Fiction Writing Summer Camp 2021

A
word after
a word after a
word is power
Fiction Writing Summer Camp
JULY 2021

Contents
SOPHIE B.
page 5
ADAM C.
page 9
KEQIAO C.
page 15
ALEX C.
page 19
PHOEBE C.
page 23
ALANNA C.
SOPHIE D.
page 27
page 33
SARA K.
page 37
DAVID L.
page 47
GRACE H.
CONOR S.
page 53
page 57

4

SOPHIE B.
5

The car pulled into a very strange parking lot. A lot of plants had turned into piles of
mush. There was a lot of stone everywhere and rusty statues. Clearly, her aun wasn’t much
of a gardening person.
Kanina was being sent to her aunt’s house for the rest of the summer. It didn’t look
like it was going to be much fun.
Kanina knocked on the door. A woman in a black dress answered the door.
“Hi, are you my aunt Dina?” Kanina asked.
“Miss Dina isn’t here right now, I suppose you’re the niece?”
“Yep, Kanina Clanine,” Kanina stuck her hand out.
The woman briskly brushed Kanina’s hand away, “Welcome. I’m Mrs. Draeger, the
maid.”
Kanina was surprised. Her aunt had a maid? Was she rich? If she was rich, why the
ugly garden?
Let me know you to your room,” Mrs. Draeger said.
Kanina walked into the house. It was kind of dark with not a lot of windows. This place
had a weird feeling about it.
They went up an elevator to her room. The door of her room was black and grey.
“Altight, this is your room, goodbye now,” Mrs. Draeger left.
Kanina looked around the room. There was a bed, an empty desk and a very dusty
bookshelf.
Kanina put her bag down and picked up one of the books. It had a blank cover with
black paint all over it. Did her aunt just like painting things black?
Kanina opened the book. A bunch of dust flew into the air. Clearly nobody had
touched this book for ages.
One of Kanina’s favoruite things about books was running her hands along the pages.
It always felt like she was feeling the magic of the story. She ran her fingers along the pages
of the book. It felt old and crinkly.
Then, the words disappeared from the page.
The book lit up suddently and shout out of Kanina’s hands.
Kanina fell on the ground and shielded her eyes. The light stopped . Three figures
6

were leaning over her.
“Wait, we’re alive? What’s going on?”
“Let me ask a question: who are you and where are you from?” Kanina asked.
“Well, I’m Arbie, that’s Joby, and that’s Jaylen,” figure three said. “And we’re from Anthgoni.”
“Anthgoni?” Kanina asked.
Arbie looked down at the book. “The-the land from the book.”
“What? How can you possibly be from a book?” Kanina was confused.
“Well, we, uh, got suckeed into some book forty-five years ago and now our job is to
bring anyone who touches the book into Anthgoni,” said Jaylen.
“What?” Why do I have to come with you?”
“The Queen of Anthgoni, Dina Leeface, said that no one was every meant to touch this
boik. Its information is sacred.
Dina, Kanina thought. That her aunt’s name.
“Okay then,” Kanina said
***
Mrs, Draeger walked up the stairs to call Kanina. She knocked on the door.
“Kanina? Miss Kanina?”
She opened the door and Kanina was gone. A black book was open on the ground.
7

8

THE TALE OF THE RADIOACTIVE PICKLE
ADAM C.
9

It was just a normal day at the Parkland but the fact that they were mixing different Nuclear
rods together meant some people were unsure of this. One man was so sure, he had his
lunch near all of the Nuclear rods, but one innocent pickle slid out of his sandwich and into
the vat of acid. Nobody thought anything of it until Wednesday, that was the day the Nuclear
factory’s tank leaked and there was a pickle sized hole in the side. Nobody saw the pickle
that made the pickle sized hole and caused Chernobyl II. People only caught a glimpse of
the pickle before it shot itself into Orbit. So many people were confused how a pickle could
survive a Nuclear radiation wave that extreme. For some weird reason the people of the
town kept forgetting bits of what happened that day until no one could remember what a
pickle was.
It was a strange phenomenon but some people across the planet caught sight of that
same pickle and the phenomenon continued but one man cannot forget and is spending
his time tracking down the rogue pickle. Will he succeed or will his luck end and his fate be
sealed. The pickle hasn’t noticed him yet. This is his story...
Day 1
Today is the first day of hunting for The Pickle. I am unbearably nervous because I have
read in comics and seen in movies what Nuclear power can do to people, but never a pickle.
I am curious to see what the pickle looks like. I have been my distance to ensure the pickle
doesn’t catch sight of me. The Pickle has been gone now for 10 whole days and today is the
first time I have decided to record my journey. Oh….I forgot to introduce myself; my name is
Gideon O’Connor.
Day 2
The Pickle travels the speed of a normal car, approximately 85Kph but I finally got
close enough to get a description. It was your average pickle, except for the fact that it was a
bit brighter than when it had started out. Now it is yellow with green stripes but with a pink
outline and it hovered all around the place. It is quite a mysterious and very eerie pickle.
10

Now, back to my pursuit of The Pickle.
Day 3
The Pickle is not flying as fast as it used to, I think it’s energy source is it’s moisture. I
saw it today, picked up all the hoses in the neighbourhood and washed it down. The more
hoses he used the faster he got and in the end nobody noticed. What kind or power does
this Pickle have? Oh ya, I discovered it can manipulate minds within a twenty metre radius.
I noticed this as I watched people bend to his will when he passed them on the street. Their
limbs bent, their hands flew up in the air while their eyes darted about frantically, all the
while it was as if The Pickle watched with a smile on his face. The commander of their bodies
and dictator of their actions.
Anyway….back to the current time. I want to report this to the Military but feel they
won’t believe me. A radioactive Pickle who controls the human mind…how could they not
believe me??
It’s a hard job to follow The Pickle around and observe it’s every move but I feel it will
pay off one day.
Day 4
The Pickle has gone back to the site of it’s creation with more pickles, I fear it wants to
create an army of pickles to take over the world. When these pickles emerge from the plant
they are different to the first pickle. They have a distinctive look of green and blue and their
outline is a dim orange. I think the reason for this is because the acid has been left stagnant
for days. These pickles seem to be under the control of the original Pickle and their powers
are a lot weaker than their leaders.
Day 5
The Government must have taken notice of The Pickle and his army. They probably got
11

