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“You have got to be kidding me.”
The relief was short-lived at the glimpse of the dancing waves, closer than ever and more massive than she had anticipated. Emerald only had a second or two to form a clear statement in her blank mind.
Mr. Voice, I’m sorry for doubting you.
Then the first wave was dragging her under.
Wake up and check out this magical world, where all your dreams will come true.
A dreamy haze filled her senses, matching the words that seemed to float endlessly. Emerald engrossed herself in it, feeling like she was lying down on the most comfortable feather bed. She didn’t want to stand up. She didn’t want to leave it, not when it hugged her like a lover and made her feel safe, protected, loved…
Wake up.
A prickle came, then another. It formed into pokes, putting holes in the dreamy haze until she heard the voice more clearly.
Wake up!
Emerald’s eyes snapped open, but her vision didn’t grow steady until after repeatedly blinking and shaking her head. The comfortable place became reality as she found herself lying on a mound of dried leaves, with the thick branches and leaves above serving as shade. It was a pretty array of leaf colors, too, and she could admire it forever…but wasn’t she supposed to be drowning at sea?
The poke returned, then another, stemming from her back. She sat up abruptly, shock punching her hard when it dawned that something was poking her insistently. Her magic surged to her hand as her mind already flew to thoughts of body invasion and monsters—and then the poking object popped out and bumped against a tree trunk, allowing her a view of what she had been about to attack.
“Oh, my heavens.”
She gaped, then gaped some more. She watched the flying thing regain his senses as he shook his little body and blinked his little orbs, black as night and peering at her with curiosity. Belatedly, it occurred that she might have almost smothered him if she hadn’t woken up sooner.
“Oh, my heavens,” she repeated, unable to take her eyes off him. “Are you…?”
It was a pixie if her books at home were right: a small creature that could fit in her hands, with flimsy-looking wings that held more strength than expected and a slim, bony body wrapped in glitter to cover the private parts. There was more she had read about them: that they liked to stay in groups to protect themselves from bigger, more dangerous creatures. That they were dangerous as a group, especially when they considered something a threat…and that they lived on an unknown, unexplored island in the Otherworld that other more established creatures didn’t dare seek out, especially with the rumors that no one came out alive.
Her blood ran cold, but she swallowed the initial glimmer of fear and focused on the creature. The exposed chest and short hair indicated a male of his kind, and his expression was more a study of curiosity than a threat. When he didn’t move forward to attack and didn’t fly away, she cleared her throat.
“You were stuck on my back,” she said slowly, waiting for a reaction to the sound of her voice. When the pixie still didn’t move, she continued. “Or I was trapping you with my weight. You were poking me to wake me up. And the only reason for that—and why I am here instead of the sea—is because you probably dragged me here. You dragged me here, didn’t you?”
The pixie didn’t reply, tilting his head in confusion. Deducing he didn’t understand her, Emerald frowned. It was a miracle that she had survived that magical storm and had somehow landed here, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still on a precarious course. If she was on the infamous mystery island, then she needed to leave. Now.
“What’s your name?” she asked, trying a different tactic. She patted her chest repeatedly. “I’m Emerald. Em. Emerald. Em.”
His eyes lit up in understanding as he pointed at her. A tiny voice came out and spoke in a soft, lilting tone. “Em?”
Progress,her mind rejoiced. She nodded eagerly, then pointed at him until he pointed at himself.
“You?”
“Yu,” he replied.
The eagerness deflated. She repeated the process, saying her name again and again and getting the same answer each time.
“Yu. Yu,” he insisted.
Emerald sighed. “Okay. Yu?”
He nodded, then waited.
“Can you take me to the ocean?”
She added gestures and pointed, waiting until the pixie seemed to catch up. Then it was her turn to catch up as the pixie flew away in a jiffy, his gestures indicating that he wanted her to follow him. Hope sparked when he led her out of the forest and into another one, less thick, and signaling that the ground might have been sandier. When the next forest came into view, the leaves were barely there.
“Yu, how far did you drag me away from shore? And why would you drag me away from shore?”
