Wanderland

For school we had to write a short story based on a song of our choice. Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm-dg4vLTWM&feature=BFa&list=FLpgmC1DHUUC4KtmeY2ixOIw&lf=BFa

   Hazel ran her brush through her chestnut brown curls, staring sadly into the mirror with extraordinarily large brown eyes. Why wasn't she as pretty as the other girls? Why didn't she have the confidence or that perfect smile they always did? She knew she would always be an outcast, someone who didn't fit. It was just who she was; the weird one, the one who stares. She couldn't help it that she saw things differently to the others or that she would know what had happened before the others.
   Hazel slowly began to descend down the stairs, dreading another day at school. As was routine, after breakfast, her mother began to go on about how unhealthily skinny Hazel was getting and how pale she was and how she should spend more time with friends, before Hazel smiled sadly and left, late yet again.
   Hazel slipped in, quietly sitting in her place at the back of class. A Japanese boy glanced at her. She recognised him, he must be the new boy, Taimu Nakamura. He would soon learn she was nothing and learn to ignore her curious stares like all the others. Hazel looked down at her desk and began to doodle strange images across her page. She didn't know what she was drawing, but she didn't like it. Whatever it was took on it's own, sinister shape. They always did.
   The teacher asked Hazel a question. She hadn't heard what the question was, but she knew the answer. She always knows. Yet again she felt Taimu's curious eyes upon her. She wanted to shout at him to look away, to save himself before he became outcast too. Instead she gave her head a small, sharp shake, a sign to stop without drawing attention to either of them. Taimu frowned and turned away. Hazel smiled, it was the correct answer.
   It wasn't that there'd never been other outcasts. They'd just never survived. Some had taken thier own lives, unable to bear the pain the school had caused them, others had 'mysteriously' died in the night or just 'vanished'. Hazel was somewhat surprised she hadn't been rid of yet, but had come to the conclusion that they were merely waiting for her to throw up her life when her bulimia got too bad.

   Taimu tiptoed down the stairs, pushing through various coloured cloths draping from the cieling, his short black hair messy and unkempt in contrast to his smart and expensive clothing. Strange light patterns showed up pieces of fantastic bright wallpaper in the darkness and his feet were constantly alternating between sinking into gloriously cushy carpet and scraping on rough floorboards. Taimu paused at the front door and stared sadly at a picture for a while. It was a picture of his parents. He'd never met his parents, and all he knew about them was that they were rich, like him and the others in this town. Taimu had practically grown up alone and his closest bond was with his chauffeur, who he only saw to and fro school.
   Wordlessly, Taimu walked outside and climbed into the limousine that had just pulled up. He was going to a new school today, for his parents had heard about his bad grades and this school was well known for it's ability to improve grades. HE wondered if he would be accepted here. In other schools he had always been bullied and pushed aside.
   Taimu's chauffeur pulled up aside what appeared to be a magnificent castle. Taimu held his breathe with wonder. In a town full of modern mansions and high rise apartments, something so old was a sight for sore eyes at the least. His own house was rather old, but it wasn't in the town and there was never anyone else around, and in comparison to this it was small and shabby.
   Taimu smiled and walked toward the school, suppressing a skip of excitement. He knew, truly knew, though he didn't know how he knew, that this wouldn't be the best place he had ever visited, and it wouldn't be the best day of his life coming here, but it would be close enough. And close enough was certainly something more than anything else he could think of.
   "My favourite class," The teacher smiled, "Our newest student we've been expecting has finally arrived. His name is Taimu Nakamura, and he is the son of what could be the richest man alive. I expect you to welcome him and treat him kindly. He is to be accepted as one of us and not be held hostage for money. Please remember that this sort of behaviour is illegal, however anonymous. Taimu, would you like to introduce yourself?"
   Taimu opened and then closed his mouth, before smiling nervously around the class. Everyone looked the same. all the students were perfectly groomed, wore the most expensive of clothing and had dazzling smiles upon thier perfect faces. It was intimidating. He glanced back at the teacher, who had clearly had billions of pounds worth of plastic surgery and nervously opened and closed his mouth. "Oh, he's scared to speak in front of the class!" The teacher cooed. A boy at the far right of the room sniggered and the teacher shot him a look like daggers. "Don't worry about it," the teacher smiled, "Why don't you go and sit at the back with Katia?"
   Taimu looked where the teacher was indicating and a girl with astoundingly long eyelashes winked cheekily at him. Taimu paid as much attention as possible to the work, most of which he'd already learnt from his last school and merely smiled warily whenever the increasingly frustrated Katia attempted to make a conversation. But then the door opened and a beautiful girl with georgeous brown hair and spectacularly well-defined cheekbones slipped in and sat a few seats away.
   Taimu couldn't understand how she'd managed to get in unnoticed; she was nothing like anything he'd ever seen and her hair seemed to billow in a non-existent wind. She saw him looking at her and a burst of bright lcolours seemed to flicker around her briefly. Unnerved, Taimu quickly looked away, only to see Katia glaring at him.

