An Unfamiliar Place

"Wow! Where is this place?"
Marco and Gemma crept cautiously around strawberries and bounced on brown mushrooms.
Marco tripped over a boulder, a very smooth one, almost as if it was a bigger version of a pebble, and his hands scraped the side of the red, spotted strawberry. Red juice gushed out of the wound.
"Oh, wow! They really are giant strawberries!" Gemma exclaimed as she ripped a chunk out of a strawberry and devoured it.
They walked steadily on the squished brown floor that was randomly dotted with squiggly bits of mud. After weaving through the brown, bouncy mushrooms, they approached a jungle of great green trees. But the trees weren't any trees, they were in fact broccoli!
"Let's check this out!" reclaimed Gemma.
In they stepped into the shadows of the strange forest. There was only circles of sunlight that managed its way in through the branches that it their way. The smell of fresh and uncooked greenery and vegetables wafted up their noses.
But suddenly, they felt a vibration coming from under their feet. The vibration transformed into an earthquake then WHOOSH! A pink cylinder shot out the ground and then slowly fell to the ground with a great THUD. It was a huge worm, the terrified children could see its pulsing, grotesque red veins and the lines that separated the worm into sections.
"Ewww! Gross!"
"RUN!" Marco cried and he went sprinting, dodging through thick green trunks. Gemma stared at the beast approaching her, making gross squelch noises, then ran. They ran, and they ran, and they ran until the lumbering creature was gone from their sight.
"Phew!'" panted Marco wiping his perspiring forehead.
"That was close. Too close!" gasped Gemma.
They were in a clearing now.
Brown, lumpy landscape stretched to the eye could see.
The bright, blinding sun sent wave after wave of scorching heat onto their sodden T-shirts.
"This is so tiring!" Gemma complained.
But they didn't realize to this moment that it was to become much worse.
A hand clutching a trowel(a giant trowel) loomed over the pair menacingly."Oh, no!" exclaimed Gemman.
They ran away from their spot as the instrument plunged into the soil then showered Gemma and Marco with brown, moist mud. The dirt went into their eyes, and nose that made them cough and splutter like crazy.
"Run faster! Run to your side!" yelled Marco.
As soon as they had reached land that was a free-planting zone, they were quite literally sweating a river.
"OK, first things first. Let's head to that brick over there." ordered Marco.
"Yeah, we can get shade!" cheered Gemma.
Desperate for some coolness, they stumbled carelessly towards the once in a life-time life-saving brick. However, the brick seemed to become smaller and smaller! "Huh?"
To their best luck, they realized they were getting bigger and bigger to become their normal size.
"Yay!" they cried.
So, to test their size, they frolicked and twisted and jumped. They ran up the steps of their house, the wonderful aroma meeting them.
"Marco, Jemma! Where have you been? Your suppers are getting cold!" a familiar voice shrieked from the kitchen. 
Gemma and Maro exchanged glances, smirks plastered on their faces...

The Terrible Encounter with the Terrible Beast

Ellie's eyes snapped open. She was having a nightmare and decided to have a cup of milk in the kitchen downstairs.

"Sighhh...."

The sigh was as soft as snow landing gently on snow, as a mouth, full with inward-growing, long, beastly teeth snapped open and shut under Ellie's bed. But she didn't know that...

Her bare toes were exposed to the open and Ellie shivered because the central heating was off. But the stairs' fluffiness comforted her, receiving the patches of the stairs' own little heating.

"Grrr..."

The growl was as ragged as shattered remains of a fallen glass. Ellie froze. Did she imagine it? 

She fearfully turned around but saw nothing but the white stairs stretching to the upper floor.

"Must've been imagining it." she thought.

But under the mahogany table in the living room, a hand lay motionless on the carpet floor, the nails elongated and rotten, hairy with matted, curly hair and its skin dead and fleshy. But of course... she didn't know that.

