Poppy had always been curious. One sunny afternoon, she was walking down Elf Road when she saw something [[unusual]].
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<img
src=https://s27412.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Bale-Share-Istria-Croatia-Travel-Blog-8-768x1024.jpg>
</div>On an enormous table, someone had set out a great feast with thick slices of [[juicy chicken]], huge bowls of [[green salad]], glass jars of [[fresh fruit]] and silver plates of [[sweet puddings]].
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src=http://www.clker.com/cliparts/2/2/d/7/151382820523530468medieval-feast-table.hi.png>
</div>In the brick wall, there was an ancient, wooden door. The metal handle was shaped like a dragon’s mouth. Gently, she turned it and the door creaked [[open]].
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src=https://image.freepik.com/free-photo/closeup-blue-turquoise-old-textured-antique-door-with-gold-bronze-door-handle-keyhole_1220-1297.jpg>
</div>Inside, there was a huge, [[dark hall]].
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src=https://image.freepik.com/free-photo/hallway-abandoned-building_1357-361.jpg>
</div>[[dark hall]]
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src=https://image.freepik.com/free-photo/chicken-lies-wooden-board_127425-114.jpg>
</div>[[dark hall]]
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src=https://image.freepik.com/free-photo/salad-from-tomatoes-cucumber-red-onions-lettuce-leaves-healthy-summer-vitamin-menu-vegan-vegetable-food-vegetarian-dinner-table-top-view-flat-lay_2829-6482.jpg>
</div>[[dark hall]]
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src=https://image.freepik.com/free-photo/different-fresh-fruits-vegetables-eating-healthy-dieting_3236-541.jpg>
</div>Hundreds of [[tiny people]]
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src=https://image.freepik.com/free-photo/close-up-chocolate-pudding-garnished-with-berries_140725-4978.jpg>
</div>were serving [[steaming pies]], [[scarlet strawberries like gleaming embers]] and [[tall glasses of creamy drinks]]. They were [[dressed]]
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src=https://www.schwaebische.de/cms_media/module_img/4545/2272980_1_opengraph_2172980_1_org_B993608592Z.1_20141128184143_000_GQB3CUO7T.2_0.jpg>
</div>[[tiny people]]
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src=http://artofthepie.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/4231995857_2bc6e4f122.jpg>
</div>[[tiny people]]
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src=http://res.freestockphotos.biz/pictures/10/10093-close-up-of-red-strawberries-pv.jpg>
</div>[[tiny people]]
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<img
src=https://butterwithasideofbread.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Italian-Cream-Soda2-1.jpg>
</div>in curious clothes with [[scarlet cloaks]], [[yellow shoes]] and [[crimson caps]]. Poppy [[tried to talk]]
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src=https://marketingland.com/wp-content/ml-loads/2015/10/ss-talk-conversation-speech-bubble-800x450.jpg>
</div>[[dressed]]
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src=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a2/d7/c0/a2d7c0b66126ea815e9f9f573497be17.jpg>
</div> [[dressed]]
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<img
src=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/53/14/af/5314aff8ee633f402336518b09e23ef4.jpg>
</div>[[dressed]]
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<img
src=http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0312/6537/products/NE1121_Crimson-2_grande.jpg>
</div>to the tiny people but they did not say a [[single word]].
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src=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EizkKaDnpY4/VW8OGv-BLSI/AAAAAAAABYA/qipijWegnAc/s1600/Shh%2521%2Bimage.png>
</div>In the middle of the table, there was a glittering dragon carved out of ice and in its beak she could see a [[folded piece of paper]].
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src=http://brooklineice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/dragon2.jpg>
</div>"Look where you wish, but don't touch a [[dish]]."
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src=https://image.freepik.com/free-photo/empty-white-plate-wood-table_1150-12274.jpg>
</div>So, Poppy wandered further into the hall, walked past a great fireplace and, at the end, she found a [[crystal cupboard]].
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<img
src=https://www.woodburyhouse.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/c/r/crystal-display-cabinet-woodbury-furniture-mahogany-2.jpg>
</div>Amazed, she opened the door and inside was a golden apple sitting on a silver plate. It smelt so sweet and her mouth was so dry that she picked it up and [[took a bite]].
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src=https://secure.img1-fg.wfcdn.com/im/14633803/resize-h800-w800%5Ecompr-r85/7412/74121151/Wimbled+Ceramic+Apple+Sculpture.jpg>
</div>The glistening apple tasted of [[sunlight]]!
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<img
src=https://www.hsdinstitute.org/assets/images/photos/practice-of-hsd/hsd-bright-sun-640.jpg>
</div>At that very moment, Poppy gasped because she had remembered what [[she had been told]].
