Hi. I’m Evelynn. But you probably know me as Lynn, the girl who changed the world. And though you may know me, nobody knows how I have come to be. But since you have found me, I guess I could tell you a short story of how I have come to be…
It all started when I was 10 and my loving parents died. I became an orphan, my life an endless routine. Wake up in the morning and brush my teeth with ice cold water. Then eat a glop of porridge, with what looked like dead rats in it (though I’d rather not know). For the rest of the day, I must go and act as maids for other families and give my hard earned money to Mrs. Bopseritz. My life was hardly a life worth living, yet I knew I must go on.
One day, a tall man wearing a black suit knocked on the door. In his hand, was a piece of paper.
Why would someone so fancy come here? I thought to myself.
“Excuse me, do you know Evelynn Rose Garder?” The gentleman asked.
“Evelynn, come here!” The headmistress snarled, calling me from my spying place behind the wall.
“Me?” I gasped. “Are you sure?”
“No.” The headmistress, Mrs. Bopseritz, growled.
Ignoring Mrs. Bopseritz, I stepped out from my hiding place, nervously tugging on my locks of black hair.
The gentleman looked at me, then he took out something from his pocket. “Black hair, aqua blue eyes, rose red lips, skin as white as snow…” He mumbled. “Yep, that’s her.”
“So, um… Why are you here Mister…” I started.
“Mister Barlowe.” The gentleman said. “I’m here to talk to you about your parents’ will.”
“Ooooh.” A look of greed past Mrs. Bopseritz eyes. “You will give some of whatever you get to dear old me, won’t you Evelynn?” She hissed.
“Pardon me.” Mr. Barlowe interrupted. “But this is a private matter between Evelynn and I.”
“Well I’m sure Evelynn would be glad to include me.” Mrs. Bopseritz stared meaningfully at me. “Right?”
“Lady,” Mr. Barlowe cut in. “I’m going to repeat this one more time, this is none of your business.” Mr. Barlowe escorted Mrs. Bopseritz out the door. I could see his hands clenching and unclenching with frustration. He slammed the door and turned to face me.
“What happened to the will…” I started.
“Sssshhh.” Mr. Barlowe shushed me. “One second.” He slowly opened the door and looked out, to be greeted with the sight of Mrs. Bopseritz’s ear. “Get. Out.”
Mrs. Bopseritz squeaked, flailing around as she ran out into the hall.
“Okay. Now we can talk about the will.” Mr. Barlowe smiled. “On your parents’ will, it says that you will receive all their money when you come of age. For now, you will apparently get a book.”
I smiled. Typical mom and dad. Always encouraging my love of books.
Mr. Barlowe handed me a book, covered in red velvet. “Here you go. Now I must go. Bye.”
“Wait… But…” I pleaded. “Just let me go with you.” But Mr. Barlowe was already gone.
I ran out into the hall and toward the direction of my room, I clutched the book tightly. It was the only possession of mother and father that I had. I blinked back my tears and ran straight into Mrs. Bopseritz.
“Where are you going? What are you holding? What did your parents give you?” She demanded.
“My parents gave me a book.” I said. “I’m going to my room.” I stormed past her. I will read this book, no matter what. I thought.
“A book!” Mrs. Bopseritz laughed. “A dumb old book!”
I ran toward my room and slammed the door shut. Before anyone could intrude, I locked my door.
I gently unwrapped the book, feeling the gentle velvet wrapping tickle my skin. The book was made of leather. It was called, The World of Beauties. I opened the first page, and found a note stuck on the page. It said:
My dear Everlynn,
We’re sorry not to be here with you. We love you dearly and hope that you enjoy this book. Please turn to page 28 and read the words out loud.
We love you,
Mother and Father
I wiped my tears and did as the letter instructed. The text was titled, The Cottage. I read the words out loud, feeling the melodious hum as I felt the rhythm of the words. I felt like I was floating in mid-air. I looked down, and gasped. I was actually floating in mid-air. A second later, I stopped, drifting slowly to the ground.
I looked around, expecting to feel the coldness of the orphanage floor, yet all I could feel was wet dew drops resting on my legs.
“Where am I?” I asked.
I looked around and saw that all around me were trees. Redwood trees, oak trees, douglas-fir trees, pine trees and more! Surprisingly, there were even a few willow trees, dancing with the wind. The trees were layer and layer upon each other, covering most of the land from the sunlight. Yet one big ray shone through, lighting up a cottage. The cottage was small but beautiful. It had gray roof tiles that glittered in the light, very light sky blue walls, on the walls were two cute, small windows, with flowers growing in the flower pot underneath them. The door was shown with an arch that was above it. The door itself was quite plain. It was a normal wooden door.
By the cottage was a creek. The creek was a celeste blue. It glimmered under the sunshine and danced with the wind, creating ripples. The ripples scared the little fish in the water. One even jumped out of the water, spraying droplets on the water lilies, which made them glisten like diamonds. A little farther back, was a medium sized waterfall that connected to the creek. The water droplets splashed out until the grass around it looked like it was covered in crystals.
“What a beautiful sight.” I sighed gaily. “I do believe I am in the book. This is such a wonderful place.”
I stepped toward the cottage. I wonder what will be in the house? I thought. Maybe a library! I turned the golden doorknob and the door swung open. My mouth dropped open.
I was standing on a tree branch. Yes, you heard me right, a tree branch. I walked around, feeling the smooth bark of the tree, I think a birch tree, and looked around. On every tree branch, there was a leaf with a door on it. The leaf I was standing on didn’t have any doors, except the one that I entered from.
