[Or] Fountain

For those wondering about my story, if you choose to read it, I got it from a dream I once had. If you see any similarities to anything in my story, you're imagining it. And I named it "Fountain" because I couldn't think of anything to name it, but this works.
COPYRIGHT 2006 to Sarah/Artisticnstuff/sjr12. Please don't steal, edit, or copy this novella. Thank you.

Edit: And from reading, and thinking, I give everyone permission to comment on my story as much as they want.

Prologue:

Somewhere in a strange land, a land that has no continents and only one ocean, a land where the night sky overpowers day, a tower stands. This tower, made of dark brick, is as high as the human eye can see, or seems to be so. In reality, it's only a few stories above the surface of the waves on which it stands. The rest of the tower is hidden beneath those waves, seen only by the creatures of the sea and the beings that dwell within the structure. And as far as history has told, there hasn't been any beings wthin that structure since the beginning of time. (109)

One thing always remains the same: the tower stands tall, and on a small ledge that sits attatched to the side, a fountain spews icy water, far clearer than any of the frothy salt the ocean tries to compete with. There lies a mystery in this fountain, carved with intricate designs never before thought of, sparkling and never aging, never stopping. This mystery has yet to be discovered, for no person has ever traveled to the tower nor left it. That is assuming there are people within it. (88)

However, pretending that there is indeed a person looking within this fountain, admiring the soft flow of crystalline water, having the need to drink from its glory, watching the constant curve with which it falls, that person just might be unfortunate enough to discover the mystery of the fountain, and be brought upon a curse. (45)

This person-- and yes, there indeed was once a person -- would begin to fel an eerie sense of his or her body dissolving, merging, flowing, into the fountain. They would begin to see themselves change form, becoming one with the sapphire water, losing the humanoid shape with which they were given. They would never again recall any memories they once had as a humanoid being, and it wouldn't seem like they had ever been one at all. They would be transformed into an aqua sprirt, one who roams within a liquidy area until the fateful day with which his or her curse could be broken. (104)

Because there has never been anyone to record such a discovery, history had yet to reveal its wonders. And because maps do not chart this strange land, no one would ever be able to undo the curse of the fountain, let alone ever find the place, even by accident. This person was doomed to an eternity of living within a fountain, a seemingly innocent and beautiful fountain, for all of his or her days, never breathing, eating, drinking (being made of water), or loving. (84)

All the while, something keeps the fountain spewing the crystalline water, which in turn keeps the trapped person from dying, which in turn keeps the person suffering. Something-- or someone --always monitors the actions of the fountain, cleansing it, keeping track of the life force by which it runs by as to not let it run out. But how can that be, when there are no beings within the tower? The one trapped person, she, always thinks about such things. (80)

She is nameless, having forgotten her name. She is lifeless, having been trapped for an eternity. She is formless, having ben made into water. She is souless, having never interacted with another soul since her rebirth. (36)

And all the while, she is monitored. She is watched be some unknown force. She is kept suffering by some unknown will. And she despises it. She wants nothing more to know what it is to walk on land, to breath the salty sea air, to maybe even attempt to climb the tower, brick by brick. She wanted to feel emotion, to have her senses tingle again with the cold air, or with excitement. She wanted to be free. (69)

Once, in her eternity of longing, she attempted such a feat. She tried to put her formless foot, if you could even call it a foot, outside of the fountain. She succedded all right, but to only have her "foot" drip down the side of the fountain, never again to be a part of her. After seing her mistake, and howling with the pain that comes with a part of your body being lost, she flinched back into her corner, to never agin try to escape the fountain. (88)

You may wonder, how in all her lifelessness and formlessness, she could still be considered female. She still had the features one would notice on a female, but you could only notice them when she chose to assume such a form. Being made of water, she could take any form she wished, but she would always take the feminine side. For example, she could take the form of a centuar (quite difficult, as a centuar would not be able to fit inside the small fountain), but she would still have the curves of a woman. (95)

She, however, chose to remain in a state rather similar to a blob. She had room to move in that form, and she could, in a sense, "disappear". As a blob, one could mistaken her for the many bubbles that surface as the water fell. You would have to have the sense to realize that she was the only bubble not surfacing. (62)

You also may wonder how this girl came upon the well. No one really knows, not even she, her memory having been erased. There is a method, however, to finding out. The curse would have to be broken. Once broken, she would recall all of her memories before the curse took place, and she would forget all of the momories within the fountain. The fountain, in turn, would no longer have such a power. It would no longer be able to captivate a person's soul, and it would then begin to age and wither away just like everything else of the world. She would not be able to tell her story. The person who removed the curse, however, would. (119)

And the girl did roam free after an eternity of longing. She was indeed set free by a brave individual. She has passed on now, having only lived a few years after her escape, but they were good ones, filled with life, soul, and love. And the story of that brave individual, a girl not quite yet an adult, not yet understanding of her soul or purpose; her story of how she came upon such a place, by accident or by fate, can be looked upon as a tale of inspiration. (91)

(1070 words, hand counted) (28,930 words to go)

Hey look. I retyped it. Yay.

Hannah made her way through the masses of students blocking her from reaching her next class. She tripped and nearly fell when her shoe got caught on someone’s untied shoelace. Brushing herself off she looked up to find a particularly good looking girl making out with a particularly good looking guy. Right in front of her. Right in her way. How rude.

Although she was irritated by their thoughtlessness, she couldn’t help but wonder what it felt like to have not a care in the world, only knowing that you were in the arms of your beloved. Being only a Freshman in highschool, Hannah was still considered a “8th grade wannabe”, and she felt like one at the moment.

Her brain was sent twirling back to reality when the final bell rang, and the masses of students waved and hugged (and kissed) their goodbyes, all entering the classrooms they had stood in front of. All but Hannah. Hannah had still more than halfway’s walk across campus to reach her remote classroom, a portable where only the dumbest students had to attend. Of course, her meaning of the word “dumb” took on a whole other role in itself.

Her school was considered among the biggest in the state, and was quite well known around the country. Her single mother had sent her there to get a “valuable education”, as she liked to word it, and worked a heavy three jobs to afford it. Not only was the school big, but it was one of the only schools you had to directly pay to get in to. This set Hannah and her hardworking mother to live in a small apartment in the middle of a dumpy neighborhood, where kids wore baggy pants and talked like they had never watched any other channel other than MTV.

