Writing Doodle 017 - Endland 02

How to Get to Endland

A Beginner's Guide

Getting to Endland isn't nearly as difficult as people make it out to be. In fact, once you figure out the hang of it, it's quite simple, really. The first few times may feel like a struggle, but don't worry, you'll get the knack of it by your forth try. And believe me, it's certainly worth whatever effort you put in.

Now, before you begin, it is highly recommended that you find a nice, solitary place to practice slipping away into Endland. I certainly suggest a room with a blank wall, as I've always found steps 3 and 4 to work best with a blank wall. Of course, that's just me. You may find you much prefer to always find Endland from the middle of the ocean. To each his own, I suppose!

Let's get started, shall we?

Step 1: Close Your Eyes

The first thing you need to do when trying to get to Endland is simple. You need to close your eyes. Why? Because many people seem to have trouble believing when all they can see is the real world surrounding them. Closing your eyes allows you to use your imagination, to picture Endland in your mind's eye. Knowing where you're going is half the battle.

Step 2: Believe

As one grows older, this step becomes more and more difficult. It is, however, quite essential. If you don't believe in Endland, there is no way you can possibly find it. You see, it is quite fond of hiding from those with closed or shallow minds, only opening itself for those who it believes will love and care for it. In other words, it will only show itself to those who believe it exists. This is why closing one's eyes becomes so essential-- it allows even the non-believers to use their imaginations and begin to believe, even just a little bit.

Step 3: Picture A Door

With your eyes still shut, you must imagine a door standing before you. Shut. The door you imagine should be a closed door, not open. This is very important. If the door is not shut, or if you picture an open doorway, it will not work. However, so long as the door is closed, it can be any kind of door you'd like: the door of a wardrobe; a small, round door; a castle gate; an intricately carved wooden door-- the choice is yours. But keep in mind, the door must be closed.

Step 4: Open The Door

Once you have the door, and your destination, very clearly defined in your head, carefully open your eyes. Standing before you should be the door you were just picturing in your mind. It may or may not be shimmering with something that looks like glitter-- I assure you, it is not glitter, but neither is it anything to worry about. Now, as long as you have done the first three steps correctly, you should be able to reach out and physically touch the door your imagination has manifested. If you can do that, you can open the door, which is highly recommended if you would like to enter Endland, which is, indeed, the whole point of this instructional. So there you have it, reach out and open your door.

Step 5: Step Through The Door

Once you have opened the door, you should see Endland through the doorway. It is imperative that you continue to believe, otherwise the door, and Endland with it, may very well disappear. However, if the door does not disappear, I encourage you to step through it quickly. Once you have stepped through the door, it will disappear behind you, but you will be in Endland, just as you wished.

* * * * *

So there you have it, instructions on how to get to Endland. For the return journey, please see How to Return from Endland: A Beginner's Guide. I do hope you enjoy your stay in the realm of Fata.

Writing Doodle 016 - Endland 01

Endland sits at the edge of the world. I bet you thought the world was round. It is. Well, sort of. The human world is a globe, round. The realm of Fata, the faerie realm, as some have come to call it, however, is most certainly not round. It is quite flat, I assure you. Endland is at the eastern-most edge of Fata. It, of course, get's its name from being at the end of the world.

Really, Endland is quite beautiful. It has lush, green grass that covers much of the area with soft, rolling hills. Of course, there is a great number of flowers, as well. The flowers come in all colors, so long as the color is vibrant. Though, these can be dangerous-- their gentle beauty is misleading. And the trees! Don't even get me started! They are the most beautiful trees in all of existence! The trunks are a beautiful silvery blue, and with leaves of burnished gold, they shimmer throughout day and night. Then again, day and night tend to blend together into a never ending twilight. A lilac haze covers the sky as stars peek out, twinkling with delight along with their sister, the moon. And yet, it always feels as through the sun is there, warming you, smiling down on you.

Writing Doodle 015 - Octopus Kingdom Adventure

"You have to help me! My daughter's been taken! Please!"

"Slow down. Who took your daughter?"

"The- you won't believe me. But please, you have to help me! My daughter!"

Pinching the bridge of her nose, the woman sitting at the desk let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes, your daughter. You mentioned. Now, who took her." She was running out of patience.

"Ohhh you won't believe me! You won't. You'll think I'm crazy! My--"

"Look. Just tell me who took your daughter. Otherwise, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

A moment of shocked silence before the desperate mother continued. "It was.. It was the... The Octoradi."

This wasn't the first time she had heard of the Octoradi. The legend was about as well-known as the Happy Birthday song-- that is to say, everyone knew it. But it was supposed to be just a legend, not something real.

Lifting a slender eyebrow, she eyed the man standing in front of her. He didn't look like some desperate man, craving attention. Nor did he particularly look like some crazy homeless person, just looking for a way out of the cold for a bit. "The Octoradi, hmm? They say the Octopi have a secret kingdom in the middle of the ocean, connected to every body of water on Earth via portals they've built with their advanced technology. They say the Octopi that live in that kingdom are known as the Octoradi, that they take humans-- usually between the ages of seventeen and twenty-three-- for their celebrations, experiments... you name it, they use humans for it. Now, are you telling me that these...mythical beings have taken your daughter?"

"Ye-yes, Ma'am. Please... I knew you wouldn't believe me, but my...my daughter!"

Narrowing her eyes, the woman lit a cigarette. Blowing the smoke out into the room, she eyed the man once more. "Alright. I'll take the case. I'll find your daughter."

