1. Rainbow Bridges Falling Down
Rainbow Bridges always thought her life was like a fairytale. Not only was her name unrealistic, but she lived at house number three on the most sophisticated street in town. She even had a maid named ‘Gertrude.’
The only problem was, Rainbow hadn’t had her dreams come true. She wasn’t treated like a princess, and she wasn’t fed breakfast in bed like her two wicked sisters. Instead, Rainbow felt much like Cinderella without the prince. Rainbow was, in some sense, another maid.
Her sisters, Ivy and Iris, weren’t very nice. Rainbow made their bed, did their laundry, cooked their food, and sometimes even brushed their hair. She never complained, but she never understood her treatment.
One morning, Rainbow felt sick. She was coughing and sneezing, and felt like all her energy had been sucked right out of her. Ivy and Iris didn’t care.
“Raney!” Ivy screamed. “Raney, my food is cold!”
Rainbow groaned, but forced herself up the rickety stairs of the basement to help her evil twin sisters.
Ivy was brushing her long black hair at the table when Rainbow stepped into the kitchen, Iris sitting in the chair across from her.
“Raney,” Ivy whined, “you should be doing this while I eat.”
Rainbow looked at Iris’s matted hair and stifled a smile. “Sorry,” she said, her voice hoarse. “I’m not feeling well today.”
“Ew!” Iris yelped. “You have stuff in your throat! You better not get me sick, Raney, I swear! I have a date today.”
A new voice entered the kitchen and Mrs. Vicky’s high heels clicked as she walked to the coffee pot.
“Who’s sick?” she asked.
Mrs. Vicky looked a lot like her daughters. They all reminded Rainbow of the Wicked Witch of the West - black hair, black eyes, and even a crooked nose. They looked nothing like Rainbow.
“Raney, Momma!” Ivy complained. “She’s all chugged up. She’s gunna get us sick, too!”
“She better not,” Icky Vicky said, “unless she wants to sleep outside. Why is my coffee cold?”
They acted like Rainbow wasn’t standing in the same room.
“Ma’am, I couldn’t seem to get out of bed this morning,” Rainbow said. “I asked Gertrude to help with breakfast.”
“Nonsense! You know Gertrude only answers the door.”
“I’m sorry.”
Rainbow was locked in her room the rest of the day, not that it was much of a room. The floor was made of cobblestones, and spider webs hung from the ceiling. If it wasn’t for the fact that the webs were too high too reach, Rainbow would have been glad to remove them.
There was a knock at the door later in the afternoon, and Rainbow heard the sound of feet scurrying away. When she opened the door, she found a bowl of soup. Rainbow gladly accepted the bowl and sat down on her bed to drink it.
A couple of gulps later, Rainbow realized there was salt in her soup, and she was pretty sure it was leftovers from the night before. Thinking back, she remembered making the soup without the salt in particular, considering she was allergic.
Rainbow immediately thought of the wicked twins. Of course, Rainbow hadn’t noticed the salty taste the night before because she had made the soup herself and such speculation would be silly. But Rainbow hadn’t thought to check if the twins had played a trick on her.
Rainbow realized the origin of her sickness and poured the soup out on the patio outside. There had been many nights Rainbow had gone out on the same patio and thought about running away. The Sticklers probably wouldn’t even notice her absence, though she was pretty positive Iris’s hair would.
But Rainbow had always been too chicken to go out in the real world alone. She hadn’t seen much of her surroundings, and she wasn’t even sure any other civilization was nearby. So, Rainbow had always stayed in her dungeon.
Tonight, Rainbow was curious. She saw a black mist rising from a hole in the ground that she thought led to the sewage drain underneath the house. Usually, the hole was covered with a metal lid, but tonight it had disappeared.
Rainbow stepped off the patio cement to investigate the strange dark fog. She didn’t particularly find anything eerie about the tunnel. Instead, she was intrigued. Rainbow thought the mist was the most fascinating thing she’d seen in her whole life.
But when Rainbow reached the hole, the mist rose and surrounded her body. Though Rainbow felt a little frightened, she remained standing in the black cloud until she could no longer see the patio anymore. Her long brown hair flew up around her and her grungy beige dress filled with the black air.
Suddenly, Rainbow was sucked into the tunnel. Rainbow knew what the tunnels in the ground were used for, and she was sure she would fall to the concrete bottom with a painful crunch. But the end didn’t come as fast as she expected, and she continued flailing through the air, dropping to her death.
Minutes passed, and Rainbow found herself a little bored. Just as she
Here's the rest:
Minutes passed, and Rainbow found herself a little bored. Just as she began wondering if she was going to fall forever, Rainbow saw the ground in the distance, and she felt her panic return. She was still declining as fast as before, and she knew the end was near. Just as Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut to savor a moment of peace, the wind stopped whipping through her hair.
Rainbow didn’t feel any pain, and she didn’t feel anything solid break her fall. In fact, Rainbow didn’t really feel anything at all.
She opened her eyes to see she was floating a few feet above the ground. Rainbow’s legs were getting closer to the orange ground with every second, but she knew she wasn’t going to hit it with any force. She wasn’t scared.
Within seconds, Rainbow’s feet tenderly touched the sandy land, and she remained unscathed.
Rainbow was fairly sure she was no longer at house number three. In fact, she felt a little like Dorothy.
