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by. Gradually they became more dense, finally coalescing into a cloud so thick I could barely see the beanstalk. I could hear my heart, thundering inside my chest. My breath, whooshing in, puffed out white to become one with the cloud.
    Surely I must be almost there
, I thought. For what else could this be but the layer of cloud that Mama had always claimed divided the World Above and the World Below?
    Reach with the right hand, boost with the right foot. Reach with the left hand, boost with the left foot.
Keep going. Keep going. You can do this, Gen
, I thought. Jack had done it twice. I’d never prove myself to be my father’s daughter if I couldn’t even do it once.
    As if thinking of my father had been a secret password, my head popped out through the cloud. The sun was so dazzling I squinted my eyes nearly shut. Slowly I eased my right eyelid open, and then the left, blinking rapidly in astonishment.
    Oh my
, I thought.
    I was in the World Above. Or at least my head and shoulders were. The rest of me was still in transition, below the cloud layer.
    The new world rested on the surface of the cloud as if the mist was some strange bedrock.
No wonder this is a place where magic happens
, I thought. I pulled myself a little farther up the beanstalk, far enough to rest my elbows on the soil of the World Above. I could see the top of the beanstalk now, waving back and forth as if offering its congratulations.
    I looked around. To tell you the absolute truth, the World Above looked an awful lot like the World Below, except for the fact that the ground didn’t look quite solid. In places, the land looked as dense and permanent as it was in the World Below. But in others, like around the beanstalk, for example, the cloud showed through, as if revealing a hidden portal.
    Then, as I watched, the land shifted, sliding along the layer of cloud. And just like that, nearly all evidence of the cloud was gone.
    Stop gawking like a tourist and get a move on, Gen
, I thought. I wasn’t sure what would happen if the World Above shifted when I was still half in, half out, but I was absolutely sure I didn’t want to find out.
    Using the ground itself for leverage, I dug my elbows in and gave myself a boost, pulling my legs up into the World Above. Quickly I rolled away from the beanstalk and lay flat on my back. I lay still for a moment, stretched full length.
    I’m here
, I thought.
This is real. I am in the World Above
.
    For a moment I was dizzy, as if my body could not decide to which world it belonged. I closed my eyes, taking deep, steadying breaths. The air smelled sweet, like honey.
    When I opened my eyes, the beanstalk was gone.
    All right, that’s it
, I thought. I scrambled to my feet, filled with determination to be about my mission.
Which way to Father’s castle?
I wondered.
How can I find Shannon and Sean?
    As it happened, my questions were answered before I could take so much as a step.
    “Well, it’s about time,” an exasperated voice behind me said. “What took you so long?”

 

T EN
     
    I spun around. Standing before me, hands on hips, was the most beautiful young woman I had ever seen. A riot of dark curls danced around her face. Her skin was golden, as if from long hours in the sun. She had bright eyes of a color I can only describe as violet. I couldn’t quite read the expression in them. Hope, fear, irritation, and curiosity were all crowded in together. She wore a simple countrywoman’s garments, just as I did. Sturdy shoes. A dress of brown homespun with an apron over it.
    “You’re Shannon,” I blurted out. Hardly the most brilliant way to start.
    “And you’re Gen,” she responded.
    We continued to stare at each other.
    “You don’t look as much like Jack as I thought you would.”
    “That’s because we’re really not that much alike,” I answered, then bit my tongue. Confessing how different Jack and I were might not be such a good idea, I realized. After all, Shannon and her brother had