And Hannah felt ashamed of her neighborhood, her mother, her worn-down clothes, her dull shoes. Her friends, try as they might, could not get her to understand that she was only on of many kids who were going through the exact same situation as she was, and that no one really cared how plain she was, or how poor. They cared for her spirit, and how she made them laugh with her clumsiness. Playfully, of course.

But today, man, today Hannah felt depressed. She felt like ditching her stockpile of homework that sat in her book bag and her crummy portable classroom and just go sit under a tree somewhere for an hour and a half and watch the clouds roll by, enjoying life for a change. And now, especially as she hopelessly to get to class on time, those thoughts magnified.

She inhaled deeply as she finally reached the classroom door, and turned the handle, feeling the weak support of the ramp creak as she stepped in. Many pairs of eyes flicked to her direction. Mostly girls in the class. Few boys, but whatever. Her attention wasn’t centered around the boys.

Her teacher, Mrs. Lainey, clucked with disapproval as Hannah set her stuff down next to the nearest empty desk, which happened to be on the opposite side of the room, in the farthest corner. Across the class she walked, and across the class all eyes followed. The awkward silence, the one silence everyone dreaded, was laughing in her face.

“Miss Bailey, you’re late. Any excuses?”

The dark brown eyes of Mrs. Lainey were dead set upon Hannah’s, and Hannah could only look down at her feet and shake her head.

“No, Mrs. Lainey, no excuses ‘cept that I was blocked off by a ton of kids that wouldn’t let me through.”

The dark brown brows of Mrs. Lainey furrowed, and she frowned.

“So, take another route next time. I assure you, there are several leading to this classroom.”

The self conscious Hannah looked around to find most students either looking in Lainey’s direction, bored, reading under their desks, or drawing in the corners of their papers. None of them had the look of someone who gave a hoot. In a sense, this made Hannah even more aware of herself. Didn’t they care?

“Take your seat, Bailey. You don’t need to stand there looking so unsettled. This is a classroom. N ext time, just come more prepared. And on time.”

Hannah complied. There were no nervous giggles as she would have expected. There were no spit wads shot in her direction. She was not given any looks so as if anyone even gave a hoot. And with that, Hannah scowled.

Had the movies been wrong? Had what her mother told her been wrong? Where was the popularity competition? Where were the cliques? Where were the obvious borders between a prep and a nerd? Where had Hannah been placed? Who was placing her?

In her blur of ridiculous thoughts, Hannah barely noticed the prompt tap of a few fingers on the back of her shoulder. A girl, just as bored looking as everyone else, was waiting for her to pass back the handouts Lainey had given her. Could she get any more impatient?

The class ended an hour and a half later. Hannah left feeling tired and bored, just like everyone else, but uniquely of course. Dumber unique. And that was it. The end of fourth period. Hannah silently thanked her school’s system of block schedule and headed off toward where the busses stopped to take her home.

Getting there, she saw such a large mass of students you would wonder if the busses could supply such a load, let alone the school itself. She found her route, number 23, stuck all the way in the front, and greeted the bus driver while showing him her bus pass.

Her driver was an old German guy, wrinkled from years of hard labor and suffering, and Hannah had always wondered how he had come to get the job of busdriver. She took her seat and wondered about that subject all the way home, looking out the horribly filthy window, filled with the re mains of breath and bug guts, and out onto the street with its numerous cars, until the bus finally reached the corner by her local grocery store where she got off. And so she got off.

1040 words plus 1070 words = 2110 words in total.

27,890 words to go.

Hannah walked in the direction of the store, and the bus followed down the road. For a moment, the two moved at the same speed, and the left over passengers stared down at Hannah, exhausted. The bus quickly drove ahead and on, far away from Hannah before she could reach the crosswalk.

Hannah pushed the crosswalk button, listening to the sound of busy cars motoring away, to and fro, all around her. It was noisy, living in a poor place. Most of the cars, jalopies to be precise, had their radios blasting higher than the average human ear could stand. The music always happened to be dirty, swearing rap. She disdainfully listened to it, waiting for the walk icon to change. It took a bit; there were so many cars driving by. Finally, she was able to cross.

She had to walk aside a dead looking field, and she could see the shed skins of rattlesnakes and the carcasses of poor little jackrabbits on the sides of the road. The weather was cold, and so she wore a blue hoodie, but the air still sent shivers through the cotton. She expected a storm to hit anytime, for there were clouds in the sky. This was Winter. This was January. This was the one time of the year that Hannah hated.

The field in the distance, she could see graffiti sprayed along the brick walls of the side fences, mostly around the shopping areas. She tried to make out what they said. Mostly crude curse words or Bible teachings. All in that same bubble print. She liked the art form, but it was so twisted in its meaning that she had to look away.

She walked the last few blocks toward her neighborhood, where the old houses sat, molding and falling apart, and where her apartments stood. She passed a teenage girl chatting rapidly on her cell phone. Hannah had seen how many kids carried those things around at school. It was horrendous. It seemed like there was no teen in existence without one. Hannah didn’t have one, of course, so she knew it couldn’t be true, but still.

She walked in through the driveway, past the broken down gates, into the property of Maywood Apartments. She walked past the front ones, past the pool that no one swam in, past the apartment of the old hag that still believed War World 2 was on, and up the steps to number 231, and fumbled with her keys.

The door opened before she could find the right key. Hannah’s mother, dressed in a red sweater and sweats, greeted her with a smile. She looked clean, recently showered and dried, and smelled of perfume.

“Han! Hun, I know I’m home early today, but it seems as though there is good news ahead for us!”

Hannah looked sideways at her mother, her dark hair, her hazel eyes. They all shone with excitement. Hannah wondered what could be so exciting about their lives.

“What, mom? I don’t even walk in the door and you’re already all chatty.”

Hannah’s mother, Lauren, frowned. Her excitement faded.


“Well, I guess since you’re so prissy today then I shouldn’t tell you about my big promotion, then.” She looked over her shoulder, noting the change of expression in Hannah’s face. “Go clean your room. It’s a mess. Clothes everywhere. Come on, just because it’s a teen thing to be unclean doesn’t mean you have to be one of those teens.”

