Jordan let out a loud gasp as he stumbled on the floor in Emily’s garage.
Unable to keep his balance, he fell.
A loud clattering was heard and Jordan groaned.
He looked up from the cold floor and his gaze was met with the subtle glow of the cube.
Jordan gasped and shuffled away as far as he could.
It was weird really.
Something he begged to have, he loved to play with, was what he feared more than anything.
He thought of how Emily had known of all this and had been spending her nights alone…
in this other world.
She wasn’t being brave, she was being reckless, and he didn’t want to be involved in any life-threatening adventures.
No, not like the ones he read.
The main characters always survived, but he couldn’t overlook the obvious question…
‘What if they didn’t?’.
And that was the same question that scared him too much to think of himself having the same adventures.
Jordan sighed, bringing his knees up to his head and wrapping his hands around his legs.
Even though he’s scared to get himself into a crazy adventure and then die…
he would never want to leave Emily alone in those adventures.
He could understand why she would react without thinking after seeing a place like that.
It was her dream…
her dream to write a story about them…
together on great and dangerous adventures.
Even though Jordan knew all this, he couldn’t bring himself to embrace that this adventure was able to become such a reality.
He wanted to be safe, he wanted to be alive…
He sighed again, feeling a slight pain in his head from all the train of thoughts in it.
Well, is being alive really worth it if it’s boring?
Many others would tear an arm and a leg just to go on adventures crazy as this…
but he was given this opportunity, this secret door was opened just for him…
and he wanted to hide…
to run away.
Jordan stared gloomily at the cube as he thought, “Emily is still in there…”.
He thought of how she would get back without the cube, because he was never going to indulge himself in those worlds.
He’d love to hear Emily’s stories about them, for sure…
but it was another thing to experience them.
He didn’t want to be a pirate who had a real life sword held at his throat.
He didn’t want to be mauled by several different wild creatures.
He didn’t want to be on the run from people holding torches and pitchforks because they all thought he was a freak.
He didn’t want to look for missing treasure pieces in an old building only for it to fall down and crumble.
He didn’t want to interact with a ten-foot dragon that could comfortably burn him to ashes…
And he was sure Emily wouldn’t want that either, so why would she take risks so big all for an adventure?
Why wasn’t she afraid of all the possible bad things that could happen to her in the other world?
“Why is she so stubborn?!” He yelled aloud, angry and frustrated all at once.
“Because, she’s a storyteller” a voice replied him, causing him to jump up in fear.
“Fear not, child.
I won’t harm you” said the voice.
Jordan’s knees wobbled as he looked around fretfully, “Who-who are you?” The voice replied him, “Who am I?
I am not one that can exist without you” Jordan scratched his head confused, “I don’t get it”.
“Who are you?
Tell me” the voice rang and echoed in the garage.
The voice was a commanding yet soft feminine type, laced with an amused and curious tone.
“Me?
I-I’m Jordan Blake” Jordan barely whispered.
“The popular Jordy.
You hold a deep connection with the story teller, don’t you?” Said the voice.
Jordan looked around confused, “Story teller?
I don’t know a-” “The story teller, Emily Pillers.
I’ve seen you two together since the day I fell into your hands” Jordan was scared now, “Who are you?
I-I don’t like this!
You’re scaring me!” “I don’t mean to scare you, Jordan Blake” the voice echoed again, then a bright light was seen from the corner of Jordan’s eye.
Jordan muttered, “It can’t be…” The cube’s glow brightened and dimmed as it spoke, almost seeming as though it had life.
“Yes, it is” the cube floated in the air and flew over to Jordan, who looked like his blood ran cold.
“I am the puzzle.
The portal.
The book.
Everything the story teller needs to find the stories” said the cube as it dismantled itself into tiny separate cubes as a gesture to explain its purpose.
“And I have been passed down a long line of storytellers, whose imaginations, bravery and goodwill, are a thousandfold of anyone else on this world.
