BADUM. BADUM. BADUM. My heart raced as fast as Phar Lap the race horse as I bounded through the thick forest of Ainthe. I looked behind me to see the thing that I dreaded the most. He, in all of his thick black fur and slobber, had gotten closer to me. He bowled over trees as though they were daisies and made the leaf litter fly up in the air all around his huge black body. “You should have never woken him up,” I said to myself, making a note in my mind for future reference. The leaves crunched under my feet as I kept running and dodging Rang Rang Trees, desperately trying to escape the clutches of imminent death. And to think all of this could have been avoided if I didn’t go into my sisters bedroom.
My Monday began like any other. I got out of my warm, cozy bed and stumbled into the kitchen, putting two slices of semi-frozen bread into the toaster. When mum woke up, everything kicked into overdrive. The three youngsters, Jack, Holly and Bella, emerged rubbing the sleep out of their eyes, planning a days worth of annoying antics. Mum slaved over 7 school lunches as Blake, Violet and I dressed the kids and ourselves. Then, when mum decided that we all looked a little less than scruffy, we put on out shoes and shuffled towards the door in something that resembled single file. We all stood by my oldest sisters, Tasha’s, bedroom, while mum fumbled around in her bag for the keys to the front door.
“Tasha, where did you put the keys?” Mum asked. We all looked around waiting for her to pop up and say “In the front of your bag Mum!” She didn't pop up anywhere.
“Check her room please Panda Bear,” Mum said pointing a finger in the direction of her room. I rolled my eyes when she called me Panda Bear and sighed. I pushed through the crowd of my siblings to the door as mum walked past, mumbling something about the keys being in the office. Going into my older sisters bedroom felt wrong, not only because she was a moody 17 year old, but also because my brain screamed at me to turn and run without looking back. Cautiously, I put my hand on the door handle. It was burning hot and I quickly pulled my hand back, wincing in pain. I looked down at my sore hand as I felt myself becoming rather light headed. Everything began to spin and I heard the distant cry of “Someone catch her, shes going to…” Thats when my head hit the ground.
At this point I should have realised something was wrong. I never fainted. Lying on the floor, I had a very peculiar dream. I was in a forest, surrounded by tall thin beings.They were all bald and each wore long, black trench coats. Orange leaves littered the ground and every tree was marked with this symbol:
The tall beings all spoke in deep, soft voices.
“Solo coloro che sono scelti kome uno di noi puo entrare,”
The men repeated the same chant over and over again. A shrill scream shot through the air as I woke up.
“Is she dead?” Jack asked.
“Oooh! I call dibs on all of her stuff,” Holly said eagerly.
“If you get her stuff, then I call dibs on her room,” Violet joked. I sat up slowly, wincing a little.
“Nice to know you would miss me if I was dead,” I groaned getting off the ground. I looked around. I shook my head, as if to shake out any memories of the weird dream.
“Oh Panda, are you alright?” My mum asked, rushing towards me with a glass of water.
“Yeah Mum….I'm fine. I think it was Blake, I mean he does smell pretty pungent today,” I laughed, holding my nose. I got the laugh and the punch to the shoulder that I deserved.
“Alrighty then troops!,” Mum yelled, “Operation find the keys. Ready, Set, GO!” The others all groaned and split up. “Pandora you stand there and chill out. I dont want anymore fainting,” Mum ordered. I nodded my head and stood there, just as I was told. Something began to pull me towards my sisters room. I stood right outside the door, trying to will myself away.
“Solo coloro che sono scelti kome uno di noi puo entrare,” The chorus of the beings chanted in my head.
“I wonder…” I said aloud, stepping closer to the door, “Only those chosen as one of us may enter,” I burst out. What? How did I know that? Something told me that I didn't know my sister as well as I thought.I, once again, put my hand on the door handle unable to resist the urge of entry.
“Sento che no scelto i miei signorie vi chiedo per l’ingresso,” I whispered softly. Where did that come from? I turned the door handle. It opened without a problem and I peered inside. What I saw was weird enough to make me step back and shut the door with a slam.
“What the…?” I gasped, trying to remember if I woke up properly or if I was still dreaming.
“Immettere il mio bambino e non abbiate paura,” the deep soft voices of the beings said.
“Enter my child and do not be afraid,’ I thought to myself. How did I understand this? This day was just getting weirder and weirder. I had so many questions, but who was I going to ask? I looked around behind me, making sure none of my siblings were shadowing me. I opened the door and stepped into the forest of my dream. Orange leaves fell from the trees above and settled on the ground.
“Where am I?” I asked myself out loud.
“You are in the Forest of Ainthe,” An unfamiliar voice replied. I spun around to find a boy with a sword pointed towards me.
“Who are you?” he asked. The boy was about my height with large, green eyes and bright orange hair. His face was covered in cute freckles and his ears came to a point at the top.
“An elf,” I thought to myself.
“Ah-me?-Aaah…,” I stammered. I took a deep breath, trying to remember my people skills.
“My name is Pandora,” I replied confidently.
“My names Oliver,” he said, “What are you doing here?”
“Ummm I am lost,”
“Yes you are,” Oliver said, looking at my polished shoes and school dress, “Come on. I’ll take you back to my camp”
I began to walk, following along behind this strange boy. Was I really about to go back to some unknown camp with him? I looked behind me. The door was gone. So was I going to follow Oliver? Yes. I had no way of getting home and I was standing in a forest that I had seen in a dream not ten minutes ago. I was understanding a strange language, feeling strange emotions that were deeper than my own and I didn’t know if I was ever going to see my family again.
What did I have to lose?
