The Hidden World
By Freya Parker - aged 11
2021
Edited by Melina Bailey-Harris
“Mum, I don’t want to do this, who cares about the environment? I don’t! There isn’t even going to be any internet! Please mum, I’ll do anything to not go on the trip!” whined Mark.
“You’re going on this trip whether you like it or not, plus it will be nice to spend some quality time together,” replied Mark’s Mum bluntly.
Ever since Mark was 5 years old, his mother had felt ever so strongly about climate change and because turtles and dolphins were her all-time favourite animal she used no plastic at all! On weekends, instead of playing football or playing video games he would be dragged out like a spare wheel to either protest or camp in the middle of absolutely nowhere! Poor Mark!
This weekend’s trip was to go to a place which most people stated you will fall in love with as soon as you set your eyes on it; the place was in the middle of Scotland in the countryside, every morning, the fresh morning air would creep up your nose, however all Mark could think about was having no internet. Little did he know he was about to have an unforgettable experience.
Saturday arrived and their electric car ran out of battery so they were forced to take the train. Mark’s mother embarrassed him the whole way by talking about how much fuel they used on trains. THE BIG RUBBISH PICK-UP 2020, which was held around the UK each year, consisted of the challenge to collect the most rubbish in two days each year, participants tried to beat their score from last year. Of course, Mark was dragged to this every year and he didn’t want to go each year it was in a different place and this year the place was in Scotland and there were rumours that if people found the magical location then they were chosen ones. Of course when Mark’s mother told him this he thought his mother was doing this just to get him excited but little did he know this was the truth.
When they arrived at their destination, Mark’s mum insisted that they went around and met everybody, which is the last thing Mark felt like doing, so he reluctantly followed his mother round for like an hour... poor Mark. Although, luckily when his mum was talking to the last family he saw a boy about his age so he stuck his tongue out at him and he did the same and then almost immediately after they grinned at each other and then Mark thought, “I like him ima ask him to hang out sometime.”
Soon enough Mark lost interest in the boy and started to wander about. Mark strode towards the end of the cliff, took a deep breath, opened his eyes and gazed out into the view ahead of him. Mark noticed that there was a whole army of trees but one stood out, like a grandfather, taking care of his grandchildren. What truly made this tree stand out, were the strange explosions of light that flickered like fireflies around the branches, creating an almost angelic halo around the tree. The sky had turned into a dark grey canvas meaning that the tree looked even more surreal than ever.
“Watcha lookin’ at mate?” asked the boy who had followed Mark to the end of the cliff and watched him, but he had also enjoyed the view as well. “Oh, by the way, I’m Josh, your name please?”
“W-well I’m Mark nice to meet you,” stuttered Mark shocked from Josh coming up behind him like a cat.
“Your mum dragged you here too I guess judging from your face earlier,” enquired Josh.
“Yeah she did the same with you I guess,” said Mark, softening a little. “Hey, do you think that tree looks kind of well ummm strange to you?”
“Actually I was sort of wondering the same thing. Hey! I’ve got an idea since our mums will probably be so engrossed in a conversation and I guess they will be happy to see us exploring, let’s see if we can find a way down there!” exclaimed Josh, out of breath.
The boys found a path down the depths of the forest. Now Josh was much stronger and braver than Mark who didn’t like to admit it, but he was scared and wanted to have a cuddle with his mum. There was overgrown ivy which looked like snakes all across a broken down wall. The trees curved around them almost like they were trying to squash them. Mark was normally the champ of hide N’ seek so he always hid in tiny spaces but today he felt very claustrophobic. There was silence and as they went past the Lion statues, that looked like they were ready to jump out at you any minute, Mark knocked against a tree that sent a whole nest of birds flying.
“Pssst, you scared the life out of me, look where you are going GOSH!” whispered Josh unkindly forgetting that this was very scary, that was one trait about Josh he is very heartless he never considers anybody else’s feelings but his. As they approached the top of the cliff, it was so windy that the wind was grabbing the words out of their mouth and throwing them off the cliff.
They reached the mysterious tree; it was like a valley view in a hotel room. The tree was surrounded by the mist: they could almost taste the sweet pollen as it crept up their noses...
Without thinking Josh went and touched the vines, but this was the last straw for Mark as he yelled at Josh, “Will you STOP?! All I have done is follow you around and done what Josh wanted! When will it be what Mark would like to do? Huh? Even if you listened to me and considered my idea, that is impossible in Josh’s world! Coz the world revolves around Josh! Doesn’t it?” exploded Mark.
He started to stalk off but then Josh called him and said, “Wait I’m sorry it is just that I really didn’t want to go here and now I have a friend and we are going on an adventure together! I’m just getting a bit over excited I guess and I’m really sorry please let’s be friends again and we can continue this adventure but if you don’t want to do anything then tell me and we don’t have to!”
Mark looked at Josh and considered his apology and took a deep breath and replied, "Okay, I accept it but if you make me do one thing that I don’t want to do then we are no longer friends ever again.” Just as Josh was about to say thank you the vines started moving and grabbed both of them and pulled them down into the roots of the tree...
