A story of a broken Bell

Lantern Town

Bell continued running at a brisk pace, his feet pounding rhythmically on the sidewalk. Soon houses turned into trees and sidewalk into dirt as he continued in his search. The air in this area was crisp and clean, soothing his lungs and cooling his skin.

At first, all he could hear was the wind in the trees and the thudding of his feet, but then a third noise rose from behind him. It was a whisper at first, but as it began to catch up to him, he came to realize that it was a voice, one that was calling out to him.

Eventually, Bell slowed his pace to a stop and turned to face whatever was behind him. He found himself staring at a young girl that was a bit older than him. She looked to be around twelve or so, judging by her size. The girl had curly blonde hair that framed her doll-like face. She wore a royal blue dress, a rarity in a time like this. Her arms wrapped tightly around herself and she looked very scared.

"I-I'm A-Andie, w-who are y-y-you?" She stammered nervously.

"My name is Jack. I live around here." Bell replied calmly.

Andie continued to fear Bell and broke down crying. Bell doesn't know why, but he could relate to her fear. Bell began to cry along with Andie. He realized that this must be what feeling lost feels like.

Eventually Bell left Andie behind, finding no way to get her to follow him or at least get out of the path. He felt bad for leaving her like that, but he didn't have much choice, as it would be dark soon and he'd rather find shelter than sit in the cold inky black of the woods with some girl he'd met only a few hours ago.

Eventually he stumbled on a small town called Lantern Town, lit by many lanterns. Night had already fallen so he quickly made his way in, like a moth to a flame. As Bell walked through the sleeping town, each flame flickering quietly in their paper homes, he heard talking coming from one of the only darkened areas of town. It was a man, talking to himself. He didn't even notice Bell's approach, too enraptured in his conversation of how his mother would be so proud of him. Suddenly, he stops talking for a moment and turns to address Bell.

"Hello, I'm Jack." Bell greeted politely

The man simply stared at Bell blankly for an unsettling amount of time before answering.

"I'm Henry."

Bell nodded nervously and walked onward, only to be stopped by someone grabbing his arm. He turned around to find a little boy around his age. He's wearing a scruffy red shirt and shaggy black pants. His eyes are wide and terrified.

"What's wrong?" Bell asks carefully.

The boy looks down and shakes his head. "I-It was a ghost!" He says in an extremely quiet tone.

Bell stared at him for a few moments before replying "Well that explains why nobody else is awake right now."

Silence fell between the two boys before Bell finally broke the silence.

"Do you know where my parents are?" Bell asked.

"Yeah! They're over there!" Said the boy, excitedly pointing to some sort of building.

Bell nodded and followed the boy to the strange building. It was large, like a supermarket but it looked like it was supposed to be a house. As he came closer, the house looked empty, abandoned. The windows were dark and full of cobwebs and the lawn was overgrown with weeds. The door opened with a creak before he stepped foot into the mansion.

"Mommy? Daddy?" Bell called out.

"Come on up here child!" A strange voice replies.

As Bell followed the strange voice, he found a staircase to a lower floor. Descending the staircase, he heard another voice begin calling from above.

"Come on up here!" It called.

Following this new voice, Bell found himself in a room with several doors leading to different parts of the house. Bell opened each door until one revealed itself to be a bedroom. In the bed was a young girl, dressed in pink polka dot pajamas and her blonde hair hanging off the bed.

The girl, noticing Bell in the doorway, sat up in her bed.

"Hi honey! How did school today go?" She said, smiling.

"Bad," said Bell, "I got bullied."

"Oh no! That can't happen to you! Don't worry, we have plenty of bullies in our class!" She laughs.

Bell went up to the girl and hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much!"

The girl hugs him back, beginning to cry. "Don't ever leave me again!"

Bell gives the girl a kiss on the cheek, before leaving the room and quietly shutting the door.

Going down the hall a little, Bell goes into another room. In this room there is a small desk and chair tucked neatly in the corner. Against one wall is a bookshelf with too many books and on another is a dresser with some lit candles. At the desk is an old man reading through some papers. The man looks up Bell intently.

"Pap?" Bell says quietly.

Looking around the room, Bell begins to find the man a bit creepy looking. He wears glasses, a suit, and carries himself with an air of authority. As the man turns back to the documents, Bell leaves the room without him noticing.