Emily and the Enchanted Forest (Excerpt)
A Children's Storybook
By James Pao
The little blue car drove down the bumpy hillside dirt road
Emily sat in the back seat looking out of the window
As the humps of distant mountains rolled by
In a swirl of browns, greens and occasional bald spots
“Be sure to behave yourself when you are at grandma and grandpa’s” said her father.
“Mmmhmmm” Emily replied.
She had visited her grandparents’ house many times before, but she had never stayed overnight.
Her grandparents lived in a tiny cottage that often smelled of freshly baked bread
Outside a small inviting lamp light hung on a cozy white porch
The house, a teeny cottage on a vast hillside overlooking the forest for as far as the eye could see.
She loved that forest
Emily had walked the winding trails many times with her grandpa
She loved the beams of sunlight as they peeked through the treetops
The fresh smell of pine-trees and morning dew
The singing of unseen songbirds
And the whisper of trees as they danced and swayed in the wind
Her grandparents would often tell her stories
About the magic of the forest
And the creatures that dwell there
The fairies, the nymphs, the tree sprites, the dryads
Old stories of a time long forgotten
The little blue car came to an abrupt stop
The familiar porch light was on
Welcoming their arrival
As the sun retreated over the horizon