When Sage was seven her parents left her and her two younger brothers at her grandparents' house for a weekend when they went on a business trip out-of-state. In that time frame Sage had been told twenty seven times not to play on the staircase. Sage was not playing on the staircase. She was merely trying to see how fast she could get up the stairs.

She'd managed with her short legs to make it in ten seconds. On her twenty eighth try going up the stairs, however, Sage missed a step and she had slammed her forehead into the step above her violently, the action of which had knocked her unconscious for five minutes.

Sage remembered clearly the headache that had followed. It had felt like someone had hit her with a metal bat (that was also the moment she decided that, maybe, she should follow the rules). And still that awful pain was nothing compared to when Sage woke up in the butterfly meadow with barely any recollection of how she'd gotten there.

Sage stared at the sky. The lovely peaceful sky was a sheet of blue water color and the clouds are wisps of soft cotton that floated gently. A cool breeze whistled through the air playing Sage's brown locks. Butterflies roamed the air flashing their gorgeous wings like rainbows. Somewhere a placid song was being sung as soft as the wind itself.

Sage was laying in the middle of a meadow covered in grass stalks that came all the way up to her knees. Good grief she was going to get a thousand tics on her. Her head throbbed to a painful beat box rhythm. Sage groaned as she forced herself into a sitting position.

Somewhere not far away another groan was returned.

Sage shaded her eyes from the bright sun. More awake now, she could faintly remember everything that had happened. The notebook, her bag, Christy, that ginger haired boy---what had Christy called him? Kasey?--, the fall. Nothing about that made any sense. It wasn't physically possible.

And yet here she was.

"Christy?" Sage moaned out. Peeking above the grass, Sage recognized the other girl's sun-reflecting blond hair.

"Sage?" Christy stood up, stumbling slightly. She frowned to the sky, "Where are we?"

Sage crept to her knees and almost feel back over. Her brain and stomach were twisted so heavily out hurt to think any further. A sick feeling swirled up her throat and Sage just barely managed to not vomit in the beautiful garden.

"Where's Kasey?" Christy looked around. Sage's head spun. How was she not affected by this throbbing? Christy cupped her hands up to her mouth, "KASEY JONES!"

The butterflies fluttered out of the grass but no teenage guy appeared.

"Kasey this isn't funny!"

"I-I don't think he's messing around." Sage rubbed her temples, "geez, what is with that singing?"

The tone was something familiar. Sage knew she'd heard it before. The words were strange, too. Sage knew what was being said, kinda.

"...From Bobi's Meadow to the Rejection Center..."

Christy frowned humming the tune with the distant singing. "This is "This Land is Your Land". We had to do this big whole performance in fourth grade with this song."

"What the heck is a Bobi?"

Christy shrugged wearily and Sage realized just how stupid of a question it must have been. Christy had no better clue their location than her. The absurd fact that they had just magically woken up in a field far from anywhere Sage recognized, should've tipped her off. Still somewhat desperately, Sage was hoping that Christy would turn to her with some dumb grin, "Haha, you should've seen your face!"

Christy didn't.

Instead, she bit her lip and gave Sage a scrutinizing once over. "Weren't you wearing something less...exotic?"

Sage looked down inhaling so sharp she choked. These clothes weren't hers! Sage faintly heard the screaming only recognizing that it was hers when she couldn't inhale again. Her comfortable jeans and T shirt had been replaced with an oddly familiar teal tank top and baggy pants that made every step feel too light, too airy. She was barefoot but that didn't stop her from batting around the inconvenient grass.

"Where's my jacket?" She demanded. The grass was empty. There was no sign her green blazer.

Christy stood awkwardly behind her, tugging the straps to her new white tank top. She wore an outfit right out of Modern Elf magazine. Somehow she made it look good, though, Sage was positive that Christy looked good in everything she wore.

"I...don't think it's here." Christy said.

Sage swallowed hard, clenching her hands into fists. The pain in her head no longer bothered her as much. She looked around wildly for someone, something, she could trace to whatever wise guy who thought this was funny.

Sage could take a joke. She lived with two boys who thought the word "butt" was the most hilarious thing in the world. But this was taking it too far.

She never went anywhere without her jacket. And pulling a dumb elaborate prank like this with it made Sage want to hurt people. Hurt people very much.

And what else could it be other than a prank?

Surely none of this could even be remotely like what Sage was interpreting.

"The singing!" Sage exclaimed, "They'll know who it was!" She took off in the direction that she thought the song had been coming from.

"Sage! Wait!" Christy yelled from behind her.

Sage had no intention of waiting. She bounded through the thick stalks, so fast that they left paper thin cuts on her ankles and bare feet. Butterflies exploded from their hidden alcoves as she thrashed by creating turbulent whirlwinds of color in the sky.

The real meadow grasses have way to a couple rows of trees that looked like they belonged in an abstract artist's painting. The limbs stretched out in twisted fingers covering the sky more like giant umbrellas than trees. The leaves were a series warm colors ranging from fuchsia to brick red.

Past the trees was a simple dirt road that seemed to have never seen rain before. And beyond that were more of the trees and another meadow.

Sage looked around but there was no sign of another person. The music was still going on, loud and sonorous. Sage scanned the tree branches for another human being but the oddly coloured leaves revealed no trace of any human ever being there.

Christy panted to a stop next to her and fixed the flower clip in her hair that was falling out. "Where's the singer?"

Sage shrugged, feeling anger churn in her stomach. She stepped into the road, "Hey! Hey, Jerk!"

Christy pursed her lips, "I don't think calling people names is a good idea." She looked put a hand on a tree trunk as if she was conversing mentally with it. Sage wasn't going to lie; that made her want to slap the other girl.

