Great, I'm Stuck in a World of Magic: If It's Not Poisonous

Chapter 1: into the storytale we go

Hi, I'm Jackie. My life isn't exactly what you'd call ordinary, especially when you have a brother like Lucca. He's 15, just a year older than me, but he acts like he's light years ahead sometimes. See, Lucca's all about computers and gadgets—anything with circuits and codes gets him excited. Me? I'm more into fairy tales and adventures. My sister used to read them to us before bedtime before she went off the collage in a different city. Everytime she read them, I soaked up every story like a sponge.

Tonight, though, Lucca's got his nose buried in some new programming language he's teaching himself. He says I should stop wasting time on make-believe stuff, but I can't help it. The tales of knights and dragons, of magical lands beyond the mirror—those stories light a spark in me that even the brightest computer screen can't match.

It's Wednesday night, close to midnight. Lucca's room is a dimly lit cave of monitors and wires. I'm sitting on his bed, trying to get him interested in one of my favorite stories. "Lucca, remember how Emma used to read to us those fairy tales? I bet if we found a magic mirror, we could go there ourselves!"

Lucca rolls his eyes, not bothering to look up from his screen. "Jackie, fairy tales are for kids we're not kids anymore were teenagers. Besides, magic mirrors don't exist."

I sigh, feeling a little hurt. "You always say that. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not real."

With a huff, I get up and turn to leave his room. As I reach for the doorknob, my elbow accidentally knocks into the old full-length mirror leaning against the wall. It wobbles precariously, then suddenly shimmers with a strange, silvery light. Before I can even react, the mirror sucks me in like a whirlpool.

"Jackie!" I hear Lucca yell from behind me.

Everything spins, colors blur, and then I find myself tumbling through the air. The sensation is dizzying, like being on a roller coaster that never ends. Finally, with a jolt that knocks the breath out of me, I land on a bed of soft moss. Above me stretches a canopy of unfamiliar trees, their leaves glowing with an otherworldly luminescence.

I sit up slowly, rubbing my eyes to clear the remnants of the swirling portal. "Lucca?" I call out tentatively.

"Jackie?" His voice comes from somewhere nearby. I turn to see him sprawled on the moss beside me, looking bewildered but unharmed.

"You... you followed me?!" I stammer, both surprised and relieved. Lucca never really liked me but I'm surprised he followed.

Lucca groans as he sits up, brushing dirt from his jeans. "Yeah, well, someone's gotta make sure you don't get into trouble and die. Even if it means jumping through magical mirrors into who-knows-where." He laughs and I laugh too.

I grin, feeling a rush of excitement despite everything. "We made it, Lucca! We're in a fairy tale! I just gotta figure out which one were in." I say confused and staring off into space to think.

He shakes his head, still trying to process everything. "This is crazy. How did that mirror... why did it...?" Lucca snaps me back to reality.

"I don't know," I admit, looking around in wonder. "But isn't it amazing?!."

Lucca doesn't answer. Instead, he scans our surroundings with a wary eye, his practical mind already assessing our situation. For a moment, I worry he might want to find a way back home right away. But then, to my surprise, he lets out a small chuckle.

"Well, Jackie," he says, finally cracking a smile. "I guess we're in this together now. Let's see where this fairy tale takes us."

We both sit under a tree and we talk and laugh. I still wonder what fairytale were in I think of Rapunzel, Little Red Riding hood, and many others that start in the woods but I none of them can relate to where we are. And how do we get out?