The shrieking forest should’ve scared me, but instead its darkness was a welcome change from the sisters. Yes, I’d take my changes with the unknown. I curled up inside a hollow tree stump and dug up the bird from my pocket.

“Hey there,” I whispered, using my hands to shield him from the cold wind. “Can I see that little twig?”

Gently, I pried the branch out of his claws and rejoiced as the magic sparked at my fingertips. It was still here. I could still make this work. I needed to make this work.

I brought the twig up to my face and pressed it against my lips, hoping to blow more life into it. The branch glowed under my nourishment and sprouts sprung from its sides. I steadied my trembling hands and breathed against the rapidly growing branch.

Quickly, I brushed all the small grint away and pressed the wood into the dirt. I needed to work fast now, making sure that this stick grew into a portal.

A little less affectionately than usual, I recalled Will’s face. The scent of parchment that seemed to always surround him and the occasional ink stains next to his lip from biting on his quill. His dark, compassionate eyes and his springy curls that gave him a boyish charm. Will, who wrote the most realistic universes and told the most intricate stories. Will, who somehow made me feel human. Not just from the experiences he gave me today, but from the way he made my heart skip a beat every time I thought about him. Will, who I allowed to touch me when no one else was. Will, who I would take off my cloak for.

Picture of his handsome face danced through my imagination as I poured my Dweller magic inside the wood. With every image of Will, more branches sprouted as they curled around each other. Wood never made the best portals, but in this case, it would get the job done. I didn’t need a durable, long-lasting portal that would allow multiple Dwellers to pass through. No, all I needed was a simple portal that granted me a departure from this world, even if just once. I had no intention of coming back here again.

The wood curved back around as it took on the usual round shape all our portals had. As best as I could, I summoned my warmest thoughts and memories of Will to the foreground, hoping to embed his essence into the pathway.

“Just take me to Will, please.”

The branches multiplied under my wish and the faint scent of hazel filled my nostrils. The portal was ready. I hoped.

With my eyes closed and my fingers crossed, I brushed over the wooden frame. The magic inside the frame reacted to my own Dweller powers and the two bound under my touch. A warmth that only our enchantments brought, filled my being as I brought Will’s face to the foreground of my imagination.

The rush I usually felt, surged through me and sparked hope inside of me. The portal groaned as I filled it with directions and I couldn’t but feel happy for returning to my storyteller.

But before the pathways to Will could unfold, something blocked the flood of energy inside of me. With a sigh, the portal’s magic withdrew from me and my own powers went back to sleep.

“No!” I screamed, frustration crushing the hope that bubbled up inside of me. “No, no, no. It isn’t fair. No!”

The little bird chirped in fear of my outburst and guilt spread through my chest. I tickled his feathers and tried to calm him down. Tried to calm myself down. I had no time to waste on outbursts or rants. No, if I didn’t figure out something soon, the magic would leave the wood and this portal would crumble to dust before the sun touched the sky.

I placed my hand against the wood and called upon the powers within. Immediately, its lifeforce curled around my hand and I recognised the familiar pull. The magic was right, the portal in front of me was right, but then why didn’t it work?

Why didn’t it open a pathway to Will? This was his story, how creation, his characters. This was his universe, right?

Or was it?

He didn’t make everything inside this universe. He built the world, he drew the people, he controlled the story. But he didn’t make one thing.

Me.

I closed my eyes and shot a quick prayer up in the air. I placed my forehead against the frame and called upon the magic once more. As quickly as before, the two different energies bound within me and I sent new instructions to the portal. Calling upon the owner of this universe. But instead of picturing Will, I imagined something else.

Unmemorable eyes and soft features. Faded colours and vague shapes. I called on the image of me.

Underneath my hands, the portal groaned as I filled it with a new request. An outrageous request. Dwellers shouldn’t own universes. No Dweller before me ever had. But I was desperate.

The wood glowed green and a beautiful pattern of leaves decorated the frame. The magic swirled in my gut and relief washed over me as a pathway revealed itself.

It worked. It actually worked.

With no moment to waste, I hurried into the entrance. I didn’t want to spend one other second in this world if I didn’t have to.

The portal groaned as the magic left the branches. The portal was already crumbling as it outlived its use. Yes, this was definitely a one-time pathway. But I didn’t care, that was all I needed. One pathway.

