The Backyard Portal

    It was a nice sunny morning and the light beaming from my open window shined on my face. I fluttered my eyes open as beams of light shined in. I groaned and stretched my arms looking outside the window and taking a deep breath. Good morning, my name is Lillie Pud. I’m 19-years-old and I live by myself in a small affordable apartment.

Today is my first job interview and I can’t miss it, so I quickly got dressed and did my daily morning necessities. My studio apartment is a small one bedroom, one bathroom place. I did have a backyard; well, it wasn’t mine, because everyone here shared it. The backyard had a garden with bunches of flowers and a water fountain in the middle. Birds often sat there, but strangely there weren’t any today. After a bite to eat, I grabbed my car keys and was ready to head out. I really needed this job, because I barely have money to pay rent. It was a job for office workers, pretty boring, but it pays well.

After a short drive to the city, I arrived at the office. By the door there were a couple of missing persons posters. It made me anxious to think of people going missing without a clue. Upon entry I was greeted by a well suited, evenly tempered, brown haired girl in a ponytail, “Hello Ma’am, how may I help you?”

“I’m here for the job interview,” I politely replied.

“You must be Lillie Pud right?” she said as she quickly glanced at me up and down.

“A-ah yes I am.” I nervously clutched my bag. I really felt that there was something ‘off’ about this place, but I didn’t know what it was exactly.

“It’s good to see another worker… all of the others always seem to go missing for some reason,” the woman whispered.

I gulped not hearing what the lady had said.

“Don’t worry he’s a nice guy,” the woman at the desk spoke, still immersed in her work.

I nodded and made my way to the end of the hallway. I hesitated before I knocked on the boss’s door.

“Come in,” a man’s voice said.

I walked inside and the office was very organized; the desk sat in the middle, and there was a bookshelf on each side of the room. The floor was wooden and had a colorful rug on it. I smiled nervously and shook his hand.

“I’m William Bonds, but you can call me Mr. Bonds,” he said politely.

I replied with, “I’m Lillie Pud. Nice to meet you Mr. Bonds, I’m here for the interview.” He smiled at me and gestured to me to sit down at the desk.

The interview was quick, and Mr. Bonds seemed like a good guy. He spoke in a calm voice and always smiled. I hope he hires me, but for now I should head home. It had been a rough day,

When I got home, it was pretty dark. It was about 9 p.m. already. I guess I must’ve been out later than expected. As soon as I stepped in the door my phone buzzed. I picked it up, “Hello? Mom..?” I spoke.

“Hey honey, I know I said I would visit you today, but something came up. Can I come next week instead? I’m really sorry,” she quickly said.

I could barely answer, “But I-I,” before I got interrupted.

“Okay, thanks bye,” she said as she hung up.

Mom never came to visit, and every time she was going to visit, she postponed it. I sighed and drove home, wishing something exciting or interesting would happen in my life.

Everything seemed a little off today. When I got to my apartment, something here seemed off too. I walked inside my room and it was extremely quiet. I shut my door and walked to my room. I was about to take off my blouse, before noticing something strange. There was this purple and blue glow coming from the window. I nervously crept over and peered through it. It was very windy and a little misty so I couldn’t really tell what it was, but it wasn’t normal. Whatever it was it glowed bright, like a portal of some sort.

Only portals weren’t real? Maybe my lack of sleep was making me imagine things. Still, maybe I should check it out? I couldn’t withstand my curiosity and slowly opened my apartment door. I rushed downstairs to the backyard, and there it was… a portal. It was a whole lot bigger up close.

I found myself right in the middle of the yard, next to the garden. “Could this be a dream?” I wondered.

I wanted to reach out and feel it, you know, to see how it would feel. So I did. I reached out my hand and it slid right through! But my hand wasn’t on the other side of it… so it must’ve been inside it. Was it indeed some sort of portal? Maybe, a time portal or some crazy thing like that? I didn’t know for sure and didn’t care. There it was. There was finally something interesting in life.