She was so calm and collected. These things happened all the time. No need to worry that some unknown person had not only undressed them, but also left them on the movie set for Meadows and Weird Trees. What if she was part of this incredibly elaborate and pointless prank?

"...From the ice cream mountains to Lucy's castle..."

Sage scrambled after the sound instead of dwelling on thoughts that might lead to actions that wouldn't be in her best interest. The voice was more childlike, maybe a seven year old. The type of cutesy-wootsy voice that after hour of pointless, rhymeless singing turned into the most iterating thing in the world. Sage would know, she had two brothers who thought they were rockstars.

Sage scrutinized the area, but once again there was nothing. What was going on? Christy stood beside her, looking at the sky distantly.

"Where's that singing coming from?" Sage demanded. "Where's the joker with my jacket?"

"I don't think..." Christy started but trailed off. She grabbed Sage's arm digging her nails into her skin. She didn't react to Sage's exclaim of pain or the curses that flowed off her tongue surprisingly easily.

"What is your problem?" Sage hissed, but Christy wasn't looking anywhere but towards a bushel of grass stalks next to a tree base. Sage followed her gaze.

And then she screamed.

It was white, whatever it was. The same white that fancy, French-laced table cloths came as. And the eyes...Sage could feel them staring at her like the eyes of a tiger watching it's prey. The thing was a sphere, and probably could've fit in her hands if she wasn't currently using them to hold herself up.

"Christy, what is that!" she cried not being able to take her eyes off the small creature. Christy made a dying cat sound to show she had no idea either.

Wind whistled through the trees harshly ripping at the pink leaves and tossing them to the ground. The singing picked up a faster beat and the white puff spun in a circle. It seemed unconcerned with the two humans next to it, like it belonged here and they were the strange things.

Sage got a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Then all at once the white puff fell over and died.

Sage stared at it moving her lips but no words came out. The creature lay there, the world suddenly cold and lonely without it's magical voice. Sage shivered. She couldn't bring herself to move.

Was it actually dead? Or was it trying to bring them closer so it could attack? What if it really wasn't the small, harmless creature it looked like? Sage had read seen Finding Nemo and that part with the Angler Fish who lured Marlin and Dory almost into its mouth with it's glowing light.

While that was cool in the movie, Sage did not appreciate the thought now.

Christy mumbled something under her breath that sounded a lot like a prayer. She lightly took a step closer, and then another one. Sage stood still as a statute, though her heart beat fifteen times too fast.

Christy brushed back one of her blond strands and meticulously knelt next to the body. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to find words but Sage couldn't think of any that could help.

Instead, Christy picked up a stick and poked the white puff's side. The entire body crumpled into dust. Christy flung herself back, throwing the stick far away.

"What did I do?" she squeaked, "I swear, it was only a poke! Just a tap!"

Sage was stone, her eyes trained on the dust of the creature. She couldn't breathe. The dust was moving. Moving like something was coming out of it.

"Christy," Sage whispered, "Christy, move!"

Christy looked at her like she'd grown to heads and was speaking fluent Chinese. Then she very slowly looked back at the pile of dirt. That was the moment it leapt out and attacked her.

Sage screamed, yet again as that music filled the air. Christy flung herself backwards throwing her arms out as if she could protect herself from whatever her attacker was. Sage stumbled forward, pretending she could help. The white ball landed on Christy's knee and twirled in a circle.

"LucyLand is your land! LucyLand is my land!"

It jumped again, landing on Christy's arm, singing it's creepy lyrics and....was it dancing? Sage watched completely perplexed at the familiar white creature. It was exactly the same as the other one. The same soul sucking eyes and pristine white skin that gave the illusion of a brand new baseball. Even the voice was the same sickly-sweet sound that chafed in Sage's ears.

The thing jumped again hitting a high note in the song. Christy bravely left her hand out, still breathing hard. The creature landed in her palm perfectly.

"What are you doing?" Sage hissed to her, "It's dangerous!"

Christy frowned, "I don't think it is. Look at it!" She shoved it towards Sage's face, who withdrew so fast Sage slammed her head into another tree.
"Ow!" She grumbled, trying to knead away the headache that was slowly coming back again. Christy laughed.

"Sage, look it doesn't even have teeth!"

"Than how is it singing perfect english words?"

Christy shrugged and allowed it access to her arm where it did an impressive three flips and landed on her shoulder. Christy giggled, unconcerned.

Sage stared at the song singing creature, noticing that Christy was right. It didn't have any teeth. Or claws, and Sage was sure if it's skin had been dripping with poison oils than Christy would've been smiling a lot less and screaming a bit more.

Sage looked back at the pile of dust that it had jumped from. She swallowed thickly. She had read about something like this before. Wasn't it a Phoenix that could be reborn from it's own ashes?

This was not a Phoenix.

She watched the creature dance around on Christy's head singing it's praises to Lucy. Sage must have died. This was her eternal punishment because she was out of class when she wasn't suppose to be. It was too supernatural to be anything else.

A butterfly floated right by her leisurely.

"Sage!" Christy grinned delighted, "This is amazing!"

Sage narrowed her eyes. Her headache was coming back rumbling around in her brain and generally making it hard to form complete thoughts. And the last thing she needed (or wanted) was this random stranger telling her everything was awesome.

"No! No this is not!" Sage exclaimed. She ran a hair through her hair before realizing that it had been intricately woven in an unfamiliar style.

That must have been why she said it. It had to have been the hair. She'd gotten detention for the first time in her life, woken up in a strange place, had a pounding headache and lost her green jacket. And of course her hair was braided. Emotion boiled in Sage's stomach like a fresh glass of Diet Coke.

And then Sage said the single worst thing she could ever have said, "All this? This is impossible!"

That's when the screaming really started.