Whispers of the Farm

The sun glared down on April Bishop. The tall, healthy grass brushed April's legs. Her yellow
spring-time dress swished with the breeze. She wore a wide-brimmed summer hat, woven with
straw. As she picked each wildflower, she sniffed it and slipped it into the bouquet. She gazed
out over the tall grasses and flowers. The sky above her was clear and sunny and she could
see a hint of tonight's crescent moon. I better hurry home, Mom said to be home before dark,
she thought. She skipped through the grass, she could see her house, not far in the distance.
Finally, she made it home. She lived in the countryside, and her parents owned a big farm. The
meadow was her favorite place.
As she opened the door her mother called, "Honey, is that you?"
"Yes, Mom. May I have a ribbon?" April asked.
"Sure!" Her mother replied, handing her a cut piece of yellow ribbon.
In a hurry, April rushed to her room. She tied the bouquet of flowers to her hat, and finished,
she had made her springtime hat. She noticed the time, four p.m, and realized that her dad
would be home soon. He worked outside with the animals for the afternoon. She walked out to
greet him, hopping down the oaken stairs and skimming the painted walls with her fingers. She
grabbed a biscuit from the table and walked out the door.
"How's my little girl?" Her father said.
"Dad! I'm eight!" April said.
"I know Alpha." He asked.
Alpha was April's nickname
"Good!" April said, "Mom, when's dinner?"
"An hour, or so, Alpha." Mom said.
April runs through the meadow. The tall grasses brush her legs. She looks at all the flowers she
missed earlier. She stumbled over a stone, falling down. She gets up and brushes the grass off
her shins. She inspects her legs and arms; no scratches. Looking up, April saw a cave. She
didn't remember seeing it before. Behind her, there is the meadow. her house, the woods and
ranch. Her curiosity took over, and she stepped in, with one last look over her shoulder.

CHAPTER 1-
Her shoes clicked against the stone floor of the temple. She marveled at the large tunnel
ahead. It was covered in ivy and climbing flowers and leaves. April saw bronze plates just
ahead in a checkerboard pattern. Symbols were engraved in the plates and stone in between.
She stepped on a plate and it fell through the floor. She stepped on the stones and hopped
through the maze. Ahead, there was a monkey. The chimpanzee stretched it's arms and
wiggled it's tail. Click, click. She made noises with her tongue, as she would to get a squirrel to
come closer, or to confuse a dog. The monkey made a cross sign with its arms. She
instinctively lifted her wrist to check the time, but she just saw her bare arm. She remembered
she had left her watch in her room. She turned around and ran back to the entrance, banging
on the rock wall and yelling. She hit her knuckles against the wall and started crying. Pressing
her ear up to the wall, she listened and and heard a bird chirp, right before something slid into
place mechanically and she could hear nothing... silence. The cave had slipped right back into
wherever it came from.

April's big sister, Lucy walks out of the house with Honey, their Collie dog, to look for April.
Her mom walked next to her with the rifle.
"APRIL!" They called, '
"APRIL!"
For hours the scoured the woods, ranch, fields and meadow for April. The tried the barn, the
house, and even the doghouse. They found nothing. They eventually headed home, heads held
low. They chewed on dinner sadly and went to bed, baby Adam, then Honey, Lucy, and their
parents.
When they all woke up in the morning, hoping it was a nightmare, they walked downstairs,
and, as they expected, April, the early 5 AM riser, wasn't there. They gathered around the table
and agreed: they had to find April.

CHAPTER 3-
April walks through the temple slowly, wondering what will happen to her. She wonders
her family has noticed she's gone. The monkey begins to tap its feet and scurries off in the
distance. She follows it and sees a young boy held at knifepoint.

TIP FOR PART TWO ❤️❤️❤️