Griffin’s Journal

April 4, 2020

I am still awake. It’s 12:30 in the morning and I just can’t sleep. This isn’t a first for me, but tonight is different. I can’t place my finger on why. I tried reading, but that didn’t work. I’m pretty sure I’ve solved and reshuffled my Rubik’s Cube a thousand times. I don’t know what to do. I keep spinning my lucky dime on my nightstand. Ttttsssss cling! Tttttssssss cling! Ttttssssssssss cling! Over and over until it falls off my dresser and I pick it up again. I reshuffle my cube and go through the motions of solving it again. 

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I had to stop writing. My window clicked all of a sudden. I went completely limp, hoping who/whatever it was that had clicked my window lock would think I was asleep. I wasn’t so lucky. I opened my eyes for a fraction of a second and saw a wide shadow creeping over to my box of keepsakes.

I said something to the effect of “Don’t touch that” and jumped out of bed. I groped in the dark for my glasses, trying to see the thing that was in my room. I jumped. It was some weird lion-scorpion-eagle thing. I realized that it was a griffin and pulled the shield that I had made in the woodshop off of the wall. I stuttered “What do you want and why the heck are you here?” Or something like that. 

The griffin turned to me. “You’re the one who summoned me.” is what I assume he said. 

“What? Huh? How?” I stammered, taking off my glasses and rubbing sleep from my eyes. I replaced my glasses on the bridge of my nose.

“I’ll show you. Get on.” That’s how I remember it. I put the shield across my back and climbed on, hoping this huge creature could get back out the window. The griffin crawled through with ease, even though he was easily twice as large as the window. He flew into the night, away towards the stars and the moon. 

“Where are we going?” I yelled over the wind that was blasting in my face.

“Where do you want to go?” Even though his deep voice was quiet, I could still hear him perfectly. I pondered his question, wondering where I should go. 

“Surprise me!” I screamed into the wind. The griffin made a hard right turn and I nearly fell off his back. I looked down at the city streets below me. “Wow,” I breathed. I then started to completely freak out. I sucked in a breath, focusing on the empty space in front of me. This would be so much cooler if I wasn’t terrified of heights. 

It’s ok, it’s ok. I’m totally fine. I definitely won’t fall to my death. Definitely. I thought to myself, trying to steady my breathing. Four deep breaths later, I was slightly calmer. I fought the urge to scream and clung on for dear life. We continued flying the same general direction for what felt like about an hour, then veered left slightly and landed in a large green field in the middle of nowhere. 

I remember saying “Where is this place?”  I don’t remember every detail. It’s the morning after all this happened.

 The griffin turned to me and said, “Wherever you want it to be,” I closed my eyes and imagined that I was in London. When I opened my eyes and looked across a wide channel at Big Ben and the London Eye. 

“Holy cow! I’ve always wanted to go to London!” I screamed, giddy joy in my voice. I started running towards the London Bridge, but the griffin put his paw out and stopped me.

“Luka, it’s only an illusion. This is an enchanted meadow that lets you see what you want, but you can’t touch it to take advantage of. Are you satisfied?” I looked longingly back at London.

“Can I see one more place?” I asked. The griffin nodded. I closed my eyes and imagined the city where my brother lives, New York. I opened my eyes and looked forward. I was on my brother’s balcony. I had been to his apartment once and remembered vividly. I looked through the glass doors and saw my brother sitting on his couch and reading a book that I recognized.

“I gave him that book for his 21st birthday!” I said. “He asked for it and I signed the inside cover,” I said. I let out a slow breath, thinking of the last time I had seen him. I miss him so much! It was good to see him again then. 

I turned to the griffin and said I was satisfied now. He let me back on to his back and we flew back into the night, the sun just starting to turn the sky a beautiful shade of gray. I looked back at the meadow that had been my brother’s apartment and London from across the river. As we flew, I looked down at the cities and towns, no longer afraid of the height we were flying at. My home town came into view and I realized how alluring and lovely my city looked from up here. I sighed. It was good to be back. I held out my arms and pretended I was flying by myself and looked up at the moon. I laughed a giddy little laugh and looked ahead of me. I felt like I could do anything right here, right now. I leaned left and studied the houses on my block. I never realized how amazing all of this was. I never realized how much I took advantage of. I took a deep breath of crisp night air. This was wonderful. Just as I was nearing the window to my room, I leaned a little too far out. I plummeted, feeling the wind rush by my ears and watching as the griffin looked down at me. 

I woke with a start on my bed. I let out a sigh of relief. I was safe. I was home. And I was never going to take advantage of anything if I could help it. I took the shield off of my back.

Now we arrive at where I am now. Writing a full account of my adventure in my trusty journal. I knew that I had to write all of this down as soon as I woke up. Here I am, just your average 14-year-old boy, and this amazing adventure had happened to me, Luka Smith.