Before Bella even had the chance to scream at the fact that her reflection seemed to have a mind of its own, it had reached out through the glass barrier, gripped her wrist, and had pulled her straight through. A scream ripped out her throat as she felt herself falling into nothing. She refused to open her eyes as she was surrounded by a vast expanse of emptiness. It was cold and felt like malleable metal was pressing itself against her skin.

She didn't know how long she had had her eyes closed, but, after what felt like hours, she finally felt herself stop falling. Gingerly, she opened her eyes to find herself in a white room. The walls were pristine and gleamed like a million diamonds. So, this is why they say cleanliness is next to Godliness because God this place is so clean that it's white-light-sent-from-heaven-bright, she thought as she spun around in the centre of the room.

"Wait a minute..." she started, the terror of what had just happened returning. "Oh God, am I- Am I freaking dead?!"

She started to panic. She paced up and down the room, or least she thought it was up and down. There was nothing that indicated what anything was.

"Oh my God, I'm dead. I don't know how, but I'm dead, and that whole thing just now was an angel taking me to heaven- at least I thinks its heaven? Or it could be Purgatory...but the plainess of the room is so boring so this must be my personal hell for refusing to experience life on earth or-"

"Let me stop you right there," a voice said to her, chuckling at her confusion.

Bella whipped her head at the sound and saw a woman standing there, looking at her in clear amusement. She had slicked back, short, jet black hair and wore a white blazer over a white dress. She looked extremely professional as she stood behind the luminous white desk (wait there was a desk there? ) but her eyes seemed to be full of mirth and she had a kind smile on her lips. There was a kind of motherly warmth radiating off her that calmed Bella a little. But only a little.

"Are you God?" was all Bella could say, as she stood a few metres away frozen in fear and shock.

The woman laughed heartily before answering, "Not even close. But if you would come closer to my desk, I can explain everything to you. Can you do that for me, Bellatheibus?"

Now suspicious as to how this woman knew her name, she cautiously made her way towards her in slow strides until she was face to face with the woman who smiled brilliantly at her.

"Now, let's get started, shall we? My name is Nova," the woman, Nova, introduced herself. "And as you probably just noticed, I already know your name. Bellatheibus Demure. An orphan from St. Joseph's Home for Girls who just started attending St. Xavier's Convent. You turned twelve years on August 12th, happy belated golden birthday by the way, and just a few moments ago had an epiphany about how you should live your life. Am I correct?"

The woman looked at her, wearing a small smile. Bella gulped, throat suddenly dry and at a loss for words.

"I...yes. You're...very right- How are you right? Where am I right now and how the heck did my reflection grab me and transport me to a vacant white box of a room to speak to Not-God Nova?"

Nova laughed at her bewilderment. "I guess it is somewhat vacant isn't it? Never been fond of this room really...but if you're looking for some amazement..."

With a wave of her hand, the room began to change. The walls transformed, morphing from the eye-blinding, pristine white to a soft sky blue. Clouds formed on the walls and flying amongst them were alicorns with rainbow manes, leaving trails of stardust as they dashed across the painted sky. The wall behind Nova now had a beautiful, white phoenix rising from ashes, burning itself in a white flame and then resurrecting again. Wait, those things are literally moving on the walls AND the clouds are slowly drifting by, Bella realised. With wide eyes she looked to the centre of room where a large tree made from the clouds itself rose and regally stood as droplets of diamonds dripped down from it. Tiny rainbow lights popped out the top of the tree and when they got close enough, she realised that they were minature fairies that were giggling mischievously, one booping her nose as they flew past. The cold, white tiles beneath her bare feet became fluffy, wispy, and incredibly soft. She thought that if she lay down on it, she would never get up.

"Hmm...you got transported without shoes? Now that won't do. Actually, your entire outfit won't do." And then Nova waved her hand again and silver sparkles darted from her hand and began surrounding Bella until all she saw was a blur of silver. When she could see again, she was no longer wearing her pyjamas, but instead she donned a pale pink shirt with sparkly, puffed, hot pink sleeves, a regular pair of jeans and a pair of comfortable sneakers. While the outfit itself wasn't very impressive, the transformation was. It was very Cinderella like.

Oh my God, she's my Fairy Godmother about to take me to a ball to meet my hopefully age-appropriate prince! she thought excitedly, but she knew that that wasn't the case. It was an amusing thought though.

