I didn't want to believe it. I couldn't. There was no way she was gone. She was the Queen of Terabithia. We were invincible, there was no way it was over. 'Nothing crushes us.' That was what she had said to me as we ran home in the rain. The last time I had seen her. The way she looked back at me, the way she ran with PT in her hands. I had seen her in a different light. I had finally realised that the connection I wanted to have been with Ms. Edmunds or anyone else, it was her. Her brilliant and beautiful mind had concocted all of the elements of Terabithia almost singlehandedly and I knew I couldn't do it and it wouldn't be the same without her. I had lost the single most important person in my life. And I didn't know whether I could go on. Or whether I could face the truth that I didn't want to admit. That she was gone, that there was no Terabithia anymore. We weren't invincible and it truly was over. And the look she gave me and the connection we had shared was no more.

I shoved the dresser in front of my door and went to my bed. I had to… I needed to… I didn't know what I needed. I looked up and saw the drawing of our castle, complete with our two small figures standing in front of the entrance. I needed her. I needed to look out of my window and see her in her oddly dressed outfit equipped with arm warmers and faded converses. I needed to hear her voice, coming up with weird and wacky new inventions for Terabithia, or talking about the Squogres, or plotting inventive ways of taking down the Dark Master. I needed her back, next to me where I could be at my happiest and not worry about my father, or my bullies, or even about missing the bus. I needed… my eyes felt heavy, and I lay back on my bed, letting sleep take me away from the hellish present.

Within a few moments, I was opening my eyes again, but now I wasn't in my bedroom anymore, I was definitely outside. I was still lying down, but instead of seeing my corner of the ceiling in me and May Belle's room, I could see a blue sky, with only a few wispy clouds around, the sunset painting a deep orange into the blue. As I craned my neck up, I could feel something soft beneath me. I turned my head and realised I was lying in a bed of grass. I couldn't think how I could've gotten here, yet it all felt strangely familiar. I closed my eyes to protect them from the light and focused on what I could hear. I heard spindly noises, low conversation, and a distinct buzzing sound. It all sounded so familiar.

I opened my eyes and sat up to drink in more of my surroundings. There was a stone path in front of me, weaving through a few small hills leading to a bridge that stood over a calmly flowing river. Beyond that were roaming fields and hills covered in trees, snowy mountains carving out the skyline and rocks so sharp they could cut through diamond. Figures of all different looks, colours, shapes and sizes surrounded me. Yet the most striking feature of all was the castle towering in front of me. Covered in gold, silver and sapphire, it looked every bit as regal as we had imagined. It's towers stood tall as I finally realised I knew where I was. I had come to my true home. Terabithia.

I started to lift myself off the soft grass and looked around me. There were Terabithians everywhere. The Soldier Fairies stood to attention as I got up. The Woodsters held their staffs aloft in apparent support. The Lionesses, with their outstanding manes, roared as I stood up. They all seemed to be cheering, or at least supporting, every movement I made. As I stepped onto the stone path, the Woodsters suddenly pointed their staffs in the direction of the castle.

'Go!' one of them boomed. I nodded at them and started to walk. As I did so, it hit me. If I was in Terabithia, that could only mean one thing.

I started to run as fast as my legs could take me; the activity that had brought me and her so much joy together. I tried to go faster, and I did. I started running like I was at the speed of sound. And, unlike my usual running, I didn't start to tire. There was no demand for breath from my lungs, nor was there any ache in my muscles. I kept speeding up, feeling like my legs were coming off the floor at times. I had crossed the bridge within a minute, and I was making a beeline for the Grand Entrance in the Queen's Courtyard. I followed the path up the hill, weaving its way through the winding hill. I was leaving a literal trail of dust as I finished the last bit of the hill and came to a halt just outside.

I could see a huge gold knocker on a pyramidic background. I went for it, but the huge door just opened without me having to so much as touch it. It opened slowly, far too slowly for my extremely impatient self. I had one goal, one end in sight and I wanted to live it as quickly as possible. The door opened into the Courtyard. The floor was coated in small rocks, just as the path had been. I started to run, at my normal pace this time, through the courtyard and past what I would later find out was called a portcullis. I ended up in the huge opening room which had the floor lined in a marble checkerboard pattern. And there, standing on the far side of the room in the same clothes as the last time I had seen her, was Leslie.

Without hesitation I ran over to her. She started to run towards me, and we met in the middle, an embrace unlike any I had ever had before. I was finally with her again, and now that I was, I could never let her go. I started to cry and from the sounds of it, so was she.

'Leslie' I said, through tears and suddenly short of breath. 'It's you.'

'It's me' she said, smiling as her short blond hair flipped about. 'Jess I'm here.'

'I'm so happy to see you. They told me you died; they said you were gone. They said so many things, but I didn't believe them. I knew you weren't gone.'

Leslie smiled at me sadly and wiped her eyes.

'In a manner of speaking, they're right' she said, shocking me.

'What… What do you mean?' I asked, my chest becoming tight. 'You're here, how can they be right?'

