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Once upon a time, in the village of Oaksvale lived a young girl, Valerie Blackwood, who was gonna have the journey of a lifetime one day. One afternoon, Valerie was helping her mother, Mrs. Blackwood, clean their cottage. "What would you like for dinner, Val? I could make some for you later if you'd like," said Mrs. Blackwood, "Could you please make some blueberry pie, mother? It would be delightful if we had pie for dinner!" responded Valerie as she paused to look at her mother, "Well while im cleaning the house could you go harvest some berries from the forest? by the time you finish i'll be able to make it for you," happily said Mrs. Blackwood while she swept the floor with grace and elegance, "Oh of course, mother! i'll get right to it!" excitedly cried Valerie, she then ran upstairs to get dressed to go harvesting berries, after awhile she came back downstairs and grabbed a basket, "Goodbye, mother!" said Valerie as she waved goodbye to her mother. As Valerie was roaming around the forest in search of some berries she found an odd berrybush with violet berries, she mumbled to herself "oh? I've never seen berries like these before," as she swept away her dark brunnete hair from her face, she innocently plucked one of the berries from the bush and ate it, the words to describe it's taste was bitter and sour, she immediately spat the berry out, "yuck! it's sour! i wouldn't try to do that again," reassured Valerie to herself. as she continued her adventures in the forest she noticed it started to get dark and withered, "uhh. . . where am i?. . . this doesn't seem like the forests of Oaksvale. . ." groaned Valerie, "oh no. . . am i in the Withered Woods?!. . ." cried Valerie. The woods was starting to grow darker, and strange sounds were heard from the distance. Valerie quickly realized that she was lost. She stopped and tried to collect herself. She started to walk blindly, hoping that she would eventually find her way out. After a while she stopped and looked around. she saw a cold mist pass by her, frightened of the thought, she stepped back a bit and accidentally tripped on a rock. "ack!. . that hurt!" cried Valerie. As she tripped over the rock, she heard a strange whisper coming from the mist. She looked around and couldn't see anything. The whisper continued to call hers name, "Valerie. . . Valerie. . .". She exclaimed the words; "Who's there?! Show yourself immediately!!" as she got up, dusting herself off. The whisper grew louder. Valerie felt a strange presence around her. She turned around quickly, but didn't see anyone. She shivered and felt a strange chill. She continued to walk through the forest and the whispers continued to get louder. She eventually stopped and listened intently. "Ah! why hello Val!!" an owl spoke behind her, Valerie immediately turned around and stumbled against a tree, caught off guard from the sudden appearance, "AAH! Who are you?!! were you the mist?!! were you that voice that's been calling me?!!" she screams in fright. The owl laughed. It was a large owl with large black wings and sharp talons. It looked quite intimidating. It chuckled and then spoke. "Ahh. . . I see you're a bit frightened, aren't you? It's okay, there's no need to worry. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just here to help you!" Valerie said excitedly "Really? So you're here to help me get out of the Withering Woods?" The owl nodded and turned to mist and solidified again behind her. Valerie immediately backed away, worried that she was facing a dangerous creature. The owl laughed, "Hey, don't be scared. I'm just a regular owl, and I'm here to help you find your way out of the Withering Woods." Valerie breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "Great! Could you please tell me where the exit is?" The owl frowned, "Unfortunately, I can't tell you where the exit is. But I can help you find a way out of here," "Oh, well what is it? I'd do anything to leave this horrific forest!" cried Valerie, the owl grinned "oh but I don't know how to get out, but I do know who can!", Valerie begged "could you please show me who this person is?" The owl chuckled, "Yes, of course! But first, let me ask you a question: Do you trust me?" Valerie thought about the question for a moment, then she smiled and replied, "Yeah, I guess I do. I mean, you haven't done anything bad to me yet." The owl nodded, then he turned back to a cloud of mist and began leading Valerie through the woods. As they walked, he explained that he had been watching Valerie from the trees, and that she had caught his attention when she ate the weird berry. Valerie was quickly led through the woods by the owl, passing by numerous strange and eerie creatures on the way. The strange creatures seemed to be attracted to the mysterious owl, but it was quickly