Trying to retool stories I've written or trying to write

When I write stories usually my characters stay unnamed I don't know why but I am trying to find ways of putting in names for my characters even if it means that I try to write some sort of script just so I can name the characters and try to expand on the stories.

Hopefully I can rewrite something quick enough to post here.

More of the story I am working on after some reworking

After Carol seen it she was more than a little freaked mostly due to the fact that somehow the carving in the pumpkin seemed to know about it but John would not let her dwell on it for long even with having the picture of the pumpkin with the carving. As October turned into November, just as the realtor said the pumpkins were gone. While the season changed and got colder John made the house feel like a home with all of the cooking he was doing and as he cooked he ended up creating some new recipes for all of the pumpkins he had to work with.




With out realizing it before long he had himself a cookbook a couple hundred pages long full of recipes that one of the placed he had been donating the food to was pushing him to see if a publisher would pick up. With a little luck in no time he had a publisher for his cookbook and even though small it was another source of income for him and the lady who put it all into the house. They did this since the good luck seemed to happen after they moved in and so that the house would be ready when their baby arrived.



As autumn turned to winter the house went from the wreck that they walked into back in early autumn to a beautiful home and it was the first time in a great many years that the neighbors were happy to see the house there. Even though there was almost no one in the neighborhood that ever recalled there being someone living there let a lone having owners who actually took care of it, all those years of seeing it in shambles became a blur to them and slowly faded from their memories.



In early January, it was unseasonably warm for about a wee, so they went out and started clearing the land with the neighbors help everyone helping worked into the early evening each day to help clear the land. After a few acres were cleared, they realized that there were a number of good acres to work with in terms of growing their own food and figured they would let the neighbors who helped clear the land use a few acres of their land for a neighborhood farm as payment for their help if they wished to try their luck with growing a garden. While planning how much land to let their neighbors use and where on the land the community garden would be, they were approached by one of their neighbors about the scarecrow.



The neighbors had noticed that the scarecrow had somehow moved from the place that it had been in, on the day they started clearing the land and by the time they were done a few days later, it had moved a good distance towards the house unnoticed. They also noticed that it had a cloth banner that appeared to be very badly weathered and stretched from outstretched hand to outstretched hand. They wanted to know if they knew who did this where it happened while they were busy in the fields clearing the land, even though everyone was too busy to move the scarecrow or to hang the banner.



John and Carol were just as perplexed as their neighbors regarding this since they themselves had put the scarecrow up the day they moved into the house and made sure that the bracing for him would not be going anywhere. They figured that someone played a joke on the neighbors as they worked and moved the scarecrow with everyone being too busy to notice that someone was messing with the scarecrow but didn’t know how they would have gotten the banner would have gotten there without someone noticing.



After a few days everyone put the whole thing with the scarecrow behind them especially since it wasn’t worth making a big deal of it where no one would own up to moving him. What John and Carol did notice as they laid out the boundaries for the community garden was that the cloth banner did start looking less and less weathered as the days went by.



A week before their baby was due they noticed that a faint phrase started to appear on the banner that the scarecrow was holding. About a week before the baby was due, the words became legible enough to make out “we welcome the new baby” which freaked out both of them and they even went to their neighbors who helped clear the land to see if they new anything about it. Each neighbor in turn swore up and down that it wasn’t them and that they didn’t know who was doing the stuff with the scarecrow, the guy and lady knew that their neighbors were telling the truth but yet they wanted to believe otherwise.

A couple days before Carol went into labor her and John started hearing voices on the wind whispering a name almost like someone was calling the person but not wanting to be too obvious about it. A week to the day that the letters on the banner that the scarecrow was holding Carol went into labor, to the surprise of both the everyone the baby came quicker than what they had expected given the stories that they had heard about how bad labor can be for first time mothers.



When it came to naming their new baby, they were tossing names back and forth then out of the blue John said the name that he had heard blowing in the wind a couple days earlier saying that he hasn’t been able to get the name out of his head since he heard it the other day. Carol stopped trying to think of names and thought about the name. After a few minutes, Carol unexpectedly said, “why don’t we give him that name?” for which John agreed and with that they gave their new son the name which was Timothy.



After a few days in the hospital, they were able to bring their new son home. When they got there they found a few of their neighbors outside waiting for them and found the scarecrow out in the front yard with the banner that he had been holding now saying welcome home Tim. At first they didn’t notice the scarecrow until they were done with all of the welcomes and well wishes from their neighbors. When they did notice the scarecrow they went to ask who moved it out here only to be stopped by a neighbor who said that it was already here when we came here to wait for you.



John asked if a couple of the neighbors could put the scarecrow back to where he belonged and said that everyone was welcome to come in for a short time. With that everyone entered the house. While Carol brought Tim to their bedroom which was just off of the kitchen and put him in his crib, John went into the kitchen and started putting together a few appetizers for their neighbors. The neighbors all wanted to help with making things to eat so they more or less kicked John out of his kitchen so he can relax a little.



Inevitably while talking, the subject of the scarecrow moving seemingly on his own and how getting the banner got there came up. No one new how it kept on moving, who gave it the banner or even how the banner was able to write the lettering on it by itself. Carol while settling Tim in his crib ended up mentioning what had, happened with the pumpkins, more specifically the little pumpkin that ended up with the face of a baby with in a couple days of them moving in even with no one in the neighborhood even knowing them or that she was pregnant.



As everyone was talking, little bits and pieces of the property came out with not one person knowing a lot but what everyone did know came from stories and rumors from older people in the town and few older couples that had been in the neighborhood for many years that had only moved away or died months before the couple bought the house.



All anyone knew for sure was that there were strange things that happened in the past in the house and on the property that the old timers would never speak of in any detail. Every time anyone would try to get what had happened on the property, the old timers would just say that it’s best left in the past and would not say anymore. Each time the property came up with old timers around they would get this look about them as if they were horrified, and if they could they would go out of their way to change the subject.



Carol after coming out of the bedroom asked, how come the house had been on the market for so long. She was told that it was do to the old timers scaring potential buyers away with stories that no one could back up, which is how the rumors and stories were spread. Carol did go into detail about the strange happenings that occurred over time in the house, but it was more like the house almost coming out of a deep sleep and shaking off all sleep. She mentioned the fact that as time went on even on the first day there that the house almost seemed to fix itself enough to be livable when no one was looking, but nothing else inside the house.



John then asked if anyone knew the realtor that had sold the house to them, for which no one could say that they did. They said that she didn’t start coming around until the last of the old timers was gone from the neighborhood and even still she would not stay long she just looked like she was there to check out the place and that was it. They went on to say that this you guys were the first people in more than a generation to look at the house due to the old timers. With that they all just agreed that the rumors and stories concerning the property was just a little to weird to keep talking about, let alone thinking about it and changing the subject to something more entertaining.

Reworking of a couple pages of a story I am working on

The pumkins and the scarecrow

As the wind blows across the front yard on an unseasonably cold October, John and Carol pull up in front of the home that they had just bought after looking at pictures. At first they thought that it was a different house, because the pictures showed a house with a lived in look. They had been expecting to see the house as it was in the pictures even though they were rather old and beat up looking.


Instead of the house looking as it did in the pictures, it looked run down and looking as if it hadn’t been lived in, for many years. At first glance they thought that someone had played a trick on them by giving the wrong address due to the house the way it was which reminded them almost of a Halloween haunted house. As they made their way up to the front steps they noticed Three pumpkins each of a different size but in general the same shape, which was, more tall than round and arranged by height.

When they got to the top step the door opened and the realtor appeared that sold them the house. The realtor welcomed them and insisted that they go look around their new home and said that it would be nice to have someone living here again after all the years that it went without residents. With that John asked the realtor how come she never let them know the real condition of the house when they checked into it where they lived so far away.

The realtor responded by telling that there were a couple reasons as to why they were not told the truth about the condition of the house. She said that the first reason was that the last owners left it to the town when they passed on and the second reason is the land that it comes with along with the land that the town has decided to throw in as a consolation. The realtor went on to say that the town will not charge you any property tax for the first few years you live here so you can put the money toward fixing the house and provided a notarized document for them to keep.

While walking through the house that they had just bought, they were uneasy with every turn thinking the worst as they went, when it came to the looks of the house. By the time they got back to the living room where the realtor was waiting, the house didn’t seem to be as bad off as they first thought.