She looked up at Nova and saw her wearing a white Cinderella-like dress. Her jet-black hair shone with silver streaks and her smile was ten times brighter somehow.

"Ah. Now that's better," Nova commented. "Now, take a seat. I have quite some explaining to do."

"Okay, but, sit on what-" A piece of the cloud floor rose behind her and formed a chair. She sat down.

Bella looked up at Nova with wide eyes, astounded by the fact that she had just witnessed real magic...unless she had fallen back asleep somehow and her entire morning up to this point was a dream.

"Well, to begin: Welcome to ExtraOrdinary," Nova said. "Well, the waiting room before you end up in ExtraOrdinary."

"How can I be at extraordinary. It's a word, an adjective to be precise. Not a place."

"You were just pulled here by your reflection and witnessed magic for the first time. At this point, I'd say anything is possible."

Bella could not object to that, but she did ask, "How did I end up here? Why am I here?"

"Well those questions basically have the same answer. When you had your epiphany, your moment of understanding that life can be this amazing adventure; when you felt this urge to be better and to do incredible things, to open your mind and push fear aside to experience all that life had to offer...well, it really connected to your core and unlocked your hidden ExtraOrdinary potential. Remember that feeling you felt? That strange feeling that felt like lightning sparking within you?"

Bella nodded, knowing full well what she was referring to.

"That's what brought you here. It came from your core, a magical centre, like a heart, that had been dormant for a long time. That's what awakened your reflection. However, we don't really call them reflections. We call them Lyte Selves. They represent your good conscience and will try their very best to steer you in the right direction when needed, although they don't really have a mind of their own since they are essentially an extension of yourself."

Bella thought back to her reflection- Lyte Self- and how cold its expression was. How upset it sort of seemed to have met her.

"Do they normally have a stone-cold expression when they pull you in?" she asked.

"Well, no...they're usually quite cheerful...maybe you didn't see her properly or she just hadn't been formed completely yet."

Bella nodded. That sounded logical, well as logical as it could considering that they were talking about reflections that could move on their own. Honestly, all of this sounded so far fetched that if this were all in her head, Bella truly had a damn good imagination.

"So...you basically kidnap people to this place and then what? Expect them to stay? Why?"

"Well, I guess it can be considered kidnapping but, in our defence, you're technically supposed to be here, in ExtraOrdinary. We refer to people like you as Miracles. Souls born in Ordinary-"

"Ordinary?"

"-that were supposed to be a part of our side of our intertwined reality, but somehow ended up on the other side: The Ordinary side."

Bella thought that sounded sort of funny, the fact these people just brought them here and just expected them to leave everything behind, so she asked, "What makes you think people would want to leave their families to come here?"

"Because you wouldn't have been brought here if you wouldn't. You know where you belong, and it's not there. Besides, we're well aware that leaving would be a cause of concern for both parties, so we have our ways. Depending on your age or situation you might get an acceptance letter to a prestigious school or a job letter at an illustrious institution, all so that you have an excuse to come here."

"Come here to do what?"

"Learn how to use your magic of course!"

"I can do magic?! "

If Bella's eyes weren't saucers before, they surely were now. The idea of possessing magical abilities was something that most children could only dream of. Nova was right, she was willing to leave behind everyone and everything to stay here. Dream or not, this was one hell of an opportunity.

Suddenly, Bella frowned. "I didn't get a letter or anything of the sort. My reflec- Lyte Self just pulled me in randomly. What's that about?"

Nova smiled at her sadly. "I don't know how to put this gently, but to simply put it, no one would really care...not because they don't like you but because-"

"I never gave them a chance to," Bella finished dejectedly.

An uncomfortable silence fell between them for a while. Bella could hear the shimmering of the fairies gliding past her, the sound of the alicorns flying across the walls and gentle cry of the phoenix as it was rebirthed in a white flame. In an attempt to avoid thinking about that, she allowed her mind to wonder back on how they knew her name and other facts about her. Well, she contemplated, if they supposedly everything then-

Bella's eyes lit up. "You know things about me, right? Well, you must know who my parents are or, at least, who they were right?"

"Ah yes. Just a moment." Nova swept her hand across the table's surface and a manila folder appeared with "The Pre-ExtraOrdinary Life of Bellatheibus Demure" written on it in a fancy font.