Rainbow Bridges always thought her life was like a fairytale. Not only was her name unrealistic, but she lived at house number three on the most sophisticated street in town. She even had a maid named ‘Gertrude.’
The only problem was, Rainbow hadn’t had her dreams come true. She wasn’t treated like a princess, and she wasn’t fed breakfast in bed like her two wicked sisters. Instead, Rainbow felt much like Cinderella without the prince. Rainbow was, in some sense, another maid.
Her sisters, Ivy and Iris, weren’t very nice. Rainbow made their bed, did their laundry, cooked their food, and sometimes even brushed their hair. She never complained, but she never understood her treatment.
One morning, Rainbow felt sick. She was coughing and sneezing, and felt like all her energy had been sucked right out of her. Ivy and Iris didn’t care.
“Raney!” Ivy screamed. “Raney, my food is cold!”
Rainbow groaned, but forced herself up the rickety stairs of the basement to help her evil twin sisters.
Ivy was brushing her long black hair at the table when Rainbow stepped into the kitchen, Iris sitting in the chair across from her.
“Raney,” Ivy whined, “you should be doing this while I eat.”
Rainbow looked at Iris’s matted hair and stifled a smile. “Sorry,” she said, her voice hoarse. “I’m not feeling well today.”
“Ew!” Iris yelped. “You have stuff in your throat! You better not get me sick, Raney, I swear! I have a date today.”
A new voice entered the kitchen and Mrs. Vicky’s high heels clicked as she walked to the coffee pot.
“Who’s sick?” she asked.
Mrs. Vicky looked a lot like her daughters. They all reminded Rainbow of the Wicked Witch of the West - black hair, black eyes, and even a crooked nose. They looked nothing like Rainbow.
“Raney, Momma!” Ivy complained. “She’s all chugged up. She’s gunna get us sick, too!”
“She better not,” Icky Vicky said, “unless she wants to sleep outside. Why is my coffee cold?”
They acted like Rainbow wasn’t standing in the same room.
“Ma’am, I couldn’t seem to get out of bed this morning,” Rainbow said. “I asked Gertrude to help with breakfast.”
“Nonsense! You know Gertrude only answers the door.”
“I’m sorry.”
Rainbow was locked in her room the rest of the day, not that it was much of a room. The floor was made of cobblestones, and spider webs hung from the ceiling. If it wasn’t for the fact that the webs were too high too reach, Rainbow would have been glad to remove them.
There was a knock at the door later in the afternoon, and Rainbow heard the sound of feet scurrying away. When she opened the door, she found a bowl of soup. Rainbow gladly accepted the bowl and sat down on her bed to drink it.
A couple of gulps later, Rainbow realized there was salt in her soup, and she was pretty sure it was leftovers from the night before. Thinking back, she remembered making the soup without the salt in particular, considering she was allergic.
Rainbow immediately thought of the wicked twins. Of course, Rainbow hadn’t noticed the salty taste the night before because she had made the soup herself and such speculation would be silly. But Rainbow hadn’t thought to check if the twins had played a trick on her.
Rainbow realized the origin of her sickness and poured the soup out on the patio outside. There had been many nights Rainbow had gone out on the same patio and thought about running away. The Sticklers probably wouldn’t even notice her absence, though she was pretty positive Iris’s hair would.
But Rainbow had always been too chicken to go out in the real world alone. She hadn’t seen much of her surroundings, and she wasn’t even sure any other civilization was nearby. So, Rainbow had always stayed in her dungeon.
Tonight, Rainbow was curious. She saw a black mist rising from a hole in the ground that she thought led to the sewage drain underneath the house. Usually, the hole was covered with a metal lid, but tonight it had disappeared.
Rainbow stepped off the patio cement to investigate the strange dark fog. She didn’t particularly find anything eerie about the tunnel. Instead, she was intrigued. Rainbow thought the mist was the most fascinating thing she’d seen in her whole life.
But when Rainbow reached the hole, the mist rose and surrounded her body. Though Rainbow felt a little frightened, she remained standing in the black cloud until she could no longer see the patio anymore. Her long brown hair flew up around her and her grungy beige dress filled with the black air.
Suddenly, Rainbow was sucked into the tunnel. Rainbow knew what the tunnels in the ground were used for, and she was sure she would fall to the concrete bottom with a painful crunch. But the end didn’t come as fast as she expected, and she continued flailing through the air, dropping to her death.
Minutes passed, and Rainbow found herself a little bored. Just as she
Here's the rest:
Minutes passed, and Rainbow found herself a little bored. Just as she began wondering if she was going to fall forever, Rainbow saw the ground in the distance, and she felt her panic return. She was still declining as fast as before, and she knew the end was near. Just as Rainbow squeezed her eyes shut to savor a moment of peace, the wind stopped whipping through her hair.
Rainbow didn’t feel any pain, and she didn’t feel anything solid break her fall. In fact, Rainbow didn’t really feel anything at all.
She opened her eyes to see she was floating a few feet above the ground. Rainbow’s legs were getting closer to the orange ground with every second, but she knew she wasn’t going to hit it with any force. She wasn’t scared.
Within seconds, Rainbow’s feet tenderly touched the sandy land, and she remained unscathed.
Rainbow was fairly sure she was no longer at house number three. In fact, she felt a little like Dorothy.