Chaos awaited on the other side. The first thing Justin noticed were the clothes. No longer did they hang neatly above the bed, but were scattered about the entire room. He gasped as his eyes found the royal blue silk dress Maya wore. It still hung above the bed, but it was as if someone had taken a knife to the bottom half and attempted to murder it. It hung limply in the air, slashed into a thousand pieces. Delicately, Justin reached a hand out, caressing the silk. A tattered piece fell off into his hand and he tucked it into his right robe pocket before assessing the rest of the room. Pieces of the curtain lay scattered about the floor. The wooden dresser rested on its side; the drawers flung to the opposite side of the room.

Justin stepped off the bed and onto the yellow and black rug with pink lilies, the only thing in the room not destroyed. His stomach flip-flopped. This is my fault, he though. All my fault.

"Nitara?" he called out. "Niraj? Anyone here?"

Only silence replied, and the whisper of a breeze coming through the open window. Justin gulped as he realized the window wasn't actually a window at all, but just a large opening in the wall, as if a wrecking ball had rammed into the room. He finally took in all the dust, wood, and plaster that had rained down upon the entire place.

Beyond the hole in the wall, rose one large apartment building after the next, followed by a winding highway dotted with honking cars and, beyond that, a sprawling city of skyscrapers. Justin's hands shook and his breath caught in his throat. He stumbled back gasping for air. This was too much, way too much. His legs came into contact with the bed and he sat back onto it.

Putting his face into his hands, he shook his head vigorously.

"No, no, no!" he shouted. "This isn't real. None of this is real!"

A squeaking noise seeped out from under the purple door to Justin's left. Muffled footsteps announced another person inside the house.

"Nitara! Niraj!" a voice shouted.

The purple door swung open and a tall Indian man raced in. He looked wildly about the room and screamed when his eyes found the hole in the wall. He ran to the hole and poked his head through.

"Nitara!" the man shouted. "Niraj!"

The man muttered in a language Justin did not recognize. He turned back to the room and jumped when his eyes landed on Justin. Justin jumped as well.

The man shouted in the unknown language as he took two quick steps toward Justin. Justin scooted back across the bed and only stopped when the man froze at the edge of the bed.

"I said, who are you and what did you do with my niece and nephew?" he asked in English and with what Justin guessed was an Australian accent.

"I'm Justin," Justin responded.

The man looked at Justin expectantly, and when Justin said nothing else, he said, "And? Nitara and Niraj?"

"The beast took Niraj and I think Nitara went after him."

"The beast?"

Justin gulped. Right, this man would never believe him. Not knowing what to say, Justin just nodded. Slumping to the floor, the man turned his back to Justin and placed his head in his hands. This was not the reaction Justin expected.

"How?" the man whispered.

"What?" asked Justin, scooting closer to the man.

"How did the beast get in?"

Justin's stomach tightened as he whispered, "I let it in."

"How?"

"Umm," he gulped before replying, "I was running from it in a lightning storm in a strange neighborhood. I was lost. No one would help me, no one was home and all the doors to the houses were locked except one and it opened into this closet here. I took shelter with Nitara and Niraj until the storm passed. I didn't know. I... I... I," Justin's words bunched in his mouth as he looked for the right thing to say. He inhaled and finally said, "I didn't realize I let the beast in."

The man lifted his head.

"I'm sorry," Justin whispered.

"Was this strange neighborhood your first-time encountering magic?" the man asked, turning his head to look Justin in the eyes. The man's eyes were glistening.

Justin nodded.

The man nodded as well. "It is not your fault. It is mine. Nitara came to me asking for help, but when I came home and found no evidence of this beast, I thought she and Niraj were just playing."

The man laughed, but no smile touched his face. "Here's my evidence. I believe her, now that they are gone."

A sob escaped the man's lips as he dropped his chin against his chest.

Crawling even closer to the man, Justin carefully reached a hand out, placing it on the man's shoulder. The man raised his head.

"Let's find them," said Justin. "Let's make this right."

Wiping his eyes, the man looked Justin over for a few heartbeats. "Where does that door of yours lead to?"

"California. Cambria, California."

"Do you know where you are now?"

"Bengaluru? India?"

The man nodded. "What was your name again?"

"Justin."

"I'm Ramya. How old are you, Justin?"

"Twelve.  Are you Nitara's and Niraj's dad?"

Ramya stood up, frowning. "Woah, hey, how old do you think I am?"

Justin shrugged.

Ramya rolled his eyes. "Let's get one thing straight," he pointed a finger at Justin, "I am no dad. How old am I? Too young to be a dad. Nitara and Niraj are my cousin's kids... Didn't I call them my niece and nephew earlier?"

Justin shrugged again.

"Have you been to India before?"

"No."

Ramya smiled. "Then you are in for a surprise. India is the best place in the world. But I guess I am a little biased."

"You don't sound Indian."

Rolling his eyes again, Ramya opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. He glanced at the purple door and then motioned for Justin to follow him.

"Come on, we're losing precious time. The longer we sit here, the harder it will be to track the beast."

