The Petrifying Part to Play

Asali, a determined and smart twelve-year-old, walked up the steep and dusty driveway of her grandmother’s home. She grabbed a rusty steel key from her grey hoodie’s pocket and pushed it through the keyhole. The chilly wind made her shiver as she turned the key. Clink! The door unlocked, and it slowly creaked open.

“I may as well go in,” Asali mindlessly muttered to herself. 

“I do want to find that artefact and become the best archaeologist after all,” she positively added.

The moment she stepped in… CRASH! The door slammed shut intensely behind her. 

“Not off to a great start…” she nervously whispered. 

Then she grabbed a mini flashlight from her bag.

Soon, Asali turned her flashlight towards where she was facing, but then she saw something… a giant black widow spider with loads of sharp and bloody teeth. 

‘Ahh!!!’ Asali screamed, trying to open the shut door behind her. 

It was locked. All of a sudden it went silent…

Lights around the house kept violently flickering; Asali crashed into loads of furniture and objects. She wouldn’t have dared to look behind her. Asali ran into an open closet and shut its door… Her heartbeat was fast but quiet enough for the black widow not to hear.

The word ‘Hunt’ appeared on the closet door; it was written with blood and great haste, Asali guessed. 

The serenity that used to be there had died long ago. It wasn’t the placid home she used to know…

She cautiously peeked through a little crack through the door; Hunt (the black widow) had left. She slowly opened the door and silently tip-toed a few steps. Then she ran for it. There was far too little to do in this house; all she wanted was an old-looking artefact. She wasn’t interested in a lonely death! It was far too risky to simply walk around the house, or was it?

Turning back wasn’t an option. The artefact was priceless and shouldn’t have been staying in such a supernatural home. Asali needed to get back with it. What secrets could be hidden by her grandmother?

She fled into a room filled with loads of old antiques (vases, jewellery boxes, carved bowls, etc.) all pushed over to the walls of the room. A handmade bracelet that looked like the one that her grandmother used to wear was on an old coffee table. Gently and silently, she wore the bracelet on her wrist. It had a blue elastic band (shining a mysterious blue glow), beads with shades of white and blue and a visibly bigger thundercloud bead in the middle.

She immediately felt an electric surge run across her body after she placed it on. A shot of lightning came out of her hand, burning the coffee table in front of her.

‘What happened?’ Asali pondered, staring at the table, then shaking back at her hand.

She just kept going; she’d die if she didn’t! 

Hunt came back. This time with no messages, but just as scary as before. She ran as fast as she could until she reached a room, which was actually a dead end. Hunt blocked the exit. It was over for her…

She swiftly put her hands out while she sat down, trying to stop him. A shot of lightning came out from one of them! She looked up. Hunt had left, and he had a half-broken leg. It happened again. She thought it was kind of nice, but it was uncontrolled. She didn’t know how to use her gift…

She wandered around the house, occasionally poking her head through doors to check if the artefact was there or not. She walked past multiple rooms with nothing but furniture covered with silk sheets. Soon, she reached the stairs. At first, she climbed up them normally, although they were very steep, but something seemed wrong.

While she stepped up, she didn’t seem to be getting any higher. She was still so low. 

‘What’s happening? ‘She mumbled, then ran up the stairs.

A monster came. Not a scary one, though, rather a cute one in fact. It looked like the one she made as a kid. One button eye and a cute normal one, a messy stitched smile, a rustic peach skin colour, short arms and legs, a stubby yellow pom-pom tail and long ears drooping near its eyes.  

Asali attempted to attract attention because the creature looked harmless. It only said the word ‘twende’ in a small voice (it means ‘let’s go’ in Swahili). She gently tugged its hand; it looked up at her and grabbed her hand. Then slowly walked up the stairs with her. Then, they finally went to the top.

‘Thanks,’ Asali said gratefully; she removed her hand slowly from the toy’s hand. 

She found herself gazing into his eyes. When she walked away, Tag (the name of the doll), followed her. She was fine, but something was watching her… 

Up in the attic of the house was a monster far darker and more powerful, and its name was ‘Haijulikani.’

Asali entered another room only to find… A sticky note? It was crumbled up as if someone wanted to bin it, but it just lay in a corner of the room, lonely.

With great caution, Asali glided over to the paper with Tag following in a clumsy manner by her side. And then she opened the note. Inside was a message, written in pen in her grandmother’s handwriting. Written inside was:

Asali turned her head around… 

A large red flame that had a Chinese spirit mask with a blank, dead face in shades of blood red stood behind her. Asali dashed towards the cupboard closest to the window to find another bracelet, just with a sparkling wave instead of a thundering cloud. She placed it on, and a gush of water went out of her hands and onto the fire. The word ‘Mwaki’ appeared on the walls, followed by continuous words saying ‘RUN!‘ Asali bolted out of the room, bringing Tag along with her.

They soon were stopped by a dark pit of other flames below. Tag dawdled over to a tall ladder and placed it down. Asali walked with Tag on the ladder when a flame underneath grabbed Tag’s foot. Asali pulled Tag’s arm, desperate to keep her friend alive.

Her hands became sweaty because of the heat. She felt her hands soon slip. Until… 

That was it. Tag was slowly torn ( and burnt) apart by the flames. Asali sprinted while she cried heavy tears. Then she shut herself in a room. It felt like it was over, like there was no reason to live…

But right in front of her there it was. The artefact. As she walked over to grab it, something supernatural happened. It turned into dust and flew away. What?! Asali ran out of the room and went up some more stairs (which were normal this time). And soon, she had reached the highest indoor place of the house: the attic.