Nova opened her file and started to flip through it. Bella looked at it excitedly. Within those pages might be my birth parents! she thought. However, the more Nova flipped through it, the more erratic her movements became. Her brows furrowed and her smile completely dropped off her face as she frantically read through the document two more times. Bella no longer felt hopeful.

"Is everything okay? Were they bad people or something? If so, I don't really mind. The orphanage would've been better anyway-"

"Actually, Bellatheibus," Nova said as she sighed heavily and placed the document down. She looked up at her, eyes full of sympathy. "They...they're not in your file, at all. I- I don't understand why they're not in here. This file is supposed to have everything about you, including who gave birth to you. In fact...this is the first time this has happened."

"Oh..." Bella looked down at her hands on her lap and began twiddling her fingers. Of course her parents weren't in her file. Of course she'd never get the chance to know who they were. Not that it mattered anyway. They don't define me. She forced herself not to cry, no matter how badly the tears stung her eyes.

"Is it bad that you don't know who my parents are?" Bella finally asked, scared of the answer. She had just learnt that she was an ExtraOrdinary Miracle. She didn't want to lose that.

"Well, it's certainly suspicious and the first time its ever happened, but you're not in trouble or anything. It'll probably turn up eventually." Nova smiled gently. "You're still meant to be here, and this shouldn't affect you in any way. Angela probably just messed up again..." She had said that last bit more to herself, but Bella still heard it.

"So when can I see ExtraOrdinary?"

"You can see it right after I ask you one question: would you prefer to be forgotten by everyone who has met you until this point? If you say yes, there will literally be no trace of you in anyone's mind."

Bella looked at Nova, startled that that was even a suggestion. She thought about it. The manner in which she came here reflected on her situation: no one would've noticed her missing from her bedroom. Not unless it was lunch or dinner. And she had never really made friends with anyone anyway, so there was no one she would really feel hurt by if they forget she even existed. She had never existed anyway.

"Would I ever get go back to Ordinary or is this move permanent?" she asked.

"In ExtraOrdinary we believe in travelling between realms to learn from Ordinary people and so that Miracles, such as yourselves, can spend time with their families. So no, this stay isn't permanent."

If Bella became the girl she had always wanted to be, confident and authentically herself without fear of judgment, then she could come back to Ordinary with fresh slate. She could actually be a whole new person to everyone she had ever known.

"Then yes, I want to be forgotten," she said, confident in her decision.

"This can't be reversed," Nova warned. "So, are you absolutely certain?"

"Yes Not-God Nova. I am."

Nova laughed at her little joke and then looked Bella in the eyes, almost as if for reassurance, before snapping her fingers. Bella doesn't know what effect that had, but she did know that it did something and that any trace of her in that world was removed from all existence. She wondered if her room still existed but was empty or had just simply never existed at all. It didn't matter now, she thought. Because I don't exist there anymore. I'm somewhere different, better, where I can discover who I truly am.

"Now then." Nova clasped her hands together and stood up, beckoning Bella to do the same. "Let's take this ExtraOrdinary Orientation to the real place, shall we?"

∞

Nova had taken Bella's hand and had then pulled them towards the phoenix wall. The phoenix let out a cry as they passed through its white, fiery death. Bella could feel the flames dancing on her skin as they walked through them, but somehow, they hadn't burnt. Magic, she thought.

"Wait, you said that I could do magic, right? How? I've never been able to do magic before, so why would I be able to now?" Bella questioned as they made their way down a pure white corridor. Along the way to wherever they were going, she noticed that there were other people dressed in normal clothing, looking just as awed as she was, guided by persons wearing plain white like Nova had when she had first seen her. They all seemed to be her age. "And how many people get not-kidnapped every year to be brought here."

"Well for one thing you never tried to do actual magic in Ordinary and your core would've been too underdeveloped to do so," Nova explained as she pulled Bella through a maze of corridors. Bella had no idea how anyone would remember their way around this place. "Magic is powered by imagination and belief. That's what this entire world is run by in a sense. So obviously in Ordinary, where you didn't believe it was real, it didn't work, and the whole underdeveloped core thing. Some persons even worship Imagination. They're known as Garendi ed La Miélure. And as for your second question, not a lot. They're mostly children near your age. Preferably so too, always best to start school within the first half of the term. Although, some older teens or adults end up here too. They go to different schools to learn how to channel their magic."

"Why mostly children- wait, did you just say school?" Bella looked up at Nova with wide eyes as though Nova was insane. Nova laughed and then tugged her into a surprisingly roomy, glass elevator with a bunch of other Miracles and Not-God-Novas.

