The Dark Woods of Alexander Bay

By Rachel D.
Miss Preusz's 4th grade class
November 2004

The car stopped and Alexander stepped out, and his curly black hair waved under the little light remaining. His parents, Hilda and Henery Swenson, stepped out behind him, tired and stressed from the long four hour drive to Henery's inherited house from his great-great-great-great-great uncle Harold.

Alexander stared up at the old mansion towering above him. the mansion was made of solid gray stone with a gray brick chimney going up out of it.

When Alexander touched the silver knob, a shiver of fear was sent up his spine. He turned the knob and the door made a big "Thudd!" as if it hadn't been opened for centuries. As Alexander pushed the door open and it made a powerful screech.

As Alexander stepped into his new home, he found his 21 year-old sister Ashley and 7 year-old sister Angela, who had come in a separate taxi. Ashley had curly black hair, and Angela had straight blond hair.

Alexander looked around himself and stared at the dusty cobwebs hanging off blood red wallpaper. The floor had an eerie black reflection from the ceiling with an S on it for Swenson. A spiral staircase going 3 stories up caught his eye, and the brick red carpet going up it.

Angela ran up the staircase and yelled down, "Hey, Curly Face, I found the perfect room for you!" She called him by his nickname, Curly Face. Alexander answered back with a "One second!" as h moved toward the family crest that was pasted on the walls. "Now!" Angela screamed at the top of her lungs. "All right, all right." Alexander answered back as he slowly climbed the stairs, step by step.

As soon as he got to the top of the staircase, Angela led him to a small crawl-through space. Angela crawled in first, followed by Alexander. Alexander stood up and looked around; he was surrounded with black curls, like his (on the wallpaper). Angela pushed him against the wall, and as he hit it said in an extraordinarily odd voice, "Yup, you'll fit right in."

Alexander grabbed Angela's hands before she knocked him into something again. "Help!" Alexander heard someone scream. It was Ashley. Alexander let go of Angela's hands and before she could hit the ground, Alexander was shooting down the hall toward the room the bathtub was in.

There's no toilet!" Ashley repeated over and over again as if it was the worst thing in the world. "Of course not," Alexander was interrupted by Angela, "What do you mean, 'of course not'?" Angela said as she dusted off her purple jeans and polka-dot t-shirt. Alexander looked at Angela and back to Ashley. "What I mean is, this place is old, and old places have out-houses. In this case, it is out by the cemetery." "Cemetery!" both girls exclaimed, "Eww, gross!" and ran off ion the direction of the cemetery. Of course they ran off in the direction of the biggest and 'prettiest' tombstone.

Alexander stopped at one tombstone and then another, and another. Soon, Alexander stopped at the center tombstone. It was about 10 feet high and made of cold marble stone, and all he could make out, carved faintly into the stone, was a poem, the initials of who died, and when he or she had died. It read:

Underneath the shadows of the trees,
I sit and listen to the rustling leaves,
As the stone falls into place,
I disappear without a trace.

H.S. ___ - 1849

Alexander stared in amazement as he thought of where it might take place. "Trees!" he yelled out in glee. The only place with trees was the woods near Alexander Bay. He yelled over to Ashley, who was an expert on tombstones.

Alexander yelled over to Ashley again and saw the stunned look on her face. "What's the matter?" Alexander asked in a worried voice. "The stone moved. Well, the stone I was sitting on, it, just moved." Ashley answered in a shaken voice. "What!?" Alexander said as if it wouldn't happen in a million years. "I'll show you." She answered in an annoyed voice.

She sat ont he stone again and it fell into the ground and opened a space in the tombstone. Alexander lowered himself down in order to see in. Inside, he found a diary, a dark green stone,and small box with a key inside.

Alexander stood up quickly and ran into the woods. Angela looked at Ashley and shrugged and ran into the woods after him. Ashley ran after Angela and, dodging branches, yelled, "Alexander, this isn't funny!" No answer. "Alexander!" Still no reply.

Both girls reached a small clearing and found Alexander staring at a small marble chair. Angela stepped forward and said to Alexander, "I don't think this is a good idea." "I know what I'm doing!" Alexander said in an unpleasant voice as he sat on the chair.

Alexander felt the back of the chair as if he were looking for something. He found it. Alexander dropped the stone he found earlier into a small hole, and put the key in a keyhole, and before anyone could do anything, he twisted the key and disappeared.

Angela squeezed Ashley's hand, being very scared for her only brother. Both girls searched around the chair, under trees, looking for Alexander. Ashley looked in the diary. At first it was blank, and then a note appeared. It said:

To find something,
Over my head,
Go to where
Rest the dead.

Both girls ran to the cemetery and found a headstone. It read:

Alexander Swenson

The End



It reminds me so much of how I wrote stories a year ago, heck, even now. Overusing "and" and commas, and even the word order. At least I've improved on paragraphing. And drawings.
I remember in fourth grade I was so proud of this... I'm glad I found it again. : )