By Kat Mann, Opinion Editor
Nothing else but pale wood could be seen for miles through the thicket of trees. Nothing else but the distant sound of pigs could be heard. My dog stood intently by my side, waiting for my next movement. I looked at him, and he at me.
The sun blared in a cloudless sky at midday, the grass bright green. Not like how it looked in the plains with that sickly pale color. We trailed through, my dog tracking behind me, watching for any dangers in my surroundings. My pixelated life had been different ever since that night he saved me in the cave. Safer.
I pulled the wrinkled map from my pocket, a light breeze fluttered the corners of the page. A jungle was in my interest of find. Cocoa beans was what I needed. A block boy on a mission with his square dog.
Following the shift in the treeline, we approached what looked like skyscrapers in the distance. To my delight, I recognized those voluminous green treetops anywhere. There was our jungle. We cautiously crossed into the tall set of trees, a drastic change from the comfortably low forest we had come from. I held my breath as the shade consumed us, and the distant pig squeals turned into birdsong. I got my bearings and lifted my chin to where the leaves meet the bark in search of those orange pods we had traveled all that way for.
I shuffled through my pockets, retrieved my 15 ladders, and mounted them on the thick trunk of the tree. I climbed for what seemed like forever. I looked below me and took a deep, nervous breath. I’ve always been scared of heights, and if I were to fall, it’d be all over and I’d be back in my bed after respawn, without my cocoa beans. I gulped hard, gripped the ladder, and reached out my trembling block hand… *PLUCK*
Got them. Three of them. Just enough for 24 scrumptious chocolate chip cookies. That’s what it’s all about. I slid down the long line of ladders and felt my feet plop softly on the hard ground. I pat my pup’s head, and we descended back into the birch trees. Next destination: Home.