The Land Over The Rainbow

She rolled onto her bed, letting the tears fall down slowly. She cried and cried, pitying herself. She wished of a better world. She wished of entering that wonderful land over the rainbow. That land everyone dreams of, where dreams come true. Where there is always happiness and pleasure, where everything is perfect. She thought of this every time she cried, every time she was bullied, which was every day. And every day it made her smile to dream of her land over the rainbow. The land of fairy tales and fantasy and perfectness.

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“Tehila, darling, it's dinner time,” her mother called from downstairs. Tehila slowly lifted herself off the bed and went into the dining room. Her mother's cooking always cheered her up and mealtimes made her happy. Dinner time was when she could talk to her mother and family about her day.

Tehila loved her family so much. Her mother always listened, her father always had a joke. Her younger seven year old sister Shira was cute and her playfulness always cheered Tehila up. Leah, Tehila's older sister, was away at collage. Leah understood her though and they were constantly emailing and skyping each other. Tehila awaited Leah's visits. And then there was her baby brother Mathew, a ball of cuteness, like all babies are.

“Tuna Fiesta!!! YUM!!!”, Shira said, bouncing into the dining room. They all sat down to eat and another day ended happily. Tehila lived a happy life, if you ignore the bullying of her classmates, in school and out of school.

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Tehila woke up in the morning, hopped out of bed, tugged on her clothes, and went downstairs for breakfast. A delicious aroma reached her.

“Am I smelling Irish food?”

“Yes you are, honey, have you forgotten? It's St. Patricks Day!”

Tehila groaned. She was NOT leaving the house today. She'd become her classmates luck – a vulnerable girl to punch! But her mother had other plans.

“We're going to the fair today.”

Tehila put on a fake smile. As much as she loved the fair, she hated being publicly humiliated, punched, hit and teased. And then her family would fight for her and make it worse for her in school the next day. Tehila sighed.

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Tehila ran into her room and ploped onto her bed, crying. The day had gone exactly as she had expected. And worse, Mathew ran away while her classmates were teasing her and her mother yelled at her for not watching him! Tehila cried her heart out.

“I wish..... I truly wish..... that I could live in another world.... that I could live another life! Oh,” she cried and cried. Then she looked up and saw a green fairy with clovers in her hand.

“Close your mouth, Tehila. You've never seen a fairy before?” The fairy laughed and Tehila closed her mouth.

“I'm the fairy of luck, my name is Cynthia. I heard you make a wish. What kind of other world would you like to live in?”

At this offer, Tehila was so surprised. She didn't think about her family, about how much she actually loves life, about anything. She wanted to go to that dream land!

“The land over the rainbow!”

“You sure? There is no changing your mind unless you are granted another clover.”

“Wait, why am I getting a lucky clover?”

“Because of how sad you are on St. Patrick’s Day! You can't be sad today!”

Tehila thought for a second.

“Yes, I'm sure.”

“Then it is done.” Cynthia took some powder from a bag labeled 'across the rainbow' and sprinkled it on a clover. She then disappeared, leaving the clover and a note on Tehila's bed.

Tehila picked it up and read it.

'Hold the clover and anything you want to bring with you in your hand and clearly say “I, Tehila Bear, truly wish to go where the clover wishes, to the land across the rainbow”. Then the clover will grow and you and everything you wish to take must go into the clover portal within a minute.'

“Wow, I'm really going!” Tehila wrote a letter to her family. She then ran around the room, grabbing everything she wanted to take with her. Her computer, her iPod Touch 4, her favorite stuffed animal, her journal, her favorite book, her favorite dress, and her wallet. She assumed, since it was a perfect world, that there would be more books, clothes, and the necessities she would need.

Tehila took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and said the phrase. The clover shot out of her hand and flew to the center of the room, growing. It stopped in the center of the room and laid on the floor like a rug.

“Awesome!” Tehila began throwing her things onto the clover carpet and the disappeared! Finally, she jumped in.

“Woah!” She hurtled into the carpet, through a magical portal. “This is the best roller coaster ever!” Three minutes later, she landed on the ground with a Bang!

“Yow!”

“Such a cute stuffed animal!”

“I just got banged on the head with a computer!”

