The Twilight Wish
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Parents are tyrants! They send me to bed when I'm wide awake. They make me come home when I'm playing with my friends. They enslave me with their demands for chores and homework. Parents are the worst. Every child has had that thought at one point or another. What if our parents were gone? What if they just… disappeared? We'd finally have freedom. No curfew¸ no bed time¸ we could eat whatever we want. In short: paradise. Sure¸ it's a fleeting thought. It's immediately replaced with the many realizations of a parentless world. Who would make me dinner and help me with my homework? More importantly: Who would love me and keep me safe? As quickly as the thought of a parentless world enters your mind¸ it's gone. But… What if that momentary wish came true? What if your parents were taken? Tonight¸ as you and your friends drift to sleep¸ you all make that wish. You all have your reasons. Perhaps you were grounded. Maybe you threw a very justified tantrum after your parents wouldn't listen to your legitimate excuse for getting home late. Whatever reason¸ someone listened and granted your wish. Lady Dormia¸ Queen of Torpor¸ has taken your parents to her realm known as the Night Kingdom. She always has a use for new subjects. A strange little door appears on the wall and opens within the shadows of your parents' room. Weird creatures¸ the Queen's minions¸ hobble and shuffle out from the newly formed doorway. They quietly tiptoe around your parents' bed and gaze upon their targets. They hop up onto the bed and dogpile their prey¸ gagging them and pulling them onto the floor. The creatures heft their captured victims over their collective heads. These little monsters are so small that it takes about four or five to heft up each person. They then haul them through the shadow door¸ which closes right behind them. You awaken to a clap of thunder outside of your bedroom window. It must have been a nightmare. Searching the house for your parents¸ you find them gone. Could the dream have been real? Upon checking the unlit corners of your parents' room¸ you confirm it: the shadow door from your dream. You rush back to your room¸ shove what you can into a backpack¸ and open the strange door. Without another thought¸ you crouch and step through the door. On the other side¸ you find a small wooded clearing with a dimly lit fire in the center of it. Some of your friends are there as well. Your parents aren't the only ones that were kidnapped. Any human within the Night Kingdom must leave through the Door before sunrise or else they will become permanent subjects of the Queen. They will contort and shift to her whim¸ becoming strange dreamlike denizens and obey her every command. Time is counting down. Can you take back your wish in time?