The realtor then told them about the land that came with the house, explaining that the original plot of land includes the house and about five or so acres behind it that is somewhat hidden by the neighborhood and a small thicket on either side the house and along the back side of the neighbors properties which for a number of years served as a small farm for the community. Then she went on to explain that the town had decided to throw in the extra land which was another five acres on top of it for your trouble which had reverted to the town due to having tone gone unused for a few generations. They then headed out the front door following the realtor as she was trying to explain where the property lines were for their new home.

As they were walking down the steps to the sidewalk Carol asked what’s with the pumpkins on the porch making sure that they were still there as she asked. When she looked at them she noticed that they looked a little different than she remembered from when she first looked at them but didn’t know why. The realtor said that they are there, come the first of October every year and are gone come the first of November, with no one in town knowing who put them there but that they are from the pumpkin patch that grows wild down by the well on the back side of your land.

John and Carol then looked at each other a little perplexed with her response to the question and asked if they could be shown where it was so that they new where it was and the easiest way of getting there. The realtor not seeming to hear them at first continued with what seemed to be a very well rehearsed tour of the property, with it sounding like she had given it many times before. They then asked again about the pumpkin patch and the realtor looked at them rather annoyed but agreed to show them the area of the property that the pumpkin patch was on.

The realtor said follow me and headed down what looked to be a dirt path that started by their new home that if you were not looking could have passed as a small clearing between a few trees. As they walked behind her, they noticed that after a few yards it seemed to open up enough for a small car or a small wagon but that it was like a wall of trees on either side of the path.

As the John and Carol walked trying to catch up to the realtor while walking down the dirt path, it seemed to go on forever. The further down the dirt path they walked, the rockier it got to the point that there were boulders mixed with the trees along both sides of the path. After a while, Carol came out and asked, with how long of a walk it is how come we didn’t take one of the vehicles, the path looks wide enough to have a small car drive down it?

The realtor then stopped, turned to the lady and said in somewhat of an angry voice that there are a few spots that could and would break an axle if you’re not careful. The realtor then turned back around, while mumbling something under her breath and started rubbing what looked to be some sort of key ring as she picked up her pace. John and Carol then just looked at each other for a few seconds then started walking again as fast as they could to catch up to the realtor.

As they were approaching the end of the dirt path it seemed to get darker as they walked, with John and Carol taking notice of the fact that there appeared to be more trees and closer together. When they finally caught sight of the end of the dirt path, it appeared like a really bright backdrop to the surroundings. When they got to the clearing that was at the far end of their property, they seen a short distance away the well and the pumpkin patch. The realtor as they were walking told them that as soon as they got to the well and the pumpkin patch, she could not stay and rest due to having to go to another property she has for sale.

As they got to there, they went right to the well to sit on the edge of it to rest. They turned to where the realtor should be so they could ask her to take the time to rest, but instead she wasn’t there. They however did hear her say, if you want me you know how to reach me but failed to see where her voice was coming from, even thought she had been beside them all the way there.

While they were there they noticed on the wall of the well itself there were what appeared to be blank grave markers on the top where the bucket would sit. After noticing the grave markers, they looked down to see if they could see any disturbed ground but the growth on the ground from the pumpkins was too think to see with any certainty whether or not there was any graves there.

Looking at the sun as it looked like it was getting ready to set, the Carol said to John that she felt it was time for them to head back. They then decided not to walk back along the dirt path that they had walked down to get there and instead decided to walk out in the open in the fields where there was more sunlight. As they started on their way, the guy ended up saying that where they had so many pumpkins, he would be given the chance to perfect his pumpkin recipes and create some new ones with having some pumpkins left over.

While walking they surveyed their new property as they went, after a while of walking they noticed something lying on the ground a little ways away. Not realizing what it was they hurried to see what it was and when they got close enough to see the shape of it they thought that it was a person laying face down in the dirt. After hurrying to get to what they thought was someone lying in the dirt, they get there only to realize that it really wasn’t a person but rather just a scarecrow that had been taken off of its wood supports and left there on the ground.

For a couple minutes they just looked at it while it laid there, they were amazed at how life like it was and from what they could see it had been there a long time going by the indentation in the ground. When they had their fill of seeing the scarecrow in the position he was in, they turned him over and found that it had an almost life like face which they had not expected and it ended up startling them. What startled them the most was, how, good the scarecrow looked given the depth he was in the dirt.

They noticed a couple minutes later that the wooden support for the scarecrow wasn’t too far away, even though it looked a lot more weathered then he did, John told Carol we should put him back up where he belongs. Once they had him back up on his support, they then continued back towards their new home dreading it to some degree. They dreaded it due to what little they seen being so run down that they were almost afraid to return to it.

As they walked back the after putting the scarecrow back up where he belonged they kept feeling as if they were being watched not knowing why they had that feeling. Not knowing that they were really being watched, the whole way back after putting up the scarecrow, the subject stayed on the scarecrow and how life like it was. They could help but think that who ever put it together had to have done a great job at putting it together since it was so life like even after all those years face down in the dirt.

When they finally got back to their new home they walked up the stairs of the back porch only to find the door locked and the lock feeling as if it had been rusted in place. So they decided to sit on the love seat sized decorative wooden bench and relax that was right by the door. After about a half an hour they went back out front by this time it was almost dusk and as they walked up the steps of the front porch they noticed that the outside of the house in particular the porch area didn’t seem to look so old and beat up. When they got up the stairs they seen the pumpkins that they had seen earlier and noticed that they looked different in some way but they could not place why.

After looking at the pumpkins for a few seconds trying to figure out what was different, they went inside and got a big surprise. They walked in to their new living room which they expected to be in shambles and instead of it being in shambles it looked as if it just needed cleaned and some relatively minor fixes to the fire place and mantle piece in it. As they walked through their new home room by room they were more and more surprised as they went, for as they went they it almost looked like their new home was very slowly fixing itself ever so slowly almost unnoticed as if it were waking from a long slumber to welcome them.

After a few hours, they settled down in the kitchen for a little while before calling it a day on their first day in their new home, afterwards they made their way upstairs to look at the condition of their bedroom to find that there was an old beat up bed there that was in need of replacing but figured for the time being it would be good enough as they called it a day and tucked themselves in.

Over the next few days as they started to take stock of what was needed in terms of fixing their home and what they wanted in the way of decorating for their home, John got to cooking and with the multitude of pumpkins they had over on the far side of the property in back. As he cooked he found that they were the best pumpkins that he had ever worked with, he made so many pumpkin-based foods that he started donating the food to the places that were willing to take them.

As their first month started to come to a close, they noticed that the smallest of the pumpkins had changed the most out of the three. The larger two pumpkins just ended up primarily in the shape of the faces of the guy and the lady that bought the house but the smallest of them looked like someone had carved it and instead of a face meant to be funny or scary, it was a carving of a baby. A baby that looked only days old in a bassinet, so the lady got out her camera and took a picture of the pumpkins to show people what she was talking about. The pumpkins somehow knew that she was expecting their first child even though no one in the neighborhood could have known which both of them found odd.

The Cat and the Crow

On a warm autumn morning Sara is going through the motions of her normal routine that she does every weekend morning. She has already rolled out of bed and absentmindedly done those things like start the coffee and use the bathroom. Sara decided to go and see if the paperboy had actually delivered the Saturday paper on time for a change and when she stepped outside into her front yard she noticed a crow looking for his morning meal of worms or anything he can scavenge.

As Sara got closer to the crow, she noticed that he was already eating something due to the pulling he was doing with his beak. When she got close enough to see what the crow was eating she saw an animal that was so mangled and eaten that she almost could not identify that it was what was left of what she thought was a stray cat that had decided to cut through her property. At first she didn’t notice the markings on the tail until she was on her way back towards her house after grabbing the morning paper.

Sara had looked over to the crow as he was eating and realized that the markings on the tail looked dreadfully familiar to her, she ran over shooing the crow away but the crow at first would not budge as she ran towards him and when he did fly off he flew right at her clawing at her face for a few seconds before flying off, leaving her with a few bleeding scratches as she knelt down in front of the cat with tears in her eyes as she picked up the collar letting her know that it was really her cat there in front of her.

As she knelt there crying, the crow came back and started crowing like crazy just out of range of Sara being able to throw anything at him. After a couple minutes of the crow squawking like crazy other crows started coming to see what was going on. Sara looking around at all of the crows coming and decided to get up slowly and walk back towards her house, when she started walking the crow making all of the fuss decided to fly right at her diving right at her head multiple times forcing her to run back to her house.

