The Magic Tree

On an usual afternoon, Annie was finishing her homework. The terribly hot weather made it hard to focus, so she decided to explore the house. Annie moved here for a week, this is an old shabby house with lots of windows, which seems easy to break. Greenish plants crawl all over the yellow wall, it makes the house look like a gigantic tree. The garden is right in front of the building, it is a large circle shape rounded by a wooden fence.

Annie walked in the garden, there’s nothing but a dry tree that looks like a beast’s claw.

“Mom, can I invite my friends here during the next summer vacation?” Annie spoke loudly so her mom could hear. A woman wearing dark blue shirts walked out from the house, she threw the pen on the ground and yelled angrily.

“How many times I need to tell you to be quiet, why don’t you shut your mouth!” Annie’s mom walked back to the house and shut the door very hard.

“I guess that’s a no”, Annie said to herself. She walked toward the dry tree and sat down, all of the things seemed boring to her. Sometimes she wished there could be a place without suffering and only happiness forever. Even though her wishes are unreal, she’s still waiting for that day.

Sunset came very soon, Annie picked a flower that’s not fully dry and returned to the house. In the kitchen, Annie’s mom cooked chicken for dinner.

“Mom, why are we eating that chicken again, it's from yesterday.” Annie took a fork from the cabinet, and sat down. She didn’t want to eat that chicken at all, it was oily and had a weird smell. Since Annie and her parents moved here, the only thing to eat is this fast food chicken.

Her mom, who just put the chicken on the table, frowned, “This is the only food for today.”

No one talked during dinner, this is a rare peaceful time. After Annie finished eating she walked upstairs to her bedroom. Because this house is very old, there’s dust everywhere, on the wall, on the ground, even on Annie’s bed. She sat on the bed, watching the ceiling which had a big crack on. Wondering if the ceiling will fall down when she’s sleeping. The wall paper is pink with white lines on, it is very used and weak. Annie tore the wallpaper off and threw it to the trash can, this room needs to be cleaned.

Midnight, Annie felt thirsty. She stepped on the ground slowly and cautiously so she wouldn't wake her parents up. The kitchen was very dark, Annie turned the light on and poured some water into her cup. She sat down on the small plastic chair near the window. In the garden, in the big dry tree, a soft yellow light is glowing. At first Annie thought that’s a firefly, she walked out so she could see it clearer. Then, she saw a scene that she can’t forget for her whole life.

Many yellow lights came out of the tree, they suddenly went apart and quickly combined together. They seemed to be lively and curious about Annie.

“Are they… alive?” Annie talked to herself. She tried to touch those lights but they hid behind her back.

Annie stepped backward, the tree’s opening slowly, a hand came out of the crack of the big branch. Annie tried to seek the inside of the crack but there’s nothing but darkness. The hand held a small branch and pulled out of the tree.

The girl in the tree has long curly brown hair and blue eyes, and looks exactly like Annie. She waved her hand at Annie and smiled.

“Is that a mirror?” Annie wanted to look closer until she touched the girl’s hand. She screamed and moved backward. Annie rubbed her eyes, this scene is too scary for her. She can’t believe that in her garden a creature cracked the tree and smiled at her. Many questions formed in Annie’s mind, what is the creature, why is it now in my garden and looks the same as me? Annie tried to run into the house, but the girl held her shirt.

“Stop running, I'm not gonna hurt you.” The girl said, she jumped off the tree, “Annie, I am you from another world.”

Annie almost screamed out, “me, what do you mean?”

“Come closer, I’ll tell you all about it”

Annie walked closer so she could hear the girl, as she walked closer the girl’s smile became bigger. When Annie reached the crack and the girl held Annie’s hand and pulled her inside the crack. The crack is big and dark, and seems endless. There’s no sound in the tree hole except Annie’s scream, she still can feel the hand of the girl holding her hardly.

About ten minutes later, Annie touched the ground, it was soft and warm and also very familiar. Strong light made her eyes can’t open.

“Annie, open your eyes!” the girl said, she shaked Annie’s body to wake her up.

The same room as Annie’s bedroom but with different decorations, this is more cleaned and neat. Annie walked around the room, she saw a picture of her and her friend. ‘I swear this photo was not here last night.’ Annie noticed that many things in the bedroom changed, she suppressed her curiosity and refrained from asking the girl.

“I’m Sarah, you might have noticed that there’s some difference in this room. I did this to welcome you to my world,” She pointed at the door, “you can walk around if you like.”

“Who are you, why do you look the same as me?” Annie observed Sarah’s face. They have the same height, same face even the moles are at the same position. Annie didn’t think this was true, she still thought this was a nightmare. This is too unbelievable for her, she never met such a thing since she was borned. Now Annie only wants to wake up from this nightmare. ‘If this isn’t a dream, what should I do?’ she wondered. She tried to use hurt to wake herself up, but it didn’t work.

“Did you do this?” Annie asked Sarah cautiously, she was scared if this weird girl would harm her.

Sarah shook her head, “No, I didn’t do anything, it is like usual. A reminder for you, this is not the world you were living in for 14 years. I am you in this world, you are also me, we are the same person but belong to a different world.”

