2064

2064

By ***********

********* School.

Dedicated to my dog, Bingham (Bing).

Copyright 2016

Maple Leaf Writing Project

Brattleboro, VT

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Often I feel as if I am only half of a person, one half of the average eleven year old. But that is something nobody I know can understand. Not my seventy-two year old grandmother, not my three year old brother Jacob, not Vanessa, my twelve year old friend who only cares about what she wears to school the next day. Nobody.

It was just another Wednesday morning, I thought as I woke up to my brother's wailing cries. My arm instinctively reached towards my glasses. I swung my legs off the side of the bed and stopped for a moment to study the polka dots on my pajama pants. Jacob's wails got louder. I sighed, and stood up. As I walked across the room, I heard a loud thump. I picked up my baby brother and traveled into my grandmother's room. My mini poodle mixed with a shih tzu, also known as a shih-poo or poo-shi, followed us in. Her name was Zelda. As usual, Granny had fallen out of her bed, but she was still deep in her dreams as she lay across the floor.

"Granny," I said, shaking her awake. "You're going to hurt your back if you keep falling out of bed like this." She sat up and turned her head towards me. She seemed a bit dazed, but nothing out of the ordinary for a seventy two year old who just woke up after falling out of bed. I knew she was okay, so I started walking away from Granny and into the kitchen to get Jacob some cereal.

Our kitchen is less like a kitchen and more like a small room with a fridge, stove, cabinet and microwave crammed into it. If you added a table and a few chairs since we didn't have a dining room. But we hardly ever ate there anyway. I set Jacob down on the couch and dragged a chair over to the fridge to stand on so that I would be able to reach up and grab the cereal boxes off the top. I always felt embarrassed to do this when Vanessa came over, since I am surprisingly short. She is at least a foot taller than me.

Jacob wanted his "Chocolate Bombs" or “special cereal.” So I got that and "Oat Fancy's Grain Blast" for Granny. As for me, I wanted "Corn Explosion." It's a lot better than it sounds. Trust me. Granny lumbered in as I got the milk from the old fridge that used to be white, and was now a yellow-beige color.

"Did you get me my 'Oat Fancy's Grain Blast?’” asked Granny, her hair frizzled.

"Yes Granny, it's right there on the table." I replied, pouring Jacob's cereal and milk into the bowl I got him for his birthday last month: whales jumping in and out of the water. I watched warily as Granny poured her own. Being seventy-two, she was rather unstable that way.

Next thing I knew, it was 7:30 and I was putting everybody's bowls in the quickly filling sink. I knew I would have to clean all the dishes later that day, because Granny probably wouldn’t. I pulled Jacob out of his chair and ran to my room. I got him dressed for pre-school, sat him on my bed, then got dressed myself for another day in sixth grade.

**********

All day, I thought about the few memories I have of my mom. I remember her warm hugs, how she taught me math, and a few other things. The most vague memory, however, was when she disappeared when I was eight. One night she tucked me in, the next morning she was nowhere to be seen. I can't say I don’t ponder over where she went every single day, because I do. The one thing that I want most in this world is to see my mom again.

As I walked home from school, I stopped at Jacob's pre-school to pick him up. He seemed reluctant to go, so I let him play with Jackson, his best friend for a few more minutes. Suddenly, I wasn't standing alone anymore. Jacob's teacher had walked up to me.

"Hello, there!" she said, with a large, toothy smile.

"Oh, H-hi." I stammered. I wasn't used to this, not at all. People don't usually talk to me much, besides my family.

"What's your name?" she asked, smiling even wider. Her teeth were as white as fresh snow, and her lipstick as red as a rose.

"It's Kathryn. Kathryn Waterspy. I'm just h-here to pick up Jacob. Then we're going."

"Oh, okay. You do that dear."

She walked away. She seemed so… sunny.

It was nice to watch Jacob play with Jackson. They looked so happy, laughing and rolling around without a care in the world. I wish I were like that. I was. But I haven't been since my mom disappeared.

