"Kingdom of Crain" by Natalia G

      Hidden away in an unknown domain lies one of the most vast, striking realms of the universe theKingdom of Crain. Crain is mapped out to be a somewhat of an elliptically shaped land, encased in a large white dome that displays pale pink artwork on it. The right side of the kingdom contains the dark grey headquarters for the guards of the land, while the left side holds the grand, solid gold castle that houses the royal family. A pale pink carpet, which separates the right and left side of the kingdom, leads from the entrance of the golden castle down to the front, sharktoothed gates. Scattered on both sides of the carpet are drab cottages which house the commoners.

     Because the kingdom is encased in the dome, it is uncertain to anyone what surrounds its lands. The royal family claims that the gloomy outside world is run down with thorns and thick, black vegetation that could claw and grasp onto travelers and hold them captive until death by starvation and dehydration. The only look into what lays on the outside of the kingdom can be seen through the limited cracks and brief openings of the sharktoothed front gates of the dome, which only open once every year. Much to the accord of the royal family, commoners claim that they only see darkness when looking through the cracks and openings of the gates. Attempts have been made to escape Crain, but to no avail. Every failed escapee tried to flee in various ways that began and ended in the same result. On a day in which the front gates opened, the escapees would walk down from the golden castle gates, after much deliberation and failed requests from the royal family, down the pale pink carpet to the front sharktoothed gates of the dome. If the royal family's guards hadn't shot them down by the time they had reached the front gates, then they would have to sprint out of the gates before the teeth snapped down and bit them in half. If they were quick enough to escape the jaws, the gates would then be reopened and the guards would run in pursuit, where they would discover the escapee held down in the thick, black vegetation, and the guards would have beaten them, brought them back into the kingdom, and kept them in the golden castle's dungeon.

     No one has escaped Crain yet, anyways. I, however, may be the first to do so. My family has locked me away in the castle my whole life, claiming that they were "doing what was best for me" and that "I am too young to know what I want" and that "I am just confused about things". So, I have seventeen years of plotting, studying, and determination that have been building up. The only day of the year that I am allowed to explore the kingdom is the day in which the gates are opened. On this day, the castle's door is unlocked and I am permitted to travel throughout the kingdom, so long as I do not interact with others. Because I am granted this one day at an attempt to attain my freedom, I have been mapping out my escape plan. When I am trapped inside the golden castle, I try to go into the security quarters and study various ways to bypass the systems. I have even figured out how to turn off the sharktoothed gates' system, thus I will be able to keep the front gates from closing on me. The two things holding me back from attaining my freedom and serenity are my family and fear. This is so, for, my family members are not commoners, nor guards they are the royal family. They claim they mean well and they believe that they are sheltering me from harm, but they just do not understand that I want to be free, that I want to be happy. By them limiting my freedom, I am incapable of living my life to the fullest. Thus, I have become numb to various feelings, such as love, joy, and serenity. Instead, I only feel anger, depression, betrayal, and bitter dislike. However, on the one day where I am able to leave the confines of the golden castle, I sense a renewed feeling of fear. For, on those days of partial freedom, adrenaline rushes through my veins as I come face to face with the entrance of Crain's front, open gates. In those moments, I tell myself that I could just go out and be free, but it is the sense of renewed fear that holds me back. This fear has a few components. The fear of pain, both physical and psychological. The fear of failure, both incapability to go through with it and incapability to achieve it. And, the component of fear in which dominated the other two, the fear of the unknown. What happens after I come out and achieve freedom? What lies on the other side of the thick vegetation? Will I be alone? Will it even be worth it?

     Even these two factors cannot forever hold me back from my freedom and serenity. Soon, I will escape. And, when I do, I hope I discover that, by taking the chance, it was worth it in the end, for I hope there are infinite opportunities in the life of the rest of the universe.