“How about this one?” Kate McCrady asked. She poked her finger at the glass wall of a fish tank. Behind it, a blue-and-gold-striped fish darted by.

Lainey Winters studied the fish carefully. “He looks kind of grumpy, don’t you think?”

“What about this one?” On Lainey’s other side, Mia Vasquez pointed to an inky black fish with fins as flowy as silk scarves.

Lainey shook her head. “Too fancy.”

Kate sighed. “I think we’ve looked at every single fish in the pet store. Just pick one, Lainey.”

“I’m trying,” Lainey said. It was a big decision! She was finally getting a pet—her first pet ever. She had to make sure she chose the right one.

Lainey had wanted a pet for as long as she could remember. But her parents didn’t love animals as much as she did. For months Lainey had done all her chores and saved her allowance, and at last they’d given in.

“Maybe we should look at some other animals,” Mia suggested.

“You mean like that one?” Kate pointed to the tank behind her.

Mia turned and sprang back with a squeal. A spiky brown lizard was staring at her from behind the glass.

Kate laughed. “What’s the matter? He won’t hurt you.”

Mia shuddered. “Lizards give me the creeps.”

“Well, I can’t get one anyway,” Lainey said. “My mom and dad don’t want anything that could get lost in the house. That includes lizards.”

“Thank goodness,” Mia said.

“How about a bird, then?” Kate asked.

“I don’t like birds in cages,” Lainey said.

“It’s too bad you can’t get a dog or a cat,” Mia said.

“I know. But my parents are allergic,” Lainey said. “No, I’ve decided on a fish. I just have to find the right one.”

Lainey walked past the fish tanks again. There were so many fish to choose from! Big ones, little ones. Some were bright as jewels, while others were so drab they looked like rocks. But where was her fish?

Lainey stopped to watch dozens of bright orange fish swimming back and forth. The sign on the tank read GOLDFISH: MEDIUM.

As she stood there, one fish swam right up to the glass. “Hi, little fella,” Lainey said.

The goldfish waved his fins. He seemed to be saying hello.

“Hey,” Lainey said. “I think he likes me!”

Mia and Kate came over to see. “He’s really cute,” Mia said.

“Look at his top fin!” Kate said.

The fin on the little fish’s back seemed to stick up more than the other goldfishes’ fins.

The fish swam away, then came back to look at Lainey. She grinned. “Guys, I think I found my fish!”

“Finally!” Kate said.

Lainey waited while Mia went to find the saleswoman, who was chatting with Lainey’s mom. They watched as she scooped the little fish out with a net. She handed the fish to Lainey in a plastic bag filled with water.

With the money she’d saved, Lainey bought a fishbowl, fish food, some rocks, and a little plastic castle for her fish to play in. She listened carefully as the saleswoman explained how to feed the fish and how to clean his bowl. Kate and Mia helped her carry everything out to the car.

“What are you going to name him?” Lainey’s mother asked as they drove home.

“How about Shimmer, since he’s so shiny?” Mia suggested.

“Or Finley,” Kate said. “Get it? Fin-ley?”

Lainey looked at her fish swimming in his bag. He looked like a bright spot of sunlight. “I’m going to call him Sunshine,” she decided. “Sunshine Shimmer Finley Goldfish.”

Her mom laughed. “That’s a big name for a little fish.”

“Then I’ll call him Sunny for short.” Lainey held him up close to her face. “Do you like your name, Sunny?”

Sunny opened and closed his mouth. Lainey couldn’t be sure, but it looked as if he was saying yes.

Back at Lainey’s house, Kate and Mia helped Lainey set up Sunny’s fishbowl. They put in the rocks and the castle, then filled the bowl with water. When Sunny was settled in his new home, Lainey dropped a pinch of fish food inside. They watched him gobble up the flakes.

“I think he likes it here,” Mia said.

He does seem happy. But how can I be sure? Lainey wondered. Did Sunny really like his new home? What did he like to do? With a dog you could throw a ball or a stick. But how did you play with a goldfish?

Lainey realized she didn’t know anything about what made a goldfish happy. But she knew someone who did. She picked up Sunny’s bowl. “Come on,” she said to her friends. “We’ve got to go to Pixie Hollow.”

