The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Nine

                                                       Chapter Nine

          On the side of the river opposite the desert loomed a dark, foreboding mountain. It was the biggest, steepest mountain one could possibly imagine. At the top of this mount was Quasbed’s cave.

            As the three children stood in it’s shadow, they suddenly felt very small and out of place.

            “How are we going to make it all the way up there?” Kyle asked.

             It was at this precise moment that the golden butterfly flew past the children and alighted on a long, broad plank of wood which was propped up against layers of vines covering the side of the mountain.

            “Look! We can lift ourselves using these!” Kara said excitedly. She braided three vines together so as to form a sturdy rope. The children then knotted this rope around the piece of wood so that it made a suspended platform. Armed with their water pistols and the tortoise shell full of water, the three siblings climbed up onto the platform and proceeded to pull themselves up using the other vines.

            It is not easy to pull one’s own weight up the steepest mountain in Nowhere, and the children were exhausted by the time they reached the top. But there they stood, at the mouth of Quasbed’s cave, the desert sun setting behind their backs.

            “We should be wearing fire-proof armor if we’re going to fight a dragon,” Levi said. His brother and sister agreed. Each of them reached into their pocket, pulled out their apple, and took a bite. Immediately each of them had a full suit of armor.

            “Levi, what’s in that package that the dwarves gave you?” Kyle asked his brother.

            Levi reached into his pocket and produced the brown parcel. “I don’t know,” he said. “I had forgotten about it until now.” He tore open the paper and beheld a lyre, which shone with the same radiance as the golden butterfly.

            “Oh!” Kara said. “One of the dwarves said that Quasbed will fall asleep if he hears music! You can use that, Levi!”

            “Alright,” Levi answered. “Here goes.”

            The three children tiptoed silently into the cave, where they were greeted by a tremendous roar which shook the cave. A flame darted out above their heads.

            “WHO GOES THERE? WHO GOES THERE?!?!?” the dragon stormed.

            “Three travelers…far from home…the only way we can get home is to use…your…dragon scale.” Kara trembled as she forced the words out of her mouth.

            “My scale? NEVER!” Quasbed replied. His breath emitted another flame. Kyle extinguished the flame by using a water pistol.

            “Play, Levi, play!” Kara instructed her brother. Levi began plucking on the lyre, and right away the dragon crashed to the ground, snoring loudly. The three children approached him, water pistols in hand. “I feel guilty about this,” Kyle said. “I mean, he’s asleep!”

            “It’s the only way,” Kara said. “And remember, Quasbed will only be sick for a week. Then he will be back to normal.”

            Kyle looked thoughtfully at his water pistol. “I guess you’re right,” he conceded. The children soaked Quasbed with the water. The dragon then sneezed forcefully, which awakened him. He growled and turned on the children. When he tried to breathe fire, only a trickle of smoke came out from his mouth. Frustrated, he sneezed again.

            Kyle plucked a shimmering scale off of Quasbed’s tail. This made the dragon angrier still, but he could only continue sneezing.

            “What do we do now?” Kara wondered aloud.

 Of all the things to find in the dragon’s lair-the golden butterfly! It perched on the wall, then suddenly vanished. There on the wall where the butterfly had just been, golden letters now gleamed.

            “What does it say?” Levi asked as he dodged a blow from Quasbed.

            “Brisag…blaswak…eljmirahth?” Kara read, trying to make sense of the words.

            The children suddenly found themselves traveling upwards at a furious pace through a dark tunnel. Then they were thrust out into broad daylight. Once again, Kara, Kyle, and Levi were in their own backyard. No longer were they wearing armor and holding water pistols; no longer did they have magic apples in their pockets. Everything was as before.

            Kara thrust her foot into her sneaker. “Come on!” she told the boys. “We have to go tell Mom about this!” Excitedly, the children ran towards the house, while a little gold butterfly flew gracefully past them.

            “Oh Grandpa, that was a wonderful story!” the little girl told her grandfather.

            “Good, I’m glad you liked it,” the man smiled.

            “Was it a true story?” the oldest grandson asked.

            “What do you think?”

            “I…I don’t really know,” the boy answered.

            The youngest boy smiled up at his grandfather. “I think it was true,” he stated simply. “I know it was true, Grandpa Levi.”

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Eight

                            Chapter Eight

            The children and the unicorn continued on their way for quite some time. They admired the houses of Heatherwood, and played “I Spy”, and had a very pleasant afternoon.

            After a while they came to a group of plants that looked like a jungle. Kara pushed some leaves aside, and the travelers beheld a most beautiful waterfall, with rocks all around it and lily pads floating in it, and palm trees hanging over it.

            The three children were breathless.

            “Come,” Claydo said. “We have to pass through here.”

 The waterfall was even more stunning up close. A rainbow could be seen in the foam at the bottom of the fall, and it was reflected in the river that the waterfall ran in to. Kara, Kyle, and Levi were so occupied admiring these wonders that they didn’t see Claydo sneak away.

            “Hey, where’s Claydo?” Levi asked a few minutes later. The children looked for her, but she could not be seen anywhere. After a few moments had passed, there was a rustling in the leaves, and Claydo emerged, bearing a canoe on her back. “Hop on!” she said as she dropped the canoe onto the bank.

