Kajuyali by Cici Tellez {Inklings Book Contest 2024 Finalist}

Today, we are featuring Inklings Book Contest 2024 finalist Cici Tellez! She finished 4th grade this past school year and wrote a suspenseful story called “Sweet Dreams”. One judge said, “The descriptive writing drew me in from the start, bringing to life the strong characters, the setting, and the intriguing story.” Continue below to enjoy the story in digital book or plain text form.

Chapter 1 – Breakfast

The warm, crisp, morning June air blew softly through Carolina Acosta’s open window, acting like an alarm clock. Carolina woke up to a slimy, wet tongue slobbering all over her face.

“¡Ayayay, Chico!” she said with a small giggle. “I’m getting up now!” She hopped out of bed and looked out of the window, letting the cool air caress her face and hair.

“¡Ey, Caro!”

Carolina looked down at the sunbathed street below and saw her friend Daniela waving up at her. 

“It’s Saturday!”

 “¡Yo sé! I know!” Carolina called back. She and Dani had been waiting two whole months to go to Kajuyalí, a three-day overnight camp for ages 12 to 14. The two girls were both 13, and both born ready for an awesome sleepaway camp. Carolina could tell that her chocolate labrador, Chico, wasn’t as thrilled as they were about them being away. Throwing on a T-shirt and jeans, Carolina padded out into the hallway in her bunny-rabbit slippers.

“¡Hola mi Vida! ¡Buenos días!” Mom smiled. “I made arepas!”

The warm, welcoming smell of hot arepa and egg wafted into Carolina’s nose, and she followed it to her chair at the breakfast table. She was followed by Chico, Dad, and a bounding Cami, her sweet eight-year-old little sister. Chico took up his usual spot under the table. As everyone got seated, Carolina dug into her plate piled high with fresh arepa and eggs. They could all hear the loud whining and whimpering coming from under the table, which was soon followed by a content munching under the table and a mischievous giggle from Cami, indicating that the dog would end up having most of Cami’s breakfast.

“So, are you excited for your big trip?” asked Dad. “Are you all packed up?”

 “Fuf, I aff fefreffing,” Carolina replied. Everyone looked at her questioningly. She swallowed and answered, “Yeah, I have everything.” 

Carolina and Daniela’s camp started at 2:00, so they would get on the bus at around 1:30. At that moment, Cami loudly announced that she was bored, so Carolina took her up to the bedrooms and found a case of colored pencils and a stack of paper. As Cami started to draw a rainbow penguin, Carolina retreated to her room and sat on her bed, thinking about her camp. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that there was something missing. She kept trying to figure out what it was, and finally, it hit her. She had never seen it on a map. She grabbed her iPad and searched Kajuyalí on Google Maps. She gasped.

Chapter 2 – Adios Familia

The screen of Carolina’s iPad read: Google Maps has not mapped this area.

“What?” murmured Carolina. Out of everything she had ever searched on Google Maps, only one thing had not been mapped. And even then, it was because it didn’t exist! She and Daniela had just been searching for Banana Pants and laughing their heads off. She tried it again, but still, nothing. 

“What is going on?!” she said aloud.

Apparently she was too loud, because Cami bounded into the room and said, “What’s going on with what?” 

Carolina quickly clicked off her iPad and threw it to the foot of the bed. “Nothing,” she replied, a little too quickly for her preference.

“Oh, just nothing, huh? Totally not some secret teenager thing that’s ‘too scary for your teensy little sister’?” said Cami in mock innocence. She tried to make a grab for Carolina’s iPad, but Carolina swiped it away out of reach. 

“Get out!!” Carolina snapped, and Cami hmphed and stormed out of the room.

Carolina turned her iPad back on and texted Dani: Have u searched for Kajuyalí on google maps? I tried but it said it hadn’t mapped it. so weird. 

She paused, her finger on the send arrow. Would Dani believe her? Could Carolina really expect even her best friend to believe a text saying a sleep away camp didn’t exist? This was so weird. She had known about this camp for months; how could Google Maps not have mapped it? Suddenly, she was starting to get creeped out. This was going a little far. Kajuyalí had to exist. It had been the only thing anyone talked about, both in school and at home. There had been posters put up all over the school by the high schoolers, saying how great it was. Almost everyone knew about it, and it sure sounded real. Carolina sighed and pressed the send button.

