Young Michael looked around his backyard, it was a warm day in early summer. The herbs his mother grew to make her teas were just starting to grow up from the soil. As well as the cherry-tomatoes he had been allowed to help plant. The open gate had vines growing on it.
This was one of the first times it had been left open, so filled with curiosity Michael ran over to the gate and looked out at the dirt and grass covered path leading away from his home and up to the cobbled main street. He could see his next door neighbour walking their family pet who his brother let him play with a few times.
A sudden meow from a passing tabby caught the boy's attention. His brother loved cats, maybe he could catch it for him. Michael started to follow the feline down the cobbled street, though slowly because this was the first time out on his own.
The cat suddenly darted down a narrow dirt path covered with tangled weeds and vines. Michael hesitated before continuing to follow the cat, it was hard to see down the darker path but when he did, it didn't seem that bad at first. If it was this narrow he might be able to catch the cat. However when he saw the large beginnings of a forest he really wished his brother or sister was with him, it was intimidating.
Taking a deep breath, Michael ran a little to catch up with the cat. The forest trees were huge and went up for what looked like miles to the small child though still being able to see daylight coming in from the top made him feel a little better. Nervously walking after the tabby he tried to not touch anything remembering horror stories his sister told him. After what seemed like hours the trees finally seemed to have an end ahead of him.
Following the cat out of the forest Michael found himself in an open field. The type of field his older siblings sometimes played games with him in, though this one was different. It was larger and with higher grass. The cat he had been following darted up to the two story white house that had a smell of pie coming from it. The smell was calming and reminded Michael that he hadn't had breakfast yet.
The cat ran through an open flap on the bottom of the large front door. Michael walked slowly up to the house after crossing the field and stared up at the door. The flap was too small to crawl through but he still wanted to find the cat so he looked around the door itself. It was painted a dark red and had what looked to be a rose carved into it. Though other than the locked large handle there was no other way to open the door.
Not being able to find any other way into the house, Michael looked around before spotting an old skeleton key on the ground. Picking it up, Michael first thought maybe he shouldn't go into the house. It wasn't his, but there was something drawing him in with curiosity. Maybe just a peek wouldn't hurt. Pushing the key into the lock and turning it until he heard the mechanical click of the door being unlocked, the door swung open with a quiet creak.
Inside Michael couldn't understand what he was seeing because it didn't make sense, but at the same time his earlier nervousness had been forgotten, as well as the cat. There was candy everywhere filling the room with sweet, sour, and pepper-minty aromas. There weren't any lights in the house, that could be seen, and yet it wasn't dark for some reason. There was a river of pink water flowing through one of the rooms and Michael was reminded of a bedtime story his mother told him one night as it splashed around tables and chairs.
Excited now, Michael ran inside to explore as much as he could so he could tell his family that the house from Mother's bedtime story was real and close to home. Maybe they could all come back together some time. Taking a seat next to the pink river, the cat came back up and Michael started to pet it while imagining how fun it will be with the rest of his family there too.
