1876, New York City’s Central Park. It was large, and it was loud. People walking, talking, laughing. There were trees large and small, paths short and long. And on one small bench by the side of a path sat little Mae Carmine.

Mae Carmine was about nine years old. She had large blue eyes, blonde hair tied back in pigtails, and some spots of freckles on her face.

Mae was sitting horizontally on the bench with her face in a book, unaware of her surroundings. She had been there for hours, only moving to get more comfortable or to turn the next page. She was dreading the time of day when the sun would start to go down, and she would have to head home. Mae didn’t want to deal with her father, her irritating little sister, her tired older brother, her loud aunt, or her creepy cousin. She wanted peace, but unfortunately, it was extremely hard to find.

You see, she doesn’t really have what you would call the “perfect family.” The death of Mae’s mother turned her father into a completely different person. He used to be very kind and loving towards his children, but now he’s an angry, apathetic, neglectful father. 

Her sister was so young when their mother died that she doesn’t even remember her. She’s so young, in fact, that she doesn’t really know what even goes on with her family half the time. She expects to get attention from everyone all the time, and when she doesn’t, she gets very upset. 

Mae’s older brother decided to step up after the death of their late mother. He works two jobs and always comes home exhausted. Mae isn’t mad at him, but it’s tiring when you feel like you don’t even know your own brother.

Mae’s aunt was distraught after her husband left her, so she went to the only place she could go: her brother’s house or Mae’s father. Her aunt was very loud and bossy and expected everything to be done for her. Because of this, Mae had to do a lot of work around the house, and because her brother was always gone and her father didn’t care, no one ever said anything. 

Then there was her creepy cousin. Mae didn’t really know much about him, but he always made her nervous. He would always sit in the corner, muttering to himself, and there were always mysterious noises coming from his bedroom. Mae promised herself to never, ever open his door.

So, when she wasn’t dealing with her attention-seeking sister or her obnoxious aunt, Mae would read a lot. And then she would go for walks, and on those walks, she dreamed. She created so many different places and stories. She had imaginary friends who she always looked to for advice. No one knew of her wild imagination, though; everyone just assumed she was just a regular old bookworm.

So, of course, that time of day finally came around, and when the sky was all sorts of shades of red and yellow, Mae started home. She dreaded all of the cleaning she would have to do but knew once it was done, she could hide away in her room for the rest of the night.         

Now, a few hours had gone by since Mae arrived at the small apartment where her family lived, and she had finally finished everything she had to do. She went into her room, closed the creaky door behind her, and locked it. She then opened her window to let in the cool air and moonlight as she flopped down onto her bed. She let her mind wander, then she fell asleep.

A few more hours went by, and a gust of wind from Mae’s window woke her up with a start. She looked around for a few seconds before her eyes landed on something on the floor. It was a small suitcase that looked to be many years old. The buckles were rusty, and the leather was peeling off in some places. Mae wouldn’t have been able to see it if it weren’t for the moon shining on it like a spotlight.

She knew the case hadn’t been there before, and she definitely knew she had never seen it. So, she got up from her small bed and walked over to examine it. It didn’t seem to have anything special about it. In fact, it seemed very ordinary. But Mae was still very curious, so she unclipped the buckles and lifted up the top. 

She expected to see nothing, but there was a bright light from the suitcase that lit up her room. She carefully stuck her hand in, and instead of feeling a hard bottom, her arm kept going. Before it went too far, she quickly pulled her arm back out. Mae then hesitated before she ultimately decided to step inside. She understood that it could possibly be a terrible idea, but she was too intrigued now to stop.

She put her right leg in first, but as she started to lift up her left leg, she fell straight into the suitcase. Mae screamed and looked below her to find a grassy field beneath. She screamed again. As she fell, she anticipated the pain she would feel when she would hit the ground. The closer she got, the faster she went, but once she was only a few yards from the earth, she started to slow down. She landed softly on her back and exhaled a sigh of relief before remembering what had happened just moments before. 

Mae abruptly sat up and looked around. She was sitting in the middle of a green prairie that stretched on for miles. She felt the soft, long grass beneath her with her fingers as a light breeze blew through her hair. To the far east were tall snowy mountains, and the sun was setting in the west. The sky was a beautiful pinkish-orange color and made the prairie look like it was glowing.

Mae couldn’t believe where she was. She actually didn’t even know where she was. She looked up at the sky to try to find the hole she fell through, but there was nothing of the sort. Mae stood up and looked around again. Although the sunset was beautiful, she knew it would get dark soon, and sleeping outside was not the best idea. So she started off into the west to hopefully find any type of safe shelter and then to find her way back home.

Mae walked and walked and then walked some more, but she didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, and the sun was almost set. She was starting to worry when her foot kicked something on the ground. It was the suitcase, but it looked newer. There was no rust on it, and the leather looked brand new. A wave of relief washed over her as she bent down to open the suitcase, and the bright light lit up the dark night.

She could step into the suitcase and go right back home. But did she really want to? She had just arrived in this beautiful new world, and she was already leaving?

Mae hesitated for a few moments before she made her decision. She just hoped this wouldn’t be the last time she saw the suitcase.

This time, instead of stepping in with one foot at a time, she jumped into the light and fell through the suitcase. She didn’t scream but flailed around like an injured bird. As Mae looked down, she didn’t see a large, glowing prairie with mountains and a sunset, just her bedroom.

Mae landed softly on her bed. She looked around; her bedroom was still the exact same, but now the sun was shining in her room. She didn’t know how long she had been gone but felt it couldn’t have been that long. Mae looked in the middle of her room. The suitcase was still there. 

She wasn’t even able to think about what had just happened because she heard the loud footsteps of her aunt approaching her bedroom door. Mae quickly jumped up and shoved the case under her bed just as the door swung open.

“Mae!” her aunt demanded, “What are you still doing in your room? It’s 6:30! Come to the kitchen and make me breakfast; I’m starving.”

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll be right there.” Mae stuttered. Her aunt rolled her eyes and left the room.

Mae quickly got ready for the day. She took a deep breath and looked at the suitcase one last time. And now she understood. Despite everything that has happened in her life and everything that will happen, the case was still there, and it always would be.