By Staci-Lea Anderson
Katahdin Elementary
Grade 4
I woke up one morning and climbed down the ladder of Moe and my bunk bed. Everyone calls my little sister Monicka, Moe.
I got up and gently shook Moe. She rubbed her eyes and wobbled off the bed. We walked out of the bedroom. I clicked the light switch. The power was out.
Moe cried because she was scared, but I showed her that mom was sitting on the couch drinking coffee and watching the lantern flames move up and down and up again.
The power flashed back on. “Yippee!” Moe yelled as she turned to me with a smile on her face.
Mom went to her room to change for work. Moe and I changed into our red long sleeve shirts and thick overalls. We put on our play shoes, the ones with holes in them, then we ran out the door. Then we ran back in.
“We forgot breakfast!” Moe yelled so loud. Daddy hobbled out of the bedroom him and mom share.
I poured Moe and I a glass of milk and we drank it quickly. I asked mom if we could pack a lunch and have a picnic in the yard. She said, “Yes.” I packed two ham and cheese sandwiches and a bag of chips with two bottled waters. We walked out to the yard and sat down. Moe and I decided to play tag.
“You’re it!” I yelled as I tapped her shoulder.
“Not for long!” she yelled. As she ran after me, I tripped and fell on the wet ground. “Moe, go get mom!” I yelled as I held my knee. Moe ran to mom and brought her to me. I could hear Moe yell.
Mom saw me. “Moe! Why are you out here, Ashley?” Mom asked.
“Tag!” Moe answered. I just said “Sorry …” because I know we weren’t supposed to play tag in the woods.
Mom took me to the jeep. Mom, Moe Ducky, our Golden Retriever, and I drove to the doctor’s office. Our doctor, Mr. Racky, said I just bruised my kneecap, and he gave me a gold star sticker. I thanked him and we went back home. Moe went inside and grabbed Ducky’s chew toy.
She yelled, “Go fetch!” and threw it outside. Ducky grabbed it and shook it for a while. Moe and I watched as he did. Moe asked mom if we could go outside one more time. She said yes if we were careful. We promised we would be careful. Then we ran out. Moe wanted to play “Find it,” where we have to find cool things in the woods. We walked out. Moe got really annoying fast. She would pick up things that weren’t one bit interesting, for example, a piece of grass or a lump of dirt. But I was pretty happy when Moe picked up that certain leaf that particular day.
It was a breezy afternoon. Moe and I were playing “find it.” Moe saw a leaf with a hole in it. The hole sparkled in the ground. Moe lifted the leaf and looked. Her eyes opened wide at the sight of a big, shiny diamond with a small, soggy note attached.
Moe ran to me. “Ashley, come see the diamond!”
I rolled my eyes and answered sarcastically, “Ok Moe, let’s go see the diamond.”
I looked in Moe’s small hands. She was holding a big diamond and a small note. I picked up the note and read it out loud. It said, “Dear Monicka, Ashley, Morie and Drake, I sent this diamond for your family. It is for you from me. I live far away, but if you follow my instructions, you should get there soon. Sincerely, Family.”
Moe replied, “Where do we go?” I turned the paper over and it said, “Take 3 steps forward, 10 steps back and 7 steps to the right.” Moe and I did as we were told. I picked up a silver key and a note taped to it. It said, “I see you can follow directions. Look down and move to the right, behind the big oak tree. There is a pile of leaves. Move them and you will see a little panel with a keyhole. Unlock the panel with the silver key. Then pick up the panel and turn it upside down. The panel is a tablet, turn it on and type in the password: (GGRRMBA). Click the camera icon. You will see me. From there I can show you the way.”
I picked up the key and Moe kicked and shoved and pushed the big pile of leaves. She yelled,”Bingo!” and she placed it in the keyhole. The key sparkled and Moe lifted the tablet/panel. I picked up the tablet and clicked the power button. I typed in GGRRMBA and clicked the camera icon.
Moe and I looked in. An old man with white hair and thick glasses looked at Moe and I. We walked on until we got to a stump. He told us about a secret door and more directions. I carved an octagon and a door opened. Not a little but a lot. I stomped 3 times like the man said. Many steps led down the opening. I threw a stone to see if there was an ending. I never heard a sound. Moe and I stepped down a couple steps. The opening slammed shut. Boom! Moe clung to me. I banged on the door until Moe pointed out the carvings in the door. I read them, but it was hard. It said, “Keep going. You’re almost there!!”
