A Phone Booth and Eternal Life
“Hey mom, I’m leaving for Sophie’s house now!” Julie yelled from her room, grabbing her bag of clothes in the process. She was about to go to her friend’s house for the third time this month. They had known each other since birth, and nothing could bring them apart.
“Okay, honey! Just be careful of strangers and look both ways before crossing the street!” she yelled back.
Moms and their safety issues Julie laughed to herself. She had been doing this for almost a year now. It was pretty obvious she could handle herself now.
She arrived at Sophie’s house, to see her best friend’s mother crying on the porch, looking heartbroken as ever. She had black hair, wearing a light blue blouse and some jeans. She was wearing flip-flops, seeing as it was June, and had her hair in a ponytail.
“What’s wrong Mrs. Black?” Julie asked, being as gentle about it as possible.
“Sophie is gone!” Mrs. Black sobbed.
“What do you mean by gone?” She asked, an incredulous expression forming on her face.
“She disappeared today; she went to school and never came back, and the last place she was seen was a phone booth!” She was practically in a pool of her own tears now.
“Well, if you want to find your daughter, then we have to inspect that phone booth. That is, if you know where this phone booth is.”
“Y-y-yes,” she said, choking on her words. “I-it’s right down the s-stree-eet from h-here”
“Okay Mrs. Black, lead me to the booth.”
When they got there, they stepped into the phone booth. They thought it most sensible that she was making a call when she was in the phone booth, so they picked up the phone and dialed Julie’s mother’s number. It rang four times, and then went quiet. No dial tone. No voice. Nothing.
Suddenly, they were both overtaken by a dizzying feeling, and fell to the ground. They looked outside, to see that all their surroundings were swirling. But they didn’t feel the booth moving at all. Weird.
Suddenly, the surroundings stopped spinning, and turned into a forest. But this wasn’t just any forest. It was an amazing sight. The trees were so beautiful that they nearly sparkled. The grass was greener than green could ever be, swaying in the wind like waves in the ocean. They stood, there, breath-taken, as they stared at the dream of a forest.
“Well, we don’t have any time to waste, now do we?” Julie said, a broad smile coming across her face. She felt so in control, so grown-up to have an adult following her around, doing as she said.
“G-good idea.” She said, the sob still a ghost in her voice. She had tear stains all down her face, her blouse still wet.
About 20 minutes into their adventure, they met a man.
“Hello.” Said a voice from the bushes. “Have you seen my little sister? We were supposed to be taking a walk in the forest, but she ran off. Can you help me find her?” he said. He was wearing tattered jeans, a white t-shirt, and had a small shoulder bag.
“Yes…” replied Julie suspiciously. Mrs. Black was right behind her, clocking his every move. “I will on one condition. First, tell us your name, your business here, and where we are. Then, help us find this lady’s daughter.” She pointed her finger toward Mrs. Black as she was finishing the sentence. She still didn’t trust this strange man. He looked only about 17, and he had just come out of the bushes… He was very cunning though.