Sara hurried inside in hysterics trying to call a neighbor to come over and get rid of the crows in her yard, her neighbor realizing she was frightened, came over as quickly as he could with a baseball bat in his hand only to find a completely empty yard. As he walked up to the house he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary and proceeded to knock on Sara’s front door, when she opened up the door she did so very slowly and looking towards the ground to make sure it wasn’t the crow coming back again.

Slowly, she opened the door to see a pair of sneakers and let out a gasp of relief letting her neighbor in. She explained what had happened even showing the scratches to her face, she then brought him to where the crow had been eating her cat but there was nothing there, leaving her neighbor with a perplexed look on his face and Sara trying to explain that she really did see the crow eating her cat. With that her neighbor insisted that they go back into her house so he could make a cup of peppermint tea for her to relax her.

After they got back to the house Sara’s neighbor had her sit down at her kitchen table as he fumbled through her cabinets for her peppermint tea and a couple cups, afterwards he put on the kettle of water and said that he would look in the yard to see if she may have brought him to the wrong spot. He went out into the yard and searched the yard for a few minutes with out finding anything, coming back in he let her know that he couldn’t find anything as he was grabbing the kettle from the stove to pour the water.

He walked over and gave her the tea and then looked around for some biscuits or something else they could have with the tea. As he looked around Sara’s cat came out of no where jumping into his arms with the only thing missing was his collar for which Sara still had clutched in her hand. He then asked if she really saw what she did as he walked back into the kitchen with the cat in his arms. When Sara seen the cat in his arms she got even more upset to the point that she wanted nothing to do with the cat with the cat seeming to want nothing to do with her either.

Sara’s neighbor seeing how upset she was and seeing the cat not wanting anything to do with her offered to take the cat home for which she just said take him he’s yours now. So he said he would be right back and grabbed the cat carrier, the food and water bowls along with the cat food. He left so he could bring home the cat and set up the food and water bowls. After he got to his house he set the cat carrier down on his dining room table with the cat still in it so he could get the food and water set up, afterwards he went to let the cat out of his carrier but he wasn’t there in the carrier.

Sara’s neighbor was perplexed because there was no way for the cat to get out of the carrier due to it still being locked shut. He promptly looked though out his house for the cat and could not find him so he called Sara and asked if she remembered him putting her cat in the cat carrier with her saying that she watched him do it so that there was no way he could have gotten out unless he was let out. He then told her that I know he could not have gotten out but still he wasn’t there in the carrier even though he hadn’t been let out.

Sara’s neighbor proceeded to walk out side so he could go back of Sara’s house and stopped short out of sheer fright from what he could see on the sidewalk in front of his house. There was the cat just sitting there weighting for him but it was different, the cat had went from the healthy cat he held just a few minutes ago in Sara’s house to a cat that looked like it had been dead for days and picked at by some passing animals.

As he started walking again the cat took off back towards Sara’s house and Sara’s neighbor instantly started running toward her house and by the time he got to her front gate the cat was in the front yard and there it was again looking healthy, but this time he was there with a crow and they were playing as if they were old friends. When Sara’s neighbor entered the yard the cat and the crow stopped playing, with the crow flying off and the cat running up into a tree so it could enter the house through an open window.

When he seen the cat enter through the window after climbing the tree he rushed to the front door trying to open the door but not being able too and then started banging on the door with no luck, he then went out back to see if there was an open window out back so he would not have to climb the tree in the front yard. When he got to the back yard he noticed something he had never seen before which was a pair of headstones on a full sized headstone and the other a small one but both so faded that he didn’t bother to try to read.

As he stood there in shock the crow that had been outside with the cat flew up and landed on the larger headstone and started pecking on it. After a few minutes he ran back into the front yard to climb the tree to get into the house, he saw the door wide open so he entered Sara’s house calling her name at first getting no response then hearing some crying coming from the kitchen and Sara calling for him. As she came into view he noticed that she had her head on the table and her hair now looked like it hadn’t been washed for days and un-brushed.

He then asked how are you holding up, and as she lifted her head she asked how do you think? As he stood there unable to move, she looked at him asking what with him hesitating then saying that he had to leave. He then tried to leave and Sara tried to keep him there by saying stay a while I am just about to take some biscuits out of the oven to have with our peppermint tea. Again she asked what?

This time he said there is something wrong, you need to look in the mirror, so she went and went into the bathroom to look at herself and asked are you sure there is something wrong, he then walked into the bathroom only to look at her and then at the mirror and seeing something he knew to be impossible and that was her look like she had been dead for years in front of him but in the mirror looking alive and well, with the roles in reverse for him.

He then walked slowly out of the bathroom backwards so he could watch her, and then ran out of the house only to see the cat and the crow again in the front yard. He then decided to go around back to leave through the back yard seeing the headstones again, he figured take a look to see if he could see any names on the headstones.
When he walked over he realized that they were not as worn as he had originally thought and seen the names on them, the larger one was that of his neighbor Sara with it saying that she died of a broken heart after finding her cat being eaten by a crow and the headstone beside it said here lies what was left of Sara’s beloved cat with both headstones being dated many years before he moved into the neighborhood. With that he ran home to find the cat and the crow on his back porch looking over towards the far end of his porch.

As he walked over to see what they were looking at he found another headstone this time it had his name on it with almost the same date as there was on the headstones at Sara’s house and his headstone said that he died of shock from finding his neighbor dead at her table days after she died with biscuits and peppermint tea for two still on the table. He could not believe his eyes and slowly walked into his house to find Sara there waiting for him this time looking alive and well and upon seeing him she said welcome home it feels like many years since you left to visit the new neighbor.

Memories

a single moment can create a that can be so good that

you cannot help but reminisce years later or wish that, that

moment never happened

a memory can be a great source of comfort in a time of need

or it can be a great source of pain when things are at their worst

a memory can give you solice in knowing that you helped

someone out in a time of need

a memory can be something that can drive you to be your

best when no one expects you to be there

a memory can push people away or draw them in when

you share it with them

a memory when shared can be a source of strength

to others that need a moral boost

in the end our memories are the stories of our lives that

make us who we are and enrich our lives

Daphne's trip to Castle Island (pages 9 - 11 final 3 pages) childrens story

While trying to chew her stuffed mouth she could see her best friend an her mom trying to look for Daphne and her mom tried to get their attention by waving and jumping up and down hoping that they would see her but she ended having to swallow what she had in her mouth which made her mouth throat hurt but she then ran up to her best friend almost tackling her. She then led them to where they were sitting talking up a storm to the point that they could not make any sense of what Daphne was saying.

When they got to where Daphne’s mom was sitting, both Daphne’s mom and her best friends mom started to catch up on a few things while the girls ate while they trying to play with each other. After they were done eating the girls went down the ramp to the small section of beach to play on the sand and in the water. Since there was only one way on and off of the beach and it a small section of beach with a retaining wall on two of the tree sides both of their moms didn’t have to worry too much as they watched them play. After a little while, their moms called them back up off of the beach and Daphne’s mom asked “her if she wanted to go around the castle one last time to spend a little time with her friend”.

Daphne replied by asking “just one more time” in way that suggested that it was a stupid question and then ran up the ramp with her best friend. With that they went towards the playground so that the girls could play in it for a little while and as they walked towards the playground Daphne and her best friend was playing with each other on the bottom of the grassy hill that the castle sat on top of and running circles around the trees taking turns trying to catch each other. When they came around the bend in the sidewalk which went around the hill the playground came into view and the girls made a break for it grabbing the only two swings that were available.

The whole time they were on the swings they were giggling and trying to twist the swings to hit each other while swinging until one of them fell off, and then they cracked up laughing and ran off to play on the jungle gym part of the playground. As the got to the ladder to climb up to the top of the jungle gym like the other kids there they were in a hurry to get up on the ladder and after they got up there they started running back and forth on the various pieces linking the pieces of the jungle gym. As other kids walked away from different activities on the jungle gym they went and played imaginary games with each thing with their favorite being the tic-tac-toe activity.

