I was somewhere. I felt like someone was watching me and all I could hear was someone screaming my name, “Ellie, Ellie,” and then it started fading in the shadow of the woods. So, like my curious self, I went of looking for that mysterious voice in the wind along with that person who I felt was watching my every move. But every time I tried to move my feet, I felt like my ankles were cut, so I tried to run but the pain got sharper until I finally looked down and saw that I was walking in chicken barbwire. “Ow,” the pain hurt so bad I wished that I never tried to look for that voice in the wind, but right then I saw him, the boy who was calling my name. I said I could help him if he helped me, but he didn’t want to so he just left me there in pain. “HELP!” I cried as sharp pains hit my ankles while I sat on a rock and tried to take the barbwire out of my ankles. As soon as I finished taking the barbwire out, I paused in fright, for I was up front with the deadliest creature of my land: the Glarkes. It stared at me, and in its eye, I saw it was hurt and afraid. I knew this because I felt the same way: lost, frightened, alone, cold, hurt, hungry, and afraid. Afraid that I was never going to find my way home. So I offered to help this dangerous creature and I decided to name the hurt creature Xylem, which in my heart meant wonderful creature. I asked Xylem if it would help me help me find that little boy, help me find out where he’s going and why. Why is the question I should be asking myself; where I’m going and why am I trying to help this little boy. But I shook those questions out my head, they’re only nonsense, I thought, but no what if they weren’t? UGH, I gotta stop thinking like this, I said to myself. What if this is all just a dream? I’m thinking to myself, but no, dreams don’t hurt this bad—this is freakin’ reality. I would cry but I feel like my tear ducts are dried out.
