Once there was a land called Dangerland where many unfortunate incidents occurred. Unfortunately, at least for Wary Winston, that was where he lived. Wary Winston was not brave like others in Dangerland. Being an investigator in Dangerland and being wary of dangers sometimes got in the way of Wary Winston’s job. Although he was an Investigator, Wary Winston felt the need to guard himself from the hazard at his work. Wary Winston was always the most careful, sometimes even frightened, of the danger that lay in the streets of Dangerland.

One cloudy day, Wary Winston woke up and cautiously walked down his steep stairs being careful not to fall. Wary Winston made his way into the kitchen and made himself some coffee. However, before drinking any coffee, he waited until it was cold. After all, he did not want to burn his tongue. Following drinking his chilly coffee, Wary Winston got ready to leave for work. After locking his door on the way out, Wary Winston tried to turn the doorknob five times to make sure the door was securely locked. After all, he did not want anyone breaking into his house. While walking to work, he worried about what study he would work on today and hoped it wouldn’t be too dangerous. It made Wary Winston anxious when he thought about what harmful situations he might end up in. So for the rest of the walk, he thought about his delicious breakfast.  

At work, his partner, Incredulous Ivan (who never believed anything), came up to him. Incredulous Ivan said, “There is a ghost named Ms. Spectral haunting a tunnel, but no need to worry, I doubt she is scary.”

“Really?! What are we going to do?!” Wary Winston’s worst fear was ghosts. In fact, Wary Winston had even heard of Ms. Spectral before. He had never liked ghosts because they could sneak up on you so easily. Wary Winston shivered at the thought of seeing a ghost, especially Ms. Spectral. Although Wary Winston was afraid of the capability of Ms. Spectral, he and Incredulous Ivan had to go to the tunnel to investigate.

Once they arrived at the spooky, murky tunnel where trains used to run, Wary Winston felt even more anxious thinking about Ms. Spectral. Even just the putrid smell of the tunnel made Wary Winston vigilant of all the possible dangers around him. Incredulous Ivan (who was always in disbelief) pulled his magnifying glass out of his backpack and looked closely at the tunnel walls.

Incredulous Ivan stated, “What is this green gloop?”

Wary Winston replied, “Whatever it is, I sure hope it isn’t on the floor. We could slip!”

“I doubt it is anything harmful,” Ivan said firmly. Wary Winston carefully avoided the gloop on the floor, worrying it would make him skid across the tunnel floor. Wary Winston and Incredulous Ivan walked further into the tunnel. They anticipated the attack of Ms. Spectral at any moment. Luckily, the two were prepared with their G.C.M.s (Ghost-Capturing-Machines). Although they had their machines, Wary Winston still felt very perturbed and unsettled walking through the cave.

Suddenly, Ms. Spectral surfaced from the sticky ceiling, quick to scare them both off their feet. Wary Winston screamed in fear of the ghost above him. Incredulous Ivan stated, “This isn’t a real ghost, how would she be floating?!” and stood there in disbelief, “There is no point to capture a fake ghost!” Standing beside Incredulous Ivan, Wary Winston couldn’t move because of how overwhelmed with fear he was. He knew that Ms. Spectral was a real ghost; he could just tell by how she stared into his eyes.

While chaos swamped him, a thought crossed Wary Winston’s mind: If Incredulous Ivan won’t capture Ms.Spectral, who will? So then, as Ms. Spectral slowly approached him, Wary Winston gathered all his courage and blasted Ms. Spectral with his G.C.M.

Ms. Spectral cried in agony as she was pulled into the machine. Wary Winston winced at the sight of Ms. Spectral getting sucked into the forceful vacuum. Soon after the terror was over, Wary Winston stepped back to pause and reflect on what bravery had occurred. For once, Incredulous Ivan congratulated Wary Winston in disbelief and said, “Wow! You really did it!”. Wary Winston had felt proud for having done such a good deed. Wary Winston had never felt this way before. He felt relieved of the worry that had previously crowded his mind.

Wary Winston and Incredulous Ivan walked back to the office that afternoon to tell everyone how courageous Wary Winston had been. Wary Winston had overcome his fears and was no longer scared of the danger in Dangerland. One office worker cheered, “Maybe we should call you Mr. Valorous!”

Wary Winston replied, “Yes, I would love that!”

That night, Mr. Valorous strolled back to his house feeling accomplished that he had overcome his fears. As he walked along the street, he smiled with pride for the fearlessness he had shown. Mr. Valorous had done such a fantastic job at the tunnel and he hoped more days would be the same. As he predicted, every day from then on, Mr. Valorous had been brave in the face of danger. Mr. Valorous, no longer wary, could finally live confidently and bravely in the dangerous streets of Dangerland.