I sat under the tall oak tree in my backyard, head in my knees and my long, wavy auburn hair tumbling down, not held by its usual neat ponytail. A light wind let my hair flow ever so slightly to the left of me, but unlike my hair, I was not moving from this spot I had chosen. I looked up for a couple of seconds, tear streaks running down my burning face. I felt as if my heart was throbbing in pain and misery. Five years. I had known him for five years. Now he was leaving. Leaving this neighborhood, the one we had played in ever since we met at age seven, in the second grade. Leaving his house, the one I had seen so many times that it was imprinted upon my memory forever. Leaving me.
A sob that had been stifled escaped, and another couple tears rolled down my cheeks. I wiped them away slowly with the back of my hand and forced myself to stand up. Leaning against the worn bark of the oak tree, I let my hand run down the side of it until I found the strange carvings in it. I edged around the side and stared at them for a second, willing myself not to cry.
A careful heart, just big enough to fit the initials C.R. and J.W. Cassandra Rohwer, me, and Joshua Wynd, him. Tears slid down my cheeks and I did nothing to contain them this time. As if the weather sensed my mood, the wind began to pick up, freezing the tears to my eyelashes and cheeks. The leaves of the oak tree, instead of a little sway, began to rustle back and forth. An unfamiliar emotion filled me; worry.
Ignoring my sadness for just a moment (although it was impossible, as my heart still throbbed with anguish and hurt) I began to run inside, but every few feet I began to trip. I didn't know why, but clouds quickly filled the sky and thunder began to rumble. I couldn't run anymore. The sky darkened and icy rain began to patter against the pavement of the sidewalk and my skin. Lightning flashed across the sky.
This storm was no ordinary storm.
I inched backwards on my bottom, trying to reach the steps but I felt immobilized, unable to move. Fear clenched my stomach in its cold hands, and I blanched.
A face appeared in the sky, a woman with wild, curly hair and slanted, snake-like eyes. "Cassandra Rohwer," she boomed, almost sounding like a thunderclap.
I said nothing, frozen to the ground.
"There is a way for you to see your darling Joshua again," she said, with a devious smile. "Would you like to hear it, my dear?"
I managed to shake my head; I didn't trust this face in the sky, and why should I?
"Well, guess what? I don't care!" she laughed, sounding like millions of tiny fingernails scratching a chalkboard. "It's quite simple actually. All you need to do is listen to me."
Her laugh echoed in my head and the world as I knew it disappeared.This is the story I will be using to audition in Computerfan's Competition. I will be updating regularly, especially since it's summer. I accept CC and use it to improve my writing. Thanks! (:
When I came to, my eyes were still closed and I heard faint sounds above me. My whole body felt sluggish and as if sand had filled me up. I tried to open my heavy eyelids, but every time I tried, they would slip back down. Finally, I succumbed to the drowsy feeling that was stealing through me and slipped back and forth, in and out of unconsciousness.
The second time I woke up, I didn't quite feel refreshed, but I didn't feel like a sandy beach holder either. I felt hard, stony pavement underneath me and I shifted a little, a grimace on my face as the cobblestone pressed into my back. My eyes snapped open.
There wasn't cobblestone in my neighborhood, at least not that I knew of. I looked around me, my eyes frantically darting about. This whole place was unfamiliar to me; a building lay behind me, built of red brick and an old wooden door. A bulletin board lay beside it, a yellow canary chirping happily upon the thin top. Beneath my scratched hands, there was cobblestone, as I expected.
Where was I? I certainly wasn't in my neighborhood, Sunset County, anymore, and I needed to get back! I needed to see Joshua off before he left!
Oh, wait, I thought bitterly, Joshua wasn't there anymore. No matter how angry I was at him for leaving me without even speaking of it, I still had that undefinable sadness that would stick with me forever. I shook my head a little to get rid of those troublesome thoughts; they were for another time. I needed my brain clear to think of how to escape this predicament.