Mia and Kate looked surprised.

“With Sunny?” Mia asked.

“Yes. I want him to meet Fawn,” Lainey said. Fawn was an animal-talent fairy. She could talk to any creature, feathered, finned, or furred. She’d be able to find out what Sunny was really thinking.

“At least let me help you carry the bowl,” said Kate.

Together, Lainey and Kate carried the fishbowl out of her room and down the stairs. It was harder than Lainey had thought. The fishbowl was heavy and difficult to grasp. They had to be extra careful not to spill a drop.

On the bottom step, they stopped to rest. “Maybe we should just tell the fairies about Sunny,” Kate said.

Lainey pushed up her glasses, which were slipping down her nose. “No, I want Sunny to see Pixie Hollow for himself.” Turning to Sunny, she said, “You’re going to love it, little fella.” Then she unscrewed the cap of the fish food and gave him another pinch.

“Are you sure you should give him more food?” Mia asked. “The woman at the pet store said to feed him only twice a day.”

“But he’s hungry. See?” Lainey pointed. Sunny was devouring the food as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

When Sunny had finished eating, Lainey picked up the bowl again. “Let’s go.”

The way to Pixie Hollow lay behind a loose fence board in Mia’s backyard, two houses down from Lainey’s. The girls had discovered the magical portal the summer before. Since then, the portal had moved three times, and each time Lainey and her friends had had to find it again. But no matter how many times it moved, it always led them back to the fairies.

As they reached Mia’s house, Lainey hoped the portal hadn’t moved again. She wasn’t sure how much farther she could carry Sunny’s bowl.

Mia’s little sister, Gabby, was playing in the backyard. Though there were still patches of snow on the ground, she was holding a watering can. Gabby hummed to herself as she watered some invisible flowers. When she saw the fishbowl, though, she came running over. “What’s that?”

“It’s Lainey’s new pet. Be careful, Gabby,” Mia said as her sister jostled in for a closer look.

“Neato!” Gabby leaned in so far, her nose almost stuck to the bowl. “You should name him Spike.”

“He already has a name,” Lainey said. “It’s Sunny, and we’re taking him to meet the fairies.”

“ ’Yay!” Gabby ran to the loose fence board, the fairy wings she always wore bouncing behind her.

Lainey held her breath as Gabby pushed on the board. Through the gap in the fence, she could see a sliver of sky bluer than anything in this world. Lainey’s breath whooshed out. Never Land was right where they’d left it.

Lainey and Kate carried the fishbowl to the hole, passing it between them as they wriggled through. They came out in a forest on the other side. Golden sunlight spilled down between the trees, and the ground was springy with moss.

“There it is, Sunny. Isn’t it beautiful?” Lainey cried. Ahead stood the giant Home Tree, where the fairies lived. Its branches were dotted with windows and doors. Even after so many visits, it still took Lainey’s breath away.

All that was left was to cross Havendish Stream. Holding Sunny in her arms, Lainey started across the stepping-stones.

“Oh no!” Lainey’s foot slipped. The fishbowl tipped. “Sunny!”

“Gotcha!” Kate grabbed Lainey before she could fall. Water sloshed out of the bowl. But Sunny was safe inside.

On the far bank, Lainey set down Sunny’s bowl with shaking arms. “Thanks, Kate. That was close.”

“Maybe you should leave Sunny here while we find Fawn,” Kate said. “You can’t carry that bowl all over Pixie Hollow.”

“I guess you’re right,” Lainey said. But she didn’t want to leave Sunny sitting there. She looked around for a safe place to put him.

Just downstream, a hollow in the bank formed a shallow, still pool of water. Lainey placed Sunny’s bowl in the water, adding a few rocks around it to hold it in place.

There. That was good. Maybe Sunny will even like seeing some of Pixie Hollow underwater, Lainey thought.

“I’ll be back soon,” she told him. “You’ll be okay. Right, little fella?”

Sunny opened and closed his mouth. Lainey took that as a yes. She gave him a wave. Then she headed off with her friends to find Fawn.