The familiarity eased and reduced the fear that was growing in the pit of her stomach. She felt she was being watched. But, after all, she was desperate for a drink. So, she gingerly approached the kitchen, a grim expression plastered on her face.

After what felt like endless hours, she opened the fridge door then poured herself some cold milk. As she drank, she then happened to feel very comfortable. Then, she felt terrified. She knew that something was waiting for her outside the kitchen. 

It was breathing. It wheezed raspy breaths that sounded shallow and pained. Sweat trickled down Ellie's forehead. She glanced at the clock. 12 o'clock!

Oh no! It was dead of the night! It was when demons and black magic CRASH!

Her cup of milk had slipped out of her hand, glistening with her panicked perspiration. The thing outside the kitchen stopped breathing. Ellie's chest felt as if it would burst from her hard-beating chest.

"I'll make a run for it!" decided Ellie in her thoughts.

So, she steadied herself, gripped onto the sink in order to propel herself forward.

Then, she sprinted as fast as she could, her head down... and headbutted into something hard. Adrenaline flowing, she looked up at her approacher. Oh lord, Oh lord!!

Standing there, sickly and disgusting was a body. It had only clumps of meat that was decaying and bones stuck out like horns in random places. Ohhhh....

And his face. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

There was no eyes but holes. Dark, evil holes that expressed feelings, and teeth that stuck inwards and looked as if it was for eating meat!
The monster lifted its decaying hand, that was covered in matted curly hair with nails that were elongated and rotten. The light glinted in the sharp, blood-stained blade.

Ellie knew she was in for it. Down, down, down came the blade... Click!

Ellie's eyes snapped open,. She had had a nightmare and decided to drink milk from the kitchen downstairs.
She stepped out of bed, thirsty and her tongue felt like it was suffering in a drought.
Ellie looked up. To be face to face with a decaying face. Holes, inward-growing carnivorous teeth, all from the dream. The can't be it! Just as Ellie was going to scream for help, a sewage-belonging and sharp ragged hand muffled her alarms. Suffocating, couldn't breathe, will die...

Ellie's eyes snapped open. She had had a nightmare and decided to drink milk from the kitchen downstairs...

Diary of a Mermaid

Dear Diary,

Today was awesomely scary when I visited the Dark Cave for my very first time. I thought it wouldn't be terribly dangerous or scary, but I realized that the permission slips meant something.
Well, when I arrived to the Dark Cave, I was wearing my special night black shells and draped see-through black seaweed on my sparkly green tail.
I entered the gloomy cave, after I gave my slip to the octopus who floated sullenly above the grey soft seabed. The dull and endless darkness stretched continuously in front of me. I was all alone.
Suddenly, I heard a clanking noise. I froze. I tried to spot what the noise was coming from.
Then to my horror, my inner terrifiedness was revealed and I was frantically swimming and retracing my steps back to where I came from. The clanking noise that sounded very similar to metal clashing together, came closer and closer...
I was extremely happy and glad that I had made it out of there.
Gasping for oxygen, I strobed my thick red hair and tried to get my breath back. The black, creepy and very ugly octopus watched me.
"Turn around." it said miserably. 
Slowly, I turned around. 
At that moment, my emotions were mixed with happiness and horror, for there standing was an army of decaying skeletons in Roman armour, at the very brink of the entrance of the cave, their heads nodding in the misty water.
"Oh, my!" I exclaimed, and blur, and I swam, my tail a blur, and never came back there again.

