"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
~ Roald Dahl

                                                                    _______________________

It was the pounding headache that finally woke me up. My eyes fluttered open and I looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. I seemed to be in a long room with white-washed walls and a parquet flooring that had rows and rows of unoccupied cots in it, all of them covered with white sheets. Large windows filtered down sunlight, brightening the entire room. 

I sat up groggily, rubbing my eyes. As I sat up, a dull pain jabbed at my side. I looked down and realized I wasn't wearing my previous clothes. Instead I was dressed in a long t-shirt and pants that certainly weren't mine. I pushed up the hem of the t-shirt and saw white gauge wrapped around my waist. It must be because of the knife wound given to me by Thomas-who-really-wasn't-Thomas.

Just as I was contemplating whether I should get up and look around to ask someone "Where the hell I was?", the doors to the room burst open and in came a person I didn't know. She was a short woman with a cheerful face and straight, thick hair that looked like it might be a wig. When she saw me awake, her eyes lit up and a broad smile spread across her lips.

She clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Oh! You're awake! Good, good! Perfect!"

She extended her hand, saying, "I'm Meredith! It's so nice to meet you!"

"Um, hi. I'm Ava Young," I said, awkwardly shaking her hand. "Can you tell me where I am?"

"Why, you're in Morlea of course!" she said in a tone that implied that it should've been obvious.

"Right. And where exactly is that?"

She looked caught off guard but then burst out laughing. "Oh silly girl! Don't pretend as if you don't know!"

"Um, don't know what?" I asked; already growing a little exasperated. "Please, wherever I am, I need to go back. I-I need to see my Mom. She must be worried, especially after what happened last night."

I felt that same heavy dread settle inside of me as the events of yesterday came crashing back. Was that all even real? It all seems like a very bad dream right now to me, particularly in the bright sunlight.

"Wait, last night?" the woman asked, looking a little confused herself. "Nothing happened last night, if you must know. You were right here, sleeping soundly and sometimes murmuring words that nobody could understand."

"What do you mean?" I asked with scrunched eyebrows. This doesn't make any sense. Wasn't I in the park yesterday and weren't there all these... creatures trying to kill us? And what about Thomas's crazy behavior? He looked like he was possessed or something. But what happened after that guy in the coat appeared? I couldn't remember anything past that.

"How long have I been here, exactly?" I asked, cautiously, almost afraid to hear her answer.

"Um, about a day and a half if you count this afternoon," she answered.

I nearly fell out of my bed at that. "What?" I gasped.

"Yeah," she said cheerfully, obviously not understanding what I was so worried about. "We've been waiting for you to wake up. Everyone's pretty curious, we don't have a lot of new people coming here you know. In fact, you gave us all quite a bit of shock when you fell from the air through the portal. Portal travelling is restricted, especially for people coming from different worlds, so you can imagine our surprise when you popped out. You were nearly dead though with blood loss but our healers here took care of you and look at you now, you look fit as fiddle!" she continued to ramble but I tuned her out, thinking, This woman is crazy, actually crazy!

"How can I go back from here, wherever I am?" I interjected, trying my best not to sound too rude but I needed to know what was happening back home. Was my Mom okay? I tried not to faint from the worry that seemed to turn my insides into a tight knot that would put sailors to shame.

She looked a little startled. "Er, you can't do that. Go back, I mean. You'll need permission, which is a lengthy process and then somebody has to create a portal too."

"Well then, take me to the person whose permission I need," I demanded, getting up from my bed, ignoring the headache and the dull echo of pain on my side. She looked disappointed that I wanted to leave when I've just woken up but I had to go. There was no time to waste.

"Fine then, follow me," she said, resignedly. As soon as I stepped out the door however, my eyes widened and my jaw fell open until it touched the ground. Laid out before me was a posh sprawling city that had Victorian styled houses with sloping red roofs and porches, almost all of them uniform in structure and size. Sleek, paved roads snaked in between the brick houses, with bushes of vibrant coloured flowers blooming alongside the sidewalk, some of the plants creeping up the unlit old-fashioned street lights.

In the far distance, I could make out a chain of rolling green hills, lush with trees, the blue sky looking vast and endless above it. Of course, I couldn't make out how long this place stretched to but it looked huge. It seemed like a city that I thought existed only in paintings. And then the people – they were everywhere, dressed in normal clothing. I don't know why but I had almost expected them to be clothed in gowns and tunics maybe?

All this time, Meredith had been carefully watching me, silently. Now she said, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

I nodded, completely in awe.

"Let's go, shall we? You said you wanted to meet the person in charge. Well, he's been waiting to meet you too."

I followed her down a gravel path, looking behind my shoulder to see the building from which we just emerged. It was large enough with fairly white walls and slanting roofs. From outside, it was unmistakable that it was an infirmary of sorts.

As I walked beside Meredith, I could feel everyone's eyes on me. Whispers and murmurs followed, the people not even trying to be subtle with their stares. "Why is everyone staring?" I mumbled, self-consciously tugging at my clothes. Meredith looked around and just shook her head, chuckling. "They're just curious. Like I said before we don't usually get people randomly falling out of the sky"

I fell out of the sky? I thought, bewildered. Impossible, I internally scoffed, she's just crazy.

Or...is she?

"Well, here we are," she announced. I looked up with surprise when the sound of water reached my ears. I realized we were standing in the shore of an enormous lake. Its water was rippling with the gentle breeze that kissed my face softly, making me feel calm instantaneously. The lake was glimmering in the fading light of the sun that would probably disappear behind the hills within a few hours.

The sand below my feet was incredibly white, making me feel like I was standing in a carpet of white silk. A few boats and kayaks were docked in the shore, lazily swaying in sync with the water and wind.

"Mr Blackwell!" Meredith called out. I noticed a tall silhouette standing alone on a pier that jutted out to the lake. The person turned as we approached. He was a man with broad shoulders, a scruffy face and black hair that was swept back roughly. He was carrying a long staff in his hands which had an intricately carved silver angel in the top. When his eyes fell on me, something strange flashed through his eyes, much too quick for me to catch.

But then he smiled kindly, as if he was genuinely pleased to see me, his grey eyes twinkling and his skin crinkling. "Well, hello there. I'm Patrick Blackwell," he said in a deep voice, shaking my hand as he gazed down at me.

"H-hi. I'm Ava Young," I squeaked, a little intimidated by his looming figure. Yet, there was something about him that made me feel safe at the same time. Maybe it was his eyes or maybe it was his friendly and care-free smile that told me he was someone you could trust. I felt my previous fear melting away. I smiled and relaxed but then quickly remembered what I wanted to meet him for.

"Sir--," I started.

"Patrick," he corrected gently, still smiling. "Or Mr Blackwell. Whichever one you prefer."

"Right, Mr Blackwell. I was wondering if you could send me back to my town if it's not too much trouble? I don't even know how I came here in the first place!"

Mr Blackwell exchanged an amused glance with Meredith as if I were an adorable kid but a little low on IQ. "Sir, please," I continued. "I really need to go. My Mom...I don't know where she is, if she's even safe". My voice lowered to a mere whisper. 

His face softened and he said, "Ava, dear, why don't we talk for a little while, eh? I'm sure there are certain questions you'd like some answers to, right? After our conversation, you can decide whether you want to leave or stay. I won't stop you if you would choose to leave. But can you please first listen to what I have to say?"

Not knowing what else to do, I nodded. It's not like I had any other choice.

Of course, at that moment, I had no clue that whatever he was about to tell me would completely change my life.