Instead of answering her questions right away she, and her fellow Not-Gods, beckoned Bella and the other Miracles to look behind them. Bella and the others gasped at the sight before them. Down below them were buildings that were incredibly wacky and odd and of every colour of the rainbow. They were definitely not what they were used to seeing: boring rectangular structures in the same boring colour scheme. Some of these buildings had wings, some were giant eyeballs, some were literal cakes while others were in the shape of unicorn heads. The Ordinary World was completely, utterly boring compared to this.

And the more the elevator descended, the more they saw. They could see human-sized fairies darting about in fantastical outfits, persons with scales turning themselves into dragons to fly, and elves walking about in expensive, chic clothing, carrying themselves with elegance and grace.

"This place is amazing," a girl beside her commented. She had unruly, short brown hair and eyes of the deepest sea.

"Yeah. At this rate, I don't think I'd ever want to go back," Bella responded.

The girl nodded, eyes still focused on the scene before her.

After a few moments, the girl finally turned towards her. "I'm Blake Polomorray." She stretched her hand towards Bella. The way she conducted herself made her seem strangely professional.

Bella accepted her hand. "Bellatheibus Demure."

"Bellathee- Bellatheibus? What an odd name. Very original. I like it." Blake smiled at her. "You most definitely belong here."

Bella returned her smile and took the compliment.

"Where are you from?" The girl asked after a short while. "I've never heard your accent before."

"Trinidad and Tobago, an island in the Caribbean. You?"

"England. Is it as nice as they say, island life?"

Bella laughed. "I forget I live on one half the time, but it is hot. Too hot in my opinion."

Blake laughed as well, and then they turned back to face the glass wall of the elevator, and stared at the fantastical world beneath them, until the doors dinged open.

Nova took to the front of the group while her colleagues waved goodbye and left, their jobs seemingly over. Nova then said, "This way everyone."

It seemed that Nova oversaw the entire group. Bella wondered if she was perhaps the boss or the lead...whatever she was. Bella had forgotten to ask.

She led them all into what looked like to be the reception area of the building. Just like the elevator, it had transparent walls that allowed them to witness the entire world outside that very much screamed extraordinary. It really is a fitting name, she realised. I suppose Imagination Land would've been too childish...and stupid.

Nova then turned around to face them, smiling gently.

"You would've thought that by now, with all the smiling they did, it would've gotten creepy, but surprisingly, it hasn't," Blake commented, before looking away to pay attention to what Nova was about to say.

"Now, when you look down at the ground, please don't scream...or fall."

They didn't understand what Nova meant as she pushed open the door and lead them outside, but they did understand when they saw the glass sidewalk that was full of water. Some persons did shriek as they saw mermaids, water dragons, water nymphs and other water-based creatures swimming beneath their feet along with other regular water dwellers like fish. Some looked up at them and waved. They waved back, in complete awe of the fact that they could basically see the ocean beneath their feet.

Bella finally managed to raise her gaze to look at the ExtraOrdinary World all around them. It was one thing to look at it from afar, but it was another thing up close. The air seemed to smell of sunshine ("How the hell did they manage that?!" Blake had asked) and cotton candy.

Nova seemed very pleased by their enthralled expressions as they were forced to abandon everything they had ever been told about the world as they knew it. Well, more so than before.

They stopped in front of what seemed to a bus, but it was chrome and was hovering above the ground.

"I want everyone to get inside the transporter please. Much easier to talk to you all in there so I can keep track of you and you all can sight-see at the same time."

Everyone piled into it. Bella took a seat next to Blake while Nova stood at the front. There was no driver. Nova typed in something into a screen on the glass window and the transporter began to drive itself down the street. She turned to them, made eye contact with Bella and clasped her hands. "Now, Bellatheibus, please ask me the questions you had earlier so that everyone can hear."

"Oh. Well..." People turned to look at her. She blushed, feeling slightly embarrassed by the amount eyes on her. Be confident, she told herself. "Well, I was wondering why it was mostly children like us getting transported and whether we actually had to attend school."

"School? I thought we came here to escape from the mundane," a boy, who sitting to their right,  whined. Bella swore with how red his hair was, it could count as an actual fire. 

Other Miracles laughed and agreed, confused as to why they needed to do that.

