Emma arrived.
After only taking 5 hours Emma finally reached a vast green forest that seemed to go upward from a distance. The air had smelt nothing like that pollution from the city. There was wonderful fresh air, and natural smelly trees. It was truly a delight to Emma's noise.
The 16-year-old girl had been nothing but excited. How couldn't she? She hadn't ever been to this place before; it was uncharted lands for Emma!
Emma gleefully skipped to the forest, being met by many families and even some tourists looking folk who were doing all sorts of things.
"Mountain Foothold Pond, where could you be!" Emma shouted in her head, with a ginormous smile.
She had searched and searched all around the Chugach mountain's foothold, almost losing herself from where she had come from multiple times. She even considered climbing the mountain a little to find where this pond might be.
At some point Emma decided to have a little break and explore the forest a little. How could a small break like that affect finding that golden rock pond anyways?
Emma cheerfully jeered to the thought, if anyone ever saw this Emma would want to kill herself on the spot. Thus, Emma's exploration begins!
It was already nearing night when Emma finally felt like it was enough, she had explored only about miles of the forest, yet it felt like so much already.
Seeing the sun about to fall, Emma was about to give up finding that specific pond today. It was going to be a later mission.
Should she though? Emma has time, the only thing that stops her is herself. Emma didn't want to regret missing this chance of getting a big reward, but it was already night.
"To flip with it!" Emma was going to try it at least one more time, then she would admit defeat for today, and sleep.
So, she did, Emma began searching the mountain's foothold yet again, and while she was doing so Emma wondered to herself what this prize could even be?
A car?
A free trip?
Money? This seemed like the most likely answer to Emma, and she was more than happy to take that too.
As she passed through some trees, night was hurrying it way over, the sun had nearly fallen from the sky, passing on to a different part of the world. And right in front of her stood a pond, one that she passed by many times now.
But now this pond glowed like a sun, had she found it already?! Emma thought about it for a bit, then decided it must be the pond she was looking for.
There were no others that looked like this after all!
Emma set down the light metal suitcase and sat down on the edge of the pond, now that she had found all Emma had to do was wait!
And wait.
And wait.
By now it felt like hours had passed by, Emma herself almost fell asleep in front of this pond multiple times.
"When will the owner of this box come already?" Emma sighed, she was bored out of her mind, what was she supposed to do now?
All Emma did was think about random things she occasionally saw, Luna and her gang of not bright lights, and the silly name for this box.
"Who calls their box a wishing box anyways?" Emma chuckled, then sighed. Emma had to go home soon. Her mom must be beyond worried for her!
Just the thought of the trouble Emma might be in made her shutter.
Emma took the metallic suitcase with her and called it a day! She was going to try again some other time.
After another 4-hour drive, Emma felt like she was going to fall asleep at any moment, but at least she arrived in the city already, and unfortunately the wretched smell invaded her noise once again.
This city of flowers, such a sham of a nickname!
If anything, the city smelled like a mechanically flower emitting gasoline instead of pollen.
Such a stupid name for a city.
SQUASH!
Emma looked down towards her shoe, she had accidentally stepped on an ant. Emma's mood immediately dampened, she was regretful. She hadn't meant to end this innocent ant's life.
It was just trying to go somewhere, and she killed it on the bland concrete sidewalk.
Amidst her silent regret, Emma grew ragefully towards herself. This was the type of stuff that Luna would do, not her!
Emma stared at the ants squished body. "I wish it could have been Luna who was squished on, that way evil would have been eradicated instead of an innocent life."
She continued to walk onwards, at some point the suitcase in her felt warm. It felt like a sudden warm breeze to Emma, who was walking around in the cold city.
A reminder of how much a great day it was in the repeating nightmare called her life.
Emma smiled. She continued her walk with the metal suitcase swish in her hand.
Emma finally reached her apartment where her mother, a stressed woman with neatly combed dark hair, and frantic black eyes, looked towards Emma as she ended a call with someone.
"EMMA!" Her mother came in to hug her, then immediately let go with a stiff expression on her face.
"Where have you been? What were you doing?! Do you know how worried I was?! Dont ever- "Her mother calmed down a bit when she looked at her daughter who had an odd smile.
"Know what never mind, all that matters is that she's happy. All of this time, this little lad had been like a small dim rock, lying to me like a haughty kangaroo when I tried to pry why. I'll let this slide just this once." Emma's mother said in her heart, letting Emma go.
"I don't mind you coming back late to have fun, but not this late. Don't ever do this again, got it. Something could have happened to you." Emma's mother said in a softer tone, her face looking more relaxed.
"Got it!" Emma found this weird outcome as a gift from heaven! She had expected this in the slightest.
Emma went to her small bland room with her bed and slept. And just before she did, she reminded herself that the nightmare called school was going to start again tomorrow.
She missed the warm breeze.