Freaks on Witch Mountain

Leslie's Truth/Jess' Grief

A few years ago, a blonde hair was walking around the countryside when a vehicle approached her. One door opened, and a woman came out. "Are you lost?" The woman asked. "I don't think so." The girl said. "I was told I would be staying with some people for a while until me and my brother could go back home." She explained. The woman looked at her. "Did a man named Tony send you?" She asked calmly. The girl looked at her and nodded. "We crossed paths with him years back, and he told us someone would be coming to get me." She explained.

"My name's Judy Burke, and this is my husband Bill." She said, pointing to the man who was still in the car. "What's your sweetie?" She asked. "Sara, but my family advised me to go under a different name in case of any trouble." She explained. Judy nodded and thought for a moment. "Well, if I had a daughter..." She said, looking at her. "... I would call her Leslie." She said with a warm smile. They got into the car and rode into the small town of Lark Creek. "It's beautiful here," Leslie said as she looked around.

They moved into the house in town, and over the time she spent there, she had met Jess, a boy who was pretty uptight and not difficult to frustrate. Aside from this, Leslie was able to get through to him and not only make him happy but also give him a new look at things. Leslie had secretly brought some stuff from her home-world with her and used it to create Terabithia, to an extent at least, mostly it did contain Jess to imagine for himself.

As they got closer, Leslie started to feel guilty for hiding who she was from him. Sure, she was only here for a limited amount of time, but a part of her wanted him to know her as Sara, not just Leslie. One day, she decided, while the two of them said goodbye in the rain, she told herself that the next day she was going through with it. Little did she know that it would change.

On her way home, Leslie heard rustling in the bushes. "Jess...are you there?" She asked, slowly walking over. There was no answer. Leslie put the dog she was holding on the ground and told it to stay as she walked over. She looked around and then started using her powers when a boy came out. "Sara, it's me." He said. Leslie ran over and hugged him. "Seth." She said. "Wait, but if you're here, then that means..." She said worriedly. "It's time to go home," Seth said to her.

Sara sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't." She said. "Not yet." Seth looked at her confused. "Sara, you knew we'd leave eventually." He said. "Is this about the boy... Jess?" He asked. Sara looked at him and took a breath. "One more day." She said. "Is it too much to ask?" She asked. Seth was silent for a moment but agreed. "I'll see you tomorrow, but we can't delay it any further afterward." He said as Sara picked up the dog. "I understand." She said. "I'll see you tomorrow." She said before walking off.

As soon as she got home, she told Judy and Bill the news. Even though they saw this coming, they wished it hadn't been so soon. They had become family, even if she was only pretending to be their child. "Well, we knew it would happen eventually," Bill said. "But I wish you could've stayed longer." Sara nodded. "I'm planning to stay at least one more day." She said. "I have to tell Jess everything." She added.

The next morning, Sara woke up and waited started to leave the house to find Jess. Unfortunately for her, he wasn't home. Jess was at a museum with one of their teachers at the moment. Sara waited in the Terabithia treehouse, pacing as she didn't want to just leave without explaining everything. Footsteps were heard, and for a second, Sara felt relief. Her feelings suddenly turned around after seeing Seth.

"I'm sorry, Sara," Seth said. "But we have to get back home." He added. Sara sighed with tears in her eyes. "You haven't been the one spending time with these people," She explained. "I just need more time to wait for Jess." She added. Seth looked at Sara, shaking his head. "I'm sorry," He said. "But we don't have time anymore." He added.