Trudging through heaps of snow laid along the outline of the fence the boy searched for an entrance.
7:35… He was going to be late for school again.
Johnny Armstrong was an odd boy who did not fit in well with his peers. Nobody knew what was circulating inside his head. Instead of listening in class, he would daydream. Instead of homework he would doodle. He was not a troublemaker but more like a five year old trapped inside a teenager’s body. He lived by his own clock, which made him late for almost all of his obligations.
7:36… The young boy finds a rut in the fence and begins to climb over the outer wall and down upon a new world. Cutting through his neighbor’s backyard would save him several minutes and he could possibly reach his school on time today. The young boy had never ventured into his neighbor’s yard, but he knew something was off as he peered down the vine wrapped fence into the mysterious new world. The young boy knew nothing about these neighbors and it was apparent that they wanted to keep to themselves. A rusted ten-foot fence cased with barbed wire at the top protected the mysteries incased in this yard. Evergreens towered over the perimeter of the compound protecting it from an aerial attack. The young boy had been enticed to enter the fortress before but was forbidden by his parents. He dropped off the evergreen and tumbled down upon the new world.
Upon beginning his descent off the side of the evergreen Johnny closed his eyes fearing the fall. After the brief descent the boy opened his eyes to a bright and sunny world. Prior to going into the yard the weather was bitter and fierce; wind and snow causing his extremities to burn. Now his body burned from the warmth of the sun that encased the yard. Snow and ice was replaced by warmth and vegetation, almost as if he was inside a greenhouse. He searched along the exterior of the fence trying to locate the hidden glass that trapped the warmth interior. No glass. The young boy threw a rock high in the air searching for the hidden answer. The rock whistled high in the air and disappeared off into the heavens. He discarded his wool hat and parka and continued into this mysterious land. Off to his right was a waterfall with a fifty-foot drop down into a lagoon. To his left, jungle trees created a canopy and hid any clues of an outside world. Monkeys and birds moved along the trees, and the roar of a predator radiated in the distance.
How long had I been in here, Johnny wondered?
Several baboons ambushed Johnny from above raining down upon the intruder. He retreated further into the dense unknown. The baboons continued chasing until they had pushed the boy to the furthest perimeter. The alpha male grabbed the boy’s bag and tossed his momentum toward the cliff. Grasping for his bag he tumbled down the side of the cliff down the waterfall.
As quickly as he had gone into this mysterious world he was out of it. The exterior of the fence on State Street replaced the waterfall. It was 7:38; He had maneuvered the jungle landscape in two minutes? It was almost as if time had stood still.

The boy waited until lunch to tell his friend Adam about the puzzling adventure that had taken place. At first Adam asked him if was feeling okay, but then agreed to accompany him on his second journey through the neighbor’s yard.

Later that evening the boy lay in bed recalling the day’s events. “Nobody understands…” Johnny mumbled to himself. Adam had entered the backyard with him after school but instead of entering a mystical world he walked through the normal backyard tundra. A desert setting full of cacti and tumbleweeds replaced the humid jungle. Instead of being chased by a pack of angry baboons, Johnny had been chased out of the fantasy by a pack of coyotes. Adam claimed they were chased out by an angry Rottweiler. Even he did not believe in the magic.
That backyard had transformed and they were in the middle of the southwest but Adam did not see, so he did not believe. If Johnny told his parents they would just laugh and tell him to get his head out of the clouds and start acting like a young adult. No one would believe him except… Mary.
Mary was his younger sister. She entered her first year of junior high thus exposing her to the corrupt and cruelty of the world. There was no room for fantasies and magical places in the real world. But, Mary was so innocent and pure; she kept Johnny believing in Santa Claus and believing in a place where the imagination could run wild. She was the reason why Johnny had such an amazing imagination. Nobody understood the depth and amazement of what was going on in Johnny’s head. “She has to believe me,” Johnny exclaimed, jumping out of bed to get to Mary. She was already deep into her dreams, so Johnny waited until the morning. Tomorrow was Saturday, which meant a day full of adventure and bewilderment for Mary and Johnny.
The pair climbed on top of a hanging tree branch. A new lair of snow hid any existence of what was going on in the backyard. Johnny sat observing Mary’s reaction as she descended into the yard. “Am I supposed to see something?” Mary hollered up into the trees.
Johnny jumped off the branch and was flung into the mysterious realm. This time a thick mossy forest replaced the desert oasis. Trees the size of skyscrapers blocked the reflection of the sun. The distant call of an eagle was heard overhead. “You don’t see the deer over to our right?” Johnny asked. He could hear Mary but her body was invisible. She was within and without.
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Mary continued, “Mom and Dad are right you do have a weird imagination.”
Now even Mary thought he was crazy. Johnny’s only ally had lost faith in the childlike wonder. Her imagination had disappeared as she was exposed to the corruptness of the cruel world.
Later that day Johnny sat and brainstormed. He recalled that every time he brought someone to the yard they would not see anything because they didn’t believe in their imagination. To them it was a normal yard, but to Johnny it was a mystical wonderland. There must be some key or object that powered his imagination. If only he could locate the key, then he could convince everyone else to believe in their imagination. Johnny set off on his fourth mission into the magical backyard.
Immediately after dropping off the fence ledge, Johnny realized this adventure was different than the other three. Waves crashed below his feet, while howling winds bombarded the cliff. He was blinded by sea spray but could faintly make out a structure on a distant cliff. As his eyes adjusted he recognized that it was a medieval castle. The castle would hold the key. As Johnny climbed the storm got worse. Wind aided rain caused Johnny to slip and fall. The storm tried to cause Johnny to succumb but he would not. He persevered and at last reached the entrance of the castle. Two stone knights stood guard at the castle entrance. After Johnny had maneuvered past them they came to life with red glowing eyes. Stones rained down from the ceilings preventing Johnny from moving further up the castle. The floor fell out and down tumbled Johnny. It was a hundred foot drop to the bottom. Johnny closed his eyes praying his imagination would save him.
“Why are you here?” a shadow screamed. A mysterious silhouette hid in the darkness. Johnny lay in a wooden crate, unsure of where he was.
“Why are you here?” the shadow asked for a second time. This time the shadow came out of the darkness and revealed his identity. Johnny had seen this man only a handful of times. This was the owner of the mysterious yard.
“I was just looking for the reason why your backyard is so magical,” Johnny responded.
“There is no reason. I, like you have a vivid imagination like a child’s. The backyard is magical because we have magical minds and imagine it,” the man said. “This is a safe haven for those who have the freest of imaginations. Only the purest of minds can see what is in this backyard; the minds that are not corrupted by society.”

That day Johnny vowed to never let go of his childhood. He returned to the backyard every so often, always alone because nobody ever saw the true beauty of that yard. Just because there was not an answer did not mean there was not a reason for its existence.