As you probably know, I love writing. I even have an elective at school called creative writing! In this class we got a prompt for our next story. The prompt was, “I never believed unicorns existed until…” With this, I wrote a short story that I’ll share here…

The Unicorn

I never believed unicorns existed until now. Its glory in the distance radiated from the top of the cliff. The vibrant reds, oranges, and blues shone in the sunlight. All other pain and misery washed away. I needed to get to it! So I set off to find the beautiful unicorn in the distance.

Okay, here’s how I got to this beautiful moment: I was walking peacefully in the forest near my house this morning, away from my little sister’s birthday party. Screaming little kids are not my thing. The soft moss silenced my footsteps, which allowed me to hear the birds chirping in the distance. Sunlight filtered through the trees. A clearing appeared up ahead, and I rushed to it. A small cabin! How exciting! I had never been to this part of the forest. As I approached the cabin in the woods, a rough, burly voice from inside shouted, “WHO DARES TRESPASS ON MY PROPERTY???” A rather muscular and hairy old man wearing nothing but a small t-shirt and underwear lumbered out of the cabin, yelling and looking around. An ax swung from his belt, and the expression on his face was not one of content. “TRESPASSER!!!” The man screamed when he saw me. The chase was on.  

I bolted to the side, but the old man had the advantage of the clearing. He started to chase me, but within a few seconds, his knees began to give way beneath him.  

“Argh! My knees!” I heard as I continued to sprint away. I didn’t look back for what felt like hours, but I’m not a runner, so it was more like a few seconds. Quickly, the adrenaline- fueled sprint turned to a run, then a jog, then a walk. Well, more like a jog to a slow walk, considering my athletic ability.

I continued to walk in the now- peaceful forest. Every once in a while, I’d have to dodge a spider web or a swarm of mosquitoes, which was extremely annoying. Other than that, it was beautiful. Finally, I came upon another clearing. This one had a bunch of dead branches and tree trunks piled in the middle of it.  

I carefully picked my way to the top of the pile. In the top and center of the clearing, I could see the miles of forest around me. How far had I gone? I was starting to get hungry. A bluebird chirped in the trees above me. I smiled. Well, this wasn’t that bad, was it? I shifted my feet to get a better look at the bluebird. But upon doing this, a huge and painful splinter jabbed me in between my toes.  

“OW!” I shouted. Scared by the sudden noise, the bluebird I had just seen let out a big, wet poop– all over my head. I looked up at the source of the brown, liquidy mess in disgust. The bird pooped again, right in my eyes. I screamed and stumbled, right off the edge of the pile of dead wood. I landed on my butt with a *thud.* 

As I lay there in dismay, poop all over my head and face, butt aching, splinter painfully reminding me that it was still there, and mind replaying the scene of the under-dressed hairy old man, I realized this was NOT the beautiful nature walk I had signed up for. How had it gone so wrong go quickly? Then I heard the trickle of water in the distance. This meant I could wash off in the nearby creek!

Hurriedly standing up, I blindly followed the sound of rushing water. I got louder and louder until… I stepped off the edge of the water bank next to the river, and face- planted into the watery mud. Ouch. Crawling a few more feet in the mud, I was able to get into deeper water, or mud, whichever you want to call it. It took a while, but I was finally able to wash off the poop and take out the splinter. I ended up only slightly muddy, too! I had no problem with that, since I knew people got facial mud masks all the time. So, I got out of the river on the bed of leafy plants that surrounded the creek, and kept walking. Once again, it was peaceful. I could see a cliffside in the distance, and despite my previously stated horrible experience in this forest, it wasn’t all that bad.  

I itched my arms and legs, which didn’t seem to like mud water. A hot shower at home was more my style. Anyway, now I turn back to the original scene- the sparkling, colorful unicorn on the cliff, standing proudly. The unicorn had a beautiful, glittery shine to it, and… I just needed to get a better look at it! So, I arrived at the bottom of the cliff. It wasn’t all that steep, anyway. As a skilled and determined rock climber, I set off on my journey to see the unicorn. But before I set off, I made sure to wipe my sweaty hands down. Wow, I sure was itchy! I scratched my face. Then arms. And legs. Why was I so terribly itchy? Hmm. I’d better set off, anyway!

One rock, two rocks, three rocks, I continued to grind on. It was now hot outside, and I was sweating. I scaled higher. How long had it been? No matter. I kept going. So many boulders passed my line of vision I lost count. My hands now ached, but I needed to see that unicorn! The footholds were getting smaller and smaller as I climbed up. Was I nearing the top? It had probably been about twenty minutes now… I was probably almost there, anyway. Let me look down, and see how I’m doing…

I had gone three feet off the ground. 

With a defeated sigh, I dropped to the ground. And itched a little bit more. Thankfully, before I started climbing again, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye. A smooth piece of metal jutted out of the cliff side. A small button lay to the side of it, with a small ‘up’ arrow. Well, what the heck? I pressed the button, sighing dramatically, and then itched some more.

“Ding!” The elevator had arrived. The doors opened to show a small but tidy platform, with steel rails and mirrors on all sides. I stepped inside. Some lame jazz music played, the squeaky doors closed, and I started going up. And up and up. A little more itching. And the elevator kept going. I still couldn’t believe I was going to see an ACTUAL unicorn! At least, once I reached the top…

“Ding!” The elevator doors opened, and I stepped out on the top of the cliff. There it was! The unicorn- 

Wait… what was THAT? 

It was a skinny albino cow, finger painted with bright colors, glitter splattered all over its face and body. A melting ice cream cone was stuck on its forehead. REALLY?!? I had gone all this way to see a traumatized, painted skinny cow?!? Also, who had happened this to this poor creature? I sighed and looked away from the sorry sight. Upon looking away, I spotted a nearby kids’ birthday party- oh, I guess I had ended up back at home, then. I looked away from them, too, since they were probably the creators of that mess. Something below the cliff line caught my eye. It was a… unicorn? Another one? No, it was probably another skinny cow. But it looked more natural, more beautiful… No. Who was I kidding? I’d better get home. Looking back at the kids’ party, I could see my house. Finally! I could go home after this horrendous day! So, I headed home. 

The next day, my dad brought the paper into the kitchen, shouting, “Honey, look! In the paper, it says that a real- live unicorn was captured by some kids at a nearby birthday party below the cliff line right by our house! We could have been rich! And famous! I only wish we could have seen it first… ah, well. What’s done is done.”