Keisha headed back to the park where her mamma was last seen and looked for anything weird, but what she found weren’t clues or whereabouts. It was a girl, two years older than her. The girl’s curly brunette hair framed her heart-shaped face and cascaded over her golden brown shoulders. Her bright lidded violet eyes stared past Keisha.

The girl’s thick brow knitted together, realizing Keisha’s steady gaze was focused on her.

“You can see me?” She asked in a Tuscan accent she recognized from the way her papá spoke.

“What do you mean? Of course, I can see you.”

The girl grunted. She was exceptionally pretty in the way her curls swayed when she moved. The moonlight lit upon her eyes, making the violet hue brighter.

“The name’s Verona. Have you seen anything strange by chance?”

Keisha’s eyes extended. She nodded, telling Verona what she had told the officers who failed to help her.

Verona touched her chin and nodded every so often. “I believe you. I’ll fix it from here. You can go on home.”

Verona cut the air with her hand, and a portal—like the one that had taken her mamma—ripped the seams of air to make an opened crevice. Keisha stared at the swirling colors as they rotated endlessly.

Verona stepped one leg inside.

“Wait!” Keisha screamed. She grabbed Verona’s hand and pulled her back. Verona turned to frantic and big amber eyes. “T-take me with you. I can’t sit here and not know what happened to my mamma.”

Verona sucked her teeth, shaking her head.

“I can’t let an Earthborne come through the veil with me. It’s too dangerous.” She tilted her head to the side, thinking. “But…”

Keisha gripped Verona’s hand. She looked into the girl’s vibrant colored eyes hoping that she would guide her.

“No one believes me, no one but you, and you might know where she has gone.”

Verona huffed. “Alright.” She squeezed Keisha’s hand and pulled her. They walked through the portal. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Keisha held her breath. Her gut twisted as she was wrenched in the portal. She closed her eyes, not expecting what would happen next.