Author's Note: Hey, everyone. I usually upload my chapters right away, but my internet connection was down and I had to go to a doctor's appointment and tour a college I hope to get a Master's Degree from, so it's been a busy day. Anyway, here's chapter three, prepare for some suspense!

Chapter Three

A Misunderstood Report

A few weeks passed with no visit from Lucy. While I missed the little girl, I was also relieved she didn't come back. September 19th rolled around, and while I was used to the routines that college classes and my part time job brought, I was also longing for some adventure and excitement. I didn't express my wish out loud, though. Admitting that I was dying for some adventure and excitement was like saying the bad day you were having couldn't get any worse. In some twist of fate, the person who spoke aloud what she was thinking would find out what her thoughts entailed when made into actions.

Perhaps I shouldn't have even thought about desiring adventure, because right as I was ladling soup into my bowl, I heard a noise from my bedroom. Grabbing my ladle spoon as a weapon, I raised it like a club and snuck toward my room. As I got to the doorway, I noticed the outline of a child in the darkness. Reaching for the light switch, I flicked it on and raised my "weapon" to find Lucy Pevensie standing in front of me with wide eyes.

"Lucy, what are you doing here, you should warn me before coming. Do your brothers and sister know you're here?"

"I had to see you, none of the others believed me when I told them I came here through the wardrobe and met you!"

"I see. Well, your brothers and sister are 'seeing is believing' kind of people. You have much more faith than they do, if you ask me.

"What have you been up to? It's been a few weeks since I last saw you, Lucy," I said, leading the little girl out of my bedroom.

"I've been enjoying the weather. It's been so nice ever since the rain we had a few weeks ago, and now it's raining again."

"Maybe the wardrobe only opens when it rains," I suggested as we sat at the kitchen table and I began eating my soup.

"Do you want some? I just made dinner for myself, but there's more than I can eat if you want it," I offered, figuring since no one was watching the child carefully enough, I might as well look after her while she was here.

"Oh, no thank you, I already had my supper," Lucy replied, sitting next to me.

"Okay," I shrugged, blowing on the hot soup and trying it, getting a burnt tongue for my effort.

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked as I hastily dropped my spoon with a clatter and started gulping the water that was in a glass beside my bowl.

"Fine, just burnt my tongue," I replied once I'd gotten rid of the searing feeling.

In a few minutes, Lucy was talking nonstop about anything and everything. It wasn't until we both heard the door close that Lucy fell silent.

"What was that sound?" I asked slowly, praying that what I thought I heard was wrong.

"It sounded like a door closing," Lucy replied, looking around in anticipation.

"Yes, but why would it, we're the only ones here."

"Well, my brother, Edmund, has been going on about how my world behind the wardrobe doesn't exist and teasing me about it."

"You don't think…This isn't good, this is not good," I muttered, rushing toward my front door. Opening it, I noticed a boy who looked a little older than Lucy turning a corner ahead of us. Rushing back to grab my purse and keys, then taking Lucy's hand in mine, I pulled both of us to the outside of my apartment building, locked the door, and ran after the kid whom I assumed was Lucy's brother.

By the time we reached the corner where Lucy's brother had just turned, however, the boy was nowhere in sight. The moment Lucy noticed she couldn't see her brother, she yelled his name into the night. Shushing the little girl, I pulled her back to my apartment, with the plan to call the police in mind. Once we reached my living room, I grabbed my cell phone and dialed 911.

"911, what's your emergency?" A woman's voice asked as soon as the number connected with the police station's phone.

"Hi, this is Miracle Love at Lantern Light Apartments. I need to report a missing child."

"How long has the child been missing?"

"A few minutes ago," I replied, noticing Lucy pressing her ear against the other side of the phone, after staring at it curiously when I first dialed the emergency's number.

"Are you the missing child's mother?"

"No, ma'am, I'm a friend of theirs. I was given the responsibility to look after both him and his sister. While I was talking to his sister, he must have snuck out behind me, because I heard the door close," despite my efforts to remain calm, I could feel my voice rise in panic as I imagined several different scenarios involving Edmund being hurt or killed.

"OK, calm down ma'am. What does your friend's boy look like?"

"He has short, dark brown hair, brown eyes, and freckles across an upturned nose."

"Any distinguishing features?"

"Umm, his name is Edmund Pevensie and he really likes turkish delight."

"Is this a prank call?"

"No ma'am," I replied, shocked that the woman would think such a thing.

"No one the age of a little boy is named Edmund, and no real person is named Pevensie."

"Well this one is," I replied, feeling my own blood boil at being called a liar when I wasn't one.

"You're wasting my time, and possibly someone else's life. How old are you?"

"I'm twenty five," I replied, cursing that my voice might sound younger than how old I really was.

"Then you should be old enough to know not to report about a missing child when there is none," with those words, the woman hung up on me.

I stared at my phone which was now emitting a dial tone for a few minutes. In hindsight, I should have expected not to be believed, but I was in such a panicked state that I didn't think about what others might assume if I told anyone the child's real name.

Lucy's face turned red, and tears welled up in her eyes. Just like during our last visit, the little girl flung herself at me in an embrace, and clung to my waist. This is going to be a long night, I thought, as I quickly planned to search for Edmund myself, with Lucy coming along.

"It's alright, Lucy, we'll get your brother back, I promise."

"Why didn't the police believe you, you're a grown-up," Lucy pointed out, wiping underneath her eyes with the same handkerchief she used the last time she was in my apartment.

"I think it's because the police believe that you and your brother are fictional characters, that you aren't real."

"Why would they think that?"

"Well," I began, trying to figure out how I was going to explain this concept to the little girl. "Remember the movie we watched when you first came to my apartment?"

At Lucy's nod, I continued my explanation that because of that story, people didn't know the Pevensie children existed. I added my explanation with the question of if people where she came from believed that characters in fairy tales existed. As Lucy shook her head no, realization came into her eyes, making them glow brightly for a few seconds.

"Are we going to search for my brother now?" Lucy asked, sounding worried.

"Yes, we're going in my car to look for your brother. I'm not leaving you by yourself in my apartment, after all, who knows how long it'll take to find Edmund with just the two of us looking."

With this said, both of us jumped into my car, fastened our seat belts (Lucy had to be shown how), and took off down the road in the direction we saw Edmund last.