            “Don’t we need life jackets?” asked Kara.

            “Not here,” Claydo said.

            After the children had climbed into the canoe, Claydo pushed them off and flew up above them.

            The ride down stream was amazing. Trees, flowers, and every beautiful plant imaginable grew along its shore. All too soon, the ride ended.

            “Well, here we are,” Claydo said with a sad look in her eyes. “The border of Fairyland.” She flapped her wings and three water pistols appeared in front of the children. Then, without a good-bye, Claydo vanished.

            “I didn’t know she could do that!” Kyle exclaimed.

            Kara swallowed hard. “Well guys, I guess we’d better be going.”

            They trudged along for miles and miles in a barren and seemingly endless desert wasteland.

            “There’s nothing here except sand,” Levi said weakly.

“That’s because we’re in the middle of Nowhere,” Kyle explained. The three children dropped to their knees and crawled until they could go no farther. It was then that they plopped down to sleep.

            That night a horrible storm arose, blowing sand everywhere. But the children were sleeping so deeply that they were unaware of the storm, and they were buried by the sand.

            Kyle was the first one up the next morning. His eyes stung because they were full of sand. He stood up and shook as much sand off of himself as he could. After taking a deep breath, he began looking around, trying to find his brother and sister.  He saw Levi’s hair sticking up out of the sand. Kyle dug through the sand and pulled him out.

            “Kyle,” Levi said hoarsely. “I need something to drink.” He reached for a water pistol.

            “Levi, no!” Kyle exclaimed as he grabbed Levi’s hand. “You cannot drink a drop of that water until we defeat Quasbed!”

            “Then what can I drink?” Levi asked.

            “I don’t know,” Kyle said. “Let’s find Kara first, then we can walk to go find some water.”

            After the boys found their sister buried beneath the sand, she stood up and let Levi hop onto her back. Kyle held all three water pistols, and the three of them marched bravely on. Kyle was in the lead, with Kara and Levi following a short distance behind.

            But someone was watching them from a great mountain by the desert. Someone who possessed a certain magic dragon scale. 

           “Water!” Kyle called over his shoulder. “Hurry, hurry!” Kara ran faster and she caught up with Kyle. “See?” Kyle said excitedly, pointing his finger. “The desert is coming to an end! See that river up ahead!”

            So the children ran as fast as their legs could carry them, and they arrived at the river. The river was made of the clearest, purest water that the children had ever tasted. When they had drank all they possibly could, Kara suggested that they should take some water with them, in case they needed it.

            “But what can we carry it in?” Kyle asked.

            The golden butterfly flew by their heads, and Kara turned and saw something that she had not noticed before. A tortoise shell was lying on the bank of the river. “We’ll keep it in this shell!” she said. She filled the shell to the rim with the crystal water. Then she turned to her brothers and said, “Get the water pistols, guys. It’s time to go get that dragon scale!”

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Seven

                                            Chapter Seven

            “It looks like a haunted house,” Levi shivered. “Who lives here?”

            “My friend Daley the pumpkin,” Claydo answered as she stepped up onto the front porch. She pulled the dusky old doorknocker and rapped on the door.

            The door was opened by a corn stalk. “Yes, may I help you?” the corn stalk asked the unicorn and the children.

            “I am Claydo,” the unicorn said. “Daley and I are old friends.”

            “Oh Claydo, I did not even recognize you, it’s so dark out there!” the corn stalk replied. “Yes, yes, come in and sit down in the parlor. I’ll go get him at once!” And she disappeared up the stairs.

            “Who’s that?” Levi asked as the seated themselves in the parlor.

            “That is Ravelle, Daley’s housekeeper.” Claydo answered.

 At that moment a nicely dressed pumpkin marched down the stairs and embraced the unicorn as best as he could. (For pumpkins only have vines for arms and legs.)

“Claydo, Claydo, I can’t even remember the last time I saw you!” the old pumpkin said with a smile. He smiled at the children, but continued speaking to Claydo. “You must stay the night here! I would be delighted to have someone occupy those old bedrooms upstairs that no one has slept in for years and years! Come up at once!” He led them up the  tall, creaky staircase to two small rooms in the attic. The first was to be Kara’s and Claydo’s. There was one bed in it, and Kara got it, because obviously Claydo couldn’t fit in it. The second room was to be Kyle’s and Levi’s. There were two beds in it, of course.

            “Gosh, it sure is dusty in here,” Kyle said to his brother as he fluffed the pillows that night.

            “Yeah, nothing like that castle,” Levi agreed with a yawn.

            “Well, I’ll sleep here anyway,” said a droopy-eyed Kyle. “Good night, Levi.”

            Silence.

            “Kyle?”

            “What?”

            “I just saw a really creepy shadow.”

            “Don’t worry about it, Levi,” Kyle half-said, half-yawned. “Please let’s just get to sleep.”

            “But Kyle, it’s a monster!”

            “There’s no such thing as monsters.”

            “There is in Fairyland,” Levi persisted. “Look under my bed, please and see if you can find a monster down there.”

