"Benji" by Taylor Loux

This is a story my son Taylor wrote for school. He's in the process of doing illustrations for it now. I'm so proud of him. I know this is a long post, but this is really a great story! (Mostly I'm posting it for Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and cousins!)

“Benji, please come down stairs for dinner.”
“One second, I’ll be there,” Benji the bunny exclaimed. He ran down the stairs and turned the corner. He sat in his hard, wooden chair next to Danny, a hedgehog who now smelled like garlic. He looked at the garlic mush that was placed in front of him. It was his favorite meal. He gobbled down all of his food and started to get ready for bed. He had school tomorrow, and he needed the rest.
Benji looked into the mirror while brushing his teeth. He wondered why he had to be spotted. No one liked his spots, and if he didn’t have spots, his parents wouldn’t have given him up. Benji let out a tear and climbed into his small bed and drifted off to sleep. That night he dreamed of a giant castle where he lived with a king. In the dream the king accepted him for who he was, but it was only a dream.


The next morning, Benji got out of bed, got everything he needed for school, and went to wait for the bus. When the bus finally arrived, he hopped in. Benji didn’t have any friends, so he usually sat by himself, but today the bus stopped in an unusual place and in came a squirrel. The squirrel walked down the aisle looking for a seat. Benji had never seen this squirrel before at school. He was very little.
“Can I sit here? All the other seats are taken,” the little squirrel asked quietly.
“Yeah, sure,” Benji replied, “I’ve never had someone sit by me before.”
“I’m JoJo. I just moved here,” he said while shaking Benji’s paw.
“ I’m Benji. I lived here my whole life. So, where did you say you were from?” Benji asked.
“Oh sorry, I moved here from the Great Wood,” JoJo said.


Everyone else on the bus heard this and gasped at what they had heard, for they all knew that The Great Wood was were the King dwelled.
“Where’s that?” Benji asked very confused, for he did not know anything about a king, or the Great Forest.
“It’s where the King lives. Many people believed that the King took in any animals that were abandoned and lost. “He was one of the most loving animal in the whole world, many of the storytellers would say. But over the years, people began to get tired of His laws. Then they turned away from Him, and they couldn’t see Him at all.”
“Everyone knows that He doesn’t exist squirrel,” one of the rabbits blurted out.
JoJo frowned, he hadn’t realized that so many animals did not believe in the King.


After the long day of school Benji took JoJo to his favorite place in the world, the giant tree house.
“Wow, this is so cool,” JoJo said amazed. They climbed up the rope ladder and gazed up at the white, fluffy clouds above them.
“What did you mean there back at the bus? I’ve never heard of a king like that before,” Benji said.
“I thought I told you,” JoJo said.
“I know, but I just don’t understand why a king would like me. I have spots. No one likes my spots,” Benji said sadly.
“He doesn’t care what you look like. He likes you the way you are,” JoJo said.
Benji thought for a moment. The king they were talking about sounded awfully familiar to the king in his dream.


“JoJo, I have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Benji said while climbing down the ladder.
When Benji climbed down the ladder he quickly raced to the orphanage. He knew what he had to do. He had to find the king. But he couldn’t leave JoJo. He was the only one that could show him the way. He had to take him too. When he reached the orphanage, he got all of his clothes, his toothbrush, a candy bar, and a flashlight. He climbed out his window and headed towards JoJo’s house. When Benji reached JoJo’s house, he searched to find his window.
After circling the house, he finally found it. He began to tap on the glass. After a moment of tapping, a little head poked up from the window, it was JoJo.


“Benji, is that you.” JoJo said quite tiredly.
“Yes, I need you to come and show me where the King lives.”
“Benji, the King doesn’t live there anymore,” JoJo said
“But I thought you said you lived with Him,” Benji said quite confused.
“Well, He came to the Great Woods and lived there for awhile. That’s when I met Him, but He had to go. In a way, He still lives with us because He promised when He left He wouldn’t leave us but would live inside of us. My family left the Great Woods so that we could spread the news that the King still exists. He just returned to be with His Father,” JoJo said hoping that Benji would understand.
“Oh, now no one will adopt me,” Benji said trying to hold back his tears.
“You mean you don’t have a family?” JoJo said confused.


Benji couldn’t help it. He started to run for the woods. He had to run away. He couldn’t wait for a family any longer. He had to find someone who would love him.
JoJo ran to get his shoes and coat. He started to run after Benji.
When Benji finally reached the woods, he tried running through all the twigs and braches, but they kept on hitting him. Then he suddenly tripped on branch and hit his head. Everything turned black.
An hour had past when Benji finally woke up, but he was no longer lying on the prickly ground of the woods but on a warm, soft, and cozy bed. He looked to the left of him and sitting there was JoJo.
“He’s awake!” JoJo said quite happily. Everyone rushed into the room.
“This is my mom and dad,” JoJo said.
“How are you feeling?” JoJo’s dad said.
“My head hurts a little,” Benji replied.
“You did take a nasty fall,” JoJo’s mom said.


JoJo looked at him and said, “Benji, while you were sleeping, we were talking. We didn’t know that you didn’t have a family, and we’d like you to be part of our family.”
Benji was so happy, “You really want to adopt me?”
“Yes, we do, Benji,” JoJo’s dad said.
JoJo then turned to Benji and said, “Benji, I want to explain something to you about the King of The Great Wood. When He left, He left a part of Himself here. And since we love Him and believe in Him, we can almost see Him. He’s in our hearts. If you believe He’s real, you just have to tell Him that you believe and ask Him to be in your heart.”
“I do believe, JoJo. Before I met you I had a dream about the King, and I lived with him in his kingdom.”
“That was the king inviting you in!” said JoJo.


THE END