Whole New World

Camilla dumped the box of crayons onto the table and spread them out. The box held every color she could imagine. Pinks, greens, purples, blues, different shades of yellow, and everything in between. There were sparkly ones and even some that looked like metal. She was excited to use her new crayons and coloring book.

“What are you doing, Coco?” Aiden asked her.

“Coloring!” she shouted happily.

“Looks like fun,” Aiden said.

“It is,” she replied.

“I’m glad.  I’m going to go play with Armani. Wanna come?” he asked.

“No thanks,” she said and continued her work.

“Ok, see ya later,” he said.

She flipped through the pages. The one she settled on had flowers and rainbows all around it. Her favorite part of the picture was the baby unicorn in the middle. She couldn't wait to see it all colored in.

The forest had to be shades of green, blue, and brown with pops of yellow for sunshine. She made the flowers around the forest many different colors. Before she knew it she had used almost every crayon in the box.

She picked up a white crayon and carefully filled in the baby unicorn. She tried to stay inside the lines. It was hard. She might have gone over one or two. That was ok, though. She knew that was part of learning.

When Camilla was finished the whole unicorn was a bright glittering white. Except for its horn. The unicorn’s magical horn had to be silver and gold. They just felt like the right colors. She couldn’t explain why.

She took a minute to look at her art. She loved it! It was beautiful in every way. The unicorn looked so pretty that she thought it might walk off the page.

Camilla put down the picture she made and went to find Abby. Abby was in the garden with Nana. She thought she would show them both later, instead. She went back inside to do some more coloring.

The crayons were where she’d left them, but she couldn’t find her unicorn picture. She thought she left it on the table next to her water bottle. She checked underneath it. Maybe it had fallen?

Nope. It wasn’t there. Where had it gone?

She started looking around the rest of the house. She checked the couch, the boy’s bedroom, the kitchen, and even the garbage can. She hadn’t looked in the bathroom, though, so she walked in its direction.

When she opened the door her mouth fell open in surprise. The bathroom was filled with green grass, pretty vines, and what looked like a million colorful flowers. She walked inside.

The grass felt soft under her feet. She wiggled her toes and giggled when the grass tickled them. The flowers smelled so good. She reached out and touched them to make sure they were real. They were as real as she was. She couldn’t believe it. There was a whole garden in the bathroom!

A loud noise came from the bathtub. She jumped at the sound. Camilla tip-toed in its direction. She grabbed a handful of the shower curtain and let out a scared breath. Then she pulled it as fast as she could.

The curtain flew off with a swoosh! Camilla gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. There was a baby unicorn in the bathtub!

The magical creature was lying on a patch of moss that had grown inside the tub. It looked very comfy. Its coat sparkled with a silvery-white glow. Camilla had to squint until her eyes got used to its brightness. The creature yawned and shook out its mane. It looked like it was waking up from a very good nap.

Camilla heard the front door open and she ran to close the bathroom door. That woke the unicorn up much faster. It whinnied like a horse.

“Shhh!” Camilla said with her finger to her lips. She didn’t want anyone to know about the unicorn. What if someone took it away? She would be sad.

The unicorn seemed to understand and got quiet. Not fast enough, though. Someone knocked on the door.

“Coco,” Abby said. “You in there?”

“Yeah,” Camilla said.

“Ok. Everything good?” Abby asked.

“Yup, good,” Camilla responded.

“Ok. Need anything?”

“No, thank you.”

“Ok then. I’ll be outside with Nana. I filled up your water bottle and left you a snack. Come outside when you’re ready.”

“Kay,” Camilla said.

“Love you,” Abby told her.

“Love you,” she said back.

She listened to Abby’s footsteps. When Camilla heard the front door open and close, she felt better. She turned to face the unicorn. It had its neck stretched out and was eating the colorful flowers. Camilla walked over to the flowers to take a closer look. They didn’t look like food to her, but she wasn’t a unicorn.

When Camilla turned to face her new magical friend, she noticed something. The horn on its head looked very familiar. It was silver and gold.

“You’re from my book!” Camilla said excitedly.

The unicorn nodded its head. Blue sparks floated out of its horn and formed the shape of a book in the air. Camilla clapped. Magic!

She smiled and sat on the grass in thought. How had this happened? Did she do this?

More sparks flew through the air. This time, a picture of a box of crayons floated above her. She understood. The crayons were the reason the bathroom looked like a faerie tale.

She wondered what to do next. Should she fix it? Could she fix it? She wasn’t sure. A part of her wanted the unicorn and her magical bathroom to stay. It wouldn't be a secret for long though. She knew that someone would need to use the bathroom sometime.

Camilla stood and walked over to the unicorn. It stood too. It was a little taller than her, but not a lot. It was a baby after all.

She reached out to pet it. It nuzzled her hand and neighed. Camilla laughed. Petting the unicorn made her feel so happy.

The unicorn leaned down and tapped the top of Camilla’s head with its horn. She reached up to touch the spot. As soon as she did a movie played inside her head.

She saw the unicorn walking out of the bathroom with her. She saw the two of them getting the crayons off the table. That was what they needed to do.