Behind me, leading away from the area I was in, was a ramp. I couldn't tell what was on top of the cliff, but it was worth a try. Unless I went into the building behind me. I bit my lip; stay outdoors or get inside?
I decided to walk indoors; I didn't know what was out here and I wasn't willing to find out. I took a deep, calming breath and opened the door.
The first thing I saw when I walked in was the floor (maybe because I was refusing to look up). It was dark, cherry wood, and slippery too, as if somebody had recently cleaned and polished it. To my left was something that looked like one of those silver bank machines that you take money out of. Flashing on the screen of it was "Automatic Bells Dispenser. Please log in below." I furrowed my eyebrows. What were "bells?" To my right was a box with a picture of a fish skeleton on it, and in small print, "Recycle Bin. Taken out every Monday and Thursday at six am." I resisted the urge to open it to see what was inside. I decided to look up and shrieked loudly.
There was a desk, like you'd see at a bank, and standing at one of the stations was a duck. Yes, a duck. A real, honest to goodness duck. It had white feathers and seemed to be wearing clothing. I blinked a couple times, sure that I was hallucinating. I also tried pinching myself.
The duck was still there.
I chanced a glance at the only other booth; there was nobody there. I let out a quick sigh of relief and turned to leave when--
"Hello! I'm Pelly. You must be Cassie."
I felt my vision swim before my eyes. The duck did not just talk to me. I was still tired; perhaps I was just seeing things. I was about to run out the door when I heard the voice again.
"Cassie, hun? You need to check in here."
I slowly turned around and realized that the duck was talking. A realization began to come to my mind; this was probably just a dream. I mean, ducks don't talk. It's a rule of nature. I decided to go with it, although a feeling of unease still settled in my stomach.
"My name is Cassandra," I began softly.
"Excuse me?" she asked, smiling, if a duck could smile, I mean.
"My name is Cassandra," I repeated, although I said it louder this time.
"You're put down as Cassie in my records here; your name is too long, hun."
"What do you mean, my name is too long?" I asked indignantly, forgetting that this wasn't real.
"We only allow eight character names," she said, an understanding smile gracing her beak.
"Oh," I said. "That's... nice."
"Well, I have your records all filled out. You're to see Tom Nook to buy a house here."
"A house?" I sputtered. "I don't have any money. And where am I, anyways?"
"Oh dear," she said, her voice carrying worry, "you don't have any Bells yet? That's to be a problem."
"What the heck are Bells? And where am I?" I repeated.
"Bells are the currency here, hun. Surely you knew that? And you're in the lovely town of Pearl."
A stunned silence filled the air as I took in what she had said. I didn't know of a town named Pearl; at school our teachers had never taught us that. But of course, this was a dream!
I wasn't so sure about that anymore.
"Okay," I said, feeling like I was about to cry. "I'll go talk to Tim Cook."
"Tom Nook," she corrected me. "Good luck, hun!"
And I walked out the door.
The summer air wrapped around me, filling me with its warmth -- but not for long, as coldness spread through me as I remembered the face in the sky. Had she sent me here? Why had she? Had I done something? Unanswered questions floated through my head and I felt like sinking to the ground in despair.
I supposed I had better find this "Tom Nook" person -- at least, I hoped he was a person. You don't know how disconcerting it is to find a duck talking to you and expecting you to answer immediately. The thing was, Pelly didn't actually tell me where Tom Nook was. It would've been nice advice, I thought to myself.
Hopelessness filled me and a tear rolled down my cheek.
Speaking of Computerfan's Competition, here, it would be greatly appreciated if you would enter or follow it. If you'd like to enter, simply create or enter an existing story that you have written on this forum (fanfic, original, or another fandom) and look for instructions on the first page of his thread. If you'd like to follow, wait for the competition to begin and Computerfan will post directions. Thanks! (:
In the course of about ten minutes, I learned a few things. One of them was that this town, or wherever I was, was absolutely huge. The next was that it was taken care of, but only slightly; the grass was fading in some areas and flowers were scattered about, some of them not even watered. The third, and final one was that wandering would not get me anywhere.