The Room

How could this be?
Suddenly, a bright yellow hologram appeared beside my bed flashing and causing yellowness to seep into every corner of the room. I yelped in surprise and fear and leapt unto my bed, curling up inside my bed sheets.
I saw a strange little man, the image crackling as if it was old, wearing a lab coat and gloves that gleamed snow white but then was splattered with red paint. Or was it?
He leaned over a sickly and pale man whose leg looked very unhealthy. It was black and grey, and looked like there was rotting flesh in some places that was writhing with white, peach and very hungry maggots.
The insects disappeared in and out of the poor man's knee. He moaned with agony and he spoke with fear in his voice.
"Oh, doctor! Please, don't! Don't!" he cried.
I wondered what terrible thing the evil doctor was plotting to do.
To my absolute horror, he raised the jagged saw he was clutching and brought it to the patient's leg.
"No! Ah! Please, stop!" the infected man screamed.
Lines formed around every place on the man's forehead and instantly, he blacked out.
Utterly disgusted, I turned away and thought of kittens. 'Please, let it be over!' I thought.
Then, I noticed that the stomach-churning noises had stopped. Reluctant and terrified of what was to happen next, I turned around. OMG!
No! The patient's leg was right off and thick greyishly polluted blood gushed incincibly out of the meaty wound. I wanted to scream.
"No! What have you done, you imbecile! You've basically killed your meant-to-be-cured patient!"
But all I could manage was a whimper.
I searched the room for an escape but all I saw was gouged, chipped, grey walls.
Oh, no!
Suddenly, the disgusting doctor whipped around and we were eye to eye!
I was too frightened to move a muscle, and the blood-soaked senior inched his way towards me like a zombie.
Coming, coming.
A sly grin stretched on his face and his face was so grotesque that it was an eye-sore. His thick, crusty and scabby hand came closer. The smell was sour, wafting up my nose. But just as he was getting too close, he and the groaning patient disappeared and magically, the room changed to normal.
I sat up on my bed.  "Must've been a dream." I thought.
An so I went downstairs to have breakfast.
But in the corner of the room, hidden by the shadow, was a leg.
It twitched and shuddered as fat maggots wormed their way out and in through the horrid black flesh...

Lost

Last Sunday, Mum realized that we needed more supplies of food. So off we drove to Waitrose.
At the time, I was only little and everything was bigger than it really was. So small supermarkets were huge.
As we walked along the aisle, where you could buy all sorts of sweets and biscuits, to get to the bread section.
I was distracted by a chocolate bar I hadn't seen before. When I had crouched down to examine it, I must've sat there for ages, because when I looked up, Mum wasn't there.
Instantly, panic surged through me and I left the aisle to look for Mum.
Suddenly, questions flashed in my mind.
'Will someone kidnap me? Will I become famous? Who will be my family?'
I looked into every column but couldn't find her anywhere. That was when I had a total meltdown.
But as I neared the exit, thinking about living in a cardboard box, I saw Mum putting a lolly box into the bag.
Ellie saw me and said "Mummy bought us lollies!"
The I realized I wouldn't have to live in a box any more.

'Hinda the Hungry Child' after reading 'Oliver' by Dickens

Hinda dodged the puffed up dresses and crisply-worn black shoes as she weaved through the street. 
Her heart pumped behind her sticking out ribs that poked out of her brown skin beneath a ragged dress.
Her feet were scratched and hard from walking on barefoot on the stony London cobble streets.
"Wow, look how fine everyone here is in England." she thought as she admired fancy women's tiny shoes and stiff straight waists.
Hinda's tummy started growling. She was starving and needed food.
Finally, she arrived to a fruit market where fruit all shapes and sizes were placed roughly in wooden crates.
"One fruit taken wouldn't hurt anyone..." thought Hinda.
Carefully, she walked along the aisle of luscious fruit as if she didn't care in the world about them. 
Then, with a skillful swift move of her long elegant fingers, she snatched an apple from a crate.
"Thief!" yelled the owner and started to chase Hinda. But Hinda was as swift as deer and she didn't go hungry that night.

