She could not believe it, but there it was, glimmering in the afternoon sun.

"I've found it!" she cried. "It's here, I've found it!"

Everyone started running towards her, each shoving past one another to see what she had discovered. As more and more people approached, the force of them pushing pushed her through the opening.

The gap was an entrance into another world. It opened every seven years and closed after one month, but something went wrong and the gap closed up behind her.

When the crowd quieted, they noticed that the gap was closing. They attempted to pull her back, but she was too far into the other world and nobody dared to go in after her.

She reached out to where the gap was, but all she felt was thin air. She heard her mother calling to her, crying. She called back saying she was fine, but the gap was gone.

She heard a faint humming sound. She looked around confusedly for noone was there. Soon, she realized that it was the leaves on the trees, and to her surprise she saw that the flowers were speaking Spanish. She laughed at this and could not wait to tell the others what this new world was like.

Even though she was aware that she could be stuck in the new world, she could not help but be in awe of it.

She suddenly felt a sharp pain in the heel of her foot. When she looked down she saw that it was a shard of...light? It was different from any other light that she had ever seen before. A second later she had the stangest thought that it looked lonely, and had a strong impulse to pick it up. When she tried and succeeded to pick it up, she discovered that it was a piece of the gap that had fallen out. Could it have caused the gap to close? If only she could put it back, then would the gap re-open? How would she know where to put the shard?

Then it came to her, just like that! All she had to do was wait until the next day, and put the shard back into the hole at the exact same time she had fallen through. Then go safely home.

That night it was very warm, warmer than in the day. What a strange world this was. The more she thought about it, the more homesick she felt. Slowly she fell asleep, tears dripping down her face, wishing more than ever that she could be home asleep in her own bed.

In the morning when she woke up, the sun was shining brightly in her face. Around noon she went bak to the place where she fell in. She waited there for a long time, filled with anxiety, until finally it was time. Then, there it was, a hole in the air. Carefully she placed the shard into the hole and the gap opened.

She heard a big round of applause, and saw her mother running towards her, crying, full of thankfulness and joy.

Finally, Elena could go home.