Once upon a time there was a boy. He lived in a big country house in the middle of nowhere with his aunt and uncle. His parents had both died a long time ago. Although they never treated him badly, they rarely showed any interest in what he was doing and left the boy to himself.
After 13 years of near solitude and lack of any interesting things to do the boy finally decided that he had had enough. He packed up his things and ran away at midnight, his goal being the legendary city where the kindest and most generous king of all time reigned.
Yet this would appear to be rather difficult. The road there was a long one and led through gloomy forests and scary marshes. Unfortunately, the boy didn’t know that each waypoint housed dangerous creatures and treacherous people. Many did not dare to take the horrifying route and stayed either in the city or the villages.
The boy set off on his journey. As he neared the forest, he heard hissing and growling. He gulped and hurried on. Suddenly there was a loud crash. A massive wolf appeared in front of him – but this was no ordinary wolf. It stood on its hind legs and waved its large claws at the boy who was shaking in fear.
Suddenly, an axe came swinging out of nowhere and the wolf was no more. The boy gasped at the hunter who handled the axe like a toy.
“Thank you”, the boy managed before running away.
It wasn’t long before he reached the marsh. There was mist everywhere so that he could barely see the small, wooden walkway in front of him.
Then, out of nowhere, there was a cackle, and a witch appeared in front of him. He immediately backed away.
“Now, now, child, I don’t want to hurt you. In fact, you must be tired after your long journey. I have plenty of tasty snacks and drinks for you, just follow me into my hut and all of it will be yours”, she said cunningly.
The boy saw through her cheap patterns with ease and said, “I’m good, thanks. I’ve got plenty of food and water, enough to last days.”
“Ah, I don’t believe that. Come on, just follow me”, she smiled. All at once the boy lost all control over his body. He was forced to walk towards her, the witch beckoning at him with a smile.
“Don’t be shy. Now, follow me.”
But the boy mustered up all his strength and pulled his arm up. The witch didn’t expect it and lost control of him. Without second thought he was gone.
As he ran away, he heard the witch cursing in anger. He laughed and didn’t look back once.
There were no more dangers and a few days later he arrived at the city. He was greeted with open arms and lived there happily ever after, not once did he think about his past life.
By Zach Ridgwick