Oz: Reinvented
By Abby Evans
"No, no, no!" Isabelle put that down! You're gunna-" smash! "break it..." There goes Grandma's antique vase. I sighed heavily and started to clean up the broken pieces of the priceless vase. Isabelle just stood next to me, twirling her blonde ringlet and focusing her big blue eyes on what I was doing. They were full of tears, about to burst.
"Isabelle-" I said, picking her up, "I'm not mad, really. You didn't mean to break it," her eyes brightened and her smile grew wide. She threw her small arms around me and I carried her down to the kitchen were some of the other foster kids were having a snack.
"Hey, Emma," my mother said, peaking her head out from the refrigerator door.
"Hey, Mom," I said, grabbing an apple juice bottle from the kitchen counter.
"Listen," she said in a hushed tone, "I heard on the news that there was supposed to be a bad thunderstorm tonight, and they're saying there's a big possibility for a tornado. I just wanted you to know that me and your father are gunna be on alert to get the kids into the safety shelter outside-you know, the underground one by the shed-and I want to make sure you know to get Oliver and any stragglers that me and your father didn't happen to catch-I don't think that will happen but you never know."
"Yeah, Mom, I got it," I replied, nodding.
"Got what?" Jason-my 11 year-old real brother asked groggily, scratching his head. (By real I mean that he's my blood brother, and that we're the only actual children from my parents. My mom wanted more kids but couldn't after Jason's birth due to problems…down there.)
"Nothing, never mind," my mother said, tossing Jason an apple juice. He took it happily, chugged it, belched, and went back to his cave of a room. I rolled my eyes and left the room.
Throughout the day we did our usual chores. Clean the house, feed the horses, feed the other animals-er, I mean foster kids, and fold the clothes. Once all of this is done, everyone usually winds down to read, get on the Internet, or simply watch TV.
I picked up Oliver-my orange tabby cat-and plopped down on my bed to watch TV. I started flipping around and saw that nothing was on TV, it was mainly just news reports talking about the upcoming storm. Boring. I turned off the TV and started petting Oliver.
Suddenly there was a large clap of thunder echoing through the house. Oliver, being the skittish cat he is, jumped from my arms and under my bed, leaving behind a large scratch running along my forearm. I winced and pain and went to go clean the gash.
Just as I put the bandage, well, several bandages on my arm I heard another, louder clap of thunder from outside, followed by the sound of whooshing winds. I went into my room to look outside, only to find my first sight being Oliver, huddled up under my blankets. I rolled my eyes and smiled, taking him in my arms and went to go look out of the window.
When I opened the curtains I saw that outside there was a twirling tornado heading straight towards my house. And fast. My eyes widened and quickly dashed for the exit, but being the klutz I am and the room spinning, I fell onto the floor and hit my head.
After I woke up I instinctively put my hand to my forehead and slowly got up. I had to find my family and to see the damage, so I got up and made my way to the front door. When I opened it, I wasn't prepared at all for what I was about to see.
There was a rainbow of colors spread throughout my view. Flower that reached the sky. Cute little cottages surrounding the winding yellow road and giggles coming from the bushes.
"What the-" I said, almost dropping Oliver, but he jumped from my grasp anyway. "Oliver-" I said, starting after him only to be interrupted.
"Welcome, stranger! You are welcomed into our town with open arms, hero!" Hero? I thought and looked around. I saw that there was a pair of feet with green and black stripped stockings and a pair of sparkly red Converse. Odd fashion. "The Wicked Hag-er, Witch," she giggled, "Is dead! Praise Oz!" The giggles from the bushed turned into small, children-like people wearing silly outfits and rosy cheeks. The came out dancing and singing in a language I couldn't indentify. They all surrounded me and I heard Oliver's nervous meows below me.
"What's going on? I didn't mean to kill anyone!" I yelled over the singing of the munchkin people. "I just want to go back home!" I told the lady who seemed like the mayor…princess of this place. But instead of answering me she gasped and pointed excitedly at my feet. I gave her a confused look and looked down myself. When I looked down I saw that my black knock-off Converse had been replaced by those sparkly red Converse that the witch that was under my house was wearing. "What? How'd this happen?" but before answering me, there was a loud boom and smoke was coming from the sky.