As they got bored with those activities, they noticed that instead of the normal poles between the bars to go back and forth there were handles that dangled and also a handle that let you slide across between the two segments of the jungle gym and tried to climb across on the dangling handles and played with the sliding handle trying to see who could send it back to the other one fastest even if they had to push someone that wanted to go across. After about an hour they had their fill of the jungle gym and went to rest for a few minutes on the little wall that made up the boundary for the playground.

After a few minutes they started playing on and around the wall which got old real quick which both of their moms noticed and got them moving again and while they were moving along they seen people walking their dogs, stopping to pat the ones the were friendly and getting lots of kisses from the overly friendly ones which were the really hyper ones. They ended up running back and forth between their moms and the furthest tree for which their moms could still see them. They ended up seeing a barbeque pit and started running after each other around it and as the got close to catching each other they would turn away from the barbeque pit instead of going around it.

After a few minutes their moms moved them along and they started walking and playing with each other as little girls did when they were walking with each other when there was nothing they could do but walk. As they were following their moms the came upon a bust of a firefighter for which they both asked “why is this here” for which they were told “it’s a statue to remember some firefighters that dies while fighting a fire” for which all either one of them could say was “wow” and then they started walking again.

As they moved along they made their way up to the leading edge of the retaining wall which also had a decorative fence that was pretty much two decorative poles between two decorative posts along the top of the retaining wall. They ended standing there for a few minutes commenting on the different boats and ships that passed by, they even seen some sailboats with some of them being rather large. As they commented on the boats especially the larger sailboats the mother of Daphne’s best friend pointed to a specific sailboat and said that, “that boat is called a tall ship and goes around the world training people how to sail and to be paraded in the waterways”.

They all stood there watching the tall ship pass by and after it so far passed them Daphne’s mom said “ok, lets go” so they started up again. The girls started walking but lagged behind because they wanted to continue watching the boats and were hurried along by their moms. They then started running to catch up and ended up tripping themselves up causing their moms to stop and wait for them. After they got up and brushed themselves off they were a little subdued from being embarrassed from falling and just walked holding their moms hands for a couple minutes.

Shortly after that they came upon another statue and Daphne asked “why does that one look like a soldier?” for which her mom said “it is a soldier, it is a statue remembering people who came from this area that died in the Korean War.” They stopped in front of the statue just long enough for her mom to say that and then kept walking and after a minute or two the girls got a second wind and started sticking their tongues out at each other and acting as if they didn’t see each other doing it and then took off running again. This time they ran up the hill and decided to race each other by rolling down the hill a couple times as their moms watched as they continued walking.

As they came around the bend Daphne’s best friends older brother came out of the back of Sullivan’s and just caught sight of his and Daphne’s mom and waited there for them, while looking for the girls which he did. He was watching to see if they had noticed him and after he realized that he hadn’t been noticed by the girls he went and hid behind the dumpster by the back door making sure that he could still see them so he would know when to jump out. After they got a little past him he came out and motioned to their moms to keep quiet which let them know that he was going to scare them.

He then snuck up behind them and scared them by getting down to their level, walking up behind them quietly and said “boo”, they jumped and screamed causing him to fall to the ground with laughter, their moms even had a good laugh at how much they jumped and screamed. The girls ended getting a little mad at him and going over to him and kicking him saying “that wasn’t nice” as he was laughing he tried to say “but it was worth it” but could not get the words out because he was laughing too hard. After he was done laughing, he got up and said hold on let me get my backpack.

After he got his backpack, they started walking along the parking lot in front while the girls told him about what they had been doing. They followed the parking lot away from the castle making their way towards the car that Daphne’s best friend and her mom came in which was down the street about halfway between the parking lot they were at and the one the Daphne and her mom parked in. when they came up on the car which was across the street, Daphne asked “how are you going to cross here with all that traffic” for which her best friends older brother said “don’t worry about it” as their moms said their good byes and then the girls did that.

After that Daphne and he mom continued walking and Daphne said “this is a big beach” for which her mom said “this isn’t big, I have seen much, much bigger.” While they were walking Daphne started showing that she was tired and with in a couple minutes started lagging behind the way little girls do causing her mom to pick her up. By the time they got to their car Daphne was fast asleep causing her mom to gently put her in the back seat of the vehicle. After putting Daphne in the back seat her mom just sat there in the front seat for a few minutes to relax while listening to the radio before driving home.

A little under halfway home Daphne woke up and was surprised to see that they were in the car driving home and asking in a voice that showed that she was still half asleep along with a little whiney “where are we going?” with that her mom said “well, look who woke up” and then let her know that they were on their way home, then proceeded to ask “are you thirsty, we can stop somewhere if you are?” for which Daphne replied “I am hungry” for which her mom said “ok, we will stop at the when get to the next rest stop” after a few minutes they came to a rest stop that had a fast food place and went stopped there to get something quick.

Instead of going through the drive thru Daphne’s mom decided to go right into the place to allow them to stretch their legs. As they waited in line Daphne’s mom was trying to get her to decide what she wanted for which she was taking her time because she just wanted to look around the restaurant. By the time they got the cashier, Daphne’s mom had taken it upon herself to order for her and decided to order a kids meal for her which would also give her a little toy to play with. After they got their food, Daphne’s mom asked “do you want to eat here or in the car?” for which Daphne said “in the car” then immediately started picking at her French Fries as they walked back to the car.

After settling back into their seats the were off again while Daphne ate her food so fast that you would have thought she hadn’t eaten all day, while her mom was picking at hers while driving and trying to tell Daphne not to eat so fast or to put so much into her mouth. After Daphne finished her food she realized that she had forgotten to check to see what her toy was which ended up being a little figurine from the newest animated movie out and had wanted to see. Daphne’s mom was happy that she was playing with the figurine since she was lost in her own little world using her imagination to have it interact with imaginary characters and with other toys which lasted for the rest of the trip home.

As they got home, Daphne could see that her best friend was already home because she could see he best friend playing outside in her yard as her best friends brother was getting the last of the stuff that her best friend and her mom had brought to Castle Island to entertain themselves while waiting for her best friends brother. Daphne started getting excited to the point that she was squirming in her seat and realizing this, her mom said after you get changed you can go play if you want. As they pulled into their driveway Daphne’s best friend seen them and rushed over to meet them and to ask if Daphne could come out and play since they were next door neighbors for which Daphne’s mom said she just has to get changed before going over there.

With that Daphne hurried her mom up to the front door to unlock it and after her mom opened the door she ran upstairs to change, changing in a hurry so she could go play with her best friend and let her know about her day before they ran into each other at Castle Island. As Daphne’s mom was bringing in the last of the stuff that she had brought but never used, she was almost knocked over by Daphne as she ran out of the house over to her best friend and immediately started talking about her day.

Daphne’s mom finishing up with bringing the stuff into the house sat down in her favorite chair looking out the window watching Daphne and her best friend thinking to herself thankfully the day is over and hoping that Daphne will be to bed early from having a full day of activities at Castle Island.

Daphne's trip to Castle Island (pages 7 & 8 ) children's story

As the group of people walked back to the entrance through the courtyard, Daphne and a few others looked around in awe and taking it all in before the went back through the two sets of double doors that were two to three stories high that made up the front entrance. As they walked out Daphne’s mom said “let’s go this way” and directed her to the left and started walking around the fort and down the hill towards the harbor side of the beach which also had a fishing pier on it. As they get close to the fishing pier she can see that people were actually fishing and starts running the rest of the way to the fishing pier.

While Daphne ran her mom said “don’t run to far” then she stopped over my the monument right across from the fishing pier and started looking at the depictions on the monument while fidgeting about while waiting for her mom. When she got there she called out to Daphne for which she responded “it’s about time you caught up” for which Daphne’s mom just stuck out her tongue, then they walked out onto the fishing pier and Daphne was amazed at how close the boats and ships were to the pier and how big they were.

They walk out onto the fishing pier which was named for a firefighter who had died in the line of duty. When they got to the first person who was fishing Daphne asked “have you caught anything yet?” for which the guy replied “just a few crabs that ate my bait”. Then she went up to the next guy asked the same question but this time the guy said “open up my cooler and you can see but just don’t touch” Daphne then opened up the cooler and seen a couple small fish and asked “are those real fish” for which the guy said “yep they are, one of them is what I am using for bait and the other is a fish I caught using a sea worm and if you want to look at some open that little box inside my cooler”.

