The Other Ruby Slippers

Dorothy had an innate dislike of tornadoes, but trauma is trauma no matter how it is delivered, and you can't pick and choose when someone else is telling the fairytale. Or could you? Maybe that's where the entire story went wrong? What if someone had purposely chosen to turn her life upside down just for fun? She was starting to feel like her friend Alice who had fallen down a hole into darkness, or so she claimed!

Taking a draw of the joint, the end glowing brightly, she relaxed and breathed out slowly. Family, friends, doctor, therapist - all told her she had imagined it, that it was a dream but she knew deep in her subconscious that something wasn't right. Something was missing, or was she missing from something?

Collecting her thoughts, she tried to remember what had happened that day. Running late for work, she'd decided to take a shortcut through Bramble Park. Not that she really cared if she was late for her dead-end boring-ass receptionist job, but she still needed money to pay the bills. And it was broad daylight, so what could possibly go wrong by walking through the park? It's not like there were nighttime shadows for the bad people to hide in, were there?

The bad people had been present for some time, and she had seen them more times than she cared to admit. Sometimes she felt them following her, other times she would see them hiding, standing still and watching her from dark places. They all had that weird green aura about them, almost as if they had been dipped in phosphorus and were glowing like a dim green light. More disturbingly, they all looked like they had scrawny, tattered wings attached to their back, unkempt feathers and fur sitting unevenly across their body, but she definitely did not want to get close enough to confirm that suspicion.

Making a sudden decision, she turned right and stepped onto the path that led through the park, and picked up her pace. The roses and tulips were in full bloom and the park was a riot of colour, every way you looked. Any other day, Dorothy would have slowed to enjoy and appreciate the beauty, but today time was in short demand.

Veering slightly left, she began the circular walk around the lake. It was eerily still today, no ripples, no birds, no children sailing their toy boats. If she hadn't been so distracted about running late for work, she may have found this quiet eeriness rather odd. Walking past the weeping willows, she caught a flash of colour from the corner of her eye. From a distance, it looked like a young girl, maybe seven or eight, dressed in pink floral dress, and she was leaning over the edge of the lake, peering into the water.

Looking around, Dorothy couldn't see her parents. Surely there had to be parents somewhere? Why oh why, of all days did this have to happen to her? She couldn't leave an unsupervised child near a big lake of water, it was too dangerous. But she would have to hurry. Maybe she could drop the child at a police station?

Heading down the slope towards the willows, Dorothy could see that the child appeared to be sobbing. Talking softly so as not to scare the girl, she asked "Can I help you? Are you lost? Did you lose your parents"? The child looked up at her with big green eyes, and said, "No, my parents are sitting at the park bench near the playground. I've dropped my bracelet in the water and I can't reach it. I'm too small. Can you please reach it for me? They will be mad at me if I lose it!".

Now Dorothy had read enough fairytales to know something wasn't right, but she would blame her lack of awareness on her preoccupation with being late for work. Surely, helping a child retrieve a bracelet from the edge of a lake couldn't be considered risky? Could it? Leaning forward, Dorothy looked into the water and suddenly caught her breath. There at the bottom, was a delicate silver bracelet with three emerald stones that were glowing with an eerie green light, almost like it was thrumming with an unknown energy source.

Dorothy carefully balanced on her knees, and stretched forward, her fingers just brushing the bracelet. Everything then happened at once. Before her, the surface of the lake began to swirl quickly, sucking water downwards to create a mini whirlpool. Behind her, someone gave an almighty push, causing her to lurch forward, losing her balance. Falling headfirst into the lake with a loud splash and scream, she snatched the bracelet from the lake bottom, before being sucked down below the surface of the lake, as darkness descended.

Damn, her head hurt, and why was she wet? And what the hell was all that noise? Couldn't they realise how much pain she was in and lower the volume? Opening her eyes slowly, she tried to focus on what was above her but it didn't make sense. It looked like a brilliantly flashing sun, but how was that possible? As her eyes came into focus, she realised she was looking at an iridescent disco ball, slowly spinning and reflecting light. Pinching herself to make sure she was awake, she flinched as her flesh was squished between her thumb and forefinger. Yep, definitely awake. So why did she feel like she was in a dream?

"Ah, poppet, you are awake!", said a raspy voice with a heavy accent. Dorothy froze. Somebody was in the room with her. But who? Turning her head slowly to the right, because sudden movements hurt her head, she could make out the large figure of a heavyset woman, sitting at a round table. "Come, we will get you out of your wet clothes, and then you can tell me who the hell you are and how you found me!" said the woman with the raspy voice.

Pushing herself up on her elbows, Dorothy looked around a room that she did not recognise. But maybe that was because she couldn't remember anything? It was almost like her brain was shrouded in a cloud. She knew she was Dorothy, and all the details about being Dorothy, but nothing more. The room was softly lit and filled with an eclectic assortment of furniture and ornaments. In the corner was a television, loudly broadcasting some unknown movie. Well, that explained the source of the noise!

"Who are you? Where am I?" asked Dorothy, trying to register if she was in any danger.

