ELTHAM HIGH SCHOOL ANTHOLOGY   

I went up the spiralling staircase, higher and higher through the treetops, until I pushed through the bushy leaves above me. Balancing on top of a flimsy branch, I leapt across to a higher one, making my way to the very top of the tallest tree. The sun was setting slowly, and the moon started to rise behind the mountain range. The colours in the sky were phenomenal, with the pinks and oranges lighting up the sky. I could see my little siblings playing in the long grass below as the dark started to set in. I pushed through the leaves and went down the stairs again when I saw my siblings Cora and August walk through the doorway of our treehouse, to head upstairs. I quickly waved as I passed them, rushed down the stairs and out the flowing leaf curtains, that cover the entrance. I ran through the tall grass and pushed the drooping branches out of the way until I reached the edge of the forest.

My parents told me: ‘You cannot go to the end of the forest until you are sixteen Valerie, that place is dangerous,’ and I listened.

However, I am sixteen now and my parents have allowed me to start the challenges to get my ability like the rest of my family. I leaped onto the vine and swung until it was calm enough to climb down. The cliff edge was covered in vines, dotted with little flowers; the trees above me losing leaves rapidly and floating to the ground like flower petals. I slowly ascended to the ground where my feet found the soft fallen leaves. The warm breeze rushed through my hair. I approached two trees that over lapped each other in a way that created an archway.        

The first challenge.

 I approached the archway carefully and examined its features: the wood was smooth, carvings covering its base. The branches were woven down covering the entrance, preventing anyone to enter easily. I noticed a stray branch above my head and jumped to latch my hands around it, swiftly swinging off it up into the trees. The branches had swallowed my entrance and started closing in on the little space I had, I hurriedly crawled through the clumps of branches, making my way through the tight space surrounding me. I saw a flicker of fire and went towards it, only to fall out of the tree on the other side just before the branches would have enclosed me inside. A bruise started to develop on my hip from the fall and my hand was cut from the sharp points on the tree, but determination filled my blood, so I continued through the forest.

I pushed past the trees leaves while little mice and foxes went past me to get to the river. As I travelled down the path, I noticed the three different pathways in front of me. I went down the one in the middle and turned right, all I could see was the thin walls of branches and the dirt path below my feet. After I wandered around a bit with many dead ends, I realised that I was lost in a maze.                                           

The second challenge.

I studied the environment around me closely; the maze was made of twigs and branches thick enough so I couldn’t see through to the other side, the roof was open with the trees not far above it. There were small bright lights illuminating off the fairies in the trees that made a pattern or some sort of guidance. I realised that they were trying to help me and guide me to the end of the maze. I followed the glow through the maze until I came across a ravine cracked through the earth blocking the exit of the maze. I checked my surroundings again and nothing had changed. I picked up a rock and threw it into the hole, the rock hit the bottom nearly instantly, and I realised that it was only an illusion to make you turn back around. I fell into the hole and the illusion disappeared to show a hole in the ground, I continued and went through the door at the end of the maze.

The door creaked open, and I saw a bright crystal placed on the floor. I walked over and picked up the crystal, a sensation rushed through my body as soon as I picked it up; green streaks of light came out of the crystal and I rushed home to show my parents my magic.

I have the powers of nature; I can grow vines, and sprout flowers. This is my power. The ability to create life.