Hello?

Hi... no one posts on this anymore...

:(

and no one reads it either...

:(

coming soon

I have a really good start to a story, but I lost the first half of the beginning. :( It was on my computer, and my computer died. I'm going to get it back, somehow, though. Also, I'm going to work on more short fairy tales.

songs?

r songs allowed on this blog?

i geuss so...

well here's 1...

(i made it out of boredom)

Key:

Lover 1/singer 1 = T

Lover 2/singer 2=B

Cupid=C

Love

B: I do believe I'm in love!

C: Love is my essence,

Arrows my messan-

gers

stretch "gers" out

T: He is who makes it,

B+T: We are who take it,

We try not to break it,

Since it brings us joy

Chorus:

B+C+T: Love,

stretch "Love" out

B: Love!

It brings us happiness and joy

T: Love!

is wonderful no doy! (doy means duh)

C: I like to spread it

Since those who get it

Will never forget it

And will pass it on!

Chorus Ends

T: It's not delivered in a truck

B: You won't find it in some shumck (shumck is the yucky puddles at the side of the road three days after it last rained)

T: It will just appear

B: Like a bug-bite in your ear

T: And develop like an itch

B: Like a good-natured glitch

C: In your life!

stretch "life" out

T: If you try to tune it out,

B: it will sink into a pout,

C: but remain!

stretch "remain" out

Chorus

Tag

B+T: We are in love!

Stretch every word in the tag, especially "love"

TESTING 1.....2....3

Ok so.... all the posts have been being published on MY buzz account, whether I wrote them or not. I changed some settings.... so now I will see if this is published on my buzz.

kicked in the heart

this is written by A.J.B....

in her creative writing class...

she wanted me to put it up...

Kicked in the Heart

by A.J.B

My father had two boots. They are my only memory of dad. They are golden brown with a white streak running down the sides. The tips of the shoes are as pointed as a shark’s fin. Right after my eighth birthday he gave me the boots. When I was little I would walk around in them pretending to be him. My mom wanted to throw them away because the boots made her sad, but I rescued them. The boots are in my closet waiting to be worn. I haven’t put them on since he died.

Now I pluck them from the innards of my closet and set them on the bookshelf. I glance around my room and think “I have a lot of work to do.” My desk is cluttered with old papers, mainly tests and homework. My pens and pencils are strewn about the room. I start picking them up and placing them back in their rightful bins. I pick up the dirty clothes I wore yesterday off the floor and stuff them down the laundry chute. Mom walks in and starts to ask something, but then she sees the boots.

“Why are they on your shelf for display?” She asks curtly.

“I like them and they remind me of dad” I reply. I can already see the tears in her eyes even though it had been four years since he died.

“Put them away,” my mom commands.

“Why can’t I remember him?” I ask my voice raising.

“Because it’s too painful,” She declares.

“Not for me, I want to recall all the fun I had with him”

“Please just put the boots away,” I put the boots back into the closet reluctantly.

She shifts my sister Holly to her left thigh. Holly has giant blue eyes. She has slightly curly hair that is the color of almond brown. I know she is going to have the same hair as mom and I. She has the fat cheeks of a newborn, even though she is two. On the other hand mom has pinched cheeks. Mom and I both have vibrant blue eyes like Holly. Now that dad has died I think her eyes don’t sparkle the vibrant blue anymore. She was only 32 when he died. But now she looks much older. Before she leaves my room she says “We’re going to go shopping, do you want to come or stay here?”

“Here,” I say without looking at her. I pretend to organize my closet while she stands there waiting for me to say more.

Finally she shuts the door and clomps downstairs. I look out of my window and see mom pull out of the driveway. I go back to the closet and stare at the boots. I pick them up and set them in the middles of my room.

“Should I put them on? Or not?” I wonder. I trace the embroidered pattern on the boot with the tip of my finger. I pull out the tissue that keeps the boot in the right shape.

Very slowly I put my right foot in one of the boots. Then I put my left foot in the other boot. I stand up and suddenly I am back on the ranch…. learning how to drive a four wheeler.

“Good morning, darling” Dad says as I come down the stairs.

“Morning daddy,” I reply giving him a huge hug.

“Where’s my hug?” Mom asks.

I run around the table to give her a hug too.

“Do you want to learn how to drive a 4 wheeler?” Dad asks his eyes shining at me. I nod, because my mouth is filled with cheerios. After I finish the bite I scream, “Of course I want to.” I bounce up and down in my seat.