adioactivity readings on their machines. I mean, I’ve seen those machines in the movies so
they probably have them in real life too…am I right? Uuugh…anyway, The Pickle has a decent
army so it is time to run. I feel I have enough of this Pickle surveillance, it is making me
tired and lately I’ve been feeling like this Pickle might just kill me.
Day 6
You know what; No! The Pickle can’t stop me, Gideon O’Connor. I come from a long
line of determined conspiracy theorists which has allowed me to see the truth in the everyday
slog. I’ve always had a keen eye for identifying mysterious objects and anomalies, sometimes
it has gotten me into trouble, often it has made me the brunt of the joke but this time
I am sure I am to be the saviour of humankind. This is the reason I can’t just walk away, even
if my life hangs by a very thin thread. This is why I woke up this morning and realised I need
to join the Government; this is the best option I feel. I don’t have the firepower or technology
to stop The Pickle so I am hoping the Government will be able to supply the resources I
need to complete my mission. Sadly, I have never used a gun before and this Pickle is Telekinetic
so I might just be doomed but they realised my lack of skills before I could show them
how qualified I was in other areas and unfortunately banned me from their offices forever
more.
12

13

14

A DRAGON MARSHMALLOW LOVER
KEQIAO C.
15

Boxes were flipped upside down, blankets were lying on the ground and Linda walked forward
and back, looking worried.
Linda was a marshmallow lover. Unlike other marshmallow lovers, Linda was a purple
dragon. She lived in a cave. Linda inherited the cave and it was usually really clean and tidy.
But this morning, Linda woke up to find her cave really messy as if someone had been
looking for something.
“My marshmallows!” cried Linda so loud that her neighbours woke up. “I need to get
some more.”
Linda flew to town but couldn’t find any marshmallows. Suddenly, she remembered
that today was No Marshmallow Day. It was Linda’s least favourite day of the year.
Linda’s favorite food was marshmallows and there were no marshmallows anywhere
today. Linda needed to come up with a plan to find out who took all her precious marshmallows
and to fill her tummy.
Linda found a ‘How to make your own marshmallows’ book. She tried to make one
but the marshmallow she made was so tiny. She decided to make more so she ended up
making hundreds of them. Linda ate them all but still felt hungry. She got annoyed and
started eating the book!
Linda wanted to find out who took all the marshmallows so she asked the neighbours
if they knew anything about the marshmallow thief.
“Yesterday, you came up to my door while you were sleepwalking and took all my
marshmallows!
“I saw a dragon flying in the sky yesterday!”
“It was you!!!”
In the end, Linda realised that she ate all the marshmallows. She apologised to every
dragon.
Then, a great idea popped into her head.
“How about we open a marshmallow factory? We could get marshmallows everyday
16

and even earn some money!” said Linda.
Everyone agreed and started straight away. Their business went really well and never
had to worry about getting not enough marshmallows.
17

18

THE NUARAMOSIAN HAIRBRUSH
ALEX C.
19

Of all the places in the world I never thought I’d be here. Getting ready to go on stage!
My name is Maria Ullagh and right now I’m doing my eyebrows. I’ve never thought
much of my eyebrows. I was just tinting them when Elaine texted me. I scowled and
snatched the phone.
Leave me alone. I texted, then sighed.
“Maria! You’re on in five,” called Desmond. I got up and quickly pulled on my leather
heels. I eyed them with disgust. Oh well. No one will be looking at my feet, hopefully. I was
about to redo my lipstick when Desmond burst in and hurried me out.
I took a deep breath and then walked on stage. I prayed I wouldn’t trip on this ridiculously
long brown cloak.
“Ready?” whispered Calvin.
“You bet,” I replied with a grin. The curtains lifted up and then there was complete
silence. I felt glee spreading throughout my entire body. This is what I was meant to do. I
searched for a familiar face, found her and then ignored the audience for the rest of the sho
w.
“Hey Maria, you were amazing out there, no stuttering.” Kelly said teasingly. I knew
Kelly hadn’t intended for that to be mean, but it still stung a little. I haven’t stuttered since
the eighth grade. Kelly started unpacking her bag, while I started packing mine. I told them
that I didn’t mind sharing a dressing room, but it was a teeny bit annoying having to keep
moving things.
I was a mere metre from the door, when Kelly called out, “Oh Maria, wait is this your
hairbru-”
I turned around as Kelly fell to the ground with a thump.
“Wwha-?” I began. Then I saw the green hairbrush in her hand. Suddenly, Kelly started
twisting and shaking. She let out a pained noise. I screamed, and screamed. Desmond
ran in.
He gasped. “What happened?” Without taking his eyes off Kelly’s convulsing body.
“I don’t know, I turned around and”-
20

Kelly had started to cackle. Desmond started yelling for help. He took out his phone.
“I’ll call an ambulance, or the police, or-or anyone.”
Forty five minutes later, Kelly was strapped to a hospital bed in the mental illness
ward.
They’d knocked her out when she’d started yelling, “ALL DEAD! ALL DEAD”! at the
other patients.
In a plastic bag on the bedside table, was the green hairbrush. I stared at it for quite
some time, lost in thought. It was a nice hair brush. It had swirly green marble patterns. It
looked expensive. I knew I’d never seen it before. Someone planted it there. The doctors
said they had induced poison into the hairbrush. I think it was more than that though. It
was no poison they’d ever seen before. Nuaramosia, I think they called it. Whatever it is, it
caused severe mental damage.
I just have no idea who would do this! Kelly was so kind-
Wait.
It was meant for me. It must have been. An odd feeling crept through my stomach
and around my throat. Why would someone want to do this to me? I’ve practically never
beef with someone. I felt sick. What if I’m in danger? What if-stop it Maria! I pushed away
any selfish thoughts. I needed to focus on Kelly.
I gazed at her, her red bob a mess and her bangs sticking up. Then, I looked at her
face. She was so pale, my eyes went a little blurry. We weren’t best friends or anything, but
I’ve known her since I was like fourteen.
I decided then and there that whoever It was meant for, I would find out who did this
and how to fix it. For Kelly. Just then my phone rang.
“Hi mom, yeah. What? No, no she’s not dead! I’m FINE mom. Ugh, no I didn’t. Yeah.
Yeah, okay listen I have another call on the line. YES,bye.” I declined my next call and then
put the phone down.
21

