As Amy looked out of the mirror at her unmoving aunt's face, a chill ran up her spine.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
She was not alone.
Slowly she turned around.
AAHH! She screamed.
There was movement on the ground.
AAAHHH!!!! It screamed back.
She jumped in the air as a shadow ran under her feet.
She shrieked as she felt it grab hold of her ankle and start to climb up past her knee.
She shook her leg, using her hands to swipe at it.
The furry body wouldn't let go, just kept on screaming, getting hoarser by the second.
She went quiet, her movement halted when she noticed it was screaming louder than she was. Breathing rapidly, she nervously looked down at the grey animal clinging onto the top of her leg.
"Oh.... Please stop screaming little mouse!" Amy said gently, smiling as her fear quickly lessened. It was kind of cute... "Although you're really big for a mouse....."
The mouse stopped screaming and looked up at her intently with its big black eyes.
"A mouse?! How dare you." His fur bristled." And I am only screaming because you're screaming."
"You can talk?" She squeaked.
"Of course I can talk, why is it that humans believe they are the only sentient beings who possess speech." He spoke gruffly with a Spanish accent, very similar to one of Amy's friends at school.
"Sorry.... I've never spoken to a mouse, before."
"I. Am. Not a MOUSE!" He yelled, scurrying up to her chest on his tiny paws, his roly-poly body, jiggling at every movement.
She leaned back as his long whiskers tickled her chin.
"I'm a chinchilla." He corrected her. Wiggling his velvety round ears and curling his bushy tail, which was almost as long as his body.
"Oh! I've never spoken to a... chin-chil-la before, either," she replied, reaching to stroke the long fur on his tail which he promptly flicked out of her reach. Amy was pretty sure she'd never even heard of a chinchilla before...
"Well now you have." He proclaimed, his chest swelling with self importance, as he jumped onto her open hand. "My name's Carlos by the way. And you must be Elizabeth."
"You know my Storytelling name?" Amy couldn't keep the surprise from her voice.
"Of course. All the Didactic Stone Teachers have heard of the new Storyteller who will replace Elizabeth Castle."
"You're a teacher?" The question was out before she could stop herself.
"Of course! Why?" He asked suspiciously. In a flash, before she knew what had happened, he was pressing his tiny wet nose against hers. "Do you have a problem with being taught by a chinchilla?"
"No, no," she replied hurriedly, holding both hands in the air like stop signs. "Uh.... what do you teach?"
"The elements! You know, good ol' water, fire, earth, and air." His expression brightened, his chubby cheeks wobbling as he spoke, when just in front of them a cloud appeared with a head poking out of the middle of it.
YOU ARE READING
The Storyteller - ONC 2022
General FictionNine-year-old Amy Winter's holiday plans have gone from exciting to total disaster. How is she supposed to have any fun being packed up and sent to stay with a weird relative she can't even remember? And Aunt Penelope is as weird as they get. With...