Daphne opened up the box and seen the worms and said “ewe those can’t be worms they are too ugly” for which her mom said “they really are worms” and then asked the guy if she could pick one up to show her. Daphne’s mom then picked one up and showed her the worm and said “they even have small teeth that are really sharp” then she forced the worm to open up its mouth. Daphne then said “gross I don’t like those worms” and then shuttered from getting the chills then she ran down to the end of the fishing pier because she seen someone fighting with their fishing rod and wanted to see the fish as it came up.

After a few minutes of just staring down at the water waiting for the fish to come up she seen the silhouette of the fish and it was fighting to free itself from the fishing hook and the guy. As the fish got closer to the surface she could see it was a big fish. After the guy had gotten it up to the fishing pier Daphne asked “what type of fish is it” and he said “this is a blue fish and don’t really know why they call it a blue fish”. Then she watched the fish flop around the fishing pier as the guy took the hook out of the fish’s mouth and asked “what’s going to happen to it?” for which the guy just looked at her and then at her mom.

Daphne’s mom getting the hint asked “are you ready for lunch?” for which Daphne replied “mommy no because I don’t want to leave the beach” then her mom replied back “we don’t have to there is a place just out of sight called Sullivan’s but everyone just calls it Sully’s and they have cheeseburgers, hot dogs, French fries and even your favorite ice scream” for which she replied “ok” and then started walking almost skipping along as she went. As they walked along towards Sullivan’s Daphne asked “how come you didn’t bring me here before” for which her mom said “I waited until I knew that you would like coming here.”

As they turned the bend, Sullivan’s came into view and Daphne’s mom pointed it out saying “there it is” for which Daphne said “cool”. As they got to the front of Sullivan’s Daphne said “wow, that’s an awfully big line” for which her mom said “during the summer there is always a long line like this as long as it ain’t raining”. As they made their way through the sea of people trying to find the end of the line Daphne was amazed by all of the people there trying to get into the small take out restaurant and every she seen another kid around her age she would try to run up to them and play but her mom would not allow it.

As they finally found the end of the line Daphne asked in a whiny tone “I’m hungry, how long will we have to wait here?” for which her mom replied “should only be a few minutes” with in a few minutes Daphne was fidgeting as they slowly made their way towards the front door of Sullivan’s with the line getting longer and longer behind them. With Daphne’s fidgeting causing her to bounce around and look all over the place she would occasionally look from one end of the line to the other in amazement especially with the endless stream of people coming out of the restaurant.

As they inched their way closer Daphne got more and more fidgety and by the time they got close to the doors of Sullivan’s, Daphne started playing on the large granite rectangular planters that were just high enough and deep enough for someone to sit on. She kept doing figure eights between one of the planters and one of the concrete supports, sometimes walking, sometimes skipping and sometimes running stopping just long enough to let someone by and to smell the flowers. After a few minutes Daphne’s mom told her “here we go come on” and Daphne ran up to her mom and started holding her moms hand still somewhat fidgeting.

As they entered Sullivan’s she looked around taking it all in as they slowly moved further into the restaurant. She started looking at the glass cabinets and the stuff inside of them while trying to ask her mom what each thing was for which some things she knew and some things she didn’t. as the made their way up to the front of the line to wait on the next register Daphne’s mom had to call her back into line one last time and said “you will know who is at our register” as the walked up to the cashier. When the walked up to the cashier Daphne having to stand on her tippy toes looked up over the counter and was surprised to see her best friends older brother there.

With a surprised look she jumped back and asked “what are doing here?” for which he replied “it’s my summer job and I get to come to the beach every day” with that said Daphne’s eyes widened up and she said “wow”. After that her best friends older brother chuckled and asked “do you want a hot dog or cheeseburger?” and she looked up at her mom and before she could ask her mom said” she’ll take both and make it two of each” and then he looked down and asked “do you want your strawberry ice cream in a cup or cone?”

Already knowing what she was going to say and then he said without her saying anything “a cup it is” and then asked “what size Pepsi do you want” for which Daphne’s mom said “a large for me and a medium for her”. Daphne’s mom then handed her the money and said you can give him the money, she then struggled to hand him the money so he reached over the counter so she could hand him the money, by this time a few of the customers with children and the other cashiers were chuckling a little bit. As Daphne and her mom walked over to the order pick up area they could hear the other cashiers teasing him a little bit.

After only about two or three minutes their order was up and Daphne and her mom grabbed their order and started walking out of Sullivan’s and ran into her best friend and her best friends mom who was just entering Sullivan’s. When Daphne realized who it was she was happily surprised to see her friend and almost dropped her lunch. As Daphne ran over to her friend she almost lost tripped out of giddiness and barely held onto her lunch, when she got to her friend she asked “when did you get here” for which her friend said we just got here and wanted to let my brother know we were here so he can come find us when he gets off work”.

As they started talking, Daphne’s mom said to her “let’s wait outside for them” and then told her friends mom we will be over by the ramp leading to the small section of beach by the parking lot” and then motioned Daphne outside and her friends mom nodded ok. As they walked out Daphne not wanting to leave started at first walking backwards towards the doors while watching her friend and her friends mom and bumping into a guy who then just looked down at her and said “hi little one” and then continued walking as Daphne turned and ran to catch up with her mom almost running into people crossing her path.

When they got to the ramp, Daphne’s mom said “put the food on here so you can eat” talking about the wooden guardrail that was on one side of the ramp. Daphne then put it down and showed that she was real giddy due to her best friend showing up there by pacing back and forth and getting really fidgety while waiting for her best friend while saying out loud to no one “what’s taking them so long?” and trying to look for her friend to come out of Sullivan’s while nibbling on her food. Her mom ended up telling her “hurry up and eat, your ice scream is melting” for which she replied by stuffing her mouth with the cheeseburger she had been nibbling on and having trouble chewing because of it.

Daphne's trip to Castle Island (pages 5& 6) chlidrens story

of the guy. He had seen Daphne jump and said “I didn’t mean to make you jump” then he walked over bent down and asked “would you like to see a magic trick?” and Daphne asked “your not going to do the quarter behind the ear trick are you” “I see you know your magic tricks so I can’t fool you with that one” he said then he said “nothing in my hands, and as you can see nothing up my sleeves where I have no sleeves on” then he reaches behind her with one hand and makes a couple motions with his other hand in front of her face.

Then after a few seconds he said “I believe this belongs to you” and pull from behind her back a large lollipop. Upon seeing the lollipop, her eyes bugged out and she asked “how did you do that?” “A good magician never reveals his secrets” he said. He then said “I bet I can guess your name” for which she said “how could you know my name” “Well I do, and it is Daphne, right?” he said and she looked stumped as to how he could know this and her mom said to her quietly “he use to work with me and he seen the pictures I have of you at work” with that Daphne’s mom asked “Mike how’s your new job going?” “well Sandy, you know how new jobs go” he said.”

With that he motioned the small group of people to a small room from which the tour would start from. After they were all seated, he went through the normal start of tour guidelines which were more of a quick talk about safety on the tour since sections of the building were unsuitable for more than a person or two at a time and that the sections are fences off for the public’s safety. While he was talking out that Daphne was looking around the room and slowly raised her hand to ask “are any of the things in here real?” and Mike said “some of the things are and please don’t touch anything some of it is really old and fragile”.

With that she followed her mom back out into the courtyard as the group started walking up a ramp that brings you up to the top of the fort. As the group follows the tour guide he pointed out the flags on the railing of the ramp noting the significance of specific flags while holding them out since there was no wind to speak of. He mentioned an American Flag in particular that can only be raised in a few places which happened to be only a handful of national historical sites and explained its history due to the amount of stars and how they were placed on the blue field.

As they walked up the ramp Daphne commented on how long and how high the ramp was which her mom said to her in return “that’s because we are going on top of the fort to see a few cannons” and Daphne replied back with “real cannons?” for which her mom said “possibly, you will have to see if he says they are”. As they got up to the top the tour guide pointed out a small cannon saying that “this type of cannon was used just to lob a cannonball to a nearby ship during a battle and that it was one of a couple cannons that were at the fort” he then pointed out the cannonball beside the cannon and dared the kids in the group to pick it up.

Daphne like any other little girl could not resist trying to picking up the cannonball. As the kids took turns trying to pick it up they did their best and even a few at a time tried to pick it up at the same time with no luck. After they had their fill of trying to pick it up the tour guide said “that it was a real cannonball and is the same type that were used in this cannon but the cannon itself was a replica”. As they started walking the tour guide mentioned “that the flags that you see here along the rooftop hanging on the railing are the flags of the state flags of each individual state, while as you can see the U.S. flag is on a pole.”

