The Prize

The summer after high school was particularly boring. While most of the kids from my school were going to the beach with their friends or visiting their vacation homes, I was working at the Sherbet Shack. When I wasn’t scooping deliciously sticky ice cream for my fellow sunburned schoolmates, I was in my room applying to college. No there wasn’t an angry adult punishing me for swearing or skipping class, but instead a much harsher, unseen force, life. Being raised by a single mom meant that I simply did not have the luxuries that the other kids had. Let’s get one thing straight though, I am in no way complaining about my life. I love what my mom has provided for me, and I am so thankful to have her. By luxuries, I mean that if I wanted something, I had to pay for it. Which meant that scooping that ice cream was second nature at this point. Don’t get me wrong, I loved having a job. I loved feeling mature and responsible. Yet this summer was stressful compared to the previous. I have always wanted to go to college and further my education, so it was important that I made enough money this summer to pay my tuition. Things weren’t looking good though. With the money I had already saved, along with what I would make by the end of the summer, I was still about ten grand short. I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford to go to college, but that didn’t mean I was going to give up. At this point, I was just praying for a miracle by the time summer came to a close.

July twelfth was different though. I was given one day off of work a week and I really needed this one. The day before consisted of a twelve-hour shift and then coming home to more essay writing, so I decided I was going to spend my day off sleeping in. That didn’t go as planned because my alarm clock blared in my ear at eight o’clock as usual. I was beyond angry. I was so exhausted. Not just from working but from life. I was so tired of having responsibilities. What was the point anymore? I knew I wasn’t going to go to college so why was I pushing myself so hard? Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to fall back to sleep I decided to go for a walk to clear my head. Besides, it had been a while since I had actually left my house for something other than work. The morning sun felt refreshing on my skin as I walked into town. I decided to head into my favourite book store. Reading felt like an escape to me, so I was eager to find a new book to read. After browsing the shelves for a while, I noticed this plain, completely black, little book. For some reason, it stuck out like a sore thumb against the dull spines of the other books. When I pulled it from its spot, I noticed it was a journal style, with a leather cover, and a wrap-around string that held it closed. I was immediately excited, thinking of all the possible journal entries from some unknown stranger that could be written inside. The bookkeeper only asked for two dollars. What a steal! I thought. As I left the store I found a bench and quickly unwrapped the leather string. A steal it was as I immediately felt robbed of my ‘only two dollars’. The pages were scribbled with what seemed like directions to somewhere. I skimmed through the pages to the end of the book only to see that the last page was torn out. I scoffed and wrapped the book back up and made my way home.

I spent the morning trying to relax but I found myself more and more curious about that little black book. I decided to take another look and realized that the directions led to a thick forest on the outskirts of town.

“When you enter the forest, you must follow the path until you reach a massive oak tree and a fork in the path. Don’t let the screams stray you from the prize.”.

