Timeweaver

All That Glitters is Not Gold, But in This Case It Is

It was a seemingly normal Sunday. Tabitha was walking through town with her best friend, Catalina. They were supposed to be getting a few groceries for Tabitha's mom, famous supermodel Angela Marjorie, and head straight back home, but they had dilly-dallied, stopping frequently to gaze into store windows at all the things they wished they could have -- all the things they could have but knew their parents would say they didn't need.

The two girls had just stepped out of one of their favorite stores and walked past a small alley. As they were passing, something bright caught Tabitha's eye. She thought it was just a reflection of the sun, but, when she glanced over her shoulder for another look, she noticed something odd. It wasn't a reflection. Tabitha stopped in her tracks and stared at the strange light.

"What is it, Tabby?" Catalina, who had walked ahead talking about the most gorgeous shoes she had seen, turned around and asked her friend. "What is it, Tabby?" she repeated when Tabitha continued to stare ahead. Catalina followed her blank gaze and gasped when she saw the odd oval of colorful lights floating in the midst of the darkness of the alley surrounding it. Tabitha finally stepped forward, still staring, hoping it was just some strange hallucination or optical illusion and the swirling portal wasn't really there. Catalina looked around, trying to find someone who could make it go away or at least explain it. But inside she knew no one would simply tell her, "Oh, that thing. Don't worry about it. It's a completely harmless floating orb. It has always been there."

Catalina lunged forward, breaking out of her thoughts, and slapped away Tabitha's hand, which had just been inches away from the portal-looking-thing. "What was that for, Cat?" Tabitha asked indignantly. She had just been about to discover what was on the other side, if there was anything. Cat stood and blinked at her like she was crazy; who's to say she wasn't? Inside, Catalina was itching to run away, with or without her best friend. "C'mon. I'm just gonna put my hand through it," Tabitha said, more confident than she felt. She kept picturing herself pulling her arm back out of the portal just to find her right hand completely missing. She shook away the thought. "For all we know, there is no other side.

Catalina stepped back and kept quiet. She planned to leave as soon as Tabitha had satisfied her curiosity. She was pretty curious too but panic outweighed any other emotion. But her plans were all ruined because as soon as her friend stuck her fingers through the portal, she was sucked in and disappeared from sight completely. Cat ran to the other side of the swirling oval to see if Tabitha was merely behind it, but it just opened up to more darkness and a few trash cans.

Cat faced the portal once more. She didn't want to, but she couldn't leave her friend all alone in an unknown place. So she took a deep breath, mustered up all her courage, and slowly reached out her hand. Her fingertips skimmed the surface, which felt like water. It even rippled at her touch like a lake. She forced herself to stretch her arm out farther. Nothing happened. Oh no, she thought, Tabby's stuck and there's nothing I can do to help her. She boldly stepped forward, refusing to accept there was nothing she could do. Before she could even think, she felt every portion of her body being pulled forward through the portal. So this is what it feels like to be sucked up by a vacuum, she thought to herself as she was pulled farther and farther away from her home, her family.

Catalina had just finished whispering a goodbye to her mother when she landed, hard, on the other side. It was dark, she realized as she slowly opened her eyes. She could just make out a silhouette standing against a far wall. This caused a moment of panic, but it passed and she took a breath and called out into the darkness, "Tabby? Is that you?"

She heard a short gasp and the figure turned around. "Cat?" it whispered. Relief flooded through both the girls.

"Yeah, are we alone?" she asked Tabitha. Her friend inched closer, careful not to trip on anything.

"I think so."

Catalina stood and walked toward Tabitha. "Good. Now where the heck are we?"

"That's a good question. I think I found a door, but I can't get it to open. I was hoping you'd follow and help me." As Cat's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could just make out the outline of the door. She stole a glance behind her to see if, by chance, the portal was still there offering a way back home. Her hopeful eyes were only greeted by darkness. She let out a sigh and turned around to look at Tabitha, who was looking back at her expectantly.

"Let's do it," she said and reached for the doorknob, knowing there was no going back.

The two girls pushed against the door with all their might until there was a small crack big enough for them to squeeze through. They had to shield their eyes from the blinding light; its brightness was even more extreme in contrast to the darkness of the room they'd been in. What they saw amazed them. The girls were standing in the middle of a forest. It was no ordinary forest though. The great trees were golden: golden trunks, golden branches, golden leaves, and even golden fruit. The sun reflected off of the gold surfaces, causing the incredible brilliance.

Tabitha and Catalina turned in a circle, gazing at the magnificent forest surrounding them. Where were they? Tabitha glanced back at what they had just come out of. It was a small and simple wooden shed. It wasn't even made out of the strange golden wood. And now that the old heavy door - which Tabitha could have sworn was made out of solid gold for there was nothing in front of it that could've made it so heavy - was open, even just a crack, light flooded the small room. Tabitha stepped back inside and Catalina followed. The shed was full of tools of all shapes and sizes, some of which the girls had never seen before in their lives, although they did have some familiar feeling about them.

Luckily, one of the first things Cat laid eyes on was a pair of sunglasses. They weren't the most stylish pair; they were very round with a tarnished golden frame. She didn't care though. She picked them up and put them on. SO. MUCH. BETTER. Now she wouldn't have to shield her eyes. Catalina found a few other pairs lying close by and tossed one to Tabitha. "Here. Put these on." Tabitha caught them and gratefully slipped them on, not even thinking about their ridiculous appearance. Neither of them was sure if they needed any of these tools, but they also weren't sure what to expect in the glittering forest, so they each set about finding a weapon. Tabitha brushed the dirt off of a sharp dagger and sifted through the odd assortment till she found an ancient brown sheath made of cracked leather. She slipped the knife in and tucked it into her belt. Catalina saw a glorious golden sword but she knew she didn't have the strength or the skill to wield it. She finally settled on a smaller knife similar to her friend's and laid it in the bag she wore around her shoulder. She tucked some of the oddities of the shed into the purse too, just in case.

"Alright then," Tabitha said when Cat looked about ready. "Let's go find out where we are." She stepped out boldly, like a general leading her army into enemy territory. Catalina followed, not looking back and attempting to put on the same confident face Tabitha had. She trudged forward, reluctant to leave the safety of the shed, but if the shed couldn't offer her a way home, she wouldn't let cowardice stop her from finding one.

There was no turning back now.