Lily's dad recently passed away and her mom was struggling to pay the bills. After getting kicked out of their house, they packed up what they could fit in the car and began to drive. Lily's aunt, Lucy, offered to let them stay with her for a while, so that's where they went. With no money and no where else to go, they made the 14 hour trip to the middle of nowhere.

Lily didn't like her aunt. She remembered going to her house when she was younger and thought she was super creepy. She lived in the middle of the woods and never left her house. Aunt Lucy even looked like a witch with her crooked nose and all black wardrobe. Her voice was rough and crackled as she spoke.

A few months later...

Lily was struggling to make friends at her new school. It was a small school with only 15 kids in her class. Her teacher was old and talked very slowly. Lily thought he belonged in a retirement home.

One day on her walk home from school, she noticed some of the boys from her class playing baseball in the field by the woods. This excited her because she used to love playing baseball with her dad. She asked the boys if she could join, and with much hesitation, they said yes. She wasn't supposed to play by the woods, but she wanted to make friends even more.

Carter was playing pitcher, stinky Freddy was the catcher, and twins Adam and Aaron were in the outfield. Finally, it was her turn at bat. She was so excited because she hadn't hit a baseball since her dad passed away. On the first pitch, the ball goes flying past her and makes a loud pop as it lands in Freddy's mitt.

"Strrrrike one!"

All the boys pointed and laughed. Lily smirked. She had to let Carter think he could win. 

On the second pitch, Lily hit the ball so far that it vanished into the trees. With a smile on her face, she ran the bases as the boys threw their mitts on the ground and crossed their arms. Once she made it to home base, she threw her hands in the air with excitement. A few seconds later she heard Carter yell.

"Just go get it, loser!"

"But I'm not supposed to-"

"Just go!"

Against her mom's rules, Lily heads into the woods in search for the baseball. 

After about 10 minutes of looking, she realizes she is lost, with nothing familiar in sight. She yells for the boys, but no one comes. She sits down on a fallen tree and cries. Hours pass and it's starting to get dark. Just when she thinks all hope is lost, she hears a faint voice in the distance.

"This way, come this way."

She follows the voice and hears it getting louder, but doesn't see anyone. When it sounds like it's right in front of her, she looks around confused. Then she hears the voice again.

"Up here!"

To her amazement, she looks up and sees three little caterpillars sitting on one of the branches of the tree. She closes her eyes and pinched her wrist thinking it's all just a dream. Then she hears the voice again.

"It's okay, we're here to help! We know where your ball is!"

She couldn't believe her eyes, the caterpillars were talking to her! She reached onto the branch and carefully picked them up. With their guidance, Lily soon finds the ball and sticks it in her pocket. They show her the way out of the woods and back to the field.

"She knew it was time to send them back. The caterpillars softly wiggled in her hand, spelling out "goodbye"".

In class the next day, Carter whispers "What happened to you yesterday? We thought you were dead!"

Lily didn't say anything. Instead, she reached in her backpack and pulled out the baseball. She tossed it back to him with a grin on her face as she thought about her new friends in the woods. She couldn't wait to go see them tomorrow.