Caroline's POV:

"There it is." Gobo said. "Outer Space." After talking & celebrating with the Fraggles for a while, I had asked Gobo to bring me back. It was getting late, & I knew that my dad would get worried if I didn't show up for dinner…

"Wow." Junior said. He, Cotterpin, Doc, & Sprocket had walked me back as well. For Junior & Cotterpin, it must have been their first time seeing my world.

"It's so big." Cotterpin said from Junior's shoulder. "A Doozer could build lots of stuff out there."

"My old workshop." Doc said, peering out fondly. "It looks like it's in good hands."

"I turned it into a music room." I said. "I hope you don't mind."

"Oh, of course not. It's not my workshop anymore. I'm glad you're still pursuing music. Even at a young age, you always had such a passion for it."

Sprocket barked something to Doc.

"Well, Sprocky, we've been gone a long time. I doubt Ms. Ardath or her dog, Marigold, still lives next door. The Captain's Inn might not even be in business anymore." Doc said.

"The Captain's Inn is still there." I said. "I think Samira, my stepmother, mentioned that Ms. Ardath retired last year. It's now run by her son, whose golden retriever often likes to run off with golf balls when he practices putting." I smiled. "I can try to track her down if you want."

Doc seemed very keen on that idea. "I haven't seen Betty in a long, long time…It would be nice to find out what happened to her." He pulled himself out of whatever memories had resurfaced. "I don't know how you're going to do it, but tell your dad that Sprocket & I say hello."

"I will." I promised. With one last lingering look at everyone, I turned & walked back to my music room. I gave myself plenty of space, & then I took one of the Shrinking Gummies out of the bag & chewed it. I felt the weird feeling return, but now I found myself growing back to my proper size. Once the feeling had subsided, I knelt down to peer through the hole. The others stared back at me.

"Wow. You're big." Cotterpin said.

"Yeah, but probably not as big as a Gorg." I said, smiling. "So…maybe I'll see you soon?" I asked, hopefully. I didn't want to be rude, but I also wasn't quite ready to let go of Fraggle Rock just yet…

"Sure!" Gobo said. "Come back anytime."

"Ok, I will!" I said, haply. "Maybe tomorrow? After school?"

"Sure!" Gobo said. "See you tomorrow, Caroline."

I waved as they all turned back to Fraggle Rock. I heard the door open behind me & jumped to my feet just as my dad walked in.

"Everything ok?" Dad asked. "You've been out here for a while…"

"Fine!" I said, maybe a little too quickly as I tried to shove the bag of Shrinking Gummies in my pocket without letting my dad see. "Just studying…"

"What's that?" he asked. I said nothing as he walked over. "Looks like a really ugly old hole in the wall. Well, don't worry about it. I'll board it up one of these days…"

"No!" Dad gave me a strange look. "I mean…" I tried to sound rational. "It gives the place character. I like it."

"O…k…?" I knew he was confused, but I wasn't sure how to explain. "Well, it's almost dinner time, so come on back inside, ok?"

"Ok." I said. As I followed him out, my gaze drifted to the engraved guitar picks that I had ordered, still sitting on the table.

You cannot leave the Magic.

I smiled to myself. I knew that inscription to be true.

The Magic was just beginning…


This has been so much fun to write! Just like Caroline, I don't think I'm ready to let go of Fraggle Rock just yet…Maybe I'll write a sequel to this one day…

Until next time!

Please review!