"Get changed first. The bathroom is through that door. You will be useless to me if you get sick. Hurry!" said the heavyset woman, now rising from her seat, and pointing to a door near the corner of the room.

Dorothy frowned. None of this was making sense, but her clothes were cold and uncomfortable, so changing into something dry didn't sound like an unreasonable request. Dorothy walked to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Hanging on the wall hooks, she could see something that looked like blue jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket, and intimates in her size. How the hell did anyone know what size she was? And was that a pair of boots underneath the chair?

Peeling off her damp clothes she let them fall to the floor. There had to be an explanation for everything, but she just had to work out what it was. Unclasping her bra, she suddenly froze. Why did the skin on her back feel tender? Twisting around to view her back and shoulders in the mirror, she let out a cry of alarm. What the hell was going on? Since when did she bear a tattoo? And why the hell was it of a pair of ruby red heels? Seriously, she had nothing against tattoos, but red high heels? WHY? Maybe she was having a nightmare?

Getting dressed quickly, she tried not to hyperventilate and fall into a panic attack. Easier said than done when you had absolutely no idea what insanity was unfolding in your life, right before your very own eyes. Having tied the boot laces, she stood and grabbed her old clothes. Something clinked on the bathroom tiles. Looking down, she saw a gorgeous silver bracelet, with three emeralds decorating the chain. The bracelet didn't bring back any memories, but it must be hers if it fell out of her clothes? Picking it up gently, she undid the clasp and placed it on her wrist. It fit perfectly, and the emeralds glowed gently. Pulling the jacket sleeve down, she walked hesitantly out of the bathroom.

The woman was still sitting at the table waiting. In the centre of the table was a large crystal ball, held aloft on a black metal stand. It looked strangely out of place with the disco ball. Dorothy took the seat opposite and said, "Can you please tell me where I am and what is going on? I am scared and confused!" The woman looked at Dorothy quizzically, before answering.

"My name is Glinda," said the large woman. "Do you really not know where you are? You are in The Emerald City. I was working with my scrying ball when you suddenly landed on the floor covered in water. I have never had this happen before. How did you find me? How did you get here?"

Dorothy shook her head. "I do not know," she whispered, more to herself. "Was it this scrying ball?" she questioned as she leaned forward to place her hand on the spherical ball. The woman saw the flash of the emerald bracelet, and began screaming at her, "Don't touch that!" Glinda tried to pull Dorothy's hand away from the ball, but it was too late. There was a brilliant flash of green light, and a noise that almost sounded like the buzzing of a bumblebee, and Glinda was suddenly gone. Evaporated into thin air. At this point, Dorothy was certain it would be totally acceptable to have a panic attack. Or find a mental hospital and have herself committed. That would work, too!

On shaky legs, Dorothy walked over to the curtains and pulled them back. Looking out the floor to ceiling glass windows, she gasped at the view before her. Huge, ugly buildings filled the skyline as far as she could see. Everything was made from emerald crystal, which should have been beautiful to look at, but was not. It was harsh, cold, almost inhuman, and gave off an eerie green glow. Now, what was it about that glow that jogged her memories? It was important, she knew that, but her brain couldn't link the pieces together.

"Why is this happening to me?" she asked herself.

Without warning, the glass windows shattered, sending glass particles flying throughout the room. Spinning around wildly, Dorothy hit the floor. Only her leather jacket and quick reaction saved her from serious injury. But before she could rise from the floor and assess the damage, something grabbed her legs in an iron-like grasp and began to pull her through the windows. Screaming in fear, Dorothy attempted to find something to hold onto, but the window sills were covered in broken glass and cut into her fingers.

Kicking and twisting, her body suddenly began to rise into the air. Flailing wildly, she got glimpses of fur and feathers and could hear what sounded like wings flapping. Rising higher and higher, the ground receded quickly, and a wild wind whipped around her body like tongues of ice. Whatever held her was laughing a guttural laugh, as it hissed through its teeth, "You must return what is ours! It is not for mortal girls to play with"!

"What the hell are they talking about? I don't have anything that is theirs!" Dorothy thought to herself as she tried vainly to break free. Not that it would be a good idea when hanging upside down above the earth! "Oh, you mean the bracelet!" she cried out loud as a memory of a child looking into a lake flooded her brain. "You want the bracelet? You can have it," she screamed as she ripped it from her wrist and threw it into the air.

"Oops, that might have been a mistake," thought Dorothy as the iron grip around her ankles suddenly released and she began to freefall toward the earth. "This is it!" she thought. "I am going to die"! Closing her eyes, and letting out an ear-splitting scream, everything suddenly froze, and Dorothy realised she was no longer falling, but she was still upside down. And someone was calling her name? Warily opening her eyes, she felt her body right itself, and the earth land beneath her feet.

"Dorothy! Dorothy! You need to wake up. It's time to go to bed," said her roommate Alice, as she gently shook Dorothy's shoulder. "I think you fell asleep writing again!" Dorothy stirred but did not reply. Looking down at her, Alice noticed a tattoo on Dorothy's shoulder. "Hey, nice tatt! When did you get that?"

Mumbling and half-awake Dorothy yawned and said, "What are you talking about? What tattoo?".

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