“Well, finish your food and we can go.” Dad says. I scarf down the last bites of food. I gulp down the milk. The milk leaves a big mustache around my lips. Dad laughs and then mom joins in.

“What?” I demand.

“You have mustache like me,” He says. I burst out laughing. Mom starts to clear the table. Dad and I walk to the shed to get the 4 wheeler.

“Which one do you want to use?” He asks. I point to the big blue one. He climbs on and then lifts me up with his huge muscular arms. I sit in the front and he sits in the back. Dad turns on the engine and presses the gas. We zoom back to the house where mom is standing. She smiles at us. In her hand is a camera. I groan and dad tickles me. I laugh.

“Smile! Say cheese!” She calls to us. The bulb flashes white in our eyes. “Have fun!” Dad shows me the gear control. He shows me the gas and brake. He demonstrates how to turn on and off the machine. He presses the clutch and shifts gears. All the while mom is snapping photos.

“All right, you know how to work this now. Let’s drive,” He says. I put my foot on the clutch and move the gear to drive. I put my hand on the gas and we take off, leaving mom in the dust.

“Let’s go down the driveway,” Dad screams above the roaring wind.

“Okay!” I shout back. I steer the 4 wheeler towards the long driveway. The wind hits us in the face. Dust kicks up all around us. Soon we hear a noise behind us, dad and I look behind and see mom on a 4 wheeler.

“Hi,” She shouts.

“Hi, do you want to take the loop through the woods.” Dad asks her. I see her nod. Mom turns her wheeler around and I turn mine around. I follow mom. We cut across the grass and through the woods until we get back to the ranch.

“Well, that was fun,” Dad says. Our hair is messed up, except for dad. Mom runs inside and grabs her camera. We all sit on the same wheeler and mom snaps a photo.

The noise of mom’s car pulling up in the driveway brings me back to the present. I realize now that mom hasn’t taken many pictures of me or Holly. She doesn’t smile as much and she barely laughs. I quickly pull off the boots and run down stairs to greet them. Mom hands me bags and I put the food in the fridge.

“Mom,” I say.

“Hmm,”

“Do you know where are the pictures of dad and us on the 4 wheelers?” I ask.

“Why,”

“I don’t know, I just was remembering when he taught me how to ride them all by myself,” I explain.

“I don’t know where they are.”

The next morning I wake up find my boots missing. I rush out of my room and into Holly’s. She is playing with my boots. She smiles up at me but I don’t smile back. I take in the damage of the boots. Holly had pulled off all of the embroidery and pieces of thread scatter her rug.

“What did you do to the boots?!” I scream. She just picks up the other boot and starts to pull the embroidery off.

“Don’t you dare, Holly,” I tell her. I grab the boots from her clutches. The ruined boots make me feel the way I did just after dad died. He died on a Sunday morning…..

“Good morning, sweetie,” My mom trills as I sit down for breakfast.

“Good morning, where’s dad?” I ask.

“Oh, he and his buddies went horseback riding,” Mom says.

“Oh,” I push my bowl of cereal away from me.

“I guess you’re done,” I nod. The sun is beginning to make everything hot, so I go upstairs do my homework in my cool room. About an hour later mom comes in my room and says

“I am going to look for your father and his buddies, stay here,”

“Why?” I ask.

“If they are right in the head they would know to get out of the sun,” She says.

“Okay,” She leaves the room muttering to herself.

Later I hear a knock at the door. I run downstairs and open it up. My dad’s friend Bob is standing there.

“Hi, Maya, is your mom home?” He asks.

“No, she went looking for my dad and his friends,” I reply.

“Do you mind if I wait here for her?”

“Sure, you can wait here. Do you want tea or anything?” he shakes his head no and begins drumming on the table. My mom bursts through the door with a panic stricken face. Then she notices Bob.

“Bob, do you know where Henry is? I’ve been searching all over for him.” My mom asks. Bob nods and then looks at me.

“Maya, go upstairs and finish your homework.” Mom says. I trudge upstairs and into my purple flowered room. I can hear Bob and mom muttering. I crack open the door and can hear Bob’s deep voice telling mom something. I catch snippets of what Bob is saying.

“Horse… bucked… Henry…fall…hit…head…might’ve…died.”

“Oh no, dad can’t be dead!” I think.

