20 parts Ongoing MatureONC 2025 ROUND 2 QUALIFIER.
The sun burns too hot outside. And inside her house, the heat isn't the worst thing. Her mother's words hit just as hard, reminding her that she's a disappointment. School isn't much better. No one notices when she's there, no one cares when she's gone. She's background noise, too exhausted to try anymore.
And then the puddle appears. It shouldn't be there, not in this drought. When she kneels beside it, her reflection stares back. It blinks. It pulls her in. She thought she would die drowning in. But being alive, dragged into another world isn't the problem. Now she is important to this other world. Now, she is seen. But because she is so valuable, the General wants to use her. And possibly, someone that might want her to stay, for her.
Portal is a paranormal fantasy adventure filled with sapphic tension, full of action and death, and a love that goes beyond worlds.
For the Open Novella Writing Contest 2025.
© 2025 by eleeyjs (EJ Chow). All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods-without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical reviews or scholarly work.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and settings are entirely fictional or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or real events is purely coincidental.
