chapteR TEN
The Portal
It was Sunday.
And the world felt… new.
Like someone had ironed the sky.
Like the air had just remembered how to sing.
Like the earth was standing still on purpose.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
He didn’t bark.
He just turned.
And started walking.
Nic followed.
They passed the mailbox.
The oak tree.
The weird crack in the sidewalk that looked like a lightning bolt.
They didn’t stop.
They just walked.
Past the edge of where she usually went.
Past the “safe” part of the neighborhood.
Past the boundary line of known.
Until—
They reached it.
A clearing.
In the middle of nowhere.
Right where the map said “no such place.”
There was no sign.
No gate.
No official welcome.
Just air that shimmered.
Light that bent funny.
Wind that circled like it was whispering a countdown.
And in the center of it all—
A ripple.
In space.
In sound.
In everything.
Nic stepped forward.
And the ripple pulsed.
Her wand glowed.
Clifford sat.
Nic didn’t speak.
She didn’t ask.
She just remembered.
This was the place the stars had shown her.
This was the crack between worlds.
This was the door.
The one only she could open.
So she did.
She raised her wand.
Twirled once.
And whispered the key word the fireflies had spelled for her:
“Soon.”