Easter Adventure

• Nicole Zhang, Grade 3
• Short Story
• 2021

As the narrow beams of light streamed through the window, young Ella jolted up from bed. As Ella’s peach-coloured skin shone happily, her jet-red hair even brighter than usual, she checked her calendar.
“It’s Easter! Egg hunting day!”
Rushing into the backyard, Ella found a shining egg in the grass, with a tiny note inside reading, ‘MAKE A WISH!’
Ella wondered why, but still made a wish. “I want to be in this magical egg in a palace!”
Suddenly, Ella was sucked into the egg but found herself in an old forest! Standing up and brushing her pants, Ella looked around. “Where am I?” she asked herself. Gasping, she realized that she wasn’t in the backyard.
Suddenly, long, pale fingers grabbed Ella by the waist, causing her to stumble backward. She turned around to find an ugly woman, white as a skeleton, staring back at her with huge purple eyes. “Ahhhhhh!” Ella screamed.
Suddenly, a beautiful but injured girl had leaped out of the bushes and, with a long bamboo stick, saved Ella by throwing her weapon at the terrible lady, who, as the other girls made a hasty dash behind a rose bush, screamed and fell into the bush.
“Are you okay?” the girl asked. Ella nodded gratefully. The girl gave a sigh of relief and introduced herself.
“I’m Ashley, guardian of Lesling Forest,” the girl explained.
“I’m Ella!” Ella replied.
“That’s Lexie,” she added, pointing to the mean woman in the hole.
“She used to be my sister, but an evil wizard cursed her before he passed away. The only thing to turn her back is a special lost potion.”
“Let’s find that potion!” exclaimed Ella.
Ashley nodded, looking shocked.
They walked through the forest, not knowing where they were going, Ashley chatting happily to animals along the way.
“I’ve never been so deep in the forest before,” Ashley explained in a soft voice, after a brief chat with a huge brown owl. “I never get to speak to Hensley, my magical owl, to send messages since he’s nocturnal, and there’s a bird disease and I don’t want anyone getting hurt. Hensley doesn’t get Densa-virus, he’s really powerful.”
Suddenly, she let out an enthusiastic gasp. “I found it!”
Ashley ran up to a squirrel and said slowly in a calm voice, “Retley, could I have that bottle?” to the cute little squirrel. The squirrel nodded and dropped the bottle.
Back at Lexie, the girls tipped the potion into her mouth, waiting with their breaths held.
Lexie’s eyes opened. She was now a beautiful girl with long, straight blond hair and blue eyes like her sister.
“Thank you so much, Ella!” Ashley exclaimed.
“My pleasure, but now I need to go home,” Ella said.
Ashley handed her a golden hand-mirror.
“Jump in!” Ashley exclaimed.
Ella landed happily on the red bricks in her garden. Once inside, she hurried upstairs to her room and found it really messy…and a totally different Asian girl on a bed, identical to her own.