“Ew, I hate books!”

“Pretty dress!”

Tehila turned around and saw a bunch of people holding her things.

“Hey! Those are mine!”, Tehila yelled. But as Tehila yelled this she did not feel anger, but she felt happy. As if it is the best thing in the world that they stole her things.

“Is this the land across the rainbow?”

“Ah, a new person. Welcome!” A man stepped foreword, dressed in a billowy robe, black hair in a pony-tail. A girl Tehila's age stood next to him. She was wearing a pink dress with yellow polka dots.

“I'm Abigail. Today I am very happy.” The girl skipped to Tehila, her strawberry blonde hair bouncing. “Come on! Gotta show you to your room.”

“I have my own room?”

“Are you Tehila?”

“Yes...”

“Well then you do! Thirty minutes ago it was assigned. That was when you were given your clover, I assume.” Tehila nodded as the girl dragged her along. They passed a lot of happy people, and stopped when they reached a girl with golden brown skin, light brown hair, a blue tang top and a blue, pink, and purple skirt.

“This is Noa,” Abigail said. Noa waved and Abigail dragged them both once again. They arrived at a beautiful room with yellow walls with rainbows painted on them, a coral-pink colored bed and desk, a green table, chairs, and a white couch. There was a sign above the bed with Tehila is beautiful letters.

“Your room!”

“Wow!”

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Tehila had a very eventful, fun, exciting and happy day. It sure beat school days! In fact, every day in the land over the rainbow was better than days at home. The school in the land over the rainbow was fun and colorful, everyone was really cheerful, and no one was ever unhappy. Come to think of it, Tehila couldn't be unhappy!

She stomped around, acting mad. She hit herself, trying to make herself cry. But she just couldn't! When she was crying because she was hurt, she was still happy! She felt as if it was.... good. And the more she thought of her family, the more happy she became. Not sad with homesickness, or mad when she thought of her sister stealing her soda. She couldn't be anything but happy!

Tehila took a mint ice cream from her fridge. She hated mint, but somehow it tasted good. Tehila screamed in... happiness? She couldn't even be frustrated!

“I know why everyone is so happy in this place! It's not because it is a perfect world, it is because the world forces you to be happy and to think it is perfect. It is too perfect! So perfect that all feelings that aren't happiness are sucked out of you!” Tehila wished to return home at that moment. But only for a moment. She couldn't dream of leaving this place full of color, fun, love, happiness and perfectness. Yes, it sucked out other feelings, but that was good, wasn't it?

Tehila shook herself out of it. It wasn't good! She had to get Abigail and Noa and find a way out of this place. The land over the rainbow wasn't the right place, her own world was. No one can be truly happy without troubles in their lives. Because if every day was special, what made each day different? If everyone was always nice and happy, there was no personality. If everything was perfect, nothing was original.

“Original is good. Different is good. Working to achieve is good. You need to earn perfectness, not be forced to think everything is perfect. I'll find a way home.”

“Wonderful, Tehila.” Tehila turned around and saw Cynthia, the lucky fairy. “You realized that eternal happiness can't be forced. You realized that your own world was the right one for you. Would you like to return home?”

“Yes! And.... can I bring my friends too?”

“Of coarse, if they wish to.”

“Tehila, Tehila!” Noa and Abigail came rushing in, huffing and puffing. “Where are you going?”

“Back home.”

“Why? Noa looked confused.

“Because I realized I love it there. Would you like to come with?”

Abigail was sitting on the floor, trying to cry. She nodded.

“I've wanted to go home for a year. I couldn't figure out how. And you just came and you can already leave!” Abigail wailed. Noa looked at the Tehila.

“I don't know why you'd want to go, but I'll go too.” Tehila nodded.

“I'll give you five minutes to get your things.” Cynthia said, getting the clover prepared to go.

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Tehila landed in her room with Noa and Abigail beside her. She opened the door and Shira bounced in.

“I missed you!”

Tehila smiled. “And I missed this world.”

“Welcome back,” said her mother.

“Who are these two?” asked her father.

“Can we try to find their parents? Cynthia said they are from our city.”

“Sure, who's Cynthia?”

“Long story.”

And with that Tehila returned to her life, but with a new look and two new friends.