Old Man Walking (Just For A School Project)

• Jami Preston
• Short Story
• 2008

They were so deep in the jungle that they couldn’t even see the sun. The tour guide only spoke a language no-one could understand, other than the translator. By the time they had stopped for a rest, Albert Santos had already used up another six lots of film, as apposed to the other 7 he used on the way to the safari. When they all sat down for their rest, Albert noticed a strange shaped rock to the far left of him. He walked over to the stone and read what was engraved on it. “Life as you know it will never be the same again” it read. He was sure this was some sort of ancient rock. He went to walk back to the resting place when he realized he couldn’t move. He tried to scream, but that was impossible also. Suddenly everything went black.

He woke up in what looked to be a strange temple. His arthritis ached a little as he stood up. He limped slightly and felt like he had literally been thrown into the temple. Maybe he had. He limped his way over to the thrown at the end of a hallway. In the thrown sat a man. Quite young and muscular with a golden ball for one eye.
“Who dares enter my Sacred Temple?”
“Well I don’t know how I got here, but my name is Albert Santos, pleasure to meet you sir.”
Albert soon realized this wasn’t the time to be his happy-chappy little self.


“You found my sacred rock, I presume?” The man asked, still with his eyes closed as though he was meditating.
“That was your rock? It was such a lovely rock. I might have to ask you, what did your saying mean? I’m not sure exactly what you…”
“Silence!” The man interrupted. Now his eyes were open and looked to be on fire. “I simply asked you a question?
“Oh right, well yes, I…I read it.”
The man looked at Albert and wiped his chin evilly
“I am the witchdoctor, and I will grant you three wishes if you are to promise me you will never speak of my rock to anyone in the human world?”
“Hmm, that seems fair. OK I’ll seek to it.”

“Good your first wish please.”
Albert thought for a second.
“I wish for a pet dog.”
“Granted!”
Suddenly, in front of Albert, appeared a poodle with pink fluffy ears and a pink fluffy tail.
“What the?” Albert asked in confusion.
“You asked for a dog didn’t you?”
“Well yes but this isn’t what I meant.”
“Oh well, what you wish for is what you get”

Albert sighed and then continued in deep thought.
“For my second wish, I wish for a way that my house would clean itself.”
“Granted!”
Little did Albert know, his house was now being invaded by every vacuum within a 10 mile-radius.
“If, for my last wish, I don’t wish for myself out of this place, will I ever get out?”
“Well, err… no, you won’t.”
“Ok well” Albert clears his throat before saying his last wish.
“I wish that my dog and I, would get out of this place and go back to the human world.”

“Granted!” was the last word that Albert ever heard the Witchdoctor say. He feels the ground start to shake. He suddenly sees a whirlpool of colours. Albert jumps into the whirlpool. He is falling for what seems like forever. Suddenly it all went black. Again.

“Where am I?”
Albert was furious. The stupid witchdoctor sent him back to the forest, but he can see anything. It must be night time, thought Albert.
“Great!”
So Albert went adventuring through the jungle. Eventually his dog gets eaten by a crocodile and then Albert rides a tiger out of the jungle.
But that’s another story.