Jolly
He had lived his entire life in this house, but he was standing in a hallway he had never seen before.
Jeffery Meadows, age 13, could not understand where this hallway had come from, nor where it lead. Taking a step forward, the floor boards began to eerily creek.
He was young enough to believe this is where the bogy monster hops from around the corner to snatch up the innocent child but he was old enough to hope there was no such thing as monsters.
Another step, another creek. Slowly but surely, Jefferey made his way down the mysterious hallway to the very end where he was met with another intersecting, unknown hallway with open doors down each end. The floors and walls were covered with peeling, tacky, floral wallpaper.
Jeffery had three options:
1. Turn right.
2. Turn left.
3. Turn back.
Opting for the second choice, Jeffery felt compelled to turn down the left side which seemed to end with a door whereas the right side seemed everlasting. Keeping one foot in front of the other, Jeffery told himself it was just like when he played Peter Pan on the playground, "walking the plank".
Reaching the door, another compulsion overcame his body to reach for the handle. Although he was often deemed as a shy, cautious kid, all his actions within the past 15 minutes would have contradicted all notions made about him. He was unnervingly calm and shockingly collected, but there was a feeling in his stomach that made him feel comfortable with this surrounding. The handle turned before he even touched it, having the door swing away from him and revealing what seemed like a massive creature huddled in the back of the room.
"Jeffery," the dark figure mumbled in a deep voice.
This is where Jeffery began to get nervous.
Where am I? Why am I here? He thought to himself. He couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity.
"Jeffery," the beast repeated, "it's me. It's Jolly."
If this enormous being would not have been right before his eyes, Jeffery most certainly would not have believed his ears. It was Jolly, the being his mother had supposedly vanquished for putting curses on children throughout the village. He had been Jeffery's friend before the truth of his doings had been revealed. No other kid wanted to play with Jolly on the playground so Jeffery, kind to all, gladly befriended him.
"Your mother, she's not the good witch you know, Jeffery. She lied to you of my doings. I wasn't cursing the children, I was helping them." The eagerness in his voice seemed dull, little did Jeffery know of Jolly's repetitiveness.
Jeffery noticed Jolly was chained against the wall behind and how he had reached for the handle was beyond Jeffery's knowledge. One thing was for certain, though, Jolly was a liar. With his mind made up and his heart heavy, Jeffery slammed the door shut and ran down the corridor.
Turning left at the same place he had came from, Jeffery ran into another figure. This time it was his mother and the look on her face said it all: she had overheard what Jolly told Jeffery and every single word was true.
With a snap of her fingers and a twitch in her brow, Jeffery's mother, Nurina, brought herself and her son back to the main house.
"Mom, what was that place? And what was Jolly talking..."
"Hush, hush, Jeffery." Another snap and Nurina erased Jeffery's memory for the 86th time since she had locked up Jolly. Reaching for her son, she wrapped him in her arms for a long embrace. She couldn't keep this up for long, Jolly had to go. And this time for good.
Jeffery Meadows, age 13, could not understand where this hallway had come from, nor where it lead. Taking a step forward, the floor boards began to eerily creek.
He was young enough to believe this is where the bogy monster hops from around the corner to snatch up the innocent child but he was old enough to hope there was no such thing as monsters.
Another step, another creek. Slowly but surely, Jefferey made his way down the mysterious hallway to the very end where he was met with another intersecting, unknown hallway with open doors down each end. The floors and walls were covered with peeling, tacky, floral wallpaper.
Jeffery had three options:
1. Turn right.
2. Turn left.
3. Turn back.
Opting for the second choice, Jeffery felt compelled to turn down the left side which seemed to end with a door whereas the right side seemed everlasting. Keeping one foot in front of the other, Jeffery told himself it was just like when he played Peter Pan on the playground, "walking the plank".
Reaching the door, another compulsion overcame his body to reach for the handle. Although he was often deemed as a shy, cautious kid, all his actions within the past 15 minutes would have contradicted all notions made about him. He was unnervingly calm and shockingly collected, but there was a feeling in his stomach that made him feel comfortable with this surrounding. The handle turned before he even touched it, having the door swing away from him and revealing what seemed like a massive creature huddled in the back of the room.
"Jeffery," the dark figure mumbled in a deep voice.
This is where Jeffery began to get nervous.
Where am I? Why am I here? He thought to himself. He couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity.
"Jeffery," the beast repeated, "it's me. It's Jolly."
If this enormous being would not have been right before his eyes, Jeffery most certainly would not have believed his ears. It was Jolly, the being his mother had supposedly vanquished for putting curses on children throughout the village. He had been Jeffery's friend before the truth of his doings had been revealed. No other kid wanted to play with Jolly on the playground so Jeffery, kind to all, gladly befriended him.
"Your mother, she's not the good witch you know, Jeffery. She lied to you of my doings. I wasn't cursing the children, I was helping them." The eagerness in his voice seemed dull, little did Jeffery know of Jolly's repetitiveness.
Jeffery noticed Jolly was chained against the wall behind and how he had reached for the handle was beyond Jeffery's knowledge. One thing was for certain, though, Jolly was a liar. With his mind made up and his heart heavy, Jeffery slammed the door shut and ran down the corridor.
Turning left at the same place he had came from, Jeffery ran into another figure. This time it was his mother and the look on her face said it all: she had overheard what Jolly told Jeffery and every single word was true.
With a snap of her fingers and a twitch in her brow, Jeffery's mother, Nurina, brought herself and her son back to the main house.
"Mom, what was that place? And what was Jolly talking..."
"Hush, hush, Jeffery." Another snap and Nurina erased Jeffery's memory for the 86th time since she had locked up Jolly. Reaching for her son, she wrapped him in her arms for a long embrace. She couldn't keep this up for long, Jolly had to go. And this time for good.
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