"Okay, Agnes," she told herself, "you've gotten this far!"
She smiled. Halfway to the castle already! Agnes wasn't quite sure what time it was, but surely she had enough to get to the Castle Beyond the Goblin City and back home in time for tea. So far, the Goblin King's labyrinth had been quite the puzzler, but then, Agnes had always been good with puzzles and had good luck with guessing games. At home, it had been quite the useless talent; now, in this strange world beneath the ground, it was fun. There was a challenge--a time limit, numerous death-defying tasks, an ever-changing landscape--that Agnes appreciated very much. The King had style. Even if she didn't get there in time, the chase was fun. Probably more so than what awaited her at the end.
A sudden thought came into her mind.
Why do I have to do this, anyway? she wondered. Oh yeah. I'll get grounded if Mom comes home and I'm the only one there. The Goblin King had stolen away her sister, Evelyn--a shrieking, whining little brat who seemed to live to make Agnes miserable--wrecking her room, messing up her carefully-preserved jigsaw puzzles and meticulously-crafted homemade games, mocking her dreams... Which was unforgivable. I wonder if a deal could be worked out with Jareth. "Keep the little whiner and I'll scrub your floors for you." Agnes shook her head and resumed walking. No, I can't do that. Mom would worry even more if both of us were gone.
She carried on, through thick forest and a very nasty-smelling swamp. Was it her? The labyrinth seemed to be getting easier. At least, there weren't any more twists and turns. Only new worlds and landscapes. Hmph. Agnes was bored now. "Where's the challenge, Jareth?" she called out to the still, humid air of the foul-smelling swamp. The bog below blurbled in response.
On and on she walked, on a well-beaten path through the forest that bordered the bog. She wondered how many people had gone before her, and if anybody had croaked while here. What happened to people who failed the test? All the lonely people, where do they all belong? How did a random Beatles lyric get into her mind? Agnes laughed aloud and shuffled on, right into a deep hole in the ground that had been covered with some leaves and sticks. She yelped in surprise as she fell through the dim sky into the new corner of the world that was absolutely covered in junk and debris and an occasional little fire.
It was an empty part of the world. Emptier than the rest of the labyrinth. At least in the bog, the woods, and the maze, there had been the feeling that someone was watching at all times; curious little munchkins, perhaps, or the cold gaze of Jareth himself. But here, Agnes was completely alone. The wind howled and shrieked as it blew through the massive piles of junk. Wait, she thought, this isn't junk! She picked up a yellowed, dog-eared book titled The Bunny's Daisy Garden. It had been her favorite when she was little--the cute little poems had made her laugh so much. She smiled and ran her finger across the first page. "Billy the Bunny bumped his nose, and that took the balance off his toes." Okay, the poems were terrible, looking back, but the girl still felt warm nostalgia bubbling within. She glanced around to see if there were any other treasures that she might take with her. Reb! It had been years since she had seen the stuffed black lamb that now lay at her feet, looking abandoned. She smiled, remembering wonderful days that they had spent together when she was smaller. Hiking through the woods, reading The Bunny's Daisy Garden together in their tent in the backyard, frightening away the monsters from the top dresser drawer at night... How had Reb gotten here, to this land of the forgotten? Agnes didn't quite remember. She had never wanted to leave him, though.
My old joke books! The soldier doll, wow, I forgot about him! He was my first boyfriend, she giggled as she picked him up and hugged him close. He had been named Tim, a Christmas present from the drugstore that once stood on the corner (now a McDonald's). She had wanted him, but never had enough money to get him... but then Christmas came along and he had been waiting for her on the couch in the den, hand fixed into a salute with a safety pin.
Her entire life was there, she realized; her happiness, the things that she loved the most in all the world, surrounded her now. She didn't want to let them go. Not now, not ever. Discarded joke books, coloring books, crayons, stuffed toys, little-kid games, Chipmunks records... The things that her parents had forced her to give up were here. She had never wanted them to go away. All that she truly valued was quickly being piled into her arms. She was happy to be reunited with him, and was grateful to... who, now? In her haze of warm nostalgia, she had quite forgotten what she was there for. Maybe she was there to find her things and keep an eye on this little world of the lost and the lonely. Yes, that sounded about right. That must have been it.
She smiled and patted Reb on the head. "Let's go find our other friends, Rebby. I bet Cotton and Fluffy and Eggo are her somewhere. You miss them, don't you? They were your family, after all."
Agnes shifted her armload of memories and walked on through the wasteland, careful not to step on anything. Perhaps someone else would come to claim what they had loved in their lives; she didn't want to break anybody else's memories beneath her feet.
So many memories to find, so little time.