Three days passed and Gabriella had not told a single soul what she experienced that day at the creek. She knew no adult would believe her. Grown-ups never believed in magic in all the TV shows and books. Even in real life they seemed pretty stuck in their narrow-minded ways. But she also didn't have any friends to tell either. Every summer, she had no contact with her friends from school, and her cousins would become her playmates. But she knew none of them would believe her either. They would probably make fun of her. Those three days were the loneliest she ever had.

When one experiences something so amazing, so magical, so impossible, the one thing one wants to do is share it with someone close. However, the only person who would believe her would be someone who experienced it with her.

She had to go back. She had to see if Lucy was there, and then they could exchange phone numbers. Or even addresses so that they could write to each other. She figured Lucy was experiencing similar problems at home. It did seem like it was also her first time in a magical world (it was). No doubt the experience sent her for a loop (and it was, in fact, causing her trouble too).

She convinced her grandmother to go to the park again, this time telling her beforehand that they were to go down to the creek. But she asked if she could walk ahead while they walked the length of it. She made sure to wear pants ("The grass is long, there might be snakes," she said as an excuse.), and she tied a thick sweater around her waist (despite her grandmother's protests that it was too hot). Her grandmother was a slow walker, so it was easy for Gabriella to stay ahead. Once they hit the curve, she ran ahead to get to the rocks she had fallen at before.

They looked the same. She tried jumping up, and fake falling down, and even stomping on the ground. None of it worked. Her grandmother was going to be around the curve soon, and nothing was happening. Perhaps it only worked if she actually fell? She looked up at the small cliffside, with its large rocks attached to its face. Maybe if she slid down from halfway up, it would simulate falling in a way she couldn't.

Up Gabriella went, hoping that her grandmother wouldn't see her. As her left foot found a small nook to stay in, she let go of her right foot to bring it up higher. She felt it happen in slow motion. Her left foot wasn't as secure as she hoped, and neither of her hands was in a position to support her full body weight. Down she went, knees and hands scraping roughly against the cliff face. She managed to land on her feet and heard the soft crunch of snow underneath.

It was cold. She looked around. The snowy forest was back and there was not a single cloud in the light blue sky. The cliff she had just slid down was now a familiar-looking hillside. After putting on her sweater, she walked along it until she realized she was near the entrance of Tumnus' house.

"Gabriella?" a familiar voice called. She whirled around and spotted Lucy trudging through the higher-than-last-time snow. "You're here again!" the other girl cheered.

"I was just going to say the same thing," she replied.

"You were planning on meeting with Mr. Tumnus too?" Lucy asked in a lower voice, remembering that as humans, they weren't welcome in Narnia.

"No, I entered the world from right over there," Gabriella replied and pointed. She noticed how Lucy always referred to the Faun as "mister" 'first, and wondered if perhaps she was a poorly mannered girl for not using titles for others.

"I say, how do you enter here? I get in through a wardrobe in the manor my siblings and I are staying in because of the War. The entrance wasn't there last time I checked, and they all called me a liar, but today I went in and... well, I'm here." Lucy continued walking toward the cave entrance and Gabriella followed.

"I enter by falling down near a creek by my grandma's house." And then, "Is there a war going on in England?" The American girl hadn't heard anything in the news.

Lucy stopped right before they got to the door. "Yes, it's like the big war that my parents lived through when they were younger. Haven't you heard about it in America?"

"There's a war going on in the Middle East, but I don't think England is a part of it. And my parents didn't live through a big war." Both girls were very confused for a moment before a small pile of snow came tumbling down from a tree branch above.

"What the heck," Gabriella said as she brushed the snow off herself.

"Look!" Lucy was pointing above them. A small flock of birds had landed in a row along the branch above.

"Why are they staring at us?" Gabriella asked, remembering the warning that even some of the trees were on the witch's side.

"They look like they want to tell us something," Lucy began, and both girls jumped as the door behind them opened. The birds flew off abruptly, scattering a bit more snow everywhere.

"Goodness!" Came Tumnus' voice. "Come in, come in," and both girls ran in as if they had done something wrong.

"Are you alright? You didn't get in trouble with the White Witch?" Lucy asked after Tumnus closed the door.

"I asked one of her, um, advisors I assume they're called, if I could get another job." He went on to explain how he didn't want to stop working for her yet in case she got suspicious. It was difficult but he managed to no longer be her kidnapper. That was a few weeks ago and nobody had discovered humans had been in Narnia.

"A few weeks ago? It's only been three days for me." Gabriella said.

"That's the same for me," replied Lucy.

"I guess your world is just different," replied Tumnus, but he wasn't quite convinced. He went to the other room to get some food for them and left the girls to themselves.

Gabriella went off to the bookshelf again, hoping to maybe read one and figure out more about this strange world. The title Narnian Tales: A History Book for Children peaked her interest. She grabbed it and sat down on one of the chairs near the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked.

"Reading," she responded, even though she knew the other girl meant more than that.

"It's not polite to take someone else's book," Lucy replied softly.

