Chapter 1: The Place
Ring ring! Ring ring!
Ben reached over and grabbed his cellphone. He had been called fifteen times in the past seven minutes. He opened it up to see who had called that time. It was his father.
Ben shut it off.
The road stretched as far as Ben could see, with nothing but grassy fields on both sides. It was a very peaceful ride compared to what he was used to in the city. Nothing but buildings and little children screaming. Ben had even shut off the radio so as to experience the golden silence.
Things were already going the way Ben wanted. All his belongings were in the trunk of his car, and he had a tank two-thirds full of gas. He had already traversed through two states and wasn't stopping for awhile.
After hours of nothing, a sign appeared on the side of the road. It read:
VERONICA HEIGHTS
4 MILES
That's sounds like a peaceful place to stop, Ben thought.
As he neared the little city, Ben could see that it was a very rich looking community. The houses that lined the sides of the street were of utmost beauty, each with gardens and lawns to match. The deeper Ben got, Veronica Heights got more urban, but the beauty did not diminish. Many fascinating skyscrapers and corporate buildings crowded together block after block, all of architectural grandeur.
Ben was amazed he had never heard of or seen this city on a map. It seemed like the perfect place for Ben to start anew. A place for Ben to let go of all the harmful memories of Dewitt. He thought it to be only a dream.
A small little park came into Ben's view. Kids and adults of all ages were there, doing many various activities. Ben parked his car and got out. He decided to take a stroll. The path he walked on was of cobblestone, lined by various flowers of bright oranges and purples. Ben soon approached a fountain. In the fountain were a variety of fish. Ben easily picked one out as a koi. For the fun of it, he reached his hand in quickly and snatched it out of the water. It had glimmering orange and black scales covering its body. Ben lazily slipped it back.
The path continued to an area with benches. All of the benches were vacant. Ben sat down on one. He gazed over at some little boy throwing a frisbee with a friend. He was enjoying himself so much. Ben got a little jealous.
As Ben stood up, he saw some more children clustered together. He went over to investigate. They were all surrounding a well. There was a little plaque on the ground next to it. It said that the well is actually the " Veronica Heights Wishing Well" followed by some cheesy story as to why it was. Ben grabbed a penny in his pocket.
" I wish I could fly," he said as he flipped in the well. Ben watched as it flopped into what little water was in it and sank to the concrete slab at the bottom. Ben jumped, only to fall back down.
" Of course it's fake," said Ben. He was then followed by some of the younger children whimpering.
Ben stood by the well until the rest of the children left. When they all did, Ben reached into his pocket again and grabbed a nickel.
" Take me somewhere I can live in peace," Ben silently said in a serious tone, " the farthest away from Dewitt I can get." He flipped the nickel in, then craned his neck up. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue. It was very peaceful. Maybe my wish already came true, Ben thought. Maybe I should stay here in- Ben suddenly realized he had never heard the nickel hit the water.
He peered into the well. Nothing was in it. Nothing at all. The water and the concrete slab had disappeared. There was now a gaping hole in their place.
Ben couldn't believe it. He rubbed his eyes and looked down into the well again. Gaping hole, still there. It's probably some illusion, he thought as he got a closer look, but as he leaned forward he lost his balance and fell.
He fell right into the well, the nothingness that went forever. He let out a shriek he had never heard himself make before. Ben heard people outside the well screaming, too. That was the last thing he remembered before he smacked his head against the wall of the well. Ben fell unconscious, and fell, fell, fell.
Ben let out a cough. He felt water dribble down his shirt. He reluctantly opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but he could see he was surrounded by people. They probably fished me out of the well, he thought. Rubbing his eyes, he stood up and stretched a little.
" Don't rush yourself, boy," Ben heard someone say. He looked up. That someone was an owl.
Ben felt a wave of shock crawl through his body. He surveyed everyone else. There was also a raccoon, a pelican, a bear, a monkey, and a hedgehog.
" You've got a pretty nasty goose egg on your head," the owl continued. " I'm surprised you're jolly well standing after that."
" How did you get here?" the pelican asked, " There's no way you could've flown here."
" Here? Where is here?" Ben was really puzzled. First, he was in some foreign town, maybe world. Second, there were animals talking. He then remembered when he had fallen into the well back at Veronica Heights.
" Uh, here is Moonhill," the bear said. As if it wasn't weird enough talking, the bear had green fur. Ben was really confused.
" I'll explain everything to you later," the raccoon answered. He motioned for Ben to get up.
" May I ask who you are, though?" Ben started following him.
" Oh, ho! My name is Tom Nook."
Tom Nook, thought Ben. Crazy little world this is...