The ground opened underneath the tree as if an earthquake had split the earth apart; the boys were dragged down by their ankles, down towards the vast snake like roots of the tree. There was nothing left to do but grab the roots and slide their way down.
“What did I say Josh! Huh? Ugh I knew we shouldn’t have done this but you insisted that we did! Well done Josh well done!” exploded Mark for the second time in those 20 minutes. “Josh? Josh? Hello Josh? This is not the time Josh.” But there was no reply. Looking down it hit Mark that Josh had sped much, much faster than he had. As Mark took a look around where he was falling he noticed that the roots were dressed in a black coat. Then he remembered his mum saying something about the two chosen people and he wondered could him and Josh be the chosen two?
As Josh was further down the roots, he began to hear a roaring sound. As Josh got further down he noticed that it became louder until... SPLASH!!! Struggling Josh thought this is where he would die and as he opened his mouth to scream surprisingly he screamed and then he realised he could talk and breathe “AHHHHHHH!” cried Mark. “Watch out belowwwww!” But Mark had another minute until he fell, so Josh looked around and he noticed the environment around him. It was full of plastic and the plastic bags lurked between each beautiful coral, covering its colour. He also noticed that in certain parts of this mysterious sea there were empty or half empty oil cans and not far off from there probably only a few centimetres from them there was black oil, a school of fish swam by and roughly three quarters of fish had been drained of their colour. “Ouch!” raged Josh. “That hurt!” It was Mark landing right on top of Josh’s head with a bump and it hurt Josh a lot.
“Well, do I look like I care? Coz I don’,” snapped Mark. “I knew I shouldn’t have gone with you.”
At that moment, a dolphin swam by and saw the two boys. The dolphin guessed those two were the chosen two. He was taken aback he shouted, “I don’t believe it! Mark, Josh? Is that you? We animals have been waiting for your arrival. Please let me give you a tour.” Mark and Josh were surprised and curious, Josh shrugged, Mark stepped forward and said, “Sorry, I think you have got the wrong Mark and Josh, you see, Josh and I don’t care about the environment.”
“Yes, we know that,” said the dolphin beckoning the boys to come and sit on his back, “this is why we have chosen you, we know you aren’t that interested in the world. But, we feel like you can make a difference. You guys are bad at keeping secrets, the worst on the planet, so, if you tell everybody about what you are about to see then people will become more aware of what they are doing.”
And with that the dolphin whizzed off with the two boys on his back, deeper and deeper until they reached what looked like a forgotten city. Crumbling towers stood swaying like drunk men along the seabed. Huge squids gathered together forming an illuminated skyscraper underwater. Large pools of oil with forgotten packaging and cans congregated like disciples around the crumbling arches and chambers, blackening the beautiful blue water. There were creatures that looked like they were half dolphin and half human.
“What on earth is that?” asked Josh, pointing at the dolphinoids as he wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"Why those are our dolphinoids, they are a mixture of humans and dolphins, they're our guards for the palace," replied the dolphin. And with that the dolphin started to swim by the palace. Mark noticed that this so-called palace had a ton of plastic and other stuff that could easily kill any animal if they went to eat it or got caught in it.
"Gosh! You look solemn," joked Josh. "What on earth are you thinking about? Are you missing your mummy? Haha!"
"No! I'm - I'm just thinking about this place and well I sort of feel a bit sad and guilty it is us humans who are responsible for this and I sort of feel bad," said Mark, looking very wistful.
"Honestly what is wrong with you?" said Josh. "I thought you were better than this! And why on earth would you feel guilty? Gosh Mark I'm shocked! I thought you didn't care about this stuff. What a silly weak person you are."
"Well-well at least I have feelings and don't ignore everybody's as well as mine," retorted Mark, fighting back the temptation to hit Josh. He wished he was stronger and had more daring in him and less cute cuddly emotions, it aggravated Mark, he wished he was stronger and bolder.
"Ok! Please I-I'm sorry" said Josh pretending to be scared. But this was way to much for Mark and just made an explosive noise and made up his mind to ignore Josh for the rest of the journey.
As the dolphin came to a halt, Mark and Josh were really gobsmacked to see the glowing palace. Covered with what looked like neon coral, the multi-coloured coral swayed to and fro looking like fish caught in plastic. The gates looked like they could hold up a whole entire army of men, with two of the dolphinoids on either side guarding the palace.
They started to walk in and as they approached the first dolphinoid, he looked startled and hissed to the second dolphinoid, "Psst,I can't believe it! It's them the chosen two!"
"What?! It can't be?!" replied the second dolphinoid in shock. They let Mark and Josh enter, staring at them all the way as if they were Gods. As they entered the palace, the first thing they noticed was that there was a sculpture of Mark and Josh's mothers playing together in what looked like inside the palace. Mark, trembling, tapped Josh on the shoulder and said, "J-Josh it's our mothers! W-what if they were the chosen two before us but they failed to do their job so now it is up to us?!" Mark was now shaking in excitement. "Easy there, don't jump to conclusions - we don't know for sure that it’s our mothers although it does look a lot like my mother. Also that explains why mine and your mother warmed to each other almost immediately." But what Mark replied we will never know because a mournful wailing - the saddest sound that Mark and Josh had ever heard - took hold of the palace as well Mark and Josh's heart.