“Maya, come down here!” When I reach mom and Bob we all run straight to the ambulance. The attendant opens the back door and we all clamber in. Dad is on a stretcher, with IV tubes stuck in him. His face is all bruised and swollen. I look away. We finally make it to the hospital. After that it was a blur…

Holly looks up at me, finally realizing she did something wrong. Bob still visits every Saturday.

“Mom,” I bellow. She comes into Holly’s room still in her white nightgown. She reaches for the light switch but instead turns on Holly’s mobile.

“What is it, it’s only 9 in the morning and something is already wrong,” She complains. I hold up the messed up boots for her to see. She suddenly becomes wide awake.

“Well they were old anyways.” She says.

“Can we have them fixed?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because, I am not, wasting my money on a pair of old stinky boots.” She practically yells.

“They were dad’s boots. And you know he loved them,” I say. Holly looks at us with wide eyes. “Fine if you don’t want to respect dad’s love for the boots, don’t. I will. I will also fix them using my own money!” I tell her. I run back to my room and count my money. Only 12 dollars and 98 cents. I’ll just have to save mymoney. 12 dollars and 98 cents is not enough to fix shoes.

Later my mom knocks on the door. She cracks open the door and shoves two bags inside my room. I reach into the bag and take out the contents. Inside are a pair of boots. I don’t want these stupid boots. They aren’t dads. I think. Then I take a closer look and realize they are dad’s boots and they are fixed!

“Hurray,” I shout. I reach into the second bag and take out another pair of boots. The boots are exactly identical to dad’s boots. Attach to the boots is a note. It says: Dear Maya, I now understand your need to remember Henry. I had the boots fixed and a pair made especially for you. Love, Mom

I hug everything that came inside the bag. Thank you, I say silently to my mom. Then I step in my new boots and remember.

Testing 1...2...3

Ok so.... these posts were always showing up on MY gmail account in buzz.... so.... let's see if this goes through... I changed some settings

sorry :'(

I'm really sorry... I haven't updated my blog in ages.... I started some new stories, most of which I hate, and I'm going to abandon, probably. Should I post my poems up here? I've got some pretty good ones.....

Should I write??

OK so.... since this is technically my blog (i am ONE of the owners!)..... do you guys think i should write??? I mean.... this is a writing blog.... so.... should i write??

Sorry and obama

hi!

sorry I haven't written in, like, for ever!

I have awesome news!!!

I SAW OBAMA!!!

I AM SOOOOOO EXCITED...

well, actually, I saw his car, with him in it, but the windows were tinted. He drove by my school, on his way to make a speech in manhattan; he actually made the speech under my BFF's mom's office window!

oh, also, my other blog is http://scoobird.blogspot.com/

Hello and sorry

hi
im in california!
i am sad because I feel bad; ruth keeps writing, and i am just hanging out, reading!
-fia

MORE INFO, UPDATES

Sorry, caps lock was on. Anyway, I found my notebook, and I started a new story. It's about a girl with... well, I won't tell you right now. You'll have to wait. >:)

me

hi, this is scoobird, and i wanted to tell everyone that i have a almost-never-updated-blog; http://scoobird.blogspot.com.

oh, and here is a story...

i did it for school, based on the book the Outsiders, but it was pretty good (i think) and so...

here it is...

flflflflflflflflflflflflflfl

It happened so fast, last night. I was so scared - sittin' in the livin' room, readin' the news – practically tremblin'. Then Pony, he just walks in the front door, like he hasn't been missin' for hours. I start yellin', making a big stink, tellin' him what I would'a done, if he hadn't come back for another hour, 'til 3 a.m.! And you know what he told me?! He said that he had been asleep, sleepin' in the same old lot where Johnny was beat up that time! Now that got me real steamed up, alright! Any Soc could have walked by, called up his buddys when he saw Pony, and made sure that he don't come home without some helps from the gang or, even, doctors! If the fuzz found out, and realized he was asleep there with no parents at home, or out looking for him, and him and Soda would be taken from me! How could I live like that? A family of five reduced to one, me, and it being all my fault! I could have saved Mom and Dad, asked them to hug us one more time or to make our lunch, anything to delay them so that car ride would not have been their last! Ok, let me get back to last night.