          “Oh, alright,” Kyle said, throwing off his blanket. “If it’ll make you feel better.” He dropped down on his hands and knees and crawled under Levi’s bed. A large green monster stared back at him. “MONSTER!!!!” Kyle screamed as he jumped back into his own bed. Levi pulled the covers up over his head and whimpered.

            “What is all this noise?” someone asked as the door swung open. It was Kara.

            “There’s a monster under my bed,” Levi said in a tiny voice.

            “A monster? Let me see,” Kara said as she peeked under Levi’s bed, then she smiled. “Nothing here but a green sweater.”

            Levi heaved a sigh of relief.

            “Good night, guys,” Kara said.

            “Good night,” the boys said in unison.

            The three children slept later than they had intended to the next day. When they stumbled sleepily downstairs around noon, Claydo, Daley, and Ravelle were seated at the kitchen table. The three of them were chatting and sipping on a warm drink that is something like our coffee.

            “Sorry we slept so late,” Kara apologized.

            “It’s alright,” Claydo said. “You will easily be in Nowhere before sunset.”

            “Will we have to, um, spend the night in Nowhere?” Kyle asked nervously.

            “Maybe, maybe not,” Claydo replied. “But remember, you have loaded water pistols. I will give them to you when we reach the border of Nowhere.”

            “Are you sure that they will work?” Levi asked.

           “Indeed,” Claydo said. “The water pistols are sure to work because everyone in Nowhere is allergic to water.”

            “Allergic?” Kyle asked unbelievingly.

            “Yes, allergic,” Claydo echoed. “You should not even have to use all the water in the tanks to make the dragon sick.”

            “How long will he be sick?” Kara asked.

            “About one quasineba,” Claydo said.

            “Quasi-what?” Levi asked.

            “Quasineba. I believe it is equal to your week,” Daley chimed in.

            “It’s that easy, then?” Kara asked as her heart fluttered. “In that case, let’s go to Nowhere!”

            “Yeah. Quasbed will stay sick plenty long enough for us to get home!” Kyle added.

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Six

                                       Chapter Six

            “But why?” Levi asked. “Why are you not allowed in Nowhere?”

            “Unicorn rules,” Claydo sighed. “You see, even here in Fairyland, unicorns are endangered. There are only three of my kind aside from me. In a place like Nowhere, it would be far too dangerous for a unicorn.”

            “But you’ll die someday,” Kyle said.

            “Probably not for another three hundred years or so.”

            “Three hundred?!” Kara shouted. “How old are you now?”

            “One hundred and forty years old today,” Claydo said with a smile.   

            “You don’t look that old,” said Levi.

            The children giggled and sang, “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday,  dear Claydo, happy birthday to you!”

            “Thank you,” Claydo told the siblings. She looked up at the growing dusk and said, “We’d better find a place to stay. If we can make it through these woods, we will come upon another town. I have some friends that live there who would be happy to take us in for the night.”

            So they entered into Heatherwood Forest and followed the path that wove around the trees. But as they stumbled around in the dark forest, they lost their way. To their surprise, they eventually came upon a cottage in the middle of the forest. It was a snug little house, and the travelers could see that someone was home because there was smoke rising from the chimney.

            “Let’s stop here and ask for directions,” Claydo said.

            They knocked on the door, and it was answered by a middle-aged woman who invited them to come inside. They stepped over the threshold and found that the inside of the cottage was not as charming as the outside. The woman who owned the house was a poor widow who barely had enough money to support herself and her son.

            “How is it that you are in such a condition? And out here in the middle of the forest?” Claydo asked.

            The woman replied, “Years ago my husband, son, and I lived happily in Heatherwood. My husband owned a little shop in town called The Nutcracker. There was a ship planning to go to another country for some imported goods, and my husband went with the crew on board.” She paused for a moment before she continued. “The ship was lost at sea, and I have not heard of my husband since. When I had sold all of the goods from the store, and spent all the money we had, I had to sell the shop. I did not get much money for it, and I did not have enough to keep up the rent for our house. So my son and I fled to the forest, where we found this little cottage. No one was living here, so we moved in. I believe that this cottage was once owned by the Seven Dwarfs, because there are seven chairs, seven beds, seven bowls, seven plates, seven everything!” She forced a smile at her guests.

            Kara looked at the woman. She looked at the woman’s son. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the walking stick given to her by the old dwarf. She laid the stick on the table and said, “Walking stick, though you are small, make enough food for us all!” And just like that, a satisfying meal appeared on the table.

            The woman looked curiously at Kara, but she did not say anything. There was a brief period of silence, broken when the woman’s son said, “Why is everyone just standing around? Let’s eat!” So they all sat down at the table and partook of a fine supper.

            When they had eaten their fill, Claydo said, “Ma’am, do you remember the way to the town of Heatherwood?”

            “Yes,” answered the woman. “I remember the way very well. And I will show you. Come.” She took a lantern off of a shelf in her kitchen and the entire party followed her through the dark and creepy Heatherwood Forest. At last they could see the shining lights of town.“Here we are!” said the woman. “Thank you for the meal.”

            “Thank you for showing us the way,” said Claydo. “Now, children, follow me to my friend’s house.”

            As they followed the unicorn, Kyle whispered to his sister, “Why did you turn the stick into food? You could have turned it into something to defeat Quasbed with.”

