Lands of Leveron
by
Morgan Barnhill
Drei sighed as he looked out of the living room window, hearing the the rain hit the roof and thunder echoing in the silence. “I'm sooo bored!” He leaned his forehead against the glass making his long brown bangs become damp with condensation. His mother looked up from her crocheting with an irritated look on her face, “Then why don't you read that book your uncle gave to you?” He frowned at this and as if the weather was feeling the same way a crack of lightning danced across the sky. His Uncle Drake had given him a book for his birthday. A book! Everyone knew that he hated reading. He was upset, he hadn't touched it since he got it and that was a month ago. He blew air out of his mouth, “I 'd rather watch t-” To his horror the lights flickered out. “Fine!” he spat as another crack of lightning lighted up the sky, “I'll read the stupid book!” And with that he stormed out of the room as his mother had a smirk on her face. He snatched the the book from the desk in his room. It was a plain leather book, nothing special. He plopped onto his bed,opened the book, and began to read. His mouth gaped at what he saw. It was a blank page with only one word written on it, Leveron. He flipped through the whole book. All of them blank! Drei began to growl in frustration, “That was stupid!Who publishes a book with only one word and that word is Leveron! Is that even a word!” A sudden burst light came forth from the book, hurting his eyes. Then he felt himself being pulled inside, starting with his arms. As his head began being pulled he made one last scream before his entire body was swallowed. He felt his body float through nothingness before being hurled onto a heap of grass and moss. As his vision came back he could tell that he was a long way from home. He was in a forest, but there weren't any plants that he recognized from his last camping trip. He stared up into the canopy of trees with a low whistle. The trees were as tall as giants! He had to be California to see these! A loud rustle came from the bushes in front him accompanied with a hard smack to the ground by an orange fur ball. As his vision came back for the second time he saw a small orange fox standing on his stomach like a human. “ Yay!” it squeaked with it's tail wagging like a dog as it hopped up and down clapping it's paws, “Naru has another friend!Welcome to-” The fox's words were drown out by Drei's screams. He could take a fox standing on it's hind legs, but one talking? The fox covered the boy's mouth with a paw, “Drei should let Naru finish” That only made his terror worse. Drei quickly stood up making the fox fall onto the ground, “Who are you?! How do you know my name?! Where am I?!” “Wow. That's a lot of questions...” the fox thought for a second before saying, “I'm Naru! Naru learned about Drei from Drake! Drake said that Drei would be coming to Leveron! Leveron is this world!” The fox's eyes brighten as if he had forgotten something, “Drake wanted Naru to give Drei something! Wait right here!” It quickly ran into the bushes coming back a moment later with a letter in a letter in it's hands. “Here!” it squeaked has it handed it to the boy. Drei took it and quickly ripped it's envelope to shreds. The letter said:
Dear Drei,
Happy birthday! If you have gotten this you are in Leveron. I have given you this book because, I was getting too old and hoped that you could take care of Naru. He's a bundle of energy isn't he? Always remember that in Leveron, imagination reaches beyond the limits of reality.