Just then, she heard Mom call her downstairs. Dani had arrived to pick her up before they left on the bus. Carolina grabbed her backpack and suitcase and went out to say goodbye to her family. Daniela was waiting for her eagerly, Cami was twisting her beaded necklace around her neck, Dad was smiling kindly, Chico was panting with his tongue hanging out of his mouth, and Mom was holding a nicely wrapped box and had a little tear in her eye. Carolina walked up to Cami and lifted her up, twirling her around in the air. Apparently, the nerves of Carolina’s going away for four nights had worn Cami out enough that she wasn’t burning with the remnants of their previous fight. Cami giggled with pleasure as Carolina spun her. When Carolina put her down, Cami whispered, “I don’t want you to go.” 

Carolina wrapped her arms around Cami and told her, “You’ll have Mom and Dad. And, before you know it, I’ll be back.”

Cami nodded and threw her arms around Carolina one more time. Carolina walked over to Dad, and he gave her a strong, loving hug. 

“You enjoy that camp. I love you, Mija,” he said. Then Carolina went to Mom, and Mom threw her arms around her. 

“Te amo mucho. I love you so much. Have a wonderful time.” She held out the box. “I got this for you. Open it.” 

Carolina took the box and unwrapped it. Inside was a beautiful mochila, a bag with designs on it.

“¡Gracias!” Carolina gave Mom a big hug, and she and Daniela stepped out the front door for the last time before they experienced a sleepaway camp.

Chapter 3 – Bus Ride

The moment Carolina and Dani stepped out the door and closed it behind them, Dani squealed with joy and excitement. “Oh my gosh, I am so excited to go to a real sleepaway camp!!!!” 

So, she hadn’t seen Carolina’s message about the camp. The two best friends walked the short distance to Dani’s house, and together they waited for the bus to come pick them up. 

“What do you think it will be like?” asked Carolina, trying to bring up the subject of her suspicions very gradually and innocently. 

“Oh, I don’t know, probably amazing in its own way,” replied Dani. 

“Where is it? Like, where on a map?” asked Carolina slowly. 

“I dunno, never seen it,” said Dani, not noticing anything strange. 

Carolina started to get impatient. “Ugh! What I’m trying to say is that I don’t know if it’s real!” 

Dani looked at her weirdly, like Carolina had suddenly grown another head. Then Dani started to laugh. Like, really laugh. It seemed like she would never stop. Finally, she contained herself long enough to say, “You are absolutely crazy!” before she burst out laughing again. 

Carolina crossed her arms disapprovingly. She reached into her suitcase and brought out her iPad. “Well, if you won’t believe me, then maybe you’ll believe this.” She typed in her password and opened the iPad into Google Maps. She put in Kajuyalí, and turned the iPad to show Dani the results. 

“It’s probably just some glitch or something….” she said. But she sounded less sure. 

“HONK!” They were interrupted by the horn of the bus, ready to take them to the camp. 

“I guess we’ll find out by where this bus takes us,” Dani said. 

Carolina and Dani went outside with all their stuff and boarded the bus. When they got seated, they clicked their seat belts tightly and securely, and they were off. Around ten minutes into the ride the scenery gradually started to change from town to the jungle.

Dani leaned over to Carolina. “I didn’t know it was all the way out here,” she said, taking in the scenery. 

“Me neither.” Carolina replied. They rounded a corner, and the driver pulled the bus to a stop. Everyone gasped. A distance away from them was a wall of what looked like fog. The bus driver drove slowly closer, and a long silver van screeched to a stop in front of them.

A tall woman stepped out of the car and said in a deep, silky voice, “I’ll take the kids from here.”

Chapter 4 – Secretos

 “Uhm… I have a job to transport these kids to a camp called Kajuyalí.” The bus driver tentatively replied to the tall woman. Carolina and Dani were anxious about what was going to happen. The woman walked closer to the bus, leaned in front of the driver, and whispered something in his ear.

 The driver suddenly looked a lot more relaxed. “It’s all right kids, she’s going to take you to your camp. Come on, get your stuff together, let’s go. ¡Vamos!”

Carolina got off the bus with Dani, and they slowly walked towards the long van. 

“Come on! We don’t have all day!” the strange woman ushered.