            “I know that,” Kara whispered. “I just felt sorry for her, that’s all.”

            At last they reached a tall gray house. “Here we are!” Claydo said cheerfully.

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Five

Chapter Five

            Soon they came to the residential part of town. The houses were all big and beautiful, with long, wide porches and well-kept lawns. The children gazed at the houses as they walked.

            Claydo, noticing this, said, “Go ahead, try it.”

            “Try what?” Levi asked.

            “The grass,” Claydo said. “It’s delicious!”

            “We don’t like grass,” Kyle said.

            “You’ll like this grass,” Claydo assured him.

            The three children looked at one another, then down at the ground. Finally, Levi dropped down on his knees and ate a handful of grass. “It tastes like chicken!” he shouted.

            Kara tried some. “It tastes just like roast beef!”

            “Mine tastes like a big, juicy cheeseburger!” Kyle called from across the lawn.

            “You’re right,” Kara told Claydo. “We do like this kind of grass!”

            “What is it called?” Kyle asked. “I want some of that for our yard!”

            Claydo shook her head. “That would never do,” she said. “This kind of grass is only found in fairy countries. It would be poison in your world.” So that was the end of that.

            They kept walking and walking and walking, until they came to an enormous palace. The building was all gold and silver and bronze, and it made the children breathless just to look upon it.

“Are we going to sleep here tonight?” Levi asked Claydo.

            “No,” Claydo laughed. “I just have some business to attend to.”

            The four travelers entered in through the polished gold gates and walked up the steep bronze steps. Among the tall silver columns were standing two guards, both dressed in identical gold uniforms.

            “Hark!” shouted one.

            “Who goes there?” demanded the other.

            “Claydo the unicorn, daughter of Aydo and Braydo,” Claydo answered coolly. “I have scheduled an appointment with the emperor for today at two o’ clock. And it’s two o’ clock now.”

            “How can she tell time?” Kyle whispered to his siblings. “They don’t even have clocks here!”

            “The dwarves told me,” Levi said. “They don’t need to look at anything to see what time it is. They just know.”

            Kara looked at her brothers and shivered. Suppose the creatures in this land just knew other things, too?

            “Very well,” the first guard consented. “We will let you in.”

            “Yes, yes!” said the other. “Enter, enter!”

            The travelers stepped across the threshold and entered a room made entirely of bronze, where a man clothed in silver ushered them into the waiting room. The waiting room was made of silver. The children sat down on a silver couch and the unicorn lay down on the polished silver floor. Everything shone so that one could see oneself whichever way one turned.

            The room’s heavy silver door opened. A man garbed with a golden robe entered and said, “The emperor will see you now.”

            “Now children,” Claydo said, “you may take one bite, and one bite only, of the red apples that we gathered earlier on our trip.”

            When Kara, Kyle, and Levi bit into the apples, their wardrobe changed so that they looked not like tired children, but rather princess and princes from another land.

            “Wonderful,” Claydo approved. “Now we shall see the emperor.” They all followed the golden-robed man into a throne room composed of solid gold. This room was the grandest of them all, and up against one wall was the golden throne, upon which sat the Emperor of Fairyland.

            “Yes?” inquired the emperor as the travelers entered the room.

            “I have three children here,” said Claydo. “They are from a land called Alabama, far away from here, and they must get back home. The only way they can do so is to get a scale from a certain fire-breathing dragon named Quasbed. I was wondering if we could get some help from you, sir.”

            “What can I do to help you?” asked the emperor.

            “I was wondering if we could trade you five pounds of glow-in-the-dark taffy for some weapons.”

            “Weapons?” said the emperor. “What kind of weapons?”

            “Water pistols,” said Claydo. 

            “Water pistols?!?! Are you sure the children can handle them?”

            “Quite sure. They are very trustworthy,” Claydo replied with a swish of her mane.

            “Very well,” the emperor conceded. He clapped his hands, and four servants entered the room from two gold doors. “Fetch three water pistols!” the emperor commanded. The servants disappeared, and a moment later they returned, holding three of the largest water pistols the children had ever seen. “Now the taffy,” the emperor said, and Kara handed him the case of taffy.

            Having done this, they departed.

            “What do we need the water guns for?” Levi asked Claydo when they were safely on the road again.

            “They are very important weapons,” said the unicorn. “You will know when to use them. I will not be with you when you enter Quasbed’s cave. I am not allowed in Nowhere.”

                                                      

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Four

                Chapter Four

            “We must have gone miles and miles and miles,” Kyle said. “Can we stop soon to rest?”

            “Absolutely,” said Claydo. “There is a young princess who lives just a few miles from here. I am sure that she will be hospitable enough to let us stay the night at the castle.”

            They found the princess at a wishing well outside of her father’s castle. She was singing to herself dreamily when she noticed the travelers.

            “Good evening, Princess Cala,” Claydo said cordially. “Would you ask the king if he will allow four weary travelers to spend the night?”

            “Oh, of course,” said the princess. “I’ll only be a moment.” And she hurried into the castle.

            Princess Cala found her father sitting in his throne room, consulting with his advisers. When the king saw his daughter, he smiled and beckoned her to come in.

