Paradise

• Annakye Evans, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2016

When Tom woke up, it was as though he was dreaming, but he soon came to realise that now was not the time for dreaming. Because the place he was in was unfamiliar yet it wasn’t at the same time. He could smell the tinge of sweetness in the air from his mother’s cooking, but the surroundings he had felt he had never seen before.
‘It’s not the same!’ Tom heard a girl scream as he walked towards a crooked stone path. Interesting, he thought. It sounds like I have heard that voice before. As Tom had this thought he had a sensation he was being watched. As he peered over his shoulder a girl’s figure scuttled closer to the bush.
He started choking. He clawed at the back of his neck to try and untangle hands. But there weren’t any. Then he realised that he was not being strangled, but merely was choking back a scream. There was a giant. It was a real life giant. Hold on, Tom thought. It looks all ripped up. Then he realised it wasn’t a giant. As he gingerly walked closer to the thing, it didn’t move. Quickly he moved on.
Tom heard water rushing. He only then realised how thirsty he was. Tom ran towards the sound but jolted back quickly in disgust. It was the same girl that watched him. He started moving backwards as she said, “It’s me Lilly, and you are coming with me.”
Tom was knocked out yet again, but this time he kept his eyes closed. Murmuring, “I need you to help me with this.”
“What if he wakes up?”
“That doesn’t matter, we need to get him back...”
“Tom, wake up! Get up!”
“Huh?”
“These are “BAAAAAAAAAAAD people ....” Was that a goat?
The dream slowly melted away as he found his vision. He found his shirt on the floor, not even a shirt any more. Further away from that a goat was being chased off by his captives.
Think, Think, run or die, run or...
“Where is he?” screamed Lilly. ‘Time to run,’ thought Tom.
‘Reach the house,’ thought Tom, ‘just reach the house.’ He heard the weirdo and Lilly thump after him, but he tripped. ‘Just get to the house.’ He was up and running. Sprinting now.
The house was a very far away goal, but finally, he made it, Lilly was sprinting to now, determined to reach him. “Tom!” screamed a woman. It was Mum.
“Where have you been?”
He was safe.
“Your Father’s been looking for you...”
He ran up to his mother that smelt of the cooking she had done. You could see Lilly quickly walking away.
“Did you fall over again in the paddock? You have a bump on your head...oh you’re so clumsy, you’re such a worry.”
Tom looked up to see his mother say, “Come on, it’s dinner time.”
And he felt safer than he ever had. The end