Young Kida smiled as her mother kissed her on the forehead while she
lay in bed. Pulling the bright yellow covers up to her noes Kida sighed
happily.
"Good night mom, good night dad" she whispered softly as her head sank down into the comfortable pink pillow that helped furnish her room.
Closing her eyes slightly she watched as both of her parents left the room, closing the door behind them. She listened carefully for several minutes until the familiar sounds of her parents talking quietly in the living room. Slowly she took out a rather large book from underneath her pillow. Rubbing her tiny hand over the soft emerald green velvet cover she read the golden italic words printed on the front Enchanted Forest. Carefully she opened the book and tucked a piece of her long hazel colored hair behind her ears before she began reading. Soft laughter filled the air as she read the first chapter of the book, becoming more and more transfixed in the novel. Quite a few hours passed by before a small yawn escaped her mouth. She gently lay the book on her mattress and soon fell into a light sleep.
Later that night she was awoken by the sound of rustling beside her. Opening her eyes slightly she let out a small cry at the image before her. It appeared as though light green vines had grown from the crease in the book. Baking up slowly she swung her legs over the bed. Yet, as she did this one of the vines shot out at her and grabbed her by the legs. She screamed as loud as she could while the plants pulled her closer and closer to the book. However, she had no time to see if her parents had entered her room, for the vines had pulled her inside the book, transporting her to another world.
***
Kida hit the soft rain forest floor with a light thud before she realized what had happened. Her eyes darted to the scenery around her and the sounds of tropical birds filled her ears. Looking around she couldn't help but feel frightened. For she was no longer within the safety of her bedroom. Instead she had been transported somehow to a area surrounded by several tall, violet colored trees. It was dark and bits and pieces of stars shone through the large leaves of each tree. She clutched her chest slightly and breathed in and out heavily. The moisture in the air made it twice as hard for her to breath. Her eyes darted to the emerald green colored book that lay beside her. She picked it up gingerly and held it with her left arm while she used her right to help her stand up. Brushing herself off lightly she started to walk towards a path that had been cut in the jumble of bushes. Odd. She thought to herself as she studied the area for a few more seconds. Her feet carried her forward while she flipped through the pages of the book, looking for any bit of information that might tell her what had happened. Her eyes continued to scan the pages when suddenly something caught her attention. Written in black ink that was still glistening was her own name along with what she was doing at that exact moment.
The small adolescent Kida continued to walk down the bush, not aware that something was following her.....
Kida quickly turned around and looked in both directions after reading this part in the book. A low growl from behind one of the bushes caused her to stop in her tracks. Trembling slightly she took another step towards the bush, careful to be as silent as she possibly could, for fear that the owner of the noise would suddenly leap out at her. When nothing happened she walked the last few feet towards the bush. Carefully she peered over the plant and let out a sudden shriek that slowly turned to a huh? out of curiosity. Crouching behind the bush was a purple fur ball, no bigger than the size of her fist. It had wide, piercing yellow eyes that stared into her light blue ones. Its fur was long and smooth and grew shorter as it reached its cat like tail. A cute button nose that was the color of pink suddenly started to sniff the air and slowly it crawled up to her and played with her cream colored pajama pant legs with its tiny orange paws. Kida couldn't help but think that the animal, or whatever it was, as being cute. So she cautiously bent down and scooped it up into her hands, the creature making no sound or movement of discontent at all.
"Hello there little fellow" she whispered to it while tickling its stomach gently with her finger.
In return it nipped her finger gingerly. Smiling, Kida continued to hold it in her right arm while she grasped the book with her left and turned around, continuing to walk in the direction she had came from. She glanced down at the little bundle in her arms after a few minutes and sighed before saying "I'I have never seen a animal like you before..."
The creature purred softly and closed its eyes, nestling its head into the softness of her arm. Kida continued, not caring that it had not understood a word of what she had said before.
"I want to take you back home with me...that is, if I can find home... I'm sure mother and father wont mind..." snores from the animal told her that she was only talking to herself, however she could really have cared less.
Cradling the animal with her one arm Kida sat down on the damp earth under the shadiness of a tree and propped the book open on her legs, looking once again at all of its contents. This time however the pages had filled with more words, retelling every detail of what she had done in the last hour. A few small tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as the thought of never being able to see her family again crept into her mind. She absentmindedly stroked the animal and thought out loud.
"Your going to need a name, I think I will call you, Kandour" the creature, now fully awake, yipped happily at the sound of the name.