'My Encounter with a Wild Animal'

The scorching sun reached through my shirt and pinched my sunburnt skin.
Although I had a good supply of water, my tongue was starting to transform into a dried leech.
Lazily, I scanned the wobbly strip of the horizon..
Wait, what was that approaching me?
The silhouette came into view.
It had grey, winkled skin, big leathery ears and a curling trunk that dropped through two, brutal looking tusks. Uh-oh.
The bull elephant charged forward, dusts and particles showering everything behind it.
Hoping, I would have a bit more time to escape, I tossed my backpack about twelve feet beside me that skidded on the golden floor.
Fortunately, the bull elephant charged towards it, trampling on it until it was flattened and pierced, it unmercifully with its huge, yellow tusks.
"That could've been me." I thought.
I was not fifty metres away from the grey monster and I was panting and very thirsty.
But to my extreme luck, a vehicle with tourists inside it, was rolling towards me. Phew!
With my last glimmer of strength, I leapt into the car and shouted at the top of my lungs and yelled that the elephant was chasing us.
Tourists screamed when they saw the elephant charging towards us at immense speed.
"Drive!" I shouted.
The little car started driving, then soon we were going at a hundred miles per hour. 
The bull elephant thundered closer and closer...red dust and plants blanketed us.
When we cleared ourselves, I looked for the elephant. It was gone.
We had made it alive and well!

Doomed Vacuum of Happiness

Doomed Vacuum of Happiness

An invisible vacuum sucking happiness away.

Helplessly lost in a war of the worlds.

Steaming fires.

Racing rockets.

Gory gas.

All shadows of death.

We're near the doors of endless darkness.

An invisible vacuum sucking glory away.

Crash! Crash! - Take cover!

Huddled in the Anderson shelter.

Listening to the screams of terror.

Staring at a familiar photo remembering Dad's motto -

'Never fear, never hear the words of hopelessness.'

My childhood is shattered like a fallen mirror.

The war is a whirlpool sucking happiness

and glory down to the bottomless depths of the sea.

Published on the 'Young Writers'

Poem 'The Menargerie'

The Menargerie

The white and blue birds soar up to the bright blue sky.

They glide and twist with grace.

Other birds answer their chittery calls.

Tweet!

Dolphins splash and dive into the bright blue water. 

They laugh with happiness.

Their reply is answered with a hiss of an anaconda and the gurgle of a frog.

Penguins surge underwater, while cheetahs sprint across the savanah.

Gazzelles zip for an escape and the zebras prance with rhythm. 

Lionesses dash fur shade while wild horses gallop across the peaceful meadow.

Riders stroll towards them with saddles and reins and fat cats shuffle around in their sleep.

Poor rat.

A unloved limp rat, lays on the ground dead, with poison invading its blood.

The sheep strain their neck for grass and a goose and its goslings elevate to water.

The murmuring ripples are carried by the wind.

Ruby Wilson 1.11.2014

2014 Morocco Marrakesh

We were looking around to meet the couchhost Mohammed. Then we had Mc Donald. When we finished, we met him by the road, he had very round eyes and looked funny.

We went to his apartment and stepped in.

What I saw surprised me! I saw a beautiful sofa. Then I went into their lounge and we got introduced.

We had tea and nuts.

Then they asked us what we wanted to watch. We watched i movie 'X-Men'. It was fun. The rest of the day, we mostly watched TV.

Today, we decided to go to the mountains. There, we saw a cool river where I climbed on the rocky bridge. It was very crumbly so I had to be cautious.

We ate some oranges and melons. We saw a woman and we offered her a whole orange. She was delighted. Two other women came and we gave the melons and oranges too. Mum went to them and chatted. While that was happening, I was playing on the rocks. The women were very smiley and we took pictures with each other.

Then we moved on back to our couchhost's house. There we played on the excercise thing and learnt making tea. Then we watched TV and talked.

Today, we found out that the twins we had met that I forgot to tell you about(Assia and Aya)). They wanted us to come with them to a national park. Mum didn't come but we did.

At the national park, we saw donkeys and gave the rosemary. Then we went to play in the playground. It was great fun.

We saw a high zip-wire and the twin's dad did it. It was fun watching. While he was getting ready, we fed the black horses with grass. We were going to do the aqua park but it was too late so we went to lunch.

