Bang! The gunshot sounds. Ringing through the barren desert. My horse falls beneath me. I jump as another bullet skidds past my head. I roll behind a bush, squatting on my heels I pull out my pistol in one solid, smooth, quick movement.
Clang! Metal against metal. “Words! Words!” I say. My father, the king, has been murdered. A ghost appears. I must avenge his death. My mother poisoned. My lover mad and drowned and her father dead. My uncle, the traitor, falls. I die.
Swoop! I dive through the clouds. The wind blowing through my hair. The warm body of my beautiful, winged steed beneath me. We fly, she speaks, we are one. I slash as she dives through the clouds towards our enemy. We soar. We are one with the wind and the sky.
My blade glows blue. Orcs. The Black Gates stare back at us hauntingly. The burden hangs on my neck. I know I cannot do this alone. My loyal friend will not leave me. He will die for me if he must. He will be with me at the end of all things. Still, it is a heavy load to bear.
I enter the Wardrobe, falling into the cold snow beyond. Stories of ice, White Witches, dwarfs, fauns, and lions soon to be. I am a child. But I will one day be a queen. I find a casual lamppost in the middle of an ancient forest. Strange and exciting things await me and my siblings.
I sit in the waggon as it bumps along the prairie. Ma and pa are so good to us. I love it when pa plays the fiddle as my good old dog sits beside me. I am safe here with him and pa. I know it’s wrong but I still want to say something mean to that sassy store keepers daughter.
I load my rifle. My friends fall beside me. I am cold and sick. I could die today. Die for the country I love. I fire. A Redcoat falls. The sounds of pain and death surround me. I look up and see my General leading us on. Independence, here I come!
I’m a black man. I live in the south. A white man owns me. I’m a slave. I’ve known nothin’ else in my life but this. A war is wagin’. A war against brothers. Someday my children and I will be free. I look up and realize that I am part of history.
I pull back the string to my bow. I let it go, hearing the sweet twang as it launches the arrow spinning towards its prey. I think of my sister, my mother and the boy I will one day call my husband. I didn’t want to be here, but I am. One day they will call me a hero.
I let go of my hold on the wall. It is a surreal feeling as I float. There is no gravity in this room to keep me steady and still. My mind spins as I think of ways to win the battle. I am being trained. They follow me. I am a leader.
I bounce off of a coin, burning the metals in my stomach. I am hard, but I am learning to trust again. There are things to do. A world to save, a hero to be. A mystery to solve and a prophecy to fulfil. But am I really who they think I am?
I am stubborn and witty. I am educated in my own way. I’m very independent and find my mother and my sisters silly. You suddenly came into my life. I don’t like you. You are too proud. Who would have thought that I would come to love you and want to be with you forever.
I set a letter down by the fairy tree. I love my big brother. I love him more than words can say. He is so very, very kind to me. I’m not always the wisest little girl. Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to hang myself in a tree.
I am the daughter of two kings. The wife of a dead prince I never knew. A kingdom to save. Plans to unravel and foil. Mysteries to solve. Minds to put to ease. A city of gods to restore. I am not your typical woman, but I will help change the world.
“Hey, carrot.” He says. My face grows red. My anger gets the best of me and I break my slate on his head. I dream and imagine many, many things. Still, there is one thing I hate. I hate my terrible red hair.
I look down from my kingdom. I take the silvery bolts in my hand. I toss them down with a mighty thrust. I laugh at the terrified people below. The thunder rolls through the land. The rain pours. The lightning cracks. I smile, for I am a god.
Swords clash. Guns fire. Horses run. Dragons fly. Little children play. Death comes again and again. Lovers kiss. Tyranny is defeated. Heros come. Kings are made. Lions roar. Goblins scream. I am at the very center of it all.
I am the captured. I am the advocate, the villain, the lover and the lost one. I am the captor and the student. The unlikely hero who simply happened to be in the right place at the right time and decided to act. I am everything.
Elves work magic. Mothers seek husbands for their daughters. Ghosts appear and haunt me. Dust and bullets fly. Ships are tossed on the stormy sea. You kiss me. I wield my sword and seal the devils fate. It ends. We have won!
I close the book, sighing deeply. The pages are wrinkled and marked. The cover is worn. I smile. I turn out the light. Rolling over I sleep with a victorious smile still on my face. The journey has ended once again. But in my dreams I am there. There in the pages.
