This summer Radical Radishes challenged young writers to write their own story. Armed with pencil, paper, and a strong imagination they created stories stemming from the classic archetype ~ the orphan.
The Magic Necklace
By Ms. Lilah
Once upon a time there was a very happy family that lived in a cottage in the woods. The children were named Jack and Anabeth. The parents were named Mary and Diego. One day Jack and Anabeth (a/k/a “Anny”) were playing hide-and-go-seek when they heard a knock on the door. Anny went to answer it.
The woman at the door had very long blonde hair in a braid and she also had a big feathery hat. “Hello,” she said. “My name is Miss Violet and you must be Anny.” Anny nodded. “How does this woman know me?” Anny thought.
Miss Violet walked right around Anny and into the living room to meet Mary and Diego. Miss Violet whispered something into Mary’s ear. Mary whispered something into Diego’s ear. In the other room Jack was getting very sweaty in his hiding place because he still thought they were playing hide and seek.
Anny was very concerned. “What were they talking about?” she wondered. They suddenly stopped talking and made Anny come in.
“Here’s your new mom!” said Mary. Anny was really scared. “What do you mean? I thought you were my mom? “ she asked.
“No, I’m not your mom. Me and Diego run an orphanage. There are just no other kids here except for you and Jack,” explained Mary and Diego. Anny was very sad. She went up to her room to pack her bag. Then she remembered Jack!
She called out his name a couple of times and finally out of nowhere he was there. “Hey! he yelled. “Why did you take so long to find me?”
Anny was too sad to speak so she just shrugged. She ran away to her room. While she was packing she thought, “Why do I have to go to Miss Violet ’s house? I like it right where I am. I bet I’m going to hate it there.”
But she was wrong. She was going to love it there! But she didn’t know that yet. When she was done packing she went down the stairs to say goodbye to Jack. She told Jack the whole story and he started crying. Then she went and said a very short goodbye to Mary and Diego because she was mad at them for not telling her about the orphanage.
Before she left Mary gave Anny a necklace that had a gold chain and a big blue pearl. Anny said one more goodbye to Jack and went with Miss Violet.
Her car was very comfy. It was a limousine driven by a chauffer. When they got to the house, Anny noticed that the house on the outside had crumbling and breaking bricks. She was very surprised that this was a fancy looking lady’s house. But when she went inside she understood.
It was like a dream come true! The walls were gold and the floor was carpeted with rugs fluffy and soft as pillows. She went up the stairs to her room. Her room had a big canopy bed with a big gold blanket and very light blue pillows. A window seat in the corner overlooked the whole city and the forest. She even had a closet full of clothes in it. She tried on the clothes. They were a little big but she knew she would quickly grow into them. She ran right over to her bed and fell fast asleep. When she woke up it was already dinnertime!
Dinner, served by the cooks, was a delicious meal of chicken and Caesar salad. After dinner they had dessert ~ ice cream sundaes with chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and SPRINKLES!!!! When they finished dessert Miss Violet excused herself and left Anny to watch a move. Anny watched The Sound of Music. After the movie Miss Violet came back and told Anny to go to bed. Anny was not tired at all but she did as she was told and went upstairs to her room. She sang herself a lullaby and finally went to sleep.
In the morning Anny woke up to the sound of chirping birds. “I love this place!” she thought. And that was exactly what Miss Violet wanted her to think.
When Anny went down to breakfast Miss Violet was already sitting down at the table. When Anny sat down Miss Violet clapped her hands two times and a cook came with their breakfast. After breakfast Miss Violet let Anny take a walk around town. While Anny was walking around she noticed a boy running right towards her. Anny tried to tell him to stop but he did not hear her. He ran right into Anny knocking both of them to the ground. The boy got up instantly and helped Anny up. “Sorry, I knocked you over,” he said. “My name is Eric. What’s yours?” he asked.
“My name’s Anabeth. I live over at that crumbling house.”
Eric looked petrified.
“What’s wrong?” asked Anny. Eric asked if she lived with Miss Violet. Anny nodded. Eric said Miss Violet was some kind of witch. Anny was confused.
“But why is Miss Violet ’s house a dream come true? I thought witches’ houses were nightmares,” whispered Anny to Eric.
“Miss Violet is luring you into her house and trying to keep you there,” Eric said.
Anny and Eric instantly became best friends.
While they were playing, Anny said to herself, “I wish I could go back to Miss Violet ’s house –“ But before she could finish her sentence her necklace glowed and she was back in her room at Miss Violet ’s. Eric was left standing by himself, wondering where his new best friend disappeared to.
The next morning Eric, frightened but curious, came over to hang out with Anny. When Eric and Anny were going into Anny’s room she accidentally slipped on the rug and moved it aside.
As she was falling down Eric yelled, “Look!” There was a big wooden door with a metal handle in the middle of the floor. “I think it’s a trap door!” Eric said. “Help me lift it up.”
They lifted it up and went down the stairs into the secret room. In the room there were tons of potions and spell books and . . . “MISS VIOLET?“ Anny yelled.
Miss Violet turned around very quickly. Eric and Anny tried to hide but Miss Violet was too quick. She grabbed them and tied them up with a very, very thin chain. “I can’t let you tell people about this place, she said. Then she turned around, her back facing them. First she poured a potion into a bowl and the room became cloudy. The cloud stung their eyes and they couldn’t see. When they opened their eyes there was Miss Violet, her body was covered in green slime, her eyes glowed red, and she had very, very purple lips.
“Eww!,” screamed Eric and Anny at the same time. Miss Violet went back to making her potions and then left the room.
While they were tied up Eric told Anny about how his parents were so mean and that they hated him. Then she heard a rustling sound and saw a boy tumbling down the stairs. “Jack!” screamed Anny.
“Who?” asked Eric.
Anny explained about Jack and introduced him to Eric . Jack took out a knife and cut the chain. But it just coiled back together. Anny was really worried that they would be there for the rest of their lives but then she remembered her necklace.
“Stand back,” she said.
“I wish me and Eric can get out of this chain,” she said. Her necklace glowed. The next thing they knew Eric and Anny were out of the chain. Then Eric asked if he could go back to the orphanage with them. Anny was very hesitant but she felt better when she remembered how mean Eric ’s mom and dad were. “Of course you can come, Eric,” she said quickly. “ I wish we could go back to the orphanage.” Her necklace glowed again and suddenly they were all back at the orphanage.
Anny was really surprised when Jack ran away to Mary and Diego’s bedroom. When Jack came back he had a big smile on his face.
Meanwhile, Miss Violet went down into her workplace and was outraged when she saw that Eric and Anny were gone. When she saw the chain still closed she thought, “how did they get out? The chain is still closed.” But Miss Violet didn’t know that it was Anny’s necklace that did it.
Back at the orphanage Jack took Anny’s hand and pulled her to the backyard. She was very happy when she saw a giant structure in the shape of a volcano.
“Thank you!” she said. “A hideout!”
It was the perfect place to keep them safe should Miss Violet ever return.
Meanwhile, at Eric’s house his parents were wondering where ever could their son be.
~ to be continued ~
Ms. Lilah is a writer who loves reading, drawing and writing. Her favorite characters are Bud who is from Bud not Buddy and Emily and her brother from The Amulet series. Her hobbies include karate, violin, and art. She hopes to one day be an artist (we think she already is) .