Lily, 6th Grade, Embarks On Adventure

Follow Lily and her faithful dog, Ochre, through a portal to a world that needs their help.

Lily, sixth grade girl who spends three hours a day in the library, thinks her library would be perfect if it wasn’t for Mrs. Ivory, the librarian who would do anything to punish Lily. Lily’s best friend is her dog, Ochre a Burmese Mountain Dog who follows her everywhere. One day while longing for an adventure, Lily steals a key lying on Mrs. Ivory’s desk. She tries all the keyholes around the library and then finally, a door labeled “RESTRICTED” opens to a hallway of dark, dusty shelves filled halfway with books. On one particular shelf, a book catches her eye. It is not dusty, unlike the others on the shelf. Before she can investigate, footsteps echo nearby and a flashlight appears around the corner.

“Why are you working so late today, Mrs. Ivory? Maybe trying to clean up, this place is indeed super dusty.”

While the investigator was saying all this, Lily was tiptoeing towards the door. Her backpack was thumping on her back and she hoped…

Slam! Lily didn’t see it coming, she felt a jolt of panic as she frantically burrowed herself beneath the books.

A lush, fantastical forest greeted Lily as she opened her eyes. Lily lifted herself up despite the pain she felt from the collision. The air here smelled like honey. She could hear a waterfall in the distance…or was it just the wind? The grass here had dapples of teal on it. Wait a minute, those were flowers! A nearby tree full of interesting fruits caught her eye.

She was reaching for the fruit when…”Stop! You are not to pick those without permission!”

These are like apples, she realized. The speaker is a girl with hazel colored eyes. She wore a cloak made out of leaves.

“Give me that,” she said, and snatched it out of Lily’s hand, “What brings you to the land of Glow Worm Thicket?”

“W-what?” Lily stammered.

“Yeah Hazel! She has literally no idea what you are saying!” a girl with similar features says.

“I know, Lynx. Why do you always have to be so annoying? Where’s Sundew?” Hazel demanded.

Meanwhile, Lily was in the middle of the clearing, befuddled. That was when she noticed that book in her lap. She flipped to the middle to find an interesting page to read. That was when she noticed that the pages were blank. The title was gone too. What was the point of keeping a boring blank book? She chucked it at one of the nearby bushes.

The bushes scowled. Or rather, a scowling teenager emerged from the bushes and threw the book back at Lily.

“What now?” Sundew snapped, “Oh, I bet it’s one of the Conquerors’ allies. Who are you anyway?”

“Me? I just got teleported into this strange world and I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Do you have any idea what this place is or who you are and what this type of plant…?” Lily replied.

“Stop. Asking. Questions,” interrupted Sundew, really annoyed, “ First of all, you are sure you don’t have anything to do with them?”

“Yeah, nothing - absolutely no idea what you are talking about,” Lily answered, “Can…”

“Lynx, ask Sora if she’s available. Sora, now,” ordered Sundew.

“You. Get up, we’re walking now. I only have three simple rules. First, follow us, you are not allowed to walk anywhere you like. Second, no talking, I especially hate hearing you yap. Third, DO NOT PICK OR TOUCH ANYTHING YOU SEE!” hollered Sundew, 

making everyone jump.

Part 2

Sora was apparently a tall figure with an air of authority about her. She glanced at the group, wiped her eyebrow and sighed.

“Sundew, Hazel and Lynx - all here at once? What is going on today? And why do you have this innocent little girl with you?”

With that, Lily explained her entire story from the beginning. Sora raised her eyebrows a couple of times but at the end, she was quite convinced that Lily was no threat to her land.

“Can someone tell me who the Conquerors are?” asked Lily.

“They are a group of people who love to destroy. They have gathered numerous followers and are threatening our forest along with many others. We are very anxious because just a few days ago, one of our neighboring tribes surrendered to them and we are in danger of going to war. We are a peaceful tribe,” Sora explained sorrowfully.

Suddenly, an explosion sounded in the distance.

“Hazel, can you go get the weaponry? Sundew, you gather all of the good warriors. Lynx, you gather the rest of the tribe - tell them to meet me here in the cave. I’ll go prepare the resources and supplies,” directed Sora.

“What about me?” asked Lily.

“Sadly, you have to leave. We must gather our defense and send Glow Worm Thicket into lockdown. At dawn, we must be ready to defend against the Conquerors and their little army” Sora explained.

“But…” Lily cried.

“No. If I lose this forest today, my friends, family and tribe may never have a future.” Sora said.

There was no point in arguing. Lily put on her backpack, signaled to Ochre for him to follow. But first, she needed to know where to go. She sat down and opened her bag. There was the book, some beef jerky, dried mango, three packs of juice, homemade dog treats, her water bottle and her jacket.

“Ochre, you want some food?” she shook the dog treat in the air.

Ochre leapt up into the air and clasped it in his mouth. Lily poured some water into his mouth and he wagged his tail happily. She packed her bag and creeped into the underbrush. She was considering finding a soft spot to rest for the night when a cozy little cottage caught her eye.

Lily knocked on the door once and waited for a reply. Surprisingly, the old man that opened the door was really nice and he said that his name was Sorrel. He offered Lily some dinner and a room to rest in for the night - but Lily decided to sleep in the living room with Ochre on her lap.

“Oh they’re going to war? I’m surprised, I thought I taught my granddaughter well enough,” asked Sorrel thoughtfully.

They ate a meal of traditional sage, basil and lavender stew, garlic bread, chestnut cake and some ginger tea.

That night, Sorrel offered to teach her how to make the traditional stew.

“Wow, this stew is much better than Sora’s best stew!” exclaimed Sorrel, tasting it.

“Do you have a map I could use?” said Lily.

“Maps? Plenty. Take them all you like,” he replied, gesturing to the closet.

The following morning at dawn, Lily bade him farewell and set off toward the river that Sora mentioned.

Upon the arrival of the Conquerors, Lily asked one question that changed the history of this world.

“Hey, guys, you want some stew?” Lily asked.

“You made the traditional stew! Wow, it looks better than the stews I make,” chuckled Sora.

Lily winked and placed the lilac colored stew in the middle of the clearing, and all the 

“Ooh, this looks good, let’s try it,” said one Conqueror, tasting the stew.

As soon as his eyebrows went up, the others took turns and ate it too, spoonful by spoonful until the giant pot was empty.

“You know what? Let’s stop causing climate change, this stew is so good!” cried one Conqueror.

“You're right. How about we have a feast or party every year?” asked another.

From that day on, they always had a holiday called, “The Day When People Never Starve”, where the two groups would eat and celebrate a festival to keep the peace.