P.D.Roberts

Abbie and her father had walked into the hidden world of Aurorithia. The warmer gentle breeze heated up their chilly skin and her father fell to the cobbled ground. He was dazed and dizzy from the disorientation of travelling through the entrance. Abbie helped him up onto his feet as he turned around again and again, staring at the sheer discovery of a life time and his mouth dropped as he caught glimpses of creatures, people and a town. He pinched his skin to check if he was actually awake, but this was no dream. He was utterly speechless that there was another world like Abbie said, she hadn’t been lying to him. He earlier thought that he might have to take his daughter to a shrink, but it started to feel like he might need one instead. His eyes were wide and his heartbeat fast as he looked at the citizens walking and even crawling around town.

     “What are they?” his hands shook. “Oh my God Abbie... I... I am so sorry for not believing you!” He quickly hugged her tight.

     “Dad you’re squeezing me!” she said, pulling away gently from him.He did not know what to do or say, but simply watched in awe. Abbie felt anxious as her memories were still not distant enough to feel safe, she had not forgotten the last time she was in this world. Wonderful views maybe, but afar in different parts was peril and evilness. Her father spoke to her as he could not believe what he was seeing.

     “Some do look quite different, but most of them are just getting on with their lives just like us humans,” James said, whilst turning around trying to grasp the reality of where he was. “How... how? How did you even find this place? This is too much to take in,” he said as he bent his head down and placed both his hands on his knees trying not to pass out. Abbie looked at her father, she didn’t want to tell him that it all evolved around Toby and so instead she told him that she didn’t know why they took her.

     “B—but why? Why did they take you? Is there more? People I mean, have they taken more?” he spoke quickly, breathing heavily from it all.

     “Dad calm down, I just wanted to show you that I wasn’t making it up!”

     “No... no we have to tell someone about this place, the police or the army or someone!”

     “Dad no, you promised me! This area is apparently a nice place,” she said, holding him to the promise he had made her.She bit her nails, a bad habit or nerves who knew, but she knew that they shouldn’t be there just in case. The only reason she brought him there was to prove to her dad that it actually existed.

     “Sweetie, this is great! Doesn’t the world deserve the right to know about this?”

     “Oh yes Dad, I forgot how much of a kind loving world we live in? I don’t think so Dad.” Abbie said, sarcastically.

     “But?” James replied.

     “I mean it Dad,” she said, standing her ground, “you better not!” Her father, overwhelmed by the unique scenery, got distracted from her words and wandered off into the busy market, Cryagon Stow. Abbie unwillingly chased after him to keep an eye on him as they both didn’t know where they actually were. After she caught up with her father they both headed into the very active market, his brain still felt like it was still spinning from all the things to see.“An actual hidden world, it’s here, it’s real!” he gasped. Abbie had never seen this part of the world and they were both equally gobsmacked by the unique shops. There were merchants selling unfamiliar fresh fish and meat, others selling plants and jewellery and gemstones and others selling all kinds of paraphernalia. They stopped for a moment and deeply breathed in all kinds of unusual aromas. Abbie felt more relaxed as the area seemed to take her mind of things. They got to a small little stall drowned with bright colours and sweet sugary smells, it had small various shaped and glowing coloured jars all in an ordered line next to one another. They were filled with what only could be described as varieties of different coloured snow.

     “Is this edible?” he asked Abbie, as he felt the texture from an opened jar.It looked and felt like snow, but it was dry like an almost unsmooth sherbet feel.

     “You try? You sample for free, it good and buy more yah?”The creature selling the weird yet wonderful looking cuisine had tanned light brown skin with horns the shapes of branches.

     “What even is it?” James asked, awkwardly staring back and forth at his unusual horns.

     “It’s called frumbledust, here you try some, it taste good!”