From the Clay family, to the Gilroys, and the Pinces to the Sparrows, and the Sparrows to the Pillers” Jordan held his breath trying to tell himself it wasn’t real while the cube explained on, “I am a being created to watch over the stories created by the first storyteller.
All their built up worlds were stored within me, like a book, and I came to absorb the life from these creations.The stories were kept a secret from anyone else but the family, and so I was made into a puzzle.
A different puzzle for a different time.
Only those who had the heart and mind of a true storyteller would be able to unlock” Jordan looked at the cube hovering in front of him and believed everything he was seeing and hearing.
He calmed down and listened to the cube’s story.
“I keep these worlds, these stories, so that the storyteller may be welcome anytime they please.
I was the book they opened, the world they would dive in, and the world lived like none different from your own.
A world of its own” “The storytellers would have to solve problems and bring peace back to each world created, which in turn would be a story gained and shared” Jordan’s ears were piqued with great interest.
This was…
Emily’s story…
well, more like her background story but he was all the more excited to learn more about his best friend.
“Sometimes, I’ve had to skip a generation, because no child showed the great qualities of a storyteller.
Who knew the despair and destruction the magical worlds would fall into if it were left in their hands.
I would’ve been a marketable produce, a mere exhibit, so I was kept…
kept, skipped and passed again” The cube dismantled again and its pieces assembled to form three stick figurines.
“Then came Lavender Sparrows.
She was a mighty storyteller, and gained many stories.
Her worlds were kept safe and happy until she got too old to continue…
then I was locked away again…
locked away from her children…
until I felt the presence of a new storyteller” The first two figures disassembled and all was left was the green stick figure, “Emily Pillers.
Though, she is more reckless than she is brave, she has the heart of a true storyteller.
I heard every story she shared with you.
Stories that were once gained by her grandmother” Jordan’s mouth widened, “Are you saying…
Emily…
is magical?” “What I am saying, is that is is her destiny, her fate, her story.
She must create her own stories and give each world made by the past storytellers, a good and happy ending” the cube replied, putting itself together again.
“So…
what have I got to do with it?” Jordan asked.
“I am not sure, Jordan Blake.
In all the centuries I’ve lived, not one storyteller has had…
help from…
those who are not storytellers” Jordan sighed, “I know.
I’m a coward” “Even so, child.
Underneath that cowardice is loyalty and wit.
You complement the recklessness of Emily Pillers, which makes you the perfect companion” “Companion?
I don’t…
what do you mean?” Jordan asked.
The cube revolves around Jordan’s face, “What I mean to say, Jordan Blake, is that you are an important part of her journey” Jordan shook his head, “No.
I’m not…
I can’t!
What if I die in there?” The cube replied, “There has never been any history recorded of a storyteller dying” Jordan narrowed his eyes, “What about their companion?” The cube smartly replied, “And no records of the companions dying as well” Jordan pondered it for a minute, “But what if I put her in danger?” He panicked.
The cube lowered itself, “Jordan Blake…
Emily Pillers’ story can change and alter the stories both positively and negatively, your presence in her story has a role in the stories as well, both hers and that of many other worlds” Jordan bit his lip as the cube rested on his palm.
“Think of what she would have done for you if she were in your shoes” Jordan did think…
and he knew that if he was in Emily’s shoes, whose destiny was going to put her in unknown dangers sooner or later, Emily would be right by his side, not just because she was stubborn, but because he was her best friend…
and she would always be there for him even if she was angry or got scared…
“What will it be Jordan Blake?
Shall I hear of many great stories of your bravery, loyalty and wit?…
Or will you have none to share?” Jordan closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath for courage, and he claimed with an assertive tone, “I will have a story.
And that story will always have Emily in it!” Jordan could feel the cube smile as it’s glow got warmer and brighter, “Your decision is final, Jordan Blake.
I look forward to hearing your story” Jordan smiled and held the cube in his hands as it softly landed in his arms.
“Now, Jordan Blake, would you like to hear a story?”