A Strange Day in July -Harris Burdick

               Jenna and Nathan had been friends for practically forever. They shared the same birthday and had always celebrated together, their tenth birthday was no different. Being ten, the two couldn’t really do much on their own so they did what they always did, explore. Having little adventures and finding new secret places was their favorite way to spend their time. Out of every place they had ever found, a little pond on the outskirts of a lilac field was there absolute favorite.

               Jen and Nath had stumbled upon the pond one day on the way home from school. They had loads of homework so they figured they could stall by adventuring. When they came to the field full of lilac, Nathan immediately wanted to turn around. He claimed if any of the guys saw him there that he’d be made fun of for the rest of his life. Jenna convinced him by batting her crystal blue eyes at him and twirling her blonde ringlets.  Jen always got what she wanted. They began their adventure.

               The second they started their trek through the lilacs its like they entered a brand new world. The sky that was dreary before was suddenly bright and sunny, the hot thick air was suddenly cooler and delightful. A symphony of birds began chirping and hundreds of butterflies began flying around. The mood lightened and Nathan was no longer concerned about who saw him. The two began to run through the field, screaming and laughing. After running for ages they stopped abruptly, almost running straight into the pond. The pond was a clear blue color, so clean, the same shade as Jens crystal blue eyes. Small gold fish swam near the surface, not even phased by the two children peering down on them. The pond was pretty yes, but nothing too special. Jen for some reason however was convinced that it was magical. Nathan always believed she was crazy…until their tenth birthday.

               The day had started off boring and they couldn’t think of anywhere to go except their little pond. As the raced through the field like always, they started to notice there were large footprints everywhere. Not large as in adult, large as in a non human creature. At first they just blew it off, not wanting to ruin their birthday by worrying about it. They began noticing bare patches in the lilac field. That’s when the concern turned to anger. Who else knew about their secret place? Who would ruin such a beautiful field? They sat by the pond while pondering this. Nathan angrily threw a pebble into the pond. Less than three seconds later Jen cried out. “NATHAN WHY WOULD YOU THROW A PEBBLE AT ME?” Nathan of course had no idea what she was talking about, considering he threw it directly into the pond. “Jen, I didn’t do anything. I threw it in the pond, just like this.” He threw a second pebble in the bond, and this time, it came back and hit HIM. The two were so confused and Nathan decided to try one more time. He threw with all his might, but the third rock came skipping back.

               That’s when things began to change. The July sky turned black, the pond began to bubble and the lilacs began to wilt. The two ten year old ran as quick as they could to get away. As the ran they heard a deep, raspy laugh coming from deep within the pond. Pebbles whizzed past their heads and bodies, missing them by centimeters. The two returned the next day to see what had happened, when they reached the spot the field had always been, there was nothing. A parking lot was sitting there, the pavement crumbling from old age. The two never saw the pond again and never knew what actually happened that day.