Kida nodded her head happily and stood up, the book still in her other hand. She began to walk deeper and deeper into the forest, not aware of where she was going. Finally, after many miles of walking she spotted something unusual up ahead. It looked like the the dim image of a man sitting atop a large rock in the shape of a chair. Squinting her eyes so she could focus more, Kida continued to move closer and closer to the man, or whatever it was. Kandour began hissing softly and was now crawling back and forth on her shoulder, supporting himself with the balance of his tail. Suddenly her foot caught on a root that sent her entire body hurling forward into a hole while the book landed on the ground. She screamed while Kandour wrapped his paws around her neck and tug his claws into her shoulders. Kida continued to fall until she grabbed a loose root from the side of the hole. While holding on she turned her head and looked down into a pool of murky water, the faint outline of the back of a turquoise alligator swimming below. It emerged slowly from the water and snapped at her feet, Kida just barely lifted her legs up in time to dodge the yellow fangs.
"Help! Somebody help me!" she screamed while Kandour bore his sharp pointy teeth and the alligator warningly.
Just when she was about to give up a hand appeared over the edge of the hole, soon revealing that it belonged to an aging man. His face wrinkled with concern and his blue eyes shone magically. It was the shopkeeper that had sold her the book.
"Give me your hand" he spoke, while his gray hair blew in the breeze.
Kida gripped the root harder with her left hand while she extended her right towards his, the alligator snapping its jaw together madly. Finally their hands connected and he began pulling her up, which wasn't that hard considering her size. Kandour climbed up her arm and waited patiently at the top of the hole, his yellow eyes never leaving her gaze. She fell to the ground once she was completely out of the hole. Breathing in the moist grass while Kandour rubbed his head against hers, purring loudly.
"Are you all right?" the man asked.
Yet, Kida never heard this, because the moment she got out of the hole her eyelids had suddenly felt like led and she had fell asleep.
***
Kida awoke to the familiar sound of her mother calling her downstairs for breakfast. Opening her eyes she jumped as she realized that she was back in her room, the book laying open on her bed, just as she had left it. So it was just a dream, she thought to herself as she stared up at her ceiling. Sighing in relief she began to squirm out of bed, but just as she did this something caught her attention. On her bedside table was a small note. She peered at it curiously for a moment before lifting it up and reading it.
I told you that book was dangerous.....
She turned the note over, hoping that there was more, yet to her utter dismay there wasn't. I guess this means that it wasn't just a dream, Kida thought. Suddenly the sound of scurrying under her bed told her that she wasn't alone. Kneeling down to the ground she looked under her bed and smiled.
"Hello, Kandour..."
"Good night mom, good night dad" she whispered softly as her head sank down into the comfortable pink pillow that helped furnish her room.
Closing her eyes slightly she watched as both of her parents left the room, closing the door behind them. She listened carefully for several minutes until the familiar sounds of her parents talking quietly in the living room. Slowly she took out a rather large book from underneath her pillow. Rubbing her tiny hand over the soft emerald green velvet cover she read the golden italic words printed on the front Enchanted Forest. Carefully she opened the book and tucked a piece of her long hazel colored hair behind her ears before she began reading. Soft laughter filled the air as she read the first chapter of the book, becoming more and more transfixed in the novel. Quite a few hours passed by before a small yawn escaped her mouth. She gently lay the book on her mattress and soon fell into a light sleep.
Later that night she was awoken by the sound of rustling beside her. Opening her eyes slightly she let out a small cry at the image before her. It appeared as though light green vines had grown from the crease in the book. Baking up slowly she swung her legs over the bed. Yet, as she did this one of the vines shot out at her and grabbed her by the legs. She screamed as loud as she could while the plants pulled her closer and closer to the book. However, she had no time to see if her parents had entered her room, for the vines had pulled her inside the book, transporting her to another world.
***
Kida hit the soft rain forest floor with a light thud before she realized what had happened. Her eyes darted to the scenery around her and the sounds of tropical birds filled her ears. Looking around she couldn't help but feel frightened. For she was no longer within the safety of her bedroom. Instead she had been transported somehow to a area surrounded by several tall, violet colored trees. It was dark and bits and pieces of stars shone through the large leaves of each tree. She clutched her chest slightly and breathed in and out heavily. The moisture in the air made it twice as hard for her to breath. Her eyes darted to the emerald green colored book that lay beside her. She picked it up gingerly and held it with her left arm while she used her right to help her stand up. Brushing herself off lightly she started to walk towards a path that had been cut in the jumble of bushes. Odd. She thought to herself as she studied the area for a few more seconds. Her feet carried her forward while she flipped through the pages of the book, looking for any bit of information that might tell her what had happened. Her eyes continued to scan the pages when suddenly something caught her attention. Written in black ink that was still glistening was her own name along with what she was doing at that exact moment.
The small adolescent Kida continued to walk down the bush, not aware that something was following her.....