As they started to walk a little further Daphne walked up to the outer wall to get a better view of the area. When she got to the wall she had to stand on her tip toes to look and still had to have her mom pick her up. After Daphne’s mom picked her up she was amazed at the view from the top of the fort and all she could muster was a “wow that’s a long drop” with that Daphne’s mom put her down and hurried her up so they could catch up to the group. As they caught up they were directed by the tour guide to go down the steps and go through the small hallway and up the stairs at the other end of the hallway.

When they got to the other side of the hallway they were looking at a large cannon for which the tour guide said “that’s another replica of a cannon and as you can see it points out at the harbor and it is for ships that are a little further out” for which a member of the tour group asked “how far out are you talking” for which the tour guide said that “it can shoot a cannon right around the distance of that bridge way out there”. As the tour guide was explaining that Daphne was trying to look down the barrel of the cannon but could not jump high enough to see inside.

Daphne’s mom picked her up let her look and then said, “I think you would like the view over here better” then she turned to face the water and Daphne’s eyes lit up as she seen all of the different boats and ships in the harbor. Daphne then wiggled till her mom was forced to put her down then she ran to the outer wall was able to see a little bit of the harbor and all of the boats. As she looked around she paid no attention to the tour guides attempts to have them follow him and asked her mom “can we go down there after we get done here” for which her mom responded “sure we can, that was next on my list to take you anyway.”

As Daphne’s mom led her away from the view to catch up to the group, Daphne kept trying to look back and look. When they caught up the tour guide was in the middle of telling the group about their next stop on the tour which was a power magazine that stored the black powder for the cannons. One of the members of the tour asked “why is it that there is dirt all over the top roof?” for which the tour guide responded “it’s for hiding and protecting the powder magazines”. With that the tour guide directed them to the steps that led into the powder magazine and told the group to go all the way in.

The tour guide let them take it all in and said that “the reason that the are so many ninety degree turns was to eliminate the possibility of an accidental explosion from a stray spark when firing the guns and the cannons.” After a couple moments he said “when you’re done taking it in come out so we can get back to the tour” as the tour slowly filed out of the cramped hallway of a powder magazine, the tour guide directed them towards a set of stairs that led back down to the courtyard and told everyone “be careful due to the steepness of the steps” and then led them down to keep everyone from running down.

After they were all down he brought them into a doorway that opened up into a room larger than the average floor plan for a home. From there he moved on to the next room while explaining the different activities that were done in each room. While he was explaining all this there were a few people who had said that “they loved the open floor plan” and others that said that it was “a little on the cool side”. There was one person who actually asked “why is it the there are no hallways between rooms” and the tour guide said that “this is due to the need to be able to move quickly and easily between rooms when there is a battle going on”

As the came into one of the other rooms and before the tour guide could mention it, one of the people on the tour asked “why does it look like there is a blocked up doorway there” as the tour guide started talking about what had supposedly transpired to cause that doorway along with Edgar Allen Poe writing a famous story about it, Daphne started getting antsy and stopped paying attention that she almost wondered off into the next room. Just as Daphne decided to go into the next room the tour guide quietly came up behind her and said “boo” which caused her to jump and scream.

Daphne then said “don’t do that, you scared me” like little girls would say then the tour guide turned and motioned for the group to follow while Daphne walked into the room a little mad at the tour guide and pouting. When the group was all in the room someone yelled out “look pizza ovens” for which the tour guide said “nope this was the kitchen and these were to cook the food and a staple food was bread for them”.

Then the tour guide finished explaining what normally went on in the kitchen they moved on to one last room that had a few things in it with one of them being a mannequin dressed as a soldier with a musket from of the periods that the fort was active and in front of it was a model of Castle Island that included the break water that made up Pleasure Bay. After explaining a couple things the tour guide motioned to the doorway that led back into the courtyard and said “thank you for coming today and if come this way we can all head back to the entrance of the fort.”

Daphne's trip to Castle Island (pages 3 & 4) children's story

While they were walking, Daphne could not help but notice that there were lots of other people there some of them walking, some of them rollerblading and some on skateboards going up and down the asphalt. After a couple minutes of taking in all of the people Daphne realized that there were boats attached to moorings on one side of the breakwater and asked “why are there boats on one side and not the other side” for which her mom replied “because they don’t allow motor boats on in the bay that this breakwater makes and the name of the bay is Pleasure Bay” for which she asked “why do they call it Pleasure Bay?” for which her mom said “who knows” as she points out someone on a wind board in Pleasure Bay.

By the time they were done looking at the person wind-boarding they were at The Sugar Bowl and Daphne’s mom said “look, you can see the people fishing now” and Daphne looked over and seen what to her was a multitude of people fishing even though it was only a few people some with multiple rods of different sizes. She then started running between the people asking questions and seeing if they had any fish.

There were a couple that did have some fish and they humored her and allowed her to see the fish for which all she could say was “wow” and ask “what type of fishy is that” for which one said “this is a blue fish” and “this is only a small one” when the person said that her eyes bulged out in surprise, then she moved on to another and they said “this is a flounder and this is a sun fish”. After a little while of running between people her mom said its time to go to the building in the distance and as they left she seen someone with a drop line, pulling up their line and the person mumbling about something on the line for which she found to be a crab that was eating the persons bait.

When Daphne seen the crab clamped on the hook while trying to eat the person’s bait, she asked “ewe what is that?” for which the person said “it’s a crab and I he and his other crab friends keep eating my bait” Daphne was confused by him saying that he was using bait and asked “how come your not using those shiny pieces that the people back home use” for which the guy asked in return “I take it you live by a lake” and she replied “yes” and he said “those shiny things are for fish in a lake not for a fish in the ocean” and then Daphne goes running up to her mom asking “mommy I thought we were going to a beach not an ocean?” and her mom replied “honey, we are going to a beach and it is on the ocean besides we’re not that far from the beach you can see it from here.”

Daphne’s mom pointed to where they started and said “the beach goes from where we parked the car all the way over to that building” and Daphne said “wow that’s a beach, cool” after allowing Daphne to stare at the size of the beach which wasn’t the largest of beaches but bigger than Daphne had ever seen and looking at the skyscrapers in the background for a few minutes Daphne’s mom said as she started walking down the second half of the breakwater “time to go so you can have some fun over there at the beach, besides I think you will like what is over here”.

As Daphne’s mom starts walking Daphne hesitates while still looking over at the beach, then runs up to her mom and asked “what is it that I will like” and before Daphne’s mom could answer Daphne realized what her mom had meant and hears the running water out of the pleasure bay through the locks in the breakwater and runs up to them and said “wow, mommy come here and look, its amazing” with that Daphne’s mom gives a good laugh as she walks up to Daphne and went to speak but before she could say anything Daphne said “I’ve never seen a waterfall before mommy”

Daphne’s mom said “that isn’t a real waterfall, that’s a manmade one that is caused by the out going tide going through these locks”. For a good few minutes, Daphne was draped over the railing staring at the waterfall caused by the locks in the breakwater and without warning see something out of the corner of her eye plop into the water which turned out to be a person throwing a drop line from the waterline at the bottom of the breakwater right by the locks.

After running back and forth between both sides of the locks watching people with drop lines along the waterline she looked up and realized that they were close to where they were going and said “wow, is that where we are going?” Her mom say “yep, and we can actually go in it too.” As they started walking Daphne asked “what is this beach called?” for which her mom replied “Castle Island” and Daphne asked “why do they call it an island for” for which her mom said “that’s because it use to be a real island until they decided to build the area around it” and then Daphne asked “how did they do that?” and her mom said “with landfill, which was from a hill that they decided to flatten or to shrink”.

While walking Daphne’s mom could not help but laugh a little given the giddiness that Daphne had like girls her age have when they can’t wait to get there. When Daphne looked up and seen her mom laughing a little she asked “why are you laughing” for which her mom said “nothing” then Daphne ran in front of her mom turned to her and grabbed on of her moms hands with both of hers and said “hurry up” in a little bit of a whiney tone as if they could not get there fast enough. With that Daphne’s mom stopped and playfully said “no” and then pulled Daphne to the nearest bench and sat on it while Daphne still tried pulling while repeatedly saying “come on”.

