storyteller: jasmine d

Imagine A World
I’ll always remember the days before the world became the way it is now, the days when I was a nobody, wandering aimlessly on this endless journey of life. This is my story…

Screaming fills my ears… I snap my eyes open. What was that? I try to remember what I had dreamt, however it’s no use, trying to remember my dream was like trying to hold water in cupped hands. I lie there in despair, lost in thought unknowing to the small creature that had just soared into my room. I think about what I could remember of the dream. There had been something -or someone screaming?

At that moment I realised something was crawling across my face, I froze in place only just managing to stifle a shriek. I cautiously open my eyes millimetre by millimetre. What I see knocks the breath out of me. A lovely, iridescent butterfly so perfect like it was out of a dream, was resting right on me. I sit up and rub my eyes, the butterfly drifts off my face and starts flitting around my room. I watch the butterfly for several minutes or maybe hours, hypnotised by it circling movements. Eventually I came to my senses. I lean over, pull open my curtains and roll open my window. Warm welcoming sunlight gushes in. I beckon towards the butterfly “Come on, you won’t want to spend anymore time in this”-I glance around, “you won’t want to spend anymore of your life in this miserable place, trust me.” To my surprise instead of flying away the butterfly glides towards me and starts circling me, I stare at the butterfly, dumbfounded. “Really you need to go!” The butterfly continues to circle me seemingly unaffected by my words. I stare at the butterfly once more. The butterfly not only seems to be circling me it also seems to be beckoning me towards the door. I look at the butterfly then at the door, something finally clicks, understanding what the butterfly wants me to do I sigh dejectedly, “ok, ok fine” I mumble as I struggle to push myself out of my bed. The butterfly pauses and lands on my head. Sudden strength flows through my body as it latches onto my hair. Filled with sudden purpose I leap off my bed, landing with a great thump. Without a second thought I fling open my door and sprint through dark corridors that had trapped me all my life.
 
I had never felt such a way-as if I could do anything and that there were no limits to what I could achieve. A glowing light can be seen in the distance and I can feel the excited vibrations coming from the butterfly that sits upon my head. It seemed that the glowing light in front of me was where the butterfly had intended for me to go. Taking a deep breath I quicken my pace all I can think of is the glowing light that begins to shape itself into a doorway. Now running at breakneck speed, the doorway just a few metres away, hair flying, legs almost ready to give way, I burst through the doorway… a picturesque landscape surrounds me. I stop to take in the glory of the scenery however it seems that my journey is not yet over and that this isn’t my final destination. The butterfly that is now practically glowing with excitement flutters away. I struggle to keep up with it. Now that it’s left my body, the energy and purpose that had been there a moment ago seems to be leaking out of my body like water from a dam. The butterfly slows down giving me a chance to catch up and suddenly… the butterfly isn’t anywhere anymore! Heart thumping, panic surging through my body, my eyes frantically scanning my surroundings for a sign of the butterfly I drop to my knees. This couldn’t be happening. I looked around once more. There was something wrong with the air in front of me. Slowly rising to my feet I took a step towards the area. Something was definitely wrong. Taking all my chances, I took another step, and suddenly the world was no more.

The sounds of birds chirping surround me. I rested there for a few minutes taking in the sweet aroma of bark, finally realising that I wasn’t in my house I opened my eyes. Where am I? I wondered as I slowly sat up, body aching. It took a moment for me to take in my surroundings, my eyes couldn’t comprehend what it was seeing. I was in a whole different world. 