22

THREE DAYS AND A KILLER
PHOEBE C.
23

It was dark and Jeremy was sweating badly. He couldn’t run much further and the monster
was closing in on him. He didn’t know how he had gone from top monster hunter to running
from the most basic monster in the history of monster hunting.
It was rule number one and the only rule of monster hunting; Don’t get eaten.
Why didn’t he just become a doctor or a job that wouldn’t get him killed instantly if he
wasn’t watching carefully enough. Unlike other jobs, it was never over, there was no end to
his suffering.
Once upon a time, he had wanted a family of his own but that was long before he took
the job as a monster hunter. It stole any chance of having a family away from him because
they would just be kidnapped, or at the worst, murdered.
It happened to his friend Matt, who went against the rules and paid the price; they
were kidnapped. The whole company was blackmailed and lost millions, he lost his job and
his family were never found.
Jeremy stopped himself from thinking about that and brought himself back to the current
moment.
He ducked under a tape barrier, changed direction and ran left down a sideroad and
hid in a big rubbish bin. It stank of dead skunks, dipped in something so vile that he puked a
little but forced it to stay down.
He looked out. The monster was gone, for now.
Then, he slowly exited the bin. Jeremy took out his phone and ordered a taxi. He
looked up to see a figure.
“Long time no see, eh Jer?”
“I don’t know who you are,” but even as he said it he realised it was too late. He had
managed to run from it for seven long years but it had finally caught up with him.
He felt the stone cold blade against his neck and the steady flow of blood leaving him
as he drifted in and out of consciousness until finally he fell to the ground.
24

Six Months Later
How could I let my guard down like this? Look what I have gone and done now. Tied
to a railway track, legs, mouth and hands all bound. I tried to get my pen knife out of my
back pocket but the rope was too tight. Any second now a train would come speeding down
these tracks and there was no one around to help me.
Just great. I sighed as best I could with the rope around my mouth.
I brought my arms around to the front of me with great difficulty, and managed to
stand on the rope in a way that slowly ripped it.
Great, now I just need to free my feet.
I grabbed the knife out of my pocket and sliced the rope around both my feet and
mouth. I jumped up and ran to the exit.
I needed to get home. Mum and dad were going to kill me if I came home late again. I
hastily looked at my watch.
7:38pm. I needed to be home by 8pm.
I snuck through the back window, but just as I got in, I saw my mum standing there,
giving me her “serious” look.
“Johanna, you can’t keep coming home this late, I can’t keep making excuses for you
to your dad. Eventually you’ll have to tell him, I mean how many of your friends hide things
like this?”
“None,” I sighed dramatically. She said this nearly every time.
I woke up to birds singing…. I wished. Dad shouted at me to come down for breakfast.
Lovely. He can’t cook anything under any circumstance.. Of course, I’m not allowed to say
that to him though. I forced myself down the stairs, still dressed from last night.
“Morning,” I say politely, knowing that he won’t respond. We were never close. I went
to the kitchen to grab some of my favourite Reese’s chocolate cups and grabbed my bag to
head out the door.
“Bye,” I say with little enthusiasm.
25

I never liked school. On my way there, I picked up my usual: a toasted white chocolate
frappuccino and a chocolate chip cookie from starbucks. Yum. I checked my watch. 7:15am,
okay, I had 15 minutes. Just enough time to do some investigating.
“Damn it!” I yelp in frustration, how could I have been so wrong? Jeremy Ketterling
was murdered by Amalia Bhodling, the Polish assassin, NOT Bernard Zenzigo which I had
thought for months. I had done so much research on him, now it’s all wasted work! Ugh.
Luckily, I knew a little about Ms Bhodling. She currently lives in Norway, not married,
age 23. I had about seventy-two hours to catch a loose murderer who was targeting ten of
the most powerful people in Europe.
26

THE CHICAGO ASSASIN
ALANNA C.
27

There I was, walking down the cobbled path to one of the biggest meetings of my life. I took
a big deep breath in and pulled open the door to Hotel La Grande. I strutted in with confidence.
I was actually very nervous. Today was the day I met the top boss, the one who I
have never met before but heard all about.
Steven, my assistant greeted me and told me everyone else was in the conference
room and they were waiting for me. I sat down on my seat in the conference room, and
there was Frankie sitting at another end of the table. I was in shock.
Frankie, no it couldn’t be.
I grew more nervous now. He was not someone to mess with. If he was out to kill you,
he would find a way. He was the so-called “top boss”. Frankie then started throwing me
daggers.
I thought, what’s this about? Have I done something?
And then it came to me. A while back I was a member of Frankie’s gang. In fact when
I joined, I thought it was an actual well respected business association, but it turned out to
be a low life crime gang! I was on their radar, so I decided to run and set up my own crime
gang. This meeting was supposed to be the two crime gangs joining together to form one,
but as I have learned you can’t trust anyone in this business.
Frankie stood up and I thought he was going to give a big speech. Instead, he whipped
a dagger out of his pocket and aimed right for my head. I grabbed my chair, turned it around
and used it as a shield.
“Come on Steven, let’s get out of here!” I yelled.
“I must have given you incorrect information ma’am, I’m sorry, I thought this would
be legit,” he yelled back as we both ran out of the door at the speed of light with the other
gang right on our tail.
“Steven, rule number one: don’t trust anyone in this business. Now come on, also you
don’t have to call me ma’am, Velma is fine,” I shouted back to him but then I lowered my
voice and hissed, “We need to find an alleyway to hide in.”
28

When we had run out the door of Hotel La Grande, we started running past all these
expensive shops and there were crowds of people everywhere. We had to say ‘excuse me’
many times and burst through. The sky was turning darker now and there was a sense of
mystery in the air.
The other gang had all pulled out daggers, some were throwing them, and others were
trying as hard as they could to catch up to us. We saw another giant crowd, and some of the
people in there were wearing the same clothes as us. We waited in the middle of the crowd
for the gang to catch up. They didn’t know where we went. As they were looking around at
the people in the crowd, we seized our chance and bolted away from the crowd into a dimly
lit alleyway. The chase wasn’t over yet but at least we had some time to breathe.
Ten minutes later, the gang still hadn’t found us, so Steven suggested we go to his little
enclosed cottage in Foggy Woods. I remembered going there with my parents on walks and
it was always peaceful and tranquil.
So, we set off for Foggy Woods hoping no one would follow us there. When we
reached the cottage, Steven and I stepped inside and I saw technology and gadgets galore.
“Wow Steven, I had no idea you used this place as a bunker!” I exclaimed.
“Yeah, pretty impressive huh, I sometimes use it to track people down,” he replied.
“Can you use it to see where Frankie and his gang are?” I asked.
“Oh yes, good idea, emmm, no sign of them near we are all good,” he said.
We spent about two days there just to be sure we were safe but on the third day I
heard Steven on the telephone talking to someone strange.
“Yes, I’ve got her, she’s still here,” he whispered. I knew he was talking about me but
who was he talking to?
“Steven,” I called. I heard a muffled voice coming from the other end of the telephone
but couldn’t make out who it was or what they said.
“I have to go, she’s calling me but I’m ready for tonight,” Steven hissed down the telephone.
“Steven,” I called again, “Who were you talking to?”
29

