Chapter 1

The pink leaves on the great heaven tree rustled as I scaled the trunk. One apple was all I needed. The dark night sky watched me as I snatched a golden apple from the tree. I smiled in victory. Finally I had the last item on my checklist. My secret stew should be ready to sell by tomorrow. Just as I was about to leave with my stolen prize, I heard alarms from the security building. They had spotted me. I pulled my black hood over my face, jumped off the tree, and landed running. I had only gotten a few feet when I heard the police shouting, “Get out here theif!”. I hear footsteps behind me. I snapped my golden-brown wings out and ran as fast as my feet allowed me to. I started to flap my wings. “It’s getting away!” The police shouted. By the time they finished their chatter, I was soaring through the clouds.

After a few minutes of free flying, I started to dive. I weaved between tall trees and spiraled gracefully down to the ground. At last I was safe. I looked around and knocked on a nearby tree trunk. A small camouflaged door slid open next to me and I crawled in. Home sweet home. “Hey I’m back” I whispered. In the spacious room that was hollowed out of the giant sequoia, my friends scurried, slithered and flitted out of the shadows and into the light from the fire in the center of the room. Twin wolf cubs named Bone and Twig, a peregrine falcon named Avie, and a blue jay named Harmony. “Did you bring the apple?” Harmony chirped. I nodded as Bone and Twig pulled the black cauldron out of the bushes, and onto the fire. We scattered through the kitchen to get spices and veggies, into the basement to get the venison from the cold rack, and into the fridge to get the broth we made a couple days ago. I pour the broth into the cauldron, Avie and Harmony add the spices and veggies, and Bone and Twig snack on a leg of venison. “Hey we need that!” I scold. “But it’s so good” Bone yips happily in between bites. I think for a moment. “Then everybody at the marketplace will have to go with rabbit meat if we can’t get more venison.” I say with a wink “At least there will be more fresh meat this time since we will get it today and sell it tomorrow”. Everybody dived at the pile of meat like a pack of starved wolves, which some of us were. Grease dripping down our chins, we stuffed ourselves to the brim. A loud belch emerged from Harmony, and we all giggled madly. As we tucked ourselves into the hay beds, and wrapped ourselves with blankets woven from large palm leaves, I looked around. The diminishing fire in the center of the room, the beautifully carved wooden shelves of filled with rows and rows of spices, jams, powders, nuts, berries, sugars, fruits, grains, and breads that we called the kitchen, and the storage chests. 5 individual chests, each with our names carved into them, that hold our personal belongings. I slid out of bed and snuck over to my locked chest. Running my hand over the groves of my name, I slip a small key out of my jacket pocket, slide it in the keyhole, and open the chest. I rummage through the mess of potions, old broken wands, books, and albums until I find my wand made from madrone bark and my leather spell book. Flipping through my book, I continue to memorize the spells within. Once in a while, I lay down the book to peek outside, in hopes to see him flying in on a pegasus or something silly and saying “Hey! Sprout grew!”. “He’ll come back. I know it” I whisper to myself. I always have to keep being optimistic. Picking up the book and flipping to the first page, I stroke the picture of me and my brother together. He was 10 and I was 6.His golden brown hair flowed in the wind, his face curled in a mischievous smile that mirrored my own, his peregrine falcon based wings tucked away. We were running from the police, hand in hand. “He just went for milk, is all.” I whisper. But in reality, I know it doesn’t usually take someone 6 years to get milk.

Author's Note

Good so far?