Read Through the Mirror and Into Snow for Free Online

jet-black hair and a very fair complexion. At first she appeared startled to see them but then she smiled. The young girl was wearing what had to be her nightgown. It was simple with no designs and her feet were bare.
    “Hello.” The little girl offered a pleasant smile then returned her attention to Otter. She held the dog’s cheeks and was nose to nose with her. “Who’s a pretty girl?” She glanced back to the girls. “Is this your dog? She’s very friendly.”
    “Yes, her name is Otter.”
    “Well, that’s a strange name for a dog.”
    “I know,” replied Valerie. “That’s my mom, though. I don’t think you want me to even start with the other odd names we have for our animals.”
    “What was the turtle, Val? Shelly?” Sam asked.
    “Fluffy.”
    The young girl giggled. “That is silly. I think I like Shelly for a turtle though. I’ll have to remember that.”
    Valerie continued. “Well, a Dalmatian named Domino makes sense, but when you name his brother Little Caesar, they are pizza places and that’s downright silly.”
    “I’ve played dominos. That makes sense. What’s pizza?”
    Neither girl was sure how to answer that. How does she not know what pizza is? Samantha changed the subject instead of answering. “What are you doing out here in the forest in the middle of the night? Are you lost?”
    “Umm, sort of,” she answered.
    “What do you mean ‘sort of’? Do you know where we are? Did you run away? Sorry if I’m being nosy,” said Samantha, “but if I told you what we…”
    “Samantha!” Valerie cut her off and gave her a look that warned her not to say anymore. She didn’t want them to look like fools. There was no way a strange girl would believe they came through a magic mirror. “Why don’t you let her answer the questions you have thrown at her first before you start asking her more?”
    “That’s okay, I don’t mind questions. But please, I need to keep walking. Will you walk with me? You really should. It’s not safe to go back the way I came.”
    “Why?” asked Samantha? “Is there a dragon or something that way?”
    “A dragon?” The little girl laughed. “You must read too many fairy tales. The only dragons in the forest are cute little lizards.”
    Samantha sighed with relief and blushed. She gave Valerie a little hit on her arm. “So much for your fairy tale land.”
    Valerie sniggered as they walked off together.

Chapter 7
    “W E D IDN’T E VEN G ET Y OUR N AME ,” Sam said.
    “Sorry. I’m a little out of sorts right now. It’s Snolindria.”
    “Snolindria? That’s really pretty. Way different than anything I have ever heard before.”
    “I guess so,” she replied with a shrug. “My mom used to call me Snow.”
    Valerie and Samantha stopped dead in their tracks. Their eyes widened and Valerie gave Samantha another pleading look. ‘I know you’re thinking what I’m thinking but let’s not say a word!’
    “Is something wrong?” she asked.
    “No, we’re fine.” Samantha’s voice cracked as she spoke. She and Valerie took a few hurried steps to catch up. “We have just been walking for a very long time. We, umm, got lost in the woods by Valerie’s house. We were wandering after a possum and I guess we lost track of the direction as well as the time.” Sam paused. “What did you mean by your mom used to call you Snow? She doesn’t call you that anymore? You didn’t like it?”
    “It’s not that,” she replied. “My mom died when I was little. I have a stepmother now. She is not very nice to me and doesn’t really call me much of anything other than a pain in the butt.”
    The girls giggled then Valerie apologized.
    “No worries. My dad is hardly ever home anymore. I don’t like to complain when he’s around. We have so little time together…I want to make it happy for us. You can call me Snow if you’d like.”
    “I’d like that. Friends use nicknames. You can call me Sam and you can call her Val or