“Oh, it’s a surprise, yes a surprise. You have been working so hard lately I thought I
could do something nice for you,” he said with a hint of unsureness in his voice.
“Alright,” I replied but, in my head, I knew he was up to something that was not normal.
I am going to have to keep a close eye on him.
Later that night, I heard a banging noise on the door. At first, I just thought it was the
wind banging against it but then it grew louder. I thought no one knew about this place except
us, right?
Steven ran to the door and opened it and when he did, I heard a rough voice say, “We
have the goods here, take em, now where is she?” he growled.
The voice sounded like Tyler, Frankie’s right hand man. I started to slowly fill with fear.
“Come out Velma,” Steven chuckled. I walked out slowly to see Frankie and many
more members of his gang than I remember. Steven was holding a duffel bag full of money.
“Steven, how could you!” I exclaimed.
“Sorry a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do to make money, your job just doesn’t pay
as much as it used to and as you say, you can’t trust anyone in this business,” he said as he
grinned from ear to ear.
“Unbelievable, I bet your so happy with yourself,” I shouted. Great, how am I going to
get out of this one? I thought to myself, but then I got a bash on the head from behind and
everything went cold.
The next thing I remember was waking up in some blank room. The walls were white
and there were no windows, only a single door. I was tied up, sitting in a chair. Frankie and
Tyler walked in.
“Why have you not killed me already,” I screamed.
“Oh, my dear Velma, I want to see you suffer first, any last words?” Frankie said.
Meanwhile, I saw Tyler’s eyes gleaming behind him, he wanted me dead too.
“Yes actually, Frankie, back when I was in your gang, I found out who stole the money
from that bank heist we supposedly lost the money from,” I said in a cool and calm voice.
30

him.
“Why didn’t you tell me then, I bet it was you!” he shouted, the anger rising inside of
“I went on that mission with Tyler, he took the money for himself. I saw him, he said if
I told anyone he would kill me, so I had to leave,” I explained.
Tyler’s face had a look of worry on it. Frankie’s expression changed as darkness descended
on the room. He slowly turned his head around to face Tyler. He had a menacing
glare in his eyes, one which I had never seen before.
“Explain!” Frankie boomed his hands curling into fists.
“No not at all sir, she is lying,” Tyler whimpered.
“Think about it, you’re an intelligent man. He was the one who told you we lost the
money and the next day he pulled up to the meeting in a brand-new car,” I said as a grin
started slowly creeping up my face.
Frankie pondered for a moment then he roared, “Tyler it was you,” as he pulled out
his dagger and stabbed Tyler to death.
“Now back to you Velma,” he said.
“I have a proposal,” I said in a calm voice, “What if our gangs do actually join? You get
more people and I’ll make them work for you, plus you get me back, I’d say that’s a win for
you.”
“Hmmm, I never thought of actually joining together but this changes things a little,”
he pondered for a while. “Alright deal.”
“Now, can you please untie me?” I declared. As he did, I started cooking up my next
plan of action.
He reached his hand out for me to shake it. I shook it and smiled.
I started working for Frankie again, doing a few little missions, nothing much. I had to
gain his trust back. About a week later a police car had pulled up to our gang’s headquarters.
I heard a huge “BANG” as they broke down the door. (They made it look easy and I’d
say it was because that door was very rusted and super old.)
31

“Put your hands up Frankie, it’s over, you can’t hide from us anymore, we’ve finally
caught you,” shouted a large, burly policeman. Frankie came walking out ever so slowly.
At first, he thought it was a joke but when he saw the look on the policemen’s faces,
for the first time, I saw a hint of fear inside of him. He put his hands up and screamed,
“Which one of you traitors did this.”
I stepped forward with a big, cheesy smile and said, “Oh, it was me.”
“Missy you’re coming with us too,” said another tall and thin policeman. As he grabbed
my hands behind my back.
“But I turned him in, and I wasn’t really part of his gang. I pretended to join it so I could
inform you about his movement officer,” I said with the most innocent look I could put on.
“Fair enough, you’re free to go ma’am, thank you for all your help, now come on Frankie,
you’re coming with us,” boomed the large, burly policeman.
“Wait!” I screamed, “What about the other gang members and Steven?”
“Don’t worry ma’am, we have it all under control,” replied the tall, thin policeman.
Frankie was dragged off into the police car never to be seen again.
32

SOPHIE D.
33

The dim lights above the dining table show the tiredness in my face, according to mum.
“All the flying and performing is going to be the death of you,” she says as she boils
the kettle. I look around at my childhood home and take in the familiarity of it.
The Christmas decorations are put up all around the house. Another year and I think
they’ll finally show their age or just wither away at this point.
“Mum, could I buy some decorations? These are…” she turns around,
“I’m not taking your money Theo, but thank you,” she turns back and grabs the mugs
off the table.
She sits and blows on her tea, “I want you to explain to me what is really happening,”
she says.
“What are you talking about?” I know damn well what she’s talking about but I don’t
want to talk about it.
“What the tabloids are saying about you and Lily?” When I don’t say anything she
speaks again. ‘Usually when you walk through that door, you talk endlessly about what you
and Lily have gotten up to. You haven’t mentioned her since you got home, it’s odd.”
I scowl, “it’s not odd.”
“It’s odd.’ She remarks. She sips her tea, “Theo, how do you feel about her? You look
at her like she is your last salvation but the minute I question you about your feelings towards
her you change the subject.”
I know how I feel about her but knowing it and saying it are two completely different
things.
I pause and recollect my thoughts.
“I don’t know she…she just has all these little things about her that when added all
together make her…her. For example, when we are talking and when a conversation comes
up she is really passionate about, she starts ranting and I have to stop so she can take a
breath, or when she buys new books she writes her thoughts in the margins, I always tell
34

her it annoys me but in reality it doesn’t. She also does this thing that when I just started
writing a new song she writes her favourite lyrics on her phone.”
I lean my head back and laugh.
I realised that this is what I found interesting about people. People’s little quirks that
they keep hidden away from the world and only let a handful of people see. I have managed
to figure out all of hers and she is one of the most interesting people I have ever met.
“She deserves better than me. I can’t give her the relationship she deserves,” I mumble.
My mum simply observes me quietly and takes a sip of her tea.
“Lily deserves someone who will love every bit of her no matter what and you do.”
I look up and she gives me that comforting smile only a mother could give.
“I promise that will be enough.”
She leans back in her chair, finishing off her tea as I soak in her words. Last Christmas
softly plays in the background, filling up the silence between us.
35