**********

As soon as we got back home, I knew there was something wrong with Granny. She was usually the sweetest old woman I had ever met, but now she was… different. The first thing she said to me was:

“Did you raise your hand in school today?"

"No, Granny.”

"Well you should," she said. “You're too shy."

Zelda ran in and I picked her up. I grabbed Jacob's hand and walked into our room, glad to be away from Granny. Why was she acting like this?

**********

Jacob and I put up with this new version of Granny for four days. On the evening of the fourth day, however, she made Jacob cry. That’s it, I thought. I’m getting out of here. That night, as I lay in bed, I thought over my plan. When I was sure Granny was asleep, I snuck out of bed, fully dressed and in my glasses. I reached under my bed and grabbed my backpack that I had packed with some food, a water bottle, and extra clothing for Jacob and I. Of course, I couldn't leave Zelda. I told her to follow. I picked Jacob up, and slowly, with a flashlight in one hand, walked from the room, then from the apartment. Before I shut the door I looked back into our cluttered living room, with all Granny’s antique Chinese statues and other little things. “Goodbye, Granny.” I whispered. A tear rolled down my cheek.

Was this the right thing to do? I wondered. I had to remind myself that this was not really Granny I was leaving behind. And we left.

**********

I had always wanted a better elevator in our apartment building. A new update even came out this year, 2064, but we were still stuck on the forty-second floor with the update from 2017. It was loud and clunky, without even a button you push and it gives you popcorn. That was in the 2043 update, which we didn't get either. I went down, holding Jacob in my arms. He woke up, looked confused, and went back to sleep.

I stepped out into the cold New York winter’s night air. I had only one instinct, and it was to run into the woods. That was where I went when I was upset. So I followed my instinct and ran. I ran so fast and hard, that I didn't even notice when my arms got tired from carrying my baby brother. Soon, I found myself on my knees in front of the tree I always ran to, setting Jacob down on a bed of leaves that had fallen in the autumn. Zelda lay down next to him. I wanted to lie down as well, but I knew there was something I had to do first. This was no ordinary tree, it was Granny’s tree. And then it was my mother’s tree. And now it was my tree.

Or at least since my mother had disappeared, I considered it my tree. All the girls in my family have passed it down. We know we can’t actually own a tree, but that doesn't matter. There is a leaf, plucked from the branches of this tree, that every girl in my family has. I just hoped that she had hers with her.

This tree was magic. I pulled my leaf out of my pocket, and whispered into it “Ellen Waterspy.” The golden leaf shimmered, and turned into a sort of mirror. A face appeared.

“Mom?” I said as loudly as I could without waking up Jacob.

“Katy! I missed you so much!” she replied.

“Mom, where have you been for so long?”

“I went… wait, are you at the tree?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Be careful. That’s where I went. And then they took me. I have been their prisoner for years… three years, I believe.”

“Mom, who is they?”

“Oh, you'll see. Oh no! I need to tell you something fast. They want me to scrub the floors. You are at the Great Forest, right?”

“Yes, Mom.”

“I need you to go to the heart of the forest. The Stone of Light. Someone is waiting for you there. Find them. I’m depending on you!”

“But-

“Goodbye, Katy.”

“Goodbye, Mama.”

The leaf turned back to it’s normal (shimmering gold) self. Zelda opened one eye, looked at me, and closed it again. I couldn’t sleep, so instead I waited until morning when Jacob woke up. And we left for the Stone of Light.

**********

Jacob and I quickly ran out of water and had to refill our bottle at the Fairy Stream. There are rumors that people have seen fairies there, but I don’t believe it. Well, at least I didn't believe it. Not until today.

I had my hand in the water, letting the stream flow into the bottle. Zelda was lapping up the crystal clear liquid a little down the bank, and Jacob had taken off his shoes and socks and was now wading knee deep in the stream, almost as high as it would get. This part of the forest was like summer. Suddenly, I saw a silver, sparkly something flutter in front of me. It stopped right before my eyes.