“You got promoted? Which job?” Hannah set down her backpack, flung her keys on the end table, and sat down on the sofa. “Mommy, come on! I’ll clean it later. Which job?”

“Clean your room and I’ll tell you. How about during dinner. You can tell me about your day when I’m through.” She said everything as a command, and walked off towards the little corner which was their kitchen. Hannah in turn grabbed her backpack and walked the few feet from the living room to her bedroom. She could never get over how small their apartment was.

“Hey, Googles.” Hannah’s orange beta fish blubbed around in a small bowl. She had the roundest eyes Hannah had ever seen on a beta fish, and so she had begged Lauren to buy her. Now she swam in circles happily in Hannah’s mess of a bedroom, mostly blowing bubbles out of boredom.

“Googles, today was one of those days. I tripped, I was late, and I was called emo again.”

Hannah set her face against the side of the bowl, so her breath created a fog where her mouth settled.

“Do you think I’m emo?”

Googles simply blubbed. Hannah giggled.

“I thought not. See, I’m pessimistic, but not emo. I don’t wear those tight pants like they do, and I don’t cut myself.”

She clumped up her dirty clothes scattered around her room, and dumped them on top of the already huge pile of other clothes that sat on her bed. She then picked up a few wrappers from tootsie rolls that she had eaten the night before and tried to throw into the garbage, but missed. Those she placed inside the garbage, without throwing them this time.

“And those emos are so weird. They always hang their heads and wear all black. It’s like they’re too shy to be a person.”

Hannah looked down at her blue hoodie, and found that her pants were a shade of light black jeans, and her shirt happened to be a black one. She laughed.

“I’m still not emo.”

She looked around her room. Clean enough. Her tan carpet had a few stains in it, from when she was little, and a juice drinker. Her closet had no door, and there were several hangers unoccupied. The walls were painted white, and there was a spider in the corner of the room. That was ok. Hannah didn’t mind spiders, just as long as they didn’t crawl into her mouth while she slept.

Hannah fed Googles some fish pellets, and trotted back into the living room, turning on the TV. The only modernized piece of equipment in the house that they owned. A wide-screen TV, which Lauren had won by answering a question on the radio. It was their pride and joy, and it was also the reason for their high electricity bill.

She flipped through channels. Football, ew. American Idol, eh. Cartoon Network, there was one heck on a TV station. Cartoons always beat some goofy cop drama.

The smell of Spanish rice, cooked with minute rice of course, the cheapo stuff, drifted to Hannah’s nostril, and she sniffed. Mexican food was alright; she preferred Chinese, but Spanish rice was ok. As long as there wasn’t that much chicken. She always felt bad about the chickens being slaughtered for the sake of human consumption, even though it was part of life.

1145 words.

plus 2110 = 3255 words in total.

26,745 words to go.

Lauren hummed as she sprinkled a bit of salt on her Spanish rice, mixing it around for flavor. She loved the taste of Mexican food; she grew up with it. Her father, Hannah’s grandfather, had once taken a trip to Mexico and then developed a love for the food, bringing it home and passing that love to Lauren. She hoped that some love would eventually go to Hannah, but it had yet to happen.

Lauren worried about Hannah. She was always so pessimistic, especially after her father had walked out on them. That completely vile man had caused them all so much grief. The only good thing he had ever done was help make Hannah. Lauren loved him for that, and that only. But ever since then, Hannah had taken everything so hard. She had begun to adopt some of her father’s old personality issues, and that scared Lauren. The last thing she wanted for her precious daughter was to sink to his level.

She gave the rice one last mix with her large spoon, then turned off the stove. The bubbling of the food instantly ceased. It smelled good, and Lauren was proud to have cooked such a nice smelling meal when she was always so tired. She worked too hard for her own good.

Just then, the oven beeped. The bread was done, freshly baked and golden brown. Hannah loved freshly baked bread, and so Lauren had made it special for her. The Spanish rice, not so much. It was the momma’s treat for her big promotion of the day. She couldn’t wait to tell Hannah. Hannah would definitely be excited that they were moving. Hannah would get to be in a better school even.

She brought out a knife, and carefully sliced the bread into even portions, admiring how the steam rose up into the golden smell. The Spanish rice made its way into a large bowl, and the bread into a basket with a small cloth draped over it. Together they were sent to the table, a round wood piece with a lovely white and stained cloth as a decoration. By then, Hannah had already left her seat on the couch and had drifted over to where Lauren was now setting the table. She noticed how at ease Hannah always was at dinnertime. Heck, she got to eat. It was
understandable.


Hannah watched her mother set the table. She was hungry, and her mother was too slow. That was what happened when you were happy. You forgot about other people. You were too happy to realize that other people needed things done, and done fast. Like setting the table so Hannah could eat.

That was it. Hannah took the plate from her mother’s and, grabbed a few chunks of bread, poured a bit of the rice next to it. She went inside the fridge after setting her plate down and grabbed a couple of Mr. Pibs from the shelf, handing ne to her mother. She then sat down with her drink and fork, and began to eat with haste. She only ate fast. She didn’t like the way food was all squishy when chewed for too long.

She waited to swallow, then finally spoke.

“So, mom, which job?”

Her mother broke out into a smile. You could see the excitement in her every expression. She was eager to tell.

“Well, hun,” She became direct. “Oh for Pete’s sake, I got promoted to a position of director of the institute. Isn’t that great?” She was ignoring the food completely and grinning from ear to ear.

Hannah swallowed another mouthful. “So, what does that mean? Higher pay? Can I get a Gamecube now?”

Lauren laughed. The television blared with cartoonish laughter at that exact moment, and so it looked as if she was laughing like a cartoon character. Hannah was amused.

“No, silly. No Gamecube. Those things kill brain cells, whatever it is. Gaming system, right?” Hannah eyed her mother strangely. “Oh hun, you know I know nothing about that stuff. But, back to the topic at hand. My promotion has won us a permanent vacation in New York! We’re moving!”

Hannah’s mouth stopped dead. “Moving?”

No. It couldn’t possibly be that way. What about her school? What about her friends? What about her life? It wasn’t true. Her mother was kidding. She wouldn’t pull her away from the life she knew and, well, knew.