 When they all got into the van, Carolina was put with a girl named Martina, and Dani was put several seats back with a boy named Alejandro. Everyone was quiet and a little scared because this lady had just ushered them out of their bus and into her long sleek van.

Finally, Carolina worked up the courage to ask the woman, “What even is your name? And why are you here?” 

The woman turned around and said in her deep voice, “Oh, I guess I haven’t introduced myself properly. My name is Angelica, and I am the leader of camp Kajuyalí. You asked why I’m here. I am here to take you to Kajuyalí. You see, I couldn’t let that ignorant bus driver drive you though our Neverland.” Before Carolina could ask another question, Angelica answered it. “You’re wondering what Neverland is? It is our sanctuary for forgotten animals. You are also wondering what that wall of fog is up ahead. That, my friend, is the entrance to Neverland.”

 Carolina realized she had another question. “You said ‘forgotten animals.’ What do you mean, forgotten?”

Angelica paused, and for a moment, her face formed into what looked like a mournful expression. “Do you ever think about the animals that have gone extinct?”

Carolina thought for a moment. “No.” 

“Exactly,” started Angelica. “When animals go extinct, there’s a chance of bringing them back, but humans have a terrible habit of just completely forgetting about them the moment the last one of them is dead.” 

“But you said you could bring them back; how do you do that if every one of them is dead?” Carolina asked. 

“We usually find an egg or hidden baby somewhere. These animals can be real smart.” Angelica replied. “Hundreds of years ago, a woman found a baby dragox, a dragon-fox. The poor thing was thin as a rail and barely able to live. The woman took the creature under her wing, and they became the closest of friends. The woman became a forgotten creature caretaker, and eventually created the Neverland. She used an ancient magic to create the fog wall to protect the animals from any harm.”

Daniela decided to pipe up. “Who was this woman?”

Angelica took a deep breath. “She was my great-grandmother. She was a marvelous person.” She paused. “Anyway, we should get going. Kajuyalí ain’t waiting to have a party.”

They drove right up to the wall and many of the kids held their breaths, waiting for something horrible to happen when they drove through. But they just went right through. Nothing about anything changed; the scenery stayed jungle. What did happen was a few things; first, they heard a pounding of hooves; second, they saw a big shape running/galloping towards them; and next, they saw a huge, towering elk, the size of a large horse, and on its head, were not antlers. This giant elk had ram’s horns.

Chapter 5 – Camp Kajuyalí

Some kids screamed in fright and others sat motionless in their seats. The elk then bent down and licked Angelica’s hand through her open window. 

“He’s perfectly safe,” she reassured them. 

Soon the elk licked all their hands once they got used to him. They drove on, and soon they could see a large bonfire rising high in the sky. Carolina could now hear the joyful voices coming from the camp. Suddenly, someone screamed. Carolina whipped around to find the cause and saw a girl staring and screaming at her lap. Carolina twisted to see what she was afraid of and saw a small, dog-sized fox with dragon wings.

“Ah, I see you have found your first dragox. This one is Carlos. He is very friendly,” mused Angelica.

Then Carlos said, “Bienvenida, amiga.” 

The girl whimpered in her seat. Angelica turned her attention back to the road, and they continued. They pulled up in front of a wooden post, and many people and animals crowded around them, shouting and greeting them.

“Quiet down, quiet down. Thank you.” Angelica said once she stepped out of the van. “These children have just arrived and are very new to us, so please give them space. I have not explained our ways and what we do yet,” Angelica said, directing her voice to the children, “At this camp you will have lessons throughout the day. These include Magical History, Caretaking of Magical Creatures, Forest Magic, and many others. Tonight, there will be no lessons; we will celebrate the coming of new campers with a Welcome Party. You will be led by a counselor to your cabins where you can explore and get used to where you will be sleeping for the next few nights. You will hear the horn when it is time for the party.” She turned to the counselors. “Counselors, take your children to their cabins.” 

Carolina, Dani, Martina, and another girl named Laura were led by a teenage girl to a cozy cabin with big, squishy beds, a couch, swingy hammocks, and beanbag chairs. The three girls unpacked their bags and sat down together to watch the preparation happening outside.

“So, it was real…” Dani murmured.

“I guess so.” Said Carolina.

The girls each looked at each other and started to grin. Carolina understood now, the camp did exist, it was a special camp, and Carolina could only daydream of what was to come in the summer ahead.