The Changeling Page #2

• Short story
• Fantasy

								

“Last night I was in the forest. I had friends with me. Laughing the whole time. They said I’m beautiful. They said they admire me. They took me to a place that they said was my home. There were lush leaves and thick moss covered branches. Everything had a blue hue to it. This place just felt… happy.”


 The elf realm is difficult to get to. That is unless; you are one of the three: An Elf, a child, or an animal.
“Everything all right out here?” Pollen asked her neighbor.
A glittery gust of wind blew past.
“It’s just that Coyote begging for scraps again. Shoo…shoo”
“Oh no, please don’t do that. I will take care of him.”
 Pollen hurried back into her house. She searched frantically for her warmest blanket. As soon as she 
allowed herself to remember where she put it, she grabbed it from the back of her closet and headed 
back outside.
 In a fashion that was second nature to her, Pollen wrapped the blanket around the shivering coyote 
and led him into her home. Her parents weren’t home yet, but she knew this wouldn’t be a problem. 
They were used to her doing this sort of thing. The Elf couple whose doorstep, Nada inevitably left her on named her Pollen, for the way she spread joy every place she went.
 Pollen fed the rest of her dinner to the Coyote and made him a soft place to sleep at the foot of her bed. She didn’t know it yet, but she had made herself a friend for life.

The bell chimed for the second time. Sandra sat slouched in her seat, while the seats around her 
filled with students. The beating of Sandra’s heart quickened at the thought of the assignment that had been given. The assignment that was neatly tucked into her folder labeled “English: 4th Period”
 The light chatter of the girls in front of her told her that the other students weren’t nearly as nervous as she was. She began to think the poem she wrote was a terrible misfire.
Wonderful she thought to herself give them another reason to hate you.
 The assignment from Mrs. Cabin was to write about your home. Sandra wrote about the only thing that had ever truly felt like home to her: her dreams. She felt guilty for not writing about her home with her parents and her brothers, who she missed dearly since they moved out. But if she were being completely honest with herself, they had always felt more like gracious hosts and close friends, rather than family. Probably because of the way she stood out like a sore thumb.
“Sandra” Mrs. Cabin called her first.
 She was Mrs. Cabin’s favorite student and contrary to Mrs. Cabin’s belief, that did not help her social standing.
 Sandra paused before rising and reluctantly made her way to the front of the classroom.
 The quivering paper was difficult to read.
“Home”
Her voice struggled to come out.
“Where is home?
Home is where dragons and unicorns live
Home is where you feel loved and safe
Home is the color of baby blue
Home has crystal clear water that is cold and refreshing when it’s splashed on you
Home is not fare Home was with you all along.”

A single obnoxious “Ha!” let out from the back of the classroom.
 Sandra didn’t see who it was. It didn’t matter. She knew they all felt the same way about her. This was evident when the whole room filled with mean-spirited laughter.
 Sandra ran for the door, not even stopping to grab her book bag.
Mrs. Cabin followed after her but she was gone. Just gone.


 Sandra teleported herself out of the school grounds, the way she always knew she was able to but 
never showed anyone.
 The problem with her vanishing act was she didn’t know how to control where she reappeared. All she 
knew was she needed to get out of there that very moment.
 When she opened her eyes again, she was surrounded by woods. Oak trees were reaching for the sky 
all around her.
 She let out a breath. Maybe this was better, she thought, than going home and disappointing her 
parents for what seemed like the millionth time. They never blamed her for the ridicule she endured but 
she blamed herself.
 A blue jay sang in the trees above her. That provided her some comfort, no matter how small it may 
have been.
 Sandra knew her parents would be worried when dinner time came around and she wasn’t home. But as the seconds ticked by, she had to come face to face with the irrefutable truth that she was lost. She didn’t know where she came into the forest and she didn’t know how to get out.
 She sat under a tall willow tree. Her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms were wrapped around her legs. Tears ran down her cheeks uncontrollably. He breathes came out in short little puffs.
“Weeping under the weeping willow.” She mused to herself.
 In an almost unconscious motion, she ran her hand down towards her decollete and held the charm on her necklace in her hand. It was a gift from Julie, the only mother she had ever known. It was a sun pendant and it had the words “My sunshine” on the back. Sandra wanted so badly to be the person she could feel Julie wanted her to be. And try as she may, she knew she would never be able to.
“What do you mean she’s not home yet?” Julie inhaled heavily.
She was on her way home from her weekly ceramics class. The lightly lit road ahead barely had any cars on it.
Without waiting for a response from her husband, “I’m on my way home.” She said indignantly.
Julie parked as quickly as she could. She ran up to the police officers, the car door left wide open behind her.
“What’s going on officers?”
Her husband Kevin stood speechless behind the officers. Julie looked back and forth at the two men, wondering why they were taking so long to answer. 
“Ma’am, please, stay calm. It was reported by a teacher that your daughter left school today, and when we called to check up on the situation, your husband informed us that she still hadn’t returned home this evening. So we thought we would come and check on the situation ourselves.”
Julie was feeling light headed now. Kevin stepped his way around the police officers, wrapped his arms around Julie and held her tight.


Aquamarine colored water from the fountain spritzed Pollen’s face. She lay there with Iris, mermaid that Pollen had been friends with for as long as she could remember. Iris’ luscious hair draped into the water from the rock that they were sprawled out on. Iris’ blue hair blended in perfectly and disappeared into the water.
“Have you ever wanted a sister?” Pollen broke the silence.
“No?”
Pollen let out a laugh, “Seriously!”
Iris rolled her eyes, settled on to her shoulder, and looked Pollen in the eye. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just wish I had a best friend to experience everything with.”
“Well, you have me.”
“I know, and you’re the greatest, but you live here and you’re always off chasing sailors.” Pollen gave Iris a friendly shove.
“That does it!” Iris shouted. Iris splashed Pollen and before they knew it, they were soaked. Iris didn’t mind in the slightest. She decided to jump all the way in while Pollen shook herself off.

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