Shadows Amongst Us

Chapter 2: Underneath The Stars

What is that glowing light and where is it coming from? I slide out of bed and walk towards a full body mirror. Why is there light coming from the mirror? It's impossible for light to come from a mirror. Light can reflect from a mirror, but not come from a mirror. I must be day dreaming or something. I step closer to the mirror and find myself falling inside it. How is this possible?

I suddenly find myself in a forest full of trees. How am I in a forest when I was just in the attic? How come I'm able to come into this unknown place through a mirror? More importantly, how do I get back into the attic? I can't stay in an unknown place in the middle of a forest, in the dark, and in the middle of the night. Maybe I can just walk back into the mirror home? I try, but the mirror has disappeared and the little glimpse of the attic has vanished from sight.

This is not good. This is not good at all. How am I supposed to get back to the attic if I don't even know where I am? I'll have to look for someone to show me directions or something familiar to guide me back. I can't be anywhere normal though, if I got here through a mirror. Perhaps I'm in another world? Unless I'm actually just dreaming in the back of my grandparent's car and this whole thing is a dream and I never actually arrived at my grandparent's house yet.

No way. I cannot be dreaming all of this. I simply won't allow this to be a dream. It's more of a nightmare actually. Maybe I'm actually in a coma and none of this is real? I suppose I should look around and see if anyone knows where I am. I'll know I'm dreaming if I see a talking squirrel.

I walk hopelessly through the forest trying to find a single soul. No such luck was achieved. I kept wandering around the forest until I realized that I was just going in circles. I was sure I had passed this exact tree about five times already. This is completely hopeless. I'll never find my way out of here and I'll end up a tree person. I guess this'll become my new home.

I found a nice stump to sit on and sighed; relaxing my chin on my fists in a slouched-like manner. I can't just live here forever, I thought. There must be someone around here who knows where I am. Someone who can give me proper directions as to where will lead me home. I just have to figure out how to navigate my way through this silly forest first. I'm just not looking hard enough.

I pressed onward towards a new area in the forest. I could see a tiny little pathway leading towards a lamppost. I followed the path and soon come into a little town full of tiny houses. I'd never seen such tiny houses before. Other than houses for children to play in. Each tiny house had a little mailbox and white picket fence along into tiny front yard. I wonder what sort of creature lives in these tiny little houses.

I kept on walking until I came up to a house with a tiny creature sitting in a chair in the front of its house. It looked up at me as I approached the tiny fence in front of the house. I cleared my throat of the nervous knot that had formed and took a deep breath.

"Excuse me, Sir, do you know where I am?"

"Why, you're in the Great Forest of Ambrosia." The creature said.

"You mean like the apples?" I had heard of ambrosia being a type of apple. My favorite kind to be exact.

"I've never heard of such a thing." The creature seemed confused.

"I was wondering how someone would get home to their world from here." His eye had widen like he had just seen a ghost.

"You mean to tell me that you're not from around here?"

"I'm not from here. I'm from a place called America." It wasn't really a lie. I may have been born in England but I was brought up in America.

"I have never heard of such a place, but if you truly aren't from here then you must quickly follow me inside." I was taken aback.

"I'm sorry to sound rude, but I'm afraid I don't know you well enough to just follow you inside your house, Sir."

"If you'd just follow me inside I will explain everything to you." He was very persistent and I wasn't sure if I should trust him and follow or not until I saw the care and kindness in his eyes.

I followed the kind creature into his house without a second thought. It was very different inside his house than the outside. For starters, it was bigger in the inside than the outside. It reminded me of Doctor Who and how the Tardis is bigger on the inside. I always wondered what it felt like to be in the Tardis and now I kind of know. The flooring of the house was built lower than the outside and that's what made it bigger on the inside. Not as magical as the Tardis I must admit, but similar in its coolness. I followed the creature to a little dining table and sat down with him.

"My name is Morlock and you are now in Ambrosia." I nodded.

"There are plenty other places in this world but this very place is Ambrosia." I nodded again for him to continue.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"My name is Oliver Griffin." I answered.

"If you are from this America place as you have said then you must be the one we've been waiting for." I tilted my head to the side; displaying a confused look.

"Ambrosia only allows those it wants into this world."

"So, Ambrosia brought me here?" He nodded.

"How did you come to be in this place?"

"I fell through a mirror in the attic of the house I was in." I answered.

"That is most interesting." He tapped the tip of his chin in thought.

"How come you say Ambrosia brings people here? What do you mean?"

"Ambrosia brings people who can help this world when it is in need of helping." I nodded.

"It brings special people to help safe it if it is ever in need of rescuing."

"How come I was brought here?" I looked him straight in the eye; more confused than ever now.

"I'm nothing special; I'm just ordinary."

"You're more special than you know, Olly." I didn't understand what he meant by that. He stood up, went over to a bookshelf and came back with a dust old book. "I'll explain to you what I mean, Oliver." I looked intently at him, awaiting his explanation.