a weird and wonderful world

today was another boring day.

only my head and chest could be seen as I was scrolling through my phone in the darkness of my room. I had gotten a notification from my friend, Dylan.

I clicked on said notification, opening the photo he had sent me. it was a picture of him holding his cat, buddy, with a sad face. there was also a caption at the bottom of the picture that said 'i miss u.'

I snorted at this.

I texted him back, 'i miss you too. man, quarantine is the worst.' the second I had sent the text, I heard a shout from my mother.

"Tess! I told you to dust the house an hour ago! get off your butt and do it already!"

I groaned, turning off my phone and rolling off my bed. I then walked over to the door, stepping on a few articles of clothing. I then flipped on the light switch, looking back at my room.

the only word to describe it was messy. there were clothes on the floor, dishes on my bedside table, unfinished homework on my desk, and so on, so forth.

I then turned back around and walked out the door. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the dusting rag, moaning slightly.

"ma, why can't I do this later?" I slightly shouted.

because you won't! I know you, Tess! now, if you would, please start with the upstairs bathroom! it's disgusting up there!" my mother shouted back.

I sighed heavily, so she could hear me, and started the long trek upstairs. once I finally got up there, I shuffled towards the bathroom.

in front of the door, there was a note. I grabbed it, reading what was on it. 'please read this out loud.' was the first sentence. I sighed and began to read aloud.

"to escape your worries and your strive, say 'abracadabra' and then count to five?" I questioned. "this is stupid."

"..."

"Abracadabra." I said reluctantly. I really didn't want to clean this house, and I was willing to try anything.

I then began to count out loud. "1..."

wrrrrrr...

there was a noise coming from the bathroom, but I ignored it for the time being. "2..."

WRrrrrr...

the noise was getting louder, but I kept counting. "3..."

WRRRrrr...

"4..."

WRRRRR...

the noise was super loud now. I was surprised my mother hadn't asked me what was going on right about now. but, I only had one number to go, so...

"5."

...

the noise had suddenly stopped. I waited for a good 3 minutes before deciding nothing happened. "useless note thingy..." I mumbled.

"What did you say?!?" my mother shouted.

oh, so she couldn't hear the whirring noise, but she heard that. "nothing, ma!" I shouted back.

I then gripped the dusting rag and opened the bathroom door. "let's just get this over with..." I groaned.

but what I saw, wasn't a bathroom.

not even close.

there was a portal. it was green, fading to light purple, and had black specs floating around in it. I just stared at it in shock.

"what the heck..." I said. I was a little scared for a moment, but then I got curious. I slowly lifted my hand towards the portal, then sticking my hand through it.

I half expected it to hurt in some way, but it didn't hurt at all. in fact, it felt really nice. like sunlight shining on my hand.

I took my hand back out, and checked it, only to see that it was perfectly fine. "huh, not a scratch." I said. I looked back at the portal.

I smirked and ran towards it. "here goes nothing!" I shouted.

I open my eyes, only to see the most strange and beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I was on a floating island that was covered in soft purple grass. next to me was an orange lake with a bright red tree next to it. there were several other islands like this, all floating in a pretty light green sky, a dark blue sun shining down on me.

as I looked closer, I could see some animals as well. there was a bright pink giraffe looking thing with elephant ears and a crocodile tail, a dark orange peacock with lobster claws and a rats tail, and a group of teal whales with dove wings flying through the sky.

as I was taking this all in, something brushed against my leg. it was a tiny yellow dog with a mouse face and possum feet.

I smiled as I crouched down to pet it, but as soon as I got close, it scurried away, as a fox would. I then looked back into this weird and wonderful world.

I dropped my dusting rag and ran forwards.

donk!

well, I had tried to run forwards, but I was stopped dead in my tracks. I then proceeded to fall on my butt. I stood up and pushed my hand forwards.

"dang, an invisible wall? come on!" I shouted into the abyss.

I then started to walk left, wondering if I could escape through the side. donk! nope. I then walked to the right. donk! same thing.

I then just sat there in frustration. how could this world let me see it, but not let me explore it? not cool, bro. although, it was very pretty to look at. so, I just sat there and admired the beauty of it.

I had suddenly lost track of time and checked my watch.

" 4:00pm? oh god, moms gonna be furious!" I yelled, turning around, only to find the portal wasn't there. how the heck was I supposed to get out?

suddenly, I remembered the note on the door.

"abracadabra. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5," I said. the portal then appeared in front of me, and I walked through.

I opened my eyes, only to see myself back in my hallway. I checked my watch again. "huh? how is it 12:30pm? it was just 4." I said to myself.

I then realized that time probably freezes when I'm in that other world. I sighed of relief. "not getting beat today." I said to myself.

"you will be if you don't start dusting!" my mother shouted.

I chuckled and walked into the bathroom.

this time, there actually was a bathroom.

but now, I know where to go whenever I'm bored.

"I guess today wasn't so boring after all."