A World Apart

The girls had only known each other for a short time when they began their first journey.

Sparrow had long been able to see portals into other worlds but had never been brave enough to venture into one alone. With Anastasia by her side, the two girls set off on a great adventure.


The portal was under Anastasia's bed, if she remembered correctly. Sparrow discovered it on her first trip to her new friend's house. At first, she refused to acknowledge the whisperings she heard from under the bed, but soon it became too much. "Anastasia," she had asked, "Do you believe in magic?"

At twelve years old, Anastasia had lost her faith in such things. Adults repeated over and over that it wasn't real; that everything in the world must be proven by science. She had lost belief in the tooth fairy, and Santa, and all the tales she'd been told when she was young. "Of course not! Do you?"

Sparrow covered her disappointment with a shrug, "I don't know...wouldn't it be nice though?"

It took a few more days for Sparrow to even pluck up the courage and tell Anastasia what she knew, "There are places in this world, they're like doorways." Sparrow stared at the ceiling, deciding how to explain, "They lead you to different worlds when you step through them, I think."

"You're crazy," Anastasia giggled, "where do you come up with these things?"

"I'm not crazy, they're real!" Sparrow cried indignantly, "I've seen them!"

Anastasia sat up on her bed, "Whaddya mean, you've seen them?"

Sparrow wrinkled her nose, "I see them all the time. There's one under your bed, even."

"You made that up!"

"Didn't."

"Prove it!" Anastasia retorted, giving Sparrow a skeptical look.

"Fine," Sparrow said, "let's take a look and see." The two girls quickly hopped off the mattress and onto the wooden floor to peer under the bed. Sparrow smiled in delight at the beautiful swirling colors that signaled the presence of a portal.

Anastasia, on the other hand, simply shrugged. "Told you there's nothing under here."

"What are you talking about Annie? Can't you see it?" Anastasia shook her head, and that was when Sparrow realized she was the only one who could lead them to these new amazing worlds.

The girls grasped hands tightly as they slipped into the portal. Sparrow had spent forever trying to convince Anastasia that there really was something under there, yet she still refused to believe it. At this point she was simply trying to placate her friend. But that all changed as she felt her body jerked through space and time, into a world that she did not recognize.

It had been daylight out when they were back home, but here it was black, with only the trillions of stars in the sky to light their way. There was no moon, but it seemed as though the abundance of stars made up the difference.

It took awhile for the girls to take their eyes of the extraordinary sky and realize where they were. The forest was like none they had ever seen, or even read about, back home. The trees were different somehow--magical. They could feel the energy vibrating all around them and it took their breath away.

Birds with songs they had never heard called into the night, their voices mixing with those of the other creatures and forming a symphony worthy of the gods.

"Annie, come on!" Sparrow whispered in awe, "Let's dance." The girls clasped hands and began to twirl in the starlight under a thousand magical trees. As the leaves fell peacefully down like snow, Sparrow decided she never wanted to leave.

Quite awhile later --the girls weren't sure how long they were actually there-- Anastasia realized they had to go back. As amazing as this world was, they didn't belong there. This was a place of wonder and beauty, without humans to break the rhythm of nature. They were merely visitors. "Sparrow, we have to go home. Our families are probably worried sick!"

"But this place! It's so beautiful, I don't think I could ever leave."

"We can always come back and visit, but we mustn't stay here forever. This is not our world. This is not our place."

Sparrow looked at her with sorrowful eyes, "You don't want to stay here with me?"

"It doesn't matter where we are, silly! We'll always be friends." The two girls closed their eyes and embraced in a tight hug, and when they blinked again they were back under Anastasia's bed. The portal, however, was gone. It didn't take long for them to realize that portals never appeared twice. These worlds belonged to no one but them.

And so began the story of a lifelong friendship.