The fairy was the most beautiful being, with long, silver hair that had a greenish tint to it. She had pointed ears, and was about an inch tall, with a leaf wrapped around her body as a dress. And her wings, they were the most magnificent things I had ever seen. They shone with gold, almost as tall as her, and they seemed to illuminate her. And when she moved, you could almost see tiny moving pictures in them.

She looked into my brown eyes with her large green ones and said:

“Kathryn, where are you headed? I could direct you there, if you don't mind.”

I didn't even ask how she knew my name, or how she knew I was going somewhere, because I knew that was just fairy magic. Usually I was shy talking to people, but she was no person. She was a fairy.

“We are headed to the heart of the forest.”

“Ah, to the Stone of light, I see. Well, I can guide you part of the way there, but, you see, us fairies can only go so far from our stream. But I will give you directions from my boundary line.”

“Oh, okay!” I replied, delighted with the news. “We just need to rest, and then we can go.”

She flew off.

**********

The journey was calm. We ran out of food, but the fairy, who I soon learned was named Luna, supplied us with bread, butter, delicious ripe berries and fresh spring water. Zelda mostly ate grass.

For three days we walked. And then Luna could not go any farther. She told us to take a left and then keep going straight. And to beware of the goblins.

“Goodbye, Luna!” I called.

“Bye-bye!” yelled Jacob.

“Wait… goblins? What goblins?” I asked her.

“Farewell, my friends!” she answered. And she was gone.

I pulled Jacob along and Zelda followed us. The forest ahead seemed dark and gloomy. There was snow everywhere. Jacob could barely walk, so I had to carry him again. The snow still kept falling. It was blowing into our faces. We could hardly see two feet in front of us. Luna had told us to go straight left, so we went left.

Suddenly, the open woods turned into a path, and we were following that path. The snow fell only lightly now. There was a faint glowing light in the darkness ahead. The Stone of Light! I raced to it, and my brother and dog followed me.

I approached him cautiously. He whirled around. Then I realized…

I leaned forward.”You look just like me!” I blurted.

He leaned forward too. His glasses fell off. “I can’t tell what you look like now.” We laughed. He picked up his glasses and placed them back on his nose. “There, that’s better. Hey, you look just like me!”

“I’m Kathryn, by the way.”

“Jeremy.”

“Um… so are you waiting for me here? My mom said you were…”

“No way! My mom told me to wait for you here!”

“Okay, I’m contacting my mom.” I said, pulling my leaf from my pocket. I whispered her name and then there she was.

“Mom! I found Jeremy!” I yelled.

“Mom?” asked Jeremy.

“Mom?” I asked Jeremy.

“Ah, yes. Hello, Kathryn, Jeremy. Now, I have something to tell you both.”

“Okay, what is it?” we asked.

“You… are twins.”

“WHAT?!”

“Okay, meet me at the Goblin Tower in one hour.”

She disappeared.

“Alright, let’s go.” I said awkwardly.

**********

The Goblin Tower was a huge, broken, stone tower covered in vines where goblins are said to live. My mom was almost all the way at the bottom of these vines. She dropped down, and turned to us.

When I saw her face, my heart stopped. I ran, not really caring what thorns scraped my legs. I threw my arms around her. I felt a thump on the right side of my back. Jeremy. Then I felt a thump on the back of my knee. Jacob was hugging us too. Zelda was running in circles around our feet, barking.

As we hurried into the woods to begin the long walk home, I realized that I didn't feel like only half of a person anymore. I felt complete. Well, almost complete at least. There was still one thing left to do.

“So, Mom…” I said. “I think we've got a lot of catching up to do.”

THE END

EPILOGUE

Granny couldn't remember a single thing since she changed. She had become her old self once more. The doctor told her she was just getting old, and it was nothing to worry about. Granny was a big help with decorating the house to make it look nice and tidy. She stayed in bed, but told us where everything should be put.

My mother refused to tell me until the day after we got back home to Granny how she had escaped the Goblin Tower with her life. We decided to take a walk to the tree, and she offered to tell me everything. We sat under the golden branches and ate. Luna even fluttered over to say hello. It was perfect.

That afternoon, as we were walking back from the tree, I saw my first goblin.

“RUN!”