Takis and the Treegos

When I was at Primary School we were given lists of words to learn to spell over a week. Every week we had to write them three times each and choose three to write sentences out of. I decided to link my sentences together and create stories out of them. This is the product of my Primary Six (I was age 10) words near the end of term. Each word that we were given to learn is underlined so I thought I would underline it here too.

Takis was out for a stroll as it was a beautiful day in Ancient Greece, his faithful monkey sitting, as always, on his shoulder. He ambled along the road, past the market and turned the corner into a street he had never noticed before. He chewed on a bit of turkey he had grabbed from the kitchen but suddenly he was falling down, down, down.

Takis was beginning to come to and just as he was about to stand up, he heard a voice that sounded like it had been put to minimum volume. He heard a soft tinkling and turned the corner to find millions of diamonds, which he later used to create an object, which gradually transformed into the first microchip.

It didn't take him long to find the source of the almost inaudible voice and realised it belonged to what looked like a wrinkled, miniature frog. One of the creatures was wearing what Takis decided to call a 'Towel Miniskirt'. Another of the creatures emerged from the darkness and started talking about a minibusit had seen but Takis had no idea what it was talking about.

The smaller of the creatures, which Takis struggled to pick out, was carrying what looked like a black torch to Takis but a microphone to us. The bigger creature had something in her arms but to identify it Takis would have needed a microscope, which, of course, hadn't been invented yet.

Takis managed to start conversation by very politely stating "It's very nice to meet you."

[Can I just point out that my teacher didn't correct my speech punctuation there! Urgh, do I have to do everything myself?]

The creatures were often unknown by people who dropped in so they gave their names, Soldor and Geester. They explained that they were Treegos and that there was a microfilm which had information about their species but Takis had no idea what they were talking about.

Takis bent down to inspect these beings as he wanted to have a picture in his head, of who he was speaking to.

Apparently, someone had managed to manipulate Soldor into thinking Geester had called her an old hag so she refused to help Geester hand Takis a black tube, which the weight of, had almost toppled him over. Takis opened the tube to find a manuscript together with a dinky magnifying glass as it had been written by the Treegos. As he looked closer at it, he saw that it was an instruction manual but he had no idea what for.

Takis decided he would use the magnifying glass as an idea to manufacture an object which would help him see the Treegos clearer and he would call it a microscope.

Takis was about to start reading the important manuscript, when suddenly the Treegos vanished. He was going to use the magnifying glass to look for them, when he suddenly realised that his monkey had not come with him to this strange place.

He quickly scanned the parchment and found that an inspector had decided that humans would have to prove themselves to Treegos, if not they would lose somebody they loved. Apparently a ceremony had been held for this law coming out and many Treegos had been there to spectate it. He thought the event would have been spectacular and would have wanted to be there, had it not been for the horrid thought, telling him that the life of his monkey was in his hands.

His monkey was holding a loaf of bread which looked like a baguette and was munching on it happily. Takis' mother had repeated over and over again, "Takis darling! Don't let that monkey of yours steal bread from the bakers!" but now he couldn't help what the monkey did!

Suddenly, a cassette (which also hadn't been invented yet) landed at his feet. He slid the cuboid thing into a big box (the cassette into a TV) and gazed at a picture of what he could only describe as a brunette Treego. In her hand was a splinter from a paint palette, which was in the form of a sword and he puzzled over it for a long time, before realising the meaning.

Takis had often been described by bullies as a weakling but now he, Takis the Great, was going to save his monkey's life.

"Here goes, Cheeky!" Takis called to his monkey "Wish me luck!"

His gaze rested on a beak belonging to a gosling and the hilt of a sword so he picked the baby goose's beak. He knew he would be safe if he had it because in the video clip the Treego was not in pain from the splinter shaped like a sword and a fraction of his brain told him: What would be sore is a weapon, while what would be safe will make you sorry.

After realising that nothing had happened to him, his monkey managed to land safely on his shoulder and he screamed to the air "I'm not a silly dumpling like my mum always says!"

The Treegos burst out of the air, playing musical instruments too minuscule to to identify. His monkey suddenly screeched in pain, as if he had been shot by a rifle. A magical sensation swept over the monkey and as he opened his mouth to squeal in pain, words came out of his mouth. The monkey tried to be critical about his current situation but just couldn't delay a whoop of delight for any more than ten seconds! He wanted to never stop talking but decided it would be more practical to only do that when he was alone.

It was a struggle for Takis to quieten his monkey so that he could ask the Treegos how he was going to get out of here. The Treegos told him to put on a special bangle which would reduce him to their size. The monkey and Takis had to take their pick between two bangles. Takis picked one with a trifle on it, while his monkey chose one covered in spots.

"Would you like to come with us to the outside world and see what Greece is like today?" Takis offered, "I guess so!" he smiled as the Treegos almost nodded their heads off.

Right, that's the original 2008 version copied out of my jotter. Here's my revised 2014 version.

