Stone steps walked down the from the road like a path, ending in a ditch of green grass. The California pine tree laced it’s branches in and out of this place, it’s dark brown fingers latching onto whatever foothold they could find.

Light leaked through like the ceiling of an ocean not far from here.

A large round pipe shot it’s way under the street like Alice’s rabbit hole embedded under the ground, waiting for its usual visitors. A blonde, brown and red haired group walked into the woods, our shoes stomping against pine needles and dirt as we sneaked under a dense patch of low hanging trees. Through the darkness we saw the entrance to our freedom.

 We approached the underground tunnel, not afraid of the lack of light filtering through. Our small bodies fit easily into the large space, brushing our hands against colorful graffiti no one  could yet pronounce. Knowing where to go, one of us, the red head, ran ahead. 

 Another adventurer appeared, his dark matted Harry Potter hair flat on his forehead, dark blue eyes dancing as he followed the girl he bragged about marrying in that pink castle jumper on her birthday last year, our small curious bodies barely concealing what little light was left.

 I smiled as we continued our adventure. My white blonde hair whipped in the breeze, my light blue shirt, the one with the flower archiving the other ventures of that day. I continued to walk the tunnel with ease, a little off balance by my short leg, my white sketchers clomping on the ground.  

“McKinley come on!” I yelled, my voice echoing.

It was darker now, the sunlight crept in on the other side, the blackness of the fruit more obvious with each anticipating step. Three pairs of blue eyes widened as we echoed closer and closer, our voices silent.

Millions of blackberries were in our sights, plush and sharp. I glanced back at McKinley with his green dinosaur shirt, our little feet deafening in the sound waves of the tunnel.

A sudden growl met us in our fairyland blackberry forest. 

We stopped. Frozen in time. Something wild and untamed jumped out at us, a strawberry mane whipped around her face, white teeth and hands stained with the juices of the fruit.

“ROAR!!!!”

We blew out a breath of relief, hanging our heads in relief as the beast screamed with laughter. 

“I got you! I got you!” she yelled, dancing around us excitedly. 

SUNNY! we yelled in unison. 

She kept giggling, grabbing my hand and trampled into the blackberry world, the stems tugging at our blue, pink and green colored shirts. We began to stuff ourselves whole with each juicy bite. 

Ow! Sunny the Lion cried, whipping her hand away. We glanced up from our luxuries. A bead of blood rose onto the lion’s paw, a feared, unhappy color. The lion’s face scrunched up and licked her wounds. Soon our hands were a combination of black and red, merging together like a river, but the berries were too enjoyable to stop eating. Laughter rose up and out of the magic fantasy into the reality above our heads. Time would soon catch up to us. 

******************************************************************************

2016

The stone steps still walked down from the road like a worn path, ending in a patch of overgrown grass. The California cypress tree laced its thin branches in and out of this place, it’s aged fingers latching onto anything they could find.

“Ow!” I cried, hitting my dark blonde head on yet another branch, hoping nothing would catch my favorite leather jacket.

Damn these things are lower than I remember them being.

McKinley was catching up to me, brushing his dark unkempt hair from his eyes. I glanced over at him, still able to see the little boy who resembled Harry Potter behind the stubble on his cheeks.
“Where is Sunny today?” I asked, sun leaking through the thinning branches. 

“She’s out with her boyfriend I think.” he muttered, walking up to the pipe. 

We need our lion I thought sadly, facing the portal.

“You ready?”

“Ladies first.” he said grinning. 

I crouched into the narrow pipe, followed by McKinley, almost crashing our heads on the ceiling walking to the other side, our bodies filling up most of the tunnel. I brushed my hand on the permanent graffiti we could now make sense of. Once arriving to our magic land, we were met with a harsh reality. The berries we once plucked from the green bushes were scrunched up, no longer plush and beautiful, the long dead and brittle pickers no longer menacing to the eye. 

“It’s gone.” I whispered, standing in a graveyard of brown and brittle plants. 

“Well, it’s good while it lasted, come on Lena, let’s go.” he said, turning his back to our lost fairyland. I turned around, full with sadness, wondering what else we could never retrieve from what we once discovered as a lion and adventurers.