I think I'll... JUMP! (Mad House Plot - Sarella)

„The leaves have turned red and orange outside.“ I can hear myself saying while I look outside the window facing the backside of the house. It is nice in the backyard. There is a big lawn where we can play if we feel like playing and there are a few big trees where people sometimes climb on. I don’t climb on trees. I would be far too afraid that I would loose grip and fall back down to the ground. That would hurt and I don’t like being hurt. I wince and cringe at the pure thought of pain. I’ve had enough pain in my life and I don’t want to hurt any more. Never again. I shake my head and try to think about something else. “Another leave falls to the ground from the tree to the very left.” , I say. It is so beautiful outside and I really would like to go outside. It would be fun to make a big pile of leaves and then jump inside, making a big mess in the garden. But the leaves already lie all over the place. A total chaos. It’s great.

I decide to run downstairs. I want to go outside but I’ll need to get permission. I’m not allowed to leave the house without permission. I’m not even allowed to go into the garden without permission even though I think that’s stupid. I don’t leave the premises and they can always see where I am while I’m outside in the garden. I wouldn’t just run away. I just want to go outside into the garden… But I don’t argue anymore. I got into big trouble that one time when I left the house without asking for permission. I had just gone to the garden and had hidden between some trees surrounding our garden. Madame Faerxel found me after some hours and was really upset. I don’t really understand why she was so angry with me. I just wanted to have a little bit of time to myself. It’s so hard to have alone time in the house. There are so many other kids running around on the floors and peeking into the rooms to find someone to play that you basically never had time for yourself. You were never alone.

I can see myself almost stumble on the last step of the crooked staircase. I know that the last step is a little bit off the regular measurements and I know that I have to be especially careful when walking down this step but I almost all the time forget about this. I always stumble and thing about it afterwards. „The last step still hasn’t been fixed…” , I remark as I walk through the rooms downstairs to find the Madame to tell her I want to go outside. The first three rooms I look into are empty. Well not empty empty, some of the other people that are living here are in the rooms. Some of them are reading, others doing homework and as I look into the last room I can see that the two kids inside are playing some kind of game. “You are not the one I’m looking for…” , I say and close the door again. Finally, behind the forth door I open, I can see Madame Faerxel. She is sitting on the floor, reading a story to one of the smaller kids living here. I mean, I’m not very old myself, but this girl is a lot smaller than I am. I lean against the doorframe and listen to Madame Faerxels soft and soothing voice. “I like your voice.” , I say without really thinking about the fact, that I again just commented on something happening around me. I do this a lot and I can’t help it. I didn’t mean to interrupt the story but of course Madame Faerxel stops reading and lifts her gaze to look at me. “Can I help you, sweetheart?” , she asks and tilts her head a little. I take a step back and shoot an apologetic look at the little girl. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt. The story was really nice and I really like this story but I also really want to go outside.” , I hear my voice ringing through the small room. “I don’t like my voice. It’s a lot rougher than yours is.” , I comment and still look at Madame Faerxel. “Can I go outside?” , I ask and still look straight at her. I ignore the whining of the young girl because she wants to hear the rest of the story. I want to know if I was allowed to go outside. “I just want to go into the garden in the back of the house. I promise not to run away. I just want to play in the leaves.” , I specify and wait for her answer while I anxiously step from one foot to the other. Madame Faerxell thinks about my request for a second. “Too long…” , I moan. Then , “Finally!” , she starts to talk: “Just in the back, where I can see you. If you run away that was the last time you’re allowed to go outside on your own.” I nod and smile big. “No running away, did you hear me, Miss Klopsk?” I nod again and turn to leave the room. “Yes I understand.” , I say, turning my head a bit so she can see that I’m serious.

I almost run to the door that opens up to the backyard. It flies open and I run into the middle of the yard, giggling and jumping around. “It’s so nice out here.” , I yell and smile big as I take a hand full of leaves and throw them above my head. I turn madly round and round and round again while the leaves fall back to the ground all around me. Again and again I repeat this little game. I think I could go on like this for hours, just stand here, toss leaves and watch them fall back to the ground. “It’s so unpredictable. No matter how often I throw the leaves into the air, they never return to the ground the same way they did the last time.” After a while I get bored and look for something else to do. I look at the big trees where I hid the one time when I got in trouble with Madame Faerxell. For a second I think about going there again to see whether I could find something interesting there but then I remember my promise: I promised not to leave the backyard. I promised and I would receive a severe punishment if I broke that promise, so I drop that idea. I don’t want to risk not being able to go into the garden on my own. “Madame Faerxell is a really nice lady but she can be very strict. I’m sure she would carry out the punishment if I broke my promise.”

Instead of leaving the garden, I start piling the leaves underneath the big tree in the middle of the garden. It takes a while since I only have my two hands to carry the leaves but eventually a big pile of leaves lies beneath the tree. I smile and clap my hands while looking at the result of my work. “A big pile of leaves… what do I do now?” , I hear my voice, but I’ve already decided what to do next. I take a few steps back, a big smile appearing on my face. “What do I want to do? I think I’ll…. JUMP!” , I yell and start running full speed towards the pile of leaves before I jump right into the middle of it. The leaves start flying into every direction, making a big mess in the garden and thus destroying the work of half an hour of picking and piling leaves. But the fun was well worth it!

Word count: 1339