I had decided to go up the ramp and was immediately lost. There were no paths or signs. It was all just a big expanse of grass; there were no other people in sight. By this point, I would be glad to find even an animal as long as they could help me. Looking around, however, it was all just grass.
I decided to continue going straight forward to see exactly how long it took to get to the edge of the town; maybe I could escape, maybe ask someone how to get back to Sunset County, where there weren't any talking animals. It didn't take long for me to stumble upon a white-washed ramp. There was a sign at the very top of it, leaning against a silver safety fence. I looked around and climbed up the ramp to read the sign. Under it was a bright red button.
"Bus stop to The City. Press below if you'd like to go to The City."
The City? I wondered in my head. I had no idea what "The City" was and I wasn't ready to find out either. I hopped off the ramp and looked ahead of me again. I let out a gasp of surprise.
In front of me was a large area of pavement, leading to a building that looked quite like a garage, except it had a castle-like exterior. A small smile appeared on my face. Maybe this could lead me out of town. But before I could walk in...
"Ah, hello, yes, yes, you must be Cassie, hm?" a voice said. It sounded like a man with a slight accent; French, maybe?
I turned around and the sight that greeted me caused me to sputter, "Uh, no. I mean, yes, I'm Cassie."
It was a raccoon. Except, it didn't look like a raccoon -- it was various shades of brown instead of the traditional black and white that I was used to seeing. The animal had beady black eyes, a long nose, like a raccoon, and a greasy, dirty apron on that had a small green leaf on it.
"So what do you say?" he asked me, when I came out of my shocked trance.
"Sorry, what were you saying?" I asked apologetically, while my mind was on overdrive wondering how I could get out of my situation. If that face in the sky was trying to help me get Joshua back, I couldn't see how this was helping.
He let out an exaggerated sigh. "I was saying," he began, clearing his throat, "that since you're Cassie, then you must be coming to me to find a house, hm? Therefore, you need to pay off that house so that you can live in this town. We have four empty houses here in town, so I'd like you to follow me so that you can find the one that suits your fancy, no? The house will cost about twenty thousand Bells, so to get a head-start on your loan, I suggested that you could come work for me. It's like killing two birds with one stone, hm?"
"I-I'd love to, but--" I stammered.
"Great! After you pick out your house, I will lead you to my shop so that you can begin immediately! Wonderful! Follow me, hm?" He set out with a brisk speed so that I had to rush to catch up.
"Wait! Mr. Nook, sir," I said, finally to his side, "I'm not supposed to be here. I was transported here from a face in the sky... I know it sounds unbelievable, but I need you to listen!" My voice was frantic, like a dove trapped in a cage.
He stared at me for a moment and then burst out laughing. "Oh, Cassie. Such great jokes -- you'll make a great staff member to me. A little unconventional, yes, but funny nonetheless, no?" He chuckled.
"I'm not joking!" I shouted shrilly, making him stop in his tracks. "I come from Sunset County, not this weird animal-filled town! I should be with my mother and father right now!"
"Cassie, what are you talking about? Sunset County was destroyed years ago," he said, all traces of good humor gone.
"What do you mean, destroyed?" I asked, my voice still high-pitched but quiet.
"It's... no matter for me to discuss. You must still be in shock from living on your own, hm? Now please, follow me with no interruptions."
I felt sick with worry and fear. Sunset County, destroyed years ago? How? I had just been there yesterday! I think I'd know if my own area was ruined.
We came to a small white house, with a roof with red shingles, a nice white picket fence surrounding it, a small, bright red mailbox, and a wooden door.
"We're here, Cassie, if you just go inside tell me if you like it, no?" Tom Nook chuckled, pushing me inside.
The inside was so amazingly tiny that I barely had any room to walk. The walls were stone-white and had bricks at the bottom, as if the builders had given up on the wall. The floor was creaky and the same wood as the door. In the back of the room was an unlit candle atop a cardboard box and an old tape deck that was covered in dust. A flight of stairs led to the attic.
