The Crew and the Magic House

Once upon a time there was a young turtle that lived deep in the woods named Saturn. He woke up each morning with a smile upon his face, and nothing but excitement for the day. This particular morning the sun was peeking through the leaves of the tree, and shinning right on to his face. Saturn was so excited that the day was finally here, the day that he would get to see some of his friends. He jumped out of bed and ran down the hallway of his tiny home to the bathroom where he brushed his teeth. He pulled his best shirt down over his head, and slid his feet into his brand new pair of sneakers. He was humming a tune, as he tied his shoes as quickly as he could. No time to waste this morning, Saturn thought. He grabbed some greens and strawberries out of his refrigerator and threw them into his shirt pocket as he ran towards the door.

Skipping down the path going as fast as a turtle could possibly go, Saturn was heading towards the opening of the woods. Off in the distance he could see some clouds rolling by that looked a little grey. He paid them little mind, because he had no time to stop and think about the weather. Making his way over all the logs and through all the leaves he was coming out of the edge of the woods. He could see three of his friends walking towards their usual meeting spot by the playground. Saturn almost tripped, because he tried to move his little turtle legs as fast as he could. As they grew closer he could see his friend Haidyn the hare, Zavien the deer, and Brooklyn the bear. Yes exclaimed Saturn my three best friends in the world.

It did not take long before the four friends were exchanging hugs, and high fives by the playground. Brooklyn looked up, and said hey guy’s I am a little worried about how dark the sky is getting. Zavien and Saturn looked at each other, and said “Oh Brooklyn you are always such a worrier”. Brooklyn shrugged her shoulders, and said maybe you are right. What do you guys want to do today Brooklyn asked. Haidyn moves in closer and with a whisper says “I have an idea of what we can do, but it is a secret”. They all listened intently as Haidyn, began to tell them that long ago there used to be a magic house deep in the forest. She said they should all go there together, and find out what makes the house magic. They stood there in silence for a minute, before Zavien says “yeah that sounds like an awesome idea”. Brooklyn nervously clears her throat, “um guys do you really think this is a good idea?” Of course it is Zavien and Haidyn says with excitement in their voice. They all look towards Saturn at the same time, and Brooklyn says “what do you think Saturn”? Trying to sound as brave as he can he looks at his friends and says “yeah let’s do it”.

Haidyn shouts “yes, follow me guys”. They all walk together giggling and playing little guessing games as they head towards the forest. Meanwhile the clouds continued to roll in, and they were not getting any lighter. In fact they had started getting a deeper grey as they went along their journey. It was not long before they were all four standing at the edge of the forest. They stopped and peered in for a while, and Haidyn said this is the spot where we have to go in at guys. There was a slight hesitation, and in the silence they could hear Brooklyn swallow down her nervousness. Okay let’s go says Zavien, as they headed into the tree lining. The trees were blowing in the wind, and they could hear the rustling of the branches as they shook. The forest was looking a little bit creepy, because the clouds were now a dark grey. The clouds had blotted the sun right out of the sky.

All four of the friends were growing a little bit scared, but none of them wanted to seem like a scaredy cat so they moved on. Deeper and deeper into the forest they found themselves. Finally Saturn cleared his throat, and said “are you sure we are going the right way Haidyn”? Well this is the way that the old man by the pond told me to go Haidyn exclaimed. In the distance they heard a rumble go across the sky, and they could almost feel the ground shake from its strength. Brooklyn about yelled out, and said “guys I really think we should head back, this is starting to get very scary”. No says Haidyn I think I see something up there in the distance, and it is probably the magic house. Once we get to it we can hide from the storm in there, and who knows what kind of treasures we might find. They all began to run towards the house as the rain was beginning to fall hard through the tree tops.

They made their way up to the house, and Zavien knocked on the door as loud as he could manage. Haidyn says “why are you knocking it’s a magic house, and I doubt anyone lives in it”. Well it would be rude to just walk in if someone did live here Haidyn. A bright flash shot through the sky, followed by a loud crack of sound from the lightning. “Just open the door Zavien” Brooklyn shouted from the back of the group. Zavien’s hand reached out and slowly turned the door knob as he peeked inside the house. “Hello, hello is anyone home” Zavien shouted as they began to walk in. The house looked like an ordinary house, and there was not even one toy in it. The door made a loud creaking sound as Saturn shut it behind them. Brooklyn was shaking all of the water off of her fur as they continued to walk slowly through the house. Room by room they searched for any sign of treasure, or magic. Brooklyn interrupts the silence, and says “we have been in every room, but that one and it is clear this house is not magic at all”.

There was a loud bang, and a flash of light that they could see light up the whole house. It was in that moment that the four of them saw the door to the last room began to light up. It was a soft glow that sent a warm radiant spiral of colors off of the old dingy wood. They all looked at each other in shock. Haidyn and Zavien took off running towards the door only to be halted by Brooklyn saying “I do not think we should go in there”. “Are you kidding me” asked Zavien as he turned to look back at Brooklyn and Saturn. We came all this way and we are now stuck in this house until this storm slows down. Why would we not go into that room? This is the whole reason we walked through the forest was just to see what this house is all about. Brooklyn reached down, and grabbed Saturn’s hand as they began to follow the other two towards the door. It’s okay Saturn we will be fine, Brooklyn could sense that Saturn was growing weary of the idea of seeing this magic.

