Once upon a time, in a small village at the end of the Enchanted Woods, there lived a young girl called Sophia. She had long brown hair that she always wore in a bun. she had green eyes and a long pink dress. She wasn’t anything special; just a normal peasant girl.
Sophia had no brothers or sisters, and her father had died when she was very young, so of course her mother was always very busy. Sophia tried to help as much as she could, but as she was only 14, she couldn’t work at the market with her mother.
One dark, gray day, Sophia was out in the garden, picking vegetables for her mother, and then her mother called to her out the kitchen window.
“Sophia, when you are done with the vegetables, can you run to the market and drop off this pie to Mrs. Flider for me?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll be right there!” Sophia called back.
Sophia went into the house to the kitchen. The house wasn’t very big. It had a small dining room, with an old wooden table and four chairs to match. The dining room lead to a kitchen that was fairly big, then the kitchen lead to a sitting room, and then a bedroom that her and her mother shared. They had separate beds, but shared a dresser.
Sophia grabbed a basket from the cupboard and packed the pie and a bit of a snack for herself: a pineapple tart, and a plate of sliced apples, and cucumbers. As Sophia started to walk out, her mother stopped her and said, “Here, Sophia; take your cape. It’s sure to rain.”
Sophia smiled sweetly, and grabbed her long blue cape.
Sophia walked a very long time. The market was very far away, and she was getting tired, so she went and sat down under a big maple tree. She opened the basket and took out the apple and cucumber slices. She ate half the apples and half the cucumbers, then packed them back up and before she knew it, she was asleep.
It had started to rain. She awoke, soaking wet. She grabbed the basket and ran to the bridge and before she got half-way across, she slipped and fell into the river.
Sophia screamed at the top of her lungs, “HELP ME! PLEASE HELP!”
She tried to grab the edges of the river, but it was too soft. She couldn’t hang on. Her hands just broke up the sides. She threw her hands in the air and screamed again, “HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!”
Then, someone grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the water. Sophia coughed about six times before she could breathe again. She felt herself in strong, warm arms. Then she heard his voice.
He said, “Are you OK?”
Sophia looked up at him. He had blonde hair and deep blue eyes, just like the sea after a storm. His clothes were torn, revealing some of his chest. She couldn’t stop looking at him, he was so handsome.
He repeated himself, “Are you OK, Miss? Do you need anything?”
Sophia froze, and then quietly answered, “I think I’m OK.”
The boy picked Sophia up and put her upon a white unicorn, then he jumped up himself.
Sophia asked, “What’s your name?”
The boy replied, “My name is Toby. What’s yours?”
Sophia froze once again, and with a shaky voice said, “I’m Sophia, and I am 14 years old. I live in a small village at the end of the Enchanted Woods.”
Toby’s voice sounded scared. “Um… well, you aren’t going home too soon.” Sophia was confused.
“Where am I?” she asked.
Toby sighed and answered, “You’re at the beginning of the Weeping Forest.”
Sophia raised her voice slightly. “But that’s more than two weeks away! How could the river take me that far away?
Toby giggled a bit, then he replied, “There’s a porthole in the river about a mile away.”
“Well, can’t we go back through it?” Sophia asked objectively.
Toby answered sadly, “No, sorry. You can’t. We better pick up the pace.”
They rode all night, then they reached a glowing tree. The glow of the tree reminded her of her mother. Sophia couldn’t hold back the tears. She burst out crying.
Toby took her off the horse, and once again, she found herself in his strong arms. She felt safe when he held her like that. He started to stroke her hair. She stopped crying, and Toby stepped away and walked to the tree and pulled down a branch.
There was a flash and a door opened in the front of the tree. Toby took Sophia’s hand and said, “Welcome to the Castaways.”
They walked down some stairs. There was light coming from everywhere. Toby still held her hand. She was dry now, but she was still cold. Toby was so warm, it was surprising to her. Toby led her far down the stairs. They started to walk down a long hallway, to some doors at the the end of the hall. There was a double-door that was glowing blue, not yellow, and Toby opened the door, and they walked through together.
When they walked in, there was a big bed and a gigantic dresser. The floor was beautiful; it seemed to sparkle and shine. Toby walked in a bit and said, “This is where you’ll be sleeping. I’m right next door.” He pointed to a door and then said, “That door gets you to the bathroom.”
Sophia nodded and said quietly, “Goodnight.”
Toby replied, “Goodnight. There will be breakfast for you in the morning.”
Sophia nodded again. She walked over to the dresser and opened it. There were so many beautiful dresses and outfits in there. She found a light blue nightgown, then she climbed into the bed and very soon she was warm again, and then asleep. She fell asleep so quickly; the sheets were so soft, like a cool breeze on a hot summer day.
She woke up at the sound of Toby’s voice. She looked up at him. He had changed; his clothes were clean and not ripped. His hair was combed and washed. He was even more handsome.
He said sweetly, “You’d best get dressed. Breakfast will be ready soon.”
Sophia smiled and Toby walked out of the room. She got up and went to the dresser. She picked out a light green dress. It was quite beautiful. She also picked out a pair of black shoes. She did her hair in a half-ponytail and then washed her face.
