Runner Up
Elizabeth Davis

Amena stopped in her tracks when she heard scurrying in the garden shed. She could see nothing when she peered through the window. Opening the door a crack to look inside she saw a frightened pointy face and a great bushy tail. 

“Autumn!” Amena cried, at once clapping a hand over her mouth, remembering the punishment she had to endure after waking the town at an ungodly hour.

“Amena! You must come with me right away. There’s some trouble brewing, and I think you want to help me solve it.” Autumn whispered. She lowered her head, and if the moon wasn’t playing tricks, a strange, ominous light glinted in her friend’s eyes, sending a shiver down Amena’s spine faster than a Saharan silver ant, with seconds to spare before it got roasted in the sun.

“I can’t really say for now... First, it’s late. Second, it’s extremely dangerous for me to be walking alone —”

“With a fox!” hissed Autumn, offended that her friend since childhood was overlooking her.

“Sorry, with a fox. We should go with someone. I don’t feel alright about this. I’m valuable to the town and, well, maybe later. You could tell me more about this... trouble?” Her psychic powers told her Autumn had something to do with this.

Autumn’s eyes flashed and she began to trot away.

“Wait! Why me?” Amena yelled, afraid of disrespecting her friend and, yet again, being the cause of another curse on her town, chased after her friend, her long black hair and maroon cape buffeted by the wind.

Her nose in the air, Autumn whispered, “Because, you have harmony, with nature. That’s why you were chosen to solve the problem. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to because, somehow, you will.”

​