made apparent that they meant no harm. The pair traveled for what seemed like hours before they reached a small clearing where a bright white fox awaited them. "Aha! hello my good friend! who's this mortal you've brought with you?" the fox asked. "I found her wandering through the woods," the owl replied "She ate one of those strange berries which drew my attention, I've been following her ever since." "i see, and about something you keep forgetting, did you introduce yourself or me to her, Aris?" the fox asked, "ah! you're quite right! i did forget about that again!" the owl replied, as he turns to Valerie. "my name is Aristander, and this is my friend, Angélique, she knows how to get out of this forest." Aristander explained. "My name is Valerie Blackwood," she replied, "It's nice to meet you Angélique and Aristander." "Now that we've introduced ourselves, would you be able to show me the way out of here? I'm not exactly in the mood to spend much more time being lost." Angélique spoke, "Ah yes, I almost forgot, I do know the way out but unfortunately I can't do it on my own, we need help from, Faelyn." sighed Angélique, "then we shall travel to find this "Faelyn" that you speak of!" said Valerie with confidence. "Well then let us go." said Aristander "Hopefully, Faelyn knows the way out quickly, I don't think I can take much more of this place." "I agree," commented Angélique. "I just hope that, Faelyn isn't as strange as the rest of the creatures we've encountered so far." said Valerie. Just as they were walking through the woods, they found a small deer trying to befriend a butterfly, it immediately noticed their presence, "Hello, Aris! Hello, Angie! who's this person?" the deer asked, "why hello Fae, she's Valerie Blackwood, she needs our assistance to get out of the Withering Woods." Aristander explained. "ohh. . . well follow me! i'll help you find the blossom of blessings! just eat one and you'll be able to summon a door to get out!" Said Faelyn, "Summon? blossom of blessings? is the Withering Woods enchanted?" asked Valerie, Aristander said "Val, its obvious." Valerie followed the deer through the woods, intrigued by the prospect of being able to summon a door to escape. As they walked, Faelyn explained that the Withering Woods had been enchanted by the witch of the woods many years ago. The blossom of blessings was originally planted for the witch to enchant the woods, however the witch had since been defeated and cast out of the woods, leaving the blossom to grow and spread. Aristander remained silent, content to see how the situation played out without intervention. Suddenly, they reached a four-way-path, they seemed confused on which way to go since none of the three animals have seen it before, "where do we go now?" Asked Valerie, "let's try the second one from the right! It seems fun enough!" Angélique replied, then Aristander spoke up; "What?! That's a terrible reason to go down that path! It may be fun but it could possibly be dangerous! It's better if we take the first one on the left, it seems safer." Aristander explained, then Faelyn argued "Excuse me? Being safe and being fun is both wrong! We should choose the clearer path! It would be easier to navigate and would decrease our chances of getting lost!". Valerie stood behind the three while they're arguing, she wanted to go down the path that was second from the left, yet she kept silent to avoid getting into their argument. "Y'know what? I'm splitting up! You guys take your own paths!" Bursted Aristander, as he flies down the left path and out of sight. Faelyn and Angélique quickly turned their attention to Valerie, both of them waiting for her to make a decision regarding the path she wanted to take. After a few seconds, which felt like hours, she finally spoke up. "I think I'll take the path in the middle." Faelyn and Angélique both raised an eyebrow at her, questioning her decision. "Are you sure you want to go down that path?" Faelyn asked. "Yes," Valerie replied with certainty, "I have a feeling that this path will lead me somewhere interesting.". "then go down that path yourself, i need some alone time," said Angélique, "I'm sorry, Val. . . i need some time to think as well. . ." softly said Faelyn. Valerie found herself alone in the woods, facing an uncertain future. Despite the challenges, she remained calm and collected. She slowly made her way down the path she had chosen, determined to explore every inch of it. As she walked, she couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement, anticipation, and intrigue. The path seemed to be never ending, yet it was filled with unknown adventures and possibilities. Valerie embraced the unknown and ventured further into the woods, hoping to find a way out, or at least something interesting along the way. Moments later, Valerie saw a golden glow from afar,- the