An extraordinary adventure

 

Renata woke up unusually early. It was probably because of a dream that had been plaguing her for several days. She dreamed she was running through some endless tunnel, chased by some psycho. That day, a new detail emerged. This "psycho" started shouting obscenities at her and his own name. He had a strange name, but now she couldn't remember it. She rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. Within minutes, she was dressed, fed, and showered. It was summer vacation, and she wondered why she was getting up so early when she could sleep in until at least nine. Her parents had gone on vacation, and she was left alone. She didn't want to go with them. She was tired of the constant arguing. Her parents were constantly yelling at each other. She couldn't stand it anymore. Recently, they had come up with the idea of ​​going away together. They thought it would make things better again. But Renata didn't believe it. Nothing would be right. They would get divorced. And their lives would remain filled with problems. Because who would she live with? And of course, another argument broke out. "We want you to be happy, and you're going to pull these pranks on us?! You have to come with us, that's it!" her mother shouted. Then her father intervened. "Maybe when we're alone, we'll remember what it was like before the wedding..." He looked at Renata's mother as if they'd truly traveled back in time. Renata then thought that maybe not all was lost, but then they argued anyway. It was strange that the trip had even happened.

She pondered for a moment what to do. Her friends were still asleep, and she still remembered how Martyna had made a fuss when she called her at nine. What if she had called at seven? Renata didn't want to know. Suddenly, she had a brilliant idea. "I could clean out the attic! Maybe I'll find some old photos of my parents?" There wasn't a single pre-wedding photo in the entire house. As if her parents had only met before the wedding.

As soon as she entered the attic, she felt she had to quickly open the windows if she didn't want to suffocate. It was dark and stuffy, and on top of that, everything was dusty and dirty. She wouldn't have complained if it weren't for the fact that she was allergic to dust. And so, a few rather rude words escaped her lips, which, however, I won't list here because of your age, dear readers. Renata started by opening the windows. As soon as she smelled the fresh air, she immediately felt better. She could start searching the attic. In fact, the moment she opened the windows, the entire attic seemed to brighten up somehow. Only now could she look around. The center was empty, but on the sides were old boxes. A few held her childhood toys, but she had no idea what was in the others. She opened the nearest box and began to look through it. It was full of her mother's old clothes. Most of them were unusable, but she also found a couple that would still be wearable after washing. Lately, the fashion for throwback clothes has come back into fashion. Renata put the unwanted items in a box and then started searching through the next one. It was full of all sorts of odds and ends. Souvenirs from trips, some stuffed animals, handmade dolls. At the bottom of the box, she found what looked like a music box. It was shaped like a red rose. She decided to examine it carefully at the bottom, then put it back where she'd previously put the clothes she liked. In the next box, she found her father's old things. However, there was nothing there that caught her attention. The next boxes were sealed with tape, and she hadn't brought scissors. So, she picked up the things she'd put away earlier and went back for the scissors. She threw the clothes on the bed and began examining the music box. She dusted it off in the bathroom and then tried to open it. The lid popped open. She heard soft music. The tiny figure inside the flower began to move to the rhythm. Renata watched her dance as if hypnotized. She liked it. Thumbelina—as the girl had mentally named her—had finished dancing, and Renata was about to close the music box when something suddenly started happening. At first, the girl thought she was hallucinating, but after a moment, she realized that Thumbelina was actually growing. She stood there dumbfounded until a figure appeared before her, only slightly shorter than herself.

The girl had short, blond hair, blue eyes, and a strange, green outfit. She looked like a character cut out of a fairy tale. She looked Renata in the eye and then spoke:

"My name is Jeen, and I'm here to fulfill your..." Her eyes fixed on the clock. It was almost ten o'clock. "Oh! Oh my! I'm definitely going to be late!" Then, before Renata's shocked eyes, Jeen ran from the room.

The girl couldn't believe this was actually happening. She even tried pinching herself, but it didn't work. So she ran after the stranger, hoping that everything would be cleared up once she caught up. She ran out into the street, but what she saw would have impressed everyone. The street was full of people. It didn't seem like anything, but for some reason (though who knows, maybe just for fun), everyone was walking upside down. Or rather, jumping. They were bouncing off the ground with their hands, and surprisingly, they even managed it... a child accidentally hit their head. Renata went up to him and was about to comfort him when she heard a familiar voice:

"Oh, my hair and beautiful eyes, it's getting awfully late!"

