Sophie Jane's Worst Day

• Olivia Clarke, Grade 5, Pretty Beach Public School
• Short Story
• 2001

Finalist in the 'Zapped! 2001' competition

“Aggrah”!! I screamed as a dead tree branch falls down and hits me on the shoulder. I stumble back into an old creaky sign. I turn around and read the sign in old scratchy writing it says KEEP OUT. I look up feeling fearful and see an old eerie castle with a huge cross beside it. I creep up the hill to read the cross. It said, Sophie Jane died 18th March 2001 R.I.P.” “that’s today” I say “and that’s my name.” I sit down on an old hollow tree stump feeling perplexed. I hear a loud creaky noise and look behind me.
The castles huge brown old door with a big gold knocker was opening slowly, I get up and poke my head inside. I see two huge staircases each lined with a red dusty carpet.
There are many doors along the wet moldy wall beside me. I look up and see an enormous glittering chandelier above me. I start to walk up the creaky stairway I slowly slide my fingers up the dusty stair railing. “Ouch.” I say as I quickly remove my injured finger from the stair case. A splinter just as I suspected. I pull it out and keep walking. As I do I fall through a step. CRASH. I’m falling into deep, deep darkness. THUMP. I hit the cold hard ground I try to stand up but just fall clumsily towards the wall. I feel something push away and so I peer ahead and see that I’ve pushed open a door to a scorching, smelly, polluted land. I see people walking towards a big purple globe they touch it and disappear. I walk towards it shaking with fear. I touch it thinking, “I wish I was back in the room under the chandelier”. There was a flash of different colored lights and then I hit he hard floorboards. I look up and see the huge chandelier above me. I look at my hands to see there transparent. HELLPP!! I scream.
Am I dead? I get up feeling terrified, sad and extremely cold. I walk towards the wet moldy wall where all the doors are. I go to open one but my hand slips straight through the handle so I walk through it instead. Inside the room there are large objects covered in white sheets. I lift off one of the sheets to reveal an old dusty black piano with some keys missing. I start to play as I do I feel a warm sensation come over me I look at my hands there not. transparent anymore. “YIPPIE” I shout with joy as I do I turn around and see a transparent girl behind me with a sad look on her face, I tell her to come to the piano and play she did as I said. She to became like me. “Thank you” she said. “This is my father’s house. He forbid me to go under the staircase but I disobeyed.” I stepped in and fell into darkness. When I opened my eyes I saw a big purple globe I touched it wishing I was back home. There was a flash and then I was back. I walked outside. The cross was gone I sighed with relief. Now I realise how precious life is.