“I don’t understand, so why did you take me here?”

“I’ll tell you later, follow me.” Sarah walked out of the room. Annie followed her, they went through the hallway. Annie looked around and saw many photos on the wall, they are all Annie or Sarah. The ground is wooden, there's a small crunchy sound when people step on it. The smell of dust in Annie’s house disappeared. This place is similar to Annie’s house, but with better decorations and a clean environment. This whole house is decorated according to her preference, Annie wished her house could be as pretty as here. Down stairs is the living room, she saw her mom was sitting on the sofa.

Annie ran to her mom, she shouted excitedly, “Mom, you are also here, do you know what happened?”

The woman who had the same face as Annie’s mom didn’t move. As Annie walked closer, she saw her mom's face clearer, it’s not a real human. The skin is yellowish white, there’s no poles on the surface, it is very smooth. It is a wax statue, Annie touched the statue, it was oily and hard. ‘This is definitely not a real human’, Annie thought. This statue almost looks the same as her mom, they are even wearing the same dark blue shirts.

“Do you like this,” Sarah asked Annie, “You always complain that your mom is too noisy and strict, she's always yelling at you.” Sarah pointed at the statue, making a shhh sound. “Now she’s quiet, isn’t it wonderful.”

“Can you let me return to my original world? My parents will be angry if I don’t return.” Annie talked to Sarah carefully, she’s confused by the situation now and had many questions.

“It’s your decision if you want to stay or not, but can you go to the garden with me first?” Sarah smiled and took Annie’s hand. She opened the door and walked out. At first Annie didn’t want to take the risk, but the tree’s in the garden, she wanted to try if she can use the old tree to return like what she did before.

They entered the garden together, different from the garden in Annie’s world, this is more colorful and lively. Many kinds of bushes and flowers all around, there’s a swing under the tree. Annie can’t make sure if it is the same tree. Almost everything in this world changes, it can be a really small detail, Annie liked those changes. They are all thoughtful ideas and Annie wants to make those changes from a long time ago. Because of her school and homeworks she has no time to do these.

“This is fascinating!” She said, and walked to the swing. Annie tried to touch the tree and see if the crack could appear again, but nothing happened.

“There’s no school and homework here, only happiness” Sarah said, “Do you want to stay here, not for only a few days, it’s the stay forever.”

Annie glanced at the tree, she was figuring out a way to open the tree crack, “I just want to ask about the tree crack, it is very interesting and I want to know more.”

“That tree crack is a tunnel, it can make people travel to here or your world. ” she said, “but why do you ask for this, you are going to stay here aren’t you?” Sarah’s face began to change, her face suddenly grew sharper and her mouth was bigger. Annie saw her legs were becoming skinnier and longer. Sarah’s face is melting like wax burned by fire. Thick wax liquid dripping from Sarah’s face, her facial features became blurry.

“Are you going to stay here?” Even though Sarah’s face twisted with anger, her voice was still calm like usual.

Annie was scared by this, she didn’t dare to talk. She was afraid this creature would eat her if she said no. She quickly ran away from the garden, there must be a way to open the tunnel. Annie thought back on what happened today, ‘There’s a tree crack and Sarah pushed me in and then I’m here, wait, I woke up in the bedroom. The tunnel must be there!’ She quickly went upstairs, she noticed that everything in the room was melting at a very fast speed. Annie hears Sarah running on the stairs, there’s no time for her. She opened the door and stepped in then closed the door fast. She saw Sarah melting and making the wax everywhere, her melting wax hand was holding the door handle and trying to open the door. Annie locked the door and pushed chairs and desk so Sarah couldn't open it.

Annie heard Sarah yelling and hitting the door, the door’s very old and weak, she had no extra time. She observed the room, it looks like a regular bed room, Sarah opened almost every single drawer and cabinets but there’s nothing but sundries.

“Wait, is there something under the bed?” she lifted off the covering sheet, there’s a swirl under. Annie tried to look closer, she heard her mom’s sound calling. It is dark, she can’t see anything. The sound of door knocking was faster, the door was cracking. Annie had no choice, she jumped inside the swirl. It is the same dark tunnel that seemed endless. But this time she can hear a woman's sound.

Annie opened her eyes, she saw her mom’s face looking at her.

“Annie, are you okay?” her mom, who’s staring at Annie, asked worriedly, “you were yelling and screaming last night, do you had a nightmare?”

“That’s a nightmare? I had a really bad dream yesterday. I dreamed that a girl looked the same as me and she pulled me to a tunnel and all the things melted like wax.” Annie cried, she hugged her mom. This nightmare is so real, her back was all wet with sweat. Annie couldn’t forget the scene of Sarah chasing her.

She trembled and cried, “They are all melting, everything is melting like wax!”

“Calm down, it’s just a nightmare, I’ll cook some breakfast for you.” Annie’s mom walked to the kitchen. She put eggs and bacon in the frying pan, the delicious smell of food calmed Annie down. ‘It’s just a nightmare, it’s all over’ she thought.

“Ahh” Annie’s mom yelled.

“Are you okay?” Annie asked.

“Don’t worry I just got burned a bit.”

Annie saw a drop of wax dripping from her mom’s hand.