By: Emily Wang

Just looking at the mountains sent chills down Ellie’s spine. It just felt so… wrong. Everything about the place, from the mountains to the trees, seemed creepy. The mountains loomed over them, casting their shadows across the place, leaving Ellie and her friends in darkness. She could hear the trees shift around as the wind pushed them around. And, unless Ellie had imagined it, she heard faint whispering coming from the other side of the mountain, urging her to come closer.

Ellie shivered and looked at her friends. Nyra was standing upright and tall. Her body language might have told someone that she was undaunted by this new presence, but Ellie knew her well. She looked at her eyes, which usually gave away all her emotions, were clouded with fear and confusion.

Ivy, she just sat there, motionless, and stared into nothing. Ellie tilted her head in curiosity. She couldn’t read her expression or her body language, she could only guess that Ivy was trying to hide her fear, too.

Ellie wished it would stop. The whispering was getting louder now, and her vision started to get blurry.

“No no NO! Stop! Stop it!” She screamed, covering her ears with her paws desperately. Finally, the voices started to subside and eventually faded. However, she didn’t scream without anyone noticing, Nyra and Ivy both looked up and stared at her.

“Stop… what, exactly?” Ivy asked inquisitively. But Ellie didn’t know either. She didn’t know how to explain the voices she heard that tried to draw her closer to whatever was on the other side of those mountains. But she knew she had to figure it out. Most importantly, at least to Ellie, she needed to know if anyone else heard the things she did.

“Nyra, in history class, what did everyone call the place beyond these mountains?” Ellie asked nervously as she started to recall the name.

Nyra’s face suddenly darkened, and she and Ivy shared a look. Finally, Nyra said, “You should never speak of them when near the Place of the Splitting, it’s dangerous to do so. It would be equivalent to shouting the name of the Cursed One, but I will make an exception for you. You deserve to know the truth.” Her eyes darted around cautiously, and then she bowed her head down and whispered, “They are called the OtherSide.”

Ellie could tell right away that it wasn’t something good. As soon as she said that, Ivy looked at her is horror, and the wind started picking up again. Then suddenly, Ellie had the feeling that they weren’t the only ones here. That name, the OtherSide, was familiar to Ellie, and she desperately wanted to know more. It sounded important, and she could have sworn that she had seen that name somewhere in the library. She tried to concentrate on exactly what aisle she had seen it in, but the creepy feeling that they were being watched wasn’t allowing her to do so.

“Let’s get out of here, fast.” Ellie concluded. She didn’t need to hear her friends’ responses to know that they were thinking the same thing. They headed back towards the city, going at a sprint. When they finally reached the city, Ellie breathed a huge sigh of relief. They were back home. As she waited for her heartbeat to slow down, she tried again to think of where exactly she had seen that name. However, she just couldn’t seem to think of it. She decided that she would ask her friends for guidance. Surely one of them would know. Nyra and Ivy have been to the library hundreds of times!

“Hey guys, have you ever seen any scrolls in the library about the OtherSide?” Ellie asked. “Because I’d like to know more about this place and why it exists. It doesn’t seem like a place that would border Askaria. And why are animals so afraid of it?”

Ivy started to say something, but apparently thought better of it. Whatever it was, Ellie was sure that it was something horrible.

“Well,” Nyra said, speaking up. “I don’t remember seeing any scrolls about the OtherSide, but maybe we could help you look for them.” Her offer made Ellie perk her ears up. They could look for things about the OtherSide together! It wouldn be more productive and fun to do so.

“That would be awesome!” Ivy exclaimed. “It’ll be so much fun, come on!” She started bounding towards the library.

“Huh, that’s weird,” Nyra said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this excited before. Unless, of course, you count the first time she saw diamonds.”

Ellie snickered. But despite that, she did find it strange. Why was Ivy so full of energy all of a sudden? Was she just really interested in the subject. Or, Ellie thought, she just really wanted to help Ellie out? It had been a while since Ivy had stopped at her house to help her with chores and homework. Ellie missed those times, it made working a lot more entertaining.

Maybe, Ivy wanted to help her again! Ellie smiled at the thought of that. It would be just like when they were younger.

Before she knew it, Ellie was standing at the foot of the entrance to the library, a massive stone building decorating with sparkling crystals. Ivy and Nyra both walked past it without a second glance, but Ellie kept staring at it until Ivy had to practically drag her away. Ellie supposed because they had been here so often, they hardly noticed the beautiful crystal walls anymore. Ellie’s parents had home schooled her up until her teenage years. They had gotten her plenty of scrolls from the library, but she rarely got to go herself. Her parents were always worried she would get lost or abducted. To Nyra and Ivy, the giant doors were just another part of the huge library.

Theys strolled in and begin searching the selves for anything that had the word “OtherSide” on it. Ellie was amazed by the amount of scrolls the library held. They were all stacked neatly in rows. As she went farther into the library, the decorations got more and more elaborate.

Rubies decorated the borders of each shelf, and a magnificent silver statue of Willow sat regally beside a small plywood table. It was hard not to get distracted by all the amazing decorations. Her eyes scanned the shelves, but she couldn’t find anything. Then, Ellie felt a small tap on her shoulder. It was Nyra.

“Here,” Nyra said once she got Ellie’s attention. She was pointing to a small scroll that was hardly noticeable. “I believe this is what you wanted to see.”