Lunch was Tajine and it was delicious.

There was a playground where we played on the roundabout.

Then we went back to their hotel. We dressed in our swimsuit and went into the hotel's pool! It was fun, but we soon got out because it was very cold.

We got dressed back into our clothes and played on the ipad. Dad and Mum came and we had dinner there. Then we were allowed to have a sleepover.

We played on the ipad more but then played hide and seek. It was great fun. It was time to sleep, so we settled down on the sofa.

At first, we messed around a bit, but gradually drifted off.

Next morning, we got dressed in our swim suits again and played in the pool a lot, like doing races and chasing each other. But the time had come so we had to get changed. Mum and Dad had come and we said goodbye. Assia gave me a friendship bracelet and I was very happy. I saw Mohammed and he played lots of jokes. I laughed and I felt glamorous.

Today, we are going to a mountainous cave place where there's lots of birds. Mohammed was going to wait. Halfway down the stairs, Ellie needed the toilet, so her and Mum went up the stairs to find a toilet.

So me and Dad also in addition to the guide carried on down the stairs. We went over slippery rocks and rushing rivers. I looked up and saw a gigantic ceiling, way up high.It had lumps sticking out!

We went up a bit higher and saw mini caves in the walls. The guide said that Pigmy people livedd in those. Dad said the adults were as small as me.

There was no gate, so I was scared. Dad was gonna go over the edge. Luckily, we went down and saw a huddle of scarabs. yuck!

There were lots of rocks to climb over but we finally arrived to the exit. 

At the top, we all went to a Taine restaurant. We ordered rabbit Tajine. The meat was fabulously delightful. It was absolutely delicious. I wished I could have it every Sunday. We saw the live rabbits.

Then we went to where the woman used to live.

Then we went to go to another town. We are now going to Rabat to spend our night before leaving to England.

On the way, we stopped at Casablanca. There we went to the rocky shore where salty sea water was. We found typical shells and even some tasty mussels. I spotted an anenomone in the clear sparkling water. Then we went back into the car to look for a restaurant. I then drifted off to a cosy sleep.

When I woke up, I was in Rabat next to Hajar's house. Dad said there was no point in waking us up for lunch and it wasn't nice there. We came in and they greeted us enjoyably. The twins were there and we played hide and seek. It was really fun.

For dinner, we had curry and had bread to dip it into. Tarek showed us Chucky on the computer. It was absolutely hair raising.

P.S They gave us clothes for presents and a necklace. 

This is sadly the end of our holiday.

2014 Morocco, Agadir

The next morning, we did another long drive to a beach where we were going to meet Abdou and his wife who we stayed with in Sale. Me and Ellie played in the sand and paddled in the water a bit and found some nice shells. But then, Mum gestured us to come back and she said we were looking for Abdou. When we found him, we went in his car and we drove to a flash looking hotel. Our room was very nice and there was a TV, but mum said we had to meet the Swiss family. The Swiss family were like this.



They served us hot milk and tea* with also dates and nuts.

There was a children table but the little boy didn't want to sit on the table because he said it was a 'girly table'!



There was an awkward silence while we ate. I ate quickly and excused myself that I needed the toilet.

*It's special tea.

The adults talked for a very long time while we had to play with the girl. She was called Assia. We showed her the cool camera, then we watched  a bit of telly. Somehow, at the end, we managed to communicate. It was time to go to sleep.






The next day, we got ready to go to a beach.
Mum was too tired so she didn't come. Assia came into our car and Abdou let us use his phone to play temple run. We communicated and told each other that we will have goes each. It was 'Ca Bon!*'

  

* French for 'good'

When we got there, I went  bare foot. There was lots of shattered glass but I risked it.
There was a mini mountain of rocks that me and Dad climbed on. I was scared Dad was gonna fall.


It was great fun! I loved it! Except when Dad was near the edge.

