Fall

• Githanjali Murugasu Thompson, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2021

Autumn dropped her duffel bag on the polished oak wood floor of the entryway and sat in a comfy armchair near the fireplace.
"Autumn! Go put your bag in your room and walk Maple!" yelled Autumn's mother.
"In a minute Mum, I'm texting Isabel" Autumn replied absentmindedly, not looking up from her cantaloupe coloured phone.
Autumn eventually unpacked and clipped the pastel orange lead to her small Maltipoo puppy Maple’s collar. She walked out the door and headed down the gravel pathway round the back of her house towards the woods.
As she neared the scruffy hedge that divided the garden from the vegetable patch, she thought about her friends and life back home in NYC and her new life in the British countryside. She sat down on the ground next to the scruffy hedge with Maple on her lap.
CRASH!! Autumn went tumbling backwards into the hedge along with Maple and the lead. As soon as Autumn came out the other side, she dusted herself and Maple off. She looked up and found herself in front of a familiar house on a familiar street. She had tumbled out onto the front of her friend’s house who lived back in NYC! Autumn untangled Maple who had been twisting herself in the lead. She walked up to the house and rang the doorbell.
The doorbell rang to the sound of ‘The Chicken Dance’: ‘That’s odd,’ thought Autumn. As her friend Mae hated that song.
The large white door opened, and there stood a girl with bright orange and purple hair, wearing a rainbow tie-dyed t-shirt and shorts.
Autumn was taken aback! That’s definitely, Mae, but why was she dressed so differently?
Mae only wore black, white and pastel colours; she never liked bright colours! She had blond hair and her clothes, shoes, bags were always light colours even her stationary was white!
Autumn squealed “Mae!! I’m so glad to see you!!” and reached out to hug Mae. Mae recoiled and yelled, “Who are you???” Autumn’s heart broke into a million pieces as she asked, “Don’t you know me? I’m Autumn, your friend!” Mae said, “I have no idea who you are!” and slammed the door.
Autumn was so deflated and walked on. She came to her old house and was astounded to see it rundown and derelict. She slowly walked up her footpath and rang on the doorbell. “Bing boooinnnggggggg,” the doorbell whizzed and cracked and died of battery failure. She gently pushed the door and it creaked open. She walked in, and yelled out to see if anyone was in. As she looked around, she saw cobwebs everywhere, and the furniture was very Victorian. Autumn knew her history and thought it was odd to have Victorian furniture in New York. She then heard loud whirring noises coming from the living room. She slowly walked into the living room and found Isabel sitting on an old-fashioned parlour lounge.
“Isabel? What are you doing here?” Autumn questioned.
“Hello Autumn,'' she replied...