"Here, let's go up into the attic," Tom Nook said with a worried laugh.
I walked up the stairs, creaky and dangerous as they were, and found one small bed with red covers and a dirty pillow, and next to it on another cardboard box was an old-fashioned telephone.
"It's a bit small, but it'll work, hm?" my companion asked me.
"Small? It's--"
"Great!" he said, cutting me off. "And since you're close to my shop, it won't take long at all to get there! Let's go!"
And with that he set off outside, me hurrying to catch up. After half a day here, I now had a house and a job. What more could go wrong?Thank you, Lynkie. (:
Here is Chapter Two, my audition results should be revealed soon in Computerfan's Competition. c:
Thank you. That means a lot to me. (: Seeing how Computerfan has been great on posting audition results and the judges are very speedy (if any of you are reading this, great job!), my results should be posted tomorrow morning. c;
We arrived at the shop no more than five minutes later; he was right, I was suspiciously close to his shop. I brushed it off with a sigh and looked over the building in front of me.
It was more like a shack, to be honest. It was made of wood and it looked very small on the outside. I couldn't imagine how much walking room was inside; probably about as much as my house. It looked as if it were falling into disrepair; the sign above the door said "Nook's Cranny" in bright red letters, written on poster board with a marker. It was crooked and I guessed it would fall off if it weren't fixed. I could just barely make out a small leaf in the corner.
"It may not look like much on the outside, but take a look on the inside, hm?" Nook said finally, opening the door with a flourish. The creaky hinges made me wince.
I walked in, following him, and my first thought was that it was a joke. This was not a shop. A spiderweb, complete with small brown spider, was in the corner, swaying slightly from the wind we had brought in. Shelves lined the back of the shack, and items were occupying every space on them. From what I could see, there was wallpaper, carpet, and stationary. Directly in front of me was a wooden table, which held a shovel, which looked used, and a bug-catching net. There was also a small blue bag of something; the label looked as if it said "medicine." To the left of me was a white table with golden trimming, a red dining chair, and a brown wardrobe.
"It's..." I trailed off, not knowing how to describe the shop without hurting his feelings; it was a bit of a selfish desire, as I thought maybe if I annoyed him he would overwork me.
"It may be small, but it works, hm?" Nook said vaguely, bustling about, setting things up for opening. I don't think he realized he practically repeated what he had said about my house.
"What do you want me to do?" I asked, with the air of someone who had been defeated. I wanted to know about the so-called destruction of Sunset County, and maybe he would tell me if I was a good worker.
"Start with changing into your work uniform," he said, tossing a dress at me. I looked at it disdainfully; it was dusty and looked as if it had been in the shop for years. The dress was blue and had a small leaf on it, identical to the one on his apron, and, now that I think about it, the one on the sign outdoors.
"Where's the dressing room...?" I asked, stopping at the look on his face.
"We don't have one," he said, and I swore I saw a glint in his devilish little eyes.
"Then where am I supposed to change?" I cried out. As if in response, Nook turned around and covered his eyes.
As quickly as I could I ripped off my jeans and tee and replaced them with the dirty dress. I shuddered at the feel of it on my skin; it felt greasy. I coughed at the cloud of dust that arose from it.
"I'm done," I choked out.
"Good! Your first task," he said, getting right into boss mode, "is to meet all of your neighbors! You'll need a map, I think I have one somewhere..." his eyes swept the shop and landed on what I had thought was stationary in the back of the shop. "Here we go." He handed me the paper and I unfolded it.
It was a faded map, full of marks and arrows leading to and from different places. Things were labeled in small print; it reminded me somewhat of the bottom of a contract and I felt a sudden urge to start crying. I managed not to and instead refolded the map and placed it in a convenient pocket of the dress (though not in a convenient spot, if you know what I mean).
