The math teacher, Ms. Penopolis turned her attention towards Olivia.

“Olivia, so pleased you could join us.” she said sarcastically. “But perhaps next time you can make your entrance less dramatic and disrupting.” Ms. Penopolis was a Greek woman with olive toned skin and had an accent when she spoke. She was slender and tall with wiry black hair that curled everywhere.

“I’m sorry for my lateness and my disruption, Ms. Penopolis.” She said. Ms. Penopolis went back to teaching and Olivia and Charlotte started whispering to each other.

“You sleep in again?” Charlotte asked.

“Sort of, it’s a long story…” Said Olivia. She was visibly distressed.

“Are you okay?” Charlotte asked, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

“Something really weird is happening.” She said. “I think I’m in danger.”

“What kind of danger?” Asked Charlotte.

“From my Uncle Jethro” she said.

“You have an uncle!?” Asked Charlotte with surprise which drew a sharp look from Ms. Penopolis, “Sorry!” Charlotte said and then proceeded to whisper her question back to Olivia, “you have an uncle?”

“Yes, my dad has a half brother he never told me about.”

“That’s crazy!”

“That’s not the crazy part…” Said Olivia, “He’s a mage…”

“A mage?” She asked confusedly, “Like a wizard?”

“Yes.” Said Olivia, “and he says I’m one too.”

“That’s ridiculous! You don’t have magic powers!” said Charlotte

“That’s just the thing…” Said Olivia softly, “I think I do…” She told Charlotte about the tree that appeared to eat Uncle Jethro and the squirrel incident outside the school. Charlotte stared in disbelief.

“So why are you in danger, that sounds awesome!” She said.

“Remember my nightmares I told you about?” She asked, Charlotte nodded, “He has the Shadow Man’s eyes.”

“Your Uncle is the Shadow Man?” she asked shocked.

“No, at least, I don’t think so. But he said he knows him, and they both work for the same woman.” said Olivia. “And that’s not all, there are at least three other people with the same eyes…”

“Let me get this straight;” Charlotte said, “You have an uncle.”

“Yes.” Said Olivia.

“Who has magic powers.”

“Yes.” Said Olivia.

“Who seems to have given you magic powers.”

“Yes.” Said Olivia. Charlotte paused.

“I think you’re high…” she said.

“I’m not high!” said Olivia, slapping her friend’s arm.

“So, what does he want?” asked Charlotte, “to take you to wizard school?”

“I made the same reference!” said Olivia, “He said he just wants to ‘open the door,’ whatever that means.”

“Open the door?” asked Charlotte.

“Yeah, and then he opened a door in my floor.” she said.

“Did you go through it?” Charlotte asked inquisitively.

“No, I wouldn’t be here if I did, I would be there.”

“Where is there?” asked Charlotte.

“I forget, he said the name. Pandora Mirror or something.” said Olivia. Charlotte thought for a moment.

“Olivia,” she started, “You are going to think this is crazy, but… Let’s go through the door together!”

“No!” shouted Olivia prompting another glare from Ms. Penopolis.

“Do I need to separate you girls?” She asked sharply.

“No ma-am.” They said in unison. Ms. Penopolis went back to teaching.

“No!” whispered Olivia, “That’s where the Shadow Man is!”

“But maybe…” Charlotte got a big grin on her face, “Maybe you’re the chosen one!”

“This is not Harry Potter!” Olivia growled quietly through her teeth.

“Well what does your dad say about all this?” she asked.

“He’s… missing.” said Olivia sadly and fought back a tear.

“What? Where did he go?”

“Pandora Mirror.” she said.

“Oh my god! We have to go! You’re the chosen one!” Charlotte said excitedly.

“Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to be talking some sense into me?” Olivia asked exasperated.

“I am talking sense into you.” She said. “You need to save your dad.”

“But I’m just a kid!” said Olivia, “shouldn’t we just call the police?”

“What are the police going to do?” Charlotte said, “And what would you tell them? ‘My magic uncle kidnapped my dad into a magic land and now we need to get him back?’ They would just assume your dad abandoned you and that you went crazy from grief.”

“That’s true…” Olivia admitted.

“So, your Uncle is, like, following you, right?” Charlotte asked.

“Yes.” said Olivia.

“Well, after school let’s go tell him we want to go to Pandora Mirror, or whatever.” Charlotte said.

“I don’t know…” said Olivia, “I’m scared.”

“That’s good!” said Charlotte, “that means you’re ready!” Olivia hesitated for a few moments, looking visibly uncomfortable. Was she really considering this? Would she really confront her uncle and accept his invitation to this magical world? Had she really been there before? Were they more than just dreams? Olivia had so many questions

“Okay…” she said finally. “Let’s do it.”

The rest of the day went by in a blur with Olivia’s heart relocating to her throat. She felt scared and excited and anxious all at the same time which gave her a weird stomach ache. She didn’t learn a single thing all day because all her mental energy was going into envisioning how this would all go down. Olivia didn’t want to do this, this was way out of her comfort zone. She’s a hobbit, not an elf or a dwarf. She likes staying at home and reading about excitement, but preferred not to live it if she could help it. But this couldn’t be helped. Charlotte was right, she had to save her dad, and Uncle Jethro was the only one she knew who could open the portal for her.

After classes ended for the day Olivia and Charlotte met up by their lockers (which were side by side and not by accident). They didn’t say anything to each other but communicated in nodding and shaking their heads. They walked past the school nurse’s office and saw the nurse tending to the very frazzled looking Sophia and Isabella. Their hair was all messed up, and they were covered in dirt and tiny claw marks. They scowled at Olivia who made the “I’m watching you” sign with her fingers going back and forth between her eye line and theirs. They came to the front door of the school and could see Uncle Jethro and the others waiting for them. Charlotte and Olivia held hands and walked out together towards them.

“Child.” said Uncle Jethro as she approached.

“How are you… here?” Olivia asked, perplexed.

“Soon you will learn all about your abilities, and when you do you will find that, when you are a mage, the impossible merely becomes the unexpected.” he said. Olivia looked down at her feet and swallowed hard.

“I’ve thought about it. We’ll go through the door.” Said Olivia.

“You will go through the door. This girl has no place in Pandromir.” He said sharply. Olivia dug her heels into the ground and stood firm. In her best big-girl voice she could muster, she said, “She goes, or I don’t!” Olivia and Charlotte squeezed their hands together tighter. Uncle Jethro paused and scowled as he was most unpleased by this turn of events. Finally he spoke.

“Fine.” He said in that tone you hear when someone who is used to being stubborn is suddenly made to make compromises. He pulled out a small red pouch out of his boot and poured its contents onto the ground. A fine sand poured out and made a small mound on the cement. He pulled a silver flask out from his back pocket, opened it, and poured some kind of liquid onto the mound of sand. He got down on his hands and knees and began to blow and just like last time the streams started to flow outward and spark and as it did the ground revealed what looked like tiny streaks of sky, then of ground, and before long they were looking at a full window into another world, the world from Olivia’s dreams: Pandromir. The world looked sideways to them, just like it did in Olivia’s dining room, but it was clear and bright and a little frightening. Charlotte was dumb struck, but she squeezed Olivia’s hand, looked into her eyes and said, “are you ready?”

“No.” Said Olivia, “but does it matter?”

“No.” Said Charlotte, “On the count of three?”

“We jump?” Olivia asked.

“We jump.” said Charlotte.

“On the count of three.” said Olivia. They counted together. “One… Two...:”