- Missy Nelson
Clang! Metal against metal. “Words! Words!” I say. My father, the king, has been murdered. A ghost appears. I must avenge his death. My mother poisoned. My lover mad and drowned and her father dead. My uncle, the traitor, falls. I die.
Swoop! I dive through the clouds. The wind blowing through my hair. The warm body of my beautiful, winged steed beneath me. We fly, she speaks, we are one. I slash as she dives through the clouds towards our enemy. We soar. We are one with the wind and the sky.
My blade glows blue. Orcs. The Black Gates stare back at us hauntingly. The burden hangs on my neck. I know I cannot do this alone. My loyal friend will not leave me. He will die for me if he must. He will be with me at the end of all things. Still, it is a heavy load to bear.
I enter the Wardrobe, falling into the cold snow beyond. Stories of ice, White Witches, dwarfs, fauns, and lions soon to be. I am a child. But I will one day be a queen. I find a casual lamppost in the middle of an ancient forest. Strange and exciting things await me and my siblings.
I sit in the waggon as it bumps along the prairie. Ma and pa are so good to us. I love it when pa plays the fiddle as my good old dog sits beside me. I am safe here with him and pa. I know it’s wrong but I still want to say something mean to that sassy store keepers daughter.
I load my rifle. My friends fall beside me. I am cold and sick. I could die today. Die for the country I love. I fire. A Redcoat falls. The sounds of pain and death surround me. I look up and see my General leading us on. Independence, here I come!
I’m a black man. I live in the south. A white man owns me. I’m a slave. I’ve known nothin’ else in my life but this. A war is wagin’. A war against brothers. Someday my children and I will be free. I look up and realize that I am part of history.
I pull back the string to my bow. I let it go, hearing the sweet twang as it launches the arrow spinning towards its prey. I think of my sister, my mother and the boy I will one day call my husband. I didn’t want to be here, but I am. One day they will call me a hero.
I let go of my hold on the wall. It is a surreal feeling as I float. There is no gravity in this room to keep me steady and still. My mind spins as I think of ways to win the battle. I am being trained. They follow me. I am a leader.
I bounce off of a coin, burning the metals in my stomach. I am hard, but I am learning to trust again. There are things to do. A world to save, a hero to be. A mystery to solve and a prophecy to fulfil. But am I really who they think I am?
I am stubborn and witty. I am educated in my own way. I’m very independent and find my mother and my sisters silly. You suddenly came into my life. I don’t like you. You are too proud. Who would have thought that I would come to love you and want to be with you forever.
I set a letter down by the fairy tree. I love my big brother. I love him more than words can say. He is so very, very kind to me. I’m not always the wisest little girl. Sometimes I wonder what it would feel like to hang myself in a tree.
I am the daughter of two kings. The wife of a dead prince I never knew. A kingdom to save. Plans to unravel and foil. Mysteries to solve. Minds to put to ease. A city of gods to restore. I am not your typical woman, but I will help change the world.
“Hey, carrot.” He says. My face grows red. My anger gets the best of me and I break my slate on his head. I dream and imagine many, many things. Still, there is one thing I hate. I hate my terrible red hair.
I look down from my kingdom. I take the silvery bolts in my hand. I toss them down with a mighty thrust. I laugh at the terrified people below. The thunder rolls through the land. The rain pours. The lightning cracks. I smile, for I am a god.
Swords clash. Guns fire. Horses run. Dragons fly. Little children play. Death comes again and again. Lovers kiss. Tyranny is defeated. Heros come. Kings are made. Lions roar. Goblins scream. I am at the very center of it all.
I am the captured. I am the advocate, the villain, the lover and the lost one. I am the captor and the student. The unlikely hero who simply happened to be in the right place at the right time and decided to act. I am everything.
Elves work magic. Mothers seek husbands for their daughters. Ghosts appear and haunt me. Dust and bullets fly. Ships are tossed on the stormy sea. You kiss me. I wield my sword and seal the devils fate. It ends. We have won!
I close the book, sighing deeply. The pages are wrinkled and marked. The cover is worn. I smile. I turn out the light. Rolling over I sleep with a victorious smile still on my face. The journey has ended once again. But in my dreams I am there. There in the pages.
- Missy Nelson
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