Kai

By Grace Haywood and Sarah Burns

            Everything was just a whisper, but somehow I knew it was not the wind. There was no breeze, no movement in the air. I was scared to breathe to flinch or even look around. Then it hit me, a blast of chilling wind, the sound of trickling water, the light of a ghostly lantern swinging beside me.

            Fog seized my eyesight, and all I could see were floating lanterns painted in the darkness.  I heard the sound of a horse breathing and a hand clasped tight in mine, but I could not see anyone.  I could feel grass lightly brushing against my bare feet.  With my free hand I reached forward to feel the long bars, but they did not seem real and my hand went through.

            “Gasp!”  I wanted to step forward to see if the bars were real, but I stood in my tracks like a statue.  I heard the creak of a boat sailing through the water in front of me.  The faint smell of dust reached my nose making me cringe.  The hand in mine, gripped tightened making a sharp pang of pain go through my fingers.  The hand tugged me in a direction unknown.

            I defiantly tried to stay where I was, but the hand tugged me forward so forcefully that it dragged me with it.  That was when I realized that the man was pulling me into one of the floating lanterns drawn above my head.  Once one of the lights drifting far overhead came above me I could see everything clearly.

            The hand led to a middle-aged man wearing a white and blue sailor’s hat propped upon his brown curly haired head.  He had a grim face, but his eyes were shining. His ruffled coat draped down to his knees revealing torn gray pants. His shoes were worn to the sole and you could see a scared toe peeking out of the edges.  He never seemed to glance at me he just stared into the unseen world around us.

            Once again I was scared to breathe, to flinch, or even look around.  It was like I was stuck in time with a man I have never met before, who knew where I was!  I felt a strong urge to scream out to the man, to the lights stringed across the sky, to my mother far away, to anything.

            I turned swiftly to the staring man beside me, he did not flinch.  I felt the urge to ask him millions of questions but I only asked one.

            “Who are you?” I felt myself losing confidence as I spoke up to the mysterious man.  Finally the man seemed to notice me and he turned slightly.  His voice was deep, hoarse and cracked.

            “This is New York City.” I stared at him with my eyes wide. 

            “Wait.”

“What?” I stammered.

            “New York,” he croaked.

            “You live here, don’t you?” I looked around but there was nothing familiar.  ‘

          “No, no, not here.”

          “Are you sure?”

          “Yes, no.”

         “Those lights you see em? Empire State building, seen that building before? Course yah have, no way you haven’t.” He pointed at one of the sparkling lights with a long skinny finger. I could not believe it, this was nothing like the New York City I knew.

          “Mmm, not at all. This is not New York city?”

           “Why you not listening Kai?” he growled

           I gasped, how did he know my name? I goggled my eyes bulged, my voice broke. Maybe, maybe, I don't know! What was there to say? I glanced at the man, he was too, like me, shocked, and goggling.

          “Sorry” he gasped.

          I could not respond to him. I just couldn’t.

                  To Be Continued……...