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src=https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alice_gasping_3601.jpg>
</div>Instantly, she could hear a thousand mocking voices ringing in her ears like sharp, clanging bells. Poppy shuddered and ran from the [[echoing sound]].
<audio src=https://www.pacdv.com/sounds/people_sound_effects/people-laughing-4.mp3 autoplay>Clutching the apple, she dashed through the dark hall, past the great table with the tiny people running behind her. Just in time, she found the dark hall that should have led her back to her own world...but at the end of the hall she saw 6 mysterious wooden doors.
Open [[door number one]].
Open [[door number two]].
Open [[door number three]].
Open [[door number four]].
Open [[door number five]].
Open [[door number six]].It was locked! With all her might, she twisted and turned the large, metal handle but it didn’t budge. Sweat trickled down her rosy cheeks as she wondered what to do next. She could hear her heart pounding in her chest...duh-duhn! duh-duhn!
Her heavy breaths were deeper than ever before. Just then, the sounds of approaching footsteps clip-clopping down the dark, narrow hallway echoed in her ear, making her turn around. Grasping the apple tightly in one hand, she gulped! In front of her was an army of tiny people.
“You shouldn’t have eaten the apple,” they chorused, pointing at Poppy.
BRRRRRRING! The repulsive sound of the school bell brought Poppy back to her consciousness with the apple still in her hand.
THE ENDBang! Bang! Bang! “Why won’t you open?” she screamed, as she pulled at the crooked doorknob. Poppy could hear the footsteps coming closer and closer, like a pounding drum in her head. She kicked her heels on the floor in frustration, as she knew what was coming her way.
Suddenly, she cascaded straight through the floorboards. “AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” she echoed, as she felt herself slipping down a slide. Loop de loops and backflips all the way, Poppy started to laugh and enjoy the thrill. ‘Where was I going to go next?’ she wondered.
THUD!
With a start, Poppy picked herself up from the floor and looked around her. Poppy’s friends were all looking at her in bemusement. “Poppy, are you ok?”
THE ENDArriving back to normality, Poppy was full of questions. Ouch! The apple from the feast burned fiercely in her hand reminding her that what just happened was not a dream. Deciding it was safer this way, Poppy never ate the apple and it lay glowing on a table in the corner of her room.
Little did she know that, at night, the tiny people would escape from it and cause absolute mayhem in the real world and no one knew who the culprits were. Day after day, Poppy’s curiosity never died and she traipsed up and down Elf Road hoping to return through the portal. Poppy never found her way back again. Well, at least, Poppy never found her way back...
THE ENDI reached out my hand, palm sweating.
“Should I open it?” I thought.
The exhilaration and excitement rushed through me like electricity. I felt the cold handle and clasped my hand around it. I turned it.
After what seemed like an eternity, the handle had turned all the way. I pushed it open.
Silence.
Then, without warning a myriad of coloured lights started flashing. They approached me at lightning speed. All turned white.
I staggered forward a few steps and was sucked away. Rising up through a bitter cold air.
I opened my eyes. It was magical. It was pure heaven. I could see waterfalls of pure gold, diamonds sparkling. This is home!
THE ENDAmazingly, two very strange things happened after Poppy reached home. First, Poppy planted the apple pips. One grew into a beautiful tree with blossoms of silver and apples of gold that glowed like tiny suns. Her mother said that the fruit tasted sweeter than starlight itself.
Secondly, poor Poppy never found the door again, even though she walked up and down Elf Road many times. At school, they said that Poppy was always lost in her daydreams. She dreamed of dark halls, fantastic feasts and golden cupboards. Sadly, that other world had disappeared and Poppy never found her way back again. Well, at least, Poppy never found her way back...
THE ENDWith the tiny echoing patter of little footsteps grower closer, Poppy grabbed at the handle and pushed the strong, oak door with all her might, thrusting so hard that she toppled over herself and began to fall…and continued to fall.
This was not right! She should have hit the ground instantly but Poppy could still feel herself tumbling, free falling. Daring to take a look, Poppy tentatively opened one of her eyes to see…nothing! It was as dark as a black hole. So dark that she couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face. She tried to scream out, but silence! What was happening?
Poppy reached out with both her hands and feet to try and feel anything but, again, there was nothing. As all hope seemed lost, Poppy landed with a thump, not a deadly thump that you would expect from someone who had been falling downwards for the past 3 minutes, but a gentle thump, like all of us make when we ‘plop’ down into a chair. As she slowly reoriented herself and her situation, a faint, glowing purple light appeared in the distance and a slow moan whistled past her ear. ‘Where I am now?’ was all she could think!
THE END