It was Jeen's voice. Renata didn't think twice; she ran in the direction of the voice. For a moment, she even thought she saw her "Thumbelina" as she disappeared around the bend. However, when Renata turned, she was nowhere to be seen. The girl began to look around. She saw no people, not even houses. Instead, she saw a whole bunch of doors. She walked up to the first one and examined it. Above it hung a golden sign: "Woreczko" (Bag). Renata turned the handle and pushed the door open. A moment later, she was inside. A tree stood before her. Of course, there was nothing unusual about it; a tree was a tree. But what was a tree doing in an apartment? Only now did she look around. There were no walls anywhere. She turned to leave, but alas—the handle was gone!

"Oh, Prince! Aren't you going to be angry that I kept you waiting so long?"

Renata looked up. She saw Jeen climbing the tree! She quickly started climbing up the tree, but after a moment, she slid back down. The tree was too slippery. Renata began to wonder how "Thumbelina" had gotten up there, but just then something fell on her head, bounced off her, and landed on the floor. It was a cookie with a note attached to it. Renata picked it up and read the note. It was just two words: "Eat me." She didn't feel like it. Not only had it fallen to the ground, but it was also of unknown origin. So she threw it behind her. And just then, something fell on her head again. This time, however, it stopped on her. She reached for it and saw a small, pink balloon in her hand. She had no idea what to do next (there were no doors, and she was sliding down the tree), so to pass the time, she started blowing into the balloon. She was lost in thought and didn't even notice when the balloon in her hand was already inflated. She wondered if she had anything to tie it with, but that's when she noticed it was floating in the air. She screamed in terror, but was even overjoyed when she reached the branch where Jeen had disappeared. She grabbed onto the branch and released the balloon. She watched as the air escaped, and it flew away. Renata slowly began to move forward along the branch. She was quite high up and didn't want to fall. Suddenly, she heard a strange buzzing sound. She turned her head, but immediately regretted it. A flock of enormous bees was approaching her with incredible speed! She began to move along the branch faster and faster... She felt the bees getting closer, and she heard their buzzing getting louder. Without pausing, she looked back again. And just then, the branch ended. The girl fell and fell until she finally broke the surface of some lake or river. She thought it was a good thing, because the bees wouldn't come near the water, but as soon as she began to float downstream, she felt she'd rather be with the bees. The water was icy cold, and she couldn't swim! She swallowed more and more water, and thoughts of death began to haunt her mind. On the shore, she saw the figure that had brought her here. She began screaming for help. Jeen turned and then asked,

"Is this your first wish?"

Renata wasn't thinking. She simply called out for help without hesitation. Jeen clearly understood that the girl had agreed, because she ran to the shore, whispered a few words, and before Renata could blink, she was on the shore. Before her stood a smiling "Thumbelina." She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned. She saw a huge, hideous frog! Although it didn't really look like an ordinary frog... it had a crown on its head.

"Kiss me!" the frog croaked.

Renata recoiled in disgust.

"Kiss him! That's an order from the prince himself!"- Jeen said to her.

"Can't you do it for me?"

"Am I to understand that this is your second wish?

" "Yes, yes!"

Suddenly, Renata realized the meaning of those words. But it was too late. Jeen kissed the prince, who immediately transformed into a handsome young man. The boy was about to leave when "Thumbelina" said,

"Just remember to hide before midnight! You don't want the guests to see you in your other incarnation, do you?"

"Yes, I certainly won't forget!" the young man shouted, then disappeared behind the trees. Then Jeen turned back to our heroine.

"Hey, what's all this about?

" "What?" the strange figure clearly didn't understand what Renata was talking about.

"Well..." "What exactly? After all, everything's been different since she appeared!"

"You'd better tell me what your third wish is. I'm in a hurry.

" "You've already found the prince!" Renata recalled the words "Thumbelina" had shouted earlier.

"But now I have to go home, change, and go to the party! And I have so little time...

" "What's with these wishes? Can I ask for anything? Just like in fairy tales?

" "Yeah... Just like in fairy tales. So?

" "Wait... let me think..." a thought suddenly occurred to her...

"Could you make my parents stop arguing and be happy?

" "Are you sure you want that? Wouldn't you rather have something for yourself? Money, fame, or beauty?"

"And why do I need money, fame, or beauty? Money can't buy happiness; fame means a lack of privacy, and I already have beauty.

" "As you wish..." she began to mutter under her breath.

Renata felt something change. The world was spinning. Suddenly she began to fall. She fell so fast that she had to close her eyes. When she felt herself reaching the ground, she opened her eyes. She saw the frightened eyes of her own parents.

"My daughter!" Your father and I thought we shouldn't leave you alone..." Her mother's voice seemed to come to her from behind a wall.

"And we came back to surprise you! Are you happy?

" "Yes..." Renata thought it was just a dream and forgot about Jeen, the people jumping on their hands, and the frog prince. Her parents were back, and she would soon witness another argument...

But she wasn't.