Ramya went back out through the door. Justin stayed where he was. His hand moved to his pocket. He reached in and felt the smooth wood of the Jack-in-the-box before he scooted to the edge of the bed and stood.

Through the door, Justin found a living area and kitchen. In front of him, an antique golden lamp stood next to a black leather couch that sat in front of a flat-screen TV.

Ramya was nowhere to be seen. Walking further into the room, Justin examined a framed photo of Niraj coming out of the ocean wet with a massive grin on his face. Another photo showed Niraj and Nitara, her arms wrapped around a laughing woman Justin guessed was their mom. She had the same grin as Niraj and the same bright eyes as Nitara.

A door on the far side of the room opened and Ramya rushed out carrying two helmets and a backpack slung over his shoulder. "First off, it's not, you don't sound like your Indian but, you don't sound like you're from India. I was raised in Australia, but it doesn't make me less Indian."

Justin's cheeks reddened as he realized his mistake. "You're right," he said. "I'm sorry."

Ramya smiled. "I like you. Come on, let's go."

He turned and headed to the left of the kitchen where a cabinet and the wall made a sort of hallway to the front door. Opening the door, Justin followed him out into a plain hallway lined with green numbered doors. He noted that Nitara and Niraj's house was number twenty-two.

Shiny white tiles covered the floor, and with every footstep, an echo reverberated down the hall.

Justin inhaled deeply, the pungent smell of curry overwhelming his nose. He suppressed a cough, as he didn't want to be rude.

But Ramya noticed, laughing. "Yes. We love curry, that is true."

At the end of the hallway stood elevator doors painted gold. Ramya pressed the button to go down, and the doors opened immediately. They entered the elevator and Ramya pressed the button for the ground floor.

"What level are we on?" Justin asked.

"The twenty-second. Easy to remember, we are twenty-two on twenty-two. It's weird, on each floor, the numbers start over, so we have to include our floor number in our address, which isn't normal." Ramya eyed Justin before adding, "I like your robe. You will definitely stick out in it, though. But it's cool."

Looking down at the silk robe, Justin's cheeks warmed as he realized Ramya only wore jeans, a simple gray t-shirt, and a black leather jacket.

"Don't worry about it," said Ramya. "You will blend in once we get where we are going."

"Where are we going?"

"Into the heart of the city. There is an underground market that deals in magical items, and there are also those who track magical beasts there."

Eyes finding the two helmets in Ramya's hands, Justin clenched his fists. "Um, Ramya? How are we getting to the city?"

"On my moped," he replied, holding a helmet out to Justin. "Fastest way to travel around the city... Well besides a motorcycle."

Justin held his arms by his side, clenching and unclenching his fists, trying to will himself to grab the helmet. The doors to the elevator opened. A young girl and a woman stood on the other side. Ramya continued to hold the helmet out. Justin continued to stand there.

The girl giggled, and that did the trick. Justin's arm lurched out. Grabbing the helmet, he rushed out of the elevator and past the giggling girl. He stood in a large lobby with large white couches, palm trees, and a concierge desk. Eyes locking onto the entrance, two large swinging glass doors, he made his way out.

A warm, humid breeze caressed his face as he stepped outside. Dropping the helmet, he placed his hands on his knees and took deep gulps of air. The sound of cars, motorcycles, and honks of a busy motorway surrounded him. He really was in India. He really left Cambria and something deep down inside said he wouldn't be returning home anytime soon.

A hand touched Justin's back, and Justin looked up to see Ramya standing there.

"Hey, it's okay. We can take the bus."

Justin straightened. "Is it faster?" He knew the answer but was hopeful.

"God no," Ramya replied.

Nodding, Justin picked up the helmet and put it on.

Ramya smiled. "It will be fine. You will like it, I promise."

The splatter of Justin's barf on the pavement radiated outward, causing the crowd of people around him to back away. He couldn't breathe. He fumbled with the helmet strap, trying to remove it.

All around him, people were shouting in a language he did not understand. Cars honked angrily. Were they yelling and honking at him?

Finally, he unclasped the strap and pulled the helmet from his head just in time for a man on a motorcycle to come racing towards him, blaring his horn. Dodging to one side, the motorcycle skimmed Justin's robe as it soared by.

Now that he was no longer barfing, the crowd pushed in upon him, bumping into him as they moved in every direction.

Turning in a circle, Justin caught Ramya's eyes, who motioned for him to follow as he wheeled his moped toward a line of a hundred parked mopeds.

Waiting for Ramya to secure the moped, Justin tried to make sense of the surrounding city but found it was as useless as unraveling a knotted Yo-Yo. It was a mix of young and old, fast and slow.

Some women were dressed in multicolored dresses, and wraps that Justin knew were called saris. He even saw some men walk by wearing wraps of blue, purple, and orange. But he also saw just as many people wearing clothing similar to what people wore back home. It was so much more than Justin could have ever imagined from his and Simon's research on the Internet.

Some vendors spread their goods outright on the street, while others had tables. There were fruits and vegetables and large bundles of leafy greens. But what really caught Justin's eye were the flowers. Piles upon piles upon piles of the most vibrant orange flowers dotted here and there with bright white, purple, and pink flowers. One man held a pole up covered in flowers strung together so that they cascaded down around him, like the branches of a willow tree.

