A recent writing prompt in my writing critique group was to take the characters from our novel and place them into a completely different genre.
I decided to make Ben and Kate go fantasy. A couple of my co-writers liked the story so much they think I should incorporate it into the book. What do you think?
Walking to the end of their street, Kate and Ben left the cul-de-sac and entered the woods, following a well-worn path leading through dense pines whose branches allowed only a bit of sun to penetrate to the forest floor.
It was cool and quiet in the thick woods, but Kate was scared. What if she died on the operating table? Or soon after? She’d leave Ben alone with the responsibility of caring for himself and the girls. How would he juggle his work and parenting? Maybe she should start observing single women at church and see if she could find a suitable replacement for herself. Then she could finagle a way for them and Ben to get to know each other. But there was no time for her to do that before the surgery coming up in a few days. She’d just have to work on that later, provided she survived the operation.
Ben poked her with his elbow. “Hey, where are you? You haven’t said a word since we got in the woods. What are you thinking about?”
Kate’s face flushed. She certainly couldn’t admit to him what she’d been planning. “Oh, sort of wishing I had a fairy godmother and whoosh—everything would be taken care of.”
“Well, if you see her, ask her to have money grow on trees, too, will you?”
Kate laughed. “Is that your big wish? More money?”
“Uh-huh. It costs a lot of money to fly to the moon.”
“Oh, now we’re flying to the moon, are we? And how do you propose that we get there?”
“I don’t know. How about in a big bubble?”
“Now there’s a plan!”
Kate put her hand on Ben’s arm. “Hold on—look over there.” Kate pointed to a
cave. “I don’t remember that being there before.” She pulled on him. “Let’s go check it out.”
They approached the opening and poked their heads inside. It smelled like dirt and wet pine needles with a hint of lemongrass. To the left of the opening the daylight
barely illuminated a set of narrow stone stairs leading up around a corner.
Kate pointed at them. “Let’s see where those go.” She entered the opening.
“Whoa, whoa.” Ben reached for Kate, but he only grabbed air. She was already climbing the stairs, so he dashed up the stairs behind her. They walked around and around until they reached the top that opened into a voluminous cavern. The sides sparkled as if sprinkled with silver dust, and pinpricks of light twinkled in the roof like a host of stars.
A mosaic of agate stone tiles patterned the floor, and glowing iridescent pillars reached from floor to ceiling lighting the way. Large white and pink quartz rocks, lit up from within, dotted the scene.
Kate stopped. “How did we never know about this place?” She shook her head in disbelief. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Hello.”
Kate spun around to see who spoke. The only thing near her was a huge polished opal with a diamond studded edge butting out of the cave wall. She approached it and put out her hand, touching its smooth surface. It was warm to her touch and the more she rubbed it, the clearer it became. Soon a lovely lady’s face appeared in the stone. Her blond hair was drawn back from her face in braids wrapped around the crown of her
head. Her skin was firm and white like fine china, her cheeks like roses mounted thereon.
Her ruby lips drew Kate into their spell.
Something inside Kate’s head told her she recognized the face, but she couldn’t think clearly as to who it was.
The lady spoke. “I’m glad you’ve come, Kate. I am here to grant you one wish.”
Ben bumped against her. She turned to him. “What should I wish for?”
He cocked his head at her. “What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you hear this lady?” She pointed to the opal. “See her face in the stone.”
Ben shook his head. “No. I don’t see anything but a sparkly wall.”
“Come closer, then. Maybe the angle is wrong for you. Look close in this opal. The lady in there asked me what I wish for.”
Ben peered at the wall. “I don’t see anything.” He rubbed his forehead. “I guess you should wish for whatever you want. Make it fun, though, will you?”
A grin split Kate’s face. “You bet.” She turned to the lady in the opal. “I want to go to the moon in a bubble.”
The lady closed her eyes and smiled. “That I can do.” Opening her eyes, she said, “Follow the lighted path and your request will be awaiting you.”
Her face faded from the stone and the light passed out of it. In its place was a blank wall.
Wait. Kate touched the wall. She remembered who the lady reminded her of—Laura Miller from church, only a lot prettier than Laura. Not that Laura wasn’t attractive, but she lacked a certain energy in her face that this lady had. Maybe Laura needs to be needed. Kate would have to think about that when she had time.
Kate turned to Ben and gestured ahead of herself. “Lead on, brave husband.
Follow the lighted path.”
They turned to continue the way they’d been going, but a series of the agate tiles on their right lit up. Gingerly they stepped on the first one. At the pressure of their feet, a deep rich tone echoed forth and filled the space around them. They stepped on the next tile. A baritone note with perfect vibrato enveloped them and joined its brother bass in
the air, both of them hovering there waiting for the next embellishment to join it.
With delight, Kate and Ben ran along the lighted tiles, creating a swelling symphony of their own behind them. Breathless, they came to the end of the cave. In front of them, a glistening sphere filled the aperture.
Kate reached out to touch the side, but her hand passed right through it. She yanked it back. “Oh my!”
Ben examined the bubble. “Why is this in our way? We can't get around it and there's no door to go through it.”
Kate took his hand and smiled at him. “This isn’t in our way. It’s our ride. C’mon.” Tugging on Ben’s hand, she pulled him with her through the side of the bubble. They settled on a white velvet seat trimmed with silver cords.
“What’s going on here? Is this some kind of an amusement park?”
Kate settled herself into Ben’s side. A light sweet-smelling mist filled the compartment. Ben drifted off to sleep. As their moon carriage floated upward she murmured, “Oh, no, Ben. It’s the ride of a lifetime.”
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