Finally

On the day before Rory Swenson’s 12th birthday, she wanders away from a class field trip at the Willow Falls Reservoir and accidentally falls into a drainpipe. Her parents have refused to get her a cell phone until she turns 12, so she cannot call for help. Getting a cell phone is her top priority after her birthday. She yells loudly, but no one from her class hears her. This does not surprise her, because she is used to fading into the background.

Bored, she wishes she had a book to read or that the drainpipe would turn out to be the entrance to somewhere magical like Wonderland or Narnia. Finally, an elderly woman approaches the drain—the same woman who took their tickets for the tour. Rory notices an odd, duck-shaped birthmark on the woman’s cheek.

The elderly woman teases Rory about having “a boy’s name” (7), which is a sore spot for Rory, who often envies her best friend Annabelle’s more stereotypically feminine appearance. The woman tells Rory that getting stuck in the drainpipe means that the universe is giving her time to reflect on her life: “You won’t get what you want until you see what you need” (8). She helps Rory, but will not explain her mysterious message any further.