            “Father,” said Cala, “There are three children outside who are traveling, and they need a place to pass the night. May they stay here?”

            “Yes, of course,” said the king.

            “There is also a unicorn,” said the princess. “I will give her a stall in the stable.” So Cala went outside and told the children to come in, and the royal horsemen gave Claydo a bed in the stable.

            The princess led Kara, Kyle, and Levi up three flights of stairs to a beautifully furnished room in the top of a tower. The room had three beds, each of which bore a blanket woven from the finest silk in the land. The colors of the blankets were very unusual. The one on Kara’s bed shone like the sun, Levi’s glittered like the stars, and Kyle’s glowed like a full moon. That night, the children had the best sleep of their young lives.

            When they awoke the next morning, the princess invited the children downstairs for breakfast before they set out on their way. The children accepted this offer readily, having not eaten since lunch on the previous day. After eating their fill, the children fixed a plate of blueberry pancakes and gave it to Claydo. (For those of you who are not familiar with fairytales, unicorns prefer blueberry pancakes over any other food.)

            After Claydo had finished eating her breakfast, Levi opened the stable door, and the unicorn came out of her stall. The travelers then said thank you and good-bye to Princess Cala, then they continued on their way.

            Some time into the walk, they came upon a large tree which had three red apples on its branches; three, and no more. “Pick these apples and take them with you, but do not eat them,” commanded Claydo. The children did as they were told, but they wondered at the purpose of this. They kept their thoughts to themselves, however, and continued walking.

            Soon the travelers came upon a busy little town called Bellinai. The streets of this town were crowded with all sorts of creatures which one certainly does not find in this world. Some of the creatures were especially interesting, but since it would take too long to describe them, I shall leave them to your imagination. There were several little shops lined up along the streets; shops that sold all sorts of intriguing things.  Toys, candy, clocks, books, and other commonplace things were being sold, but one store was different. The building itself had been painted an odd bluish-purplish color. Real stars had been hung on the outside walls, and the signs in the windows said things like, “PIXIE DUST. FIVE WHATNOTS A GALLON”, and “BUY, SELL, AND TRADE MAGIC BEANS HERE.” Claydo walked into that store and let Kara, Kyle, and Levi off of her back. The children stared with wonder at the objects on the shelves.

            “Look at this!” Kyle exclaimed. “It’s a top hat and magic wand!” He put the hat on his head and said, “Abra-cadabra!” Nothing happened.

            “Child,” Claydo asked, “What are you doing?”

            “I’m trying to make magic!” Kyle said.

            “You don’t make magic,” Claydo said seriously. “Now, put the hat back.”

            The salesperson at the store was really a talking lioness. She smiled at the unicorn and said, “What can I help you with today?”

            “I’d like five pounds of glow-in-the-dark taffy, please,” said Claydo.

            “Glow-in-the-dark taffy?” Levi said. “I’ve never heard of that kind.”

            Claydo smiled. “It is not for us to eat,” she explained. “It will be useful on our journey, like the apples.”

            “Here is something that you can eat,” said the lioness, as she handed a lollipop to each of the children. “And eat, and eat, and eat! These are lifelong lollipops. You can lick them forever, and they are never used up.”

            “Cool!” Kyle said as he unwrapped his lollipop and stuck it in his mouth.

            “Have a nice day!” the lioness said, as she waved her paw at them.

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Three

Chapter Three

            It was a beautiful walk along the old dirt road, and the three children saw all sorts of things that simply cannot be seen in our world. The trees waved in the gentle breeze; and by waved, I do not mean that the branches merely swayed, but each tree extended a long, leafy limb and waved at the children as they passed by. The flowers that grew along the side of the road were all cupcakes and candy bars and all sorts of things that children really like to eat.

            When it was midday, the children stopped to eat their lunch under the biggest, shadiest tree of them all. When Kyle opened the dinner pail, the children found meat, bread, cheese, mustard, potato chips, apples, and cookies. Between the three of them, the pail was empty in no time.

            As the children stood up to continue on their journey, they saw the golden butterfly. It looked as if it were sparkling, the way the warm sun shone on it. The butterfly approached them, then flew a little way farther down the road, as if it were beckoning the children to follow it. So Kara, Kyle, and Levi followed the butterfly down the road. The butterfly led them to a large meadow, and the children began to run around and feel the cool breeze running through their hair and enjoying the beauty of the day. Abruptly, Kara stopped.

            “What is it?” Kyle and Levi asked at the same time.

            “Look,” Kara whispered. “A unicorn.”

            And indeed there was a large unicorn lying in the grass. Her horn was a swirl of every color imaginable, and even some that aren’t. Her wings were purple-no, they were blue-but then they looked green. Why, its wings were constantly changing colors! But other than that, the unicorn was all white.

            Levi, who evidently feared no creature in Fairyland, said to his siblings, “Come on, let’s go see it.” So the three children tiptoed over to the unicorn, who was sleeping in the sunshine.

            “Look at its wings,” Kyle said. “They’re yellow.”

            “No, they’re not,” Kara disagreed. “They’re pink.”

            It was at that moment that the unicorn opened her soft grey eyes and looked up at the children. “What kind of creatures are you?” she asked fearfully. “Not unicorn hunters, I hope?”