36

THE PERSISTENCE OF MYSTERY
SARA K.
37

1989, HOLLAND
A little girl sits by eternity’s gate.
Of course, she is not literally sitting by eternity’s gate. She is sitting on a bench in the
Kröller-Müller Museum, in front of Vincent Van Gogh’s painting of eternity’s gate.
Though to her it is the same thing.
Her father is across the room, looking at other paintings, and talking to a kindly woman
who keeps pointing at different sculptures.
Both the girl and her father feel at home here, surrounded by strokes of paintbrushes,
oils on canvas, in the midst of a foreign city, where everyone speaks a different language.
In the midst of the unknown.
2003, PARIS
Evie Blanchet sits in the Louvre Museum trying to be a good intern, but instead admires
works of art, when she gets a text message. This isn’t unusual, Evie guesses it’s Luke,
or Aanya, or one of her other college friends. But she doesn’t recognise the number. She
clicks on it anyway.
Hello, Evie. We know you love art, remember the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
you went to with Theodore?
It takes Evie a moment to realise that ‘Theodore’ is referring to her father. She is
slightly unnerved by the message but keeps reading.
We know you remember. And only two months after the paintings were stolen. Thirteen
priceless pieces, but of course you already know that. You take a course in art history
and criminology, don’t you? Your father would be proud. He is proud, very proud. But do
you know what he would regret? His little girl not knowing the truth about him.
Evie deletes the number.
38

She has just put her phone back in the pocket of her jeans when it buzzes again.
That won’t work, miss Blanchet.
The second she blocks the number she gets a string of texts, all links and screenshots
of articles relating to the Gardner Museum heist. She leans against the museum wall, suddenly
breathless.
Meet me outside the louvre at 12pm tomorrow. Don’t be late, miss Blanchet
We’re counting on you
Evie stares at the screen for several minutes before sending a one-word reply, why?
She is not expecting the answer she gets.
I think you already know
2003, PARIS
Evie Blanchet doesn’t sleep well that night. She reminds herself that they were nothing
but text messages, there won’t be anyone at the Louvre tomorrow at 12pm, even if
there will be, she wont be there and she’ll never know.
She finds it particularly difficult to admit to herself that part of her wonders what this
means.
So, she doesn’t.
She goes on pretending she couldn’t care less. Her father was an art dealer, many
would know his name, his daughter, the passion they both share.
After pointless hours of staring at the dark ceiling, she opens her laptop. The faint
glow of the screen reflects off her mirror, making the room brighter, but eerier. She googles
‘’Isabella Gardner heist’’ and clicks on a Wikipedia article. She reads and soon opens thirteen
new tabs, one for each piece stolen. She reads about the artists, the sculptors, the history
and how they could possibly be related. She reads and she reads until her laptop screen
grows dimmer and Paris grows brighter. She checks her phone, 8:37am, just enough time to
39

pack up and hand in her hotel room keys and catch the train to the airport, though her flight
isn’t until 4 o’clock.
She leaves, day going ahead as planned. She eats breakfast, packs, says goodbye to
the hotel receptionist and gets on a train, music blasting through her headphones. She lowers
the volume and closes her eyes, leaning back against her seat. Before she realises it, she
has fallen asleep.
The train jerking to a stop is what wakes Evie. She asks the old woman sitting next to
her what station she is at, stumbling over her French phrases. The most she understands
from her reply is that she is at Châtelet station, though she doesn’t know where that is. She
thanks the woman and looks up her location. She isn’t far from the Louvre. She checks her
watch. Almost quarter to twelve. She wants to get off at the next station. She tells herself
she won’t.
She does anyway.
The moment she arrives, her phone buzzes.
Early, as usual, miss Blanchet
She is only five minutes ahead of time.
Where are you? She types, though she really wants to ask, Who are you?
She gets no reply. She pockets her phone when a dark-haired man walks up to her.
‘’Sorry, this sounds really strange but I was asked to meet with someone here.’’ He
doesn’t go on.
Evie replies, ‘’I’m also meeting up with someone here’’
‘’The name Blanchet mean anything to you?’’
Evie stares back at him.
‘’My last name…why?’’
The man looks appalled. He shakes her hand.
‘’Liam Blanchet. Weird, I know.’’
40

‘’Evie,’’ she says, still looking at him in slight shock.
He takes his phone from his pocket.
‘’Five past, I think they stood me up,’’ he sighs. ‘’I got a bunch of weird texts yesterday,
was told to be here for 12pm.’’
Evie takes out her own phone and shows the screen to Liam.
‘’Anything like this?’’
He looks puzzled.
‘’I’ve- I’ve got the same messages,’’ he shows her his screen, the messages identical
apart from the use of ‘’Mr Blanchet’’
‘’What the hell?’’ Evie starts to pace. Liam sits down on one of the benches.
After muttering to herself in disbelief for a few minutes, Evie sits down next to him.
She reads a couple missed texts from her friends, but barely processes what they say.
When it gets to half, she gets up.
‘’I should probably get going.’’ she half smiles at Liam, again stating how creepy it was
that they received the same messages and that the sender didn’t show up.
Liam gets up, too.
They part, knowing they’ll probably never see each other again. Maybe sometime in
the middle of the night, Evie will think about the time she met a young man with the same
last name as her behind the Louvre Museum. Maybe she won’t.
But the future is always unpredictable.
2003, SOMEWHERE ABOVE THE ALTANTIC OCEAN
Evie’s flight is normal, just like the one she took to France. The two girls sitting next to
her talk in hushed tones, because they dot want to be heard, or because they don’t want to
disturb her. Though Evie thinks it naïve of herself, she likes to think the latter is true.
41

