...Short Story
Index
I was waiting for weeks to go to the new bookstore down the street. But when the day finally came, and the store opened, I had an unsettling feeling. It was only a block away, so my mom and I walked down together. We were their first customers.
The store had a musty smell to it, and it was very dark. The walls were draped with books. In the front left corner there was a man behind his desk. In the other corner there were some tables and chairs. In the back there was a spiral staircase that lead to another floor, again filled with books. The walls were cracked and started to chip. On the ceiling hung a single light bulb that swayed and flickered.
"Good morning," said the man behind his desk. "Can I help you with anything?"
"No thanks," my mom answered. "Sarah," she said, "while you're looking around, I'm going to go to the next store and look in the fabric shop."
"I'll come over when I'm finished," I said, practically ignoring her. I was fascinated by all the different sections they had. They were very specific; one was about medieval times and another was dinosaurs. I started to make my way to the back of the store.
"I have never seen so many different sections," I thought to myself. I started to stroll through the medieval section. In school I was very interested in the dark ages, so I planned to check out a book. I was awakened from my daydream about castles, when someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around in a daze of confusion. I wasn't in the bookstore around the block.
"Excuse me," the young lady said. "Are you one of our cooks? If you are, we have to get a better attire for you to wear."
"Where am I?" I managed to get out.
"Why don't you know? You're in the courtyard of King Arthur's castle," the lady answered.
I was so baffled and frightened that I started to run blindly.
The young lady started to yell, "Where are you going. Come back!"
I never knew that I could run that fast. I tried to put it all together, but I was still confused. As I was thinking, I didn't realize that I was still running. But I wasn't running in the courtyard of King Arthur's castle. I was running in the middle of the jungle. It felt and smelled humid. Then, I stopped dead in my tracks. It all came to me in a moment of clarity. The sections in the bookstore! I was just in the medieval section, and now..
I started to run again. Even though I was exhausted from running before, the thought of me being in the dinosaur section, made me have a burst of energy. I tried to think what section came next. Was it safe to go on, or do I dare go back to the medieval times?
I started to slow down, but not for long. A massive stegosaurus was eyeing me the whole time I was running, and now he was mad. He slowly started to charge me.
"Please," I thought, " let the next section be fairy tales!"
It wasn't. As I was running, I saw something ahead of me. It looked like the end of an aisle. I turned the corner and everything around me changed.
I was in some sort of old castle. It was dark and breezy. I could only make out a table and some chairs. Then it happened. Light flooded the room when a tall, skinny man walked quickly in. He wore a long, white overcoat that stopped at his knees. His hair was black and curly. He had small round glasses that rested on his pointed nose.
"Where am I?" I said instantly.
"You're about to have surgery," the man said, organizing his tools. Before I could say anything more, he declared, "And the surgery is starting now!" His voice cracked. He turned around, and the features on his face were deforming. Now he resembled a witch. It was then I knew that I was in the horror section. I tried to scream but nothing came out. I flew out the door while the witch was laughing hysterically. I ran up the spiral staircase. My feet barely touched the floor.
Right when I reached the top, a large man with a black mask roared, "Where are you going?"
Without thinking, I turned around and stumbled back down the stairs. I made myself go back into the room. I thought that if there was a way in, there had to be a way out. When I ran in the room, the witch wasn't there. A little girl in the corner took her place. She was crying softly. She had long blond hair that lightened the room.
"What's wrong?" I whispered.
She turned around and said, "I'm lost." Her porcelain white face accentuated her soft pink lips and her cornflower blue eyes. Then she resumed her original position and started to cry again, almost a scream.
"I'll help you," I said feeling sorry for her. Then she just looked at me. Her eyes were widened and her smile was distorted. I turned around and started to bang on the wall.
"Where's that entrance?" I yelled.
She slowly got to her feet, and started to walk toward me, screaming. I turned around and slid down to the floor with my back against the wall. I hugged my knees, closed my eyes and started to whimper. I felt something against my back.
"Yes, the corner," I thought. Immediately, I got up and turned the corner. I never thought that I would be so relieved to be in the dinosaur section again.
I quickly scrambled to my feet. I scanned the area. No animals were seen, except for a couple of birds. I was relieved and frightened.
"What if that stegosaurus returns hungry?" I thought. Sweat was forming beads on my forehead. Mechanically, I slowly began my journey. I started to observe my surroundings. On the ground lay a thick blanket of mist. Everything was shades of green, exactly how I pictured it.
Then I heard thunder. Softly at first, then it grew louder. Terrified, I ran. Tears were pouring out of my eyes.
"I just want to go home!" I cried. Then I saw it. The familiar entrance to the section. My legs were stiff and they ached. Even so, the thundering footsteps behind me grew louder, and I kept running. When I reached the corner, I turned around to see what was chasing me. As I thought, it was a tyrannosaurus. Its teeth were glistening in the sun as though they were just polished. Its head alone was bigger than me. I screamed as his gruesome face came closer and closer. I turned my head to see that I was in the courtyard of King Arthur's castle. I was so confused and tired. I didn't care about anything. I didn't care where I was, and I didn't care about the dinosaurs. I just fell into a deep sleep, hoping I'd wake up in my bed. I was awakened by a loud cry.
"There she is!" the young lady shouted. "She's the one who ran away!" Huge men with shields on horses were ready to attack. Again I started to run, but not fast. It all didn't seem real. I started to run fast when I felt a poke on my back. I knew the men were right behind me. I flew around the corner of the castle without the men following me. They kept riding straight ahead.
"I lost them," I whispered. At this point I started to wheeze. It became harder and harder to breathe. Then I heard the men coming in the opposite direction.
One yelled, "Sir Lancelot, we found a peculiar opening on the other side of the pond. Should we approach it?"
"The entrance!" I thought. After the men were out of sight, I slowly made my way to the pond. The entrance to the medieval section was there when I reached it. I turned the corner, and my surroundings changed. The tables and chairs, the man behind his desk and the walls draped with books were all there. I cried out a sigh of relief. The man behind the desk lifted up his glasses from the end of his nose, and said, "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Sarah Galbraith is 13 years old attending Timberlane Junior School in 7th grade. She enjoys dancing, singing, and taking art classes. She also enjoys to read and write. She lives in Hopewell, NJ and has one brother."
Teacher: Pat Coats
...Short Story
Index
