I find myself staring out the window in Franklin Point. It is a brisk fall day, though the sun is shining. My family is sitting down to a breakfast of hashbrowns, eggs, bacon, and buttered toast . I can hear them chatting at the table, my parents, my little brother, my boyfriend. I will probably have a cup of orange juice with my meal when I join them, but despite the delicious smell of the cooking potato (my favorite food) I’m not ready to join them yet. I’m dreading my entrance into the world. It’s a coming of age mission that we must do as a family tradition. I have been skipping out on mine, but now I can’t put it off for any longer.
“Watch out!” I hear the scream come from behind me. I left home only what seems hours ago, and already I’ve found crisis upon crisis. I headed southeast through what I believed would be the less dangerous portion of our home island. But instead found a town in a great conflagration. Smoke clouded my eyes, and I could barely distinguish the creature that ran past me.
“OMG, is that a llama!” I couldn’t help but blurt out my thoughts at the time. I’d never seen one up close, but the town on fire apparently kept them as pets, now they were running wild to try to escape the nipping flames. I did my best to help the town out before I moved on to write this. A friendly mother of three helped point me in the right direction after the confusion. She had a ring on her finger, I wonder what happened to her husband. I hope he survived the flames.
SNAP! I hear an evil laugh. My entire body twitches with fear. I can hear heavy breathing, and I must find out where it is coming from. “What was that noise!?” I hear a male voice say. I spot him, not much older than I through the leaves of the bush I’m behind. I had just stopped to pick berries as my stomach was growling ferociously. So much for that plan, I thought as an evil witch like cackle started, “Hocus-pucus, diddily-dee, I shall bambozzle the spy straight up this tree!”
Next thing I knew I found myself coming out of cover into the clearing and was scrambling up a tree. The old lady’s face twisted with glee and she cackled, “Oh well, I’ve got another one. Little girl deary, I’d best sojourn in that tree if I were you.”The young man looked up at me from where he was, and shrugged his shoulders, “She’s got a good trap set up.” I just nodded and stayed put. I’m sure I’ll figure a way out of this predicament soon.
It turns out I was right, the young man turned out to be a rogue smuggler that had left his crew with some of their smuggled goods and was off trying to find a home for himself. The witch was just lonely and wanted some company. Upon explaining my mission, she released the spell on me so that I could climb down from the tree. “I must move on and get as far as I can before nightfall.” I admitted, apologizing for having to leave the old witch. Surprisingly she explained a sanctuary cave to me that held unimaginable magic. If I followed the nutty path, I would reach it by dusk.
Setting off, I first had no idea what I would be looking for, but then it became clear to me as more and more squirrels seemed to appear. One leaped on and attacked my head. I must have come to close to its stash. Put I had to press on, and when I found the cave that I now sit in, I was surprised. It is eternally spring inside. Great oak trees grow as tall as the ceiling, and it is comfortably warm. I believe I shall sleep well tonight before I continue my mission in the morning.