Once Upon a Book

1 × Hidden Falls

Those who don't believe in magic will never find it...

The sounds of crickets filled the air as the car drove through the dark. Headlights shone the only light for a couple miles.

Woods surround the edges of the street, making it seem like the car was driving on a path through the woods.

A girl, around fourteen, slept silently in the backseat, sprawled across the seats with a blanket overtop of her.

Up ahead, a green and white sign claimed WELCOME TO HIDDEN FALLS. It shone from the headlights for a couple seconds then disappeared into the darkness again.

"Carmen," the old woman, in her late-sixties, said from the drivers seat. "We are here. Time to wake up. It'll only be a couple minutes now."

The girl in the backseat sat up, yawning and moaning. The blanket was now only wrapped around her waist, her brown-blonde hair sticking up like a balloon was above it.

"C'mon, you slept for hours. Now its time to be awake."

"Only to go back to sleep." She muttered "Grandma... how long

The woman smiled and continued to drive the last couple feet until she pulled into a small house's driveway.

"Welcome to our new home."

"Finally." Carmen muttered.

•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•×•

The sun now shone brightly in the afternoon sky as Carmen walked down the sidewalk. Her grandma told her to walk around the small town and get to know the way around.

"Ah, you must be new." A woman said, smiling at Carmen, her green eyes almost glowing.

"Yeah, do I look lost or something?" She asked.

"No, it's just that we are a small town and don't have a lot of new people, so when there is a new person, we know." She said. "I'm also the Mayor, Melissa."

"Oh, hi." Carmen said, feeling slightly embarrassed for not knowing the mayor.

"Carmen, right?"

"Yeah."

"Welcome to Hidden Falls."