Once upon a time, there was a girl named Ava.
And Ava did not want to move.
Not to a new town, not to a new school and definitely not to the quiet little house on the hillside that her parents just bought.
How am I supposed to find any friends and ride my bike anywhere?
It's too far from everything, she said.
But her parents promised her it would feel like home in time.
The new house on the hillside rolled down into a wide green valley.
There were tall trees and green grass and dandelions that danced in the wind.
Even though Ava didn't want to live so far away from everything, it was still beautiful.
One afternoon, while her parents were still unpacking boxes, Eva wandered down the hillside to explore.
She hadn't meant to walk that far, but The summer breeze was warm and the wildflowers smelled so good.
And then, her eye caught sight of something that looks like a secret just waiting to be discovered.
Down in the woods she could see a small winding river that was shimmering in the late afternoon sun, and all alongside it were wildflowers and pink blossomed cherry trees.
The trees looked perfect Almost like someone had planted them there on purpose a long time ago.
And there was a fallen down tree that stretched from one end of the river to the other, like a bridge between two different worlds.
Ava couldn't believe it.
It looked more perfect than any calendar or postcard picture she had ever seen.
So she slowly walked over to the fallen down tree and got up and started walking on it like it was a balance beam as she made her way to the other side of the river.
And then she sat by the river's edge and pulled out her sketchbook, the one she carried everywhere.
And with a soft pencil and a steady hand, she began to draw.
She sketched the trees and the flowers and the curve of the river like it was part of a dream.
And when she was done, she carefully tucked her drawing into a hollow space under a large flat rock nearby.
Almost like she was hiding a treasure.
After all, she knew she would be coming back to this place very soon.
The next day, she raced back to the river and found her new favorite special place.
A part of her was almost expecting the whole place to have disappeared like it really was a dream.
But it was still there, and it was every bit as beautiful as she remembered it.
Ava crossed over the tree bridge and ran to the rock.
She lifted it and she gasped.
Her drawing was still there, but there was another drawing tucked into the same hollow space beside it.
She unfolded the paper and opened it up and saw that this other drawing showed the very same scene, drawn in a slightly different style.
It was softer and more detailed.
Has someone else been here?
Someone who knew about this same secret river and had even found her drawing and made one of their own.
Well, Ava had no idea what to make of this, but she knew someone else was around.
And someone had been watching her.
The next day, Ava returned and left another sketch.
She looked around, tried to see if anyone was there, but she didn't see anything.
And this time, she added something new to her sketch.
It was herself, sitting under one of the cherry trees, holding her pencil up high like a wand.
And when she returned again, her heart pounded as she reached for the rock and lifted it up.
And there it was.
The same drawing she had left of herself by the tree, but someone had drawn a second figure into the same picture.
It was another person, and they were standing nearby, and they were waving to her.
Ava stared at the paper for a long time.
Who are you? she wondered to herself.
The next morning, Ava woke early.
Earlier than ever.
The sky was still half dark when she made her way down the hill towards the secret river.
If she could get there at just the right time, then maybe, just maybe...
She'd see whoever this mystery artist was.
She crept toward the river, moving slowly through the tall grass.
And then she saw it.
It was a person about her size, maybe even her age.
Ava couldn't make out whether it was a boy or a girl, but they were holding a sketchbook and drawing something carefully, just like she had done.
Ava slowly stepped forward when all of a sudden, a twig cracked beneath her foot.
Ava could see the figure look up sharply as they were startled.
And in a flash, they leapt to their feet and ran into the woods.
Wait!
Ava shouted, chasing after them.
But she couldn't keep up.
The mysterious artist vanished into the shadows of the forest.
And then she heard a startling crackle of thunder.
Ava looked up and saw dark clouds rolling in like waves as heavy rain started pouring from the sky.
And in seconds, Ava was soaked.
Her clothes stuck to her like wet leaves.
She turned in circles trying to find the path back, but everything looked different now blurred and dripping wet.
She could see the river beginning to swell as the rainwater came down.
Water started splashing over the banks of the river and the soft earth beneath her shoes turned into slippery mud.
Ava took a step and then another, and then suddenly the ground gave way beneath her and she fell into the river.
She tried to keep her head above the waves.
She gasped and coughed and cried out, Help!
Help!
The water pushed her along faster and faster.
And as she drifted past a low hanging tree, she reached out for a branch.
But instead of bark, She felt fingers as a hand gripped hers tightly.
And as she looked up to see who had saved her, she saw the face of the mysterious figure.
But that's a story for another day.