"Thanks," I said quietly. "I'll go, um, meet the neighbors." I hurriedly rushed out of the shop and let out a sigh. From what I had seen in this town so far, I was guessing my neighbors were animals. There was a small part of me that believed that my neighbors were humans, but I squashed the hope and took out my map.
From where I was, Nook's Shop, the nearest house was to the east. I didn't know how long it would take, so I began to walk, staring at the map as I went. I was so busy looking down that I didn't see what was right in front of me. I bumped into a neighbor.
My heart sank as I looked up. Standing in front of me was a bear. A pink bear, to be exact. He was glaring at me with small black eyes. His muzzle was a lighter pink than the rest of him, and his paws, all four of them, were also a lighter pink. Blonde fuzz was atop his hair. He was wearing a yellow shirt with black stripes that reminded me of zebra print.
"I-I'm so sorry," I stuttered. "I didn't see you. Nook told me to meet the neighbors so I went to the nearest house..."
He sighed, and I was glad to see that his glare had gone away. "Ol' Nook, huh? Good luck. My name's Vladimir. You must be the new resident here. Cassie, right?"
"Actually, it's Cassandra," I said nervously.
He frowned and shrugged. "I'll stick with Cassie."
"How do you know my name?" I asked him, suddenly fearful again. It's disconcerting to see a big, pink, stuffed bear talking to you.
"We had a meeting before you got here about your arrival. We were told to be nice to you, et cetera, et cetera."
"Oh," I said finally. "Well, it was nice meeting you. Have a great day. Bye." I dashed off blindly, just trying to get away from all this craziness that suddenly surrounded me.
Very nice so far! I'm really enjoying the realistic twist you're giving it. The only thing I might suggest is longer chapters for the competition; but most everything else looks fine. c: Hope you do well!
I found myself in a grassy grove, surrounded by many tall fruit trees. The air was eerily still, and I looked around with a hint of fear tugging at me. For some reason, I felt as if the fattened fruit on the trees could be dangerous. I didn't know what else was making me uneasy; there was something, and I couldn't tell what. Before I felt too sick to move, I backed away from the strange grove and bumped into one of the fruit trees.
Three large, red apples fell from the tree, landing in a perfect line next to each other. I was strongly reminded of a movie I had seen when I was little -- Snow White, perhaps? These apples weren't a sour green though; they looked juicy and irresistibly delicious. My hand began to reach down for one...
...I stopped myself, confused at the sudden move. I had felt as if my brain were fogging up, and one of these apples could cure it. That was it, I was leaving this strange place. I ran in between two of the trees, which were growing surprisingly close to each other, and found myself, somehow, in the exact same place that I had been before; next to Vladimir's house. I shook my head like a dog to clear my thoughts; everything was fine.
I pulled my map out of my pocket again and unfolded it. I walked more cautiously this time, looking up every so often to make sure I didn't have another surprise encounter. I was nearing closer to the next house, out of the five here in this town. The house was small and plain, and the windows were dark. I sighed and looked at the door. Sure enough, there was a yellow sticky note posted on the wooden door.[bq]Went out for a while. Be back soon. - Lucky"I had reached Lucky's house. Who Lucky was, I had no idea in the least. However, I was pretty sure he was an animal, which wasn't exactly my first preference of a neighbor, if anybody could tell.
By this time, if I didn't have my map, I would be completely lost. I felt as if I were in the middle of no where. I glanced around to make sure Lucky wasn't nearby, then continued on my way to the next house. I could just make out the tiny print reading "Tiffany" above the small house icon.
After a right turn, then going straight for quite some time, I found myself staring at a pink house with black trim and a black door. The curtains were drawn, but smoke was coming out of the chimney on top of the roof. I knocked on the door hesitantly.
Shortly after, the door was opened by a white paw and a bunny stared back at me. She had white fur, but her paws and ears were a bright pink, and the tips of her ears were a light brown. Multi-toned brown hair sat atop her head. Her eyebrows were a light brown, and very thin. It seemed as if she were wearing makeup; lavender eyeshadow, red blush, and bright red lipstick. A black and white spiderweb themed dress and fishnet stockings completed the gothic look.