I guess I was a little harsh, with all that yelling, so Soda starts defending Pony. I yell at him, and, for the first time that night, Pony yells; “Don't yell at Soda,” he yells. He said something like that. Now, my mood was like an over-flowing ice-cream sundae of nastiness, and that was the cherry. I swirled around, slapping Pony so hard he fell back against the door. My hand stung. Next thing I knew, Pony was out the door. Now he's gone, and so is Johnny. He might be dead for all I know.

Oh boy, now I'm crying. Good thing Soda's dead to this world, lying on the couch, lettin' out little grunts and whimpers every few minutes. He's so fast asleep that a little puddle has formed next to his head on the pillow. If he were to open his eyes right now, seeing me watching him, crying, with this journal in my lap, we would, both, dye a slow and painful death of embarrassment.

If Pony don't come back, I don't know what I'll do. The only thing to live for would be Soda. What happens when he's old enough to live on his own? I don't know if I can survive with this responsibility on my shoulders. It's just to much...

Soda's stirring, I think he's about to wake up. I gotta put this away and strike a sleeping pose.

Darry

flflflflflflflflflflflflflfl

Umm...

You know, you guys can post comments. I would like it if you gave me constructive feedback, please. :)

My First Post

HEY!! this is my first post! thank you ruth for adding me to your team! ok so..... you guys should read: Into the Mirror by Ruth! It's really good! So yeah! I won't be publishing stories very often and if I do.... they'll be super short bad writing so pay attention to the other two bloggers more than me... (they're better authors)

New ideas?

2 of them-

[someone] could make anything grow. Anything at all. But after the pizza tree, his mom put her foot down.

-and-

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the castle. He knew he must be dreaming then, because just a moment ago, he had been looking at that castle- a mini version inside the display case. He had just leaned over to look more closely at it, and tumbled onto it- then was the rush of lights and color and sounds. Then he was here.

Like 'em? I couldn't think of other stuff for them. The inspiration for the second one comes from the playmobil setup in my bedroom... People whop have been to my house would know. :) Especially Sofia- she took about a gazillion pictures of it :)

In the future...

I'm going to find my notebook soon, and work on Shay, and post it to the computer soon. Hopefully.

Hi!
I have joined this blog because I was invited...
I probably wont have stories very often, but oh well...

Shay (I don't really have a good title yet)

Shay lay jaguar-style on the largest branch in the tree in her backyard. The branch was at least 7 feet long, and at least 5 and a half feet of it was really thick- about twice as wide as the thickest point of your arm. She had a rope swing attached to that branch, and it was sticking uncomfortably into her stomach. She was lying up there because (strictly speaking) she was not supposed to, and also because she wanted a peaceful place to read her book. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very peaceful. There were sounds of a catfight, a dog barking at the cats, a car horn honking at another car, and some drunk people yelling at a party next door. Shay sighed. Other than that, it was a beautiful summer evening- the pale peach sky was tinted with highlights of lilac, and the slight breeze brought to Shay’s nose the scent of late-blooming roses.

Speaking of scents, while she was sniffing, Shay caught a whiff of her mother’s brownies- the most delicious brownies she had ever tasted. Shay sat upright, clenched her book in her teeth, and shimmied 10 feet down to the ground. She weaved her way past the wisteria, the cleomes, and the roses, and arrived at the back of the house just in time to see her mother stick her head out the back door and yell, “Shay! Brownies!”

Shay smiled. “I’m right here, you know; I could smell them across the yard! And you don’t have to shout, I would have been able to hear you anyway if you hadn’t. What are the brownies for?”

“To eat, of course!”

That made them both laugh.

(I have a lot more of this story in my notebook. Sorry- I never got around to putting it on the computer.)

The Tower Maiden

Once upon a time, in a distant land, there were a king and a queen with three daughters and a son. The daughters were named Rose, Lily, and Briar; and in the palace garden there grew a rosebush, a lily, and briars. Unfortunately, when the children were all very young, the pretty queen took ill and died.

When the children had grown older, one night, the prince had a dream. He dreamed that a beautiful lady that looked like a fairy showed him a palace in the middle of an overgrown wood. She told him that there were mountains of gold and precious gems inside; and that in the topmost tower, there slept the most beautiful maiden in the world. She led him up there, and showed him the maiden. Her fair hair gently lay over her pink and white face. The fairy told him that if he wanted to seek her, he must take the road going to the left on the way into the wood, and then he woke up.

He told his father about the dream, and gave to his father a knife, telling him that if the blade should ever grow tarnished, he would be in need of help. His father, the king, tried to persuade him to stay, but the young prince was firm and adamant. Then he set out. On his way, he passed a wolf.

