The Chocolate Cake

As Amy and Eric stepped through the mirror and entered another realm - their grandma hugged them tightly. "Welcome," she said through tears and kisses and hugs. Amy and Eric couldn't believe it. They were still not sure if they were dreaming, but it seemed so real. Grandma started to walk down the corridor they had stepped into, and Eric took her hand. Meanwhile, Amy looked back to the mirror they had just walked through and wondered if it was too late to step back out? What about their granddad? He would be so worried when he comes home from town. Could they leave him a note? She pondered... oh, her grandma and Eric were already ahead of her... from fear of being separated, she ran over to the others and grabbed her grandmother's other hand.

After what seemed like a short walk, they started to see some very bright light. Amy and Eric's eyes had trouble adjusting. Ay... Squinting, they came to the end of the corridor and stepped over some logs of wood. Wait, they had come out from behind the fireplace? They stepped into what was a large kitchen. After Amy and Eric had stepped over the logs, grandmother tugged on an iron cast candle hanging on the wall, and slowly the stone fireplace slaps started turning behind them. The corridor was gone.

Grandma asked if they wanted something to eat. Actually, Amy was getting hungry, and Eric's stomach let out a large rumble. I guess he is hungry too! Grandma smiled, snapped her fingers, and suddenly on a large wooden table in the middle of the kitchen floor, food started appearing. Oh, first there was a whole roasted duck, then schnitzel, meatballs, five different kinds of potatoes, roasted veggies, salads, rolls and loaves of bread, and then the table was packed. Well, except for one large plate in the center on which a huge three-leveled chocolate cake slowly emerged. Grandma got out four plates and arranged them around the table. "Come on, children, let's eat," she said. Eric looked at the fourth plate. "Grandma, who is the fourth plate for?" he asked. Grandma just smiled and said, look for yourself, and gestured towards the large wooden door which had been open, letting in the bright sunlight.

Just as Amy was about to sit down, she saw a large man come through the door. "ANTHONY," she yelled and ran over. "what are you doing here? How did you and grandma both end up in this place? What is this place? Where are we?" Anthony was their uncle on their mother's side. He had suddenly fallen ill a few years ago, and one day he didn't wake up. Nobody had explained to Amy and Eric what had happened, but everybody had been devastated. Anthony came over and hugged both Amy and Eric. "oh, how big you have both become, and how I have missed you," he said. Eric had tears in his eyes. He had been very close with his uncle, and it had been a significant loss. Eric had always had a stutter, and it hadn't been easy in school, but his mother's younger brother had practiced reading out loud with him every day after school, and the two had a powerful bond.

Grandma and Anthony looked at each other, "will you or should I," Anthony asked. Grandma looked like she was thinking this over for a minute and then said: "Listen, children, why don't we eat, and you tell us all about what you have been up to lately. We have followed you through a mirror, and we have been able to keep an eye on you, but we would still love to hear some stories from you. We have missed you, and we cannot wait to tell you more about this place. But, let us eat first, and then we can walk outside, and we can show you this place and tell you more."

They all started grabbing different foods, and Eric and Amy ate as if they hadn't eaten for days. Anthony and Grandma were smiling at each other as they were listening to the many stories. Amy and Eric told them about granddad and how they were making some money to save up for their big archaeological excavation adventure next summer. Suddenly Amy looked over at grandma, "what about granddad and our parents? Are we able to go back, will they not miss us, and what about our adventure next summer? will we no be able to go there?" she asked. Grandma padded her hand and said, do not worry about that now, it will all work out, and of course, you two will go on your big adventure with your parents next summer. "I have sent a message to granddad to let him know you are with me, so he will not worry, and you will return once you have helped us here," grandma added.

"Help you?" Eric said, "what is wrong? Are you not dead? How can we possibly help you? You even seem to have magic." Grandma smiled at him, "you know what, Eric, you too have magic, but first we need to train you, so you can use it properly. We do not need another accident now, do we, right Anthony." Anthony blushed. "What happened? What did Anthony do," Amy asked while chewing on a slice of chocolate cake... Oh, it was fantastic, she thought. Anthony shrugged his shoulders and said, "well, I just got a little too excited, and before I knew it, I had created a fireball and burned down half of the barn outside. Luckily, your grandmother came just in time and used a rain spell, and turned out the fire." "ahh yes," grandma said, "but do not worry about that now, we will teach you everything you need to know, and we will stay together."

When they were all done eating, Anthony snapped his fingers, and all of the food disappeared. "oy," said Eric, who had just reached for one last roll to put into his pocket. Anthony smiled, "check your pocket, Eric." Eric looked surprised but padded his pocket before he peaked inside, "wow, my roll, thank you, uncle," he said with a big smile. "You are welcome. You do not have to worry about starving around here. Soon I will teach you how to conjure your own food. Just be careful not to overeat," Anthony winked at Eric. Eric pondered about that for a minute. Oh, all the foods he wanted. Could he still do that when he was back with granddad? Could he share with others? He knew of so many people who were starving around the globe. He would have to look into that later. First, they were ready now to step outside.

They walked through the big door, the sun was low on the horizon, and the evening light looked gorgeous, shining on the tall mountains in the back. Was that snow on top of them, Amy thought. It was in the middle of July. Where were they? "Eric, have you seen the big mountains and the snow on them," Amy asked him… "what mountains," he asked, huh, Amy wondered, and pointed, "right there," she said, "oh, now I see them," Eric replied. That was weird. They were right there. How could he have missed them? "Come and sit down over here. I think it is time to tell you a bit about this place," grandma said.

Anthony and grandma were already sitting in some remarkable and comfortable chairs around a sparking fireplace. Amy and Eric ran over and sat in two chairs on the opposite side. "Alright, children. You have entered into the next realm, the realm where the dead live. What you see is an illusion. You can make things appear like Amy just did with the mountains. If your imagination is strong, it will impact the people around you. You just have to envision it and believe. Then the sky is your limit. That is also how we can keep an eye on you two, your granddad, and your parents. And don't think we don't know what is going on. Have you ever wondered how miracles work? That is when you have loved ones who look after you, although we are not really allowed to interfere," grandma said. "Yes, but something has happened," Anthony chimed in and added, "things are changing. I feel a disturbance which wasn't there before. It has become harder to create new visions and keep an eye on what is going on in the world of the living. That is why we had to get to you and see if you can help us figure out what is wrong before it is too late. We had to reach you as it might be our last chance."

Amy and Eric sat with both their mouths and eyes wide open, somewhat indicating that they had a hard time understanding what was going on. Amy sat up, "but how can we help? Why us? We are just 12 years old," she asked. "You see," grandma said gently, "we are suspecting it has something to do with people no longer being happy, and if they were not happy while living, they do not make it to this happy place when they die. The force is changing. Without happiness in the world, we cease to exist. You have to do something. You are some of the happiest children I have ever known, and we will have to come up with a plan on how to make the world happy. Together we can do it." Amy and Eric looked at each other. "Ok, grandma and uncle, we will do it… but how?" Eric asked. Anthony replied, "Oh, I am so happy to hear this. We knew we could count on you. Let us sleep, and tomorrow we will get started on your training and introduce you to our plan." He snapped his fingers, and they found themselves in a beautiful bedroom with four beds, and they all went to sleep and dreamed vivid dreams of a happy world.