Beatrice wasn't sure what to make of the girl who moved in next door.

She'd see the girl from her bedroom window, playing in their garden and being swung through the air by one of her dads. Her hair was always wild and messy, and Beatrice wished her parents would let her look like that.

For weeks, Beatrice would watch the girl from her bedroom window, too shy to go out and ask her if she wanted to play.

That is, until she saw her at school, and watched her beat all the boys in a foot race. Beatrice walked up and congratulated her, and the girl said, "Thanks! You live nextdoor to me right? I'm Greta."

Beatrice mumbled back her own name, her hands fidgeting.

"That's a pretty name. Do you wanna hang out after school? I've discovered some new things that you might like." Greta said, smiling.

So, after school, Greta took Beatrice's hand as she got off the bus, and lead her to a path she had made in the path lead to a stream, and hanging above the stream, was a rope.

Greta bent down and got a stick, leaning over the water to snag the rope on the stick, pulling it towards herself. Once she got the rope, she gripped it tightly and looked back at Beatrice, who was watching her with wide eyes.

"Just do what I do, okay? I'll be over there to catch you."

Beatrice's mouth gaped open. "What do you mean-"

Beatrice cut herself off as Greta jumped into the air, hooking her feet around a knot in the rope, and swinging smoothly across the moving water. She landed with her feet firmly planted on the other side, and looked back at Beatrice, grinning.

"Here, catch!" Greta swung the rope back over the water, and Beatrice fumbled to catch it. When she did, she looked back at Greta, shaking her head.

"I don't...I don't think I can do this." Beatrice said, her voice shaking a little.

"Have you ever tried?" Greta called back across the stream.

"Well...no, but-"

"Then you have no idea if you can or not. You'll never know if you don't try!"

Beatrice took a deep breath and backed up, pulling the rope taut. Another deep breath, and her feet leave the ground, wrapping around the knot on the rope. She squeezes her eyes shut tightly, and doesn't open them until she's on the other side.

And from the moment she feels Greta's hands around her waist, securing her on that side of the stream, Beatrice was in love.

Months passed, and every day after school, Beatrice and Greta swung across the stream. They ventured into a land where they were the queens, and all the creatures and people who lived there adored them.

They named their land, Terabithia.

Terabithia was filled with lush forests, and soaring steeples, jewel colored flags, and rivers that ran with bright pink water.

It was a land they had always dreamed of, and it was theirs.

At school, despite being in different grades, Beatrice and Greta were practically inseparable. They spent every lunch and recess together, and reluctantly parted to go to their own classes.

Beatrice was having the time of her life, but what she didn't know is that it was all about to end.

It had been raining for days and they hadn't been able to go to Terabithia. Beatrice was stuck inside, and so when her teacher called one morning, offering to take her to the museum she'd be talking about, she jumped at the chance. She didn't think her parents would mind, so she grabbed her raincoat and met her teacher outside and climbed into her car.

They drove and listened to loud music, yelling out the lyrics and grinning. Beatrice thought this was going to be the best day of her life.

The museum was wonderful, and Beatrice day dreamed of the fossils and the giant forms of the dinosaurs on their way home. She wondered if Greta knew if dinosaurs could come to Terabithia.

They pulled into Beatrice's driveway, and saw the flashing lights of a police car.

"Oh my." Beatrice's teacher said, bringing the car to a stop. Beatrice was out of the car before it completely stopped, her heart pounding. What if something happened to her parents? Was she going to be an orphan now? Would she have to live with her grandparents?

By the time Beatrice reached her front door, she had resigned herself to going to live with her grandparents, so when she threw open the door and was greeted by both her parents and a police man, she was shocked.

"Beatrice, oh my god, where have you been?" Her mother sobbed, rushing to embrace her daughter. "We thought...we thought…."

Her father as came over and kneeled next to them. "Beatrice, where did you go?"

"I...my teacher took me to the museum...what's going on, why are the police here?" Beatrice asked, her voice small.

Her father and mother exchanged looks, and her father sighed.

"Beatrice, do you know the rope that hangs over the stream? In the woods, a little ways back?"

She nodded, confused. What did the entrance to Terabithia have to do with anything?

"Beatrice I'm so sorry, but your friend Greta…" He took a deep breath. "Greta tried to swing across the stream, but it had risen too high from all the rain."

Beatrice furrowed her eyebrows. What was he talking about?

"The water had risen too high, and the rope was old and it broke and…Greta fell and hit her head. She...she didn't make it."

Beatrice just looked at her father. She didn't understand. Greta didn't make it? She didn't make it across the stream? That's okay, they can go another time. But her father was speaking again.

"Beatrice...Greta died."

Her mother let out another sob, and Beatrice shook her head, her damp pigtails hitting her in the face.

"No…" Beatrice said. "No...Greta is just in Terabithia, you just can't see her 'cause grown ups can't go there."

"Beatrice…" Her father tried, but she was shaking their arms off her and backing up towards the door.

"I'll show you, I'll go get her. She's at the castle, we have to defend against the squirrels. I'll get her." Beatrice turned and ran back outside, rain pelting against her coat. She glanced at Greta's house as she rose by and saw her dads sitting, holding each other at their table.

'Don't worry, I'll bring her back, she's okay.' Beatrice thought.

So she ran, ignoring her parents shouting behind her. She ran, and ran, and ran.

She ran until she reached the stream.

The stream with a broken, frayed rope hanging out of reach.

Beatrice stared up at the rope, not believing what she was seeing.

"Beatrice...Greta died."

No…

"Just do what I do okay? I'll be over here to catch you."

Greta…she couldn't be gone. It just didn't make sense. She was too brave to die.

Beatrice backed away from the stream, the image of the rope snapping and Greta falling helplessly, being consumed by the water, engulfing her vision.

Her best friend. Gone.

Beatrice dropped to the ground, her legs no longer willing to support her. Tears streamed down her face, and sobs began to wrack her body. She leaned forward and pressed her face into the dirt.

Gone.