“Good day to you, my friend,” the prince said.

“Good morning; and where are you going, young prince?” asked the wolf.

“I’m going to seek the fair maiden who lies in the castle yonder,” replied the prince.

“Oh, no! Don’t go there!” cried the wolf, and he ran away.

The young prince kept on going, for he had fallen in love with the maiden he had seen in his dream. When the young prince had almost reached the wood, he met a fox.

“Good day to you, my friend,” the prince said.

“Good morning; and where might you be going?” asked the fox.

“I’m going to seek the fair maiden that lies in the castle yonder,” replied the prince.

“Oh, no! Don’t go there!” cried the fox, and she ran away.

The prince did not heed the fox’s warning, and so he kept on going. When he got to the path into the wood, he followed it until he came to a fork in the road. He took the left side. The forest started to get gloomier, and there were fewer animals going about now. He was starting to run, to get to the castle quickly, when out came a hare.

“Good day to you, my friend,” the prince said.

“Good morning; and may I ask where you are going in this gloomy wood?” asked the hare.

“I’m going to seek the fair maiden that lies in the castle yonder,” replied the prince.

“Oh, no! Don’t go there!” cried the hare, and she ran away.

The prince had not gone long when he saw a great gray wall loom up ahead. He knew that it was the castle, and he quickened his pace to try and reach the tower with the beautiful maiden in it. All of a sudden, he felt a sort of stiffening in his limbs, and he looked down. His hands and feet were becoming as gray as the walls in front of him. As he slowly turned to stone, the beautiful fairy-like lady that had shown him the castle in is dream appeared before him with a wicked smile. She waved her wand and countless other stone princes turned visible.

“You’ll stay here until I choose to let you go. You’ll never feel anything except for your own sadness!” with that, she turned and faded away.

Back at the palace, the king anxiously glanced at the knife his son had left with him, and, to his horror, it was covered with rust. He called his daughters to him and told them of the fate that had befallen their brother. Rose, the eldest, spoke first.

“I will go look for him, and bring him back, if it would make you happy.” She volunteered.

The king somewhat unwillingly let her go, knowing that if anything befell her, the rosebush in the garden would droop and wilt, and he could send someone to rescue her.

The very next day Rose set out, knowing which road to take. She passed by the wolf, the fox, and the hare, but paid them as little heed as her brother had. Finally, she got to the castle. She began to get uneasy, because all sorts of wild beasts were prowling around it. She knew that her bother must be inside, though, so she bravely tucked up her skirts and ventured closer. Hardly had she taken more than a step forwards when the wicked enchantress who turned the princes to stone appeared, and told Rose that since she was pretty, she would be spared the indignity of being turned into an ugly wild animal. Rose begged to be let go, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she was spiraling down into the form of a glossy white tiger.

Back at the palace, the king was walking in the garden, and as he was looking at his three favorite plants, the rose drooped and wilted before his eyes.

“Some evil fate has befallen poor Rose! I must send out someone to look for my poor children at once.”

He summoned Lily and Briar, and he told them of what had happened for poor Rose. Lily told him that she would go and search for them, or perish in the attempt. The king argued, but in the end, Lily won. All things fell for her the same way they had for Rose. The enchantress turned her into a tawny lioness. Rose and Lily recognized each other, and fell together, weeping and lamenting. Now that they were animals, they could see the stone princes, and they recognized their brother. He had seen the enchantress turn them into animals, and he felt horrible to know that he and his foolish dreams were the cause of all their misfortunes.

Briar and her father were sitting in the garden and watching the lily, when all of a sudden, it fell over to the ground, wilted.

“Oh, no! The same thing must have happened to both my sisters as it has my brother, and I must go search for them!”

The old king tried to make her let himself go instead, for she was his youngest and favorite daughter, but Briar was firm, and she forced him to let her go.

“After all, what good would a kingdom be with no ruler but an inexperienced young princess?” she argued. The king had to let her go.

She was walking down the road, when the wolf came out.

“Good day to you, my nice wolf,” the princess said.

“Good afternoon, my pretty princess; will you share some of the meal you have brought with me?”

Briar gladly consented, and the two ate the meal in silence.