It wasn’t fair. But it wasn’t true either. She would laugh about it with her friends the following day. She could still listen to her music like nothing was wrong. She could still eat knowing that she would always eat at this very table, in this very room. Yes, that was how it was.

“Yup. We’re moving next month! Isn’t it exciting? We get to see all the tall building of New York City! Imagine! All the lights and splendor! How would you like to be able to walk anywhere you chose? Be more independent? You can do that there. You will have all the opportunity on the world. I’ve already accepted the job position, and I’m leaving my two other jobs. This new pay will not only be doubled from what I earn now, but it will be more. We’ll finally live in a decent place. In the city!”

Hannah was frozen. Maybe it...was true....

“Moving? To New York City? But...”

No. No no no no. Sure, the independence sounded tempting, but Hannah could have that here if she really wanted it. She just chose to sit in her room all day. She didn’t do it because she had to. Now she was moving. All her friends would be left behind. She would be alone once more. Once more...

“Mom, I don’t feel well. I’m gonna go eat this in my room now. You can have the TV.”

And so she took her plate with her to her room, and scarfed down the rest of her rice and bread, and downed her Mr. Pib, and then sat staring at her fish for the longest time. Maybe Googles would like it there. Yeah, think of the bright side. Maybe she could persuade her mom to buy her a Gamecube...or a DS...or even better, a computer with Internet. Now that was something to look forward to.

But it was her only comfort. As much as she hated her dingy apartment, it was her home. She had lived there since she was little. She lay curled up in her bed, clothes still on, and sighed. Maybe the man of her dreams would be in New York. Yeah, just maybe...

1105 words.

Plus 3255 = 4360 words in total.

25,640 words to go.

Lauren was confused.

Her daughter was feeling sick? Oh no, it wasn’t because of moving, was it? Maybe it was the bread. Yeah, it was the bread. Too much yeast. Maybe she should go talk to her about it. Maybe she didn’t realize the possibilities. Lauren knew how hard it must feel to know that you would be making a big change, but it was for the best. She could make new friends. She could be happy.

Hannah had always said how much she hated this apartment. She always complained about wanting to move away. She always stated how much she despised her school. She always whined about having stupid friends. She was never satisfied. And when comes this grand opportunity for satisfaction, she runs. Lauren could understand everything she was doing, but she wasn’t sure if she realized exactly all the factors.

Lauren quickly spooned up the rest of the rice and put it in a plastic container, sealing it with a lid, and placing it on the fridge shelf. The bread she wrapped up. She walked down the mini hall to Hannah’s shut door. The sign, “I’m closed.”, hung on her door. She had drawn it herself. It showed a stick figure holding a book in front of her face. It was a horrible drawing, but it got her point across. Lauren knocked anyway.

When there was no answer, Lauren opened the door to find her daughter fast asleep, probably to overwhelmed to stay awake. All her clothes were still on. She hadn’t even bothered to brush her teeth. Lauren kissed her goodnight and turned off her light as she left, making sure that her baby was covered and tucked in. Then she went to take a nap herself.


“Moving, no way ”

Hannah and her friend Kelly were walking down the school halls in passing from first to second period. They had their next class together. The sky had looked stormy when Hannah had woken up that morning, and she had the feeling as if she had overslept. She could barely concentrate in first period, and she could barely concentrate now.

“What? Oh, yeah. Mom says next month. I might be gone for a few days soon so I can pack.”

“Where are you moving to? Tell me ”

Kelly had those gorgeous blue eyes than Hannah had always wanted. Her hair shone a type of golden brown that could normally only be attained by professional highlights, but no, her’s was natural. It sparked a bit of unwelcome jealousy in Hannah, but not enough to make her change her opinion on the girl. To Hannah, she was a bit pf an airhead, but whatever.

“New York. Here’s the class.”

Kelly stopped and dragged Hannah back outside of the classroom. She just wouldn’t let it go. Hannah was moving. End of story. Get over it. Did it matter that much?

“Hannah, that’s New York City, right? You’re crazy I’d be ecstatic if I got to move there? Where’s your enthusiasm?” Kelly raised one eyebrow. She held her hands out in a confused gesture. She was so animated; Hannah wished that she could be animated.

“I have none. I don’t want to move. Class is starting.” And with that, she moved inside the classroom, already mostly packed with students, and took her seat next to Kelly. She took out her Geometry binder made to take out her homework when she realized that she had fallen asleep. She hadn’t done her homework.

“Crap,” She stated. Kelly noticed the blank piece of graph paper marked with the required problems, and snorted. It didn’t matter. Her year would still be filled with promise. Hannah would transfer right in the middle of the year, so there was no point in homework anyway.

The teacher, Mr. Mike as he liked to be called, turned on the overhead, and from there red pens flew as the students corrected their finished homework. All except Hannah’s. And so Hannah drew a picture.

She drew a picture of herself, a stick figure, on the empty piece of graph paper. She was surrounded by immeasurably high buildings, and cars flew in the air above her. She looked up at the cars with a skeptical look. She drew a simple speech bubble with the words: “The city is only a ton of heavy metal airheads”.

Hannah continued to space out all during Geometry. She was able to jot her homework down, and she made a mental note to actually get it done this time. And with that, she continued to be out of it during PE. At least she scored six minutes on her cross-country–not a bad time at all.

And back to fourth period. With the crazy Mrs. Lainey, and her non-sensical teaching method. Hannah couldn’t even remember what class it was, it was so off topic.

She was able to get there on time today. She didn’t trip in front of some stupid couple. There was no cluck from Lainey this time around. It was all good.

‘No. No books. It’s better when we talk as a class. Discussion without facts will help you all understand. Leave the bookwork for homework.” Lainey smiled at Hannah. “This is a creative writing class. Use your imagination the way that you are best at, not by some idiotic method described by a book.”

Hannah wasn’t sure how to take that in, but she closed her writing book, just as everyone else did. All the bored looking students. They cleared their desks and sat listening intently for Lainey’s new introduction.

