The Fourth Wall
I had no idea where I was, completely lost. I was in the middle of a forest that I didn’t recognise. The sun shined through the trees, and I felt like I was in a fairytale movie. I didn’t have any shoes on, and I felt the gras beneath me, it was quite pleasant. The sky above me was blue like I’ve never seen, as if it was computer generated. Still I needed to get home.
Suddenly, the blue, bright sky turned stormy and dark. I checked my wristwatch, the hands were going haywire. I ran up the hill hoping that I could have a better look at where I was. I saw a small village of houses within walking distance straight ahead. It began to thunder and rain so I had no choice but to get to the village. It was no more than fifteen-minute walk. The ground was soaked with cold rain. At the bottom of the hill, things got worse.
I heard a loud sound of a massive waterfall. I didn’t dare look behind me. A mountain of water came roaring down towards me. My whole life flashed before my eyes. I ran for my life, though I knew that would be a futile effort. The raging water was like an angry bear hell bent on eating me alive. But somehow, I wasn’t afraid and that things would work out. the water swept me forward with the force that I can only imagine if one was to fall into a waterfall. The sea of water seemed to carry me.
The water so now hundred metres up in the air and I could see the whole land beneath me. It was then when I decided that I must be dreaming. The water gently brought me down to the house that I saw from the top of the hill. The raging water subsided as quickly as it appeared and the dark clouds parted with the warm sun peering again, drying me completely.
I was right in front of the door of the charming little house. It was the kind of house that I saw in fairy tale books as a kid. It had a bright pink roof with a chimney, white walls, and a green door. I looked through the window but couldn’t see anyone inside. I really didn’t have the need to take shelter any more as the weather cleared up, but I was intrigued to see inside of the house.
I cautiously opened the door. Everything had the appearance of something straight out of old school cartoons. I went inside. It was a cosy little house, with an old-style stove and oven in one corner and a table in another.
I was in the house for about a minute when a deep, guttural voice said
“Can I help you?”
My heart dropped.
Jennifer Clancy stopped typing. She looked out her window. She saw her husband daughter playing in the back yard. She had two weeks to finish the story and she had had enough for today. She closed her laptop and walked out of her study. When she joined her family, the laptop opened on its own and a giant hand reached out of the screen with an angry growl.