(A/N: this is an assignment i wrote for my english class, its not quite finished but i thought i should post it. please be kind.)
“Mother! I’m going out to the oak tree.” Felicity called to her mother, who was just finishing afternoon tea in the rose garden. “Alright, be home for supper” she agreed.
Felicity clambered over the garden wall, an easy task considering she was a figuratively tall girl. She followed the familiar path to the oak tree which she had taken many times. Upon arriving at which she thought was the oak tree, in which she had played so many times in as a child, she gasped at what she saw.
She found a scorched, crooked branched tree blocking her path, a mess of thorns and dead leaves heaped around the roots in great masses. A large hole had been struck open in the brittle crackling wood, but with luck she waded easily through the thick brush and reached the tree in great success, peering through the ominous hole before her. She saw something inside; it cast a small flickering reflection on her face from the dying sunlight.
She reached for it, the ashy bark brushing her pale skin lightly, she ignored the sensation and continued to grope for the object, stretching her arm and fingers and standing taller on her toes.
As she finally grasped the object, she hauled it from its resting place, just as the tree gave way to rot and decay and collapsed. Felicity only had just the time to spring away before a heavy branch splintered on the ground where she was previously standing.
“Whoa…” she breathed, exasperated from the experience. Finding her composure, she turned the strange object she had acquired in her small hands.
‘A box..?’ she thought puzzled, she opened it with caution. A small glass ballerina sprung up from inside. ‘A music-box!’
She marvelled at her discovery, as her hands groped for the key that would start the music. The ballerina started spinning in time to the sickening rhythm of the music, felicity watched in awe, as the delicate figure moved in the small box.
The music began to slow, and the twirling figure stopped, she closed the box and stumbled away from the tree, back through the woods, over the garden wall, and stopped in the garden. A chilly wind picked up and ruffled the hem of her dress; she shivered as her breath sent small clouds into the chilly night air.
She stood for a long time among the flowers, sitting in a patch of daisy’s, watching the ballerina dance in the music-box. She stayed long after the sun descended behind the mountains. She stayed long after the air got so cold she could barely move. She stayed long after the moon came up over the hill.
Felicity’s mother awoke at a strained scream from the garden; she scrambled out of bed and down the steep stairwell, nearly falling. “Felicity!” she cried, searching fervently for her daughter.
She rushed out into the garden, spotting her daughter instantly, and rushing to her side exasperatedly. She slowly lifted her from the ground and carried her inside, frightened that she was hurt.
Her mother placed her in bed softly, upon tucking her in she realized that the small music-box was clasped in her hand.
As soon as her mother touched the box, felicity’s eyes flew open and she screamed demonically, her mother dropped the music-box in fright and ran from the room. She was instantly calm when the music-box was untouched.
By the time the chaos was over, felicity had calmed herself into sleep, clutching the music-box tight to her chest, all the while humming a grotesquely frightening tune.
The time rolled sharply around to 3am, the old grandfather clock in the hallway sounded the hour loudly, rousing felicity from her sleep. She carried the music-box with her, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, picking a length of rope from the broom closet on her way.
Faint music could be heard from the forest, it lured her from her home, over the wall, and all the way to what was left of the old oak tree.
