Neo And The Maze Marble

• Ashley Fischer, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2021

Part 1:
A daunting maze loomed in front of Neo, like a shark would to a small ocean fish. She tried not to get too intimidated by concentrating on the slowly drifting current that flowed through her six feathery gills. Neo knew what she had to do, she had been planning this for years now. She looked down at a small hand-drawn map that shows how to get to the marble, what challenges she might face and how to avoid them. Most importantly it showed a small picture of her parents and a turquoise coloured older brother who looked like he was struggling to hold Neo in front of him. She had an anguished expression plastered on her face. Neo sighed that had only been a few days before the incident.
It was a vivid day, Neo and her brother were playing in the nearby stream that ran past her house. Like always Neo’s brother would playfully push her into the salty riverbed and then run away flailing his arms as she cheerfully ran after him. But instead of that her brother blindly ran into a jagged rock and cleanly sliced his knee open. Neo’s parents rushed to her brother’s aid as she hurriedly swam to shore. Luckily Neo hadn’t swam fast enough as a cascade of boulders loudly stacked themselves one by one onto her family with a bone chilling crack that ricocheted through Neo.
She stiffened. It had been five years since the incident but she hadn’t truly recovered. Neo didn’t know if she could recover after such a traumatizing event in her childhood. She was ten when her brother and family where crushed. Neo was fifteen now, she should be able to cope with the loss…she hoped she would be able to. But nothing, not even losing her parents and sibling could prepare her for what she would have to face ahead.
Part 2:
Neo had been waiting long enough outside the maze, it was time to take her plan into action. She had packed her things the day before hoping that her determination would help her proceed through the challenges ahead. Neo knew that the hardest thing wasn’t going to be navigating and locating the marble. It would be surviving the deadly challenges that where there to stop outsiders from attempting to harness the marbles magical powers. That was her mission and she would succeed and bring back her parents and brother. It didn’t matter if it cost Neo an arm and a leg, she would get her family back and be happy again.
Neo slowly stalked into the massive maze woven out of ancient lake weed. Almost immediately after entering Neo felt a strong current swipe her off her feet and into the slimy wall of the firm maze. She felt herself sinking as the floor below her feet caved in swallowing her with it.
Neo saw figures running around her. She felt happiness run through her as a familiar turquoise figure approached her. She was with her family now even if it was just momentarily.