   The teacher asked Hazel a question about the piece the class had just been studying. Taimu knew she couldn't know the answer as she'd only just arrived, but still she came up with the correct answer as if she'd read it from an answer book. Taimu stared at her again; amazed by what he'd heard, but she shook her head and he felt Katia's nails un his arm. "Not cool!" Katia hissed. And Taimu understood.
   The bell rang and Taimu packed his stuff and followed the others to the door. He paused and looked behind him. Hazel sat there still, doodling the strangest things, alone. The teacher came over, scrunched up Hazel's work and threw it in the bin. Hazel looked up, realising the bell had gone, and quickly packed her bag to leave.
   "Mate, what are you doing?" A boy remaining in the corridor asked, "Everyone else has gone!" Taimu smiled and rushed to catch up with him, following him onto the field with the others.

   Hazel slowly approached the sun-filled field, taking in the bright green of the grass and the many warm colours of the flowers. Part of her felt a relief and wanted to run and laugh and bask in the sun, but another was desperately telling her to go back and hide in the darkness. Hazel swept both aside and calmly walked forward toward her usual spot under the willow tree by the lake.
   A brief high-pitched noise escaped from Hazel's mouth as she fell face first into the grass. She'd been tripped. Hazel lay there for a while, too weak to move, before flipping over onto her back and relaxing in the gentle warmth of the sun.

   Taimu stared, shocked at what he'd seen but unable to voice his opinion. His group laughed and began to walk off. Taimu walked shyly over to Hazel as she flipped over onto her back. "What are you doing?" The boy who'd laughed in class, Jack, asked. Taimu silently sat down next to Hazel.
   The group surrounded them. "What are you doing?!" Hazel repeated, worried for the boy. Still Taimu said nothing. Katia glared at Hazel and Jack grabbed Taimu by the shoulders and forced him to stand up. Silently, Taimu sat back down again. Katia shook her head and the group turned and left.
   Hazel pulled herself up and looked at Taimu. "You'd better be a fighter," she frowned, "I don't want to be the cause of your death!". Taimu smiled and helped her to her feet, before pointing at Hazel's usual spot under the willow tree. Hazel frowned, "How did you know?" she asked curiously. Taimu shruggedd. Hazel smiled and they sat together under the willow tree.

   This morning, Hazel was eager to go to school, and when she left the house, there was a limousine waiting for her. "I had the strangest dream last night," she smiled to Taimu, "It wasn't much, but it was so... colourful..." Taimu smiled, watching the flickering colours he'd only briefly seen before glow around her and then looked bashfully at his feet.
   "You're mute. Don't worry, I already knew. I tend to know things. I know something else about you too, something less obvious. I wonder, do you already know?" Taimu looked at her curiously and Hazel smiled. "It's ok. You will find out in the due course of time." The rest of the journey was silent.
   At lunch, Hazel and Taimu just sat and watched the others. They were clearly planning something. Hazel knew now that they felt intimidated by things that were different. Hazel knew more than she'd ever known before, and yet she still didn't know any of it. While Hazel had her spectacular new dreams, Taimu continued his dreamless nights.
   Three days passed like this, silently watching the others plan. Occasionally one would glance over and give one of them 'the evils', or trip one over for a lugh. And while Hazel and Taimu both knew something was being planned, neither could do anything to end it.

   This lunchtime is different. This lunchtime Taimu cannot find Hazel. She isn't under the willow tree or still doodling in class. She isn't laying in the field watching clouds or sitting in any of the taller trees nearer the school. Taimu knows something is wrong. Taimu knows that some people are gone. Katia cannot be seen, nor Leo or Jack. Taimu is sad, lost and alone, and now staring at a strange path of dead grass appearing before him.
   And so he followed the path, and so Taimu found Hazel bound and gagged in a burning old wooden shack in the forest. And Hazel Verity Estrild Knight held out her hand and smiled as Taimu helped her up.
   "And so you know, you know now that you can control our dreams, you know now that this is a dream and you know now that your life is a dream, a dream only you can truly control. You don't want to wake up, but it's the only way, because this is a dream within a dream within infinite more dreams, and there are no longer any borders. Taimu, my name is Hazel Verity Estrild Knight. I am not real. Leave me. You are not real. Leave yourself. Step out of this dream and keep on sculpting, for whatever you sculpt, and however many times you escape the dream, there will never be any borders, for there is no such thing as reality." Hazel smiled and Taimu knew.
   Gradually everything vanished, and Taimu found himself alone again, in what appeared to be nowhere at all. And though she was gone, Taimu still heard Hazel's voice, "Keep on sculpting, for there is no such thing as reality." And now Taimu knew, Hazel was just another part of him. Taimu never cried for his loss, for there was no loss; instead, he sculpted.

Author's Note

All constructive critisism appreciated!

Reviews

[EMF]

Absolutley transfixed by this. I'm normally good at figuring out plot lines from the begining, but the twist at the end actually took me by surprise. I thoroughly enjoyed enevry sendon of it, and will be returning to read much more of your work. You have a gift fro story telling. Great work.