Hagorf Or Home

• Grace Porter, Grade 4, Curtin Primary School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

I was screaming. I had absolutely no idea how I got here or where I am.
‘Hello!,’ I yelled. ‘Can anyone hear me!’
I started running.
‘It was something to do with that book,’ I said to myself. ‘It has to be.’
I was reading this completely random book from the Library of Spooks. Then all of a sudden, a hairy, bony hand reached out and dragged me right in. I was still running. I ran out of breath and fell to the ground, unconscious.

‘Well, who do we have here,’ said a deep calming voice, waking me up.
‘You’ll never hurt me,’ I said.
‘Young lad, you listen here,’ said the voice, once again. ‘I’d never even dream of hurting a fine youngster like you.’
My sight started to cooperate. I saw a crinkled old man, dressed in a slightly ripped brown suit. A huge wave of sunlight washed over me through a crack, as I realised that we were in a fairly large hollow tree trunk. My eyes couldn't take it anymore, so I closed them, putting my hand over. I felt the sunlight wash away. I slowly removed my hand and opened my eyes. I felt dizzy, and I wanted to go back home, but I knew that to do that, I had to find out how. I sat up.

He took me to a different room, supposedly where he kept all of his potions.
‘Why would he have potions?’ I muttered under my breath.
The man handed me some sort of turquoise liquid.
‘What is this for?’ I asked.
‘This is a teleportation potion,’ he said.
‘I drink it?,’ I asked, confused. ‘How should I trust you, in fact, what even is your name?’
‘Hagorf, wizard of the Wandering Woods,’ said Hagorf. ‘And yes, you drink it.’
‘So it will take me back home?’
‘Yes.’
I drank it. Nothing happened.
‘Ah, bingle-toes, I forgot the spit of an wedge toothed echilabo,’ said Hagorf.
It was already two days later, and Hagorf was still out finding a wedge toothed echilabo.
‘What is a wedge toothed echilabo,’ I had asked.
‘Don't you worry about that,’ he had said. ‘All you need to worry about is that you get back home.’
So I had left the conversation there. Suddenly, a smiling face appeared in front of me.
‘I got it, I really got it!,’ Hagorf said , almost screaming.
‘Yeah, not like you took two days,’ I said sarcastically, but in a fun way.
He ran to the potions room and mixed it together. He ran back out and gave me the mixture. Gulp. My body started turning, and with a bang, I was in my bedroom.
‘Thankyou,’ I said quietly.
‘That’s alright,’ Hagorf was standing in my room, and with a click of his fingers, he was gone.