            “Oh, no,” Kyle assured her. “We’re children.”

            “Children?” the unicorn asked. “I thought children were only make-believe.”

            “No!” Kyle said, quite surprised. “We are very real!”

            “Are you nice?” Levi asked the unicorn.

            “Yes,” the unicorn replied. “I would never hurt anyone. By the way, my name is Claydo. What’s yours?”

            “I’m Kyle,” Kyle told the creature. “This is Levi.”

            “And I’m Kara,” Kara added with a smile.

            “Pleased to meet you,” Claydo said. “What brings three children to Fairyland?”

            “I just followed a golden butterfly, and I fell in,” Levi stated.

            “Where are you from?” asked the unicorn.

            “We are from Alabama,” Kyle told her.

             “I have never heard of Alabama,” Claydo said. “How do you plan on returning there?”

            “We are going on a journey to the cave of a dragon named Quasbed, on the other side of Fairyland,” Kara said. “We are supposed to obtain a scale from him, and say the magic words. Then we will find ourselves in Alabama again.”

            “I hope you do,” Claydo sighed. “Quasbed is a very dangerous dragon. Only one creature has ever entered his cave and came out alive.”

            “Yes, it was a dwarf,” Kara said. “We’ve met him.”

            “But we can get the dragon scale!” Levi shouted triumphantly.

            “Ah, but do you know how to get to Quasbed’s cave?” asked Claydo. “To reach the cave, you must follow the road to Nowhere.”

            “But if the road leads to nowhere, how can it lead us to the cave?” Kyle asked.

            “No, no,” Claydo explained. “The land that Quasbed lives in on the very, very edge of Fairyland, in a place called Nowhere, where thorns grow instead of flowers, and huge boulders take the place of trees.”

            Levi gulped.

            “I will assist you on your journey,” offered Claydo. “I shall see to it that you make it to Alabama safely.”

            The children cheered.

            “Here, you may ride on my back,” Claydo offered. So the three siblings hopped on to Claydo’s back. And that is how the girl, the two boys, and the unicorn made their way down the road to Nowhere.

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter Two

                                              Chapter Two

            Kyle and Kara found the inside of the tree to be very cramped. “Well, he’s not in here,” said the girl. “Let’s get out of here before we get lost, too.”

            “Are you out of your mind?” Kyle asked. “This is an adventure! Look, here’s a tunnel!” The two children crawled through the tunnel, with Kyle leading the way. They slipped down the slide and landed with a THUD! when they reached the end.

er, who was brushing the dust off of her pants, and said excitedly, “Let’s go in!”

            “Not without something to light the way,” Kara said cautiously.

            Behind their backs the golden butterfly flew, and her wings made such a flutter that the children turned around to look. And behold, in a spot where at first there was nothing, a lighted torch stood. Kyle and Kara looked at one another as if to say, “Was that there before?” Kara shrugged her shoulders, picked up the torch, and led the way into the cave.

            It was a long walk. When the children reached the last chamber of the cave, they saw two dwarves dancing by candlelight. There was also a dwarf playing the harmonica, a dwarf playing the accordion, and a dwarf playing some sort of stringed instrument. Other dwarves were singing a song that went something like this:

                                               Ho, ho! Ha, ha, ha!

                                               As far as I can see,

                                                Gold lying everywhere,

                                               Enough for you and me!

            The dwarves who were not playing instruments or singing were clapping their hands to the lively rhythm. As the children observed this scene, they noticed that Levi was sitting in the corner, clapping his hands. Kyle and Kara stepped into the light. As soon as the dwarves noticed them, the music stopped. Everyone was silent, staring at the two children.

            Levi broke the silence by announcing, “Everyone, this is my brother Kyle and my sister Kara.”

            “Nice to meet you both,” said a dwarf. “Come, join us in our merriment!”

            The musicians began playing again and the singers resumed their singing. Kara and Kyle sat beside Levi and clapped to the music. This continued for what seemed like hours, until one of the dwarves said, “It is time for bed.”

            “Then I guess we’d better go home,” said Kara, as she scrambled back onto her feet. She looked down at her one sneaker. “Mom must be worried about us by now.”

            “I don’t think you can do that,” a dwarf said soberly. “How did you get into our land?”

            “By following a golden butterfly into a tree,” Kara answered.

The dwarf shook his head. “No, it is not at all possible to get back to your world again. The butterfly’s magic only works coming in, not going out.”

            Levi began to cry.

            “Don’t cry, child,” said another dwarf. “I do believe there is one way out. But I must warn you, it will be difficult.”

            Immediately, Levi stopped crying. “Which way is that?” he asked.

            The dwarf lowered his voice so that it was a barely audible whisper. “You must posses a dragon scale.”

            “Where would we find this dragon scale?” Kara asked.

            “You will find it,” the dwarf said, “in the deepest, darkest cave, on the other side of Fairyland. But it is not in the land of the dwarf, for every dwarf fears the owner of that cave. The cave belongs to a red dragon named Quasbed. His tail is made of a glowing flame. His eyes, too, are fiery. His cave is located at the heart of a dormant volcano. You will have to defeat the monster and swipe a scale from his foot. Then you may say the magic words, which at any other time are too powerful to speak, and you will find yourself once again at your home.”