It was dimly lit with no flickering lights, but it just felt creepier. It had an extremely short ceiling and loads of uncovered wood. Although she only needed to find the artefact, there were still loads of things to worry about. She saw something. 

In front of her stood something large, dark and mysterious. A shadow in the shape of a tall human with the creepiest eyes Asali had ever seen. 

The word ‘Haijulikani’ (which means ‘unknown’ in Swahili) appeared on the walls. Her instinct was to run; however, the artefact stood right in front of her. It looked like the size of an average box, had a soft rug texture, was an old vintage style, it had loads of mini jewels and two small diamond handles for opening.

Asali managed to grab it, and she headed for the stairs. 

Then, a shadow appeared. It resembled a flashback from when her grandmother died. It didn’t stop. Each time she walked over it or on it, a painful shock rolled across her body as if a taser pierced into her skin. She tried to look away, but it just created an even worse stinging sensation across her body. 

Then, she saw something. 

Nearby was a small opened vent in the wall, so Asali (with the artefact) slid through it. She kept falling, falling and falling. Instead of hitting the ground, she floated. Everything in that room floated too. And everywhere, there were things that used to exist…

It was all black and white, and everything looked like a drawing, even herself. But she had colour, unlike everything else there. Tag. He was right there. All the same, but he was sad and murmuring ‘Tumepotea’ (we are lost). She reached out her hand to him, which was filled with colour (and messily coloured). She touched him. Rays of colours spread around him, and he was happy, vivid and full of life!

Not everything in that room had returned to its original state, though. And there she was. Asali’s grandmother. One of the only happy people in the room. She wanted to bring her back to life too, but it wasn’t right. 

She spotted a door which was open, and it glowed with a white light. She floated holding Tag’s hand and went through the door. Outside the door was another monster. This time another cute one! It looked like Tag, but with different shades of yellow and a dog form. It walked up to them and held Asali’s hand. Her name (the dog’s name) was ‘Nenda’ (Go). 

They walked together until… the front door! They had made it! But a mysterious note hung neatly on the door’s handle. Out of curiosity, Asali opened the note and read it:

It was a different type of handwriting… No mysterious monster was behind her, in front of her or beside her… It kind of did feel too easy… then she looked above her.

A giant monster snake with large fangs, a black and red colour and with extremely good camouflage stared down at her. The word ‘Nyoka’ (which means ‘snake’ or ‘serpent’ in Swahili) appeared on the walls.

She tried to set the snake on fire with her bracelet, but it couldn’t have worked. The snake dodged every electric bolt of lightning. Later it curled around Nenda and slithered away. Tag and Asali followed the snake into a dark, warm room.

They saw little snakes just like the Nyoka around the place. At least five of them lay there; they slept their day off. As stealthy as possible, they snuck past the baby snakes, consciously took Nenda from Nyoka and left. It was like the most impossible game Asali ever played. 

The door was locked. A lot of weird things had gone on ever since Aslali entered Nyoka’s room. There was no key; the only new thing in the room was the lock. And a note was there:

The letter on the door told Asali to run, and it must’ve been a trap. Of course Aslai had to try to escape, though. She saw an open vent that must’ve been opened a few minutes ago. She crawled through it with Tag and Nenda behind her. She stopped and examined the room before she jumped out of the vent and next to the trap cage. 

‘Must’ve thought I wouldn’t look,’ Asali said while she looked at Tag and Nenda ‘fly’ rather than jump.

The room was brightly lit and white, unlike the rest. The key wasn’t in an obvious spot or a safe one.

It was thrown in what used to be a fireplace but was now a medium-sized hole of flames. The flames roared and rose; how could they reach it? 

Asali tried on her water bracelet, and a bomb of water exploded out of her hands and into the pit.

It was out of fire, so Asali gracefully jumped in, grabbed it and went back out. A burnt net lay there. The monsters didn’t think their plan out very well… 

They crawled through the warm vents once again and went to the front door. Asali pushed the key through the keyhole like she did when she first arrived. And with an enjoyable ‘CLINK’, the door unlocked.

Asali opened the door and stepped outside; the cold wind was resting on her skin. Nenda and Tag just watched. They didn’t come and follow. She stepped a few steps away from the house, the door shut, and Asali went back home. THE END.

If you wondered what happened next. Asali became a world-famous archaeologist. It turned out that the artefact was actually her grandmother’s necklace box! She found out the history behind it and still found different specimens. Her grandmother had a dark history, one to soon be explained… As for Tag and Nenda, they are occasionally visited by their best friend. 

Swahili words and their meanings

Asali – Honey

Twende – Let’s go

Haijulikani – Unknown

Mwaki – Fire

Tumepotea – We are lost

Nenda – Go

Nyoka – Snake or serpent 

About the Author

Hi, I am Kate, a 6th grader who loves traveling with my family, drawing, and singing. It is truly amazing to be a part of this fantastic program. I love it! Anyway, I am the firstborn, and I have two younger siblings. I also LOVE to make snacks for my mum to eat and I also LOVE to watch my dad show me his kata (a karate thing) that always makes me want to practice MINE!! Also, my favorite color is yellow, and I like dogs; my favorite breed is a German shepherd, no offense to any cat lovers out there… I am also a REALLY kind person who loves the city (mostly countryside)  and shopping with my family, and I like wearing dresses a lot because they are so comfortable. I also make books and read in my spare time for FUN! (I hate running for a special event).