I couldn’t stand it any longer, and wanted to walk in. However, I never thought about the consequences. I took a step forward. And then another. As I stepped through the portal, I found I was suddenly pushed through. I was now flying faster than the speed of light as colors I’d never seen before surrounded me. This thing was sucking me in! It was so bright and I couldn’t see anything. Then, all of a sudden… WOOSH, WOOSH, CRASH!

What was this madness? The air was so sweet, but it was the sound of running water that lured me ever inwards. As I came to a stop everything was a blur. Was this real or did I imagine it all? I wasn’t sure of anything. As I was coming back to reality, soft footsteps could be heard. They seemed real enough…

I fluttered my eyes open, and to my great surprise, a strange creature was now licking me. It wasn’t an animal I’ve ever seen before. It looked like a bunny, only with antlers and fangs and the wings of a majestic bird. Was it…A wolpertinger? But that was impossible.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Then I was really shocked. This whole place was filled with magical creatures? Horses with horns and wings flew in the sky…Unicorns perhaps? There were big creatures with spiky wings and horns with the breath of fire… were these Dragons? This place seemed like something out of a child’s dream!

My head was filled with all kinds of questions. I then heard footsteps again. This couldn’t be my imagination right? I got up from my spot and peered around me. The bushes rustled, someone was behind it! I slowly crept over…and SWOOSH. It was nothing. Then suddenly, I got jump-scared when something touched my shoulder. I quickly spun around and saw… “Mr. Bonds?”

He also seemed surprised, “What are you doing here Lilly Pud?” Only now he seemed much more intense than at my interview.

“I should be asking the same question,” I replied sharply.

He crossed his arms and sighed, “I know you might not believe me, but I got sucked into a portal and ended up here.” He looked away hesitantly as if looking for the portal.

I knew he was lying. I could feel it in my gut, but I ignored it and told him, “Same here…but how to get out? I don’t see the portal anywhere.”

He looked back and said, “Get out?” He was serious about staying, “Why leave so early? There’s much here to explore!” He grasped my hand and pulled me along.

I gulped. Sure this world was cool… for a child, I thought, but I was completely freaked out! Who wouldn’t be? I stayed, only because I couldn’t find the portal.

We walked together along a path; the trees were so colorful, and griffins yawned in their nests, while tiny fairy creatures flew like butterflies. There were so many mythical creatures here. I wanted to get to know them, but how could I communicate with them?

Mr. Bonds spoke out, “Isn’t it just lovely?” He seemed to know this place surprisingly well.

I hesitantly nodded. Out of all the things here, my most common thought was, ‘why is Mr. Bonds actually here?’ There’s no way it’s the same reason as me. If it was, he would be freaked out. He would be scared and wanting to leave. But no, he’s the complete opposite – he wanted to stay.

As if feeling my hesitation, he turned to me, “There is a way out, if you really want it, but I know you’ll find a liking to this place.” He looked different somehow. “I know because I’ve been here longer than you. Trust me, just stay for a little while?”

I sighed and replied with an unwilling, “Sure.”

“Come along Lilly Pud.” He looked at me and then said, “I want to show you a very special place.”

When we got to his special place, he was right. There was the singing of a beautiful woman; high pitched and sweet tuned. The singing grew louder, as Mr. Bonds and I reached a river, where the waterfall flowed. Sitting there in the clear water, singing while combing her long hazel hair, was the most enchanting mermaid. Her tail glistened in the light. She had the biggest blue eyes and a long emerald tail. She was singing her sweet song there, tranquilly, all alone.

When she saw Mr. Bonds, she stopped singing and stared over to us, “William, so glad to see you!” She then turned quizzical, “Who have you brought? A human?” Her voice was energetic, and she had such an aura. Best of all I could understand her. It wasn’t long before the mermaid rattled off a string of questions, “What’s your name, little one? How did you get here? Do you want to stay? How old are you?” She started asking so many questions that I got lost in her voice and got dizzy.