A soft ground similar to the forest bed unfolded underneath as I thread through my portal. It certainly didn’t feel like Will’s, or any other pathway I’d walked before. Although it had the faint smell of Dweller District. But then again, that made sense.

I could barely make out some shapes and lines from the world I was leaving behind, but I gladly let the grey smoke embrace me. I was done with this universe and anywhere this portal brought me, was better than before. A small light appeared in front of me and I refrained from running towards it. No faster way to ruin a pathway than by rushing through it.

Instead of the usual look into the world I was entering, I was greeted with a milky film of smoke. I waved a hand through it and found it to be permeable. But where I would end up? Who knew.

Nerves swirled through my stomach as I set my first foot out of the pathway. As soon as I fully left this portal, it would disappear behind me. I knew it would.

“Gris?”

Will’s familiar voice fell on my ears like music and I rushed towards the sound. I was home.

“Will?”

“Hey, there you are,” he smiled as I tumbled into his study. The scent of old paper and candle wax filled my senses and I could just cry. I was really here, back with Will. With my storyteller.

Unable to hide my emotions, I hit his chest. “You idiot!” I cried, the tears spilling from my eyes.

“Ouch. What’s gotten into you?”

“Don’t ever make me a character in one of your stories again!” I accused, angrily wiping the tears away.

“Huh? I didn’t?”

I faltered as I stared into his eyes. Confusion and honesty swirled inside them and my frustration melted like snow in the sun. “What?”

“What are you talking about, Gris?”

“Your—… Your newest story?” I whispered, admitting that I went snooping in one of his worlds without asking.

“You… You were in there?”

Shame coloured my cheeks as I watched the realisation hit.

“Gris… You went inside my world?”

“I… I was curious,” I confessed, batting my eyes down. How I wished I stopped myself from entering. I wouldn’t have found myself in such an awful, awful situation.

“You said you wouldn’t do such things,” he breathed, hurt flashing through his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Will, I didn’t mean to. I couldn’t help myself,” I tried, hoping that an apology would work.

“You didn’t mean to?” he snapped, turning away from me so he could pace up and down. Lost without his proximity, I fought more tears. This was not the warm welcome I hoped for. I hoped he would embrace me, that he’d hold me close, that he’d even—

“You should leave.”

“Will…” My voice broke as I uttered his name. “Please.”

I didn’t want to leave. I loved his stories, I loved his worlds. I loved him.

“I trusted you. With my words, with my work. With me. And you broke that trust.”

“Please,” I tried again as a sharp sting shot through my chest. What was that? Why did I feel so strange? Why did it… Hurt? Was this pain?

“Leave, Grisella. I don’t have any need for you anymore.”

In a last attempt, I ran towards my dark-haired writer and clung against his chest. “Will, I don’t want to leave.”

For a brief moment, his eyes softened. The same warmth he always held as he watched me melted his demeanor. Just for a moment. He blinked and as if it had never been there, the warmth left his eyes. It left him.

“I’m getting married, Grisella.”

Ashen, a bitter taste fell on my tongue as a hand wrapped itself around my heart and wrang it till it broke into an infinite amount of pieces. I didn’t need to question it anymore. This was pain.

He grabbed my wrist and shrugged me away. “It’s not right to be consorting with another woman in private. You should leave now.”

“Will…”

“You’re no longer welcome!” he yelled, his jaw clenched tight in anger as he turned away from me. With a determination that scared me, he sat back down at his desk and unrolled a scroll. “Leave.”

For a moment, I debated begging him again. But his tensed shoulders were as clear as any words he could have spoken. I was no longer wanted.

As I had done so many times before, I called upon the portal that would take me to Dweller District. Faster than it ever had, the frame appeared in front of me and the grey had never resounded more with me. For once, the depression inside the District would suit me well.

I brushed the stone portal and a small, childlike voice inside me hoped that Will would tell me to stop. That he would ask me to stay. That he’d tell me he forgave me. That he loved me like I loved him.

But apart from the scratching from his pen, no other sounds found my ears. I placed one foot onto the pathway and tried to stop an endless stream of doubts threatening to pour out of my mouth.

I glanced at his back and before I could stop myself, one question rolled off my tongue. “Who is she?”

Will paused his writing for a moment and rested his quill in the inkwell. For a second or two, it seemed like he wasn’t going to answer. But then he turned with a tired look on his face.