When we had gone down, we found beautiful rocks of all sorts. We were getting hungry so we drove to find a restaurant. We found a little restaurant and ordered fish and a tajine. It was absolutely amazing food.
Assia's Mother was a bit fidgety about the dirtiness. After the food, we looked at all the fresh, just-taken- out-of-the-sea.



We decided not to get back to the beach so we headed back home. While on the way back, we played Temple Run, then learned French words then looked at the rest of the people behind us in the other cars(with binoculars).

At home, all we had for dinner was mackerel and crisps. I watched Aljazeera and I watched this thing about Rabies.
It was sad. Then I went to sleep.



The next morning, we got dressed into our swimming pool and the Swiss family insisted us on having breakfast with us. After breakfast, we went in the swimming pool but it was freezing! I was stunned!
I didn't go much in the swimming pool after that. The clock ticked to 12 pm and we had to get out. This was our last day so we couldn't have lunch there. We packed our bags and set off.

2014 Morocco Essaouira

We finally arrived to our couchhost's house, actually more like an apartment. They had a TV and it was one man and a woman. The TV was on and the adults talked while we watched TV.  The woman showed us her pet tortoises and we played with them a lot.


They also kept pigeons as well. we didn't do much that night.




In the morning, we went into the medina. There we bought lots of spices ans perfumes. Dad bought a quite expensive ink holder made from bone.

Next, we went to the fish market. There were lots of fish of all types. There were even eels and shark!


Me and Ellie found kittens while our parents were looking at soaps and medicines. There were four. One was a grey, one mixed, one shy and one playful.
We went to another shop and the shopkeeper gave us a present! He was lovely to do that.
We then went out of the medina and met the man and we went to buy chicken to make Tajine for dinner.
At the house we helped take the peas out.
Then we waited as the woman cooked Taine. The tajine was a glamorous delight and I ate and ate!




When I woke up, we insisted on the woman to have a ride to her daughter's place as she couldn't see her that much. In the car, the woman was sick. She was very sensitive.
We gradually arrived into the countryside. We parked next to her house.
It looked very farmy. I saw two boys. One was old and one was very young. When we went inside, they made us bread and we had olive oil to dip it into.



It was delicious. I saw their daughter. She was very pretty.

We decided to go back but they forced us to have Tajine with us. So while the Tajine was getting ready, the children all went out into the farmland. We all climbed trees and they chased chicks and gave it to us.
The chicks were so cute.

Finally the Taine was ready. It was quite small but the Grandpa kept saying 'Col! Col!' which means 'Eat! Eat!'. When we had picked the Tajine clean they got their lamb. They fed it milk and it kept wagging its tail violently.




We got to hole it! It was so warm and cuddly! Then they showed us their animals.
They had a camel with very nice fur, a cow which I liked, a dog that I would call Sandy and some rams, also a donkey. It was amazing!

Then they looked at the holes on the floors, which I thought had big spiders on them.
They stuck flowers in, trying to get them out. I went back inside and Mum fave them presents. They liked it.
It was time for us to go but we gave grandparents a lift as the grandma needed to have an eye fix at the hospital.
It was going to be too late so they were going to stay in our couchhost's house.



While that was happening, we went to the fish market, and we were allowed to choose which fish to eat at a restaurant. I chose shark, Dad chose red-whatsit and Mum chose a normal fish.



We went to a restaurant and waited for the fish to get cooked.

Finally, the fish was served to us. My shark came last. The fish was very nice but when the shark came, it tasted nice, but strange. Ellie really liked my shark.
After we had finished our choices of fish, we played with the kittens again and said goodbye as this was going to be the last time to see them.
On the main road, we bought an ice-cream. It was delicious.



It was dark and we headed to the couchhost's house. On the way, Mum bought Ellie new PJs. Ellie kept showing off as if she as a ballerina.



Mum told us to go to sleep so we did.


The next day, the man said goodbye to us as we were going to leave to Marrakesh. We said our goodbyes and we went.