‘Today we will conduct a mind search. We will clear our brains of all thought, feeling, emotion, and saerch for creative inspiration. Once you have found it, then you may let your feelings come into play.” She paused for a moment, making sure that each and every ear was open to the sound of her voice. “Good. What I will do is put you all under a type of hypnotism I–“

“Mrs. Lainey?” One girl sitting in the middle raised her hand. “Isn’t that, well, against school regulation to do something like that? I don’t think it’s ok to be messing with our minds like you intend to.”

Lainey laughed again. “No no, youngling, it’s quite alright. I have the county’s permission, the district’s permission, the school’s permission, and even the state’s permission to preform hypnosis. I can have you out of the state in less than a second, my dear. I am giving you all the option for wether or not you want it.”

A pause. A few people who were scared raised their hands. They did not want to be hypnotized.

“Well then, those of you who do not want to be hypnotized can instead wait for further instruction. For now, relax.. The rest of you, however, must close your eyes...”

Her voice began to soften, and Hannah listened to the rhythm of her chanting, slow and true, and so she began to feel lightheaded, almost non-existent. Thoughts and emotions filled her brain, urging her out of her peaceful state. But she would not allow it. She loved being so...spellbound.

“Do not let your feelings in the way of your thoughts. Remember, clear your mind. Listen to my voice. When I count to three, you will all be under my command. I will not be the cause of any inappropriate behavior or silly action, do not worry. You are all safe in this zone. Now...one., sleep, your eyes are closed...two, you body is becoming similar to a rag doll’s, limp and lifeless...three ”

The students watching stared, eyes wide, as each and every body fell lifeless on top of their desks. They still breathed, but slowly, comfortably. They looked as if they all were asleep. One or two of them began drooling. And one of the watching guys, a brave one, drew close to his classmate and poked him, curious to see if he stirred. He did not.

“You three who are not under my trance, come up here. You will aid me in my technique.”

Lainey gestured to the three awestruck students to come up to the front of the sleeping class, and stand side to side with her. She looked radiant, yet so very strange, with the light beaming to her dark eyes at an odd angle. The students, one by one, came forward, and settled themselves a respectable distance away from each other. They looked at each other nervously, then back toward the class. They could not keep their eyes off of them.

Lainey turned to the bewildered three, and patiently explained what they were to do.

“I need you three to create a scenario. Picture anything out of the ordinary. You will put your hypnotized classmates through an adventure. Nothing perilous, but think out of the box. Use your minds and work together. You are to spark creativity in yourselves, and in your classmates. With your scenario, they will all use their creative genius to transform it into something that represents their personality, and so they will all leave their state knowing a unique version of it. They will all end up with their own tale. That’s why it is your very important jobs to create an inspiring plot, characters, and an opportunity for interaction. Do you understand?”

The bewildered three simply stared at each other, minds already quick to take action, and nodded.

“Good. You have five minutes. Get going ”

They scrambled off to an uninhabited corner of the room, forming a group with three desks, and scribbling ideas on their papers. All th while, Lainey played her unusual game of hypnotism with the rest of the class, giving them forewarning of what they were about to undergo. Not one of them stirred, and it was hard to tell if they could even hear what she was saying. But Lainey remained confident with her speech, and she called back the three after five minute’s passing.
The students crowded over to Lainey, now as excited as ever, and told her their idea.

“Wonderful!” She exclaimed. She allowed the students to sit down and watch as she fed the rest of the class’s minds their brilliant idea,

“You will embark on a journey, young ones. You will begin in a pool of water, wearing a snorkel and with a pack of air that will last you thirty minutes. Your job is to collect the ten starfish scattered around the pool before your packs run out, or in this case, before I wake you. Whoever can collect them first will win a prize.” Lainey smiled a devious grin. “There will be obstacles, of course, that will block you from the starfish. Puzzles created by your own thoughts will test your personality. It is your job to pass this test. And if you do, you get an A for the day.”

The three looked at each other, beaming with pride at their idea. It was rather video game-ish, yes, but it was a fun way for them to stock up on creative juices. And they were excited. They had been told to write down this adventure, and so they were already guaranteed an A today.

“Now, “ Lainey straightened, and held her hand high. “When I snap for the third time, you will all begin your adventure.” She snapped once. “You are feeling restless; your minds are awakening.” She snapped again. “Your creativity is ruching through your system, like a surge of adrenaline.”

Third snap.

The entire class, except for the three, started to life. They all began breathing heavier. They all began to fidget in some ways. Their minds were a blur of racing thoughts and emotions, and they were on their journey.
Lainey watched, proud, as her students all experienced their first dose of inner investigation. She walked to her storage closet, allowing her three to believe that she was getting her prize out, but instead she closed herself in. She smiled.

I think I shall give my gift to the winner of this contest. Yes. The winner of this contest will be bestowed upon my greatest achievement. I just hope for that person’s sake that they will be able to handle it.

2035 words.

Plus 4360 = 6395 words in total.

23,605 words to go.

Oh god. Where was she? She was in a giant pool of water. Fish completely surrounded her. There were hoops everywhere, large yellow and red hoops. Arrows lined the walls as if they pointed her through those hoops. What kind of adventure was this? She had a red snorkel in her mouth, and she wasn’t used to it. Hannah nearly spit it our before she realized that she was in hundreds of gallons of water, and would have no other way to breathe. Lainey had said something like this would happen, but she had sounded so distant. Even now, in this underwater world, it seemed more than a dream than any real life experience.

Hannah looked down at herself. Her hair gracefully moved about with the current, and she wore a diving suit. Her goggles made it so that the water was crystal clear. And then there were the plastic hoops. They just floated there, no strings attached. And the next thing she saw was...a giant yellow starfish?

It just stood there, turning in a rapid circle. It was rather like something out of a Mario game. It was so similar to the yellow coins that you had to collect. So this was what Lainey had meant. Hannah had to collect those...things.

Hannah wondered, what happened if you were the fist to collect them? Would you wake up automatically?

Hannah realized, there was a time limit! A giant digital clock stood in the middle of the pool, clicking down her minutes. She had already wasted two thinking! She hurried off, attempting to walk, but finally swimming across to where the nearest loop floated.

The starfish stood right outside of the loop. Hannah completely ignored the ring and reached for the star. Her hand hit, rather hard, an invisible wall. What the heck? She looked, puzzled, at the fish. It still circled, but only within the limits of the wall.