As Daphne tried to get her mom to get back up and go right up to the building that was pointed out to her when they were still at the Sugar Bowl, her mom got up and started letting Daphne pull her along but also guiding Daphne towards something that was just out of Daphne’s sight due to facing her mom. When they got there the other kids playing caught her eye and she forgot all about the building that she was trying to get too. She let her moms hand go and looked around saying “wow, I didn’t know this place had a playground” and then asked “can I” before her mom could respond Daphne was already running for the swings.

As she got up to the swings she noticed that there were swings with different types of seats, some with the hard plastic seats and some with a rubber like seat and even some for little kids and babies. After swinging on each type of swing that she could go on she went onto the jungle gym part of the playground and had fun playing with the other kids while climbing latter walking across small bridges and going down the slides until her heart was content and worn out from all of the running around.

After collapsing onto the ground to rest for a little while, Daphne asked her mom “what is that building” for which her mom said “that is Fort Independence, which is really old and why they call this place Castle Island” with that Daphne sat up crossed her legs and said “wow, how old is it? Is it older than you and daddy?” and her mom said “it’s even older than Nana’s mommy” for which Daphne was too mesmerized, to respond with any questions. After a few minutes of Daphne just sitting there cross legged staring up at the building she asked “how come they call it a castle if it is someone’s fort?”

Daphne’s mom said “well that because when they had it built the only buildings that were this big at the time were castles so even though it is just a fort it was called a castle” with that Daphne said “wow” then got up and tried lifting her mom up by grabbing her hands and pulling her from her sitting position. With that her mom got up and said “ok we can go up there and go in it, but you have to beat me up the hill or we just walk around it” with that Daphne started running with her mom walking up letting her win and when she met up with Daphne she said “ok, you win let’s go”.

Daphne’s mom took her by the hand and walked through the first of two sets of two to three story doors. As they walked through them Daphne notices small slits in the walls and asked “what are they for” for which her mom replied “those were for people to put rifles through when people tried to attack the fort” and as they walked through the second set of doors it opened up to a large court yard with a couple people sitting at a collapsible banquet table just past the doors to the right and a small roped off waiting area to the left of the doors. Daphne’s mom walked up to the people and they asked her to sign the register, told her it was a free tour and that they could wait for the next tour which was in a couple minutes.
While they waited Daphne looked up in wonder and taking in the size of Fort Independence when the tour guide came to the small group that had gathered and said “hello, my name is Mike and I will be your tour guide today” with that Daphne jumped from being startled by the sudden voice

Daphne's trip to Castle Island (pages 1 & 2) childrens story

As Daphne plays with her dolls instead of finishing up getting dressed for a day at the beach, her mom yells up to her “Daphne, are you dressed yet?” after a few moments she hears some toys drop and some stomping of little feet letting her know that Daphne wasn’t anywhere near ready. Daphne’s mom hesitates for a few moments and starts walking up the stairs and hears little feet running for the stairs. Then a few seconds later Daphne almost runs her mom over running down the stairs because she couldn’t see her mom from around the bend in the stairs. When Daphne see’s her mom standing there on the stairs she stops short with a thud a few steps away from her and almost falling into her mom.

Daphne then looks up at her mom and says “all dressed” with a grin from ear to ear because she knows she is going to the beach. What Daphne didn’t know was that she wasn’t going to the beach she was use too, but rather a beach that her mom grew up going to. Daphne thinking that she was going to her normal beach, promptly stated, “I can’t wait to play with Becky and Andy and find all those cool things lying around the beach.” With that Daphne’s mom had to stop her before she said any more and had to disappoint her by telling her “honey, we are not going to our normal beach today.”

Daphne replied by pouting and said “I don’t want to go then”, and stomped over to the sofa and sat with a very big plop while crossing her arms and staring at her mom angrily which made her mom laugh making Daphne even madder. While trying to stop laughing, her mom tried to say “honey, when you are done pouting and ready to go, let me know” but could not say it with out laughing given Daphne’s expression. After a few minutes, she came back to see if Daphne was in a better mood, for which she was and as soon as she seen her mom she tried acting as if she was still mad at her.

Her mom stopping in front of where she had her keychain and said “I guess I am going to have to go all by myself” for which Daphne just said “humph” and turned away, then her mom said “well, I guess your going to miss out seeing all of those sail boats and the playground” for which Daphne replied “so what” then her mom turned to the table and grabbed her keys saying “that’s too bad, I guess that you don’t want to see the really large motor boats and all of the people fishing either.”

Daphne then trying to act like she was still mad but curious, asked “they got people fishing there” for which her mom replied “yep, and the fish can be this big” stretching her arms out as she replied. Then Daphne asked “how big are the boats” and her mom replied “well since you don’t want to go, I guess I won’t tell you anymore”. Daphne suddenly had a change of heart and got up, ran to her mom grabbing her hand and said “lets go” and her mom asked “does that mean you want to go now?” with Daphne pulling her mom by the hand with all of her might nodding yes the whole time with no luck, then she let go of her moms hand and got behind her and tried to push her.

Her mom then said “ok, ok let’s go” and then said “hurry up and get in the car before I change my mind” once said Daphne ran to the door, opened it in the process slamming the door against the wall beside the door almost breaking the etched stain glassed window that went the length of the door at the doorframe and then she ran as fast as she could to the car. As her mom closed the door to lock it, Daphne got really antsy and “yelled hurry up, I want to see the boats and see how big the fish really are.”

With that Daphne’s mom teased her and walked up slowly to the car to antagonize her and by the time her mom got to the car she was squirming and trying to open the locked car door. Daphne’s mom could have used her remote car alarm to unlock the door but decided to let Daphne squirm because to her it was funny seeing her daughter squirming in such a hurry to get in the car.

When Daphne’s mom finally got to the car, she was laughing at her daughter as she whined about how slow her mom was getting to the car. After they got in the car and started driving it was an endless barrage of questions from Daphne to her mom with the most frequent question being “are we there yet” which annoyed Daphne’s mom because it made a short trip feel like an eternity. After a little while Daphne’s mom said, “the beach we are going to is in the big city” for which Daphne responded “how can you have a beach in the big city?” and Daphne’s mom explained that “a big city can have a beach if they are near the coastline and would have a beach in the ocean instead of a lake and you’ve been to the big city the beach is in” for which Daphne asked “I have?” and then asked “which city?”

Daphne’s mom said “it is a city that you like and go to every summer to look at the swans and feed the ducks and geese”. “Mommy, that ain’t a beach that’s just a little pond for the birds and those funny looking boats with the swan on them” Daphne said looking perplexed as her mom said “Honey the beach is in a different part of the city”. “You will know when we are almost there” Daphne’s mom said as she honks her horn at someone that just cut her off. Daphne then asked “mommy how will I know” for which her mom replied, “you will see this small castle, and if the weather is good we can get there early enough we can even take a tour of it.” “The city has a castle on the beach and you never took me there, why?”

“Well honey I just did, but it’s not really a castle, it is actually a fort and because of its size and when it was built it was classified as a castle even though it’s not” said Daphne’s mom. As they drive along on the short distance on the highway, Daphne’s mom tries to distract her from her line of question first by trying to play the normal games they play on their short day trips when they do things when Daphne’s dad isn’t around because of his travels for work.

Unfortunately, the games didn’t work, then Daphne’s mom tried to talk to her about her friends Andy and Becky but quickly found that she wished she didn’t bring up the subject because now Daphne was talking about what she was going to tell them when she got home. Eventually, Daphne’s mom asked her to play her hand held video game or watch part of a movie so she can get some rest so she can take in all of the sights on Castle Island for which Daphne’s mom never told her the name of. At first Daphne had a hard time with it being the naturally inquisitive little girl she was but eventually settled into watching her favorite movie on the overhead DVD player.

After a little while as with any little girl, Daphne started squirming and wanting to ask more questions on the beach but a little whineier than before, and thankfully they weren’t far away and Daphne’s mom was able to divert her attention to the water on off to their right side that was coming into view. With that the only thing that Daphne could say “are we there yet” over and over every so often with it only ending when they pulled into the part of the street that was reserved for beach parking at the edge of the breakwater reserved for beach parking and her mom saying “we’re here, sort of”.

