Page 1
Elira sat on the floor of her room, her back against the wall, a pencil in her mouth, and a notebook on her knees.
Rain tapped against the window. The sky was dark and cloudy. It was the kind of day that made everything feel slow and quiet.
She looked at her notebook. Only one sentence was written:
It was a dark and stormy night.
"That's so boring," she said to herself and dropped her pencil.
From downstairs, she could hear her mom singing softly. Her little brother Toby was yelling about some superhero thing. Her dad's study door was locked, like always.
Everything felt normal. Too normal.
Then she heard a sound.
Click.
It was soft. Like a door unlocking. But not from downstairs.
It came from the end of the hallway.
But there was no door at the end of the hallway. Only a wall.
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Page 2
Elira stood up and opened her bedroom door.
She walked slowly into the hallway. Her heart was beating faster now.
There it was.
A door.
Tall. Black. Old.
Its handle looked rusty. Strange shapes were carved into the wood.
It hadn't been there before. She was sure of it.
She touched it. The wood felt cold.
Her fingers moved over the carvings. They were not letters. They looked like symbols.
She felt a soft hum in her hand. It was like the door was alive.
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Page 3
Elira quickly stepped back.
"Nope. That's creepy," she whispered.
She turned around.
But her hallway was gone.
Behind her was darkness. Nothing else.
Only the door remained.
She reached for the handle to open it and go back.
But before she could, the door opened on its own.
And then it pulled her in.
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Page 4
It felt like falling and flying at the same time.
Bright colors spun around her, blue, red, gold.
She tried to scream, but no sound came out.
Then everything went quiet.
She landed on soft grass.
She sat up quickly.
This was not her home.
She was in a forest.
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Page 5
The trees around her were tall. Their leaves glowed like stars.
Elira stood up slowly.
"This is not real," she whispered.
She turned around to look for the door.
It was gone.
Only the glowing trees and strange silence remained.
"Nope. Not doing this," she said.
Then she heard something move behind her.
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Page 6
She froze.
Leaves rustled. Something was coming closer.
She looked around for something to use. All she had was a pen in her pocket.
She held it like a sword.
The sound got louder.
Then, from behind the trees, someone stepped out.
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Page 7
It was a boy. He looked about her age, maybe a little older.
He had silver eyes and messy dark hair.
He wore black clothes and a necklace that glowed faintly.
"You're not supposed to be here," he said.
"Well, thanks for the info," Elira replied.
He didn't smile. "Did you come through the door?"
She nodded. "It kind of pulled me."
The boy looked serious. "That's bad."
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Page 8
"Okay, what is this place? And who are you?" she asked.
The boy looked around and then answered, "This place is called the In-Between. And I'm Kael."
"The what?"
"The In-Between. It's a space between worlds. It's not your world. Not mine either. It's dangerous."
Elira crossed her arms. "So I'm in some kind of magical forest?"
Kael said quietly, "You're in trouble. That's what you're in."
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Page 9
Kael turned and started walking. "Come with me. The forest changes if we stay too long."
"What does that mean?" she asked, walking behind him.
"It means if we stay here, the place around us might disappear."
Elira frowned. "Great. A vanishing forest. Just what I needed."
Kael looked at her. "You're handling this well."
She shrugged. "I read a lot of weird books."
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Page 10
They walked in silence. The glowing trees became darker.
"Where are we going?" Elira asked.
"To the Edge," Kael replied.
"The edge of what?"
"The edge of reality."
She stopped walking. "Wow. That's not creepy at all."
Kael looked serious. "You opened a door that shouldn't exist. Now something knows you're here."
Elira's heart skipped a beat. "Something? Like what?"
Kael didn't answer.
He just kept walking.