Oh! It hit her then. She had to go through the rings to reach her prize. Easy enough.

She swam over to the ring anf went through, trying hard not to touch the sides. Her hand extended towards the starfish. Bingo. She had it in her hand. It disappeared with a small ping!, and that was that. She had nine more to find.

The loop behind her disappeared as well. Ahead of her, another ring formed, no, two rings. Not only that, but a big statue head rose out of the ground. It did nothing for a second, but when Hannah tried to get close, it reacted with a burst of flame.

Flame? Wasn’t this not supposed to be perilous?


Lainey creaked the door open again and watched in amusement. The girl who had been late the previous day–Hannah was it?–was showing the most vigorous activity. She was sitting upright, her brow furrowed as if in thought. Lainey wondered if this girl, the one who glowed with such a dull aura, could really show such imagination. It was possible. She acted as if she could. But her aura, it just didn’t match what activity she showed at this particular moment. The other students, excluding the helpful three, all sat as if sleeping, even though their minds were racing. What was it about this girl?

She propped her hand against her chin, thinking. There had only been one other who had puzzled her this much. That poor girl was now long gone, her soul trapped within another dimension. She had been bestowed upon the eternal gift, and she had misused it. Where she was now, Lainey had no idea. A missing person’s report had been filed, and Lainey had been charged with kidnap and murder. But that was all so long ago. None of these little students need know such things.


“How in the heck do I get that fish?” Hannah asked herself. She was irritated. Every time she tried to get close to the rings, that fire-breathing statue head would try to fry her. It wasn’t cool anymore.

Hannah wondered if there was any way to turn off the statue head. Maybe there was a switch or something. She swam behind it. Only hard stone.

An idea rose in her. What if she found something to block the flames? Like a stone. Something non-flammable. It could work, it would work, and so Hannah paddles around the many fish, (all of which were avoiding the fiery area entirely) and saw it. A large stone. Perfect.

Now another problem arose. How was she to carry such a large stone? Surely her puny arms couldn’t even budge that thing. There was no way.

Could she roll it? She pushed. It didn’t move. She kicked. Nothing but a hurting foot.

She needed something that would propel it across the pool. Hannah looked every direction. Nothing. She rested against the rock. So far, she was losing against everyone else, trying so very hard to catch a few starfish.

She noticed something shiny near the base of the rock. It was script, golden script, engraved so it almost blended in with the sand below it. Hannah jumped, or rather, floated, and she read it.

“Ye who wants to know how to disrupt the flame, simply answer the truth.”

What the hell.

Answer the truth? What did that mean? A question? Hannah was even more confused. Was it like a sort of truth or dare thing?

She waded closer to the flame spout, and looked for similar text. One question flashed across a dark globe positioned in a crevice on top of the statue’s head. It read:

“Be it the truth? Or be it a lie? Are you afraid to cross thy flames and die?”

Hannah stared at it. Of course she was afraid! It was a flame. Why would she want to go and cook herself? It didn’t make sense. She had said her truth. What other truth was there? That it wasn’t a flame? That it wouldn’t hurt her?

Ding! A chime sounded through her mind. The flame was fake. It wouldn’t harm her. Oh.

Hannah swam towards the statue, and it blew flame to her. Surprisingly, it wasn’t hot. She gulped, closed her eyes, and plunged through. She emerged through both hoops, through flame, and straight into fish number two.

Ping! The bell sounded a little higher pitched this time. The loops were gone, as was the statue, and above her, another loop formed. It pointed upward. There, a starfish was above the waters of the pool.

Oh, Hannah was supposed to do some sort of dolphin dive and grab it?

She was fed up. This was ridiculous. This was her adventure. No way was she going to go through all these obstacles to collect some starfish. Hannah concentrated. She closed her eyes a tightly as possible. Her nose wrinkled. She thought of all the remaining starfish flowing towards her hands. They were drawn to her. They wanted her to find them. No, they wanted to find her.

And they came. One by one, each starfish came with a ping into her hand, and as soon as the last one came, she awoke.

The pool was gone. The water was gone. Her snorkel was gone, and so was her giant timer. She had spent twenty minutes, she noticed, looking at the clock. She immediately drew in a huge breath. Ahh, oxygen.


Lainey started when she saw Hannah stir. Her eyes opened instantly, and she frantically looked around for a clock. Then she drew in a deep breath. She looked absolutely relieved to be back in reality. Lainey was surprised, though. Why had she woken up so early? She couldn’t have found all the fish already. It was impossible to get all the fish. Even if you managed to get nine, the tenth one would never appear, unless...


Lainey was looking at her funny. Why was she looking at her so funny? She had awoken, yes, but Hannah was sure that she had done everything right. She was awake, wasn’t she?

“Hannah, “ Lainey whispered, “Why are you awake? What happened?”

Hannah wasn’t sure if she should whisper back, so she did. “Um...I kind of...willed the fish to me?” She smiled, unsure.

Lainey gestured toward the door she was half standing in, a look of utter anxiousness on her face. Hannah walked over, being careful to not trip over any stray legs that had rolled out to the side as all the sleeping students dreamed. So that was what it looked like to be hypnotized.


The bewildered three looked at Hannah as the door shut closed behind them both. The boy, Justin, was agape.

“Is she supposed to be awake?” He asked the two girls with him.

“I have no clue, “ one answered, Brittney. “Obviously not, because she wasn’t supposed to get all the starfish. We designed the plot so they had to be stuck in the pool for the whole thirty minutes.”

“Yeah, but she’s awake,” the third said, Katelyn. “I don’t get it. Maybe she was faking the hypnotism.”

“No,” Justin replied, “That isn’t possible. She was out like a light. I saw her fall. She was really...fidgety, though.”

All three of them looked at the closed door, wondering what was happening on the other side. They all agreed that it wasn’t anything normal that Hannah woke herself up from her trance, and so they discussed their explanations.

1,566 words.

Plus 6,395 words = 7,961 words.

22,049 words to go.

“Hannah, do you have any idea what you have accomplished?” Lainey looked utterly astonished, even more so in the dim light of ths storage closet. She had a silly grin on her face, and was shaking her head happily, hand on chin. Her restlessness almost caused a few of the glue bottles on the shelf she leaned on to come crashing down.