After they had eaten their fill, the wolf asked, “And where are you going on this fine day?” Briar told him of the fate that had come upon her siblings. She told him that she must go to the castle, even though she believed, and knew, that she shouldn’t, for there was great danger ahead. He realized that nothing would make her go back, so he explained to her how the enchantress’s power could be taken away: her only power was the maiden locked up in the tower. This maiden she used to lure princes to her castle, and, by turning them to stone, she took their power, and used it for her own evil magic. The wolf gave Briar a golden stick and bade her sit on his back. He told her that the golden stick would remove all enchantment; and that he knew the way, and with him, she would be safe from the enchantress and the wild animals. She gladly accepted his offer, and rode on his back to the wood. There they met the fox, and when she saw that the wolf was going with Briar, she decided to come too.

“Extra help can always be handy,” she explained.

When they had gone a little further, they met the hare, and when she saw that both the fox and the wolf had decided to go with Briar, she decided to go with them too. When they had gotten to the castle, the hare, who could see the invisible stone princes, went forward and touched Briar’s brother with the golden stick. He instantly sprung up, and hugged the hare, who turned into a beautiful princess, and explained that she, her brother the wolf, and her sister the fox, had been enchanted to become animals to warn people away from the castle.

Meanwhile, the fox took the golden stick, found Rose and Lily, and touched them with it, thereupon they became princesses again. They hugged the fox and told her that hey could never thank her enough, and she turned back into the princess she once was.

Briar knew, however, the wolf having told her, that to destroy the enchantress’s power, she must go up to the tower, and find the sleeping maiden that her brother had dreamed of. She went up, and when she saw the sleeping maiden, she was so shocked that she was about to fall off the wolf, because the maiden looked exactly like her. Briar hastened over, and woke the maiden, who smiled sleepily, and got out of her bed. The moment she got out of her bed, the enchantress arrived, and, realizing that if she didn’t leave at once, that her power would be gone forever, flew out of the window with a terrible scream of rage, and has not been seen to this day.

The maiden told Briar that she had been enchanted, and put up here, just to lure princes to the castle. Briar, meanwhile, turned around, solemnly thanked the wolf, for she could never have rescued anyone without him; and kissed him. All of a sudden, before her stood a handsome prince. He asked her to marry him, and who wouldn’t say no?

The marriage was celebrated with much rejoicing, and many guests; for the maiden in the tower, the fox, the hare, and the wolf were all the children of the neighboring king, who had given them up for gone long ago; and all of the enchanted princes and princesses came to the wedding too. It was actually a double wedding- Briar’s brother got married to the hare-princess. Briar and the wolf-prince were very happy, and if they haven’t died of old age, then they must still be living happily ever after.

And if you look in the king’s garden to this day, you will see a rosebush, a lily, and a patch of briars all intertwined and growing happily.

Into the Mirror

I’m usually a pretty ordinary girl. Most of the time. I had cheerios for breakfast and pizza for dinner. I live in your world, that is to say, a boring and uneventful world. Nothing ever happens there. At least, that’s what I thought. Until- well...

Lily said I couldn’t tell anyone about it. I knew I couldn’t, anyway. But there are some things that are hard to keep to yourself. Even though no one would ever believe me, I can write it down in my diary. No one would read it, but I would still have kept my memories somewhere. Lily says she can’t stay forever. I have to remember her.

My name is Lila Turner, and I’m eleven years old. This all started... Well... long ago, before I can remember, but it happened yesterday. Well, ever since I can remember, I’ve been seeing movements out of the corner of my eye, even when nothing was there. I dismissed them from my brain, and by the time I was five, I just ignored them. But they were still there. I just didn’t bother to look for the source anymore.

Well, yesterday, I heard the thump. I spun around. I just saw my reflection, pale, and staring back at me. She was holding a stack of books, and one of them had dropped.

She blinked, put them down, straightened up, and waved at me.

“Oops.” She giggled nervously. “We weren’t supposed to let you know yet.”

I nearly fainted in shock.

“Who- What are you?!”

“That’s not a nice way to greet me! I’ve known you your whole life! I’m Lily. I’m your ‘reflection’.”

My jaw dropped.

She stuck out her hand. It splooshed through the mirror with a sound like someone breaking a vacuum seal and water cascading everywhere. She smiled, took my hand, and led me back through. “Hold your breath,” she warned.