From,
Uncle Drake
Well that solved two mysteries. One, how he got here and the other, if Naru was a girl or a boy. But this wasn't time for that.“Naru. I want to go home.” The fox's expression saddened, “ Oh. Drei doesn't want to stay.” He began to walk away into the under growth, “Naru will take Drei back to his world.” Drei ran after the fox. After a few minutes they began to hear the sound of crashing waves and tasted salt in the air. “Naru is there a beach around here?” The fox sadly nodded his head before slowly saying, “Drake told Naru that Drei likes the ocean so Naru made one.” Naru moved a tree branch hiding the beach, “See?” Drei gasped at what he saw on the horizon. A massive arch made of colorful coral and seashells was on a small island surround by the sea that was sparkling by the sun. “Naru...” He whispered in awe, “You made this?” “Yes. It was easy. I just had to imagine it and it appeared.” He remembered what his uncle's letter said. Imagination reaches beyond the limits of reality...Naru began wading into the water, “To get Drei back his world Naru and Drei need to get to there.” He pointed to the arch with a furry paw. “Wait!” Drei stammered, “I can't swim that well and that seems so.. far.. away.” The fox cocked his head in a questionable way, “Drei likes the beach but can't swim? Drei is very interesting...” For the first time in a while Naru began to smile again, “But that's okay! Naru can't swim either so he made the water different than regular water! Everyone can swim in it with no problem!Try it!” Naru dived into the sea swimming with ease and came up waving his arms around, “Come on! It's fun!” Drei cautiously slipped into water until it was waist deep, took a deep breath, and dived underwater. To his surprise it was easy to swim. He looked around in the crystal water seeing another world. The schools of fish twirled around him with a torrent of bubbles as the dolphins danced in the coral reefs. When he came up for air he cried out in amazement, “Naru! That was so awesome!” The fox was paddling on the surface, “Too bad Drei won't be coming back...” “You know what Naru? I'm not going home yet.” The fox perked up again, “Yay! Let's have some fun! Bet Naru can swim faster than Drei!” Drei laughed, “Yeah right!” “Drei thinks that Naru is slower doesn't he? Let's have a race to see!” “You're on!” They played in the water until the boy finally looked up into the sky. “The sun!It's setting! It's must be 6 o'clock by now!” He began paddling towards the arch. Just as Drei was about to go through the portal, he felt something holding him back. He turned around and saw the little fox holding his shirt with side eyes. “Drei is going to come back right?” He smiled, “Of course! In fact, I've got a little present for you!”Drei began to imagine something red, furry, and small. Another small fox appeared in front of Naru. Drei began to introduce them to each other. “Naru meet Misa. Misa meet Naru.”Misa batted her eyelashes, “Hi Naru.” Naru hugged Misa as he cried out in joy, “Naru has another friend!Thank you Drei!” The boy simply shrugged, “No problem. I knew you would be lonely with no one here. Maybe tomorrow we'll have a picnic.” Misa began wagging her tail excitedly, “Yeah! That would be awesome!” Drei nodded as he waved goodbye and walked into the arch, feeling the same pulling sensation as he fell onto his bed in his room. Looking at his alarm clock figured that he had only been gone for an hour. After he changed into dry clothes he went into the kitchen. His mother looked up again from her cooking on the stove. “How was the book?” He smiled as grabbed the picnic basket from the pantry, “It was a page turner.”
by
Morgan Barnhill
Drei sighed as he looked out of the living room window, hearing the the rain hit the roof and thunder echoing in the silence. “I'm sooo bored!” He leaned his forehead against the glass making his long brown bangs become damp with condensation. His mother looked up from her crocheting with an irritated look on her face, “Then why don't you read that book your uncle gave to you?” He frowned at this and as if the weather was feeling the same way a crack of lightning danced across the sky. His Uncle Drake had given him a book for his birthday. A book! Everyone knew that he hated reading. He was upset, he hadn't touched it since he got it and that was a month ago. He blew air out of his mouth, “I 'd rather watch t-” To his horror the lights flickered out. “Fine!” he spat as another crack of lightning lighted up the sky, “I'll read the stupid book!” And with that he stormed out of the room as his mother had a smirk on her face. He snatched the the book from the desk in his room. It was a plain leather book, nothing special. He plopped onto his bed,opened the book, and began to read. His mouth gaped at what he saw. It was a blank page with only one word written on it, Leveron. He flipped through the whole book. All of them blank! Drei began to growl in frustration, “That was stupid!Who publishes a book with only one word and that word is Leveron! Is that even a word!” A sudden burst light came forth from the book, hurting his eyes. Then he felt himself being pulled inside, starting with his arms. As his head began being pulled he made one last scream before his entire body was swallowed. He felt his body float through nothingness before being hurled onto a heap of grass and moss. As his vision came back he could tell that he was a long way from home. He was in a forest, but there weren't any plants that he recognized from his last camping trip. He stared up into the canopy of trees with a low whistle. The trees were as tall as giants! He had to be California to see these! A loud rustle came from the bushes in front him accompanied with a hard smack to the ground by an orange fur ball. As his vision came back for the second time he saw a small orange fox standing on his stomach like a human. “ Yay!” it squeaked with it's tail wagging like a dog as it hopped up and down clapping it's paws, “Naru has another friend!Welcome to-” The fox's words were drown out by Drei's screams. He could take a fox standing on it's hind legs, but one talking? The fox covered the boy's mouth with a paw, “Drei should let Naru finish” That only made his terror worse. Drei quickly stood up making the fox fall onto the ground, “Who are you?! How do you know my name?! Where am I?!” “Wow. That's a lot of questions...” the fox thought for a second before saying, “I'm Naru! Naru learned about Drei from Drake! Drake said that Drei would be coming to Leveron! Leveron is this world!” The fox's eyes brighten as if he had forgotten something, “Drake wanted Naru to give Drei something! Wait right here!” It quickly ran into the bushes coming back a moment later with a letter in a letter in it's hands. “Here!” it squeaked has it handed it to the boy. Drei took it and quickly ripped it's envelope to shreds. The letter said:
Dear Drei,
Happy birthday! If you have gotten this you are in Leveron. I have given you this book because, I was getting too old and hoped that you could take care of Naru. He's a bundle of energy isn't he? Always remember that in Leveron, imagination reaches beyond the limits of reality.
