mane that blew in the breeze. He looked short, but strong. His horn blazed different, misty colors, sort of like fireworks.

 

"Hmm, Jenny, what a beautiful name," replied Tanza. "I will give you an entire tour of Anazora, the kingdom, and everything."

 

"There's a kingdom? With a real king and queen?" I asked, no longer scared, but excited.

 

"Follow me..."

 

We skipped through the meadow and emerged onto a dirt road. As we pressed on, Tanza pointing things out. The world around us became greener with grass and colorful flowers. The trees blossomed with pink and white flowers. We passed different kinds of creatures. We saw a herd of multicolored unicorns, and in one part we saw fairies. They danced and flew in the air, circling us enthusiastically. I laughed along with them until Tanza ushered me along. We rounded a bend, Tanza chattering along, and I saw the most fantastic thing. A clear, blue lake was nestled in the valley and in the center, a huge, stone castle lay. Vines and flowers sneaked up the ruff stone and the sparkling lake was filled with lily pads.

 

"How beautiful," I sighed.

 

"Isn't it," said Tanza. "Follow me..."

 

I trotted down a bumpy path behind Tanza to the edge of the lake, occasionally stumbling over uneven ground. I peered down into the rippling water and saw, to my amazement, fish of every color. I followed Tanza up the lake to a wooden dock. There I saw small men in narrow canoes. They had beards and wore happy faces.

 

"These dwarves will paddle us to the castle," Tanza said, as though he had read my mind. Hastily, I climbed in the nearest canoe and sat in the center seat. Tanza jumped in and sat himself down on the front seat.

 

"Welcome aboard." The dwarf said as he slowly steered us from the shore and out into the calm water. Soon, we had reached stone steps that led into a courtyard. Guards stood on either side of the doorway and came to greet us when we got out.

 

Tanza said, "We have come to see Queen Nathelda and King Renaldo. On a personal mission of the human," added Tanza.

 

"This way," the guard told us.

 

We set off on a brisk walk into the courtyard. Fountains burst with water and the pillars had green vines climbing on them. The ruff floor was brick and we walked into many different rooms until we came upon what seemed to be the throne room. The guard presented us and Tanza bowed. I followed suit and bowed, too.

 

The queen cried, "Nonsense. I do not believe in all this bowing voodoo. Now, tell me why you have come, young unicorn."

 

"I have brought you a human. Angela must have given the necklace to young Jenny here. I have been giving her a tour. I wanted her to meet your majesties and for you to meet her. Also, I think she and your daughter Madilyn are around the same age."

 

"Ah, child. Come here. You are very lucky, and are welcome here any time," the queen said in a kind voice.

 

"Thank you," I said quietly, not knowing what else to say.

 

"Mom," cried a pretty young girl who looked to be about my age. "Oh, sorry, I didn't realize you were in the middle of something."

 

"That's quite all right darling," the queen told her in a motherly tone. "In fact, I wanted you to meet Jenny, a young human girl who just discovered our world."

 

"Hi," said the girl who I assumed was Madilyn.

 

"Hi," I replied, once again feeling shy.

 

"Do you want to come upstairs with me to my room?" asked Madilyn.

 

"Sure," I replied.

 

Madilyn and I raced out of the room and up the stairs. She was asking all sorts of questions about my world, and what it was like. I told her it was fine, and that I had just moved to a new house.

 

We arrived in her room. It was cute. It had pink walls with a bed and a white canopy. I could already tell that Madilyn and I were going to be friends. I gasped. How could I have been so stupid? My parents. They must be worried sick.

 

"What?" Madilyn asked. "Is something wrong?"

 

"My parents don't know where I am. I should be getting back," I said in a panicked voice. "How do I get back?"

 

"Well, my parents told me that Angela got back by saying 'return'."

 

"I'm sorry," I told her, "but I really have to go. Tell everyone that I will be back soon. I really enjoyed seeing Anazora and am so glad I met you. I hope to see you soon! Bye." And then, in a loud, clear voice, I spoke the word: "Return."

 

I felt a similar sensation as I had when I first entered Anazora. Everything went blurry and I was racing through color until my feet hit solid ground. I was standing in my room. Everything was the same. I raced down the stairs and saw my parents looking in the kitchen. It looked as though no time had passed at all. Maybe the necklace had stopped time when I entered Anazora. Well, one thing was for sure. I would certainly be going back to Anazora to see Madilyn and Tanza.

 

I can't wait until I go back again to see the fairies and dwarves, and all the amazing things. And who knows, maybe a whole new adventure lies before me. And maybe, just maybe life won't be so bad after all.