Blake snorted. "Obviously so that we can learn about magic. And what better setting for that, than a school."

The boy turned to her and glared. Her tone made it quite obvious that she thought him, and everyone who agreed with him, a fool. Blake ignored him and kept her attention on Nova.

"Blake is quite right," Nova stated. "I understand that school is normally tiresome and boring, and sometimes the work at this school will be tedious and hard, but for the most part it will be fun and exciting. I mean, I'm pretty sure learning magic is automatically more interesting than normal school.

"And to answer Bella's first question, children, especially near your age, are mostly the largest demographic brought here because, well, children your age have experienced reality and grown out of fairy tales, but there's still that strong childlike desire to discover magic, adventure and everything absolutely peculiar. Adults are too far gone and children younger than yourselves tend to not understand the adversity the world will send their way. But at your age, you're in the middle where your ExtraOrdinary potential is at its peak. And you guys, you Miracles, are the few with a magical core that will help you achieve them."

At the end of that explanation, all of them seemed even more excited. And if they were anything like Bella, it would probably be the first time they had ever felt so special in their life.

"Um, excuse me Miss?" A girl with rounded glasses and wavy brown hair raised her hand. When replied with a quick "yes Alyssa" she then proceeded. "If we can do magic...are we witches and wizards?"

"Oh no," Nova laughed. "That's a common misconception. Miracles and other Extraordinaires, persons like myself who are born in this world, are not witches, wizards, sorcerers or anything of the sort. We're simply persons with imagination that have a magic core that allows us to put it to use the non-traditional way. In fact, some of you might turn out to not be human at all!"

Everyone gasped in shock. They started talking amongst themselves.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that," Blake admitted, eyes wide.

"Neither was I," Bella responded. Then she turned to her and smiled. "But it sounds exciting, ent? I might be an actual fairy!"

Blake laughed at that.

"Yes, some of you might be fairies or mermaids even. You'll know what you are through your dreams if anything and then nature does the rest. We refer to these beings, beasts of legend you might call them, as Créturae. They are very friendly and most speak human languages, although some don't. There are more...sinister ones though." Nova's eyes darkened. "There is one important thing you students must note...you see that behind you. Covered in darkness, surrounded by that iron gate?"

They looked behind them and saw what Nova was speaking about, quieting down instantly at the sight of it. A vast expanse of land covered in darkness. The blue sky turned red over it and the inky black iron bars pierced the sky. It was a haunting sight, almost like a graveyard. It had a thick, grey mist spewing from between the bars of the gate. Bella could barely make out the buildings. It was almost like they were made of shadows. The one building that she could make out was shaped like a demon's horn.

"What is that place?" a dark skinned, pink haired girl asked.

"It's The Shadow Pit, Piper." Nova's expression was stony and her gaze was hard. That was the first time Bella had seen her look so upset, or upset at all. She looked distant. "Its not a literal pit, but we call it that since it's the closest thing to Hell. Its run by literal Demons no less. A place full of slimy, evil vermin. Shadow Créturae and Shadow Miracles."

"Shadow Miracles?" Piper asked again.

"Miracles like yourselves who got corrupted by Nepsées Duetors, shadow magic. They stop seeing their Lyte Selves, or more like their Lyte Selves abandon them, and are instead replaced by a Shadow Self, reflections that move on their own in the dark."

"Zinnia, my Guide, said that Lyte Selves represent our good conscience...do those Miracles lose them after they start dabbling in...in whatever it was you just said?" Blake asked.

"Yes. Nepsées Duetors is a very seductive kind of magic. Very easy to learn so that it is very easy to corrupt. So don't ever even joke about using it, because with just one spell...you're gone forever."

The transporter was silent as this new information hung in the air, making the atmosphere slightly gloomy. Most people turned away from it and eventually started to whisper amongst themselves, wondering what creatures lived there, what they looked like ("They probably have faces full of boils and have toes for ears and eyes for arms or something gross like that," the fire headed boy said. "Oh please," Blake had muttered) and just how evil were they.

Nova snapped out of her daze and her smile returned to her face, albeit not as bright. "However, lets not dwell on that. There are much better things to look at like-Ooh! Over there is the cake shop in that building shaped like a giant cake..."

However, Bella couldn't hear her, nor could she look away from the expanse of darkness behind her. A chill ran up her spine because she could've sworn that something was watching her.
________________________

Above is Bellatheibus in the outfit Nova put her in.