"Can I help you?" Tiffany asked me, staring at me disdainfully.
"Hi," I said timidly. It's not everyday you get to meet a talking bunny; or a talking teddy bear, for that matter. "I'm Cassie, and--"
"I know," Tiffany cut me off. "Everybody knows."
"Oh," I said, without confidence. "I-I see."
"So anyways; can I help you?" she repeated. "Because if not, I'm busy getting ready for the day."
I decided not to mention that it was past noon and that she looked overly ready anyways. I had a feeling that wouldn't go over well. "Um, no," I managed to say. "Nice meeting you."
"Yeah, whatever," she said, closing the door without saying goodbye.
Gosh, I thought to myself, staring at the closed door. I put it out of my head and decided to meet the next two people. Two houses later, I had met a peppy, orange furred cat with unfortunate facial features named Tabby, and a nice, cream colored dog named Daisy. So far, Daisy was my favorite, probably because she didn't yell in my face or anything like that. I still hadn't found Lucky, and the three o'clock bell had rang.
I had just decided to tell Nook that I couldn't find Lucky when Lucky suddenly appeared in front of me. He looked like a mummy, wrapped in bandages. Only a black mouth and glowing yellow eye weren't covered. He was holding a bag of chips; my stomach growled as I realized I hadn't eaten all day. "Hi."
"You must be Cassie!" he exclaimed, before stuffing chips in his mouth. "I'm Lucky."
"Nice to meet you," I said faintly. It's not that I was really scared anymore, now that I had met so many animals today, but more that I was tired of talking to people. Before this whole mess had happened, I wasn't really a social person and enjoyed my own individual company better than groups of friends surrounding me. This was probably why I could never be popular.
He seemed to have noticed my haggard look, for he asked me, "Would you like some chips?"
I blinked at him a couple times, surprised at his generosity. "Yes, please."
He grabbed a handful and poured them into my open hands. Forgetting about manners, I stuffed them in my mouth, similar to what he had been doing. When I saw him staring at me, my face flushed red. "Sorry, I'm just really hungry..."
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't worry, I don't care. Nice meeting you."
"You too," I told him sincerely. It seemed that dogs were the nicest villagers here -- which was ironic, because they always say that dogs are a man's best friend.
We went our separate ways, the sharp pangs of hunger dulled, but not completely gone. I found my way back to Nook's with ease, now that I wasn't dizzy from starvation. Walking in, I coughed again as the dust coating everything rose up and fell back down again.
"Ah, Cassie!" Nook said, hurrying over to me. "So, I take it you met all the villagers?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"There is one more person I'd like you to meet," Nook said.
"A person?" I asked excitedly.
He winced. "Wrong word choice. I meant an animal; the mayor. She should be here soon."
I sighed in defeat. "Great. That's great." My tone was flat and I don't think anybody would have believed it for a second. I was hungry and tired by this point, and all I wanted to do was go home, back to Sunset County.
After a couple minutes of waiting, Nook started to become anxious. I could tell because he kept arranging and rearranging things, over and over again. Finally, the door opened and in stepped a yellow paw; quite melodramatic, I thought. Slowly, slowly, the whole body emerged, and when I saw it, I gasped loudly.
It was another dog, though not like the ones I had seen; this one was a Shih Tzu. Her head was a light yellow, except for her white muzzle and golden ears and ponytail. She did have something that resembled bangs. Her tail was light yellow with a white tip. She was clothed with a white shirt under a green plaid vest, and a denim skirt. In her paws were a clipboard and a pen.
But the thing that made me gasp was much more surprising than that. When she turned to look at me, I swear, I saw a murderous glint in her sparkling black eyes.
"This is Isabelle."Thank you, everybody who has commented. I love reading your comments! (:
Posted:
6/26/2013 10:44am
Edited: 1