It was a beautiful day in ancient Greece. Sizzling rays of sunlight bounced off the dirt tracks and a flimsy breeze wafted through the trees. Takis could see no better way to spend the day than taking a walk with his ever faithful monkey, Cheeky, on his shoulder. He ambled along the road, past the market. He ventured around the streets until he was so far from home that he didn't even recognise his surroundings. He munched on a chunk of turkey he had grabbed from the kitchen and tried to puzzle out where he was.

Below his feet the ground began to tremble slightly. It was a movement you could only sense if your entire being was at peace and your mind was clear of worries, as Takis' were. The rumble was so slight at first, that Takis did not even consider running away. The vibration was in fact rather relaxing, enticing in fact. Takis had been lulled in to far too much of a trance, therefore, to notice when the ground began to thin out.

Gaps began to gasp out of the dirt and the surface became so strained that the slight movement of Takis' boot as he tried in vain to escape caused him to rip through the ground. Takis and Cheeky plummeted rapidly towards the ground. A howl of terror ripped out of Takis' throat and he grappled blindly for Cheeky. He spun and whimpered and fell, then thudded into the ground, before the darkness crept over his already dim vision.

Takis groaned and groggily raised his head. He'd been out for the Gods knew how long and he was alone. Cheeky was gone. He was not, however, in the darkness. He flopped onto his back and heaved in some breaths. Nothing felt broken, which was insane because he'd fallen at least the height of two houses. Takis ran a hand through his blonde curls and sat up. His head did not swim, as he'd expected. In fact, his vision was crisp and clear.

"Well, that's not right," Takis murmured.

He raised himself to his feet and turned to face the source of the light that had shown him the absence of Cheeky. His shoulder felt light where his friend was missing and he slumped morosely down a long, barren cave towards a bright beacon at the other end. There were no torches along the walls, yet there was a radiating out from Takis' destination.

When he eventually reached the light, Takis was puzzled by the lack of fireplace or torches in the chamber. The floor was constructed of something soft, like a large rug, and there was light just hanging in the air. Its only possible source were some transparent balls hanging from the ceiling. Takis frowned. Today was making progressively less sense.

The room was furnished by black banks of bright tapestries - which were inexplicably smooth and appeared to be moving! Below each image were chunky units of black with little circles dotting their tops and short levers protruding at odd intervals. The floor was almost entirely covered with sheets of parchment, to the extent that Takis could barely see the wood in front of him.

"Hello there!" piped a squeaking voice.

Takis groaned and turned to face it. Whatever came next was sure to be just as outrageous as falling four storeys and not gaining a bruise, light without a source and moving tapestries that escaped from their frames.

The owner of the voice was a tiny little creature, that somewhat resembled a wrinkled, miniature frog. Its eyes took up almost all of its face and were so pure with excitement and openness that Takis almost forgot about everything he'd been through that day. Almost. This thing could make pictures move so, presumably, it was also perfectly able to open grounds and kidnap teenagers.

"Hello," Takis grunted, "What - I mean who - are you?"

The creature curled a hand behind its back and puffed out its chest. "I am Geester. I am a Treego."

Takis dropped his jaw to speak but ended up just dropping his jaw. Another of the creatures emerged from the hall Takis had walked along. It introduced itself as Soldor and explained that Geester was her nephew.

"What did you do with Cheeky - my monkey?" Takis blurted, "I know you took him!"

Soldor hung her head and Geester slid his foot back and forth on the ground.

"And what is all this stuff?" Takis exploded, "None of this can exist! You can't exist! This whole day doesn't make any sense!"

Takis sank to his knees on the floor and hunched over. He covered his vision with his limbs and tried to press himself out of the day. If he could just wake up and let this be a dream. Why did this have to be real?

"I want to go home," he grumbled.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," replied Soldor, "Read this."

She shoved a sheet of parchment under his nose and waggled it until he snatched it from her grip. Takis had to admit he was impressed. She was only the length of his finger and yet she'd managed to heft a piece of parchment three times her length at him.

"And, since the humans and the Treegos clearly have no hope of sharing this Earth, a state of war has been declared between the two races until the Peacemaker can be found. Upon the arrival of the Peacemaker, trade shall be re-established if no race has already emerged victorious. Thus, the Earth will not be destroyed by an endless stalemate. The Peacemaker shall be found somewhere near the beginning, before the population surge.

I, Hiroko Ploi, task the Treegos Soldor Kilp and Geester Retesh, with sifting through the humans and the Treegos alike to uncover the Peacemaker."

Takis glanced down over the end of the page at the Treegos.

"So you want to see if I am the Peacemaker?" Takis raised one eyebrow. "That's why you killed Cheeky? Because he's neither a human or a Treego?"

Takis raised himself back to his feet and towered over his captors.

"Cheeky is not dead," Soldor countered.