"The witch! Her sister!" I heard several munchkins cry. They all scrambled around screaming and ducking for cover. I looked up to see a green skinned woman fly down from the sky on a ratty broomstick. How cliché.
"Elphaba, darling! What brings you to these parts?" the princess asked.
"Galinda, this does not involve you," Elphaba said, landing harshly on the ground in front of us. "This involves her-" Elphaba pointed to the stockinged feet being squished by my house, "and her-" she said, pointing to me. "Give me those shoes and no one gets hurt. Mind you, I will turn them into a nice handbag or something," she started to grab my new, replaced shoes only to be shocked harshly. "Ow!" she shrieked, squirming back.
"Those shoes belong to her now, old friend," Galinda said "You cannot take them from her."
"Whatever, Galinda, I know exactly how to get those shoes," Elphaba grinned mischievously and sailed away on her broomstick back into the dark clouds were she came from.
"You must go, immediately! Go and see the Wizard, for he will return you home! Go!" She shooed me off down the yellow road, Oliver trailing behind.
"Go away, demons! Get back!" I heard farther away down the yellow road. I peered around some of the corn stalks to see what all of the commotion was about. "Retched crows…" the voice said under it's breath, but loud enough for me to hear.
I came upon a creature that appeared like it would be in a Tim Burton movie. It had a burlap sack face with two button eyes and a gash that was its mouth, straw seeping out from it. It turned around cautiously around and started to scan the horizon.
"Who goes there?" It said, putting a hand over its eyes to block the sun away from them.
I coughed gently and stood up.
"Uh, I was just passing by," I said shakily. The thing looked like a monster.
"Well hello there!" It boomed with a surprisingly friendly tone in its voice. It smiled and offered a hand out towards me. I shook it nervously and he laughed. "What was a little girl like you looming in these parts, anyway?" he asked.
"I-I was just going to see the, uh, Wizard. Galinda said that he could take me home."
"The Wizard!" the scarecrow exclaimed, his button eyes seemed to light up with excitement. "He's just the person that I need to see! Well, I," his face seemed to get red, if possible. But hey, nothing in this world was possible so I just shook it off. "I need a new brain to be perfectly honest with you. Not nessacarily a new brain, I just need one in the first place."
"Oh, uh, okay," I said carefully "I guess I'll take you. We need to hurry, though," I said and we rushed out of the corn field and onto the road, continuing our journey to the Wizard.
We approached a stretch of woods a few miles away from where I met the scarecrow. It was dark on the inside, but we could see a large object that was gleaming like metal, but in the silhouette of a person.
"What do you suppose that is?" Scarecrow asked, peering inside of the forest.
"I don't know, but I don't wanna find out," I said, stepping towards the side and onto the path.
"How bizarre, I would have sworn that it was there a second ago," the scarecrow pondered.
"Hm?" I asked, focused on Scarecrow's face.
"The shiny object far in the woods, it's gone now," he repeated.
"What do you mean it's gone? It was just there three seconds ago!" I started to look in the woods, finding out that Scarecrow was right, the polished hunk of metal was indeed gone from the woods.
Just then we heard rustling in the bushes on the edge of the woods. We turned to see what was happening-which I figured was just Oliver catching a mouse or something-but it happened to be the shiny object from the woods, which was, indeed, a man like thing. It was shiny and had the appearance of a robot.
"Halt, trespassers! You may not pass by this piece of land, for it belongs to the Witch of the West!" It said monotonous.
"The Witch, of course. It had to be the Witch," I mumbled under my breath.
"We are just travelers!" The scarecrow exclaimed "We need to see the Wizard and this is the only way for miles upon miles!"
"The Wizard…?" The robot seemed to look hopeful.
"Do you want to come with us?" Scarecrow asked.
"Well, yes. Yes I do! You see, kidnapping and shooing people away night and day really takes a toll on your emotions. You become mean and bitter all of the time, and without a heart it's even worse. So I'm going to ask for a heart," the tin-man said with his head held high.