She apologized when she saw my discomfort. “Sorry, I just have never seen a human woman before. I was always so alone here. No communication with anyone other than myself, or William, of course!” She glanced up at William, with a sparkle in her big blue eyes.

I looked at Mr. Bonds curiously, “I thought you were here by portal? That wasn’t very long ago, so how come she knows you?”

Mr. Bonds shrugged, “Like I said, I’ve been here longer than you. I learned how to communicate with almost all these wondrous creatures.”

The mermaid now looked angered and confused, and she went deathly silent.

I decided to answer some of her questions. “I’m Lillie Pud. I’m 19. I got here by a strange portal and I really want to leave. This place isn’t for me.”

Although this was excitement in my life, and something I never experienced before, it just felt so wrong. The mermaid shunned me and looked really upset. Without another word, she dove underwater and swam off to who knows where.

“Sorry about her. She was just really excited to see another female. Now that you say you’re leaving, she must be very disappointed,” Mr. Bonds said. He grabbed a handful of water and sipped it. Why would he do that? That water was clear before, but now that the mermaid left it looked really gross. He held out his hand full of greenish water, “Try it, you’ll like it. I promise.”

Wanting nothing to do with it I shook my head and looked away.

He drank it all and then wiped his mouth. He then began to walk again. He frowned, “If you want to go so badly, I’ll take you to the exit.”

I began to walk towards him when suddenly something grabbed me with its claws. I looked up to see a big, bright red phoenix! It was so huge that it looked like the sun itself. I was so distracted by its size and looks that I couldn’t look away. Then I heard something terrifying, “STAY AWAY FROM THE BIRD. IT THINKS YOU’RE FOOD!”

I quickly tried to get out of its grasp but it held me tight, “ACK!” it cried. It flapped its wings and began to soar through the sky. It carried me off like I was some sort of small prey!

This is not how I want to die! I yelled out to the voice that warned me, “HELP ME!!”

Mr. Bonds didn’t know what to do, but it didn’t matter, because it was too late. I was already high in the sky and flying away from him. Soon his body became smaller and smaller, until I couldn’t see him anymore. This is bad. If I don’t get back to Mr. Bonds, or find him, I’ll never leave this place, or even worse, I really could die here!

The phoenix flew higher into the air. I yelled at it, and hit it, and swung from it, but it wouldn’t let me go. How do you communicate with a bird, other than physically hit it? “Please let me go,” I said calmly this time.

The bird glanced at me then chirped. Suddenly we came to a stop on top of a large tree. The tree was super tall and durable. It was strong enough to hold ten eagles’ nests. I was set on a branch as the phoenix looked at me. It was staring at me with those big furious eyes.

“Don’t hurt me,” I said as if it could understand me.

It started to chirp out in bird language, which I did not understand. Its feathers flapped around anxiously. Was it trying to tell me something? I noticed the phoenix was pointing towards something. I turned to look and saw a huge mountain as big as Mount Everest! I never noticed it before, which was very surprising. The top of the mountain was blocked by swarms of clouds.

“What’s so important about that mountain?” I asked, not expecting a response.

“It’s an exit from this realm?” A small voice said, but it wasn’t this bird speaking. I was startled by the sudden voice, and quickly looked around. The voice was tiny and squeaky, like a mouse in cartoons. I then saw the creature behind the voice had green clothing, even greener eyes, blonde hair and ornate crystal wings.

It called down to me, “Up here.” I looked up at the tiny fairy. “I know you probably trust Mr. Bonds, being that he is the only human you know here, but he’s not as good as you think,” it said very clearly to me. I was so glad to understand him.

“Not as good as I think?” I replied. I never thought he was that good in the first place.