Someone knocked on the door. She thought it was Toby, so she yelled, “Come in!”
The door opened and there was an old woman standing there. She said, “Hello, Sophia. I expect you are ready for breakfast?”
Sophia answered, “Yes, but how do you know my name?”
The woman laughed and then replied, “Toby, of course. He’s told us all about you. Now, come and eat!” The woman took Sophia’s arm and pulled her out the door.
They walked down the long hallway and turned down a different one that Sophia had never seen before. It was like it had appeared out of think air. They came up to a door. It was glowing purple.
Sophia asked, “What’s with all the doors glowing?”
The lady answered, “The whole tree glows yellow, but when you need to go somewhere that you don’t know, the tree shows your eyes the right door.”
“Cool!” Sophia replied excitedly. The lady opened the door and disappeared into the glow.
Sophia got so scared, she nearly cried. There was a hand reaching for her. It grabbed her and and pulled her in. She closed her eyes and screamed as loud as she could.
“Wow, Sophia! You don’t need to be scared; it’s just me,” Toby said calmly.
Sophia started to giggle in embarrassment, and if that wasn’t bad enough, she looked around the room and there was a table with at least twenty people sitting at it. Sophia’s face went beet red.
Toby took her hand and walked her to an empty seat right beside the head of the table. He sat her down, then sat down right beside her. Sophia thought to herself: Wow! He must be the leader or something. He does have a unicorn…
Then a man asked, “Well, Sophia, how is it that you came to be in the river?”
Sophia answered, “Oh, um… I was running across a small bridge and I fell in. And then Toby saved me.”
The man was about to say something else, but the dinner bell rang, and four men in white uniforms came in and gave everyone a plate of eggs, toast and some bacon. Then women in black little dresses came, and gave everyone a glass of wine or apple juice. Sophia started eating, followed by everyone else. Everyone wanted to know about Toby’s rescue and all about Sophia.
later that day, around 3:00, Sophia was outside for a walk and she heard a horse neigh. she ran to the sound. She cam across a barn hidden in some trees. Then she saw it: a Pegasus.
It seemed to call to her. She walked towards it. The Pegasus looked at her and seemed to speak to her. Its lips didn’t move, but it said, “Come, Sophia. I must show you something.”
It was a girl’s voice. Sophia walked right to her and asked, “What’s your name, and what do you need to show me?”
“Well, you’d have to bring him,” the Pegasus gestured her head to Toby, who was standing right behind Sophia.
“Oh, Toby, isn’t she beautiful? She wants to show us something!” Sophia said excitedly, then ran over to Toby and gave him a hug. Toby hugged Sophia gently with his strong arms.
The Pegasus said, “Listen, Sophia. You need to help us. Toby, you know what I mean.”
Toby took Sophia’s hand and said,” Of course, I know, but she doesn’t.” Toby’s voice and whole body was shaky. Sophia was confused.
“What’s going on?” she asked sweetly.
Toby sat down - well, more like, collapsed. He started to cry. Sophia sat down beside him and held him with head on her chest, so he could hear her heartbeat, and it did seem comforting to him. Sophia stroked his head and in a sweet voice, said, “Don’t cry. Tell me what’s wrong. I promise I will still respect you the same as I do now; just please tell me why you are crying.”
Toby started to calm down and said, “You’re the only one who can save the Castaways. You hold the key to unleash a force that will destroy the evil that is trying to kill us.”
Sophia asked with bravery, “What must I do?”
Toby looked up at her and smiled.
Alisia told them to get on her back, and she said, “Hold on tight!” and she started to run faster and faster, then she flew off into the air.
Toby was having a blast. Sophia couldn’t stop worrying about what she had to do. Alisia headed down and landed beside a spring. It was beautiful. Toby and Sophia got off Alisia’s back and walked to the edge of the spring.
“Sophia, all you need to do is walk into the middle and lay on that platform,” Alisia said. Sophia was confused.
“That’s it?”‘
“Yes,” Toby answered.
“OK,” Sophia replied, and then she walked into the middle of the spring and lay on the platform.
There was a big flash of light, and Sophia was lifted up into the air. Her eyes were shut. She seemed to be sleeping, and Toby got nervous.
There was a great rumble from the ground, and these black-winged creatures came up and started flying around Sophia and then they go a zap of the light and became dust. Then Sophia got carried back down and laid out on the edge of the spring. The light vanished and Sophia woke up. Toby ran to her. Sophia got up and Toby hugged her.
Alisia said in a sweet voice, “”Come. We must get you home.”
Toby and Sophia climbed on her back and they flew off to take Sophia home. She was happy and relaxed. She leaned back on Toby and fell asleep.
When she awoke, she was under the big maple tree with her back to it.
She said to herself, I guess it was just a dream…
It was a beautiful day. She got up and walked to the bridge and she thought she saw something in the water.
She leaned closer, and a hand slowly came up, and gently pulled her into the river.
- O -
Story by Kyla Becker.
Now you know why I haven’t posted in a long time.