“What do you mean? I finished it. Didn’t I?”

Hannah was getting the feeling by now that she had either done something horribly wrong, amazingly right, or maybe something even extraordinary. The look Lainey was giving her made it hard to tell. She felt the nervousness creep up on her, the self consciousness that always enveloped her every time she thought she was being given attention. And at that moment, she was being given attention.

Lainey laughed, a joyful yet fearful laugh. “Little wonder, you managed to un-hypnotize yourself. That takes a great deal of skill with conscious mind control. Have you ever thought about going into the field of the Paranormal? Hypnotism, perhaps?”

Hannah replied, almost with a giggle of her own, “Eh, hypnosis? I don’t think so. That type of thing is, well, cheesy.”

Lainey’s unique laugh filled the room once more. Hannah found that it made her ears hurt to listen to it. Her laugh was loud.

“True, but it can be useful. Anyhow,” Lainey rummaged around in the shelves. “I think I have something even better for you to try.”

“What’s that?” Hannah felt a strange confidence arise in her. She was curious, mainly because she was afraid she was in trouble, but a small part of her was genuinely interested in what her strange teacher had to say. She couldn’t help it. She had put every student of her class into a sleep, after all. She was obviously special.

“Ahh, here it is.” Lainey produced a small sphere from her shelf, dusty from being hidden behind countless school supplies. She tapped it with her nail, and mumbled a single word. Instantly, it burst into life, the dust springing form it’s round mass and falling away. The sphere filled with a purple misty substance, and a picture slowly formed inside it. Hannah couldn’t make out exactly what the picture showed, but it looked like a tower. But at second glance, it was more like a prison; there were no windows.

Lainey handed the sphere to Hannah. It was cool to the touch. She could clearly make out the picture now, and it was indeed a stone tower. And at the thought of the mist clearing, it dissipated, leaving a clear image of the night sky.

“What, is this a crystal ball or something? Am I supposed to tell the future with this thing?” Hannah asked, puzzled with her unexpected gift.

“No, little wonder, you have a much bigger reward. This will undoubtedly unnerve you , but I think you will be able to master it in time.”

Oi. Hannah was being given more work, another task. Better ready the fire extinguishers. Hannah hadn’t mastered one skill since the day she became a pessimist. Not only was her courage and hope gone, she felt like she was in deep trouble. Here, she had been given some strange spherical thing that got cloudy and showed the sky. Whoop-di-doo. Well, the thing was pretty, but what use did she have for it?

“Hannah, “ Lainey became grave now. She motioned toward a fold up chair nearby, and so Hannah sat. Lainey was tapping her foot, thinking of the best possible way to explain herself. “Hannah, what you will end up doing might seem scary at first, but believe me, you will uncover the deepest truths through this process. With this sphere, the Purlieus, you will not only be able to leave your body, but with your freed spirit, you will be able to travel the dimensions.”

‘What.” Hannah stated it more than questioned it. It was ridiculous. Dimensions? Psh, this lady was a kook. “How in the hell is that possible. You’re just...weird.”

And Hannah wasn’t afraid to say it, either. She was weird.. Even her smile as she had said so made her believe so even more. When Hannah tried to hand back the Purlieus, Lainey only pushed it away.

“It’s yours now.” She said with a smile.

Hannah was about to protest when the girl of the three students that hadn’t been hypnotized popped inside, looking around with interest. When he realized that there was nothing going on, except for the peculiar giant sphere Hannah held, he said.

“Mrs. Lainey, some kids are waking up. There’s only fifteen minutes left for class. They’re wondering what they should do.”

He gave Hannah one more analytic look, and thumbed toward the outside. Lainey made her way to the door after him, giving Hannah a wink and one last instruction.

“Just hold the Purlieus, close your eyes, and concentrate. Then you will discover your potential.”

And with that, Hannah was left alone in the storage closet, holding the Purlieus. That wouldn’t do. She walked out, utterly perplexed, and took her seat. She was greeted by many pairs of eyes, once again. They knew that she had been the one to wake up early. Apparently, the three had already spread the gossip.

Going home that day was peculiar to Hannah. She sat on the bus, got a few looks in the direction of the Purlieus, and examined the sphere as if it were a star in her hand. She was frightened to no end of it, yet extremely fascinated by what it showed her. It previewed the tower, and the ocean, royal blue and clear, yet so dark. The night sky, slightly cloudy, was filled with many constellations that Hannah had never seen before. It looked so realistic. It was nothing like what Hannah had been expecting in that closet.

She continued to watch the images swirl in the Purlieus while she walked home from the grocery store. She didn’t even notice the girls with their cell phones this time, of the crude grafitti covering the walls. She even forgot about moving for a while. She wa completely centered around the object in her hand.

She could barely unlock and open the apartment door, having only one free hand, but as soon as she got it open, she saw her mother sitting at the dining table sorting through some bills. She wore her happy grin, and was all dolled up as if she were going out on her first date. What was wrong with her these days?

“Hey, baby! How was school?” Lauren beamed at her daughter. Hannah couldn’t fel the warmth of her beam, so she just grunted and headed for her room, seeing her mother’s usual head shake and grin through the mirror as she began her assortment of bills once again.

In her room, Hannah immediately threw her backpack down and stared at the Purlieus. It glowed, Hannah noticed. It was a soft sort of glow, and it never got hot or sweaty in her hand. It seemed like such a holy object, the way it was crowned with the halos of light on all sides. Hannah marveled at it for some time, wondering if she should try the “process” of which Lainey spoke of. She decided against it; Hannah was just too afraid. She didn’t believe the whole “crossing dimensions” story, but it peaked her interest it anything else.

She took out her homework, and began working on her math. Not too much tonight, she saw. She was happy about that. She got about halfway done when her mother appeared at her door, carrying a pile of folded boxes.

“Han, I went and picked these up today. I want you to start thinking about how you’re going to pack your things. Start sorting them into groups, then if you want, you can start loading them into these boxes.” Lauren dropped the boxes near Hannah’s bed. The landed with a plop. “I’ve already started on my bedroom. I’ve loaded in a lot of things I wouldn’t use normally. That’s where you should start. Leave the things you know you will need.”

