ISLAND OF THE UNKNOWN (part 1)
It was a fine Sunday morning. Maria, Tess and Brooke were headed to the mall to buy clothes for Maria. It was her birthday. "I just don't feel like it's my birthday. I'm so bored" Maria sulked. But little did she know that her birthday was going to be anything but boring
. "Oh come on Maria, you'll have fun once we reach there. Plus there's a huge sale at Forever 21." said Brooke cheerily.
Tess squealed loudly at the word 'huge sale'. And loud enough to rouse a construction site watchman from his slumber. He wiped the drool from his chin and looked around to find the source of the sudden noise. Her squeal also earned her funny looks from passers-by. An old lady-so old that she practically had half her leg in the grave- gave them a patronizing look that clearly said 'youngsters these days'. But that didn't stop her from being her overtly excited self. Quite the contrary in fact. Her squeals became shriller and more pronounced, to the point where only bats could hear her. Maria was still low despite the fact that her friends were high on serotonin. As soon as they entered the mall, the delectable scent of waffles and doughnut drifted to their nostrils. Maria took in the sweet waft and felt slightly better. Maybe the day wasn't going to be so boring after all. As soon as they stepped into Forever 21 they saw a mob of excited women gathered near the aisle labelled '60% Flat'. Two women were engaged in what appeared to be a heated argument about who saw the white top first. Two seconds later they started pulling each other's hair while screaming profanities at each other, while other women were busy picking out clothes.
After a lot of hard-work, sweat and elbowing Maria finally managed to pick up some decent looking clothes for herself and managed to get out of the mob without a scratch. Many women had actually broken their fake manicured nails in an attempt to scratch other women who stepped in their way while picking out clothes.
She headed straight to the dressing room area where there was a big queue in front of each room. Maria sighed in defeat. But then she caught sight of a room in the corner and surprisingly no one was going in there. People walked by that room without sparing it a glance as if it didn't exist. Intrigued and delighted, she quickly made her way to the room and bolted the door.
But as soon as the door closed, everything went black and the room started spinning. Maria screamed but she couldn't hear her own voice. She felt like she was going into oblivion. And then, she blacked out....
Hey beautiful souls! I hope you liked the story so far. This is something very different from what I usually write. This story is a fantasy fiction- a genre I have never attempted before. There will be two more Parts to this story guys. So stay tuned. Lots of exciting things are going to happen to Maria :D Have a wonderful day people.
ISLAND OF THE UNKNOWN(PART 2)
A minute ago all was spinning and everything had gone black, Maria thought. But now her head was hurting from all the spinning and so were her eyes. The surroundings were too bright. Her eyes took a while to open up fully and adjust to the bright surroundings. But what she saw made her eyes pop to the size of saucers. Her jaw dropped at the sight in front of her
. It was an exotic island with the sun shining blindingly in the sky and the picturesque lakes with their crystal clear water reflecting the clear blue sky above. Trees unusually short but exceptionally beautiful, were a sight to behold. But were these trees and lakes ordinary? Hell no! What made her jaw go slack was the peculiarity of this strange island.
The various trees here instead of leaves,branches and flowers, sported shoes! All kinds of shoes ranging from sports shoes, kicks,sandals to gorgeous stilettos,wedges etc. in all shapes and colours. Louboutins and Jimmy Choos were hanging invitingly from the trees, waiting to be plucked. The rocks and boulders here were made of shiny stylish rings and bracelets which sparkled when sunlight bounced off them. At the bottom of the shallow lakes were some of the most glamorous cocktail dresses, one pieces and gowns she'd ever laid her eyes on. In one of the other numerous lakes she saw sinfully stylish and chic gym clothes. Maria remembered all the times her credit card had been rejected while trying to buy expensive gym clothing. This island was a shopaholic's paradise. The collection of shoes, accessories and clothes here was better than ten New York Fashion Weeks put together.
Not able to contain her excitement, she hopped to a nearby tree and plucked out a pair of scarlet Louboutins and put them on. Surprisingly, they fit perfectly. But a moment later they vanished from her legs- nearly making her lose her balance- and appeared right where they were on the tree. "Of course" she thought "This is all too good to be true" The same transpired when she tried on many other items. "Urghh. What do I do now?" she cried out and held up her hands in exasperation. Just then she saw a man. The island wasn't nearly as peculiar as the man standing in front of her. He had a bubblegum pink moustache,a full green mane and was dressed in a Jack Sparrow resembling pirate outfit. "What are you?" Maria asked, horrified at his appearance.
To that, he just chuckled. "That's not important. You want these items permanently don't you?"
To this Maria frantically nodded her head.
"They're free of cost but ironically they come at a price"
"What price?" asked Maria curiously, all thoughts about his appalling appearance forgotten. "The price my lady, is a game. If you win you take all you want home." "And if I lose?" asked Maria.
"Then you'll never be able to leave this place" he smiled.
Hello happy souls,
Hope you're enjoying so far. The third installment will have a lot of action. A lot! Yippieee. Tell me in the comments below what you think the game might be. Also let me know if you want me to write other fantasy stories in the future. Drop your suggestions in the comment section.
Lots of love,
ISLAND OF THE UNKNOWN(PART 3)
It took her a while to actually process what she just heard. "What?! You mean if I lose I'll be trapped in this wretched island forever?"
