Dark, ominous clouds were forming as Mya Grace hurried home from school. She was looking forward to researching her history class assignment on extinct animals. Still, she was frightened by the thunderbolt that struck 15 feet before her. She ran for cover to the nearest place she could find that was dry, an old rickety bridge.

The rain came down in large drops, and little streams formed in front of her with leaves and sticks flowing by. Mya sat with her knees propped up towards her body against a post holding the bridge. She rested her arms on her knees to lay her head down, waiting for the storm to pass.

The rustling of leaves and water trickling were gently soothing her nerves when suddenly, a screeching noise jolted her from her calmness. She lifted her head from her arms and saw the most unusual bird plowing past her. She remembered seeing photos from class of prehistoric animals and he looked just like a picture she saw of a dodo bird. But that is impossible she thought, Dodo birds were extinct. 

The storm was easing up, and curiosity got the better of her, so she followed the bird to look at it closer. Squawking and making loud screeches, the bird slipped into the foliage beyond the bridge. Coming out of the foliage onto a clearing, the storm had stopped, leaving a rainbow of color in the sky.

Bright exotic flowers as tall as 10 feet were looming all around Mya. She had never seen such beauty, nor did she know this area of her hometown existed. Each step took her further into a foreign location with sounds of animals she was not familiar with.

Water splashing and female giggles came from a body of water ahead. A clear aqua green pool so clear you could see to the bottom where fish were dodging in and out of hiding places. Deep royal blue corals with forest green seaweed drifting in the water. Giant white jellyfish plunging up and down, and unusual fish shooting by. 

With her back to Mya, a young woman was sitting on a rock naked from the waist up. Mya looked again, and the lower half of the woman’s body was that of a fish, with dark green scales and a broad fin tail in rust with yellow trim where her feet should be. She was laughing and speaking to her friend in a language Mya had never heard.

“Mermaids? Impossible!” Mya said to herself and gently rubbed her eyes.

The half-naked woman on the rock slipped back into the water as if she had heard Mya, and the laughter and splashing stopped.

“Where am I?” she asked out loud to no one. Though it was a beautiful place, she wanted to return to the bridge and head home. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the dodo bird clucking, screeching, squawking, and going in circles. His eyes were yellow with a small black dot in the middle, giving him a crazed look. Once he saw Mya, he ran from her, making even louder noises. A passenger pigeon flew overhead while a great auk scurried by. From her school studies, Mya realized these were birds of extinction, but they were very much alive here in this place.

Walking in the direction the birds were going, she heard a noise behind her. She swung around to see a giant Irish elk nibbling on shrubbery, another extinct species. Behind the elk was a manikin old man with silver-white hair and a beard wearing a straw hat, carrying a walking stick, and smoking a corn pipe.

“Who have we got here, Ismo?” he asked the elk. Ismo looked up briefly to see Mya but quickly returned to eating.

“I’m Mya Grace.”

“Lovely to make your acquaintance, Mya Grace. My name is Orist.”

“I’m lost. Do you know how to get back to the old bridge?”

“You must be from the other side. How did you get in here?” Right as he asked that question, the dodo bird started screeching. 

“Let me guess. Alfred got out again and lost his way.”

“I don’t know who Alfred is, but I followed a dodo bird and ended up here.”

“Yep, that’s Alfred.”

“Where is this place?” Mya asked.

“It is where all extinct plants, animals, creatures, beings, live in harmony and love.”

“Why are they extinct?”

“Humans. They have a way of doing that. It’s not safe for you here, Mya Grace. You must go because some creatures still haven’t forgiven the human race.”

“Aren’t you human?”

“Heavens, no, but I am a being, and my kind disagree with human views of what they call progress. We believe all species have a right to exist. Destroying something because it serves no purpose is not born from love. I could show humans a world of extraordinary beauty, including Alfred, but they would never see their beauty. They see what they want to see, which makes them a mystery to me. All in the name of progress. Now, turn around, head through the Cooksonia plants, and pass the Saint Helena mountain bush until you reach the Franklin tree. Turn to the right, and you’ll see green foliage; walk through the foliage, and you will be back in your world.”

“My world?”

“Yes. We share the same planet but live in different worlds, young Mya. Off you go, it’s been a pleasure,” Orist said, tipping his hat to Mya.

Following his directions, Mya found her way back to the green foliage and went through where she could see the bridge she had found shelter under. She knew how to get home from there. The storm had stopped, and the sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. 

Mya’s parents were sick with worry until they saw her run up the path to the house. They had trained her to take cover when a storm hit and wait till it passed before walking home. Mya's parents hugged her tight and asked her where she found shelter.

“Under that old rickety bridge, past Mr. Dockson’s house.” Her parents looked at each other in confusion.

“That old rickety bridge was torn down years ago. They said it was extinct and useless as the river had dried up” said Mya's father.

Baffled by her father’s information, Mya knew the bridge was there, but trying to convince her parents or anyone else was useless. Shrugging her shoulders, she remembered what Orist said, “They see what they want to see and remain a mystery to me.”