blossom of blessings - she immediately ran towards it, unware of the cliff infront of it, she stumbled down the cliff but managed to hold on to the edge of it. "Please! anyone! help!" cried Valerie, as she hanged on the edge of the cliff. Meanwhile, while the three animals were on seperate paths, Valerie's cry for help was loud enough to reach their ears, the three immediately ran towards the cry for help. "Val!? where are you?!" yelled Aristander, "I'm over here!! i need to get up!!" Valerie cried, "Wait right there, Sweetie! i'll go get some help!" Angélique said. As Valerie clung on to the edge of the cliff, she could hear her friends desperately searching for her. The thought of being rescued and the prospect of finally escaping the woods filled her with hope. Faelyn's ears perked up as she heard Valerie's shout, "I can hear her! she must be just around the corner!" Faelyn immediately ran to search for Valerie as well. With the help of her friends, Valerie was confident that they would find her soon. Despite her exhaustion and fatigue, she held on tight hoping to be rescued as soon as possible. "I found her! Val! grab onto Angélique's tail! I'll help lift you up!" exclaimed Aristander, as Angélique A. Faux got into a position where Valerie E. Blackwood could grab her tail like a rope whilst Aristander V. Hooters used his sharp talons to lift her up, Faelyn L. Dhearie was helping Angélique not fall off the cliff aswell. Within a few minutes they finally got Valerie back on solid ground, she immediately grabbed the three and hugged them tightly, "thank you guys so much for saving me! i owe you my life!" cried Valerie, "Oh, it was nothing," insisted Faelyn, "We've got each other's backs for a reason, right?" "Definitely," said Angélique, "And you have our full support whenever you need it." Aristander said as he landed on Valerie's shoulder. "We shouldn't have splitted up, that's something we've learned today" chuckled Faelyn, "Cmon, Val! there's a bridge this way! you'll be able to reach the flower as soon as you cross it!" said Angélique as she led them towards the bridge. "I agree," said Aristander, "it's not the smartest idea to split up in these woods." Valerie smiled as Angélique led the way towards the bridge. "I can't wait to reach that flower!" she exclaimed, excited to finally have a chance at escaping the Withering Woods. Just as Valerie was about to grab the flower, she realized it was just a normal daisy, "Surprise! We wanted to surprise you! The true way of exiting was as simple as picking a flower! we wanted you to go on an adventure to have good memories once you leave!" explained Faelyn, "mhm! now go ahead! take the flower and treasure it until it wilts! and also, take this, we all made it for you," said Aristander as he handed Valerie a locket with a picture of a fox, a deer, and an owl. Valerie was speechless, she couldn't believe how fortunate she was to meet these kind and generous animals. The locket was a beautiful keepsake that represented the bonds of friendship they had forged together. And the gift of the flower would forever be a reminder of her time in the woods. "Thank you, I cannot begin to express my gratitude." said Valerie as she took the locket. "It's nothing! we're just happy to see you happy" Faelyn replied. The three animals watched as Valerie happily exited the woods with the flower in her hand. Once more, Valerie heard someone calling her, "Valerie. . . Valerie. . . Wake up!", Then Valerie got up from the grass, her Mother was trying to wake her up, "Val! oh dear goodness! you seemingly fainted while picking berries! I've been trying to wake you up for 4 minutes!" said Mrs. Blackwood. Valerie started to realize that it was that violet berry she ate that made her faint, but was it really a dream if she had the locket and flower in her hand? Valerie suddenly felt a slight pang of doubt, had all that happened just a dream? But, the locket and flower in her hand seemed so real. She looked at the locket and thought, "Mother, maybe dreams do come true, or maybe truths can become a dream" Valerie smiled happily.
-The End
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Characters:
Valerie E. Blackwood, Mrs. Blackwood, Aristander V. Hooters, Angélique A. Faux, Faelyn L. Dhearie.
Setting:
Oaksvale, the Withering Woods, One afternoon
Mood:
excitement, fear, empathy, happiness, light-heartedness.
theme:
one cannot do something alone, so you must work together to do something.
Conflict:
Valerie gets lost in the Withering Woods
rising action:
the three animals seperate due to a disagreement
climax:
Valerie is hanging off a cliff just as she was about to get the blossom
resolution:
the three animals work together and surprise her with a gift
Falling action:
Valerie is able to escape the Withering Woods with amazing memories
(Pen Name) Written by: Bitancor, K. Z.
