Vandrookna

• Jago Williams, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2012

My name is Jacob. My family is broke. All of our money has been spent on keeping my sister, Annie, alive for this long. She only has two months to live because she has a rare blood disorder.
I entered a competition desperate to win the first prize of $20,000. With that money, my parents could buy medicine to keep my sister alive longer. To win this money, the competitors had to go into the forest to search for a hidden codeword written on a tree. Once the competitors left the campsite, I searched every tree until I came to the end of the forest. There was a wide open plain stretching out all the way to the horizon. As I started to turn around to keep searching the trees, I saw something in the sky. It looked like a spaceship falling from the sky. I was right! It crash landed on the open plain. I went to have a closer look. I walked up to the cockpit and put my face on the glass to see inside. It opened and an alien stepped out and spoke.
“Don’t be afraid. I’m Vandrookna, healer from Vandrook."
“W-what?”, I asked.
“I am Vandrookna, a healer from the planet Vandrook. My people are Vandrooknians”, said the alien.
“Did you say something about a healer?”, I asked.
“Yes, I am a healer from Vandrook”, he said.
“Can you please help me? Oh please?! My sister is dying and all of the doctors and scientists can’t find a cure. She only has so long before she dies, can you please heal her?” I asked with renewed hope.
“I will see what I can do”, said Vandrookna.
I took my new friend to my house. He walked into my sister’s bedroom and held two fingers between her eyebrows. Vandrookna began to chant something quietly in a language I didn’t understand. When he had finished, my sister opened her eyes peacefully. She didn’t look sick anymore! My family rejoiced and thanked Vandrookna for healing my sister.
We went back to where the alien spaceship had landed and one of Vandrookna’s people had come for him. I said goodbye to the alien and thanked him once again. I continued searching the forest and found the codeword! I wrote it down in the notepad in my pocket and went back to camp to receive the $20,000 prize! I was in so much shock that I won the competition, let alone found a cure for my sister! I didn’t tell anyone about Vandrookna, he brought peace to my family and I would like for him to live in peace also.