Everything is fine until a man over the intercom says they only have an hour left of flight. A
man sitting a few rows in front of her gets up. She has no interest in the man until he stops
in beside her chair.
‘’Evie Blanchet?’’ He stares at her in shock.
‘’And you are?’’
‘’We met this afternoon.’’
Realisation dawns on Evie as she remembers the man named Liam from the Louvre
Museum.
She undoes her seat belt and gets up. She realises they are almost the same height.
‘’This can’t be happening.’’
She chuckles bitterly.
‘’I can’t believe it.’’
‘’I guess it must be fate.’’
‘’I don’t believe in things like fate,’’ she says.
‘’Then what do you believe in?’’
Evie doesn’t reply.
The man on the intercom comes on again, warning passengers of turbulence, but Evie
is already shaken. Liam’s phone buzzes.
He shows Evie the text. I see you’ve met Miss Blanchet; it reads.
He asks if she’s received something similar.
‘’Aren’t you supposed to have airplane mode turned on?’’
He shrugs and asks her to check.
She turns on her phone and reads the message without unlocking it.
I see you’ve met Mr Blanchet
42

Evie’s hand trembles. She and Liam lock eyes.
‘’I don’t think this is normal,’’ he says.
They both receive another message, at the exact same time.
Now that you’ve met your partner, you’re ready to play.
2003, BOSTON
Evie’s friends are waiting for her at the airport. They ask her about Paris, gushing over
the sights she must have seen. Evie nods along and smiles, but remains distracted by the
man named Liam Blanchet. He gave her his number and told her to send him screenshots if
the strange number messages her again. She hasn’t gotten any new messages, but the most
recent one burns in her mind.
Now that you’ve met your partner, you’re ready to play
She doesn’t understand. What game? Is Liam her partner? And how are the random
texts connected to the Gardner heist?
She reads more articles about art theft when her friends drive her home. Luke asks if
she wants to go to the bar with them, she replies that she’s jetlagged. She knows she should
probably go with them, if she doesn’t, she’ll just spend the evening reading about art robbery
and going through the anonymous text messages. She politely refuses anyway.
Her small apartment is silent apart from the sound of her keyboard. She reads about
art theft.
In 1994, Edvard Munch’s ‘’The Scream’’ was stolen. Recovered three months later.
The Mona Lisa was stolen in 1911. Found in Italy.
Portrait of a lady.
Portrait of Adele Bloc-Bauer I.
The Mute Woman.
43

But what Evie can’t grasp is why would someone steal thirteen seemingly random
works of art from a museum that houses so many priceless works. If you’re going to rob an
art museum, why not take the all the most valuable pieces? It’s the randomness and lack
of logic that bothers Evie. She’s spent her whole life bound by logic and reason. She just
can’t understand.
Her eyes are sore from string at her screen for so long. But she keeps reading.
She won’t stop until she figures out what makes these thieves tick.
2003, BOSTON
Two weeks, and no news from the sender or Liam.
Evie’s spent most of her summer so far reading about theft. She went to the library a
few day ago to borrow a couple books about thieves and their motivations. She read most
of them in one night.
She is at a café downtown, her favourite place to spend a summer afternoon, when
her phone rings. She half hopes it is the stranger from Paris. There is no caller ID, and before
she thinks better of it, she accepts.
‘’Is this Evie Blanchet?’’
It’s Liam, the man from behind the Louvre.
‘’Yes?’’
‘’Something’s happened.’’ He sounds tired and terrified.
‘’Liam? Hello,’’ she sounds frantic, the other side of the phone is static.
The call ends, and she has two new text messages.
The first one is from her friend Luke, asking her if she wants to visit him in Canada
before the summer ends.
The other is from Liam, a question.
How far away are you from New York?
2003, HALFWAY TO NEW YORK
When Evie was ten, she read her first Agatha Christie novel, Murder on the Orient
Express. After that, she promised herself she would never travel by train.
44

And now here she is on her way to New York, spending what little time and money she
has to meet someone who is almost a stranger.
A perfect trip for the summer.
She tries calling Liam back, the first few times leading to his voicemail, the times after
telling her his number isn’t in service.
She texts him, looks for his social media, but Liam Blanchet is a popular name. thousands
of results.
The only thing she can do is wait.
2003, NEW YORK CITY
Liam waits for her at the station. He looks as if he hasn’t slept since she saw him last.
Without saying anything, he leads her back to an apartment block not unlike her own. She
asks what happened, why she has to be in New York, but he doesn’t reply. He just opens the
apartment door for her as a way of explanation.
Evie just stares at the place in shock.
Everything is in ruins. The couch is torn, the fridge hanging open, spilled water on the
rug, dirt, ripped wallpaper, objects turned over, drawers looted.
On the kitchen island sits Liam’s phone, the screen shattered beyond repair. There are
two barely readable texts on the screen.
Games are played to win, Mr Blanchet
And underneath:
We thought Theodore had taught you better
The moment Evie reads the messages, her own phone buzzes.
Ready for round two, Miss Blanchet?
45

46

FRANKIE’S ODYSSEY
DAVID L.
47

Frankie slammed his foot on the doors and they swung open. A gush of cold November
wind ran through the lobby of the Langham Hotel, Chicago. He marched up the stairs and
met his sidekicks.
“Are they here?” He asked.
“Yup,” replied the first sidekick.
“You ready?” asked the second.
“Of course,” muttered Frankie as he made his way to the hall. As he came across a
cleaning lady, he briefly asked her: “S’cuse me, ma’am. But where would I find the conference
room?”
“Up three floors and to the right.”
“Thank you,” Frankie tipped the lady a 20$ bill and kept moving down the hall. Frankie
was loaded from owning the biggest cartel in Southern Chicago. Him and his boys got to the
door briefly after and his sidekicks put on ski masks.
Frank was prepared to let his victims know who got ‘em. The second sidekick kicked
down the locked door and the first pulled out a gun. They got to the business conference
and Frankie began to speak:
“Velma Wattford! This is for trying to abandon MY BUSINESS!!”
“Why would I want to your sad business. You should be happy I didn’t leave sooner,”
Velma said smuggle.
“Enough!” barked Frankie, “You know what? I wanna do this myself!” Frankie snatched
the gun from the first sidekick…
“Come on. Kill me then!” Shouted Velma.
“Y’know what? I got a special weapon just for you,” Frankie, almost deranged by hatred,
slowly pulled out a dagger, “We ruled Chicago as partners Velma, you really gonna
throw that away so you can play dress up gangsters with your fake friends?” Frankie was
shouting at the top of his lungs, “I’m more powerful now than I ever was with you! You left
me with nothing and even now I still have a bigger cartel than you!” barked Frankie.
48