"I'm not taking it. And there's no rule that says you can't read a book that's in someone else's house." Asking permission was for borrowing, but borrowing would be if she decided to take it out of the cave-home. "It's a children's book too." She held up the cover.

"That does look interesting, but we could just ask Mr. Tumnus about Narnia. Don't you remember all the things he told us last time? I've been wondering why this White Witch makes it always winter and never Christmas. Winter is my second favorite season, but Christmas is such a big part of it. I can't imagine a world of always one season. Even if it was Spring, which is my favorite. The spring and summertimes seem to be lovely here, and I want to ask him more about them." Lucy could talk about the things that excited her for awhile, as long as someone was willing to listen. And in the brunette, the fair-haired girl found an avid listener. She went on for a bit more about Springtime before asking, "And what's your favorite season?"

She had to think for a little bit. "I can't pick one, they all have good things in them." Swimming and hot weather and no school in the summer, beautiful leaves and Halloween and Thanksgiving in the fall, Christmas and New Year's and maybe a day of snow in the winter, Easter and plants growing and flowers blooming in the spring.

Lucy nodded, "Each of my siblings has a different favorite season."

"How many siblings do you have?" Gabriella asked as she absent-mindedly set the book down.

"Three," Lucy answered and sat down on the nearby chair. "A sister and two brothers, I'm the youngest."

"That must be fun. I've always wanted siblings. Well... I do have one, but he's my half-brother so we weren't raised together. He's already grown." Gabriella didn't like talking about him. He had gotten into a big disagreement with their father a couple years before and only their grandparents communicated with him now. Over two years, and he hadn't bothered to reach out to his little sister once. "So I guess we're both the baby of the family, in a way," she said, pushing the thought away.

"It's not always fun. Not when they treat me like an actual baby." Lucy thought back to all the recent trouble her family was going through. Their father was fighting in the war and they were having to spend the summer away from their mother. "But, I wouldn't want to be an only-child."

Before either could say anything else Tumnus came back with the food. It was a similar fair to what they had last time, except there was no buttered toast. He apologized for the sameness in the food, as it wasn't always the case.

"Always winter means the crops are limited," he explained.

Gabriella wondered if at the border of Narnia and whatever countries were its neighbors, there would be a sudden change into another season. If one just walked through the woods, one could pull back a tree limb and the snow would disappear, replaced with sun-scorched grass. She was reminded of Beauty and the Beast. If she was in a fairytale land with magical creatures, would things be the same as the stories she grew up with? She didn't think so. Narnia seemed quite different from the books about fairies that she had read. Of course, she only knew what Tumnus had told them.

"Are there any fairies in Narnia?" she asked.

"Oh!" Lucy said with wide eyes. It was something she had been wondering about as well.

Tumnus had never heard of a fairy, even after both girls took turns explaining them. They talked once more about what life in Narnia used to be compared to now. It came up that Gabriella had wanted to read one of the books Tumnus had, and he said she could borrow it. He "had no need for it anyways". Somehow Lucy got on the topic of food again, and they all found out that a lot of Narnian dishes were very much like the food back in England. Once they finished eating Lucy announced that she would have to be leaving.

"What if it's different this time? I can't let my family worry I've gotten lost."

Gabriella was less eager to get back home. She knew what was waiting for her there, and it wasn't anything she particularly enjoyed. But she couldn't stay if Lucy was leaving, it would be an awkward event. And she still didn't know how to get back to her world. It seemed like falling worked as the mode of transportation, but the sudden urge to return to Earth and end up in England came over her. Her parents would be upset and worried, not to mention confused at her sudden appearance across the Atlantic, but she didn't care. She had not yet realized her impulsivity never lead to anything good.

"Yeah, and I'll probably have to go back with you. I don't know how I got back last time."

After saying their goodbyes, the two girls went off into the woods once more. It was still daytime, so they figured they would be fine going back by themselves. Like last time, Lucy held her hand as they walked side-by-side. Gabriella had put on her sweater but Lucy had a dress of thin material. Even with long sleeves and high socks, body heat would be needed to keep her somewhat warm. Although they hardly knew each other, the two had already grown greatly attached. Already Gabriella was thinking of Lucy as a young child she had to protect.

"I don't think I know how old you are," She stated, once she realized it had never come up in conversation.

"I'm eight."

The older girl was surprised. She had thought Lucy was younger. "Well that means we're close in age. I'm nine, and I'll be ten in a month."

"Really? I had figured you were my sister Susan's age. She's already been in boarding school for two years."

Gabriella was used to being mistaken for older than she was because of her height, but she didn't understand the boarding school comment. She asked what that meant and Lucy explained that, in her district, once kids got into year five they went to another school, which happened to be a boarding school. And then the two realized that their countries measured school grades differently. Year five was what Gabriella knew to be fourth grade.

Suddenly, Lucy stopped walking. She stared at something in the distance. Gabriella couldn't make it out without her glasses but it looked to be a person facing the other way.

"I think that's my brother," Lucy said with joy before calling out his name.

Author's Note: Should my chapters be longer? Right now they're a little over 2000 words. If you want them to be longer, I can double it.