A Love Story: Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It wasn't so bad, being broken up, that is. We managed to kind of...be friends anyways, despite it all. I guess it seemed kind of weird, but it would have been worse to lose a friend, right? Well, the day after he broke up with me, he asked if I wanted to come over and watch a movie. I said sure. It was really awkward, though, I should never have said yes. We didn't really watch the movie-- just kind of talked a bit and stuff. I don't think either of us really wanted to be around one another. Once the movie was over, I went back to my apartment. I cried. It had been rough, seeing him like that, not being able to hug him, to kiss him.

A week or so went by-- maybe a week and a half. Either way, our friend Sadie was having a birthday party. Of course we were both going. In fact, we went together, despite still being broken up.

Now, I don't really drink that much, don't find much enjoyment in it. Just headaches. So I wasn't drinking. I had a sip or two of something, but mostly, I just sat around looking like a weirdo as the only one not drinking. 

I was sitting on the couch next to Todd-- did I mention his name was Todd? I guess I missed that. Kind of important. Anyways, his name was Todd and now you know. I didn't know most of the other people very well, if I knew them at all. And, being shy as I was, I was't interested in meeting them. At all. So I just stuck with what I knew, who I knew. Now, Todd was drinking. A lot. He was getting pretty drunk-- I'd never seen him drunk before. He was getting friendlier and friendlier. It was like he'd forgotten that he'd broken up with me. Not that I really minded, considering I was still pining for him like a loser.

We left pretty early, all things considered. The party was still raging, anyways. Since I was sober, I walked Todd back to his place-- I wanted to make sure he got there safe. I still cared about him, after all. I got him all the way up to his room, no major problems. Then he started saying things. Thing about me, about us. And, well, one thing led to another, and next thing I knew, we were banging.

* * * * *

I felt awful having slept with Todd while not in a relationship with him. It just wasn't me, not something I would have done. Except I did, and I am pretty sure it's because of him. After that, I kept spending a lot of time with him, but he seemed to regret sleeping with me that night even more than I regretted it. He was giving me the cold shoulder, basically, and it hurt, especially after that night.

There was a new guy living down the hall. His name was Jeff, and, honestly, he was pretty cute. Funny, too. I spent a lot of time with him, just chatting, really, while I was at Todd's dorm. I ended up having to spend the night a couple of times-- it snowed like crazy and no one could really get out. Classes had even been cancelled, which was insane, which meant it was too dangerous to walk the five blocks back to my own apartment. So I stayed. Working out in the common room, I got to talking with Jeff, and before I knew it, it was pretty late. Todd had gone to sleep and locked me out of the room, so I was on my own. I tried to sleep in the common room on the couch, but it was freezing out there, so I really didn't get much sleep.

Before long, it was Valentine's day. It had been about three weeks since Todd had broken up with me, but I was feeling fine. I was actually finally moving on. I think it was talking to Jeff that did it. He was just so nice and great to talk to. Actually, it was Valentine's day that he asked if I wanted to go ice skating with him the following Sunday. Of course, I said yes-- I freaking loved ice skating! I had been wanting to go since it had gotten cold enough for it. I was really looking forward to it. At the time, I didn't even think of it as what it probably was intended to be: a date.

That Saturday, I was chilling at Todd's dorm again. I told him that I was going to be going ice skating the following day with Jeff. His face darkened, and it's really difficult to describe what it was like. It was almost instant, and a little frightening. It was like he was super pissed at me for something. He explained about how Jeff was this major douchebag and some other stuff. I tried to tell him it wasn't a date-- I really didn't think it was-- I tried to tell him I'd cancel, but he stayed pissed, and I had no idea why. I didn't know what to do.

Todd slipped off his bunk to the floor, grabbed a jacket and just left. Just like that. I was freaking out. It was literally freezing outside. I called one of the girls who lived down the hall that Todd and I had befriended earlier in the year. She did what she could to comfort me, but it didn't seem like she really knew what to do either.

Eventually, with me crying on the floor and her sitting in Todd's desk chair, comforting me, Todd came back, still looking upset. She got up and left. He told me I shouldn't have let her sit in the chair-- that I shouldn't have been on the floor like I was. He still sounded just as angry. He explained that he almost didn't come back, that he'd considered staying out in the cold, letting himself die of hypothermia. That just made me cry all the more. We kept talking, I canceled the "date" with Jeff, who never talked to me again after that, really. But more importantly, Todd and I were back together.

Writing Doodle 014 - Stairs to Nowhere

Niko woke up, just like any other morning. She showered and got dressed, just like any other day. When she left her apartment, with her eyes on the steps so she wouldn't trip, she didn't notice the stairs waiting for her.

Flipping the hair out of her eyes, she finally brought her gaze up. The stairs glinted golden in the sunlight. Blinking once or twice and looking left and right, Niko wasn't sure that she was seeing something real. Curiosity pulled her forward, but caution made her steps slow. The stairs led up, but she couldn't see the top of them-- they disappeared into the clouds that seemed so surreal. 

Niko wondered, How could there be so many clouds and so much sunshine all at once? This was not normal, but that much was obvious. Carefully, with less caution than before, Niko lifted her hand and touched her banister of the stairs. It was cold, as metal tended to be. Looking up the spiral of the stairs again, Niko placed a foot on the first stair, and then the next and the next. Curiosity was driving her up the stairs.

After a good minute of climbing, Niko looked down, but there was nothing to see but clouds. She couldn't even see the stair she had been standing on just a second ago. Terror seized her, but she had no other option than to keep going.

It felt like hours later, maybe even a full day later, when Niko finally reached the top of the stairs. There just one person who seemed to be waiting for her at the landing. Niko stared at him-- if it was a him, though she couldn't quite tell. He offered her a comforting smile and waved his hand as if displaying something behind him, though Niko couldn't see anything. "Welcome to Nowhere," he said before turning and walking away.