A Boy And His Phoenix

• Sebastian Calvert, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2010

Lucas was sitting by the gently flowing river, his rod hanging in the breezy night air. He had set off from home at dusk and it was already 8 o'clock, so he would have to go back soon. Suddenly, something caught his eye. A large, black shadow was on the waters surface. It was gradually getting bigger and bigger, and before he could get away, something rose out of the water and pushed Lucas in.

Lucas woke up. His head was pounding and his legs were screaming with pain as if he had been stabbed with a dagger. He looked around and found himself in a beautiful place with lush, green grass and tropical fruit trees scattered about. He could even see a beach with golden sand leading out to a sparkly, blue sea. He turned around and saw a wonderful sight. A large, blue phoenix was sitting down on the ground next to him. Lucas was only of miniscule size compared to the phoenix, but it still looked at him like he was an amusement park ride. The phoenix cawed politely. Lucas stroked the bird and what a wonderful sensation it was. Its body was feathery and soft, not scaly. Suddenly the phoenix started flapping its wings up and down as if it wanted to fly. Cautiously, Lucas climbed on and the phoenix took off in a flash.

The view was even better up in the sky, and Lucas saw some rough and rocky terrain surrounding a tropical jungle, and he even spotted some palm trees with coconuts growing on them. Lucas really wanted to stay, but he missed his parents and all that life had to offer back on Earth. The phoenix flew to a new part of the landscape and dived into one of the small holes. It was a tight squeeze, but the phoenix managed to squirm through. Next moment, Lucas found himself back on the bank of the river. He started to head home, but the phoenix followed him. Lucas thought for a moment, and then he said, "I know. He can be our pet since we own a farm! So from that day on, anyone passing the field wonders what the large, blue bird is lying in the field. Lucas knows.