Tattered Barn

To the outside world it was tattered walls, chipped and peeling paint, rotting old beams and a leaky roof. A condemned old barn uninhabited for years.

But to us? It was our sanctuary!

“Dandelion! Dandelion wait!” Jasper closely tramples behind me in the tall wheat grass, our little heads bouncing just inches above it.

“Not a chance! You’re too slow!” I leap farther and faster toward our dark mansion.

Its massive size blocked the sun, like its mass wanted to dominate the very skies that was littered with grey clouds. It cast a looming shadow onto the field for miles, like an ominous yellow brick road leading to an uncertain destination.

As we approached the sliding doors of the of the dark mansion, our barn, I finally did stop to wait for my little friend. He was barely a month younger than I was, but his height said otherwise as I looked slightly down at him.

A silent nod was shared between us as we held our breath and each took hold of a door and pulled it open; the most horrendous screech echoed in the valley of metal scraping on metal, the only alarm that someone had entered.

Grey beams from the overcast daylight seeped through rotted away wood domed way above us.

My skin flushed with goose bumps with the draft seeping inside of the dark ominous space even with my warm wool sweater. I could hear Jaspers breathing next to me as we stand deathly still.

The slightest rustle turned into a deep rumble in the huge deep pile of rotted hay piles that began to stand up!

“Who dares enter the domain of the Dark Lord?” Comes the booming voice of a monstrous creature of hay creeping out of the shadows, hay straws falling off its body.

“This mus’ be the creature the villagers were complain’ ‘bout eating their cows.” Jasper whispers to me as he clutches the sword on his hilt.

“Yeah. It is best if we make quick work of this monster and get the bounty placed on its hay head! I have three new weapons I want to buy.”

We both drew our weapons and charged at the creature. “Fall to the might of the Barn Knights!”

A ground rumbling shriek burst out of the foul-smelling monster’s gapping mouth. The smell tore at my nostrils, flaring them to what felt like the size of a pig’s!

Jasper acted first; jumping at giant bale of moving hay, he sliced the creature across its monstrous face.

It let out a horrible growl that shook loose the gathered dust from the roof down on us, and it stepped back as it healed the cut in its face almost immediately.

“You think your little swords can hurt me?” The Dark Lord laughs. “Your pathetic attempts will do nothing to stop me!”

I wasn’t worried though. I had prepared for this. “Jasper! What stops grass from growing?”

Jasper put his fingers to his mouth. “Well, when grass has completed its life cycle, it’ll naturally die itself and stop growing. And there’s also pesticides. But how will that help us Dandy?”

I smack my forehead. “No, you dum-dum!”

“Hey! Your Mom said not to call me that!” Jasper’s face falls into a scowl.

“Fire, Jasper! Fire.” I pull out a long hose from my backpack and set it on my shoulder.

Jasper gasps. “You’re right. That genius!”

“Get down out of the way!” I aim at the creature who is trying to escape into the shadows again. “Not so fast, Dark Lord!”

Fire raged out of the hose at the speed of light, engulfing the Dark Lord. It set blaze to every straw in a blazing rage until the creature was reduced to ashes on the dusty floors of the Dark Mansion.

Jasper jumps in triumph, a wonderful smile spread wide across his cheeks. “Yes! We’ve done it Dandy!”

“Of course, we did. It was nothing we can’t handle.” I smile at him smugly.

Suddenly, Jasper’s smile dissipated, and he timidly walked back over to me his eyes slowly saddened and his voice was just over a whisper.

“Say, Dandelion?”

“Yes?”

“Do we… hav’ to go home yet?” Sparks of hope flickers in his eyes.

You see, Jasper was moving away. Far away. To the city. Our school wasn’t happy with his antics. He would often speak of our little world in class, drawing the monsters we so often fought here. It scared other kids. But I loved them.

So, we always went there to play instead. But his daydreaming in school didn’t stop, so he began to fail.

Now, they would be leaving.

“How can we? We still have bounties to finish. We can’t leave the people undefended, dum-dum.”

He smiles and his eyes light up again. “Of course. I know you can’t do it without me. We’re a team.”

The space around us transformed, slowly melting into an enchanted cavern where beautiful tiny fairies flew around taking orders.

“We will get our new bounty from the head fairy.” I turn to him and stretch out my hand. “Ready partner?”

He beams and takes my hand. “Ready.”

. . .

“Mother. Did you still keep going to the barn after Jasper moved away?” My little angel asks me.

I smile gently as I rub his small head all nestled between pillows. “Would you like to go there Phillip? To mommy’s favourite place?”

His little face lights us with glee. “Yes please!”

“One day. I promise.” I kiss him goodnight and leave his room.

I slowly walk down the dark halls lined with crystal clear windows. I stop and stare out to the wide-open field lit by the full moon blessing the night skies. “Goodnight Jasper.”

To the outside world it was tattered walls, chipped and peeling paint, rotting old beams and a leaky roof. A condemned old barn uninhabited for years.

But to us? It was our sanctuary!

The End.