“Well, actually she’s much stronger in the north than you and her overall numbers are
much better…” mumbled the first sidekick.
“Shut your mouth!” said Frankie as he spun back and slashed the first sidekick across
the face. Then Frankie turned back to Velma, “Next please,” he giggle as he threw the
bloody dagger at Velma.
Velma started to run but the knife cut through her elbow.
“Yaow!” screamed Velma.
Her friend got up, “I have your Bentley outside Velm,” he said.
“Thanks Stephen,” flinched Velma.
Velma and Stephen raced down the stairs.
“Get to the lift!” shouted Frankie.
When they got to the car park, Frankie saw Velma and Stephen in the Bentley.
“Goddamn, why does everything always have to work out so damn well for her?!”
shouted Frankie as he ran up to his car, “No. 2 your now No. 1”.
“Hell yea. Promotion baby!” said the sidekick.
They got into the car and Frankie slammed on the accelerator. They drift around the
corner and they keep moving down Ohio Street.
“Em…Sir? Can we real quick stop by the airport? asked his sidekick, “I gotta pick my
nana,”
As Frankie gave him ‘the look’, he swiftly drifted around a corner. He started to hear
police sirens.
“It’s the Feds!” said Frankie’s sidekick.
Frankie started to pull in.
“Wait, what? I’ve never seen you give into a copper before.” Said the sidekick.
“Well, we lost her.”
49

The police officer walked up to the window, “Sorry sir, but did you know you were going
60 miles over the limit?” He asked.
“Oh…em…yes…but…it was only because…my friend here…got a kidney stone,” said
Frankie.
“Oh…em, he doesn’t look like it.”
Frankie punched his sidekick’s groin and he jumps up in pain.
“YAOW!!”
“Listen, what’s your name?” asked Frankie.
“Thomas,” said the officer.
“Oh, great! My name is also…that!” cheered Frankie, “You’d be doing my friend here…
Edgar, a huge favour,” Frankie slipped Thomas a 50$ note and with his other hand he
punched the sidekick again.
“OUCH!” the sidekick screamed.
***
The next few days passed and Frankie’s sidekick’s nana had been staying with them and
while Frankie was sitting on his chair enjoying his daily calzone his telephone rang.
“Hello?” asked Frankie.
“Hi, I’m Stephen and I have Velma Wattford’s location.” Stephen whispered.
“WHAT?! You do?” said Frankie, “Where is she?”
“What’s in it for me?” asked Stephen.
“What do you want? Anything, anything at all for that information!” screamed Frankie.
“75 THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!” laughed Stephen.
“Ok, deal. Where is she?”
“In a cabin on the west of the Ram Forest,” said Stephen.
“I’ll be there in 2 hours,” said Frankie.
50

***
“Does you nana really have to come?” whined Frankie 1 hour into the car ride.
“Yes. She didn’t fly all the way over so she could never do anything with us,” answered
the sidekick.
“I’ve never even MET your nana,” scoffed Frankie.
Once they got to the cabin, they ran inside.
“Now I got you, Velma!” Frankie shouted. “No. 1, give Steve the dough.”
“What?” shouted Velma, “You ratted me out?!?”
“I’m sorry but he offered me 75,000 dollars. You understand, right Velm?” asked Stephen.
“You don’t get to call me that!” screamed Velma.
Suddenly Frankie pulled out a tommy gun. “Velma,” laughed Frankie, “See you in hell!”
Frankie released fire and Velma ducked behind a couch. Glass shattered. Bricks snapped.
Velma quickly pulled a revolver. She jumped up and shoots, hitting Frankie’s sidekick right in
the head.
She then jumped out a window and got in her car.
“Damnit, she got away!”
Suddenly the police broke through the door, “EVERYBODY DOWN!!” They shouted.
Frankie jumped on the floor and looked, “Thomas?” he asked, “Is that you?”
“What?” shouted Thomas, “You’re a criminal? I can’t believe I made you that friendship
bracelet! Boys cuff him.”
“No! Please, I’m innocent!” shouted Frankie, “It was all Velma Wattford!!”
Thomas picked up Frankie’s sidekick’s bullet-laced body.
“Looks like the kidney stone got the better of him,” Thomas said to himself.
51

52

THE STRANGER AT THE DOOR
GRACE H.
53

It was Monday morning and the table was packed with sausages and a plate filled with eggs.
My family sat down at the table. There was a loud banging on the door, and my dad got up
to answer. The door opened.
I could see a tall figure with a black coat and hat. Mum got up to peek out the door.
My parents both jumped back as the person stepped in. Who was this stranger? This is your
new child-minder; her name was Ms Eris. She removed her hat. Her hair was cut very short
and was black; she had a long nose and two slits for eyes and a large crooked mouth. There
was something unusual about her, she sort of looked pale blue. She sat down and we all
started eating. That is, except for the weird woman. My brother had already inhaled his
food, like he usually does.
A minute or two later Ms Eris took out a small tub of what looked like slime. She said
it was organic peanut butter. My brother and I both glanced at each other, our faces frozen
with horror. She grabbed some toast and started to spread the so-called “peanut butter”. I
noticed small bubbles appearing on the surface of the toast. A huge grin spread across her
face as she handed a slice of toast to both of us.
I took a tiny bite of this horrible thing. All of a sudden it felt as if my mouth was on
fire. I raced to the tap to try and rinse my mouth out. Now I felt as if I had popping candy
banging on my tongue. I hurried to the bathroom to try and spit it out but as I was climbing
the stairs two steps at a time my mouth went cold. I could feel a million freezing ice cubes
accompanied by brain freeze. When I reached the bathroom I spit out the slime or I mean
“Peanut Butter”! After I puked like a thousand times I went back downstairs.
My brother looked as pale as a ghost and I am sure I looked the same. My parents
looked completely frozen. Actually as I took a closer look they were covered in a thin layer
of ice. I was terrified! I pulled my brother away from the table and pushed him behind me
as we both backed away from Ms Eris. She was some sort of Monster. I couldn’t think. I had
to get out of here”. But the strange pale creature was blocking the front door. Ms Eris removed
her coat and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My brain wasn’t working or I was
in a dream. That was what I was hoping but unfortunately this was REAL!
Ms Eris wasn’t a child-minder. She was a scaly backed lion/monster/human; she was
54