As Daphne’s mom got out of the vehicle Daphne asked “what do you mean sort of?” for which her mom replied “I’ll show you” as she was shooing Daphne out of the vehicle. After all of the stuff was out of the vehicle, Daphne’s mom said “see that building way over there on the other side of the water” for which Daphne replied “ya” as little girls say, “that is where we are going but we have to walk from here if you want to watch some people fishing” said her mom. After that she motioned for the asphalt that covered the top of the breakwater that went straight out into Boston Harbor.

As they started walking, Daphne asking questions starting with “where does this lead” for which her mom replied with “It leads to what is called The Sugar Bowl” for which Daphne responded back “why do they call it the sugar bowl?”, not knowing how to answer her mom just said that “I don’t know why they call it that, someone named it that before I even knew that it was there”. Then she asked “is there where they fish?” as little girls would say, for which her mom said “yep, but that’s not the only place they fish, they also do it on the far side of that building” for which Daphne replied back with “what type of fish do they catch there?” and her mom said “many different types”.

The Brownstone (fictional story) page 5 of 5

As I looked around the room I noticed the people who had been sitting outside on the front steps who I thought I had known for years even though they acted as if they had just met me that morning, I also noticed family and friends that I knew, I knew but yet my friends looked different. My friends looked like they should be the ones that I had to walk through on the steps. As I started to mingle with everyone, I started feeling as if I was returning home rather than having just buying the house. As the party went on I felt as if it was good to be home and that it had been a long time since I had seen the old house which as good, if not better then when I left.
After the party was over and the staff settled in for the night with the exception of the guy I sat there in the living room in front of the mantle piece with the guy he welcomed me home and said it has been a long time since I had left that he was truly grateful that I had returned home because all he could do was wait for my return so he would have someone to care for and looked forward to taking care of my children and my children’s children. With that I nodded off to sleep and as I was almost sleeping I could hear the guy talking to himself and thanking the house almost mumbling under his breath trying not to wake me and to keep me from hearing him say it.

the end

The Brownston (fictional story) page 4 of 5

These people when I walked up to them felt like old friends like I had them as friends since childhood but yet I could tell that they didn’t see me the same way but yet they were sitting at what I thought was my favorite hang out place. When I came up to the group of people one of the people could see that I was perplexed and asked what was wrong, before I got the nerve to respond a guy, the guy came out of the front door and walked down the front steps through the people and said he was glad to see that I could make it today so that way we could finalize the purchase of the brownstone which perplexed me even more.

Even though I was perplexed by the fact that I was buying what I remembered to be an abandoned house I felt as though I remembered going through the whole process of buying the house but could not come up with a single specific memory relating to the whole thing. When I was directed to the front door I started walking and felt a foreboding shutter go right through my body making me want to run but I kept walking to do something that I didn’t know that I was doing until that very moment. As the guy opened up the door I felt as if there was nothing there behind me but darkness but when I turned around I could still see the people just sitting there.

As I passed through the doorway I could see a doorway at the far end of the living room a sizable living room with the closest piece of furniture that looked like it was someone’s attempt of combining two different classic pieces of furniture. This piece of furniture looked like it was suppose to be a telephone table but instead of a chair attachment it was a loveseat with a table at either end. As I got a better look around the other pieces of furniture didn’t stand out but what did stand out was the various indistinct paintings and pictures on the wall that went from the front door to the doorway on the other side of the living room. The largest painting was hanging over a mantle piece and the people in it seemed distorted.

The guy directed me to a table and chairs that somehow appeared out of nowhere since I didn’t see them there when I walked in and didn’t see anyone bring them in. As I walked over to the table I noticed that even though the living room was well lit there appeared to be no light fixtures anywhere in the room and noticed that there seemed to be a spot on the floor that seemed strangely out of place for the house but yet it was in a place where I felt there should be a dark hole in the floor but yet it just seemed like a dark spot in the floor. I asked what had happened there and the guy just said that the people who had been living there had problems there.

I started to walk over there and half expected the guy to stop me but he didn’t and it was a solid floor when I stepped on it. When I walked over to the guy who was already sitting down at the table with the paperwork out ready for me to look over and sign. While we were going over the paperwork the guy was telling me that the house came with its own staff for which I could keep or replace if I chose but he thought I should get to know the people who worked there before making my decision. After the paperwork was looked over and signed things slowly started to change as the guy got up and said that he would inform the staff that they had a new owner which struck me as very odd.

As he got up and walked through the doorway opposite the front door, I got up and started walking around looking at the paintings and the pictures and noticed that they were now very distinctive with memories I had from childhood that almost seemed to come to life while looking at the pictures and remembered what had transpired on those days. Some of the pictures were of things that I seem to remember that no one had a camera with them but yet there were pictures on the wall. The paintings including the large one over the mantle piece had come into focus with the one over the mantle piece being myself and looking as if it was an old painting but yet new at the same time.

By the time the guy returned he was somehow different yet was still the same person. He was no longer acting as if he was a realtor but rather a butler who had been working for him for a great many years. It felt comfortable to treat him as an old friend but yet as an employee at the same time. With the slightest of gestures he motioned me to the doorway for which I seemed to remember being darkened and felt as though I wasn’t permitted to go through. I walked up to it, nothing happened and as I walked through it the lights came on and a room full of people yelled out welcome home.

The Brownstone (fictional story) page 3 of 5

The guy said “it’s the house trying to keep you out of that doorway you keep wanting to look into because it knows the servants have not readied it for you” which answered part of the question but not all of it. When asked about why it was leading to the abyss he simply said “anyway to keep you from looking” at the same time I realized I was going to go nowhere with the line of questioning I decided to check out a theory that I was developing and started just glancing at the pictures and oil paintings while picking up my pace towards the abyss.

The guy asked me “what is going on, do you really want to be by that hole?” but would not tell me why he was asking and was getting fearful of what I was doing. As I got closer to the abyss the further the guy got from me because he feared the abyss but still would not tell me why he was so fearful of it. As I glanced at the pictures while working my way over to the abyss I noticed that this stranger of a guy was actually in some of the pictures with my family and it looked like he was a caretaker of some sort in them. After I got to with in a few feet of the abyss the guy was talking more to himself than to me because all he could do was mumble about something, something he didn’t want me to hear.

What he was mumbling was barely audible to me and even though he was mumbling to himself what he was saying was somewhat disturbing, he was talking as if he was questioning why I was heading to the abyss while at the same time questioning the house as to why it was letting me walk up to the abyss but not let me see what was in the next room. With in a few minutes he was frightened by the fact that I was so close to the edge of the abyss, saying he did his best to stop me from going where I wasn’t wanted which sounded like he was telling this to the house.

Then he said that he didn’t want me to find out what was in the abyss because it would mean it would he would have to leave the house his master to bring me back. He was genuinely afraid of me being there at the edge of the abyss and by the time I was trying to look down into the abyss he was curled up in a ball rocking back and forth mumbling out loud but to himself that he didn’t want to go and that it wasn’t right that the house let me look because he didn’t want me to see what was in the abyss. He didn’t want me to be able to see that it was the way out of the house, a way home, and a way to the home I knew, the home I actually remembered and not this place that seemed so foreign to me.

When I tried to turn and walk over to him I turned into what felt like a brick wall for which I bounced off of right into the abyss, and as I fell backwards into the abyss time seemed to move real slow and seen the guy get up and try to rush over to the abyss to catch me but he was moving just as slowly as the time was. The last thing I seen before all went black from the abyss was the guy being hit with an invisible force that sent him flying, flying right for the darkened doorway that the house was trying to keep me from peering into. With that all went black and it felt like I was falling into nothingness and then there was nothing almost like the state between dreaming and being awake.

The next thing I remember I was woken up by my alarm clock which was odd since I didn’t remember ever going home let alone setting my alarm clock and going to bed. When I tried to remember what had happened the day before that would have me black out like that all I could remember was sitting on the front steps of the old abandoned brownstone with some friends. When I got up and got dressed, things were as I remembered them but yet they were somehow different almost as if there were subtle changes to the details that I could not put my finger on.

As I went through my normal weekend routine I noticed more subtle changes in different places but the biggest differences were in recognizing certain people I knew almost like it was the first time I ever seen them. I had gotten the surprise of my life when I walked up to my favorite hang out which was the front steps of the old abandoned brownstone, instead of the brownstone looking like it was long since abandoned it looked brand new and a few people were there that I recognized as people I somehow knew but I didn’t know why. They were people I recognized from what seemed like a dream from the night before, a dream for which I seen them as friends all except for one.