            The dwarf’s words somehow gave the children hope, and they smiled at one another tearfully. “You may spend the night,” another dwarf offered. “We do not mind.” So the little men led the three siblings to the room where they were to pass the night.

            Early the next morning, the children ate a big breakfast, then they emerged from the cave. All fifty dwarves stood at the mouth of the cave to bid them good-bye. One of them handed a tiny package, wrapped neatly in brown paper and tied with a string, to Levi. Another man handed a shiny tin pail to Kyle. “This pail contains enough food for all three of you,” said the dwarf.

            The oldest dwarf was five hundred and fifty years old, and he had to walk with a little walking stick. He walked over to Kara, handed her the stick, and said, “This stick that you hold in your hand will be of use to you. Keep it in your pocket, and use it only when absolutely necessary.”

            “How will I know when to use it?” asked the girl.

            “You will know,” the old dwarf said with a smile. “You will know.” Then he added in a hoarse whisper, “I will tell you a secret. I am the only dwarf who has ever been to Quasbed’s cave and lived to tell about it. And I can tell you that music tames the savage beast. If you sing, or make music of any kind, the old monster will fall asleep. It is then that you may sneak a scale from him.”

            “But another dwarf said that we have to defeat the dragon to get the scale.”

            “There I cannot help you, child,” said the old dwarf with a sigh. “I fear that you will have to figure that out on your own.”

            And with that, all fifty dwarves waved good-bye and told the children to be very careful on their journey, and of course the children said that they would. So without knowing anything about the land they had found themselves in, or what lay ahead, they took the only road leading from the dwarf cave to the rest of Fairyland. When they were almost out of sight, Levi stopped and bid a final wave to the friendly little men with the long, grey beards.                  

The Road to Nowhere: Chapter One

 Chapter One

            “Tell us a story, Grandpa,” a small voice said. Three young children ran to their grandfather and jumped onto his lap.

            The man laughed. “Of course I will tell a story to my three favorite grandchildren!”

            “Grandpa,” said the youngest, “we’re your only grandchildren!”

            “Of course, that’s why you’re my favorites,” said the gentleman. “Now, listen to this story about three kids just like you. The oldest was a girl, and the two younger kids were boys….”

            “Now, these children were named Kara, Kyle, and Levi. When their ages were twelve years, seven years, and four years, something exciting and out of the ordinary happened to them. You see, one day when the children were going out to play, Levi, the youngest, ran out to the backyard before his brother and sister. He was chasing a butterfly-a butterfly who’s beautiful gold color is not seen today. He chased the butterfly all around the yard until it landed on a tree. Levi reached out to touch the beautiful

creature, but when he did, he was pulled into the tree!

            As soon as he had disappeared, Kara and Kyle came outside, their puppy, Syd, at their heels.

            “Hey, where’s Levi?” Kyle asked.

            “I don’t know,” said Kara as she looked around the yard. “I don’t see him anywhere.”

            “He must be around here somewhere,” Kyle said. “Come on, let’s go look for him.”

            So Kyle and Kara ran in opposite directions and began a frantic search around the yard. Just as soon as they were out of earshot, Levi’s voice could be heard from inside the tree, “Woooooaaaaahhhhh!!” He had discovered a tunnel of sorts inside the tree, and at the end of the tunnel was a slide. He was now sliding very fast, wondering what could be happening.

            When he reached the bottom of the slide, he found himself sitting at the entrance to a dark cave, and all was quiet. Levi shivered, not because he was cold, but because he was frightened. He was sure that he had seen fifty pairs of eyes peering at him from inside the cave. He wanted to run, but he was too scared to move. The eyes began to move toward him. He wasn’t so frightened, though, when he saw that the eyes belonged to fifty little men. Each man was about one foot tall, with a long, grey beard that dragged the ground. They wore suits of many colors, of which no two were alike. They were looking at Levi with wonder.

            “What is it?” asked one of the little men.

            “It is a child,” said another.

            “Will it hurt us?”

            “What could it be doing here?”

            “Maybe it is hungry. What do boy-children like to eat?”

            Levi smiled at the men and said, “Hi, I’m Levi. I won’t hurt you. But I am hungry. What do you have to eat?”

            “We have plenty of acorns,” offered one.

            “Children don’t eat acorns,” said Levi.

            “Do you like rocks?”

            “Yuck! Children do NOT eat rocks!” Levi exclaimed.

            “What about vegetables? We have plenty of them.”

            “Yes,” said Levi. “I eat vegetables.”

            “Good,” said a little man. “I shall return with your food.” He scampered back into the cave.

            “Tell us more about yourself,” said a squeaky-voiced dwarf.

            “Well, I have a brother and sister; they’re children too, of course. We also have a dog named Sydney.”

            “A dog?!” exclaimed a man as he glanced up the slide. “He’s not here, is he?”

            “No, he isn’t,” Levi answered. “Why are you so frightened?”

“Because to us dwarves, dogs are deadly creatures. Some of our dearest friends were devoured by dogs.”

            “Oh, how terrible,” said Levi. After a moment of silence he asked, “So, you’re dwarves?”

