Hi everyone!

I'm Cindy Cartan and I live in Gateworld! Of course, a lot of you probably live here now as well, so you must know how wonderful it is. The weather is nearly perfect, stuff grows fast, and we all get healthier, and even smarter, the longer we live here. What they won't tell you is how the place is literally magical.

Yes, MAGIC! I know you won't believe me, and I'm not ready to do demonstrations for a long time yet. Not even my family believes me, really, even though they go along. I talk with the animals and they understand, mostly. They come when I call and sit and listen to my stories. I even play them videos, though some of them wander off if they don't like that show or movie.

My stuffed frog is the most magical of all, though even he won't really admit it. All the normal frogs know it, though, and they mostly worship him - he even sent a bunch out to colonize the local waterfalls. The new tadpoles are getting REALLY big - I saw one well over a foot long yesterday. I tried to get him to teach me magic, but he won't do it - he just said "It's Magic, never ask how". But I know he could teach it if he wanted to. I'm learning it anyway - just you watch!!

I'm also getting stronger and faster every day - yesterday I won a foot race with my older brother for the very first time - he was crushed and accused me of cheating. I told him he just wasn't using Gateworld magic enough - he spends half his time back on Earth or in our other Gateworld - it's not nearly as good, even though it has a river and seacoast, so all the adults think it's the place to be. I like my lake!

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

My parents told me I'll be growing up extra-fast now that I live here, and that I need to study hard to keep up so that my mind and body match up. I don't think that's a really big deal - I have a good memory and read and watch videos all the time, so I'm constantly learning stuff. I started this blog because I need to practice writing, or "communication skills" as my teacher wants me to call it. She worries a lot about that because I spend a lot of time alone, watching over my lake domain, with no other people around.

I have a HUGE garden here now to take care of, near the lakeshore where it's easy to water everything when we don't get enough showers. My plants are growing even faster than the family farm crops in the river Gate. Of course, I don't tell them that I just tell all the bunnies and such what they can't eat - I have a little side garden I grow things just for my animal friends. And, of course, the kitties guard the place against all the critters too dumb to understand how things work.

Tomorrow, I get to add a bunch of piglets to my little farm - I think they'll get along well with everyone else. And a puppy next week!

Now I have to go do a bunch of stupid math story problems - they won't let me start Algebra until I learn to fish out all the right numbers from their dumb stories correctly nearly every time. All that gunk about how fast a train goes or what a person can buy with six and a half dollars - yuck.

P.S. I know what the adults are really doing - they're using me as a test case for making the Lake Gate into a community boarding school for elementary school kids, teaching us to be as self-sufficient as possible because they think bad stuff is going to happen back on Earth. I don't mind. I'm going to be more self-sufficient than they can even imagine!