completely blue with a purple stripe on her shoulder. We had to trap her or kill her. That’s
when I fell to the ground. Everything went black.
I must have woken a few seconds later but this wasn’t my mind, I mean I had glimpses
of my mind. I was in Ms Eris’s mind. I could see that she detested heat it made her skin
crawl. I could feel her nerves jangling.
There was evil in her brain, she could control the minds of children and use them as
her slaves. I could see her, home; she lived in this underground world. I knew that I had to
do something.
I really focused; I used every ounce of concentration “Bang” I snapped out of Ms Eris’s
mind. I ran into the living room and went over to the fireplace and started a fire.
The plan was perfect. I then raced back into the hall and I asked my brother to help me
push Ms Eris into the living room.
The evil Eris didn’t know what we were doing but she wasn’t afraid to fight back. She
almost bit off a few of my fingers. She scraped me, tearing with her claws across my face. It
took real effort but we got her in the living room and pushed her towards the fire. She tried
to run away a few times but we managed to keep her still. Next we shoved her into the fire
within a millisecond she had turned to dust. My parents unfroze immediately. We ran over
and hugged them. I was overjoyed to have them back.
That night I wondered what if there were more monsters? What if there were other
kids trapped in that underworld!! WHO WAS GOING TO HELP?
55

56

STATE OF HIVE MIND
CONOR S.
57

In the rocky biomes of an unnamed planet, a carpet of blue, ant-like bodies descended from
a plateau and advanced towards a distant fissure. Thousands of tiny mandibles sheared
through the thin plant cover, feeding the separate parts of a single mind. The legion had lost
too many soldiers, and it needed to gather itself.
Must escape, get away.
As the fissure drew near, hundreds of fresh ants emerged from the depths below, and
blindly crawled towards the entity. As the new ants mingled with the entity’s, they turned
blue. The entity could feel its mind expanding. A minute passed as the entity recovered its
intelligence.
But as its senses expanded, the entity detected something. Another entity. As the yellow
carpet crawled towards the entity.
In the mind of the yellow entity, the blue entity spoke.
We were less. You are many. Go away.
We are undertaking a great journey. We need more soldiers if we
want to survive.
Where are you headed?
The yellow entity hissed.
You’ll tell us out to another entity!
Then how far are you travelling?
58

Two-thousand ant-meters.
Why are you travelling?
There are too many complexes. They are too dangerous.
Complexes? What are- oh.
The blue entity suddenly remembered. Complexes were gargantuan hordes of ants.
They could outsmart any other entity, but mostly lurked at fissures, further increasing their
size and thought power. The only thing that prevented them from constantly overpowering
smaller entity’s was ironically their own intellect: they were too busy thinking to bother
anyone else.
The blue entity had been hunted by a complex. It had wandered too close to a gathering
of them, and had interrupted their debate. When the blue entity was close enough to be
in range of their thoughts, they had torn its mind apart. It would take a long time to recover
its previous size.
The amount of ants emerging from the fissure began to dwindle. The blue entity realised
it was being selfish, and moved away from the fissure. It had enough soldiers to last a
while.
Thank you.
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The last few hundred ants crawled out and joined the yellow entity. The fissure closed
and the entities turned around, and headed off on their journeys.
The planet consisted of three continental landmasses, with small seas in between. As
it travelled, the entity pondered its strategy. If what the yellow entity said was true, it needed
to find new lands to graze on.
It only had two-thirds of its previous size, so the entity began to search for more fissures.
As the entity travelled across short meadows, it found a smaller entity, a white entity,
grazing. The other entity took one look at it, before it scuttled away. Weird.
Eventually, the entity found another fissure, and this time, it was alone. But the fissure
only lasted for a short while, before it closed again, and the entity continued on its journey.
As the entity ascended another mountain slope, it found the corpse of a complex. Millions
of ants lay dead, all of them a faded pink. But there were some ants that still clung on,
and so they changed their colours, and the entity’s mind expanded.
A faint memory was forming in the entity’s mind. It had a name. The entity figured
that if it was patient, it would recall it. So it continued on.
One hundred ant-meters later (one ant-meter was the maximum distance an ant
could travel before dying), the entity had found another fissure. As the thousands of ants
joined with the entity, it finally remembered. Its name was Xurivus. Xurivus wondered what
other parts of its identity were missing, so it continued travelling.
On the other side of the mountain, Xurivus’ could faintly sense something. Another
entity.
More
It was the entity from earlier. The white entity.
MORE
60

It was larger now.
MORRRRE!!!
The entity emerged from the undergrowth, and charged at Xurivus. White ants collided
with blue, as the attacking ants fought fiercely with their mandibles. Xurivus was surprised,
for very few entities actually attacked physically. But this shock didn’t last for long,
because its ants were beginning to die.
In terms of size, they were even. But terms of experience, Xurivus was superior.
STOP
The white ants froze.
warning.
Leave me alone, or be consumed. Choose one. This is your only
The white entity was still, but then it laughed. The white entity crawled back as three
tiny entities crawled out of the grass. Xurivus had been ambushed.
Now the battlefield was a swirling carpet of green, black, orange and blue. The blue
entity split into three smaller versions of itself, to attack each legion separately. But the blue
entities were still larger than their opponents.
DIE!
DIE!
DIE!
The ants writhed, as the entities minds were scrambled. But its mental attack dazed
the blue entity. The blue entity could do nothing as the white entity came back to the battlefield,
and turned the scrambled entities to its side.
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lue entity. The blue entity could do nothing as the white entity came back to the battlefield,
and turned the scrambled entities to its side.
Clever.
The white entity made a sound that resembled a laugh.
Believe me, I was only trying to turn those smaller entities. I
don’t like killing entities my own size.
So you’re a bully?
though.
Hmm, I guess I am. They had been following me for a long time,
The white entity turned around, and headed off into the horizon. Eventually, the blue
entity had the strength to continue on. It was smaller now, but that was easily fixed.
But there was something that was bothering it. It felt like it had forgotten something,
but the entity reasoned that it probably didn’t matter. The blue entity turned around, and
headed back up the mountain.
62

63

64