"That's touching! I'm asking for a brain, and Emma here wants to go home, for she was transported here by her house!" scarecrow rambled.
"Oh, yes, I have heard of you! The Witch seems to be quite upset that you killed her sister. Yes it was her sister and all, but she feels that those shoes were hers. They have power, you see," the tin-man nodded.
"Perfect! We need a man on the inside," Scarecrow winked.
"Enough talking, guys, we need to get moving. I really want to go home and I really don't want to face the Witch," I said, pushing them along the path and we went on our way.
"Ahhhh!" the scarecrow shrieked.
"What, what happened?" I asked frantically, rushing to his side.
"There, there!" The scarecrow pointed quickly to the bushes, nothing was there.
"Uh, what? There's nothing there," I said, patting his back. "Don't worry, you're probably just paranoid."
"No, no!" he exclaimed "there's something back there! In the jungle!" He took a shakey hand and pointed it towards the dark jungle where you couldn't even see anything.
"Well don't worry, if it's ran into the jungle and it probably won't-"
"ROAR!" said something in the jungle, and Oliver's back arched and he started to hiss violently. The bushes started to shake and ruffle and everyone started to back away from whatever was happening. A big ball of tan fluff sailed out from the bushes and a feline like human popped it's head up from it's fetal position. "Hu-hello," it said. The things voice sounded like it was congested.
"Uhh…" I said. "Who are you, exactly?"
"Well, I don't really have a name," said the beast. It reminded me of a more feline version of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast. "But I think I overheard something about a trip to the Wizard? And-and I was wondering if I could come along."
"But what would a big and scary…thing like you would want from the Wizard?" the Tin-Man asked.
"Well, the truth is," the lion stammered, "I get made fun of a lot for being so small."
"For being small? Please!" the scarecrow said. "You almost knocked the straw out of me!" The lion blushed and giggled.
"Sorry about that," he said, "But I need courage. I need courage to stand up to those mean bullies. You see, all of this fluff is mostly fat. I'm just all for looks for passing travelers, but the other lions know."
"Aw, you poor thing," the scarecrow consoled and went to comfort him.
"Hey, we can't just stop here, guys, we need to get going," the Tin-Man said and we went on our merry way.
The yard to the Wizard's oddly modern and office-like castle made all of my worries disappear. The sky was blue with perfect, white, cotton candy like clouds and the lawn was filled with rows of beautiful multicolored flowers.
"Breathtaking," scarecrow awed, holding a hand to his chest.
Getting in and checking in-yes, another odd modernization to add to the Wizard's "office"-was easy. The hard part was waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Apparently I chose the wrong day to crash into Oz because there were tons of people wanting to talk to the Wizard, too. Most had gifts and donations in their hands, which is why some of the people that came in after us probably got to go before us.
When we finally got to see the wizard, we scuttled to the open floor where a giant head on a large screen surrounded by smoke appeared.
"How may the Great Wizard of Oz help you?" the voice boomed. Lion shivered next to me and I grabbed his paw.
"We are here to ask for gifts," I started, and the Wizard gave me a look like I was crazy. "Let me finish, you may have heard that I have killed the Wicked Witch of the East; and I think me and my friends deserve a reward. I ask to go home," I finished.
"A heart for me," said the tin-man.
"Courage," Lion added.
"And a brain, good sir," finished Scarecrow.
"I have never given gifts to commoners," the Wizard turned up his nose for a second, and all of us sighed in dissapointment. "But, since you did kill one of those nasty witches, I shall give you, a hero, a reward. But! You have to bring me back the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West."
"What? That's impossible!'' Scarecrow whined, but it was too late, for the Wizard's large, projected face had already left the screen.
The Witch's house was dark and gloomy on the outside with dead trees and dead grass completing the cliché theme. Lion shivered next to me and I shushed him.
"This is where you come in," I told the tin-man.
"Here, I know a back way in," he gestured us to follow him to an even darker side of the castle to a small door in which the five of us (Oliver included) crawled through.
The inside of the castle was almost as bad and cliché as the outside. It was medieval themed, complete with stone walls and torches.
