A Dark Dilapidated Cottage

• Alexander Palmer, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2016

A dark forest surrounds a crumbling, dilapidating cottage, with strange shadows of creatures known only by the devil. Jonah and Helen are two young children who like to explore. They are on holiday staying at their grandma’s house. There is only one rule that they MUST follow. Their grandma says “DO NOT ENTER THE WOODS FOR IT IS UNSAFE”. Though they clearly understand this message, they cannot help but ponder about what is inside the woods. As they timidly enter this forbidden territory, they pause. Everything goes quiet and nothing could prepare them for what they are looking at. RUN!
As Jonah and Helen are running, a dark hollow tree falls over because of a ghostly wind. Jonah is aware and dodges the tree just as Helen trips and stumbles onto the filthy floor, screaming in terror Jonah stops to help her but she has twisted her ankle. Jonah then tries to carry her but he is not strong enough. Helen then cries out, “Get help!" Jonah runs to the nearest police station and asks them to rescue Helen. The police briskly get there in a flash. Astonishingly, Helen is nowhere to be seen.
“What has that evil witch with a creepy smile done to her?” says Jonah. Jonah then explained while catching his breath, that they had been wandering in the woods. Deep inside they stumble upon a crumbling cottage. After a few seconds of staring, an old witch emerged.
The police and Jonah began their trek to the cottage. For Helen this is a life or death situation. The witch has taken Helen to her hidden lair, which is bright white with cobwebs of unknown spider species. The witch uncovers a mystical device that looks like a murderous machine. Helen is frightened of what this terrifying machine is capable of. Wouldn’t you be if you were in a lair with a machine which could possibly kill you?
The police walk hurriedly until they reach Jonah’s grandma’s house. Jonah retraces his steps to assist the police. He can see the marks he made earlier when he had trodden on the muddy terrain. This makes it easy for Jonah and the police to understand where he had been earlier.
As they walk along, they stop in front of the dilapidated cottage. Jonah knows this is exactly the right place. The police break down the rotten wooden door with a mallet. Jonah thinks to himself how old is this place?
They find Helen sitting down, dazed as a new born baby and carry her to safety. The old lady was next to her, slurping tea impolitely. The police question her and she reveals her invention that can make thousands of tablets treat all known cancers. She explains that she had invited the girl to show her what she had created. Jonah thought to himself “trust me to get hold of the wrong end of the stick!” and apologises to the lady for misunderstanding her ideas and thoughts.