Thousands of people walked in every direction, buying and selling goods and going places Justin did not know. Amidst the busy market were cars, trucks, mopeds, motorcycles, and buses speeding in every direction. Justin wondered if there were even any road rules they were following. They sped directly through the crowds in the market as if the market and the road were one and the same.

Ramya stepped up next to Justin. "What do you think?"

"I think I'm never trusting you again."

Ramya frowned. "Good choice. Nitara and Niraj trusted me." He stepped into the street. "Follow me and keep up."

Ramya took off into the crowded market, and Justin had to jog to keep up. They passed people selling clothes, cloth to make clothes, shoes, phone cases, purses, and food, lots of food. Ramya directed them to a small alley Justin could not see down on account of all the steam. Steam rose steadily from stall after stall of food, food Justin had no words for but made his mouth water nonetheless.

One vendor handed a woman a brown plate filled with a doughnut-like food, and then the vendor poured a green sauce over the doughnuts. A man in the middle of the crowd bit into a large sloppy Joe-like sandwich smothered in cheese and what Justin thought were bits of meat. Another man stood in front of a griddle, flipping huge thin pancakes that smelled savory instead of sweet. Justin stopped in front of a woman who was carving a potato. He watched entranced as the woman stuck one end of the potato with a long stick and gently pulled on one end of the potato. Justin's jaw dropped as the potato slowly spiraled out and down the stick. The woman dipped the spiraled potato into a red sauce and into a friar.

Justin glanced back to ask Ramya what the potato was called, but Ramya wasn't there. Scanning the crowded alley, Justin's heart skipped a beat.

"Ramya!" he shouted.

"He went that way," said the woman spiraling the potatoes, and she pointed opposite her stand to an even smaller alley wedged between a cigar shop and a restaurant selling those thin pancakes.

"Thank you," said Justin. He raced across the street, weaving through people to the other side.

No light touched the smaller alley, and Justin could only make out the silhouettes of a few people farther in.

"Ramya?" Justin asked into the darkness.

As if in reply, a face appeared, eyes filled with worry. Startled, Justin stepped back. The worried face morphed into Ramya, and his eyes brightened.

"There you are. Thank God." Ramya wrapped an arm around Justin. "I think it's best to stay very close now."

He led Justin into the darkness of the smaller alley. They passed a man with a small cart. From the cart hung hundreds of gems and crystals of every shape, color, and size. The man, seeing Justin staring, smiled, revealing a toothless mouth.

"I have a crystal to forget that heartache," the man whispered. "Only two thousand rupees."

Ramya squeezed Justin's shoulder and walked faster.

"Asaktiyilla!" Ramya shouted back at the man before he disappeared into the darkness.

"I'm going to have to report him to the Magician's Guild," Ramya whispered. "Selling openly on the street like that, horrible."

"Magician's Guild?" asked Justin. "Ramya, what do you know about magic?"

"Not now," Ramya replied, squeezing Justin's shoulder again. "There will be time to learn about one another, but not now."

Up ahead, a dim light lit a small cart. Squinting to make out the picture on the side of the cart, Justin gasped when he realized what it was.

"Ramya, is that..." started Justin, but he went quiet as a man stood up from behind the cart, smiling.

"All-American hotdog?" the man asked as they approached.

Sure enough, the picture was that of a hot dog covered in mustard. The cart looked like it belonged at a baseball game.

"Two please," Ramya responded, "with relish and ketchup, but no buns.

The man behind the cart, who wore a long white robe, frowned but nodded. Justin looked up at Ramya, a question on his lips, but Ramya silenced him with a strong squeeze of the shoulder.

Turning, the man disappeared through an open door that Justin had not seen before, as everything was pitch black outside the light that shined above the cart.

Examining the cart more carefully, Justin saw no hotdogs roasting on the grill. The metal parts of the stand were rusted, the entire thing covered in a layer of dust. No one had bought a hotdog from the stand in a very long time.

The man in the white robe returned. Looking from Justin to Ramya, he said, "Bidi."

Ramya frowned. "Nanu avalondige matanadabeku."

The robed man shook his head and pointed back down the alley. "Bidi," he repeated more firmly this time.

Sighing, Ramya spun on his heels and led Justin back down the alley.

"What happened?" asked Justin, confused.

Ramya shook his head. "I'm not for sure. I thought we would definitely get in to see her. She knows who I am."

"Who is she?"

A woman dressed in a white cropped shirt and black skirt that wrapped back up and around one shoulder stepped into their path. Ramya moved to go around the woman, but she stepped in their way again.

"Ksamisi," said Ramya.

Smiling, the woman held out her hand. From a string, she dangled a small glowing red crystal.

Pushing Justin back, Ramya yelled, "Run!"

The woman whispered, "Nidre."

Ramya grabbed Justin by the arm, trying to pull him away, but it was too late. A fog washed over Justin's body. He suddenly felt extremely tired and, before he could stop himself, he closed his eyes. The last thing he felt was the sudden sensation of falling and then darkness.