Dangit. Her mother had to remind her of the move. She had been so excited about her Purlieus, but no, her mind was set back to reality. She glanced from her math to the numerous boxes on the ground.

1,402 words.

Plus 7,961 = 9,363 words in total.

20,647 words to go.

“Go ahead and start whenever. You still have plenty of time.” Lauren kissed her daughter on the cheek, then left the room, closing the door to where it was.

Hannah shoved the boxes under her bed. She didn’t want to have to look at them while she tried to figure out her math homework. But she couldn’t concentrate, no matter how hard she tried. She looked over at the Purlieus, the beautiful glowing sphere. She had already grown fond of it. It was her only treasure.

Shoving her math away, too tired to try and finish it now, Hannah took hold of her treasure. She felt how smooth the surface was, and how her fingerprints never even left a mark. It was if the sphere was magic. But how could a sphere the size of her palm have magical properties? There was no such thing as magic.

Yet, she still felt that tingling presence there when she held it. It allowed her to vent her thoughts and feeling freely, and she soon found herself crying once again. The tears came easily, long and wet. She sobbed quietly to herself, cradling the Purlieus to her chest. It made her feel safe, as if there was still hope for her. There was an escape.

Once her tears were dry, Hannah decided that she must find a secret place to hide the Purlieus, so that it would never be taken from her. It was her special treasure. No theif could take that away from her. She had developed such a strong bond with the object in such a short time, she questioned if the thing had itself put a trance on her. She didn’t care if it did; she was happy.

And so she threw her clothes around, thrashed her way through her closet, emptied her drawers for the perfect place to put her sphere. There was none. The best thing she could find was a spare pillowcase hidden in a corner of her bottom right dresser drawer. That would have to do. It wasn’t like she would uncover a velvet pedestal or anything, but it would have been nicer than a pillowcase.

Hannah carefully placed the Purlieus in the pillowcase, then wrapped it around the lump so it would be cushioned from any outside force. She then hid it safely on her bed, where she could see it, but where no one else could. There was a secret drawer at the foot of her bed that blended in to the wood, and she had placed everything precious in there. But until today, she had had nothing precious to place inside.

Hannah stuffed a few old shirts between the lump and the walls to make sure it wouldn’t roll around unnecessarily, and she finally was satisfied.

But just to be sure, she drew her comforter a little more down so as to hide the spot even better. Then she sat against the drawer, thinking more about how her life would twist inside-out with her upcoming transition. She had never moved before. It would be painful. But maybe, just maybe, this might be a good thing.

The following days were strenuous for Hannah. School work was beginning to pile up on her, and her grades were dropping. She had abandoned doing math homework altogether, although she still studied for her tests and class work. In PE, she trying as hard, often finding herself daydreaming about the Purlieus. When it came time for finals, a week later, she wasn’t as prepared as she should have been She had been lying to her mother about her grades, and her mother had been asking more and more often since she was home from work more often. It got to be that Hannah would come home to an enthusiastic Lauren every day, rather than the peace and quiet that she loved.

During every one of those days, Hannah had debated wether or not to leave the Purlieus at home or take it with her to school. She mostly decided to take it; if she left it at home, a greedy neighbor might steal it, especially since her apartment neighbors couldn’t be trusted. Hannah brought the Purlieus with her, tucking it carefully at the bottom of her book bag. She didn’t care how much heavier it made it. She knew that she had to keep it safe at all costs.

It soon came time, during those days, to visit Lainey’s creative writing class. For the most part,she ignored what had happened with the hypnosis and did not preform it again. Instead, Lainey had everyone read out of the book, puzzling the students, who had been so eager to experience another interesting class time rather than book work.

After countless days of coming home to a bittersweet mom, Hannah began to skip going home and walked to a nearby park, sat on the swing, and examined the Purlieus like usual. It was quite peaceful, and she continues to sit until a man decided to try and bribe her treasure from her for fifty dollars. She had to decline several times before the man would let her leave.

The days flew by afterward, night to morning, morning to night, and the move came ever closer. Lauren had already packed a lot of their possessions in boxes, and had an apartment picked out just down the street from where she would be working. Hannah had yet to remove the boxes from under her bed, and they haunted her in her sleep.

The days grew colder, windier, rainier, as Winter took its course. The night of a particularly rash storm, hannah awoke from the howling of the wind. She tried covering her ears, playing music, but nothing could get the howling dull enough to fall back asleep. So, hannah decided to consult the Purlieus.

“Purlieus, why does the wind have to blow so hard tonight? I wanna sleep!”

To her astonishment, the shpere glowed a bright blue in her hand, and it grew warm. Hannah instantly felt drowsy as a sweet scent passed under her nose, and she could no longer hear the wind or rain so harshly. She closed her eyes, and drifted off, Purlieus still in hand.

“Little one, I have noticed how careful you handle me.” It spoke to her in her dreams. “I find you to be a fitting mistress. I have one simple question for you, Hannah: What is it that you seek?”

Hannah spoke, although she slept, she spoke back to the spirit of the Purlieus. Her mind was subconsciously being controlled by her spiritual self.

“I seek...a very many things,” Her spirit replied, “ I wish to find, maybe, love someday, or even get married and have children.”

“Good.” Purlieus responded, “tell me more, young one.”

“Well,” Hannah’s spirit thought for a moment. “I do believe that I want acceptance, and to not be cast away like I am. I might be accepted by my friends, yes, but I fear they only accept me because they pity me. I am not the luckiest girl...”

“No, not another word.” Purlieus came to comfort her at once, and Hannah was instantly happier. “You cannot continue to think such things. You are a wonderful person. I have witnessed it. Perhaps all you need to realize it is some soul searching.”

1,220 words.

Plus 9,363 = 10,583 words in total.

19,417 words to go.

I find your writing to be very good. I'm not sure if you were going for a surreal effect throughout the entire piece so far, but that's what I feel when I read it, as if it could almost be real, but there's a thin layer of fantasy blocking it. I enjoyed your use of hypnosis and spirituality (I found some in accuracies in your dealings with hypnosis, but I'm an obsessor of the weird and I'm pretty sure noone else will notice.) I look forward to reading this to its end. IMHO there could be a little more character development, but that's just me.