We found another key. Only this one was golden and had a name on it. It said, “Gonte Moe Lee,” I didn’t understand, but I slipped the key in my leather pouch and kept going and kept going. Moe held my hand tightly. Moe and I sat down. Moe yelled, “Ouchy!” As she stood up, there was a handle. We both pulled it with all of our might. Moe and I stopped. I pulled out the tablet we found earlier. I turned it one and pressed the camera. The man wasn’t there. Moe smacked the screen.
“Mister, man, we need your help!” she yelled. We heard fast steps. He sat down. “Hello girls. I see you’ve made it to the step section of the journey. That means halfway there.”
Moe clapped. He told us to pull the lever one more time and a door will open. Then he left. I told Moe to shut her eyes and pull with all her might like I did. We pulled one time and the handle came up. I carefully sounded out the words that were covered in cement. Then I sounded out each word. I took the next diamond off and put it in my pouch. We both fell back. The stairs disappeared. We fell deeper and deeper down. I finally felt a thump.
Next, I knew Moe and I were bouncing on a trampoline and waterbed thing! Moe was laughing. I was confused. I looked up. I saw a big box hanging above us. I knew that was the last step of the journey – the hardest. I told Moe I would be right back, but she was too busy jumping and bumping. I climbed the side of the dirt wall. I fell a few times, but I got back up. I finally got to a stone ledge. I stepped up. I was about one foot away from the mysterious box.
I yelled to Moe, “Up here! I’m going to try jumping!” She looked at me like I was crazy. I backed up … and up … and bounce! I ran into a big spring. I looked at it. I had an idea. I pulled it to the edge of the ledge I was on. I climbed on the twirly wire of the big spring. I got to the top and crawled on. I felt like I was on top of the world, even if I was down in the ground. I bounced once. Then I saw something sparkle behind me. I jumped off the spring and landed back on the dirty ledge. I grabbed another item. Instead of a sparkling diamond, it was a clump of gold with a note attached. I put it in my pouch and ran with all my might. I bounced off the big spring and landed on the box. I read the top. It said, “Cut the rope!” I wrapped my arms and legs around the box and took out my safety scissors. SNIP! I shut my eyes and held my breath. I cut the rope. I felt my hair fly up and down.
I had landed. Moe came over and gave me a high five. I sat down with the box and opened it. It had a big sheet of metal and a button with a gold coin. I read the note on the bottom of the box. It said, “Set metal on ledge, click button.” Moe held the button and we counted to three. Moe hit the button. The metal opened up. It was sparkling. Small green letters appeared. “Jump in!” it said. I looked at Moe. We decided to hold hands. We looked at each other again. I held my bag tight. We jumped in. We landed quickly. We saw a cave. We walked in. A flock of bats flew over our heads, except for one that landed on my shoulder. I thought it would fly away, but instead it talked!
It said, “Hi, I’m Beatrice the bat. Follow me!” It flew ahead of us. We followed it until it said goodbye and flew away. Moe and I looked at a door. It had carvings in it. Moe and I looked at it curiously. Moe’s eyes widened. She grabbed a diamond from our worn out leather pouch. She placed it in the first hole. It shined green. Now I understand.
We placed the right things in the right holes. If it was correct, it would turn green. If it was wrong, it turned red. I placed each one in the right hole.
The door opened. We walked in. It was a big lair for someone, but who?
We soon found out. A man with thick glasses and white hair looked at us. He welcomed us in. He handed us a gold plate. It said, “Thank you!” I let Moe look at it. The man told me that I needed to take him to my house. I didn’t know why, but I agreed. He told me he had a portal that would send us out to my house. He told us he could take us back to right before we found the first diamond. I grabbed Moe and we walked out to a big room. As we walked, he asked us questions about our journey. Moe liked the bouncy part. He gave her a big blow up bouncy house. He looked at me proudly and gave me a black case. I opened it. Inside I found a beautiful necklace with diamonds and gold. My name was carved in it. I thanked him and he thanked us.
We all got in a big purple case. The man turned the lever to blast off and we flew to the sky. Next, I knew we were in my yard. The mysterious man waved to us and then he disappeared. We waved back. Mom came out and asked if we were ready for breakfast. I looked at my watch and answered yes. Then Moe and I sat down to eat a delicious meal.
Then, last I knew, Mom asked me where I got my necklace. Every year on this day, I go to the place we found the first diamond and talk to the Magic Man.