Kida quickly turned around and looked in both directions after reading this part in the book. A low growl from behind one of the bushes caused her to stop in her tracks. Trembling slightly she took another step towards the bush, careful to be as silent as she possibly could, for fear that the owner of the noise would suddenly leap out at her. When nothing happened she walked the last few feet towards the bush. Carefully she peered over the plant and let out a sudden shriek that slowly turned to a huh? out of curiosity. Crouching behind the bush was a purple fur ball, no bigger than the size of her fist. It had wide, piercing yellow eyes that stared into her light blue ones. Its fur was long and smooth and grew shorter as it reached its cat like tail. A cute button nose that was the color of pink suddenly started to sniff the air and slowly it crawled up to her and played with her cream colored pajama pant legs with its tiny orange paws. Kida couldn't help but think that the animal, or whatever it was, as being cute. So she cautiously bent down and scooped it up into her hands, the creature making no sound or movement of discontent at all.
"Hello there little fellow" she whispered to it while tickling its stomach gently with her finger.
In return it nipped her finger gingerly. Smiling, Kida continued to hold it in her right arm while she grasped the book with her left and turned around, continuing to walk in the direction she had came from. She glanced down at the little bundle in her arms after a few minutes and sighed before saying "I'I have never seen a animal like you before..."
The creature purred softly and closed its eyes, nestling its head into the softness of her arm. Kida continued, not caring that it had not understood a word of what she had said before.
"I want to take you back home with me...that is, if I can find home... I'm sure mother and father wont mind..." snores from the animal told her that she was only talking to herself, however she could really have cared less.
Cradling the animal with her one arm Kida sat down on the damp earth under the shadiness of a tree and propped the book open on her legs, looking once again at all of its contents. This time however the pages had filled with more words, retelling every detail of what she had done in the last hour. A few small tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as the thought of never being able to see her family again crept into her mind. She absentmindedly stroked the animal and thought out loud.
"Your going to need a name, I think I will call you, Kandour" the creature, now fully awake, yipped happily at the sound of the name.
Kida nodded her head happily and stood up, the book still in her other hand. She began to walk deeper and deeper into the forest, not aware of where she was going. Finally, after many miles of walking she spotted something unusual up ahead. It looked like the the dim image of a man sitting atop a large rock in the shape of a chair. Squinting her eyes so she could focus more, Kida continued to move closer and closer to the man, or whatever it was. Kandour began hissing softly and was now crawling back and forth on her shoulder, supporting himself with the balance of his tail. Suddenly her foot caught on a root that sent her entire body hurling forward into a hole while the book landed on the ground. She screamed while Kandour wrapped his paws around her neck and tug his claws into her shoulders. Kida continued to fall until she grabbed a loose root from the side of the hole. While holding on she turned her head and looked down into a pool of murky water, the faint outline of the back of a turquoise alligator swimming below. It emerged slowly from the water and snapped at her feet, Kida just barely lifted her legs up in time to dodge the yellow fangs.
"Help! Somebody help me!" she screamed while Kandour bore his sharp pointy teeth and the alligator warningly.
Just when she was about to give up a hand appeared over the edge of the hole, soon revealing that it belonged to an aging man. His face wrinkled with concern and his blue eyes shone magically. It was the shopkeeper that had sold her the book.
"Give me your hand" he spoke, while his gray hair blew in the breeze.
Kida gripped the root harder with her left hand while she extended her right towards his, the alligator snapping its jaw together madly. Finally their hands connected and he began pulling her up, which wasn't that hard considering her size. Kandour climbed up her arm and waited patiently at the top of the hole, his yellow eyes never leaving her gaze. She fell to the ground once she was completely out of the hole. Breathing in the moist grass while Kandour rubbed his head against hers, purring loudly.
"Are you all right?" the man asked.
Yet, Kida never heard this, because the moment she got out of the hole her eyelids had suddenly felt like led and she had fell asleep.
***
Kida awoke to the familiar sound of her mother calling her downstairs for breakfast. Opening her eyes she jumped as she realized that she was back in her room, the book laying open on her bed, just as she had left it. So it was just a dream, she thought to herself as she stared up at her ceiling. Sighing in relief she began to squirm out of bed, but just as she did this something caught her attention. On her bedside table was a small note. She peered at it curiously for a moment before lifting it up and reading it.
I told you that book was dangerous.....
She turned the note over, hoping that there was more, yet to her utter dismay there wasn't. I guess this means that it wasn't just a dream, Kida thought. Suddenly the sound of scurrying under her bed told her that she wasn't alone. Kneeling down to the ground she looked under her bed and smiled.
"Hello, Kandour..."