-c- 2008 Mcgraw-hill Ryerson Limited Apr 2026

Original work, written for this request. Not affiliated with McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

On the flight back, he didn’t speak. He watched the tundra scroll beneath them—lakes like shattered mirrors, rivers like silver scars. He thought about his mother, the real one. He thought about Tivon Arkell, who had followed a broken compass into a valley that didn’t exist. He thought about Grandfather August, who had known exactly what he was sending his grandson to find. -C- 2008 mcgraw-hill ryerson limited

The valley shuddered. The sky cracked. And then, like a dream ending, the valley folded in on itself—the steep walls collapsing, the black river vanishing, the cabin crumbling into dust. Original work, written for this request

Elias drew his rifle, then felt stupid. What would he shoot? A ghost? like a dream ending