“He wants you to stay forever and never leave. That’s why he was leading you the opposite way from the exit. He’s a cruel man. I heard he works as a manager in the human realm, but his true mission is to lure his workers into this realm!”

That solved one of my previous curiosities. “Well, that explains the missing people!” I said. “How could Mr. Bonds do that? How was that even possible? Unless… he’s not a human,” I mumbled.

The tiny fairy flew around me like an insect. “Correct,” it said. “I thought that would be obvious by now.” It was examining me. “You seem in good shape! Luckily, it seems like you didn’t drink the dirty water yet. Good for you. You may have a chance to escape after all. It’s a good thing the phoenix helped you or else you might’ve been done for!”

The fairy congratulated me for something that seemed like the right thing to do, but all I really wanted was to get out of here. “How do I get on top of that mountain?” I asked.

The fairy stopped yapping and looked me in my sad eyes. “I’m not really sure, since no one’s been up there…except for the dragon, of course.” Its tiny face turned as white as its hair. “It’s his home!” It then changed expressions again. “Wait, I have an idea! You could give the dragon a poison and climb up the mountain!”

I shook my head in horror, “I can’t just poison a dragon! Putting it to sleep would be a lot easier and far less cruel. Or maybe I could just speak to it… I think.”

“Hmmm.” The fairy looked deep in his own thoughts. “You could try, though no creature has ever dared to speak to the dragon. The dragon isn’t very good at communicating. I fear that once you get close it will burn you up! You will have to think of a very good way to approach it,” it said in its little voice.

I thought to myself, ‘how does one approach such a creature as fierce as this?’ It’s not like a children’s book where you can show love and it’ll show it back. I will need to do much more than that. I might even have to fight it! “That’s it!” I shouted out loud. Once it knows I’m fierce enough, it’ll respect my bravery and let me pass!

“You’re not thinking of fighting it are you?” the trembling fairy said. “It’s not going to let you just walk past him.”

I shrugged. “What, of course not?” I tried not to think out loud but couldn’t. ‘How does he know what I’m thinking?!?’

The fairy scolded me in that small voice of his. “No, please don’t try that!” I then felt like it gave up on me. “That’s all the advice I can tell you, for now.” It called out in a very strange trill, “I’ll let the Phoenix fly you to the mountain, but the rest is up to you. Don’t let Mr. Bonds find you! If you ever need me, just shake this crystal, I’ll come as soon as I can.” He gave me a bright emerald crystal. Then he started to chirp! Just like the phoenix did.

I looked at it, ‘How could he do that?’

The phoenix arrived in a flash and nodded like he understood as it picked me up!

“Thank you for the information! I feel so helpless. I can’t understand anything else here,” I said.

The fairy nodded and flew away. After it left, the phoenix picked me up again and started to fly up and towards the mountain. I cried out, “Dragon here I come!”

After flying for what seemed like hours we arrived at the base of the mountain. It seemed so huge! “Can you fly me as high as you can?” After all, I didn’t want to climb that whole mountain.

It chirped and we flew up higher. It seemed to understand me now, but how? After a while we were at about the middle of the mountain. The phoenix stopped and started chirping. I think that’s the limit it can go. It plopped me on the side of the mountain where there seemed to be a path leading up.

“Thank you, phoenix! Sorry for hitting you.” I waved off the Phoenix and continued my way up the path. As it soared away I waved to it and said, “Bye now.”

It was much windier up here and colder too. I began my journey up the path and I wondered how long I’d have to walk. It was going to be a long walk. I didn’t eat or drink anything for the past few hours, so I was pretty exhausted. But then I began thinking, ‘if Mr. Bonds isn’t human, what is he?’ I guess he could be a fairy, but those are too small. Maybe he’s a merman? But then he would need to be in water… Could he be a werewolf? The possibilities were endless! I was so busy in my thoughts I didn’t notice pieces of ash drifting in the air. It was getting pretty smoky too! I must have been close to the dragon’s den.

