A Strange Day In July

Andy was confused.  He had only been skipping stones for a few seconds, but already he was bored with it.  His younger sister, Allie, was bored too, except that was normal.  He was in charge of the house.  Both of his parents were at work and it was a Saturday.  Allie was not a dull person, she just liked a lot of dull things, and all the other things were very…different, he thought.  She liked running around the girls’ bathroom with a Barbie doll at McDonald’s.  Andy was about to skip another stone when his last stone skipped right back to him “Strange,” he thought.  “Very strange, even stranger than Allie.”  All of a sudden Allie blurted out “COOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!” “Ugh” He thought.

He threw it with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back.   “AAAAAAAAUUUUUGH!” Andy yelled, “HOW AM I GONNA GET RID OF THIS THING!!!” “Well, I think it’s cool” said Allie smugly.  Allie had just confirmed that she was the most annoying person in the universe.

  Then Andy realized that the stone had a strange pattern on it.  The pattern looked like a bubble plus sign with two lines through the middle and at the ends there were xs.  He started to feel very strange, and then everything went black.

  When he woke up, he was in a soft bed with a shadow looming over him.  “Andy!  You’re awake!”  Yelled Allie, “You fainted while you were looking at the stone, so I called 911!” “You’re in the hospital now.”  A nurse came in. “Hello, Andy” she said, “Do you think you can stand?”  “Yeah,” he said, “is it ok if I go home?”  “Yes, it is” she replied.

“You’ve been out for five days,” said Allie when they got home. “Shouldn’t Mom and Dad be home?” Andy asked. “Yeah, but they’re not,” Allie replied.  “Do I still have the stone?” he asked.  “Should be in your pocket,” replied Allie.  He checked, and it was there.  “Good,” said Andy. “Is it ok if I use your Barbie doll for something?” “I guess,” said Allie doubtfully.

The duo walked down to the place where they had found the stone, ready for anything, and Andy taped the Barbie to the stone.  “Hold on to me” instructed Andy, and he threw the stone at the water.  There was a big blue flash, and a swirling vortex opened. “When I say 3, JUMP!” said Andy.  “Okay,” said his sister.  “1, 2, 3, JUMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!” and they were sucked into the vortex.

When they awoke they were lying on a bed of seaweed, but strangely, they were able to breathe. They stood up and they started gliding through the water.  They stopped at what looked like a tailor shop and they were escorted inside by a fish that stood up and was the size of their dad.  It was dressed in the clothes of a noble in medieval times.  Once they were inside, they were given pills and they instantly fell asleep.

When they awoke, they too were dressed in medieval clothes, but Allie had those of a princess and Andy had those of a prince.  When they looked in the mirror they saw something they hadn’t realized before.  They had gills, and new hairdos, but that is not important.

Soon they left and glided to a castle.  “Where are we?” asked Allie. “Well, how am I supposed to know?” retorted Andy.  “It was a rhetorical question, dumbo.” said Allie coolly.  As they entered the castle, they started to feel less homesick, as if they were sitting on the couch, watching television.  Something strange was happening, and they both knew it.

When they finally arrived at their destination, there were two thrones and in them, two gilled humans.  “Hello, our children,” the voices said in unison, as if they were both the same creature with different voices.  They both knew that it was better not to interrupt until they knew what was going on and who this creature in front of them was.  “You were born to us, then transported away and shipped away to foster parents,” said the creature.  “You are now old enough to become the rulers of Alanecea.”  “Ala what?!” said Allie.  “Alanecea, the kingdom that you’re in right now.”  “Whichever of you marries first, you and your husband or wife shall become the true rulers of Alanecea, the other’s head will be decapitated.”  “Yikes!”  The children said in unison.  “Yes, ‘Yikes,’” said their parents.  “But now you should go get dressed for your coronation.  Goodbye!” And the children lived happily ever after in a world of fish, except for Andy, because he didn’t marry fast enough.