'Because I did Jess' she said, looking away from me. 'I did die, I drowned in that river that day. In that world anyway.' Her sad smile changed to one of mischief.

'I don't understand' I said, trying to make sense of it all.

'There's nothing to understand Jess. In that world I died, but I'm alive here in Terabithia.'

'But that means…' It hit me like a brick wall. I was dreaming. She really was gone. 'That means you're gone.'

'No silly it doesn't' she said, almost as if she was waiting for me to get something. 'I'm right here. In this world.'

'But this isn't real' I say, the admission crushing me like a boulder. 'It's a dream.'

'Isn't it?' she asked me, still grinning. 'Really, isn't it? Then how come I can do this.' She pinched me and I felt it.

'Ow!' I exclaimed. 'What was that for?'

She looked at me and paused. 'It was the only way to get it through your head that this place isn't just a dream, well not for me anyway, it's real. It exists.'

I looked at her dumbfounded, as if she'd just said all the billionaires in the world were lizard people.

'Real?' I finally managed to get out. 'How?'

'Because it is' she said. 'There's no explanation, it just is. You think you're dreaming this right now and that you'll wake up back in the "real world" where I'm gone, and your actual life is right?'

All I could do is nod half-heartedly as she continued to explain.

'Well' she said and looked around before beckoning me to come closer before whispering. 'This isn't the dream Jess, that world is. Terabithia is real, your other life is the dream. And I'll prove it to you. Hold out your hand.'

I put my hand out and she handed me a small pearl. 'When you "wake up" again, you'll still have that pearl in your hand.'

'Really?' I asked, amazed and excited. 'So you're actually here, this is all real?'

'YES!' she shouted, partly scaring me. The word echoed through the grand room. 'Isn't it amazing.'

'It's beyond amazing, it's…' I paused as I tried to think of a word that wouldn't come to me. 'Well you're the writer. But what do you mean when I wake up again?'

'Ah' she said, her face going serious. 'That's the difficult part. I exist here now permanently because I died in the other world. Even though it was still a dream, I kept going back, just like you've been since we met. You haven't had that yet. You'll keep phasing back every time you sleep, living two lives almost. It's hard to explain, and please don't ask me what happens with other people or the specifics of it all because I only found out myself recently and I don't know about anyone else.'

I had to pause yet again to take in all the information she was giving me.

'So what do I do?' I asked eagerly. I just wanted to get done whatever I needed to in order to be here in Terabithia with her again.

'You have to tie up all your loose ends. The thing that keeps you tied to the other world is unfinished business. You have to finish it. Make sure everything is done and then, after it is, you'll be here with me.' I smiled and looked at her but she had a serious look on her face, the rare look she showed when she had something truly meaningful to say. 'Jess, I need you to understand something. Just because I died and came here doesn't mean you can too. If you die by your own hand, you won't be able to make it here. Do you understand?'

I nodded at her. 'So why did dying work for you then?'

'It wasn't intentional, and I guess I didn't have any loose ends' she replied shrugging her shoulders.

'You had me' I said mournfully.

'Isn't that what this is all about?' she asked excitedly. 'Now come on, you'd best be getting back. Make sure you tie up those ends Jess. I'll be waiting.'

'But wait' I said, my eyes becoming drowsy. 'How do I know what I have to do?'

'You'll figure it out' her voice echoed in my head as my eyes closed and opened again immediately. Leslie wasn't there anymore; I was back in my room. I felt a small object in my hand, it was the pearl. I smiled inwardly as I realised what that meant. She was telling the truth.

From then, I started to think about what I had to do. I made a list of five things and tried to tick them off in one day, as quickly as possible. At school I helped Ms. Edwards again and I talked to Ms. Myers about her husband. I even talked with Janice about her family and about Leslie. I paid my respects to Leslie's grieving parents at the reception after school, although the latter two were hard to do with the knowledge I possessed. After the reception, I talked to Dad about everything and helped him understand, and he promised not to be so severe, to everyone. With that I believed that I had done everything and that I would be back in Terabithia in no time. Night went and morning came the next day, and I was still here. It was apparent I still had more to do, but I couldn't think of what. It wouldn't take me long though. After a depressing day at school, I got on the bus where I saw May Belle crying. She saw me and pretended to ignore me. On the way home she finally opened up to me and told me she was sad that Leslie had died.

In that moment, I knew what I had to do. After we got back home, I took her out and we went back to where me and Leslie had made Terabithia. I made her Princess and myself King. We played long into the afternoon and went home for dinner. It was sentimental, as I knew in myself it would be the last one. But I knew I belonged somewhere else, not in this dream. When dinner finally ended and I made it to bed that night, I knew it was time. I shut my eyes and waited. When I opened them again, I was in Castle Terabithia again, with Leslie stood right in front of me, beautiful as ever.

'You finally woke up' she said to me, tears in her eyes.

'It was about time I got my head out of the clouds' I replied, and we started laughing. I grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. In that moment, I knew I was home with my favourite person in the world and that I was never going to leave. It started as a dream, but it became a reality. For that, and for her, I will always be grateful.