“I thought Glinda was the Witch of the North,” Sabrina said.
Daphne shook her head. “That’s the movie. Glinda’s the Witch of the South. Haven’t you read this story?”
“I skimmed it.”
Another of the little men chimed in. “No, you’re supposed to say ‘Oh gracious! Are you a real witch?’”
Sabrina fumed and stomped her foot. “Just let me punch one of them out. It will be a lesson for the others.”
“Silence your animal, Dorothy!” another Munchkin demanded. “This is not what happened.”
“Dorothy?” Sabrina said.
“My name’s not—wait! They think I’m Dorothy,” Daphne said as a happy smile spread across her face. “The Book must have turned us into characters.”
“Then who am I?” Sabrina said as she studied her clothing.
Daphne snickered. “Probably Toto.”
Sabrina started to smile, but it quickly turned to a frown. She reached under her shirt and found a small leather collar fastened around her neck. A silver tag engraved with the name “Toto” was attached. She pulled it off and angrily threw it to the ground. “Of course! I have to be the dog.”
Daphne laughed so hard she snorted.
“Yes, it’s hilarious,” Sabrina steamed. “Don’t be surprised if I bite your leg.”
Daphne got herself under control. “Well, this is interesting. If the Book is turning us into the characters, maybe that’s everyone’s problem. We’re supposed to follow the story. Am I right?”
The crowd eyed them quietly as if afraid to answer. Finally, one of the little old men nodded subtly and whispered, “Please, we beg you. Just say the line.”
Sabrina threw up her hands in frustration and turned to her sister. “I feel like I’m trapped in a second-grade play. They’re going to have to spoon-feed us every line of dialogue unless you’ve got this story memorized from beginning to end.”
Daphne ignored her and recited the line the Munchkin had given to her. “‘Oh gracious! Are you a real witch?’”
“Yes indeed,” the woman in white said. “But I am a good witch, and the people love me. I am not as powerful as the Wicked Witch was who ruled here, or I should have set the people free myself.”
Sabrina groaned. “Enough! We’re not here to be part of your story. We’re looking for a man who is traveling with a toddler—a little boy. Have you seen them or not?”
The Munchkins leaped back in fright.
“He’s short and balding and wearing a black suit,” Daphne added.
A rosy-cheeked man in the back of the crowd made his way to the front. “I have seen him.”
The rest of the Munchkins broke into excited complaints, begging their friend to be quiet and not change the story. He spat on the ground and refused. “It’s best to just get them out of here as soon as possible,” he said. “They’re just like the last fellow. He wouldn’t follow the story either.”
“Mirror was here? Are you sure?”
“Didn’t ask his name, young lady, but there was a man this way not long ago,” the Munchkin said. “He took off down the Yellow Brick Road in search of the magic door.”
“Magic door?”
“It pops up at the end of the story. Never seen it myself, but I’ve heard rumors it can take you out of this story and into the next.”
Sabrina turned to her sister. “Then we have to stop him. If he gets to the door, who knows where he’ll end up next.”
“How do we find this door?” Daphne said.
The nervous crowd looked at one another. After several moments of talking amongst themselves, the woman in white stepped close.
“You have to clean those ears of yours. The man said it pops up at the end of the story. The best way to find it is to just do everything that happened the first time, like it was when the real Dorothy did it. Go down the Yellow Brick Road, find your companions, enter the Emerald City, and meet the great and terrible Wizard of Oz. He’ll send you to kill the Wicked Witch of the West. Once that’s done, the door should appear.”
“That will take forever,” Sabrina complained.
“Isn’t there another way?” Daphne asked the Witch.
The old woman shook her head violently. “I’ve said too much already. I’ll anger the Editor.”
“The Editor?” Daphne asked.
Everyone shushed her at once. “Don’t say his name! You’ll call attention to us!”
Sabrina rolled her eyes. “C’mon. We’re wasting time with these nutcases. Let’s go.”
Daphne nodded. “Well, nice to meet you all. Sorry to kill that witch and just run off, but we’re really in a hurry.”
With that, the girls turned and headed toward the square and the winding Yellow Brick Road beyond. But it wasn’t long before they were stopped in their tracks by angry shouts.