I’m running but don’t know why; I’m not going anywhere in particular or anywhere I recognize. But I don’t think I care; here, there isn’t anyone stopping me from doing what I please. The Blue dazzled sky, and the tall grasslands don’t have any insults. They can’t take offense or hurt me; they just are, like I want to be. I lay down to take in the peaceful majesty of my surroundings. The grass was soft, and I needed to take it all in while I could. For some reason, I feel like it won’t last long.

  As soon as I acknowledged the feeling, the sky dimmed, and the grass became trees that loomed over and judged me. I stood up because rough and sharp rocks had replaced the soft, fluffy ground. The area became wet, and a stink filled the air like dead animals were being dumped all over. The area is becoming hostile, and I began to run again. I was scared but not sure what of, I scrambled and tripped over roots and rocks more often as I ran, and the thicket became denser and denser till I had to turn into another direction.

  Up ahead, I could see a clearing and knew that place was safe. I don’t know how or why, but I did. Once I made it, I was greeted by the grass, the dry, fluffy ground once again. But what was also waiting for me was a giant lamp. An old street lamp, one of those six-sided ones people had to manually light. It was beaten out of shape with dents and scratches everywhere, like someone was hacking at it with an axe or something. The lamp was also bent, making it appear to be observing me. I knew it was watching me, like a hawk, but it didn’t have any eyes. Then I heard a voice

  “COmE ForWArd,”

  “Who said that?”

  “I dID, cOme HeRe,”

  My head swung back at the lamp, and then I became puzzled. Is the lamp talking? I didn’t know what to think, so I hesitantly walked forward. The lamp lit up, but the light was very dim, almost imperceptible. If I weren’t looking, I would have missed it. I inched forward a little more.

  “WhAt Is iT tHaT yoU diSire?” the lamp asked

  This time, when the lamp spoke, the flame flickered and became bigger.

  “What do you mean?” I asked

  “AnYtHing yOu waNt CouLd be yourS mErely asK,” the flame became bigger

  I scratch my head. How does this lamp talk? Why is it asking me what I want? Wait, what would I want? I thought a moment more and said what I wanted reflexively.

  “Magic,” I whispered

  The flames in the lamp grew once again, engulfing the whole structure

  “MaGic The force of wIll by whiCh all tHings moVe wiLl be undEr your coMmand anD as I fUlFill this COvenanT of the lonG past my obligaTion is coMpleted!”

  As the lamp was speaking, the flames concentrated into its head. The flames then went out and spawned a brilliant flash of white.

  Beep* Beep* Beep* The alarm blared

  “That was terrifying,” I said, wiping cold sweat off my forehead.

  “Felix, are you up?” My mom yelled

  “Ya, just a minute,”

  I quickly put something on and went to my mother.

  “What is it?” I asked

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  “Breakfast is getting cold,” she said, pointing out the meal sitting on the counter.

  “Oh, eggs and sausage. What's the occasion?” I said sarcastically

  “I know I’m not the best cook in the world, but I make a mean scrambled egg,”

  “That's true enough,” I responded, taking my seat and digging in.

  The food tasted great, the eggs were warm and gooey. And that is how they are supposed to be, not cooked till dry but not too runny either. I tried to distract myself with the meal, but couldn’t get that dream out of my head. It was so bizarre, I swear it felt so real to me.

  “What's wrong with the eggs cold? I could warm them up for you,” she said, unloading the dishwasher

  “Nothing, just had a weird dream. There was this lamp and a plain that became a forest or something like that. It was really weird, but nothing to be concerned about.”

  “Is that so?” Mom said that she then went over to the line and made a call

  “Who are you calling?” I asked

  “Just a couple of friends coming over today. We're going to be talking “adult” for a few hours, so you’ll be very bored here. You should go into town. I heard that a new park opened up next to the old one.”

  “Oh ya I'll go check that out.”

  When I told her about that dream I had, she got really weird. Maybe she had a similar dream once upon a time. Well, anyway, the park sounds like a good enough excuse to leave the house for a couple of hours.

  The new park was not finished, it turns out. Construction equipment was still scattered about, and the caution tape was still there. To the old park, we go, barely anyone goes there anymore, most of the paint has chipped off, and the plastic is cracking. When I got there, it didn’t look any different than how I remembered. It wasn’t worth the fuss, and I was about to go back when I saw a couple of boys laughing and throwing stones. Out of severe boredom, I investigated to see them pelting stones at a small fox.

  “Hay, stop that!” I yelled

  “You're not our dad!”

  “Ya just buzz off!” the boys yelled back

  I just wasn’t having it, so I picked up a thick branch and started yelling incoherently. Foxes have always been my favorite animal, and seeing that was really ticking me off.

  “What is he doing?”

  “We should just leave. I think the arcade is still open.”

  “Good idea,” The boys said

  I picked up the fox and hurried home. It’s small, I think it is a pup. If there was something I could do for it, I want to. Just when I thought that, my hand started to glow a faint green, and small sparkles were levitating off of it. Just when my confusion was at its highest, the shards of light flew into the fox, like flies, and the wounds were gradually healing themselves. The fox started squirming and jumped out of my arms. It was briefly confused before sitting in front of me and panting like a dog.

  “What was that?” I said

  The fox tilted its head, confused.

  “Whatever, you can go now that you're better,” I told the fox

  It didn’t do anything, just glared at me like it was expecting something.

  “Do you want to come with me?” I asked, kneeling down

  The fox got up and licked my face furiously, putting me in a tidal wave of gratitude.

  “Ok, ok, you can come with me, but if my mom makes a fuss, you’ll win her over with cuteness.”

  The pup made a little yelp sound and then continued to lick me.

  I went home and saw two cars in the driveway. My mom must still be having her “adult” talks.

  “Hey mom, that new park wasn’t open yet, so I’ll just be in my room,”

  “Actually, sweety, we need to ask you- Is that a fox? Nevermind we can talk about that later.”

  She was really putting off the fact that I brought a fox home. This is serious.

  “We need to talk about that dream. You know your Uncle Rubin, and this is Cain. We need to ask you a few questions.”

  “Okay,” I said awkwardly while sitting down

  The fox immediately jumped up and curled on my lap with me.

  “That fox is new,” Rubin said, looking at it with suspicion

  “That might be what he got,” Cain added

  “What do you mean by 'got'?” I asked

  “Did anything strange happen before the fox became so friendly to you?” Cain asked

  “My hand glowed green,”

  “Felix, I need you to be honest with me. What did the lamp give you?” Mom asked

  “What do you mean, it was just a dream?”

  “Blank will be under your command, and as I fulfill this covenant of the long past, my obligation is completed. Sound familiar?” Cain asked

  My blood went cold. That wasn’t just a dream; that lamp did something to me.

  “A long time ago, the lamp made the same offer to our ancestor. He asked for one thing. The lamp visits his kin every 7 years and makes the same offer. So what did you ask for?” Cain asked

  “Magic,” I responded

  The room became exasperated.

  “That could mean anything or nothing. We can never tell what the lamp does with an ambiguous request,” Mom said

  “Regardless, he’ll need to learn to control his power, so this summer he's coming with me,” Cain said

  To be continued…