Going through the mirror was like getting your head dunked in ice-cold water, then being perfectly warm and dry again. I resurfaced in a very familiar room, one that I had seen since childhood. It was my room. Mirrored. It smelled of the lavender perfume I had accidentally spilled the other day. A cool breeze was blowing from the fan beside my bed. The window seat with its faded red velvet cushion was sitting in the window overlooking the harbor. Just where everything was supposed to be. But it was all wrong. At first my eyes didn’t want to take it in, so I closed them and sat down for a couple of minutes. It helped. I decided to imagine I had never seen this room before, and it was completely new to me. That worked.

I explored the room. To the right was a window with a view of a garden of roses and peonies and wisteria and a thousand other flowers and plants I couldn’t begin to describe. Next to the bed with the blue blankets was a big bookshelf with books written in some foreign language, Oh, it was backwards English, of course! I saw an old battered copy of Treasure Island, a collection of Calvin and Hobbes books, and a lot more. I smiled. In the corner over there was a really old rocking horse. Its mane was falling off, and one of its eyes was missing. It had a crooked painted smile. It had the look of something very well loved. At the back of the room, where I had come from, instead of a mirror, though, there was a glimmering crystal archway. Opposite the archway was the faded old door that I had stared at for ages when I was little, trying to see if I could find anything secret concealed by its old oak panels. There never was anything. Of course. There was no magic in my world. This one, though, I wasn’t so sure about.

I hoped that there would be magic.

Lily opened the door with a creak.

“Sssh, Sofie’s sleeping.”

We tiptoed past the room of her baby sister. My baby sister was named Sofia.

“What’s your mom’s name? Every name in this world seems like it’s based on the names in my world or the other way around. My mom is Irene, so yours would be...?”

“Ilene. Shh.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

“We can’t let my mom know you’re here. You aren’t supposed to know about us yet.”

I was surprised to find that outside of the mirror viewer’s line of vision, the house was quite different. It wasn’t as new. There were all sorts of weird things, like creaky hollow stairs, and an old-fashioned coat rack. The walls were painted a faded blue. At one point I tripped, and the top of one of the steps flew off. Underneath was a pile of faded yellow documents.

Lily replaced the top and motioned angrily for me to shush.

We snuck downstairs to the old-looking kitchen, where a mournful tune was playing on the radio, and the smell of home-made baking was drifting on the breeze.

“I know you’re out there girls. Come on in and have some brownies. Yes, you too, Lila,” Came a very familiar voice.

I looked at Lily. The shrugged and went in. I followed her. There, cooking at a chipped old oven, was a face that was the exact mirror of my mother’s. No, duh! What am I saying?! Of course it was her mirror image! It was her mirror image! I smiled.

In Your Dreams

In Your Dreams

“Goodnight, Lili, sweetie.” Lilietta’s mother bent down, brushed Lilietta’s red hair out of her face, and kissed her forehead.

“Night, mom.” Lilietta smiled. She burrowed under her covers as her mother turned out the light. She knew that tonight was going to be exciting. Last night she had discovered a system of caves underneath the house. She wondered what lay down there.

Her mother left.

Lilietta tossed and turned, but sleep eluded her. She needed to calm down. She fluffed her pillow, and tried counting sheep. It didn’t work. Finally, she lay on her side and gazed at the familiar picture opposite the room. Even in the dark, she could make out the shapes of the animals. There were the two weasels... There were the two pandas... Were those the polar bears way back there......? A black wave of sleep crashed over her, and she knew no more.

Lilietta drifted down the hallway. It was old and ragged, and completely unfamiliar, but she knew it as well as she knew her own home. She visited there every night. Lilietta was a Dreamwalker.

A Dreamwalker is a person who, in their sleep, is transported through their mind to a parallel dimension. Their body is left behind where they come from. Dreamwalkers are very rare. There is one Dreamwalker in every universe, so if you know one, or are one, think of yourself as one in at least a billion people.

Lilietta’s alternate dimension was a very green world; the place she was transported to was simply a house on a planet, and the rest of the planet was basically jungle and forest, with a few streams and rivers and plains, and other scenic spots like waterfalls. The house was a simple two-story building, that looked like it had been there since the beginning of time. Perhaps it had. Who knows?

Lilietta glanced around. It was the same as always. She smiled and flowed down the stairs. She stopped when she reached the door that looked like it had been scratched out of the wall.

As to writing

All of the things that I'm putting here are just story beginnings. Well, almost all of them. If I can find that fairy tale I once wrote. SO I basically have no ends. I'm open for suggestions for story lines!