            “Yes,” answered one of them. “You are the first child we have ever seen. But we do not fear you, since children never harm creatures of our kind.”

            At that moment, the dwarf who had gone into the cave to prepare food appeared once again and shouted, “Dinner!”

            At once all of the dwarves cheered and tumbled over one another to get into the cave. Levi followed.

            Meanwhile, Levi’s siblings had returned to the backyard. “Any luck?” Kara inquired.

            “Nothing at all,” Kyle replied.

            “I suppose we’ll have to tell Mom that he’s lost,” Kara said, her eyes brimming with tears.

            Just then, the golden butterfly flew over the children’s heads. “Look at that!” Kyle said, pointing at the magnificent creature. Their eyes followed the butterfly until it landed on the tree and was pulled in.

            “Oh dear!” A wide-eyed Kara exclaimed. “I think my eyes are playing tricks on me!”

“No,” Kyle said. “I saw it, too. If a butterfly can do that, we can too.” He marched bravely towards the tree, stuck his hand in, and in a moment he too was gone.

            “Guess I’d better join him,” Kara said. She leapt into the tree, and all that was left behind was one of her sneakers.

                                   

                                     

Poetry

Poetry is
            the voice for those who have none,
            the song for those who cannot sing,
            the star that everyone hopes to reach,
            the toll of a bell echoing.

Poetry is
             inky blackness,
             the rising of the morning sun,
             the cozy fire at journey's end,
             the journey not yet begun.

Poetry is
            you and I,
            expressing how we feel,
            visions of grandeur, hope and tears,
            feelings imagined, yet real.

Favorite Pen

Today, my favorite pen
Ran out of ink.
I had many ideas in my head,
Itching to bleed on to the paper.
I sat down and formed a letter
On the paper,
But no letter was printed there.
Now I must go
And find a new favorite pen.

My Younger Self

Do you remember me?
I'm you!
I used to play in my room,
Dreaming of the day
When I would be your age,
When I would drive,
Wear makeup,
Go to work,
Vote.

I wondered what it would be like
To be grown up,
But vowed I would never forget
What it was like
To be a kid.
When I would watch cartoons,
Draw with sidewalk chalk,
Turn my bunk beds into a fort,
Play.

I would muse about meeting
My older self,
And now here I stand.
Remembering who I was,
Evaluating who I am,
Wondering who I will become. 

Awake at Night

In my bed I lie awake
Trying to rest for tomorrow's sake.
I toss and turn and toss some more
Light peeks in through my open door.
With my messy hair I am a sight
Writing this poem in the shadows of the night.

When Twilight Falls

Twilight falls over the land
Shadows playing in the waning hours of the day
Too early to sleep
Too late to think
The perfect time to dream

A lone light appears in the sky
First star of the night
What to wish for?
What to hope for?
Wish for the impossible

I wish I could go above the earth
To see what the stars see
My sparkling reflection on the ocean waves
The birds below me building their nests
In the little green splotches
The leafy boughs of trees

And the tiny specks
That are people just like me
Gazing at the sky
Wishing on stars
Wishing on me
The first star they see
When twilight falls.

Out of Order

I could hear the squeaky sound of wet sneakers on the floor. I barely raised my eyes from my laptop, enough to observe a boy with jet-black hair saunter over to the vending machine up against the wall. Though I was focused on my writing, I could tell that he pulled a wadded-up one dollar bill from his pocket and shoved it into the machine. His black fingernails punched the buttons, and then there was a loud BEEP! as the machine announced that his selection was sold out. I heard the boy mumble something under his breath, then he turned and shuffled down the hallway.

            I pounded away at my keyboard, only semi-conscious of the people walking past my table, chatting and going about their day. Presently the click, click, click of high heels stopped in front of the machine. Clink, clink, clink. Her change echoed as she dropped each coin into the machine. She made her selection. BEEP! She made another selection. BEEP! She hit the coin return button, and waited for the clink, clink, clink of change. Instead, she heard the mocking BEEEEEEP! of the machine, signaling that it was out of order. The woman sighed, then click, click, clicked away.

            I considered warning the next gentleman who visited the machine that it was out of order, but then I deviously decided to fake ignorance. He nodded his head to acknowledge me. I smiled naively, then my fingers fled to the keys on my computer. I typed a lot of nonsense as my eyes flitted from the computer screen, to the man fumbling through his wallet, then back again. He inserted a crisp, clean one dollar bill into the hungry machine. As I expected, the machine would not give him a drink, or his money back. The man picked up his briefcase and disappeared down the hall. He returned a few minutes later, this time with the sound of change jingling in his pockets. This guy is not going to give up, I thought to myself as I heard his change hit the bottom of the machine. The next sound I heard was the machine singing to him. BEEP! I met his eyes as he turned to continue on his way again. I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a sympathetic smile.

            I checked my phone to see what time it was, then shut down my computer and put it in my book bag. As I started to walk away, I absentmindedly hit a button on the machine. I heard a THUD!, and stopped in my tracks. I turned to see an orange soda that had been dispensed from the machine. I picked it up and heard a satisfying psssssshhhhh as I popped the top. I took a long, cool sip, and then headed to class.