A Pinecone of Unreal

By: Ramsie Chan

It all started with a pinecone.

“Keep this safe, love,” coughed Granny as she handed me a pinecone. Granny had gray messy hair, her eyes no longer had the warm shine, and her smile was almost like a grimace. Granny had suffered from leg cancer, and it’s spreading. She won’t be able to survive.

“A pinecone?” I asked.

“Not just a pinecone,” added Granny, “ find out yourself.”

Granny never gives me anything and now when she’s about to die, she gives me a rubbish gift.

“How are you feeling, Granny?” I whispered.

There was no reply. I turned and looked at granny, but her face was as white as a blank sheet of paper. I felt cold tears roll down my cheeks.

When I awoke the next morning, the first thing I saw was the rain outside the window. Even the rain seemed cheerier than me.

The pinecone Granny gave me was on the floor. I picked it up. The feeling of the pinecone was rough and uneven, and it smelled like roses because of Granny’s rose perfume. I lay on my bed like I was dead and gazed up onto my ceiling. Where do you go after you die? Maybe you turn into the air and float freely around the world. Or maybe you become stars in the sky, shining brightly at Earth.

Then my Mom came in.

“Morning, honey,” sniffed Mom. Mom was sniffing so much right now, and her eyes were puffy and lifeless.

“Morning!” I bellowed in a pretending-to-be-cheerful voice, attempting to cheer Mom up. I never liked seeing anyone cry, even if it was people I hate.

“Should I,” sniffed Mom, “make pancakes for you before I leave for work?”

“You still have to work when Granny’s dead?” I blurted with surprise.

“Yes, honey. I tried to persuade Mr. Morris to let me rest for a week, but that made him angry,” Mom said as she sniffed.

I sighed. How can the worst day of my life get even worse?

“Extra honey on my pancakes please,” I announced.

Mom half smiled and hurried down to the kitchen.

Is there even a point in life?

One good thing about this morning so far is Mom’s handmade delicious pancakes. Please note that there is only ONE good thing about this morning.

“Shoft, fuffy, wom, delishos,” I mumbled through my eating.

“Thanks, honey,” continued Mom, “but I have to go now, lunch is leftovers from yesterday, all in the fridge. I promise I won’t be late tonight. I’ll bring pizza for dinner. Love you, bye Coco,” and just like that, Mom left.

“Goodbye, Mom!” I shouted.

I went back into my room and studied the pinecone. Nothing special. I guess it was really a rubbish gift my Granny gave me…But suddenly, our dog Gico pounced and gobbled the whole pinecone.

“No! Gico! No!” I screamed. I followed behind Gico, but it was too late.

Gico has disappeared.

Right under my nose.

Why is my life like this?

“Gico!” I shouted, thinking that Gico might be hiding behind our furniture, “oh Gico!”

But Gico didn’t jump out and bark. It was all silent and mysterious.

“I’m dreaming,” I whispered to myself, “how can a dog swallow a pinecone then disappear?”

I kneeled down on the floor, paralyzed with sadness. Do I have depression? Am I just being dramatic? I imagined myself in an imaginary world with Gico safe by my side. I feel much calmer now. I opened my eyes.

I wasn’t at home anymore.

Colorful trees stood elegantly on the muddy ground. What is this place? Why am I even here?

I heard a buzz around my ear.

“Shoo,” I said calmly but forcefully.

“Why?” there came a voice.

I nearly fell over. Who talked to me?

“Hello, I’m Coco…I don’t mean any harm. Can we be friends?” I said, being friendly.

“Yes, we can. I’m Lola, the mosquito sitting on your shoulder!” Lola said.

What is this place with mosquitoes talking?

Out of the blue, a green parrot flew over next to me.

“Well, I never expected a human to end up here,” the parrot cawked.

I guess it’s normal for all the animals to talk.

“Hello,” I said,” I’m Coco.”

“As if I care,” the parrot flew away with a flap of his wings.

I heard the parrot say ‘stupid humans’...

Days passed. I thought about Mom. She must be calling the police and sticking up pictures of me all around the town, giving our treasured money as a reward for finding me. I want to go back home right now. I want to be back home safe with Gico and Mom. When I said goodbye to Mom, was that a real, last goodbye?

All of a sudden, the parrot flew out, beak clamping on a rock half the size of my head. The stone was gray and was very dry and rough. Then the parrot’s beak opened, letting go of the rock and it dropped straight down onto my head. It all happened so quickly, I couldn’t react.

Blackness hit me like flooding water.

When I awoke, I just wanted to die. But when I thought of Mom, I knew I had to continue to live for Mom.

Staying strong is very hard when you’re lacking water and food and everything. I strolled along for days, weeks, then a month. I struggled to live, and it was a miracle I was still walking on Earth.

One stormy morning, I was exhausted. Honestly, I’ve been exhausted everyday, but today was the extreme limit. I still haven’t found Gico. All the hard work, struggling, pain…

Later, Lola came back, grinning with a feather in her mouth.

“This feather is Bob’s,” explained Lola, “I bit a feather off his wing. I want to give this feather to you as a sign of victory, and a souvenir of me!”

“Wow, Lola,” I said, “thank you, you must’ve been very brave.”

Lola dropped the green feather onto my hand, and I suddenly felt a warm sensation, a droplet of happiness because I’ve made a great friend.

I put the feather in my pocket and dozed off. Just as I fell asleep, that one parrot, which basically ruined my life, landed right on Lola.

“No,” I muttered in rage, “this cannot be-”

Without Lola, I suddenly felt a part of my soul sink into the sea. The one friend I made - gone.

I closed my eyes, and it all went pitch black.

I opened my eyes to the sound of Gico’s barking. I was sitting on my bed, and the sun was up

What the hell just happened? Was it just my imagination?

I reached into my pocket. The feather Lola gave me was still there, and I felt a bit of pride as I held the feather like a prized trophy.

“Come on, go eat breakfast,” reminded Granny.

“Granny? You’re here? I thought-,"How is Granny in front of me?

“Oh, Coco. You sleepyhead!”

“But-,”

“I am here, Coco,” Granny placed her hand on my shoulder with her big warm smile, “always right here beside you.”

——

Rationale:

I worked hard on this.