From,
Uncle Drake
Well that solved two mysteries. One, how he got here and the other, if Naru was a girl or a boy. But this wasn't time for that.“Naru. I want to go home.” The fox's expression saddened, “ Oh. Drei doesn't want to stay.” He began to walk away into the under growth, “Naru will take Drei back to his world.” Drei ran after the fox. After a few minutes they began to hear the sound of crashing waves and tasted salt in the air. “Naru is there a beach around here?” The fox sadly nodded his head before slowly saying, “Drake told Naru that Drei likes the ocean so Naru made one.” Naru moved a tree branch hiding the beach, “See?” Drei gasped at what he saw on the horizon. A massive arch made of colorful coral and seashells was on a small island surround by the sea that was sparkling by the sun. “Naru...” He whispered in awe, “You made this?” “Yes. It was easy. I just had to imagine it and it appeared.” He remembered what his uncle's letter said. Imagination reaches beyond the limits of reality...Naru began wading into the water, “To get Drei back his world Naru and Drei need to get to there.” He pointed to the arch with a furry paw. “Wait!” Drei stammered, “I can't swim that well and that seems so.. far.. away.” The fox cocked his head in a questionable way, “Drei likes the beach but can't swim? Drei is very interesting...” For the first time in a while Naru began to smile again, “But that's okay! Naru can't swim either so he made the water different than regular water! Everyone can swim in it with no problem!Try it!” Naru dived into the sea swimming with ease and came up waving his arms around, “Come on! It's fun!” Drei cautiously slipped into water until it was waist deep, took a deep breath, and dived underwater. To his surprise it was easy to swim. He looked around in the crystal water seeing another world. The schools of fish twirled around him with a torrent of bubbles as the dolphins danced in the coral reefs. When he came up for air he cried out in amazement, “Naru! That was so awesome!” The fox was paddling on the surface, “Too bad Drei won't be coming back...” “You know what Naru? I'm not going home yet.” The fox perked up again, “Yay! Let's have some fun! Bet Naru can swim faster than Drei!” Drei laughed, “Yeah right!” “Drei thinks that Naru is slower doesn't he? Let's have a race to see!” “You're on!” They played in the water until the boy finally looked up into the sky. “The sun!It's setting! It's must be 6 o'clock by now!” He began paddling towards the arch. Just as Drei was about to go through the portal, he felt something holding him back. He turned around and saw the little fox holding his shirt with side eyes. “Drei is going to come back right?” He smiled, “Of course! In fact, I've got a little present for you!”Drei began to imagine something red, furry, and small. Another small fox appeared in front of Naru. Drei began to introduce them to each other. “Naru meet Misa. Misa meet Naru.”Misa batted her eyelashes, “Hi Naru.” Naru hugged Misa as he cried out in joy, “Naru has another friend!Thank you Drei!” The boy simply shrugged, “No problem. I knew you would be lonely with no one here. Maybe tomorrow we'll have a picnic.” Misa began wagging her tail excitedly, “Yeah! That would be awesome!” Drei nodded as he waved goodbye and walked into the arch, feeling the same pulling sensation as he fell onto his bed in his room. Looking at his alarm clock figured that he had only been gone for an hour. After he changed into dry clothes he went into the kitchen. His mother looked up again from her cooking on the stove. “How was the book?” He smiled as grabbed the picnic basket from the pantry, “It was a page turner.”