The Dreamland Slides

“The Dreamland Slides” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by İley Demir, MEV College Private Ankara Secondary School, Turkey.

The Dreamland Slides

One day there were two girls named Alice and Grace. They were best friends. They always planned the things that they would do together. One afternoon, while their parents were talking to each other, Alice was thinking about setting up a camp that summer. She told her thoughts to Grace and the two girls became so happy. Their parents asked them why they were so cheerful so the girls told their plan and their parents gave them permission to make camp at the small forest. But first they promised their parents not to get out of the small forest. After some days they went there with their fathers. They put on the tent and lit the fire. They talked and talked. They ate their marshmallows and they fell asleep. When they woke up, they got shocked. They were at a slide! They slid through the slide and fell down. They found a very big map. On the map, wrote the meaning of the colors of the slides:

Red: Clothes Land

Yellow: Shopping Land

Orange: Friendship Land

Pink: Flamingo Land

Purple: Happiness Land

Brown: Monkey Land

Blue: Fun Land

Gold: Wish Land

Green: Flower Land

Grey: Mountain Land

After that they looked at the slides. They chose the orange one. They landed on a big balloon. But when they didn’t hear a sound they looked down and they saw that they were so little! They started to bounce on the balloon. After a while, they got bored of it and got down. They started to look around together. But then Grace said “let’s go different ways and come back here. I will put my bracelet here not to forget where we will meet”. Alice said “yeah, it is a great idea! See you later!” At the place that Alice went there were a box of friendship necklaces. She got the one which wrote “A” on one side and “G” on the other. At the place where Grace went there was a mountain of bracelets. On one of them it wrote “Forever” and “Friends” on the other. She got the yellow and purple ones because she likes the color purple and Alice likes the color yellow. They met at the place where they agreed and after that they gave each other their bracelets and necklaces.

At the end of the friendship island they saw three slides. They were red, gold and green slides. They chose the green slide and got on to it.

But on the other side; their parents were so afraid. Their mothers were crying. Their fathers called the police and the forest securities. They were trying to call their children from their phones but they didn’t work. The children, Alice and Grace, weren’t answering their phones.

The children landed on the grass. But they were still small. And the grass was at the height of their parents. They lay on the grass and slept a little bit. After that they started to pick up flowers for build a mini-house like a bird nest. After a few days, their mini-house was ready. They got to the land’s ending. They saw the slides again. While they were just getting on the gold one, they saw the pocket and got it. They wished for two cats, toys and to return back to their homes. They became big again and landed on the Earth. They ran to their houses near the small forest with two kittens and their toys and pocket with cards. They quickly ringed the bell and two families met at the small forest. They were afraid, happy and angry. They asked where they have vanished. They told them everything and they showed them the pocket of cards, two cats and all of their new toys. After all this horror; everybody got their cards and went back to their houses. In the morning the two families got together for breakfast. They read the note in the pocket and since now that they have learned how to go and come back they all said “one, two, three Dreamland World!” And they all vanished with their little guides!