What would you do if you were transported into another world where all you wildest fantasies came true? Would you want to stay, or would you realise your fantasies were better saved for your imagination?
This is a story I've been working on since I started writing. It's more of a Novel really than a story I have quite a bit written so far, and you may notice I've taken a paragraph or two from this story and tested them in other stories.
Prologue
“A New Home”
Snow fell silently that night, blanketing the small, forgotten town of Havenport in a light layer of white powder. The townspeople bustled to get to their homes and out of the cold, two or three stray Ferals roamed the streets in search of shelter, and the cry of a single bird echoed and lingered on the cold night air.
“Three days,” Riley thought to himself, “I’ve been traveling for three days, in a car with two other people; just to get to some middle of nowhere countryside town.”
The boy looked over at his younger brother who was nodding off under his favourite blanket. This was good, because he hadn’t slept in a day.
“Riley, are you still awake?” asked the boy’s father,
Riley’s father, Garret Muirghein, was a middle-aged Otter. He had harsh greying fur, always perfectly coiffed; he was always clean shaven and had always been very professional. He was never a very loving father, especially since their mother passed away. Since her death, he buried himself deeper in his work, and never really was the same. None of them were.
“Riley we’re here.”
“Where?” Riley asked.
“Havenport, our new home.”
From what Riley could see under the dim light of cast iron street lamps, the town was actually nice, beautiful even. He remembered the first time his father told him they were moving to Havenport. He begged and pleaded but his father would always reply coldly “it is for the good of all of us;” which meant it was good for business. The boy’s father was always a businessman first. Fatherhood was a distant second; from what he could remember, it had always been that way.
They pulled up to a large two storey grey stone house. It seemed to have been well lived in and taken care of over the years. The house, like the town felt old and wise, like there were stories to be told and secrets to be kept. Riley opened the car door, and a cold gust of wind swept through the warm interior.
“Riley, I’ll carry Alby inside and up into the bedroom,” his father said as the boy got out of the car slipping his hands into the handles of his baggage, “I expect you to be in bed as soon as you get in too,”
Riley was almost eleven years old. Though he was still a whelp, he had to grow up fast and independent since the loss of his mother. His physical appearance, like his personality, was different than most, particularly his fathers.’ He had vibrant eyes, one green, and one brown. His light brown fur was always messy no matter what he tried to do with it. On the bottom of his left forearm he had a striking birthmark shaped like a crescent moon. He was a kind boy, very generous, and seldom fought for himself. But when it came to protecting others, he was fierce.
Alby looked a lot like Riley, but was a contrast in personality. He was shy and dependent on his brother to protect him. At four years old, he was bright, but small for his age. Although Alby is years younger than Riley, he’s always trying to act like his older brother. If it wasn’t for the age difference, physically, they could be twins.
He slowly made his way up the cobblestone path leading to the house. It was sturdy, although it was old and some of the stones paved into it stuck out too far making it hard for Riley to make his way down the “deathtrap”. Halfway up the path he stopped to look at the house and study it. He saw where the ivy, although now withered, had slowly climbed up the house, where the old tenant had done some patchwork with some of the bricks at the front, and where birds had previously made their nests in the gutters.
“Riley, hurry up now,” his father called from the front door.
“I’m coming,” he replied hobbling towards the door.
When he entered the house he saw that everything was already in place. Obviously his father had sent the movers ahead of time to set up. His father always said, “That kind of work is for those who are beneath us.” Riley never listened when he said those types of things.
The entrance hall where Riley had now removed his shoes was very homey, the walls were a light cream colour with mahogany paneling and like the rest of the house; it was very well kept. The entrance hall was long and led straight into the kitchen. To the left was an entrance into the living room, and to the close right was a set of stairs that lead to the second floor. He walked into the living room and noticed that his father was already trying to light a fire in the new fireplace.
“Goodnight,” Riley said hoping for a response. None came.
Riley quietly made his way up the stairs one step at a time. With every step he took the hard oak stairs creaked. The flooring in the upper level was made to match the stairs, and the hallways walls resembled the entrance hall exactly. At the end of the hall was a large brown door that shut from view the master bedroom. To his right was a small closet that blended into the wall and beside it was the doorway to the bathroom. To Riley’s immediate left was the door to his and Alby’s new bedroom. Riley fumbled with the doorknob and finally opened the door; he entered the new room that he and his brother would share. Riley found the room rather large; he noticed that his bed was near the window and that Alby’s was closest to the door. He noticed Alby quietly snoring in a light blue bed with cartoon linens and blankets. The bed had a teddy bear painted on the headboard. Riley moved across the room, set down his baggage and sat on the edge of his bed his eyes scanning the room.
It was set up just like his old room only everything was spread out more. The walls were the same colour as the rest of the house. Various posters hung from the walls surrounding the new cherry stained oak bed. On the roof above his forest green bed covers hung a large poster of his favourite band, “Ethereal.” Off in the parallel corner of the room on his small shelf was a television with built in DVD and on the lover shelf was his game station in which he spent countless hours trying to beat “Moon Tear,” his favourite game. Beside the shelf was his closet, and dresser, but after that it was Alby’s territory.
Beside Alby’s bed was a matching nightstand. Not far from the Nightstand was a Multicoloured toy box; with shelves hanging overhead that displayed the younger brother’s most prized possessions that included a stuffed rabbit, a bright red ball with a star in the middle of it, and a family portrait.
After Riley was finished examining his new room he undressed and fell back onto his bed. The boy had both nervous and excited thoughts shooting through his head as he drifted off to sleep wondering what tomorrow would hold and imagining what his new school would be like. He slowly faded off into a deep sleep.
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Tue May 11, 2010 5:49 pm
