The Adverntures Of Johan Essay, Research Paper
The Adventures of Johan
The storm was raging, the winds were howling, but a faint image of the moon could still be seen through the thick clouds. Every so often the eerie light emerged through a whole in the clouds to reveal the full moon. For Johan the moon along with this dynamic atmosphere made the hair on his back stand up. As Johan traveled the muddy road on his way to Brungburg his instincts implored him to stay inside. All of the forest animals knew better, this night was unlike any others, the air was full of static and no life could be seen in the short bursts of light emitted from the storm. Despite what his instincts were telling him, his mind still pushed on determined to make it to his father’s farm in northern Germany by sunrise. As he pushed on through forest, through the mud, he noticed a clearing up ahead. He had traveled this road many times in his life and never before had he noticed such a clearing. As he neared this opening in the brush a large castle emerged that seemed to have a faint glow around it. By this time, Johan being cold and exhausted ventured up to the castle, dismissing the strange glow as a result of his eyes adjusting to the clearing. He walked around the castle looking for an entrance but to his dismay the only visible entrance was through a basement door. As he pushed the door open a large bolt of lightning created a huge thundering doom which caused him to jump through the door and into the basement. The inside of the castle was lit by many candles throughout, but Johan had no luck in finding its occupants. As he wandered through the hallways checking for a comfortable place to spend the night he noticed that the further he walked down, the further the hallway extended. Again Johan dismissed this as a figment of his imagination and even more of a reason to get some sleep. Eventually he found an enormous room with a large bed in the middle. As he walked towards the bed the floor beneath him whined and the trees outside could be heard beating against the window. As he lay down on the bed he turned his head to the window because of the sound. As his eyes began to focus of the panes of glass another bolt of lightening lit up the sky and revealed a crimson color stained on the glass, a color that had not been evident before. Despite all of the creepy sights and sounds, Johan’s sleepiness finally overcame him as he drifted into slumber. This serenity was short lived as loud thunder awoke him to a ghostly image of a man standing at the foot of his bed. The ghost stared into Johan paralyzing him with fear. The only thing Johan could do was stare right back into the ghost. As Johan stared into the ghost it began to change shape or become younger. Johan watched as the ghost slowly altered its shape until it looked exactly like him. Unable to move he stared into its eyes until it eventually began to float backwards until vanish into the wall. Still paralyzed with fear Johan stared into the wall waiting for the apparition to appear again. As he lay waiting, the thought of his twin brother who had died at birth hit him. He became more curious and less afraid with every passing minute and eventually willed himself out of bed. As he inspected the wall in which the ghost as vanished into he noticed that it didn’t exist or at least to touch. He could see that there was a wall there but when he reached out to touch it there was nothing. He forced his hand through the wall and his body followed behind. On the other side was complete darkness. He stumbled around blindly with his hands out waiting for some response. The ghostly images were faintly visible in the distance, and being the only thing he could see he followed it. As he did so the image moved away from him still staring straight into his eyes. The sounds of the storm were slowly fading, now he could not touch, hear, or smell. His eyes where the only sense giving him a response and had no choice but to follow the ghost. As he followed the ghost he began to regain sensation from his feet. The ground under him felt soft and cold. He pushed on, and followed until it began to fade away into the distance. As the ghost faded away light began to fill the void around him. He began to see things around him like trees, and a muddy dirt road under his feet. As more light filled the air he could see more and more. Eventually he could see everything. It was a cloudless sky with a glimpse of the sun forming along the horizon. Everything around him began to take shape and as it did he noticed that he was home!
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