Story Land

   A strange thing happened to me when I spent this summer at my Aunt’s in the United States. I was hoping to see my old friends Sophie and her older sister Sadie who lived down the street. One morning my aunt and uncle told me the circus was in town today.

  When everyone was ready, we all got in the car and went to see the circus. It seemed like a long drive because everyone was so excited.

  We finally arrived. The circus had big colorful tents with large groups of people both inside and outside. There were things to eat and laughter everywhere. 

  The circus performers gathered together for a parade outside before the show. Sophie, Sadie, and I stood next to a crowd of teenagers who had tattoos all over their bodies. 

  A group of clowns appeared in the parade and were trying to make the little kids smile. I saw one clown who was holding a red balloon and looked different. He had bloody red eyes and his pointed teeth gleamed in the sunlight. 

  When I turned around to tell Sophie and Sadie how weird that clown looked, I saw they were throwing rocks at the clowns with the teenagers. One of the rocks hit the clown with the pointed teeth and bloody eyes.

  The clown looked furious. He pointed his finger straight at us and said “You’ll pay for that!”  Then he disappeared.

  We stared at where he stood seconds ago and with disbelief, we saw a red balloon floating up into the air.

  We soon forgot about the weird clown and his warning. The next day, Sophie, Sadie, and I were riding our bikes to the park.  Something in the trees caught Sophie’s attention when we passed by the forest. She fell behind the rest of us.

  When Sophie finally got to the park, we saw a red balloon tied to her bicycle. “Where did you get that balloon?” I asked. “I found it tied to the tree in the forest.” She replied. We played for a while, and then rode our bikes home. When we passed by the forest, we looked at the trees, and wondered who had put the balloon there.

  A few days later, I was invited come over to Sophie’s house to play. I rang the doorbell and waited. When their mother opened the door, her eyes were red and puffy. “Excuse me, is Sophie here?” I asked. “Well Sadie is here and she can explain to you.” She quickly walked away.

  Sadie came downstairs and I asked her “Where’s Sophie?” “She’s gone!” she screamed. “What?” I said with disbelief. “We couldn’t find her anywhere! Mother has called the police. The police are already searching but they haven’t found her.” 

   I asked. “Do you know what happened to her?” She replied. “I don’t know. But mother said that she heard heavy footsteps heading toward her bedroom in the night. She rushed to check on her, but when she got to the bedroom and looked inside, Sophie was gone. All we found was a red balloon tied to her bed.” 

  That day when I went home, I felt very sad that Sophie disappeared. Sadie wanted to go look for her, but her mother said that it was too dangerous and that she didn’t want to lose another child.

  While everyone was looking for Sophie, children were not allowed to go outside. I had been indoors all day and was very tired. I bathed and brushed my teeth, and trudged off to bed. 

  Lying in bed (that night), I thought I heard footsteps walking toward my bedroom.Thump. Thump. Thump.Suddenly, I felt as if the temperature had dropped and it was freezing. My heart was pounding. A chill went over my body as I heard the door slowly creak open. I froze as a red balloon floated through the crack in my bedroom door. I quickly pulled the covers over my head… ( and that was the last thing I could remember)

THE END…