Discovery

• Jonathan Tang, Grade 6, Castle Hill Public School
• Short Story
• 2017

Excellence Award in the 'Spread The Word 2017' competition

A wave rocked the sea. I stared into the underwater universe. The colourful seaweed waved and bowed, as if to greet me. The fish dawdled past, scales shimmering iridescently in the bright sunlight. Glancing forward, I noticed a glowing door. I stepped cautiously toward it. The blazing door swung open, as on cue. I walked through the door. Stepping reluctantly inside, I realised it was a lift. Resting on the smooth, circular glass wall were two buttons. One of them was flashing. To me, it was very idiosyncratic. I prudently pressed the button. With a lurch, the lift descended into the rocky, sandstone shaft. My stomach flipped upside down, with butterflies lying frantically here and there.
A century later, the lift skidded to a halt. I gazed around outside the glass cabin. This mysterious place looked nothing like the sea. No water, no seaweed, no fish. It looked like land. I stepped outside to see if this was the truth. Then suddenly, something loomed up ahead. A pristine city! I saw Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Romans and Greeks, aliens, future people, Mayans; every lost civilization was living here! This was more secretive than Machu Picchu.
Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw a shadow, but I assumed it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. I was admiring the beautiful and sublime city when an invisible force pushed me forward, making me accidentally do a somersault. The city was divided into different sections, while tree-lined avenues neatly outlined the sections. I smiled. This could be my secret getaway paradise! I thought of all the things I could do here. All the friends I could make. All the- My thinking ceased as I saw them. There were more. There was a whole team of them! In the blink of an eye, they appeared. A group of people. Abruptly, all the puzzle pieces came together. Someone had been following me! The shadow was a person creeping past. The ‘invisible force’ had been a person pushing me forward. They were probably up to no good if they had followed me all the way here. My suspicions were confirmed. One of the men drew a gun out of his pocket. The chase was on. The madmen were destroying everything in their path. I thought it was the end of the world! I reached a dead end. They came closer. Closer still. Closer…and then, as rare as once in a blue moon, I saw a familiar sight- another city, and this one looked the same as the one I lived in. I then realised that the two worlds were linked- in an unusual way. The locals from both worlds rushed to help me.
Admitting defeat, the terrorists dashed back the way they had come. They didn't get far though. They were tied up and dealt with by the Police. Everyone cheered. Everything was well, though the whole world knew my secret; it would still be a secret in a way.