Playing it safe, I hid behind a big rock and peeked out. I saw this huge cave, and a big red wing sticking out of it. It was very hot here, which was good because it was freezing cold on the path. Smoke poured out of the cave, like a factory! I feared it must be one of those fire breathing dragons.

It was so scary and yet so cool to see a real dragon in real life. It was my childhood dream. I had to be more careful, more serious, and most of all I needed to think this through. How do I tame it? I guess could try to poison it, but how? No…that wouldn’t work well. Maybe I could creep past it? Yeah, that’s it! My original plan was to ride the dragon up, but screw that. I slowly got out of my hiding spot and tip-toed slowly past the cave. I was being super careful, not even trying to breathe.

Upon approach, the dragon seemed to be sleeping. Its big wings moved. They startled me and made me trip on a rock. I landed on the hard ground, causing an awful loud sound. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I grumbled under my breath. Then the ground started to rumble; rocks began bouncing up and down. A loud screeching sound could be heard coming from within the cave. Then more screeches…Don’t tell me… Three big heads popped out from under the biggest dragon head. The dragon has kids??? The fairy never told me this! Great, I’m probably going to be baby food now. What am I going to do?

The dragon roared, it must be angry, or maybe it was scaring me off? It’s so hard to know since I can’t understand these creatures. The dragon turned around and looked straight at me, spreading its wings and taking a fiercely deep, breath. Oh goodness, it’s going to shoot fire! I quickly ran behind a rock nearby that was big enough to block the attack.

Suddenly fire came at me in every direction, but luckily the rock saved me. I got out from my hiding spot and tried an idea. I would communicate with kindness and my body motions. “Hey dragon, I’m good! I won’t hurt your family!” I said while pointing at the nest and making hand symbols. Maybe I can communicate like this. The dragon glared at me. I made an X symbol with my hands and pointed at its mouth. “No fire, no attack!” I yelled. It didn’t understand, it was getting angrier and began to shoot fire again. ‘This is hopeless,’ I thought as fire blew around me.

Then I got another idea, but it could end up getting me killed. I saw a flower nearby and decided to pick it up. I got up from behind the rock again and slowly crept towards the angry dragon. With the flower in my hand, here was my chance to be fearless. “Hey…calm down.”

The dragon stopped fussing to focus on the flower. I slowly walked up to it and patted its huge head. I was very sweaty because it could easily bite my hand off. “It’s okay…Here’s a flower” I handed it the flower and smiled.

The surprised dragon released smoke from its nose and instead of smelling the flower – he ate it!

“I guess that’s one way to enjoy it.” The dragon sniffed at me and licked my head. “Ack stop, your tongue is hot!” I chuckled and backed up. I guess the dragon took a liking to me. “Hey dragon…could you take me to the top of the mountain?” I pointed to the top of the mountain and at its huge wings. The dragon wagged its long tail like a happy dog and took me up. I guess communicating with it directly and calmly was the best option after all.

The tamed dragon showed me its huge scaly backside. It wanted me to climb on up, so I did. I held on to one of the big spikes on its back and the dragon started to lift off from the ground. I screamed out, “This is amazing!”

It was so cool to experience flying a dragon! The dragon soared up into the sky. It was so fast I had to hang onto the spike like my life depended on it. We flew up closer to the top, higher and higher, until we reached it. Once at the top I was relieved I didn’t fall. Everything was going so well until I heard a real chilling and horrible “REACkkKSK” from the dragon. Something was seriously wrong.

“ARE YOU OKAY DRAGON? WHAT HAPPENED?” I looked closer and saw that the poor dragon was bleeding. There was a black arrow pierced in its wing. “How did it…” I didn’t need to finish that thought. I could see what had happened.

Mr. Bonds was holding a bow in his hands and had a sly look on his wicked face. “Well, what a surprise. Nice seeing you here Lille Pud.”

I was so mad. “Mr. Bonds… How could you?”

To be continued…