Creatures I had never seen before soared over my head and tropical landscapes reached out in infinite horizons in every direction. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this. Contrary to this I pinched myself unable to comprehend that this was real. I slowly pushed myself up, hands brushing soft fungi that littered the land around me. Enormous fungi could be seen in every direction, some even as big as skyscrapers. No doubt this odd phenomenon was due to the humid, tropical climate. Getting to my feet I started looking around for a place to go, now that the revelation that I had landed in a new world had worn off I started to worry about how I would survive this place. I had to find shelter and a good source of food first, I’d worry about other stuff later.  I looked around for shelter to hide in and suddenly a door caught my eye. Could this door possibly lead to shelter? I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, so I hastened to get to it. However the only problem was that there was a river between me and the door. I searched my surroundings for a thing that could help me. I couldn’t see anything that would help me except for the giant fungi that littered the land around me. I could maybe cut them down and use them as a raft but how would I be able to cut them if I didn’t have any tools with me? A sense of hopelessness washes over me. Why did the butterfly lead me here? Did it lead me here to deceive and trap me? I couldn’t help thinking that the butterfly had led me here for malicious reasons and not what I had expected. A large toad appears next to me seemingly out of nowhere. I jump back shocked and frightened, the toad bends towards me and licks my face. “Ewww”, I cry as the toad hops back, eying me curiously. I contemplated the toad, it seemed harmless however the butterfly seemed harmless at the time as well. I take a step towards the toad. The toad continues to eye me curiously. Maybe I can hop on the toad and use it to get over the river. I take another step towards it. It doesn’t seem like it's going to hurt me. I walk over to it and fling myself on it the toad doesn’t seem to mind. I pat the toad reassuringly, “can you get me over the river please?” I whisper to it. The toad nods as if understanding what I just said. It leaps into the air…

Wind slaps me in the face as I struggle to hold onto the toad. I close my eyes holding back the urge to jump off the toad and find a different way to get round the river. I have to convince myself that this is the only way and that there’s no other way to get over the river. I open my eyes instantly regretting it as the toad lands in the river with a great splash instantly drenching me to the bone. The toad leaps out of the water totally unaffected and croaking happily contrary to the bedraggled human clutching to its back. The toad continues on its way leaping smoothly from lily pad to lily pad occasionally stopping to catch a fly or look at the curious little fish swimming under water. I open my eyes once more. The sight is actually quite brilliant and I can't help but forget about all my worries and just admire the beautiful sight that surrounds me. The toad stopped. We had reached the destination. I felt a pang in my heart that I was probably never going to see this wonderful creature again. I pat the toad once more. “Th-Thank you for the ride. I really enjoyed it.” I stuttered, waving my hand at the toad. I watched the toad fade into the distance. I then set on my way to the door. It wouldn't help to dwell on things that have already passed. 

The mysterious door lay just a few metres away. I strode towards the door, eyes focused only upon the ancient rotting wood of the door. The door beckoned mysteriously to me. I tapped the door to check if anyone was inside. There was no answer. “Hellooooo”, I shouted, “anyone here?” Not a sound could be heard. I pushed on the door, the door creaked open and it seemed that it was unlocked. Deciding that there was no one inside, I pushed open the door and slipped inside. 
Dust flies up and straight into my face as I step inside. Eyes watering, I looked around. It seemed that this place had been long abandoned. I wandered around the place searching every nook and cranny, the place was really quite clean minus all the dust and cobwebs. The dust and cobwebs danced in the breeze as I started dusting the place. Huh that was weird, there was a breeze? That must mean that there was an opening somewhere that led to open air. I searched more carefully looking closely at every crack or gap in the wall and there…what looked like a loose brick, I put my hand under it and turned it around. A whole piece of the wall moved aside leaving a hole big enough for a person to fit through. without a second thought I crawled through the gap, behind the wall lay a magnificent staircase. At the sight of this marvel I gasped, surprised that such a thing would show up in a place like this. I slowly walked up the staircase, taking in every little detail. It was astonishing how much detail was put into this staircase, and it was even more astonishing that this staircase was still here and in pristine condition as though it had been cleaned just a moment ago. The staircase had not one speck of dust unlike its surroundings and though it must have been here for a pretty long time it had not one crack. By the time I had reached the top of the staircase my muscles were aching and I could hardly take another step. But the sight before me was so beautiful that the moment I caught a glance of it all my exhaustion was forgotten…

 From here I could basically see the whole vast expanse of this world. The view from here was phenomenal. I could see mountains, rivers, lakes and the outlines of the unknown in the distance. A thick layer of fog covered the unknown landscape. I stared at the distance trying to make out something of the covered unknown place. I couldn’t make anything out of it. At that moment a conclusion crossed my mind. I’d explore this strange world and I’d find out everything I could about this mysterious place...
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Storyteller: Jasmine D