Camilla didn’t like the idea much. It was scary. Someone could see them. She shook her head.

“No. Hide,” she said.

The unicorn whinnied and shook its head. It had made up its mind. They were going.

Camilla moved over, so the unicorn could hop out of the tub. To her surprise, it floated through the air. No loud thump when it landed. So cool.

They walked up to the door together. Camilla opened it just a little and they both stuck their heads out. They didn't see or hear anyone. Camilla tip-toed out of the bathroom. The unicorn walked behind her.

While on the ground the unicorn didn’t use its floating powers. The sound of its hooves was loud in the house. They would have to be fast.

They were halfway to the table where the crayons were when Camilla heard the screen door on the porch open. She and the unicorn both looked at each other. The closest room was Nana and Popop’s. They ran for it.

Camilla tried the handle. It was locked. Oh no! They turned and ran into the laundry room. The door to the house opened just as Camilla and her new friend closed the door to their hiding place.

“Coco? That you?” Armani said.

“Yeah,” Camilla said.

“I’m having a drink. Want one?” he asked.

“No, thank you.”

“What're ya doin’?” Armani asked.

“Hiding,” Camilla said.

“Ok. Well, I’m gonna go back outside to play. Wanna come to the fort?”

“No, thank you,” Camilla said.

“Kay,” he said.

When she heard the front door close she checked to make sure he was gone. They were alone. Camilla waved the unicorn over and they ran to the table together. Camilla shoved all the crayons back into the box.

The two new friends went back to their secret garden as fast as they could. When they stepped inside Camilla noticed that some of the vines were starting to grow through the walls. Nana and Popop wouldn’t be happy about that. She had to hurry. The trouble was she didn’t know what to do next.

Camilla reached out and touched the spot on her head again. Right away another movie played in her mind. She saw herself coloring the back of the bathroom door.

“No way,” she said. She knew that Nana would be sad if she colored the door. She didn’t want to hurt Nana’s feelings. The unicorn nodded its head, though.

Sparks floated out of the unicorn's horn again, but this time they headed right for Camilla. Then she was in the air, moving toward the bathroom door. She laughed. It tickled when the little lights touched her skin.

She trusted the unicorn. Coloring the door was the right thing to do. Nana would forgive her once she told her the truth. She knew she would understand. Nana still believed in magic, too.

Camilla started coloring. It wasn't long before she was looking at a rainbow-covered door. She heard a voice in her head. A beautiful voice that sounded like music. It said, “open the door.”

The front door slammed, and someone came running into the house. One of the boys. The doorknob shook. Someone knocked hard on the door.

“Coco, I need to get in there! I drank, like, forty-five million bottles of water!” Aiden said loudly.

Camilla started to panic a little. How could she open the door to let Aiden in and the unicorn out?

“Open the door,” the voice said again.

Her heart started racing. What should she do? If she let Aiden in he would know everything. This was her special secret. She wasn't ready to share.

“Open the door," she heard the magical voice say.

Camilla unlocked the door, turned the doorknob, and pushed it open. The knocking stopped. The walls disappeared. She turned in a circle. They were in a huge forest. It looked very like the one that had taken over the bathroom.

“Wow…” she said.

It was a beautiful place. Like nothing she had ever seen. It was full of so much color that it even floated in the air. Rainbows shot through the sky and the sun shined brightly. Flowers were all over, too. Camilla breathed in. She thought she could smell cotton candy.

The unicorn walked forward. Its hooves weren’t as loud on the forest floor. The creature moved through the open door and into a whole new world. Camilla followed behind, but the unicorn stopped her from going too far.

“Thank you,” the musical voice of the unicorn said. “I’m happy to have a new friend. We will see each other again, but for now, you must go back to your world. You will remember this day.”

Fireflies with different colored lights flew around her in a big circle. The unicorn leaned down and touched his soft nose to hers. Camilla floated back through the doorway. The colorful lightning bugs kept her from hitting the ground. She was placed back on her feet and watched the fireflies fly out the door. They closed it behind them.

"See you soon, friend," the unicorn sang in her head.

Camilla ran forward to follow them all back into the forest. She turned the doorknob and opened the door. When she walked out of the bathroom someone bumped into her shoulder.

“Sorry, Coco!” Aiden said as he walked into the bathroom.

Camilla stepped back and looked around. The forest had gone, but the unicorn had kept its promise. She did remember. It had all been real. Magic was real.

She ran over to the table. Her crayons were gone, too. More proof that she didn't imagine the whole thing. She picked up the coloring book and a page fell onto the floor.

It was the unicorn's page, but something about it had changed. Now there were sparkly blue dots at the tip of the unicorn horn. She hadn't put them there.

Camilla smiled and set the page down on the table.

“See you soon, friend," she said.

THE END.

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Copyright © 2024 by Kate Johnston

All rights reserved.

"Whole New World" is a Campfire Tales installment, which is a branch of Tales at Twilight specially dedicated to kids. The author always recommends that parents/guardians read these tales before sharing them with their children. Thank you for reading a bit of Friday fun! See you next week.