This picture just looks kinda cool.
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     I took a risk that morning by strolling into town. With nothing but a sack on my back containing my few belongings and Sparky my cat sprawled over my shoulders. I entered the small town which was half on the water quietly, the small town of Birchwood.

     Down the cobble road I wandered, kicking a pebble here and there as I passed the houses, my head turned to the floor. I merely followed the traffic of people and horses alike all the way to the marketplace where I would be buying my week's supply.

     As I was grabbing what little fruits I could from one of the market tables, Sparky stretched out his little grey paw at a hanging fish, which he nearly caught had I not pulled myself away. By now the young cat of mine was more than used to riding on my shoulders. He used the bag on my back as an extra supporting item, and when he got scared or just too tired, he knew how to open the little flap and crawl inside the handmade pouch. I was more than glad to let him squash all my food in there, because his companionship was probably the only thing keeping me sane at this point. As for looks, Sparky was a relatively small cat. Grey with a white belly and hind white paws, as well as white whiskers. For that, I often called him "little old man." But Sparky had been the name I had given him quite a while ago when I was much younger.

     I latched another potion of healing to a belt around my hip, in my head doing the math for how much that alone would strip from my budget. After that potion, I only had a few copper coins left. So, I simply spun around slowly, keeping an eye out for anything else I might need.

     A Fletcher's shop caught my eye, for on one of the banners, advertised in simple pictures: a map to a yet to be explored Woodland Mansion.

     "Wanna go fight some monsters in a creepy mansion?" I asked sparky.

     "Merr" He responded.

     "I agree. TOTALLY not worth it!" I laughed. The man at the shop seemed to notice me staring, though, and so started to wave his arms at me with a big welcoming smile. I attempted to ignore him, but soon the long, not too well kept haired one began shouting as well.

     "Are YOU interested in an adventure?! It sure does LOOK like you do!" A couple people began looking at me, so just to make him shut up, I walked closer so I could pretend to be interested for a minute before leaving. "Hello, traveler from a far away land! Are you EXCITED to go on an adventure?!" The man bounded around with enthusiasm, his big poofy, curly dark brown hair bouncing with every large to minor movement of his. I just stood stiffly, my eyes hovering from one map to another lazily. Then something caught my eye for a brief moment. I brushed a little bit of the hair out of my face, seeing better the big red X on one of the maps.

     "What's that?" I asked the man.

     "Ooo, that would be a TREASURE map! Found in the ancient wreckage of voyager ships, these maps can lead to MANY treasures, all of which contain things such as GOLD, eMeRAlDs, and sometimes even DIAMONDS!" He delivered. I scratched my chin.

     "And is there any way of knowing how far away these treasures are?"

     "No and that's why they are so cheap these days! No one can know whether the treasure is just beyond your front door, or MILLIONS of miles away, and these days no one has the time anymore to see for themselves how long it'll take! ... *sigh..* And that's why my maps come at such a cheap price! A price like none other! My, even a couple old coins could afford one of these!"

     I opened my hand, revealing the last two coins I had. With wonder, I thought about the possibility of digging up actual GOLD and DIAMONDS. Of course, this could all just be a scam...

     "Mind if I?" I then took a closer look at one of these maps, looking for a dull, brownish tint to the writing. I was glad to see there was one, as well as a warn look to the papers. Also looked like an older style of paper, which seemed more legit. Finally, I sniffed the paper, Smelling a faint saltiness to it. Wow, really did seem legit. "Huh. Guess I'll try one." I plopped my last two coins on the paper and grabbed the map of my choice. When I turned around with it, I could feel the heat from Sparky's angry laser eyes digging into the side of my head. "What?" I turned to the cat with a chuckle. "Haven't you been telling me to put myself out there and try something new for a while now? Well, here I am, trying something new!"

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     "One, two, three, four; and one, two, three, four.." I marched along the sandy beaches of a distant island, quite a ways from the town where I had bought the map. Sparky trotted lazily behind me, probably thinking I had gone insane. I probably had, but there was no real way of knowing. After all, a madman only thinks the rest of the world has gone nuts, being too insane himself to even realize it is he who has betrayed his own senses.

     Finally, I felt like I was reaching the boarder of the map. The magic little dot that was supposed to be me was still scraping against the very edge of the picture. But I had a feeling that soon it would venture out into the green, yellow, and blue landscape set before it. I hadn't expected that to be so soon, however.

     The little grey dot turned into a grey arrow. I blew a lock of my -- short for a girl -- brown hair out of my face, anticipation building in my muscles.

     "OoOo! Here we go, Sparky! We're getting close!" I whispered, as if deep down I was worried someone was listening. Sparky mewed a low growl, unimpressed. Only interested in the butterfly fluttering overhead. There was something else that changed on the map too, strangely. Some black scribbles appeared on the map, not far from the red X.

     Now, I never learned how to read as a little girl. My mom could never afford school or even a program that would help afford a school. In fact, the only way we even survived was by scavenging for mushrooms in my early years. But I did learn a few of the letters. One was an uppercase L, however that was after the uppercase H, as well as a lot of other letters between the two. I also saw an o, which was by far my favorite letter. All I knew was that maybe I should avoid where those letters were, just in case it was a warning. And so I did. I avoided the trees where the letters were and stuck to the sandy beaches. Not the best for my shoes, but at least I was being safe.

     My excitement grew as the little arrow on the map crept ever closer to the looming X on the map. Just around this bend. My jaw dropped when I had finally come to the X.

     "...NO!!... SIX DAYS of searching, and my reward is THIS!?!" Before me was a big crater in the sand, accompanied by the remains of an old chest left out to rot. Angered, I stormed to the box and flipped it over. I searched inside -- all around for at least SOMETHING I could salvage! Nothing...

     It didn't take me too long to calm down, as I rummaged through the sand and old wood, for half of me had expected this the whole time. Of course... This was just a scam in the hopes someone like me would be desperate enough to pay for the chance to endless wealth. I stood knee deep in the sand, calming down after my short outburst.

     Sparky rubbed against my side gently, a polite purr asking me for something to eat. I sighed.. "Hhhh, you're right. The sun's starting to go down already... Let's just get you a snack and camp here for the night.."

     And so we did. I pulled out a small fishing pole I had made and cast it into the ocean. As it sat in the sand, I wandered along the edge of the forest, gathering as many fallen sticks as I could carry. I made a fire, caught a few fish and one leather helmet, cooked all but the helmet over the fire, and I and Sparky ate a tasteless fish dinner together.

     After I had eaten, my eyes wandered to the stars. What beauty they held... Their shining glory hiding behind them so many mysteries. Mysteries likely no one but Notch himself would know...

     I laid back in the sand, Sparky crawling on and curling up on my belly. Together, we watched the dancing lights as they slowly but surely glided across the sky.

     "Nothing like a good star gazing to remind yourself just how small you are, hu' buddy?" I dipped my chin a little, smiling faintly at the kitty already fast asleep. "...Just a few more minutes.." Looking again into the sky, my mind transfixed -- fascinated with the sight; the overwhelming thought of ENDLESS possibilities resting beyond the night... Oh, what a beautiful night...

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This book shall be officially rivaling p0tat0-g0ddess 's (Herobrine's SON) book: "Heir To A Bloody Throne." >:}

However, I might not even publish this book until it is done, so it may be a while. 👍

Also, "Sparky" was in no way named after my brother's character. It was simply the first name that came to mind while I was writing and quickly needed one.