CHAPTER ONE: The Tree

Lilly and Anthony were twins who slept in the same room, and every night, their father would tell them a special story about the mysterious tree before they went to sleep. This is how it went:

One summer day in New York City, one boy and his neighbor were practicing for a baseball game they had tomorrow. They were both 12 years old and were best friends for all of their lives. One boy named Daniel, who was the pitcher on his baseball team, was playing with Nathan, who was the first baseman on the team. There were dogs and cats playing, cars honking, and everyone was having a great time. Daniel threw a curveball at Nathan, who then blasted a home-run.

Daniel yelled at Nathan, “Nice hit!”

The baseball rolled and rolled until it hit this small golden rock. This rock rolled down the hill until it reached a tree. There was a small hole at the bottom of the tree, and the rock rolled in. The boys crawled into the inside of the tree, never to be seen again. Some say the tree is just fake, and there is just a hole under the tree where victims fall in, but some say the boys are still in the tree today. Personally, I think the tree is magical. Many daring people have tried to go in the tree, but none of them have returned. Today, there are security guards stopping people from going into the tree.

“Good night, Lilly. Good night, Anthony.”

Lilly and Anthony both were fake sleeping but right when their father stepped out of the door, they got up and planned and planned all night. They always wanted to go inside the tree, but now they were old enough. They planned to get inside the tree and see what was actually in the tree.

CHAPTER TWO: The Portal

The next morning, Lilly and Anthony heard their father coming upstairs, and they raced to their beds to pretend like they were sleeping all night.

“Good morning, Lilly. Good morning, Anthony.”

“Good morning, Dad.”

“Wake up. You have to go to school. Make your own breakfast because I have to go. I have a meeting in an hour, and it is in New Jersey. Walk to school by yourself today.”

Lilly and Anthony’s dad told his children that he was a busy, but successful, businessman who had little time with his children because he was so busy.

As soon as their dad went out the door, Anthony and Lilly wolfed down their breakfast and set off for their journey to the tree. There was no way they were going to school today because they needed to see this tree.

They arrived at the park, and they could see the tree and all the security guards in the distance. Since they planned overnight, they knew exactly what they were going to do. They were to climb the tree next to it and jump into the tree from above, since there was an opening at the top.

They were climbing and climbing, and, suddenly, a big chunk of the tree fell and made a loud boom. Luckily, none of the guards heard, except for one who turned around and saw nothing. The guard looked somewhat familiar.

Anthony whispered to Lilly, “Phew, that was close!” They jumped all the way to the tree and saw a glowing portal. Anthony and Lilly jumped in and…

CHAPTER THREE: No Going Back

Anthony and Lilly both said at the same time, “Where are we?”

They looked around and saw a rainbow, and waterfalls, and fruit trees. and flowers, and everything looked beautiful. But they looked around and saw people. However, there were two kids that first caught their eye. One was holding a ball, and one was holding a baseball bat. They were the boys that their father told them about. The boys that played baseball and hit the golden rock!

They looked around and saw some other random people. There were some old and clumsy people who must’ve fallen in the hole on accident. There were also some adventurous looking people. Lilly told Anthony about how their father said some other people also went into the tree and never returned. But the more they looked around, they realized that all of the people had frowns on their faces, and they were all looking down. They all looked so sad. Lilly and Anthony wondered why because this island looked wonderful to live on. They decided to go home and tell their father about this place and how it isn’t as bad as everyone thought. But there was one problem. They couldn’t. They looked around all over the island and asked everyone how to leave.

Everyone they asked said as if it were obvious, “We are all stuck. There is no possible way to leave.” They couldn’t find another portal to lead them back. They were stuck there forever! That’s why all of the people there were so sad.

“Dad where are you?” Lilly shouted, nervously. There was no answer.

Anthony then said, “I guess we’re stuck here for…”

Then, they heard something from a fruit tree behind them.

“I am mumble, mumble, here!” As they got closer to the tree, they could hear it more and more clear. “Anthony and Lilly, right here!”

CHAPTER FOUR: Thank You, Dad!

“I’ll explain,” their dad said. “I was the security guard who turned around when the bark fell when you guys were climbing the tree.” Anthony and Lilly were speechless.

“I thought you were a businessman!”

Their dad explained how he told them that so they wouldn’t be worried about him. “I saw you when I turned. However, I was curious to see what you guys were going to do. When I saw you jump in the tree, I was so surprised. But I care about you children, and I jumped in and tried to save you.”

Anthony and Lilly were so confused.

“Enough with that, let’s go home,” Lilly responded.

“We can’t!”

“What do you mean?” Anthony answered.

“Ummmm, there is no portal or door to lead us out.”

“Surely, we could make one.” So, they gathered all the sticks and fruit and flowers on the island, and they worked all day, and finally they made it.

Anthony yelled, “One, two, three, jump!” And they did.

CHAPTER FIVE : The Secret

The next thing they knew, they were back home. Lilly was so happy, and suddenly she had an idea.

“We could tell everyone and make millions. Also, we could save everyone who’s stuck.”

“NOOOO!” Anthony and his dad both yelled.

“Why not?”

“Because no one would ever believe us, and if you look out the window, the park added more guards covering the whole tree. There is no way to go back,” Anthony explained.

Then, their dad said, “It could be our family secret, and we will never ever tell anybody.” And they never did.