Solder flicked one hand - with fingers as pointy as splinters - towards one of the tapestries. It had been flickering between a dead shade of black and a dazzling white. Now it shuddered into an image of Cheeky, munching merrily on a banana.

"Cheeky!" Takis cried. He threw himself at the bank of circles and landed heavily against the tapestry. It was no tapestry. It appeared to be made of glass.

"He will be fine," Soldor promised, "If you can defeat us both."

Takis moved to fly at them but caught himself. How long had they been down here? How many humans had they gone through in their quest for their Peacemaker? Soldor nodded at Geester, who had suddenly appeared in front of him with a gargantuan sword balanced with the hilt on the tip of his pinky. He tossed it to Takis - who stumbled back with the weight of it.

Takis did his best to brandish the sword. How could he possibly take the lives of these curious little creatures? For one thing, they were clearly formidable, despite their minute stature. For another, their eyes were so despairing that Takis couldn't bear to prove their world-weariness true. Takis glanced at the glass tapestry and cast Cheeky a pleading glance.

Turning back to the Treegos, he pleaded, "Please let him go!"

"We cannot do that until you've bested us," Geester whispered, "I am sorry."

"Then why can't you stop it?" Takis exclaimed.

"Because it is human magic that will take him," Soldor explained, "We have no power to stop it."

Takis cringed and let the punt of the sword clatter to the floor. He sincerely hoped this idea in hid head was not the most idiotic plan known to man.

"Catch me then." Takis winked and darted down the hallway. His feet slapped against the cold stone and his eyes blinked rapidly in an attempt to adjust to the encroaching darkness. Freezing air whipped past him and knocked the breath out of him. It didn't matter though. The Treegos may be disproportionately strong, but their legs were about the length of the tip of Takis' thumb. He could easily outrun them. Eventually, finally, he thumped into a damp wall of earth and slumped to the ground.

"Beat you!" Takis called, then coughed at the loss of breath.

Geester huffed and puffed as he sprinted up to Takis.

He grinned and wheezed, "You bested us."

"Where is Soldor?" Takis murmured. He shook to his feet and started to retrace his frenzied steps. He came across Soldor lying face down on the stone, her leg flicking out behind her. Takis had nearly reached her when eventually she stilled. Something told Takis she would be still forever now. Takis rolled her over and closed her eyes. He wondered if Soldor running so fast that her heart failed counted as him taking her life.

"Soldor!" Geester howled. He collapsed at his aunt's feet and laid his arms on her stomach, "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Let me go home," Takis suggested.

"I suppose I can now," Geester whimpered, "The message has been sent. The Peacemaker has been found."

Geester whirled around on one toe and burrowed a shaft into the ground. He tentatively lowered Soldor into the ground and, with a sprinkling of tears tumbling down his tiny cheeks, he waved a had and the dirt flew across the ground over her. He morosely led Takis back to the bright chamber, where Cheeky was waiting patiently.

"You have bested us," Geester replied, "Without combat, you found a way to best us. I thereby proclaim you to be the Peacemaker. You may now go back to whatever pointless business you call a life."

Takis frowned. "What will you do now?"

"I have no idea," Geester murmured, "My race was winning the war. Without Soldor, I am not safe among my own people."

Takis crouched down as low as he could - but he still could not level his eyes with Geester's.

"You could take me home," Takis suggested, "You could live with me."

Geester tensed but, after a few heavy moments of suspense, he tilted his head upwards and nodded. He raised an arm and Takis felt his stomach lurch upwards. No, it was he who was rising. Cheeky was floating in the air beside him, with only slightly more success at keeping his balance.

"What the-" Takis muttered, as he spun upside-down.

Geester grunted and flicked a finger, which whirled Takis around until he was facing the right way. Geester, who himself was now almost floating at Takis' eye level, threw his arms in front of him. The invisible force that Geester seemed to have control of blasted into Takis' side like a vicious tidal wave and propelled him along the hallway. They zipped along then up then burst through the gradually reforming ground.

Takis thumped limply into the ground and groaned as he sat up in a daze for the second time that morning. Cheeky clambered back onto his shoulder and Takis cast his gaze around for Geester. Geester was still stained with tears, but the flow was almost staunched. Takis offered him a hand, which Geester rolled his miniature eyes at. Geester rose lazily from the ground and plopped onto Takis' shoulder.

Geester made the ribbit sound of a frog - which would presumably be his new identity - and Takis chuckled. Geester crossed his arms but Takis knew he would smile as soon as he turned to face Cheeky.

"Good idea," Cheeky squealed, "Pipsqueak!"

"Cheeky?" Takis exclaimed. He whipped his head round to his left to face Geester. Surely it had been Treego technology that had graced Cheeky with the ability to voice his incoherent thoughts about bananas.

"Oops. I guess he must have pressed some buttons while I was burying Soldor." Geester gulped. "Well, if anyone can make a talking monkey and a talking 'frog' get along, it's you ... Peacemaker."