The Boy and the Animal Village

A boy has to run through a sand-floored maze in order to find out where he will live for the rest of his life.

The teenage boy traversed throughout the dusty walls of the maze impatiently. He couldn’t stand it any longer, he just wanted to be where the maze ended. The only thing he knew about the maze was that wherever it’s exit was, was where you were destined to live for the rest of your life. He coughed, the air in the maze was practically half made of dusty sand particles. Concentrating on which path to take, he wiped some sweat off of his brow. The paths that he had taken had just curled into more passageways, which made the maze seem impossible to solve. He had been at this for hours, constantly contemplating whether or not to turn back and switch paths. He had heard stories of those who had escaped the maze easily, and others that didn’t. He hoped that he would be like the former. But he hadn’t.  
 
It was about noon when he decided to take a break. He had sat down at the entrance of a new passageway. At the beginning area of the maze, a small brown pouch-sized sack had been left for him on a large, wooden table. It wasn’t until now that he thought about opening it, his hunger was intensifying. He laid the bag down in front of him. Zipping it open and dumping it out, he had desperately  hoped it was some sort of food. To his surprise, an average-sized container of grapes and saltines fell out. The fall had accidentally opened the small Tupperware bowl. Famished, he quickly popped a small olive-colored grape in his mouth. The small fruit squirted juicily when he struck his teeth down upon it,  succulent flavors fell onto his taste buds.  
 
He graciously ate a saltine as he walked towards the end of the path. He noticed something stick out of the rough, dark, gray stone wall. Looking at the wall closely, that ‘something’ was a handle. A rusty metal handle, it was obviously worn.

Was this it? , he thought, was this  finally the exit?! His curiosity blossomed as he inspected it a little more closely.   He pondered eagerly as he popped another juicy grape into his mouth. Savoring the sweet juices of the small fruit, he tried opening the heavy door. It barely budged as the crowd on the other side of the wall grew quiet. They had probably seen the door handle jiggle from the other side. Wiping his right hand off from the grape, he gradually managed to pry it open a bit more with both hands. This allowed him entry to the new land. He gasped as he walked in, inattentive enough to trip.

Beautiful deep violet mountains contrasted highly against the pale blue skies. Large, orange thatched huts dotted the plains before him. It was beautiful, he thought as he witnessed gigantic albino giraffes and large, dark blue tigers roaming the outer edges of the large village. He stood up, and walked closer to a group of animals in the center of the town. Grand fountains and decorative pools of water entered his view. His trepidation calmed after every step toward the village. He gasped slowly as he observed more of the animals scattered in the village. Mauve lions strolled by casually as he walked by.
 
“Welcome to the land of the free,” sang out a group of smiling, red antelope. A couple of silent seconds passed before welcoming chants erupted from the crowd. Cries of hurrah, like awards, came from the animals’ mouths.

He felt honored to be praised. It was almost as if he were some sort of god.

Some of the lime-green zebras had started singing beautiful melodies, and some of the albino giraffes had begun to dance to the beat of the songs. Indigo tigers joined the party as well, tapping on their different kinds of musical drums.  
 
He had read stories of animal villages, books about the deep savannas of Africa. Mystical white giraffes, and other kinds of mysterious animals. He’d always believed in the fantasy animals, even when the other kids in their school teased him about it. The stories were always about how a boy or a girl had found the town and had been changed into an animal. He was pretty sure that he was one of those boys. He had always loved all kinds of animals, and had always known that this was his destiny.
 
So, he started dancing too. 

Author's Note

What did you think of the detail? Was it too much or too little?