Unlocking Mia Mania

A graveyard of birds litters the forest floor, while the smell of rotten eggs makes me heave. Once again, the Corcarcus were stripping away a place I associate with fond memories and replacing them with darkness. My legs wobble and I collapse to my knees.

‘Poxy. I need you.’ I say through watery eyes.

I feel something crawl over my hand and brush off a black and gold beetle, which leaves a red throbbing bite. The beetle stares at me before scuttering away. I stand up and shake my body, which dispels more beetles. As I itch my hand, a red boil appears.

‘Ew.’ I poke it, pus oozes out making me feel dizzy and I collapse to the floor.

The soil beneath my hands vibrates and I hear rushing beneath the ground. Giant anthills pop up all over the forest. One by one the anthills explode and thousands of beetles’ head towards me. I scramble to get up but it’s too late, the beetles create a tight barrier around me and turn into shadow corpses, the Corcarcus. Their ghostly forms emit a faint golden glow, and their hollow eyes look like moon crevices. They stare at me and point with their bony fingers; the silence is unbearable.

‘What do you want?’ I say as I struggle to stand up.

Two Corcarcus’s step aside to reveal an exit; I try to escape but they push me over. A single Corcarcus walks through the opening towards me and offers his hand. I push it away and stand up. He glides towards me.

I spit in his transparent face. ‘Get away from me.’

He wipes his face and laughs, the sound echoes around the forest.

He steps closer. ‘I wouldn’t talk to me like that.’

‘I’m not scared of you.’ I say as I hold my hands to stop them shaking.

He gives me a wide grin then grows in size, becoming twice my height. His golden glow brightens, causing me to squint. He touches my shoulder; a cold sensation passes through my body and I collapse to the floor.

‘Distructo’ I whisper as I dig my nails into the soil, finding relief in its moist texture.

‘Bravo, give the girl a round of applause.’ He turns to his shadow army who clap and edge closer. Distructo leans in and holds out his hand.

‘Mia, just accept your fate.’

Chapter 1

My feet sink into the sand as I stare at the sea, the vast empty sea. The fierce wind forces a seagull to land on the shore and creates ripples in the water which turn into mini rapids. Like my mind the sea was unsettled and like the unknown depths of the sea I couldn’t figure out why.

‘Mia.’

I turn around and see my friends on a distant island waving their hands at me. I miss my trio of friends from secondary school. Since I moved away, I never see them anymore, I understand, an hour on the bus is far, compared to living on the same street. It looks like they are attempting to make a BBQ. I shake my head and laugh, remembering our failed attempt at the last BBQ. I shrug my shoulders, at least the seagulls got a sandy feast.

‘Mia.’

I turn around and see another island and a fox beckoning me over. The sea separating the three islands bubbles and two wooden bridges appear from the water. I look at both islands, my friends offer warmth, but the fox intrigues me. I step on the bridge towards the fox but hesitate, the fox always brings nightmares.

‘Not today, Mr Fox.’ I say saluting it and walking towards my friends. I put my hand on the bridge rail, but my hand burns.

‘Ow.’ I rub my hand.

The bridge sets on fire and burns, causing me to retreat. Smoke blocks my view of my friends. I scan the island, but they have disappeared. I look to the other island, but it has also disappeared. I fall to the ground as my island shakes and starts to sink. There’s nowhere for me to escape; the island disappears beneath my feet. I’m all alone. As I tread water, I try to find something to hang on to. It’s pointless swimming when there’s nowhere to go. I’m aware I’m dreaming and it’s exhausting.

‘Wake up, wake up,’ I tell myself as my legs start to ache.

Hands grips hold of my legs, I kick the water and duck under to see what’s grabbing me. Three shadow corpses in tatty clothing smile at me as they grab my shoulders and pull me down into the darkness.

‘This isn’t real, this isn’t real,’

I say over and over as a shadow corpse comes in close and whispers in my ear.

‘Mia, accept your fate.’

I close my eyes and surrender to the darkness.

