The Mind Behind The Beanie || ✔

Sidewalks, Slums, and the City

___

~~~~~ (*****^-^*****) ~~~~~

___

I nodded enthusiastically.  "As you can imagine, I was really eager to prove it.  That's why I ran away to my cousin Cornelia's house in Connecticut.  I needed to confirm my family's heritage."

"So that's why Cornelia was so calm about everything she saw at the hospital!  Your family has known about the fairy-tale world for longer than me and my sister have!"

"They know a lot more than that," I confessed.  "Cornelia, Frenda, and Wanda are part of a secret group called the Sister's Grimm.  My fifth-great-grandmother, Maria Grimm, founded the group in 1852.  Knowing that the fairy-tale world existed, the women in my family began investigating some of the magical incidents happening around the world."

"Magical incidents?" Conner asked.  "Like what?"

"There have hundreds of things over the years they've uncovered!  Mermaid skeletons washing ashore in North America, pixies being photographed in Europe, trolls found wandering the deserts of Australia- you name it!  The Sisters Grimm realize that the creatures were coming from the fairy-tale world, crossing into the Otherworld, but they didn't understand how.  Your grandmother and the fairies were in charge of the portals, so how were the creatures getting through without help?"

"Magic?"

"No- science!" I said.  "The Sisters Grimm discovered that the fairy-tale world is just an alternative dimension of the Otherworld.  They're like race cars on the same track.  However, the Otherworld used to move at a much faster speed than the fairy-tale world.  So, every so often, the worlds would briefly overlap, or rather, collide.  Each time the worlds collided, unbeknownst to the fairies, a portal between the worlds would briefly appear. Over the centuries, thousands of magical creatures have accidentally stumbled through a portal and wound up in the Otherworld.  But about sixteen years ago, the worlds stopped colliding and the portals stopped appearing altogether."

"What happened?"

I laughed.  "Do you really have to ask?"

"Wait- it's because I and my sister were born, isn't it?"

"Right!" I said.  "And racecars moving at similar speeds take longer to overlap."

"So, how long until the worlds collide again?"

"The Sisters Grimm predict it's very soon.  They're also worried that when it happens again, the overlap may be permanent.  It won't be a portal that appears, but a bridge that connects the worlds forever."

"Do they know where the bridge will appear?"

"They've scientifically mapped everything out," I said.  "Judging by all the past locations, they're expecting the bridge to appear in the middle of New York City."

"New York City!" Conner said.  "What are the chances?"

"I don't think it's a coincidence, Conner.  This is a huge interdimensional phenomenon!  The Sisters Grimm can't be the only ones who know about it.  And if they were able to discover it using science, then someone must have found out about it using magic. If your sister was kidnapped by a witch, there's a reason she took her to NYC, and I'd bet serious money it has something to do with the worlds colliding."

Conner was pushed back in his seat as he took it all in.

"Attention ladies and gentlemen," the flight attendant said over the speakers.  "The captain has turned on the seat belt sign, as he expects turbulence ahead.  We ask you to stay in your seat because things are about to get very bumpy."