That was the last page in the book. Screams? Prize? The book was so vague yet intriguing and I felt myself needing to go to this forest. I needed a break from my hard work and the worst that could happen is I wouldn’t find anything. I walked out of town mid-afternoon and proceeded to go to the forest. The entrance was nothing special. The sun was shining through the trees as I entered and the forest was calm and peaceful. I noticed that the further I walked, the darker it got. Before I knew it I found myself standing at the edge of a swamp. I could see that up ahead the path continued. There were many fallen trees and that seemed like the only way I was going to get across. I slowly inched across a fallen tree while trying to balance myself. Long vines hung down from above which also gave me some stability. All of a sudden I saw a huge fish in the water beneath. It was like no fish I’ve ever seen. It was at least twelve feet long and seemed to be circling me. I panicked and started hopping from tree to tree. I finally was at the end and did one big leap onto the forest floor. I tumbled to the ground and looked behind me only to see this creature had leaped out of the water and dove back in. It was like a monster-sized eel. Electric yellow and speckled black with at least 50 razor-sharp teeth. I desperately tried to catch my breath all while wondering if that actually had happened. What was that thing? I didn’t want to waste time trying to figure it out. I quickly got up and jogged away until the swamp was far behind me. It was getting darker now, but the sun was still peering through the trees creating a beautiful dance on the forest floor. I was silently walking along, enjoying nature when I came upon a woman standing in the path. She was an older woman, with short grey hair. She was fit and wearing hiking clothes. I said hello and asked her where she was going. She told me that she was walking home and that her house is at the end of the path. I thought that was strange. By now I was about 30 minutes in, and the forest was denser by the minute. How on earth could there be a house out here? She asked me where I was going and I just told her I was going for a walk. We began walking together but we didn’t say much. It wasn’t awkward silence but more like we were just enjoying each other's company. The path began to descend and at the end was another swamp. To the left was this huge old mansion covered in foliage and vines, as if the forest was swallowing it up. “This is my home,” the woman said. I was in awe. There was no way this mansion should have been in this forest. Two children came running from the house, “Grandma, Grandma!!” they exclaimed. As they embraced, I looked beyond the swamp to see the same old oak tree and the fork in the path that I had read about in the little black book earlier that day. One of the children said to me “the forest is so thick that you can’t hear yourself speak.”. That gave me chills. I asked the woman, “when I get to the oak tree which way do I go?” The woman started screeching. “ALL I WANTED WAS TO SEE MY GRANDCHILDREN I SHOULD’VE NEVER SHOWN YOU THE WAY!”. It was the most horrible screaming I have ever heard and it terrified me. I had to think fast. I looked back to the way I had come, then toward the swamp all while the woman was still screaming. I had to make it stop so I jumped on a fallen tree and entered an even denser forest. As soon as I did it was silent. Not a single sound was heard and I even spoke only to hear nothing. Something was seriously wrong with this forest, I thought. But I had to keep going, I could not go back to the terrible screaming woman. I quickly hopped from tree to tree in fear of another swamp monster trying to eat me. This time though, there was no absurdly long fish, but instead, a couple struggling to hold onto their flipped canoe. I could see they were screaming but I couldn’t hear a sound. I started jumping quicker all while trying not to fall in. By the time I reached the couple, they were only bubbles floating to the top of the moss-covered water beside the flipped canoe. I was shocked and scared and needed to reach the path again. At last, solid ground, I collapsed once again searching for my breath. I looked back at the swamp and it looked so calm. As if two people didn’t just get swallowed by whatever creature or entity is swimming around below. I don’t know why but I just had to move on. I walked toward the oak tree and it was bigger than huge, it was enormous. It was almost symbolic. It made me think about my life and this huge obstacle of trying to save money for school that I’ve been trying to overcome. The fork in the path made me feel like I had two choices: to give up or to keep going. Except I didn’t know which was which. They both looked the exact same. One was not scarier than the other, just two paths but I could not see what was ahead either of them. My gut was telling me to go left and I didn’t know why. As soon as I stepped onto that path I heard sounds again. The way a forest should sound. Birds chirping melodies, and trees swaying in the wind. I felt okay again like everything was going to work out. But I still didn’t know what I was even looking for so I continued to walk. As I walked I looked up and was mesmerized by the green trees. I gasped as I abruptly stepped into a pothole. I looked down to see a brown burlap sack. I was confused, but nothing was out of the ordinary anymore in this forest. I opened the bag and inside was a letter.

“Lise Polemistis, if you’re reading this you have conquered the long and extraordinary quest I have set for you. It was meant to teach you how to overcome obstacles, make hasty decisions, and trust your gut. You have found the prize and I hope it helps you on your next life journey. But remember, always follow an adventure when it comes your way.”

This all felt like a dream. Who is this? How did they know my name? How did they know I would find the book? My mind was racing. I looked into the bag and inside were bundles of...CASH! Twenty thousand dollars to be exact! I let out a loud and excited scream that echoed through the forest. I was completely speechless. I could now afford school. I picked up the bag and ran along the path seeing the end up ahead. I reached it only to see it was the same path I first entered at the beginning of that day, July twelfth.