Chapter 2

I gasp for air but try to control my breathing with some deep breaths. My chest feels tight, and my neck is clammy from sweat. I sit up in bed and check the time on my phone, at 7 am. My phone vibrates and the alarm goes off, it seems my nightmares and alarm clock are in sync. My ankles feel swollen, I massage them with my hands, but they feel cold. I pull back the covers and there are red fingerprints wrapped around my ankles. I shudder.

‘Mum,’ I shout as I hyperventilate and hold my chest to try and steady my breathing.

I watch as the fingerprints fade, and the cold ache subsides. My bedroom door opens.

‘Mia, what’s wrong?’

The dog barges past Mum jumps on the bed and licks me, causing me to fall back onto the bed.

I ruffle her fur. ‘Oh Zoe, you know how to cheer me up.’

‘Bad dream?’ Mum sits on the bed.

‘Yeah, I was being chased.’ I lie.

‘That dream again, you know you can tell me anything.’ She puts her hand on my lap.

I smile. ‘I know.’

‘I’m sorry this divorce has been so hard on you. It must be stressful moving house and school.’

‘You don’t need to apologise, Dad cheated, and you wanted a fresh start.’ I jump out of bed. ‘Anyway, I love medieval villages and Tallsbury is full of history.’ I hug mum and she gives me a tight squeeze.

‘Just take it easy.’

I nod as I put some music on my phone.

Mum looks at her watch and stands up, ‘Can you walk Zoe for me?’

I look at Zoe. ‘Do you want to go for walkies?’ Her ears prick up, she jumps up and licks my face.

‘Ew,’ I wipe the drool off my face with my pyjama sleeve.

Mum stops by the door, ‘I’ll make you some porridge, you know…’

‘It’s a great start to the day.’

She scolds at me and smiles. ‘Zoe.’ The dog looks at both of us and sits in front of me.

‘Where are your loyalties?’ Mum pats her leg and Zoo runs out the door as mum closes my door. I love that she respects my privacy.

My room was tiny, more of a cloakroom. I couldn’t complain, there was room for a wardrobe, bed, and my art desk. My white desk overlooked the river and on a sunny day, I could sit here for hours and sketch. I looked at the sketch of a forest I had been working on. Every time I visited the forest in my dreams, I would add more detail. Now, I can add the fox, he’s usually too far away but I have a clear picture of him in my head. I sketch his fox form and add a splash a red to his coat, he resembles a fox in every way apart from his twin tail. I tap my paintbrush on the fox, who are you? Why do my dreams turn to nightmares after seeing you? I rip off the sketch paper and sketch the nightmare with the three islands and fox. I look at the fox, are you a good omen?

Chapter 3

My first year of 6thform passed by quickly and tonight was the prom. I was bullied at my last school, so I created a persona that reflects the normal side of my personality and not my odd side. Vivid dreaming of talking foxes was not something I wanted to share.

As Daisy and I walk into the school hall we notice the vile underwater theme decorations which oozes tackiness its plastic seashells and tinsel seaweed.

‘Wow, they went all out with the theme.’ Says Daisy touching a cut out of a mermaid, which wobbles.

‘I like it,’ I say. ‘It’s like a little mermaid on LSD.’ We both laugh.

‘At least you fit in with your shimmery aqua dress,’ says Daisy touching my dress.

‘It’s also makes for great camouflage if Jamie rejects me.’

‘Don’t be silly, he’ll be lucky to have you.’

I hug her ‘You always know the right thing to say.’

‘Hey, Daisy, Mia.’ We look over and see Holly sitting at a table decorated with sand, buckets, and spades. I grab two champagne flutes from a passing waiter, give one to Daisy and we head over to Holly.

‘Wow Holly, I didn’t know you and Daisy were twins, inspiring.’ I suppress a smile as I look at their matching dresses.

Daisy downs her drink and sits down next to Holly.

‘I thought we agreed I was going for this colour.’

Daisy combs her hair with her fingers, over and over.

Holly stands up. ‘I didn’t like the colour you picked out for me. Red suits me better.’ She adjusts her dress and calls over to her friend. ‘Hey Jenna, I love your dress.’