Turning the knob of the door Haidyn pushed her head through the door way cautiously. Looking right, and then looking left, then up, and finally she looked down. You guys are never going to believe this she shouted. Zavien pushed his way past Haidyn so he could look into the room for himself. “WOW” said Zavien this incredible. Once they all were at the edge of the door way looking in it was then that they could all see the room was no ordinary room. This room looked like space, and there was a long sidewalk that stretched down into this new atmosphere. Brooklyn looked confused, and said “what is going on here, this does not even make sense”? All four of the young friends grabbed paws, and began heading slowly down the sidewalk. I wonder where this is going to take us Brooklyn asked. I don’t know said Zavien, but we are about to find out.

Walking down the path they saw a huge sign that said welcome to the path that leads everywhere. The four looked at each other with confusion across their face. What does that mean Saturn asked? I don’t know said Brooklyn, but I think if we walk to that next sign it might tell us something else. They all walked together towards a sign just a short ways down the path. This sign said “close your eyes use your imagination, and you can go everywhere”. Should we try it asked Saturn in a hesitant voice. We all will close our eyes, and imagine the same place so that we can all go together said Haidyn. Okay where is a place that we all have always wanted to go, but never have been able to asked Zavien? Brooklyn says well I know that we always talk about wanting to be pirates, and sailing our very own ship. Sweaty palms and all they grasped a hold of each other’s hands, and they all four closed their eyes. Each one of the four imagined themselves on the pirate ship they had drawn so many times before. There was a loud boom and a flash, it sounded like lightning had just struck the house as the wind began to blow wildly. The atmosphere looked like it was beginning to spin, and suddenly they flew through the air. They opened their eyes, and they were all dressed in pirate gear standing on a huge wooden ship.

The boat was floating through the water with a certain ease, and the steering wheel was set on auto pilot. Zavien ran straight to the wheel and began to maneuver the controls. Ahoy mate he yelled this is your captain and we will set sail this fine vessel. They all ran around the boat exploring every area of it. Looking off into the endless sea and seeing the sun as it looked like it was slowly being swallowed by the water. They went down into the bottom of the boat where they saw their quarters. There were four bunk beds, and a kitchen. They all ran to the kitchen and began going through the cupboards. The refrigerator and cupboards were all loaded with all of their favorite foods. They ate candy, drank soda, and finished it off with desert. They sat in their chairs holding their stomachs. Brooklyn says my stomach hurts; I don’t think we should have eaten so much junk food. Haidyn says we can just lie in our bunks and let the food settle for just a bit. They all went to the four bunk beds, and claimed which one they were going to take. It did not take long before the four of them had fallen asleep. It had been a very long day of exploration for them.

They woke up to feel the ship bouncing around, and it seemed like there was a situation going on above deck. They all jumped out of their bunks and ran up the ladder and onto the top deck of the ship. The boat was out of control, and the waves were taking it on a wild ride. It was now dark outside, and they were getting very scared. Brooklyn shouted above the sound of the storm, and now what are we going to do guys. How do we even get back she asked in a scared voice? Zavien said I don’t know, but I wish we were back at home in our real beds. Haidyn said lets grab each other’s hands, close our eyes, and imagine that is exactly where we are. They reached out and grabbed tightly on to each others hands as the ship viciously rocked back and forth.

They opened their eyes, and they were back in the magic house. It was cold now and very dark in the house. Saturn began to cry, and he said I just want to go home guys. They all huddled together in the corner of the dark cold room and cried. What are we going to do now asked Brooklyn? It is too dark for us to ever be able to find our way home. A loud rolling thunder sound rippled through the air, and a bright flash from lightning. As they were sitting there more scared than they had ever been they heard a sound. Crunch, crunch, crunch is the sound they heard coming from outside of the house. Haidyn made a motion for them all to be quiet, and she said shhh. They sat in silence listening intently as they heard it again this time slightly closer. They had tears running down their faces, because now they were even more scared. Saturn whispered what is that sound? Zavien looked at them, and said what if it’s a monster.

As they all sat their huddled together in the dark they heard the front door slam open. They scooted further back to put themselves in a huddle against the wall for as little protection as they could get. Their eyes were closed and their heads all together looking down, as they held each other crying. Suddenly a voice rings out, how in the world did you kids end up in here? They looked up slowly realizing this voice was not of a monster like they had thought, but it was all of their parents. We have been worried sick about you kids, and if it wasn’t for you guys leaving little foot prints through the forest we would have never found you. Looking past their parents they could see the town police officer standing there looking at them. Do you kids realize how dangerous of an idea this was he asked them? They all hung their heads in shame, and said we just wanted to come out her because we heard this house was magic. Magic the cop laughed more like condemned and very dangerous.

The kids all got loaded on to four wheeler's that their parents were driving, and headed back to their homes. It was later that night after they had apologized to their parents, and cleaned up that they laid in bed thinking. Saturn thought if they only knew what we had found, and then maybe they would understand why we went out there. A few days passed by and none of the four friends were allowed to go out, and play. Their parents said they could not trust them to stay in the park where it was safe. After days of doing extra chores, and making heart felt promises about the lesson they had learned the parents had decided to let them all hang out together. They all met in their usual meeting spot by the park only this time they were accompanied by their parents. The kids all ran off towards the playground and the parents all sat on the benches. The kids sat on the swings, and began talking about their adventure. Haidyn said my parents would not believe me that the house really was magic. I know mine wouldn’t either said each one of the other 3 friends. We all know what happened in that house, but we will never get to go back there again said Brooklyn. Its okay Saturn said, I think I would rather stay here where I know we are all safe and happy. They all agreed they should never sneak off to that house again, and that they should just keep their promises and play at the park.