It was a completely normal morning leading up to the Tower, but when I stepped outside I saw, with a jolt of surprise, that my backyard had transformed into a landscape with rolling, purple hills. However the most bizarre feature of all was probably the Tower, tall and checkered. Out of curiosity I stepped inside and started observing my surroundings. Neat, sterile, stairs, as if no one had ever touched them before. I decided to climb them. They seemed to never end. By the time I reached the top I was huffing and puffing like I had just run a marathon.

I gazed out at my backyard, if I could still call it that. I realized with a shock that this was the infamous traveling tower. Then I remembered with a sinking feeling that everyone who had stepped inside never came out. Just then I heard a voice behind me, I whipped around.

“Get out while you ca-,” he never got to finish his sentence. A creature had shunted him to the ground and knocked him out. The creature in question looked like a messy mix between an ogre and a troll. A stark contrast to the clean and neat tower. “You’re mine now,” he said wielding a bat with a glinting spike set on it. In that moment I remembered how everyone told me that I could think fast on my feet. “Come on come on I need a good idea,” I thought. In that moment the troll-ogre raised his bat.

When I woke up I was lying down, sprawled on my back against a cold and hard sheet of metal. I realized that my hand and legs were tightly held to the sheet with buckles. I tested my restraints, and to my dismay they didn’t give away. Then I saw the troll-ogre. “If you want to get away then you must solve my riddle,” he boomed. “What is it,” I asked nervously. “Give me food and I shall live, but give me water and I shall die, what am I,” he answered. “But there’s a catch,” he whispered. He snapped and the sheet of metal I was restrained to started spinning, and by spinning I don’t mean merry-go-round spinning,but 250 mph spinning. My voice came out distorted when I asked,” What are you going to do to me if I don’t get the answer.” At this he started laughing maniacally, “I WILL SET YOU ABLAZE,” he hollered.

I knew I couldn’t stay conscious much longer because of this spinning, so I thought fast and panicked. It was then that I realized that the answer was in his punishment. I yelled as loud as I could,”FIRE, THE ANSWER IS FIRE!” His face went pale as the sheet stopped spinning and the restraints gave away. I couldn’t have dashed out of there faster, and all he could do was watch me.

As I stood outside watching the tower crumble and the sinister creature fade away along with the purple hills I sighed a breath of relief. I made my way across my now perfect backyard to my neighbors house where I had dinner.

When I lay in bed that night I wondered if the events of that day were true or just a figment of my imagination. Whatever it was, was in the past and now I could continue living my perfectly normal life which I had never valued more before…