December Post

(I'm re-doing my November post...)

Rina Ellis was nine when she first started wondering around the forest in her backyard, she knew it like the back of her hand, running through the trees rain and all. Slipping on wet grass and scrambling through ancient, bare trees. Many times her friend Autumn would always join her in an adventure. They both had vivid imaginations and could convert any fantasy to life.

     Which is why they loved the forest, because once their imaginations were at work, the forest was no longer a patch of trees a couple yards around, it was an on going valley for them to explore and an endless journey into somewhere, anywhere. A place where the sky was always colored with pastel purples and bright oranges like the sun was always setting. Where the sound of a waterfall in the distance was strong and the smell of a river, just a short walk away, was always in the air. A place where everything was perfect and time just... stopped.

     The two friends visited this wonderland, every day, for three years. 

     Going on adventures and saving the environment. Finding things that have never even been heard of before like the Hyrol, a large, black, lizard-type creature with wings of gold and silver, lined with coal black spikes, with its teeth sharp as daggers and claws like razors. This monster regenerated to, so they often battled it bravely, learning its weaknesses and defeating it over again.

     They cheered every time they defeated a monster, then together they would go home to celebrate with vanilla ice cream drowned in strawberry and chocolate sauce. 

     They did this everyday, for three years.

     Then one day, they came home for their usual sundae to hear some, interesting news. 

     "We'll be heading to New York in a few days." Autumn's parents said to Rina's, thinking that the girls were still off in the forest fighting hyrols' and minotaurs'. The girls walked around the corner of the room with tear-filled eyes.

     "We're leaving? In a few days?" Autumn cries, "To New York? Why is this the first I'm hearing of this..." her tear stained face was hard to ignore.

     "It's still being planned, but yes." her father confirms with a smile and a nod. "Actually, we'll be leaving in exactly three days."

     "Three days!" the girls exclaim and stare at the adults in shock.

     "Yes, three days. Don't worry, it'll be fun." Autumn's mother smiles sweetly at the girls.

     "Three days..." Autumn keeps repeating to herself quietly as if repeating it would make it no longer true, "only three more days..."

     The parents smile and Rina gets suspicious, "we're going back out, right now." she declares and marches outside.

     The girls walk into the forest, scrambling under overgrown bushes and snaking through rows of trees. In three days this could all just disappear. They marched past bunches of hyrols' and stampeded past roaring minotaurs'. The sneak past sleeping dragons and wonder through groves of trolls like trees. They walked past the waterfall and followed the river to their fort hidden by vines and bushes. A castle of tangled vines and branches, creating the perfect hideout for them.

     They planned and they plotted to make sure Autumn stays. A devious smile crossed Rina's face as she shared her greatest scheme. Autumn nods at the plan and they quickly head home, grinning the whole way there. They barge into the house and demand the parents attention, earning it right away. They say their commands and tell them the plans.

     "We aren't leaving forever." Autumn's dad explains, "just for two or three days."

     "And Rina's coming along for the trip." her mom adds.

     So they packed and they planned for three days straight until the day finally came.

     They left the magical world they had known, their first break in a while. The land where the sun is always setting and where the monsters roam free. A land where the waterfall can always be heard and the smell of the river was strong. The land, within the forest, where they slipped and they climbed. The land they created themselves.