It started raining while I was trying to sleep in the small bed. Water slashed across the panes of glass, making it sound like a crystal symphony had begun.

I was almost lulled to sleep when I noticed my Mother walking blindly down the corridor, mumbling to herself that I must have left. Still speaking out loud, she told the walls that water had started pouring into her place, and she had best call someone to fix it.

I struggled to unwind from the sheets. Somewhere along the way, I had gotten wrapped up tighter than a Christmas present that no one wanted a person to peek into. Twisting and turning, along with biting, I fell to the floor in a heap. With a wrist flick, I was fully clothed and moved out into the hallway.

Once there, I listened to see where my Mother was. Had she made the call? Sure enough, she had. I heard the front door open and a man's voice asking where the water value was. I picked up my skirts and followed the voice to the fireplace in the sitting room. The vast sinkhole next to the fireplace took me by surprise.

Looking down into the hole, voices wafted up. They explained how a tunnel under the apartment complex was now exposed. Plumbers and the village historian had to be called to determine what was happening. I slumped into the armchair, still looking at the gaping hole, wondering how everything escalated at such a rate.

I was nudged out of my stupor with the cold nose of Copper on my hands. I lifted my right hand to scratch behind his ears and noticed blood running across my palm. With a shaky hand, I lifted Copper's snout and saw blood dripping from his mouth.

With my skirt, I wiped away as much blood as I could to get a good look inside Copper's mouth. His gums were bleeding badly, and he needed care as fast as possible. The problem was that Copper was a special dog from a magical land, and I wasn't sure how to get us back there on such short notice.

Copper and I jumped down the hole to let my Mother know I was still there. I wanted to ensure she was safe before Copper and I started working on getting him better, but life had other plans.

With a swish and a swoop, we were sucked into a tube. The pressure from above pushed Copper and me along at lightning speed. The trip lasted hours and seconds when we were spat out on the floor of what could only be a shopping market.

Shakly, I got to my feet and ensured Copper had survived the flight. The bleeding had stopped, but he still looked awful when I looked into his eyes. Copper was worried. He didn't like this place. I glanced around, looking for what was spooking him.

Off in the distance, I heard whining. Someone or something was in pain. A lot of pain. Copper's ears perked up. He grabbed my skirt and took off running, growling all the way. The only time I had seen him this aggressive was when his wife Penny was taken from us so long ago.

Was Penny still alive? She couldn't be. We had been there when she took her final breath.

Sprinting now, I followed Copper up and down corridors, stairs, and through rooms.

As we slowed to a trot, a little girl grabbed my hand. Chelsie said her first name and twenty-four other first names before the end. Her last name sprang to mind halfway through her long list. She must be the daughter of the ladies who inherited the land.

I told her I knew her grandmother well as she had helped me a time or two.

Chelsie told me she knew all about me but never thought I was a real person. She felt her Mother had made me up. I explained I was genuine, but Copper needed my help today. I needed to go off and help him find his wife, Penny.

Chelsie grabbed my hand and whispered that Penny was in a bad place. She could take us there, but she could only take us some of the way. Chelsie explained that she was now the only one in the family not infected by the evil that had come to call. It was now her job to keep the light.

I nodded as we took to the shadows walking through the winding streets. We came to a doorway with steep, narrow stairs. Chelsie stopped and whispered good luck. Her hand slipped from mine, and she was gone the next instant.

With Copper leading the way, we descended the stairs as quietly as possible. Once at the bottom, Penny's painful whine could be heard. Copper took off at lightning speed. There was no way I could keep up.

I turned a corner, and a small man dressed in a tattered old suit greeted me. His teeth were sharp as spikes. I smiled and asked if he had seen my dog. I told him he had run this way chasing a rat. The man's eyes narrowed and glared at me while he growled, "Come this way."

I followed as the bricks underfoot gave way to dirt. Ahead, you could see the light coming from a room lit by the flow and ebb of candlelight.

Walking into the room, I saw two dogs against the wall. When I first looked, I cried Penny's name, but when I looked again, the dog lying there had changed shape, and there was no way it looked like Penny. The second dog was too small to be Copper, but who else could it be?

Just as I turned to the creepy little man to ask about the dogs, a clown's head pushed up through the ground and started talking a mile a minute.

My head was filled with guilt as the clown's face told me what a failure I had been. I heard I had taken Copper from his one true love without caring for his bride. I heard how I had left the land for so long unshielded that evil had come and had a field day. The clown's face went on and on, spinning his head around in circles as he talked. It was hard to take my gaze from him, but I did get glances occasionally at the room as a whole.

Each time I glanced up at the two dogs, they changed shapes when the clown's face was turned away from them. Copper was there, and next, Copper wasn't. The same could be said of Penny. It was all in the timing. I needed to keep the clown face talking. I buried my face in my hands and started crying.

The more I cried, the faster the head spun, laughing between horrible words spewing from its mouth.

The timing had to be correct, or all was lost. I started counting the beats until the dogs were in their natural form. I knew I had one chance to get us all out alive.

With my long skirts on, no one noticed I was now standing on one leg. Counting in my head, I timed the kick just right. The clown's face felt the steel toe of my shoe enter its brain and mash him like an old pumpkin full of rot.

I looked at the dogs, and there were Penny and Copper. Run, I yelled. Go back to where we started! Off both ran Copper, with Penny's leash in his mouth. He wasn't losing her again!

I turned to the creepy little man, ready to kill, but the job was already done. Chelsie stood over the weird man with a bloody knife in her hand. She looked up at me and thanked me for saving her family. I opened my mouth to answer her when the room started filling up with the women of Chelsie's line.

I bent down and hugged her, telling her that a text message would work well next time instead of a tube underground if she needed help. She giggled, and this time, her smile reached her eyes. I left the room before anyone else noticed I was there and returned to the tube, hoping we could get home the same way.

We jumped back into the tube together. After a few seconds, I shouted, "The Witches Three, please." We popped into a stunning forest. There in front of us were the Three. I explained the situation to the ladies and asked if they could kindly watch over the dogs.

As it turned out, Penny had a litter of pups that few had known about. Those who did, kept them as safe as they could. Unfortunately, Little Penny was the only pup to survive. Penny had passed away by then, and Copper was gone, too.

It was too dangerous to leave the small pup with me, so I asked the Witches Three if they could watch out for them and keep them safe in the new world that was forming. I was assured they would be safe and happy with them. I hugged Copper with all my might and told him I loved him. It was his turn to be happy and secure.

I looked from the dogs to the hole in the ground, not looking forward to squeezing in again when I heard a laugh as a portal opened right next to them. I bowed my thanks and walked out of the portal into my backyard. I turned and watched the old Maple tree close its bark like nothing had happened.

I hugged, thanked it, and set my sights on a much-needed good night's sleep.