Arianna's Time-Warp
Once upon a time, there was a small village named Westwood that was nestled between a benevolent forest and a tranquil river. This idyllic haven was the home of little Arianna, a 12-year-old girl with sparkly green eyes and curly chestnut hair. She was loved by all villagers especially for her beautiful singing voice and her infallible curiosity.
One day, by the riverbank, Arianna discovered a hidden path concealed behind sprawling wisteria and ivy. Following the path, she came across a dilapidated old mansion. It was big and shrouded in an eerie silence. The sight piqued her curiosity and despite the evolving weather and looming darkness, she entered the mansion.
Inside, the mansion bore a desolate look, but resonated with a strange kind of energy. Instinctively Arianna was drawn to an azure painting that was hanging on the wall amidst the decay. As she looked keenly at it, she realized it depicted the forest and the river beside her village, but there was something inordinately peculiar about it. All of a sudden, it started to glow. Bright and luminous. It gently rose from the wall and floated mid-air. Terrified yet intrigued, Arianna reached out a trembling hand and touched the painting. The moment she did so, she was sucked into the glowing image.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing next to the serene river and the tranquil forest, just as it was portrayed in the painting. However, the village of Westwood was nowhere in sight. There were buildings she had never seen before, made of glass and steel touching the sky. She saw strange machines flying around, and people dressed in unusual clothes. Arianna knew she had travelled, but not in space... in TIME.
Arianna spent weeks in this strange land, in the future. She learned about the wonders and pitfalls of technology, about the good and bad it brought to Westwood. Amidst all of this, she also learned about an impending disaster that was about to strike her village in the future. A great flood was to sweep through the village, and her beloved Westwood would be destroyed. Panicked, Arianna raced back to the mansion desperately hoping the painting would take her back.
Back in the mansion, she found the painting still floating, but it had stopped glowing. Arianna pleaded with it, her tears splashing onto the canvas. Right then, the painting shivered and started to glow again. Arianna found herself back in her own time, in the heart of her beloved village, Westwood.
She rallied the villagers and galvanized them into preventive action. It took a lot of persuading, convincing and relentless efforts to make these villagers believe in a future not yet arrived, and a disaster not yet felt. They eventually built barriers, fortified their homes and moved their precious artifacts and resources to higher grounds.
Weeks passed and the day that was foreseen in the future arrived. Dark clouds rolled from the horizon and the skies opened up with relentless torrential rain. The river swelled and threatened to spill over. But thanks to Arianna's urgency and the villagers' effort, the calamity was averted. Westwood suffered minimum loss and maximum salvation. Everyone hailed Arianna as their savior, the one who averted a catastrophe.
From that day forth, Arianna lived with a new understanding of time and destiny. She became a spirited leader in her community, reminding everyone of the power of unity and forethought. She often visited the old mansion, and even though she never travelled through time again, that was her special place, a monument to an unforgettable adventure.