When I woke, the warm, morning sun shone onto my face. My calendar happily informed me of the date, like it does everyday. “Saturday, May 9th, 1998”. The sun glimmered as it shone through my old bedroom window. I proceeded to sit up, so I could put on my slippers, one foot at a time. The floor creaked as I slid my feet carefully into each slipper. The house was old, and needed many repairs. The broken faucet only allowed cold water to seep through slowly, so I could brush away my morning breath. I crept down the hall, careful not to disturb the other sleepy souls that lie beyond each door I passed.
I was alone in this old, rickety, house that was located in the middle of a beautiful forest. Only paths made of dirt and tiny pebbles led the way. No roads, no cars, no people, nothing but nature, and every once in a while the mail man, or a daring Avon lady. I had only lived there for three days. It was a huge and empty house. Most of the rooms I had never stepped into, afraid to see what may be on the other side of each magical passageway. The whole basement was locked, as was the attic. Every once in a while I heard small, gentle footsteps scurry from above. The house was written into my mother’s will, and when she died, I was to be the one to inherit it and it’s many secrets. She died two days after my nineteenth birthday. She was unmarried, and I was her only child. I had been living with my aunt since I was ten.
I sat every day staring at the blank walls, and the sheets that covered her furniture, wondering what she did with her time. I could hear her large clock tick, making the seconds feel like minutes, and the minutes, hours. The house looked as though no one had occupied it in years. The few rooms I had peered into were unfurnished and the kitchen cupboards, empty. Many dusty boxes sat untouched, and I thought to myself many times that one day I would gain the courage to look inside them, one day.
A knock on the door. I was so far from humanity, I could not fathom who it could be. I slowly opened the door, to see no one on the other side. I looked around and saw a beautiful, ivory envelope laying at my feet. It was addressed to me, Emily. I picked it up cautiously, curious as to who it could be from. Quickly I went back inside and locked the door, not taking my eyes off the mysterious envelope that was now in my hands. I walked gently over to the couch, and pulled off the dusty, white sheet. I slowly sat down and turned on the lamp on the table beside me. I anxiously and meticulously opened it.
A gold key. It was quite small, yet very beautiful. I sat there holding it tightly in my fingers, staring at it from every angle. I got up and walked down the long hallway to the one door I wanted to open most, hoping and praying that the key would unlock it. The house was silent, no little foot steps scurrying above me, no birds chirping outside. The sun rays gleamed through the hall windows, and illuminated every tiny particle of dust that was floating through the air. Finally at the door, the miniature, gold key still in my hand, I reached out to unlock it. I fiddled with the lock for a few seconds when it finally unlocked. The door was stuck shut, as though it had never been opened. I had to push with all my force to open it. It was pitch black. The sunlight that glistened into the room revealed the pull chain for the lights. I slowly stepped into the room, let go of the door, and reached for the short, silver chain. As I pulled, the door slammed shut and suddenly locked behind me! Trapped. The only door was now locked; I had no way out of the empty room. Hoping that someone would hear me, hoping for the mailman or an Avon lady, I started banging on the door and the walls. My hands were getting sore, and I was getting tired. With one last feeble effort I hit the wall, and immediately the floor beneath me disappeared. Falling down into an abyss, I thought I was never going to hit the ground.
When my fragile feet did meet the ground, I landed softly, as though a parachute was guiding me. I could no longer remember where I had come from, and how I ended up here. I was in what seemed to be an enchanted forest; trees towered higher than I had ever seen, and a kaleidoscopic array of flowers covered the ground. I found myself saying and thinking things I had never spoke or thought before, as though I was someone else. I saw a rabbit holding a pocket watch rush by. Curious as to where it was going, I followed it. It came to a long table, set up for a tea party. Feeling courageous, I decided to join in with the elegantly dressed folk. At the end of the tea party I was handed a basket of goodies and was told to follow the path to Grandma’s house, and never stray to smell the flowers, or talk to strangers. Everything seemed so comfortable and fitting. As I was promenading down the path, a wolf crept up behind me. I could sense him hiding behind the trees. He followed me until I was nearing the small, delightful cottage. The wood siding cream coloured, and the roof the tint of mahogany.
I opened the door to see seven dwarves inside. Some sleeping, some laughing, some fighting. They immediately greeted me and welcomed me home. I felt as though the house needed to be cleaned, and I did so until it was spotless. I spent the night there; it was my home after all. The next morning, I received a telegram informing me that there was a ball being held tonight. When my step-mother came by to bring me an apple, she stated that I was not allowed to attend because I had to stay home and clean. I threw the apple in anger, and started scrubbing the floors, again. The sky grew darker and darker and then all of a sudden it lit up and it sparkled. I stepped outside to see a beautiful fairy godmother. She cast a spell on me, giving me a silver carriage, a dazzling ball gown, and shimmering glass slippers that fit me as though they were made for only my feet. The spell was to last until midnight, not a minute later.
“The Land of Oz” read an enormous sign. The ball was being held in an emerald green palace. Prince Charming was to be there. Women swooned over him, yet he danced with me all night long. When the clock was about to strike midnight I left abruptly, and as I ran down the long, concrete stairs my foot fell out of one of the shimmering glass slippers. I did not have enough time to stop and put it back on so I left it laying there. I returned home and right as I did my clothes returned to rags and the carriage disappeared, but for some reason my single glass slipper kept shimmering.
The next night, Prince Charming arrived at my door. He was holding the glass slipper that I left on the stairs. He slipped it onto my foot, and it fit perfectly. He took me back to his palace. When we arrived he handed me a box, enveloped in the most ravishing gift wrap. Inside the box was a pair of ruby red slippers. He told me that if I ever wanted to return home I just had to click my heels together three times and repeat, “There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home!”. Then I realized, that I was not where I belonged. I became aware of a slight sense that I was out of place, but every event had flowed so seamlessly.
I spent a few sleepless nights in the palace, afraid to see what my home really was, wondering, and trying to remember if anything had even existed before the tall towering trees and the kaleidoscopic array of flowers. The next morning I felt brave, and ready to learn what was before the life that I had become so accustomed to. I clicked my heels together three times and repeated, “There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home!”
When I woke, the warm, morning sun shone onto my face. My calendar was not there to happily read me the date like it used to every single morning. Everything was different, unusual, improved. The floor did not creak as I carefully slipped my feet into my slippers, one foot at a time. The faucet now allowed warm water to stream through. As I crept down the hall I noticed that the walls had unfamiliar paint, and framed photos of a happy family lined them. The furniture was no longer covered with a dusty white sheet, in fact it was new furniture all together. As I got closer to the kitchen I could hear voices that I did not recognize, voices I had never heard before. Then I spotted a calendar that read to me the date: “Thursday, September 21st, 2002”.