I sit down next to Daisy. ‘What was all that about?’

Daisy checks her make up with her compact mirror and blots away a tear.

‘Holly and I fell in love with the same dress, I agreed to wear the same dress, if we chose different colours.’

‘Huh, her shade of red looks a lot like yours.’ I steal Holly’s drink off the table and hand it to her, she downs it in one.

‘I’m going to let her have this one. She’s just acting up because her parents are getting a divorce and I’m an easy target. She even told me to choose between her and you.’ Daisy grabs my drink off me and downs it.

‘Wow, why didn’t you tell me this was going on?’

‘I couldn’t because you seem so distracted and exhausted.’

I bite my nail ‘I’m sorry. I’ve been a cruddy friend.’

Daisy hugs me. ‘Don’t be silly.’ She looks behind me. ‘Look, there’s Jamie by the bar, you should go and say hi.’

I lean on my hand and let out a sigh. ‘He looks very sexy in his suit.’

‘His rugby muscles would be able to pick you up and swing you around.’ Daisy combs her fingers through her hair. ‘Maybe I need a rugby lad, go and see if he has any single friends.’

‘Ha-ha. I know what you’re up to?’ I nudge her playfully in the arm.

‘Whatever do you mean? I need some information and his by the bar.’ She hands me the empty glasses.

I stand up but hesitate. ‘I dunno, what if he doesn’t recognise me.’

‘You’ve watched all his rugby matches with me, cheered him on, and helped tutor him in English class.’

I shrug my shoulders. ‘I dunno, I’m going to grab us some drinks.’ I adjust my bra to make my assets look perkier.

‘Maybe some Dutch courage will help.’ She winks at me and takes a sip from a flask she had sneaked in.

I will have to get her a pint of water to slow her down.

I walk past Jamie and avoid eye contact, there was no way I was approaching him without alcohol courage. I head to the rammed bar and overhear a conversation with my name in it. Of course, it was the clicky netball girls, all dressed in black cocktail dresses with side slits which ride up too close to the knicker line. I edge in closer and hide behind a tall guy at the bar.

‘Jamie is well hot; Are you gonna get with him tonight, Tiff?’ Says Sammy.

Tiff finishes applying red lipstick

‘Of course, he’s the only guy on the rugby team I haven’t hooked up with.’ They all cackle.

‘I thought Jamie liked Mia?’ Says Sissy stirring her cocktail.

I see Holly squeeze herself between two lads waiting to be served, she interrupts the conversation.

‘I wouldn’t worry about her.’ She clicks her fingers to get the barman’s attention.

Tiff looks over at her. ‘Oh, and why is that?’

Holly keeps them waiting and orders a round of shots for the girls and hands them out.

‘I’ve suspect she bats for the other team.’ They all laugh.

Tiff holds up her drink, ‘Let's drink to that.’

Tears fill my eyes and I notice Jamie has come closer and is staring at me.

‘Are you Ok?’ He smiles.

It’s all too much, I smile at Jamie and rush to the toilets, but stop at the toilet door. How dare Holly talk about me like that and how dare she treat Daisy like a trash bin. My fiery side was coming out and I wasn’t going to pretend to be a normal teen. I clutch my fists. I deserve more respect; Daisy deserves more respect. I turn around and head back to the bar. I see Holly laughing and gossiping to the girls about Daisy copying her and not having her own style. I tap her on the shoulder, she turns around and smiles, oblivious to her vile actions.

‘Mia, I was…’

‘Holly, you’re a toxic bitch.’ I say while ignoring the sickness in my stomach.

The netball girls crowd around us and Holly’s face turns red. She takes a sip of her drink and stares at me.

‘At least I’m not a fat bitch.’ She tips her champagne down my chest.

The netball girls laugh and cheer her on.

Before I can slap her Daisy grabs my arm, ‘Mia your better than this, don’t stoop to her level.’ I shrug her hand away.

‘Why don’t you but out and stop sticking up for her. My parents went through a divorce, but I didn’t turn into a bitch.’