"W-what was that?" asked Mark, looking at the dolphinoid who also looked worried and very pale. "It wasn't anybody, right?”
"Ummm, well this is the reason we wanted you so you see-" started the dolphinoid.
But Josh butted in and said, "What to stop the wailing." Josh found this funny but the dolphin lost his temper and he snapped back, "No! If you let me finish then I would have the chance to tell you. Anyway, as I was saying plastic has been killing the people who lived here and this time that was the queen crying herself because umm her son has died and she loved him dearly." This speech made Josh feel really idiotic and Mark looked at him and said, "You feel ready to go and speak to the queen and not say anything stupid in front of the queen and embarrass the pair of us? I can tell you now do that and I will be fuming."
"Ok, I swear please I'm not lying I feel really stupid now," said Josh sounding really sincere.
They carried on walking and Josh and Mark started to get really worried. They didn’t know what to say and they both started wishing that they knew more about the environment. When they finally approached the queen (she looked a mess) there were two child seats and a mother and father chairs all made of gold. There was one empty child chair sitting next to the queen lonely and forlorn, which made Mark and Josh's heart ache. Mark was more loving than Josh and he nearly burst into tears. His eyes became like two small oceans on his face.
The queen got up and addressed the two boys, she said in a shaky voice, "Welcome boys, I am glad you have arrived, I have been waiting for you. You see, we have had children dying like my child and..." but emotion erupted from her face. The king stepped forward and finished his wife’s sentence; Mark noticed that his eyes were red and blotchy as well, "So boys, our child has died and so have many of the other children, also, animals have been dying and it really is heartbreaking especially when it is your own family member, we need you to help us, we need you to spread awareness, your mums did a good job but social media wasn't around then, we need you to use social media and help spread the news or the same thing will start happening to your people and I'll tell you now it really is heartbreaking," he finished. Mark noticed that he had tears welling up in his eyes. Josh said confidently, "Wow! I really am amazed please, tell us what we have to do!" Mark checked for sarcasm but he noticed that Josh sounded really sincere so he joined in with, "Yeah, I'll be helping as well!"
*********
"Good evening. Josh and I are incredibly grateful that you have allowed us to speak in front of the United Nations Government . Once, a long time ago Josh and I went somewhere and learned something important," began Mark, "That we are killing animals WE are harming this planet WE are not the victims in fact WE are the people who are CAUSING this pollution!"
"It is NOT ok and if we all want to stop it then we are going to have to work together to stop this pollution," finished Josh. “It is not good enough, to simply just recycle your home waste. We must all change over to electric cars. We must all stop eating animal protein and become vegans. We must use only renewable energy sources. We must stop consuming huge amounts of fast fashion. How would you feel if your grandchildren had no green spaces to play in? How would you feel if your grandchildren had to wear protective suits as climate change meant that it was too hot to go outside and play without one? You would feel guilty, right? Well, this is exactly what you are doing as you are not following the recommendations of the scientists.
Mark carried on, “We have been keeping up with Greta Thunburg on her twitter and we have been discussing how what we are doing is not good enough! If only a few people started helping with the environment like we are doing now then we are just going to be moving backwards because for every piece of litter somebody might pick up as a gesture another piece of litter gets thrown onto or into the ocean. It is killing animals and turtles are nearly extinct because of us! Did you know that 90% of dolphins end up being strangled because of plastic! We should have stopped this by now! We were supposed to stop using petrol and diesel this year, what on earth happened to that rule? We are in 2030 now who knows how long our earth is going to hang on for before it all just ends…”
Josh took over and said finally: “The time for radical change is now! Join us in our quest to make the world a happier, healthier place for generations to come!”
"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WELL DONE!" screamed the crowd of politicians and heads of state, as they all got up on their feet and gave them a standing ovation.
**********
2050
The beautiful clear water glistened like diamond earrings, as the young dolphinoids played happily amongst the multi-coloured coral and shoals of rainbow fish. It wasn’t always like this, there was a time when young dolphinoids died of toxic poisoning and plastic pollution and the fish swam around like ghosts drained from their colour. The sounds of grieving mothers filled the walls of the palace, but now joyful singing and music, along with the laughter of young dolphinoids filled everyone’s ears to the brim.
“It’s time to come in now,” said the young beautiful queen. “It’s time for your studies, today’s lesson you will learn about how Josh and Mark saved us and the rest of the world!”
As she spoke of Mark and Josh, her eyes shone with great fondness. It was almost like she was longing to see their faces again.
“Ok mummy, I’m going to go to class now, bye!” said the little dolphinoid, flicking her tail with glee and excitement because she had heard many great stories about Josh and Mark and was longing to learn about them.
“Ok, bye, have a great day!” her mother replied and then she spoke to herself saying, ”Oh Mark and Josh, I wish you could come back.”