“Her name is Dorothea, her father runs the pharmacy I get my medicine from.”

A heavy stone fell on my stomach. “Do you love her?”

He shifted in his chair and averted his eyes. “I asked you to leave, Gris.”

My fingers clutched the portal until they turned white. “Do you?”

“I’ll learn to love her,” he grimaced, his jaw clenching.

“Do you…” No, I shouldn’t ask that. I wouldn’t be able to process his answer. But could I really leave without knowing for sure? “Did you ever love me?”

His shoulders tensed and his hand clenched around his quill. “Go now.”

“I need an answer,” I spoke, my voice steadier than I felt.

“Yes. But I love my stories more. And to write those, I need to be alive.”

The pieces finally slot together as the face of the image revealed itself to me. The strain on his voice and the wadded pieces of tissue scattered across his room. The empty pill bottles, Jacob’s frustrations about money, and his refusal to actually look me in the eye. He needed to marry her.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I understand.”

“Please leave me. I won’t ask you again.”

“Goodbye, Will.”

“Goodbye.”

With one last lingering look, I left Will’s study behind me. Left Will behind me. This was the last time I would visit him.

The very last time...

I tried to push the sadness away, knowing that he was right. There was no future for him and me. There had never been one and I was a fool for ever even entertaining the thought. No, he was right. His stories were more important, they would last forever. Just like I would. But he would wither away, far too quickly if he didn’t take care of himself. He’d never finish all the beautiful stories waiting to emerge from his head. He just needed more time, and this other woman, whatever her name was, she could give it to him. Just a little bit more time. Even if it brought one more of his wonderful worlds into the universe, it was worth stepping out of the way.

Goodbye, Will. I will always love you.

The drab pathway to Dweller District quickly obstructed my view of Will’s study and with every step, the colour disappeared from my life. Grey was my new reality.

I pulled the hood over my head as I tried to come to terms with never seeing Will again. At least I could do a lot of pacing in Dweller District without anyone questioning it. After all, Dwelling was what we did best.

Talking about Dwelling, shouldn’t the exit already be here? I didn’t remember the pathway to Dweller District to be so long?

A strange whiff blew past me and confusion tumbled through my head. There never used to be wind in this pathway?

I looked up from my feet and a sight of colours dazzled me. Instead of the grey walls, the sides of the tunnel are lit with millions of colours as images and pictures dance across. A man with a golden head of hair passed by and my lips curled up. Christian.

As soon as I thought his name, a portal I had used many times before appeared on my right. A portal that only should’ve appeared if I was touching Will. What was happening? Why was I seeing his portal?

But it didn’t stop. Another image passed through and I recognised it as one of the earliest stories Will and I worked on. A woman I knew quite well pranced in front of me and saluted me. I shook my head in amusement as I waved goodbye to Kat. She sure had been a handful, but her story was one of my favourites. I had spent a lot of time in her world and even caught a couple of glimpses behind the curtain. It had been fascinating to watch her and her men. All of her men.

She winked teasingly, almost as if she knew I’d keep the real story of her love affairs secret, and disappeared by leaving the entrance to her world behind.

A warmth spread through my body as I realised I could visit them whenever I wanted, even without travelling back to Will. Yes, I quite liked that. I enjoyed my time with Kat and her men.

As soon as she appeared, she vanished to make way for another figure. Two sets of grey eyes that I’d recognise anywhere glared angrily at me. Fredericka and Ernestina. Miffed, they conjured the pathway to their world, but nothing about their demeanor felt inviting. Not that I minded, I wasn’t planning on visiting anyway.

But their appearance did make me pause. Filled with curiosity, I snuck a peek into their portal and things slowly clicked in place. The pathway to their universe was as solid as the road to Dweller District. It was almost as if it was a part of me.

No, that was exactly what it was.

By invading into Will’s world and becoming caught up in his story, he inadvertently bound the universe to me. Bound all his universes to me.

My lips curled up in the first genuine smile in a while as I suddenly understood. Really understood.

Will would never live on, but I would. And I could make sure his stories survived. That no child would ever lead a life without experiencing the magic of my dear Will.

Yes, I would make sure of it. I would keep his stories alive, I would guard his worlds. I would roam through them all, making sure they would never fall into perdition.

I would do what I did best.

Dwell.