She didn't realise she was shouting until the man winced. "I'm pretty sure you were happier than a bird with a french fry a few moments ago. And now you're calling the island wretched?" said he with a amused expression
"Firstly I do not get to wear a single item on this island for more than two seconds and secondly some funny looking moron tells me to play a game ,in which if I lose I don't get to meet my family; ever. Am I right or am I right?" she said with a dangerous glint in her eyes. Her voice had risen quite a few octaves. "Whoa! Easy there tiger. Why don't you think about winning instead. Think of all that you can take home. Think of all the money you could save. Think of the compliments you'd get when you're out and about dressed in the best clothes and shoes. And I can say you're a smart woman. You can easily win." he said with a wink. Well it was a mouthwatering prospect after all. And she definitely was smart. No one could take that away from her. So with a new found enthusiasm she spoke "What's the game".
Hearing that he gave her a dazzling smile. Maria noticed for the first time that despite his eccentric get-up, he was very handsome. "You'll get three clues. Each one will lead you to the next. The last one will lead you to me. Once you're through with all three, you're free to go home; with all that you want from here of course. So, shall we begin?" "Yes" she whispered, now getting a little tense. He led her to a gate made of beautiful crystals. "You're on your own now Maria. All the best". Saying this he vanished with a 'click'. She spotted text written on a crystal. It read
'When you have me, you feel like sharing me. But if you share me, you don't have me. What am I?'
" Umm umm umm..." Maria wracked her brains for an answer. And finally, " A secret!" she said. The gate opened and she walked through it. "Stop my child". She whirled around and was petrified to find a shoe tree with a big hollow speaking to her. " Don't fret child and do what I say.
Get in the tree hole
And tell me what's blacker than coal.
A clue for you to get it right,
It is something you daily sight".
"Blacker than coal. I see it daily. What is it?". She thought for a few minutes and then it clicked. "The night" she said confidently. "Bravo my child. Get in the hollow now." As soon as she got in, she slipped through and went sliding down a giant rabbit hole finally landing on her butt in a garden. She saw three flasks with coloured liquids, on a pedestal. The leftmost had blue, the middle one had red and the rightmost had yellow liquid in it. Right there on the pedestal was a Tshirt with the following written on it
'If you drink one
You'll perish.
If you drink another,
You'll lose all you cherish.
But one potion is such,
That'll give you more than much
On it the sun shines the brightest,
And it is the best and the rightest.'
"Perish? Lose all I cherish? Sun? What does it mean?"
ISLAND OF THE UNKNOWN(PART 4)
"This is so irritating" Maria clawed at her face in frustration. She could make neither head nor tail of the riddle. Just then the words of her grandmother echoed in her head. Years ago when Maria had struggled solving a riddle her grandma had said "Don't get disheartened dear. Remember two things while solving a riddle. First, the bigger the riddle, the easier it is to crack, because it has more clues leading to the answer. Second, read the riddle word for word. Most words are just for the rhyme. Very few words are actually clues." She decided to implement her grandma's advice. " The first two lines clearly say that I can drink only one of the three,which I already know. So the clue lies in the last two lines. Let's see. Sun shines, brightest, rightest. Brightest rightest...Yes!! The rightest means the rightmost drink. The yellow one is the answer."
Maria beamed victoriously. She picked up the flask with the yellow liquid and sending a silent prayer to the heavens, she brought it to her mouth; hoping with every fibre of her being that she was right. She downed the drink in one go. She was waiting impatiently for something magical to happen. She was expecting the "Jack Sparrow" guy to appear from a puff of smoke in front of her. But nothing of that sort happened. She was wrong. Her world crumbled ,when she realized that she was going to be trapped here forever. She fell to her knees and started sobbing.
Just then someone gently tapped her on the shoulder. Maria leapt to her feet with a start, almost losing her balance. "You!" she exclaimed with a mixture of relief and shock. "But I lost, didn't I?" she asked in between sobs. She could see a lazy smile playing on his lips and something akin to pride in his eyes. "No Maria. You won! All of this is yours. And you're free to go back to your land" Maria gasped. She couldn't believe her ears. "All of this.... mine!" she was actually crying now. But out of happiness. "Thank you so so so much Sir!" she said ecstatically. He raised an eyebrow. "So now I'm promoted from 'Funny looking moron' to Sir. Thanks milady" he teased playfully. Her ears turned red out of embarrassment. "I uhh..I umm" was all she could manage to say. "Hahaha no problem. Now take whatever you want from here and go!" Maria filled her poor shopping bags with as much stuff as they could store without getting ripped. She also stuffed her clothes and her underwear with goodies, leaving no stone unturned. He almost guffawed at her eagerness at making the most out of the situation. But she was too happy to care about what he thought. "This was my best birthday ever. I'm so glad I came here. I wish all my birthdays were this special" she mused out loud with a sad smile.
"That can actually happen" Hearing that her face lit up. "How?!" Her excitement was palpable "You can come here every year. Same day. A different quest will be waiting for you each time you come."
"Holy mother of Jesus! Is this even real" she was practically bouncing up and down like a nine year old.
"You're ready to go Maria?"
"Yes...No! No wait. What is your name?" He smiled at her epiphany "Max" he said.
"And why are you dressed like Jack Sparrow? What's up with the hair and the beard?!"
"That my dear,is a story for another day. Until next time Milady" he bowed. Just as she was about to say something, a familiar darkness engulfed her.
There you have it guys. The last and final part of the story. I really hope you followed up on this story till the end. If you did, tell me in the comments below how you liked it. Also, I'm extremely sorry for the delay. I was busy with a lot of stuff so couldn't upload the part on saturday. Until next time Fabulous people. Keep loving and stay fabulous! Lots of love,