Explorer

This is a work of fiction, no real places, people or events were used in this story. Copyright 2011 Plot Roach.

Explorer
By Plot Roach

“Hey, Dad!” Jacob yelled at the top of the stairs. “Do you want to come and play catch with me?”

“I’m busy now, Jacob.” Dad said. “Why don’t you go play fetch with your dog?” Dad was too busy looking at a computer screen and typing to look at Jacob. If he had stopped for a moment to face his son, he would have seen Jacob’s face fall in disappointment shortly before he headed back downstairs and to the living room.

“Hey, Mom.” said Jacob. “Do you want to play with me?”

“Not right now, son.” She said, her eyes glued to the television set. “Mommy’s watching one of her shows right now. Maybe later, okay?”

“But what am I supposed to do?” he asked. “I’m bored.”

“Why don’t you go outside and play for a while, but don’t get dirty and be sure to be back by five for dinner, okay?”

“Sure, Mom.”

Jacob went outside, and whistled for Max, his dog. He ruffled the dog’s dark fur and snuck him a cookie he had hidden in his pocket. “I guess it’s just us today, boy.” Jacob said, strolling out into the yard. He had wished that one of his parents could have come to play with him. They could have gone to the park, a much bigger place to play in with swings and slides. Or even a trip to the library, where stories surrounded him trapped up in the books that held them. Anything was preferable to this small, shabby backyard.

“Use your imagination”, Mom often scolded when he was bored and trapped in the house on rainy days. He looked to Max, who had nothing to add to the conversation other than a doggish grin.

“Let’s play Explorer.” he said to Max, who only waved his thick black tail in agreement.

Jacob took an old wooden rake and leaned it against the wall of the house. He handled it carefully, for the rake’s wooden handle was splintered with weather and age. “Okay, Max” he whispered to the dog, “once we go through the door here” he said, tapping the rake “we’ll be in another world.” He loved to play this game and often pretended that he was from one of these strange places, and had been kidnapped as a baby to go live in his house on Earth with those odd people he called parents.

Jacob went first and had to bribe the dog with another cookie from his pocket before his furred friend would crawl through the slight space between the rake and the house.

Once through, Jacob imagined that the world that they had “discovered” had a reddish colored sky, with purple grass and chunks of mountains that floated on clouds.

For hours boy and dog roamed through this alien wilderness. They encountered strange creatures like elephant sized cows and giraffes with wings. And when the ice cream van came around, it was filled to the brim with goodies -and all of it was free for boys who had dogs with them.

They rambled the land and picked wildflowers that made a tinkling noise like bells when he smelled them. And when they walked on the grass it whispered jokes to them.

Jacob looked at his watch: “Fifteen minutes to go until dinner” he said to Max. “Looks like I should go back inside and clean up.”

He patted the dog on the head, his heart now heavy since he had to leave his play world behind. The dog followed him through the “gate” on the side of the house, but the sky was still red. “It’s just sunset.” Jacob said to himself. “Maybe Mom and Dad are right, maybe I need to grow up.”

Jacob walked up to the back door of the house, Max whining behind him. “I’ll be back tomorrow.” he said, ruffling the dog’s fur and tossing him the last cookie from his pocket. “And we’ll play Explorer tomorrow.”

Jacob turned the doorknob and walked through the back hallway to the downstairs bathroom. He washed his hands and checked his reflection in the mirror, hoping that Mom wouldn’t scold him too much for the dust on his clothes.

He went to the dinner table and waited for Mom and Dad. He thought back to the adventures of the day and wished that they had not had to end. Or even better, he thought, that Mom and Dad were there too. When Mom and Dad came into the room, holding up trays of dinner, Jacob was surprised. Both were happy and smiling, like they had heard a really funny joke. When they set the food down, Jacob saw that the backed chicken was a strange blue color and the corn on the cob was green. He looked up to his parents, smiling at the joke that they had played on him. “Very funny.” he said. “But everyone knows that baked chicken is a golden brown and that corn is yellow.” And then realized, as he looked out the window behind them that there were mountains floating like clouds. His father turned to him, patting him on the shoulder and said: “It’s good to have you home, son.” Mom just smiled and piled his plate high with strange colored food. He took a bite of chicken, then of the corn, and he was surprised that they tasted ten times better here than they had in that other world he had once called home. And through the window, far off into the distance, he could swear that he saw a flying giraffe.