In Exchange for Magic

I panicked and fumbled around in the blinding darkness for a light switch on the wall. I was met with cold, smooth concrete. Too afraid to take the stairs in the dark, I felt for the handle on the door instead. I pitched forward, bumping up against the thick door on accident. It was then that I heard a small metallic groan, a slight click, and a large clunk-ing sound.

No.

No.

I found the handle, grasping it with desperate fingers, and tugged. Nothing. It didn't even rattle. I had somehow managed to knock the heavy sliding lock off its peg on the other side of the door. I was trapped. My shouts couldn't penetrate the door, let alone reach Ms. Geller through the hall and above the noise of Adoption Day.

I descended the stairs with slightly weak legs, still feeling for a light. My eyes refused to adjust to the darkness and I unknowingly reached the end of the stairs. I tried to take another step down and, upon realizing that there was nowhere to step, I became very disoriented, took an extra long stride, and toppled forward into a musty-smelling box.

I hadn't had a chance to take off my dress, "The Thing," yet. It rustled and itched as I moved into the corner, crawling like an infant and deftly running into large, unidentifiable objects at every turn. I managed to find my way to a corner, where I rested my back on the cold wall. I fought the urge to yell in frustration or to cry from fear.

Our story begins as my eyes slowly began to adjust to the darkness. This is when I, Rose Collins, heard that fateful noise:

Squeak

It doesn't seem like much but, I assure you, this small squeak was momentous. It would forever change my life. I whipped my head around to face the source of the noise - a large, dusty cupboard sitting in the opposite corner. It had probably been down here since this old place was built.

Squeak

My adrenaline began pumping, and I could hear my heart thud in my ears. I tried to convince myself that it was just a mouse, hiding in the cabinet.

Squeak

Louder now. It was no mouse.

Shakily, I rose to my feet and made my way towards the cupboard, able to avoid the dimly visible objects in my path.

Squeak
Squeak
Crrrrreeeeeak...

I jumped slightly at this. As if on it's own, one of the cabinet's doors swung open. A cool breeze was coming from somewhere and it upset the frilly hem of my dress. I snuck around to the side of the cabinet and gave it a good kick. Nothing happened. Carefully, I poked my head inside the large boudoir... and gasped.

As if in a dream, I was gazing down upon a forest. Colorful trees and plants burned luminescent streaks into my eyes as I looked on in awe. I would have thought that it was a perfectly painted picture if they had not been swaying in a small breeze. A rather large butterfly flew by, trailing glitter through the air.

My heart racing, I drew back from the cupboard and slammed the double doors shut. My palms felt clammy. My chest hurt. What was going on?

I backed away, horror sinking into my bones. What had I stumbled upon? Something whimsical and filled with magic... or a source of dark power?

"The Thing" rustled noisily as I crouched down against the wall furthest from the cupboard. I glared hotly at it, as if daring it to make another sound. Nothing happened for about an hour.

Then... It came again.

Squeak

"No, no, no," I muttered under my breath.

Squeak

"Leave me alone!"

Crrrreeeeeaaaak...

The door opened again. I turned my face away from it, fear rising in my throat. I was trying to ignore it, trying with all my might not to let my curiosity take advantage of me. But my desire to peer upon the strange forest was greater than my desire to avoid the potential evils of the magical cabinet.

Before I could change my mind, I leapt up and raced over to it. I threw back the double doors and greedily forced my head into the cabinet, looking down once more at the new world.

The butterfly flew across my line of vision again, and I realized that it was no butterfly. It was a person. A tiny, blue person! With wings! I gasped, and continued looking, eager for more.

The flowers weren't ordinary, either. They all had unique characteristics about them. Some made strange noises, like a meowing cat, others had long tongues - which they used to catch small insects. Still others pulled themselves out of the ground and used their roots as feet to walk around.

This second time, I looked closer at the area directly below me. I realized that it was something of a campsite. A tent was set up, along with a slowly dying fire and a spit set up above it. A clothesline was set up, and a large pile of blankets served as a make-shift bed.

A lazy thought swam through my mind: Danger, danger, danger.

But a stronger, more appealing thought overpowered it: More, more, more.

A thick fog had begun to seep out of the depths of the cabinet. I coughed, waved it away like cigarette smoke, and continued looking. There were several shapes of weapons laid out on a polishing table. A long, rusted blade, a shining dagger. A sword with a glittering hilt, and a long, thin, sinister looking knife.

The fog turned to smoke. Black smoke. It washed over me but, still, I ignored it, enraptured with the scene below me. My mind was clouded now, drunk on excitement. I felt like I'd discovered my own private Narnia.

A thick sword, curved like a pirate's cutlass, and two blunt battle-axes. Some metal polish, and a ragged washing cloth were set out next to the provisions.

The smoke became heavier, solid almost. I let out a strangled cry as I realized that it was solid! I tried to back away, but the dark smoke wrapped itself around my wrists. My mind cleared instantly, I couldn't break it's hold. I had been lured, tricked, and now - captured.

It was slowly unfurling, curling around my shoulders... Dragging me into the cabinet. I struggled valiantly, adrenaline turning me into a spitting, fighting animal. I was so terribly afraid that I couldn't think enough to scream.

I looked down into the magical world to see a boy with white-blonde hair standing beneath me. He stared up in awe, his mouth open surprise.

"Oi!" the boy cried from below me, waving his arms. "What are you doing?"

The sinister smoke curled up to my calves. I struggled harder and knocked my elbows and knees against the sides of the cupboard as I was pulled in. My throat clenched from fear, and no sound came out. The smoke was up to my waist... I was almost completely inside of the cabinet.

"No! No!" the boy shouted, and his face disappeared in a rush of black smoke. In place of the beautiful scenery of the new world, a mass of swirling colors arose. It changed swiftly and effortlessly from yellow, to green, to blue, to turquoise... And the tendrils dragged me into the entirely into the giant, empty space of the cabinet.

I gripped the edges of the frame, but it was no use. The arms of smoke were much too strong. They pulled me into the swirling Portal of colors, and I felt like I had plunged into a pool of cold water.

A wave of energy blasted out of the Portal as I was thrown into it. It was so great that, distantly, I could hear the crashing of glass. It had blown out the tiny, blackened windows near the ceiling of the basement.

Then, I fell.

It wasn't really falling, so much as the sensation of it - that feeling in the pit of your stomach that you get when you miss a step. It was like being suspended on a wire and being lowered to the ground at an alarming rate.

I fell through the long, multi-colored tube that seemed to stretch out into infinity. I could feel the tendrils of smoke release me after a few moments and, quite abruptly, I was flung out of the tube and into the air.

And I wasn't in the basement anymore.