PATRICIA SANTILLAN - WORLD OF IMAGINATION

Patricia Santillan likes climbing up chairs because she is too short to reach the top cupboard. Because self-love is important to her, she loves hugging herself. Her most recent publications can be found in Leaves of Ink, 50 Word Stories, and Fairy Talez.

WORLD OF IMAGINATION
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            “I can do this,” Cassie whispered aloud.
            She stood at the entrance of a large hallway. Along the first couple feet of the entrance, illustrations decorated the wall. It was completely empty. However, she spotted an opening on the right side of the corridor.
            Tip-toeing through the corridor, Cassie approached the opening. As she began to move closer, she could hear a deep rumbling as if someone, or something, was snoring.
            Peeking into the opening, Cassie was astonished to find a giant dragon in a deep slumber. The beast lay at the center of the room, taking up half the space. As the creature let out a breath, a gurgling noise emitted from its throat, followed by a small tongue of fire from its mouth.
            I should be quiet, Cassie advised herself.
            As quiet as she possibly could, Cassie held her breath and tiptoed passed the entrance to the dragon’s lair. It wasn’t until she walked a couple feet passed the entrance that Cassie released her breath.
            Now where do I go, she thought. Looking ahead, Cassie noticed a golden glow at the end of the hallway.
            Turning left, Cassie entered another room. It was much larger than the dragon’s lair as the floor to the ceiling was littered with golden sweets. From cupcakes to candy bars, it was all there, radiating a golden glow that lit up the whole room.
            “I found it!” Cassie whispered, in complete awe of the treasure she had discovered.
            However, the real treasure she sought stood at the center of the room. A jar of golden cookies that were said to have been made by a goddess. It was displayed on top of a high pedestal.
            Cassie tried to jump for the cookies, but they were just too far from her reach.
            “Poopy,” she cursed out loud, “how am I supposed to reach it?”
            Searching amongst the sea of goodies, she searched for something she could use to reach for the treasure.
     Off to the far right, Cassie’s eyes caught a large dining table. Surrounding the large table were also a set of large chairs. They were big enough to help boost Cassie to reach the top of the pedestal, but they weren’t too big for her to climb.
Running to the chairs, Cassie began to drag one towards the pedestal.
       “It’s so heavy,” Cassie grunted.
       Finally, she reached the bottom of the pedestal and climbed atop the chair.
     Standing on the chair, Cassie reached for the jar. She stretched her arm as far as she could, but her fingers barely grazed the glass. Balancing on the tips of her toes, Cassie tried once more. This time she was able to wrap her fingers halfway around the container and push it towards her.
    However, as Cassie tried to grab the jar before it fell of the edge, it slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor into a million pieces.
    “Oh, no,” she whispered.
   At the sound of the smashing glass, a boisterous roar erupted that shook the whole place. From outside the room, Cassie could hear another crash. This time it sounded more like an explosion, as if a wrecking ball smashed into the wall. Another roar burst through the air as the wall opposite of Cassie collapsed, revealing a dragon in its wake.
    Focusing its eyes on Cassie, the beast slowly approached and opened its mouth to reveal-
    “Cassandra Inahmarie Santos! What are you doing?” a voice exclaimed.
       The scene had changed. The golden room of sweets no longer existed, instead it took on the form of a regular kitchen. Instead of golden cookie crumbles littering the floor, they were replaced by normal brown cookies.
            Looking up from the mess of cookies, Cassie came face-to-face with what use to be the dragon. In place of the fire-breathing beast stood a tall, middle-aged man. He wore a look of anger on his face as he rested his hands on his hips.
            “What were you trying to do, Cassandra?” the man questioned her again.
            Uh-oh, the full name, Cassie thought to herself.
            “I was trying to get the golden cookies that the goddess made,” she responded, laying her head low. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
            The man let his arms fall to his sides and relaxed his expression. He was no longer angered, instead he had a appearance of understanding.
            Approaching the child, Cassie’s father scooped her up in his arms.
            “If you wanted the cookies just ask next time, okay?” the father told his child.
            “But I wanted to get the treasure myself, Daddy! I almost got it!” Cassie exclaimed.
            “I know, baby, but there are some things that you can’t do by yourself. If you need help don’t be afraid to ask next time, okay?”
            “Okay, Daddy,” Cassie finally agreed. She planted a little kiss on her father’s nose and laughed.
            Cassie smiled at the memory. She could see the moment vividly, as if it had just happened yesterday.
     “What are you thinking about, Tiny?” Cassie’s father interrupted.
     She stared at the cookies and coffee in front of her as she continued to reminisce.
     “Do you remember that time I tried to reach the cookies?” Cassie replied, ignoring her father’s question.
       He looked at her confused, “You’re gonna have to be more specific, Tiny.”
       “I think I was five or six,” Cassie continued, “Mom’s cookies were on the top shelf. I thought they were within my reach, but I was still too short to grab them.”
     “That was such a long time ago, Tiny.”
     “Yeah, I know. But, I don’t know, that moment just made me realize that I really need you sometimes. Especially when Mom is so far away.”
     Cassie’s eyes looked glassy as tears threatened to trickle down. She rub her eyes to avoid having them fall. However, as soon as one dropped, she burst out into more tears.
     After seeing his daughter start to cry, Cassie’s father enveloped her in a tight hug.
      “It’s okay, baby. I’m always here for you,” he whispered to her.
     Before she could respond, Cassie let out a few more tears. She sniffled and took in a deep breath to calm herself down.
      “I love you, Dad,” Cassie finally replied.