Steve Jackson's Sorcery!
An epic journey through a magical land
80 Days
The award winning adaptation of Verne's classic.
Altered Reality
Dalene Davies
You see your alternate mom enter the room. She holds a pile of matched socks in her hand. You run your fingers through your hair and look stunned.
“What is all this?”
“Your missing, matched socks that you need to mix up. I hope you realize that having their mates’ means you are caring for your clothes. You are not allowed to do this at twelve years old. Showing respect to your mother by keeping all your clothes together and not losing a single pair is not acceptable behavior! Mix this up before your father gets home!”
“Oh, brother! What world have I landed in?”
"I am not supposed to match my socks?"
You sit on the bed, staring out the door, trying to figure out what this all means. A shadow moves beside you. You look up to see the Wise Old Owl gazing at you.
“What just happened?” You ask the Owl.
“You landed in an alternate reality. You will see some funny things while you reside here. I hope you are ready for the experience!”
The Owl vanishes.
You blink your eyes and hear the old rhyme go through your head. Twist me and turn me and show me the elf, I looked in the mirror and saw myself. You run to the mirror, twist three times and whisper,
“Twist me and turn me and show me the elf, I looked in the mirror and saw … Sock Monster! What are you doing in my Brownie’s mirror?”
You feel like the world has gone completely upside down.
Your Sock Monster steps out of the glare and gives you a complete once over.
“I am your good side. What is the matter with you?”
“I know you steal socks, puzzles and toys from unsuspecting kids. I know you are the mischievous one. I know I am not crazy!”
“I think you are running a fever. Perhaps you need to lie down on your bed. You do not even make sense to me and I have been with you more years then I want to think about.”
“But you do not understand! In my world, you are the mischievous one. It is the Brownie who helps children. When I followed the rhyme, it was to find my Brownie yet I find you. My Mom says I am too young to be giving her mated socks and now my Sock Monster is the Brownie. I am so confused!”
You feel weak in the knees and wobble to your bed. You sit on the edge with your hands on your head. Your Sock Monster moves closer to you, sits on the bed and wraps it’s arms around you.
“I don’t know what to say. You are not my twin? You look like me. Just look in that mirror!”
“I… am… from another place. I found a magical door and wound up here. I just want to go home.”
You feel confused and very sad. You miss your real family. Your mom would be yelling about the missing socks. She would be telling you it was time to grow up and clean your room. She would be lecturing you about putting away those fairy tale books and look at the realistic world. You glance over at the image sitting next to you.
“It will be alright. I will make it work.”
Just then your mom calls you downstairs. You get up to go but notice the mirror on the wall is jiggling like a bowl of Jell-O. You reach out to touch it.
You feel the door shake. You notice a key hanging beside the door. The mirror on the door is pulsating.