Candy Mountain

• Heidi Wood, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2008

Charlie was excited, it was his birthday.
He had never, ever been this excited before. And his mother knew it.
She walked into his room carrying a big box, wrapped in bright wrapping paper.
"Here Charlie, dear, Happy Birthday."
"WOW! Thanks mum!" Charlie yelled in excitement. He unwrapped the present, tearing away the colourful paper with eager hands. "Candy Mountain?! That is SO cool! Thanks so much!" He hugged his mother quickly and then turned toward the colourful sculpture of candy mountain. Before his mother could tell him not to, Charlie reached out and grabbed one of the lollipops resting on the mountain and tore off the wrapper in excitement.
"Yum, this is good!" He exclaimed with a huge smile across his face.
"That's all right dear, goodnight!" His mother said, giving him a hug.
"G'nite!" Charlie mumbled, with the lollipop still in his mouth.

About half an hour later Charlie lay asleep with several lollipop wrappers scattered around his bed.
He slipped into the world of dreams, with a content smile upon his face...

"Would you like to go to candy mountain?" The strange, colourful man was wearing a bowler hat. How strange. Charlie looked around, but all he could see was the strange bowler hatted man.
"Would you like to go to candy mountain?" The man asked again.
He looks familiar, Charlie thought. That's it! " Your the candy man! Aren't you?" Charlie yelled, suddenly realising who the man was.
"I sure am!" The man smiled at Charlie as he spoke. "Would you like to go to candy mountain?"
"Yes! I definitely would!" Charlie was starting to get excited.
"Okay, but first, how would you like a snickers bar?" As the man said this a huge snickers bar popped into the air right in front of Charlie.
"Wooooooooh! This is great!" Charlie yelled in glee.
"Or some Mars Bars?" Again, a giant candy bar popped in front of Charlie, who was eating the snickers bar greedily.
"Yesh! I Wuldsh lishke thatsh!" Charlie was so excited that the snickers bar was falling out of his mouth as he spoke.
"Or would you like to swim in the lake of skittles?" The candy man just kept talking, apparently oblivious to the fact that candy was appearing everywhere.
By this stage Charlie couldn't talk he was so stuffed full of Mars Bar and Snickers, so instead he just nodded eagerly.
"Well, let's go to candy mountain first!" Candy man said, as he took Charlie by the arm and led him toward a huge version of Charlie's candy mountain.
"WOW!!!! This is great!" Charlie was so happy...

"WAKE UP!!! BE QUIET!!! YOU ARE SO ANNOYING!!!"
Charlie was back in his bed, surrounded by lollipop wrappers being yelled at by his hysterical older sister.
"FINALLY!!! I have been yelling at you for, like, ever!" His sister continued.
"Sorry, I was just having a good dream..." Charlie mumbled, wishing she hadn't woken him up.
"Well, don't have any more good dreams!" His sister yelled as she stormed out of the room.
Charlie sighed and curled up back in his bed, drifting off once more...

Charlie coughed. What is this smoky haze? He thought. I can hardly see candy mountain. He walked forward a few steps before he saw the candy man, but there was something wrong with him...
"Aaaaahhhh!" Charlie shouted, backing away. The candy man had just looked at Charlie, revealing his toothless mouth.
"What happened?!" Screamed Charlie.
"The candy Charlie, it rotted away my teeth..." The candy man said, taking a few steps toward Charlie.
"NO! It can't be!" Charlie was wanting it all to just be a bad dream... but wait, it is a bad dream! He thought. I'm so confused!
Then a man in grey was suddenly standing in front of Charlie. He raised his finger toward Charlie.
"I shut candy mountain down Charlie, it was rotting everyone's teeth!" The Grey man had no teeth either, and Charlie started to run, but as soon as he started to , it was all over...

He was in his room again, and faint sunlight glimmered through his curtains. "Phew, it's all over!" He sighed with relief and got out of bed. He walked over to the candy mountain and, instead of eating more candy, he picked it up and threw it in the bin.
"My teeth are going to stay in my mouth for a bit longer!" He said to no-one in particular as he walked out if his room. Ready for the real world.