Holly starts crying and I realise no one knew about the divorce. The netball girls glare at me and crowd around Holly.

‘Daisy I didn’t know.’

‘I think you’ve done enough damage.’ Daisy puts her arm around Holly.

I run to the toilets but decide to enter the disabled toilet because I don’t want to run the risk of bumping into the netball girls. I look in the mirror, my eyes were red. I splash water on them, which turned them into makeup panda eyes. I grabbed some tissues and rubbed my eyes raw. Why was Holly being so mean? I’m so worthless and no one will ever love me.

BANG

I hear a bin knock over outside. I climb up onto the window ledge and peer out and see a fox staring at me.

I point at it, ‘You.’ You’re the reason I keep having nightmares.’

The fox sniggers. I rummage in my purse and chuck my compact mirror at the fox. The fox scarpers.

‘Mia, what are you doing? Get down.’ Daisy pulls me down.

‘A fox sniggered at me.’ I say looking out the window.

Daisy peers outside and shakes her head. ‘How many drinks have you had?’

‘Why are you here?’

Daisy puts down the toilet seat and sits down and combs her hair with her fingers.

‘To tell you I’m sorry. I didn’t hear what Holly had said about you and me. I walked over as I heard you calling her a bitch.’

‘I assumed that, but you should know I would never call someone out without cause. Still, probably wasn’t a good idea.’

‘No, but she did wear the same colour dress as me.’ Daisy smiles.

’Yeah, that’s true. I suppose she is hurting and taking her frustration out on us.

Daisy stands up and hugs me. ‘Mia, always thinking of others.’

I open the door ‘Yeah, my Achilles heel. Let’s go get a happy meal.’

‘That’s your answer to everything, but you’re right, this party sucks but first let’s sort out your panda face’

Title: Unlocking Mia Mania.

Genre: Fantasy/horror.

Age range: Teens to Adults- 15+.

Word count: 62030

Name: Mrs Anne-Marie Cheung

My project is a good fit because it splices fantasy with realism, It touches on mental health but masks it with fantasy to allow the reader to escape to Mia’s dream-like realm. Mia has bipolar and gets lost between the dream realm and her reality. This is similar to bipolar people losing touch with reality. The story is loosely based on my experiences of being diagnosed with bipolar as a teen and finding my way through life including bouts of self-harming. I discover who I am while dealing with teen drama. My book is unique because it combines mental health with fantasy. The fantasy realm main character is a fox called Poxy who becomes Mia’s guardian spirit. They build an unbreakable bond throughout the book.

I have put together a prologue for my book and the first paragraph is the hook to entice the reader.

A graveyard of birds litters the forest floor, while the smell of rotten eggs makes me heave. Once again, the Corcarcus were stripping away a place I associate with fond memories and replacing them with darkness. My legs wobble and I collapse to my knees.

Synopsis: Join Mia on her adventure of self-discovery, Dive into her dream realm and discover the meaning behind her dreams. With the help of a guardian spirit, Mia will face her own demons and confront Distructo leader the Corcarcus. These evil beings want to steal Mia’s inner light. This epic journey will make you question your knowledge of mental health but also allow you to get lost in a fantasy novel where dreams aren’t always as they seem.

Target audience: Young Adult Fantasy.

Bio:

I have a 1:1 degree in creative writing and English literature. I have self-published two books, this one as well as a non-fiction book called My Bipolar Beast which is based on my diary entries on living with bipolar. I am in the process of writing 100 poem anthology and children’s fables. I started writing because I wanted to improve my grammar but soon learnt to love it. I’ve been writing for over 15 years and got so many projects bursting to come out. I enjoy writing fiction, mental health pieces, ghostwriting and poetry. I enjoy reading a good book especially Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett. I admire how creative they are. I enjoy practising yoga day and night to help give me inner peace. I have two businesses which keep me busy, one is my ghost-writing site gingersnapflare.com and the other is a dog-walking business called daisydukesdogwalking.com. I would say I’m bubbly, determined and resilient. I will not give up on something I’m compassionate about.

Home town: West Moors, Ferndown. (South west Uk).