"I hope you weren't expecting rainbows and butterflies," the robot said, leading the way.
"I was," Lion mumbled, making me giggle and lightening the modd a bit.
"Shh, someone's coming," Tin-Man said. The loud clicking of footsteps grew even more louder each second.
"Ah-hah!" exclaimed the mysterious dweller in the hall, which just happened to be Elphaba. Out of all of the people to walk into…"Guards, take them! Take them to the dungeon! Except the girl. Take her to the tower," several men dressed in silly outfit came marching into the hall, grabbing everyone.
"Hey, let go of me!" Scarecrow screamed.
"Watch it!" I heard the tin-man say before being dragged off to who knows where.
The tower was almost empty except for the few cliché medieval décor on the walls. I sat against the wall, wishing more than anything that I was at my loud home.
The door swung open violently to reveal an angry Elphaba standing in the door way. She stormed over to me.
"So, you think you're so good and innocent, don't ya? Well you're not! You killed my sister! Those shoes, those shoes have amazing talents that I could use to do anything. They belong to me! I was supposed to get them! THEY'RE MINE!" Elphaba shrieked and charged at me. And I mean she went full out crazy on me. She wrung her green skinned hands around my neck and shook me frantically. I fought backt he best that I could, but she was pretty strong. She slammed me against the wall and then onto the cold floor hard enough to were I thought I bust my head open-which I probably had since it hurt like heck and I was getting weaker and more lightheaded each second.
I did my best to knee her in the stomach, but it only phased her a second. Just as I thought it was the end for me, the heavy wooden door slammed open a second time to reveal Scarecrow, the tin-man, and Lion in some of those silly guard uniforms, panting and sweating.
"You! Traitor!" she pointed at the tin-man, letting me go from her grasp. As she lost her grip and focus away from me, Oliver rushed in at the most perfect moment and attacked Elphaba's face, which was followed by several shrieks of pain.
"Huh!" the tin-man grunted as he pierced her with a long and beautiful sword in the back. Confusion rushed over me as Oliver got off of her face and padded over to me.
"No, no!" she cried. She attempted to pull the sword out from her back, but it only made her shriek more. Her black dress was getting a dark circle on both sides of her body, stained with blood. The area in which the sword was thrust into was starting to steam and hiss violently. She let out several more painful cries, and slumped to the floor, dead. My eyes widened and I stepped away from her immediately.
"Water laced sword," the tin-man pointed to an empty sword rack on the wall, using the blood-stained sword as a pointer. "It was made in the North by some elves. The same ones who made those shoes, I think." I'd forgotten about the shoes. I looked down and saw that they were still on my feet, also stained with blood. The three of them rushed towards me to help me up, but my body went limp and everything went black.
"Emma, Emma, hunny, wake up, please!" I heard my mother plead gently. I blinked my eyes open several times, trying to adjust my view. I saw that my whole family, foster siblings and all, were surrounding my bed, eyes swollen. "Oh, oh look! She's doing it! She's waking up!" my mother shrieked excitedly.
"What? What happened?" I asked, confused. Oliver got up from his 'nap' too and lay down on my chest. He seemed to look at me and winked his right eye. I blinked again, thinking about what had just happened only a few moments ago.
"There was a tornado. You hit your head and passed out. We found you later, laying on the floor. You got a mighty bruise on your noggin, but you're fine now," Mom said. My mind rushed. Scarecrow, Lion, the tin-man. They had to be real. They felt so real. I sighed, missing them already but knowing it was just a figure of my imagination and only a dream.
I scanned my room and saw that my closet door was open. On an once empty shoe rack, there sat a pair of red, sparkly pair of Converse. My eyes widened and I gasped.
"Looks like you need to get back to sleep, hunny. We'll leave you alone," my father said and scooted everyone out of the room and giving me a kiss on the forehead.
I was even more confused than before. I opened my hands to stretch them out, only to see that several pieces of straw had fell out of them. I smiled and started to cry. That night I dreamed of my friends from Oz, bringing the broom to the Wizard, getting their wishes, and living a happy life.