Weird. I thought. I leaned over the edge and the blood went rushing in my head too fast. I swayed, and fell into the darkness. Quickly, my hand shot out and grabbed the leaf. I managed to cling onto the tip of the leaf. Don’t look down. Don’t look down. I chanted in my head. I looked down.
“Eeep!” I shrieked.
“Eeep!” Came the echo.
I got frightened and almost let go. My hand was slipping. “Mother.” I sobbed. “Father. Help me!” My hand slipped and I fell down. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!” I screamed. “Goodbye world.”
Just then, an auburn colored leaf fluttered down and slid underneath me. “Huh?” I asked, surprised that I wasn’t dead.
The leaf unfurled itself to show me buttons that said bedroom, living room, kitchen, library, and so on. I clicked the bedroom button. The leaf quickly took me to a lavender door with a sign that said bedroom. I stepped off the auburn colored leaf and stepped onto the yellow-orange one. I took a deep breath and walked in.
The first thing I saw was blackness. Inky, dark blackness. I quickly put my hand on the wall, moving it to feel for any sort of button.
“Eureka!” I cried, feeling a bumpy thing. I quickly clicked it.
The world was now bright, so bright it blinded my eyes for a moment. Then I saw what was supposedly my bedroom. Little lanterns were hung on every nook and cranny, right now, they twinkled like a star in the sky.
My bed was right in front of me, yet I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a french bed, with purple covers and a purple fuzzy pillow. I sat down, feeling the fresh smelling covers. This smells like mom and dad. I thought. I layed down, looking up at the ceiling. I quickly jolted up.
There was a cherry blossom tree planted right behind the bed. I gently used my finger to trace the wood, then felt the beautiful pink blossoms. “Is this real?” I whispered. “Or is this just a dream?” A few blossoms fell on my hair and I brushed them away. One fell on my desk, I walked over and saw a note on the desk.
Dear Evelynn,
We love you and we wish you a good life. We hope you love this place as much as we do. Here’s some money for you to go out and explore the world. We love you so much.
Love,
Mother and Father
One big, fat, glistening tear fell from my eye. I let it roll, then wiped it away. I quickly put the note and money in my pocket. Then I walked over to the bookshelves and picked a book with a cover of nature. It was called Nature’s Wonders. I opened the book, then heard a distant sound of someone banging on a door.
I quickly opened the door and almost fell into the darkness. The sound was coming from the place I had entered. The bright orange leaf. I took a deep breath in. I knew the way out was jumping, still, it scared me. I let the air out, jumping after a slight hesitation.
“Eeep! Aaah!” I still screamed. Then once more, I felt the softness of the auburn colored leaf. “Whew.”
I chose the door button, and I quickly got the book and opened it to the 28th page and looked for a way to get out. The banging door was coming from the book! No way! Is that the sound of Mrs. Bopseritz banging on the door? I thought in disbelief. Then I quickly looked for a way back before Mrs. Bopseritz broke down my door.
I found a small area of text at the bottom of page 28: Read this out loud. I need to go back to where I was before, until I decide to return once more.
“I need to go back to where I was before, until I decide to return once more.” I whispered, sad to return to the world so fast.
I twirled around in the air, grabbing onto the book and the money that mom and dad gave me. I shoved under my bed and quickly unlocked the door.
“You!” Mrs. Bopseritz barked. “Why did you lock the door?!?”
“U-u-u-um… Because…”I trembled under her gaze, my voice getting quieter and quieter.
“Speak up child.” Globs of spit flew out of her mouth and landed on my face.
I quickly wiped them away. “I won’t tell you.” I whispered defiantly.
“Get out of here!” Mrs. Bopseritz roared. “No food for you! No food for a whole week! That’ll serve you right.” Then she stormed away, looking for someone else to torture.
That afternoon, I ran away. I used the money to buy food and water, and lived in my cozy cottage in the woods. But, I realized, not everyone gets to see what I see everyday, and soon, nobody will see what I see everyday.
Global warming was happening and not many people were trying to stop it. The places where we get to see where nature has blessed us, will be gone because of us. Why were humans even made if we aren’t going to help the environment, instead, we are ruining it. This planet isn’t ours, we share it, so we should help it, not make it worse.
My mind was set. I had to speak my thoughts. I started making posters and slipping them into other people’s mailboxes. After research, I went to everyplace I could to speak about global warming.
One time, I went to a speech contest and talked about global warming. “Global warming,” I had said, “Was all our doing. We know that. Yet what are we doing? Nothing! Yes, you may live your life happily right now, but think about the future! There might not be any world to live on. Plus, it’s not fair! We share this world with many things, while they aren’t harming the world, we are! Why are we even on Earth if we are just going to ruin it. I’m pretty sure we’re here to help, not ruin the world!” I took a deep breath. “Right now, there are quite a few places where mother nature has done its best and blessed us with its beauty. Now you, each and everyone of you is doing your part to ruin it! You should help the world, not harm it…”
To my suprise, many people agreed with me and we formed a rally, which got the attention of everyone. Many reporters interviewed me and they always asked me why I did this. I would always answer, “Because mother nature has blessed so many places, she brought us to life, we should be helping, not harming the world she helped create.”
As you know, I am still working on changing the world, and so are many other people. Now that is the end of my story my friends, though there might be more. We’ll see…
